When the Thorns Betray the Rose

By: Brigette Jackson-Cox

Mr. Asato Tsuzuki stood on the balcony of his apartment over looking the city, from the high hill it was perched atop. Though it was quite late he was still fully dressed in his white shirt and tie; as well as his trench coat due to two things. One; he wore it everywhere; two it was pouring rain. However he didn't mind the cool droplets of water felt nice on his face and exposed neck. Hisoka was sound a sleep within the apartment.

He caught a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face the street. Standing there under the streetlamp was Kazutaka Muraki. His sliver hair, white trench coat and suit all dripping wet in the rain. His glasses reflected the light in such a way that Tsuzuki new he was looking straight at him.

Tsuzuki just stood there and for several minutes both men just stood there watching one another. Then the one thing Tsuzuki feared came to be. Muraki raised a hand and motioned for Tsuzuki to come down to him.

Simply ignoring him was out of the question, because Muraki now knew where he lived and would return if he didn't get rid of him right away. So Tsuzuki nodded to the man on the street then turned and quietly opened the door into the apartment and went in.

A few short moments later Tsuzuki stepped out his front door then turned and locked it was just one more measure to keep his young partner safe. Muraki smiled knowing full well that the man he loved had come to banish him form the area. However he had no intention of leaving.

"Well I am quite surprised you came out Mr. Tsuzuki." Muraki said with a satisfied yet sly smile.

"Don't think I came for the conversation Muraki." Tsuzuki snapped

"Please call me Kazutaka, it sounds so much less harsh , no?"

"I won't have to call you anything for long because I want you away from here. I want nothing to do with you, and I want you nowhere near Hisoka. You've done too much damage to him and myself already." Tsuzuki spat

"Come now what about the damage you did to me?" He lifted the bottom of his shirt up past the base of his rid cage to show a large scar. Tsuzuki could remember all to well.

(((((Flashback)))))

He didn't have a lot of energy but he knew what he had to do, he saw the knife laying on the table. It seemed so far away, but it was all he had left, somehow he couldn't remember how he did it, but he had gotten hold of the knife. Then he saw the opening and took it. He drove the blade deep into Muraki's body feeling warm blood caress his fingers then palm as he wrenched the knife out and dropped it.

(((((End Flashback)))))

"I don't feel an once of remorse for that" Tsuzuki said his eyes and heart cold and marble.

"Come now Mr. Tsuzuki you don't mean that." Muraki raised his hand snapped his fingers. Tsuzuki collapsed into a limp heap upon the ground.

'This is bad I can't move, what is he going to do with me now?'

"Well Mr. Tsuzuki it would seem you have no place to run to." Muraki smiled maliciously as he stepped forward scooped his prisoner into his arms and vanished from sight.

Tsuzuki opened his eyes to find himself laying on a large canopy style bed, hung with black and sliver silk curtains. He slowly sat up to find two dozen red roses laying upon the black velvet comforter.

He found as he stepped from the bed that someone had removed his jacket, shirt, tie, shoes and socks, leaving him only in his slacks and watch. Tsuzuki looked about him for his clothing but didn't find them. As he glanced around on the floor he saw a trail of rose petals that led to two spiral stair cases, one going up and one going down.

"Muraki." He hissed to himself. He sighed, there was no choice but to go to his captor. Especially if he wanted his clothes back. So he began to follow the trail right up the stair case like some kind of red scaled snake. It took him to a black door; upon which their were two long stem red roses taped to the door in the shape of an "X".

Tsuzuki let out his breath then raised a slender hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in my doll." The rich voice of Kazutaka Muraki said softly. Tsuzuki opened the door and slowly stepped in to find Muraki sitting in a large leather arm chair, with his jacket and blazer off, and tie slackened.

"Ah my beautiful doll, please come in and sit down won't you?"

"I'm not your doll Muraki!" Tsuzuki spat.

"Please call me Kazutaka, it sounds so much more gentle. Now please sit." He offered his hand toward the leather arm chair directly opposite him. Tsuzuki slowly moved over to the chair and sat down, never taking his amethyst eyes off his captor's sliver ones. The smooth leather was cold against his back as he sat down.

"Where are my clothes?"

"Why? You don't need them. You're not going anywhere." Muraki said simply, with a cocked head and the same evil grin he had given him when he had beaten him at poker on the cruse liner.

"Well I don't like sitting in the house of the man who tried to get me in bed over a poker game, with just my slacks on." Muraki smiled and stood. He moved closer and stood in front of Tsuzuki's chair. He leaned forward and put a hand on each arm on the chair.

"I think you're bare chest if rather a fine thing to look at." Then he ran a hand down Tsuzuki's chest. Tsuzuki shuddered at the feeling of the doctor's cold hands. "However if you're that uncomfortable, I shall at least ease your pain a little." Then he leaned forward more so his body touched Tsuzuki's, and he reached over the back of the chair into a bag that hung there. When he pulled back he had Tsuzuki's shirt in hand which he dropped in the lap of the younger man.

The brunet snatched up the shirt and very quickly threw it on, however his hands shook so much the doing up the buttons was an impossible task.

"Here let me." Muraki said, as he stepped closer Tsuzuki tried to get up only to find Muraki's hand on his shoulder preventing him from getting up. 'Damn why can't I stay calm?'

"It's alright I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax." He said as he knelt down and straightened the other's shirt then began to do up the buttons; leaving the top one undone. "See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" He smiled "Oh, and that reminds me, I wouldn't try any of those little paper spell tricks of yours. One: I've taken them from you. Two: the only magic that can be done in this house is my own. So one of your magical escapes, won't happen, will it? No it won't" He said answering him own question as he shook his head.

"What do you what Muraki?"

"What have I wanted from the beginning? You, love." Tsuzuki sat there for some reason he was stunned even though he had heard Muraki say thing of this nature to him before. Tsuzuki could think of no reply to this so he said nothing, only sat back in his chair, as far as possible from the other man.

"Well Mr. Tsuzuki why don't you relax and do make yourself at home, I'll get you a drink."

003 hopped happily around on the table between Tatsumi and Watari who sat in the conference room, both discussing their weekend plains, or rather their lack of weekend plains. They had just decided to try out dinner at a new restaurant that had opened not far from Watari's house. It was about that time that Hisoka Kurosaki came bounding threw the door.

"Tsuzuki's gone missing!" He shouted at the two men sitting at the table, while trying to catch his breath

"What?" Both said at once.

"I got up this morning and he was gone, no note, nothing!"

"Calm down man, Perhaps he went out, for a bite to eat. You know what a sweet tooth he has." Watari sad moving closer and putting a reassuring had on the empath's shoulder, the blond was still calm and he was hoping the young boy might pick that up above anything else.

"But you don't understand," Hisoka said shrugging off the scientist's hand. "I'm really worried, because a few days ago I swear I saw…… I saw Kazutaka Muraki in the village. And last night I know I saw him standing outside our house. I think he's taken Tsuzuki!" The older men looked to one another then back to Hisoka.

"Alright, Kurosaki are you sure it was Muraki?" Tatsumi asked, seeming as usual determined not to worry until absolutely necessary.

"Yes, I would know his evil presence anywhere."

"OK, where do we start our search?" Watari asked trying to think of where Muraki could have taken Tsuzuki.

"We try a spell, Muraki will probably have sealed his hideaway against magic but it can't hurt to try." Tatsumi said as he pulled out a paper spell which folded itself into a crane. The crane took flight but as soon as it was about a foot off of Tatsumi's palm it exploded sending a large amount of ash into the faces of all three men.

"So what does that mean?" Hisoka asked.

"Just as I thought, his hideout is blocked by magic." Tatsumi said as he and Watari took off and cleaned their glasses. 003 who had perched himself atop Watari's shoulder flapped his wings removing ash from his feathers.

"Hisoka can you track his spirit?" Watari asked as he put his glasses back on.

"I didn't even think of that." The empath said.

"Well we should get tracking, maybe we should start at your house." Tatsumi said.

"Alright let's go" Hisoka said.