Disclaimer: I do not own Yami No Matsei, but I want to state that I will now be stealing Hisoka amd we're gonna go shopping. Bye!

Hisoka: Help me…

Camping Trip from Hell

"Ah! What a wonderful thing, camping is!"

Tsuzuki outstretched his arms to the open wilderness and breathed in the cool, mountain fresh air. He had somehow convinced Tatsumi, Watari and Hisoka to come with him on a small getaway. There were trees all around them, and everything smelled of green and nature and life. Being shinigami, having the chance to visit a place with such rich life energy was a treat. Tatsumi finally caught up with his overzealous friend and put a hand over his face to block the sun as he peered over the edge of a steep drop, where their hike had led them.

"I have to agree. It is nice to get away from the office and enjoy the clean air."
"You mean the air Watari hasn't yet polluted by the explosions from his failed experiments?"

"Precisely."

Both of them looked back to see Watari taking his last big step up from the path they had been walking up for the past hour. He was in high spirits, though, as usual. Once he was up, he looked back at Hisoka, who was still quite a ways down, struggling to walk with his pack.

"Don't give up, Bon! You can make it!"

"Yeah… whatever…"

"Ha ha. Bon doesn't like camping, does he?"

"It's really hard to fins ANYTHING Hisoka likes, I'm afraid."

Tsuzuki set down his own pack and went back down the path where Hisoka had stopped again. The boy was hunched over, resting his hands on his knees to keep from falling over. He looked exhausted, so Tsuzuki relieved him of his pack and slung it over his own shoulders, Hisoka didn't complain, even as Tsuzuki took his arm and helped him up the rest of the way where the others were sitting, drinking tea. Watari helped Hisoka sit next to him as Tsuzuki set the boy's pack down by the others.

"So, how do you like it so far, Bon?"

"…" He was mumbling.

"Hm? What was that?"

"I said, 'you people are trying to kill me!"

"Aw, don't' worry! A little hike is good for you!"

"A LITTLE hike?"

Since Hisoka was youngest and not as strong as the others, he had far less to carry, and though he practiced martial arts and worked out daily, his body was still not accustomed to the hard work of hauling around a bunch of weight on an uphill hike. Tatsumi smiled and patted the boy on the back.

"Don't worry, Kurosaki, we're almost there."

"What? You mean this isn't the place yet?"

"Nope. We have to get up to the lakeside before nightfall. That's where we're going."

"But why there? I think this is a good enough spot!"

"Oh, but you haven't seen the lake at nightfall. It's absolutely gorgeous! Tatsumi, Watari and I have always come up here."

"We eve managed to drag the boss up here once, and he was complaining far more than you."

"And so, what happened? Did the old man have a heart attack and scold you again? (That would explain why you haven't been here lately.)"

"No. You see," Watari answered, "We got there late, just as the sun was setting, and the moment the boss saw the view, he went silent and actually smiled." End happy story. "But he was complaining the whole rest of the time!"

"How comforting."

Hisoka yawned and removed his jacket. Watari saw the exhaustion in the boy and patted his lap, motioning for Hisoka to lay down. Hisoka sleepily nodded his head and rested on Watari's lap. Tatsumi removed his jacket and placed it over the boy, who had already dozed off and Tsuzuki just stared, happily. In Hisoka's opinion, it wasn't too long at all before Watari roused him awake with a shake to his shoulder.

"Mm…? What is it?"

"We're going on out way again, Bon. Wakie, wakie!"

"What? Already? But we just stopped!"

"Actually, you've been asleep for an hour, already."

"Mm…"

Tsuzuki pulled Hisoka to his feet and helped him get his pack on.

"Don't worry, we're almost there."

"We'd better be."

They walked along the next path, only going as fast as the slowest one, Hisoka, so that he didn't feel so bad. They walked on for a long time, or so it seemed; going over bridges, and through a dense part of the forest. Hisoka stopped once again to catch his breath. It wasn't even sunset and he had used up all his energy reserves.

"Are we…"

"Here we are."

Hisoka looked up at those words, and a huge smile came over his face, only to fall once he looked around. It looked almost like the other place they had stopped at. It was mostly surrounded by trees, but was near a large lake, as opposed to a cliff. The clearing was a good size, but there was nothing significant about it. Hisoka stood in place as the others took off their packs and started unloading the items they were carrying. Tsuzuki and Tatsumi took out the tents and started putting them together, as Watari set up a mini cooler by the fire pit. Then, he got out a small device and walked to him.

"Bon, would you like to see something cool?"

"Uh… but what about-"

"Those two can handle setting up camp. C'mon!"

Watari took hold of Hisoka's arm, after helping him get his pack off, and pulled him off towards the lake. He let go of Hisoka's arm and stepped up onto a log, which lay half in the lake and half out. Hisoka watched as Watari sat at the very end of the dry part of the water and pull up his pant legs. Hisoka raised an eyebrow at this, but followed the example. Once both were there, Watari began his explanation.

"Bon, do you remember before we left when we were talking about who would do what job?"

"Yeah."

"What do you remember?"

"Tsuzuki would be responsible for looking for firewood and building the fire, Tatsumi would be in charge of keeping the area sanitary, and you would cook, but…"

"Hm?"

"You never gave me a job to do. Do you expect me to do nothing this entire time?"

"Of course not! Your job will be to fetch the water we'll be drinking!"

Hisoka looked down into the murky water in disgust before throwing a confused glance at Watari, who then lifted up the small machine.

"This is a water purifier, Bon. You put the front end into the water and manually pump the water through, like this!"

Hisoka watched Watari do it, nodding his head as he explained how it worked. When Watari had a full bag, He took out a small travel cup he had in his pocket and poured some water in it. Hisoka was terrified when his elder friend held it out to him.

"Go on, taste it!"

Hisoka hesitated, but when the cup was forced into his hands, he had no choice but to try it. He took a small sip, swooshing it around in his mouth for a minute before swallowing. His brow was knitted, and Watari was almost alarmed when Hisoka opened them and gasped.

"This… this is really good."

Watari let go of the breath he had been holding and smiled.

"Now that you know how this works, it'll be your job from now on. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Hey 'Soka! Watari! You done over there?"

"Yup!"

"Good, now get over here!"

Watari and Hisoka carefully got off the log and back onto solid ground, heading for the campsite. Hisoka's eyes went wide, as the area no longer resembled itself. It was neater, the tents were set up, and Tatsumi and Tsuzuki were shaking hands, congratulating eachother for their accomplishments. Tsuzuki then went to Hisoka and patted him on the head.

"You must be very tired now! You can have first dibs on the hammock!"

"You brought a hammock?"

"Actually, you did! I out it in your pack."

Tsuzuki led Hisoka to where the hammock was, settled in between two trees with a tall stump next to it. Just looking at the hammock made Hisoka remember how tired he was and he yawned. Tsuzuki helped him onto it (after Hisoka's first attempt to get on it failed) and Tatsumi set a cup of warm tea on the stump next to him. As he dozed off, he still couldn't figure out why that spot was so important.

Hisoka was shaken awake hours later. It was very dark, but a red glow illuminated the entire area. Fearing the worst, Hisoka covered his face with his sleeve and curled in on himself. Tsuzuki reached over and shook his shoulder again, this time, getting Hisoka to look up at him. The boy would not have recognized him, had the man's purple eyes not shone as they did, even in the failing light.

"Tsuzuki…? What is it?"

"I want you to see."

"See what?"

"Why this place is so important."

Tsuzuki looked out upon the lake, as did Hisoka, whose eyes great in awe of the glittering lights that danced on the surface of the once murky water. Watari and Tatsumi were silent as they also watched the show, and Hisoka stared at it with his lips parted slightly.

"I had no idea…"

"Now you do. This is more beautiful than the cherry blossoms in Meifu. Don't you feel safe?"

"I do. I can't explain it."

"It's the maiden of the lake."

"The what?"

"There is an old legend that says that a man once fled here from a far away place. He was a cruel man, and he wanted to escape from the world that hated him. When he got here, he fell upon the sand before the lake and prayed."

"What did he pray about, Tsuzuki?"

"He said, 'Oh eternal waters, I give thyself to thee, in the hopes that you will cleanse this old, weary soul, and let the world be free from me.' He threw himself into the lake, and it was said that he died."

"That's a rather gloomy story."

"Oh, but it doesn't end there. They say, that the man was reborn and he was pulled from the lake by a beautiful young maiden. She cared for him until he was well, and loved him. But once the man was well again, she left, swearing to return when he needed her."

"And did she?"

"She did, but when she did, he was already dead. He had killed himself beyond the shore, where the maiden could not get to him in time. So, they say, she still lies within the lake, waiting for the soul of her lover to return to her shores."

"…It's still a sad story."

"Yes it is."

"But I like it, anyway. You tell it well, Tsuzuki."

They all stared out at the sunset, unaware of the terrors that would come at them in the very near future.