Disclaimer: I do not own Yami No Matsuei, no I do not. I do not own the bishies, and I do not own the…. Uh… okay, so rhyming isn't my thing! ;

Forgotten

Hisoka, how could you have forgotten?

"Hisoka, get ready!"

Fudas were flying… One, two… they landed on the demon beast and burned it. The steam was visible, and it growled its discomfort.

"Right!"

A flurry of colors, movements as fast as lightning bolts. Everything had to be timed perfectly. He wouldn't allow anything less than that.

"We have an opening! Here's the countdown!"

No other shinigami partnership could have been as attuned as those two. Every move was fluent and quick, every attack was sent precise, hitting their marks. Everything was going just fine.

"Three-"

The monster screamed a high, airy yell. Blood spit from its mouth, flying onto the shinigami as they moved around it. It was cornered…

"Two-"

Trapped…

"One!"

…Finished. Tsuzuki and Hisoka stopped, standing right next to each other in front of the beast. The older of the two began making hand signs, and the younger readied his fuda spells, ready to keep the beast still as his partner summoned his own. He had the monster's blood on his clothes, on his hands, on his face… it was almost in his eyes. After the third case he and Tsuzuki had worked together on, Hisoka had changed. He thought he wouldn't be able to handle the sight of blood, but here he was, soaked in it, and he was uncaring.

"I bow to thee, and beseech you…"

Hisoka Kurosaki never got used to the sight of blood, the feel of it on his hands, skin, and he didn't particularly like having to wash it out of his clothes, but it didn't bother him as much as before. He was more used to it, as about used to it as his partner was, but that was a touchy issue; one too big to cover in one instant of thought.

"The twelve Gods that protect me…"

The monster sensed its own demise, and in retaliation, it puffed up its slimy, spiky body and shot out random spike. Maybe, they weren't so random, however, as one sliced past Tsuzuki's arm which he was chanting. He winced, but didn't stop or even open his eyes.

"Come out… Suzaku!"

The monster had gotten him, but he wasn't satisfied, and screamed once more, shooting out more spikes just as Suzaku made her appearance. Hisoka anticipated the attack, and pushed Tsuzuki to the ground to avoid his partner getting hurt. They hit the ground, and from directly behind them, in a flurry of burning feathers, was Suzaku.

Hisoka never got used to the sight of his partner's shikigami. Each one, big and small, held such remarkable power, he could hardly stand it. To any normal person, even just one glance could drive them insane, but Hisoka couldn't stop himself from staring. Suzaku fought mercilessly, but with a strange, unexpected grace, seemingly unbecoming of a monster from another world. Suzaku made quick work of the demon, watching as it fell to the ground in a sticky heap, before vanishing quickly, leaving behind nothing but fiery-red feathers.

"…Wow."

That's all Hisoka could say, and quite frankly, it made Tsuzuki smile. Hisoka was in awe of his power, and looked up to him, but Tsuzuki was equally grateful for the support he received from the younger. Once he recovered from his shock, Hisoka stood up, and Tsuzuki followed. He noticed the pain in is arm, and Hisoka immediately went to work in examining it.

"I never expected it to retaliate like that."

"Yeah, well most creatures are most fierce when they are faced with their demise."

Tsuzuki winced a little when Hisoka scraped his nails slightly into the cut, but the boy quickly apologized and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wrap the wound. Tsuzuki remembered that handkerchief. Hisoka always carried it around with him. It was the one Hisoka had seen in an old store window. Tsuzuki never could understand what Hisoka saw in it, but was grateful it was handy to bandage his wound.

"Thanks, Hisoka. I could have been a cabob if it weren't for you!"

"Yeah, whatever…"

Hisoka's cheeks were tinted a slight pink at being caught being kind, but that's just how Hisoka was. He was the shy type, and that was okay. Both shinigami looked to the beast, and then to each other, not noticing it twitch.

"What should we do now?"

"We have to call in a containment team. They come and pick up the monster and erase the memories of anyone who saw it."

"Hmph. I don't like the idea of destroying evidence like that…"

"But it can't be helped. I'm just happy I have my memories intact! I don't know what I would do if I couldn't remember what had happened at all!"

"I don't know… I don't think I would mind it."

Tsuzuki threw a surprised glance sideways, looking at the teen whose head was slightly down and away; though, at the same time, it wasn't hard to understand where the boy was coming from. Hisoka had a very rough life, and the memories constantly haunted him. But, Tsuzuki still felt slightly hurt. Would his partner feel satisfied if he forgot even HIM? Sensing the thoughts, Hisoka hit Tsuzuki lightly on the arm, bringing the elder's attention back.

"Idiot. I couldn't forget about you if I tried."

Taking that as a good thing, Tsuzuki smiled. Then, Tsuzuki took out his cell phone and dialed the number for the containment unit. He got them on the line and gave them the address to the building they were in, an abandoned apartment building by a stream and a bridge. While Tsuzuki talked, a buzzer went off on Hisoka's pager, and when it went off, the demon opened its eyes. Both shinigami jolted when it jumped back into action.

"It's still alive!"

Tsuzuki still had the phone to his ear, and at the time, Tatsumi was there, ready to move in as backup. He heard the screeching of the beast, and yelled for Tsuzuki, who didn't answer. As soon as the beast rose back up, Hisoka tried to run away, as its attention was on him, and the source of the noise, but he wasn't quick enough. The demon swung its tail at Hisoka, hitting him in the stomach, and throwing him against the wall, cracking it.

The most disgusting noise erupted from the boy's mouth as he gasped, blood coming out along with his saliva.

"Hisoka!"

Tsuzuki dodged the oncoming attacks of the beast and slid to a stop beside Hisoka, who was struggling to stand. The boy was bleeding from a blow to the head, and one of his hands was firmly grasping his side.

"Hisoka! Hisoka, are you alright?"

"I'm fine… just didn't get away fast enough."

The monster screeched behind them, and the older one threw a glare back at it.

"We need to finish it off quickly! I can tell it's weakened quite a bit! One more blow should do it!"

"Are you up to it?"

"Yeah. Lets nip it in the bud and get the hell out of here!"

"Okay!"

Hisoka stood back up and waited for Tsuzuki to start chanting before leaping into the air above the creature. He focussed his energy, and several fuda spells appeared in his hand. Once he was directly above the creature, he threw them down. They landed on its back and when Hisoka landed on a rafter above, he made several hand signs. The fuda spells began to glow, and the power held the beast still as stone.

Below, Tsuzuki was almost finished with his chanting, and Hisoka sighed in relief. It was almost over… However, quite unexpectedly, the doors to the area where they were burst open, and Tatsumi stepped in with the containment team. Tsuzuki looked back at them, but in that moment, the monster broke free of the spells and shot spikes at all of them.

"Tsuzuki, look out!" Tatsumi yelled, as he formed a shield of darkness around himself and the other men. Tsuzuki looked back and created a shield, also, having lost his concentration. Hisoka knew that he would have to keep the monster still, somehow distracting it so Tsuzuki could continue his summoning, but it started to thrash about, knocking Hisoka off his perch. The younger shinigami landed with a thud onto the creature's back as it continued to thrash. He had a very bad feeling about what would happen next.

"Hisoka!"

"Kurosaki!"

But it was too late. The monster got the upper hand, and jumped high into the air, carrying Hisoka with it. Hisoka gasped and shielded himself as the monster broke through the roof, but he couldn't see nor hear anything after that. Once the debris had stopped falling, Tatsumi picked himself up, and proceeded to help Tsuzuki. However, the other man wasn't going to just stand there, and he ran out the door in search of his partner.

"Hisoka!"

Tsuzuki ran fast in desperation, but he just couldn't find Hisoka. He ran across the bridge, shouting as loud as he could, he didn't notice the half-floating body of his young partner stuck in debris under the bridge, unconscious. But… two young students in school uniforms did…