*****6*****
True happiness. A small spec of time taken from the universe to be perfect, without regrets or consequence. They come only a handful of times in a person's existence, but they endure bit by bit as the years go by, refusing to fade completely once we have known the grace of their touch.
The moon hangs low, showered with the first few rays of sunlight brightening up the horizon with dim color. It is early morning, very early, but despite the comfort of sleeping in, something burns on Hisoka's skin, rousing him awake.
Bright, green eyes flutter groggily, taking in his surroundings as he wills himself more and more from the restraints of sleep. He is snuggled beneath the covers of his bed, tangled in the sheets, but he is not alone. Curled in close, with a brunette-colored head resting on Hisoka's bare chest, Tsuzuki continues dreaming away, warm and peaceful against him.
When was it they fell asleep? At what point did their excursions come to an end, leaving them worn and fading into slumber? He can't remember. It had all been so easy, so fitting and complete, with every detail coming to the surface as if they had always existed.
Although he can't remember when it was exhaustion overtook him, he knows very well what has awakened him now. Something isn't right. On the contrary, something is very, very wrong.
Sitting up as carefully as he can, so as not to wake Tsuzuki, Hisoka hangs his long legs over the side of the bed and throws off the covers, staring down at his strangely tingling body. The sight that greets him is not at all welcome, but it is not that surprising, either. He suspected as much, for he recognizes this feeling all too well, like fire imbedded in his skin.
The markings of Muraki's curse have reappeared again, covering every inch of Hisoka's form, for that white angel of cruel intentions had made certain the spell would touch every last limb. He had woven it, written it, carved it in scorching black magic personally, while ravaging the young boy's body for the perverse pleasure of causing another unimaginable pain.
(No...not again...) Hisoka mourns in denial, hanging his head despairingly at this familiar realization. (...he...he's still...out there...taking hold of me...even now that I've...found something...I thought would overcome him...)
Nightmares have no right to be real, but Hisoka's nightmare is. Muraki violated his mind and body, stole his life, and plagues him still, even in death.
Fleeing from the bed, Hisoka snatches up his discarded boxers and slips them back on, retrieving a long violet robe from the closet to cover the remaining traces of his affliction. He can't stand the thought of Tsuzuki seeing him like this again, not after what they have experienced together.
What if he thinks Hisoka's mind was preoccupied with Muraki the entire time they shared the same bed? Will he turn away, believing this? Will he walk away, regretting the night they shared?
(No! Why does it have to be this way? After everything I've done, everything I have become, that bastard still has possession of me? Why?! Why am I deprived of this one happiness? Why can't I love Tsuzuki and be with him without it all being taken away...)
No amount of distance put between himself and that room could be enough as Hisoka sprints out the door, flying through the hallways, down the stairs, and out into the night that is slowly fading into morning.
In his haste, however, he left the door open behind him, and a gust of air rushes in, striking Tsuzuki as it wafts into the room. Left alone in the bed, this wave of cool air ripples over the slumbering man's skin, without the heat of another's body to keep him warm.
Tsuzuki stirs. How late, how early, is the time ticking now, and why is he so very cold?
His unexpected abandonment is realized almost instantly when he finally awakes, shooting up in bed, and searching about the room for his lost companion. Everything is so quiet and empty, eerily unsettling, and the sight of the door swinging gradually back and forth as it hangs open, makes the truth painfully clear.
"Hisoka..." Tsuzuki whispers into the air, offered with no reply, but infused with the incentive to rise and search out his dear partner, no matter how much Hisoka wants to be left alone.
In hardly any time at all, the drowsy shinigami is dressed in his black pants again, deciding it is all he cares to take the time putting on. Hisoka needs him, and that is what is important now. What else matters when the one you love is calling for help, whether they use words to beckon you or not?
The field outside headquarters is dark and chill this early in the morning, but Tsuzuki braves the cold shadows, trudging through the damp grass and between the heavily laden trees with their excess of cherry blossoms.
He stops, half-way from the building to the edge of the clearing, and cautiously looks from side to side, attempting to pinpoint a noise that has disrupted his intent steps. The wind has carried the sound of someone crying to his sharp ears, and although the voice is lower than it once was, Tsuzuki knows exactly who it belongs to.
A little further and to the right, the slight view of a wheat-colored head rests against one of the larger trees. Hisoka is sitting with his back to the trunk, wrapped tightly in a shimmering robe, and sobbing loudly with his head hung limply back.
Tsuzuki approaches slowly, more alert with the cold wind awakening his senses, and especially after finding what he has been looking for. "Hisoka...what's wrong?" he asks gently, crouching down beside his friend, and causing the younger man to tense and flinch his head sharply to stare back at him. "Why did you leave without saying anything?"
Wiping furiously at his tears and breathing sharply from the force of them falling down his face, Hisoka's features contort angrily, and he curls more tightly into a ball, pulling his legs into his chest. "Go away, Tsuzuki! Why can't you ever...just...leave me alone...?"
"Don't start this again." Tsuzuki pleads, sitting down now, though remaining a good foot away to ease the blonde's discomfort. "Tell me what's bothering you. If you shut me out, how can I help make things better? Hisoka, you never have to face anything alone. Ever. If...if you're ashamed of us...I'll understand. We're partners, and we'll always be friends, even if you regret what happened last night."
These hurt but honest words sting Hisoka's ears at the sound of them, and he spins around, glaring back at Tsuzuki harshly. "Is that what you think this is about?! You think I'm ashamed!?!" he screams, unable to hold his tears at bay as they continue pouring from his eyes. "You don't know anything! I wanted last night to happen, and I don't regret any of it. If you have to know why I left...it's because...I know it'll never happen again..."
Succumbing to his tragic sobs, Hisoka pulls back on his robe, revealing his chest, as well as the crimson text scrawled over it in perfect, precise writing. Tsuzuki doesn't have to ask to know the curse spreads over every limb and space of skin. He knows what Muraki did to Hisoka all those years ago. He knows how much of a hold Muraki has on him still, even if they have seen no sign of the sadistic doctor since the incident in Kyoto.
The question is, does Hisoka truly feel Muraki's hold more than Tsuzuki's? In the end, the choice always comes down to him. He has the power, even as a victim, to choose his own destiny. Now that he is no longer a young boy, he also has something else.
He has back in his possession the very thing Muraki stole from him, and nothing can take that away unless Hisoka allows it to be taken.
"Am I supposed to hate you because of that?" Tsuzuki asks flatly, drained of all emotion in his expression. "Is that what this is all about? Muraki is still alive, still able to surface what he did to you, so you think I'm going to hate you for it? Nothing in this world, or any other, could ever make me hate you, 'Soka. I love you. I told you myself. If you don't regret us being together, what makes you think *I* would, just because of a few marks on your body?"
"I...I guess...I'm afraid..." whimpers out a regretful reply. "Muraki is alive...somewhere...and whenever he comes into my life...he takes everything away from me. I can't stop thinking about him now...fearing when he'll come for me again. When he'll come...for *you*."
Softening in an instant, Tsuzuki smiles tenderly with unmatched beauty, exuding kindness, and sliding up against Hisoka beside the tree, while wrapping an arm around the blonde's shaking shoulders. "If he comes again...I'll protect you. If he comes for me...I promise I won't give into him...not like I did before. We'll deal with him together. Together. Love is never wrong, 'Soka, only what you do with it. And this - us - is right, because we care for each other without asking anything in return. Ai shiteru, Hisoka. Always."
Pulling the beautifully grown boy to his chest, Tsuzuki touches his lips lightly to Hisoka's forehead, holding him close and protectively. They fall into silence then, peaceful in the mere presence of each other.
In the distance, the sun is beginning to rise at the coming of a new day, and the world of the dead springs to life unlike anything our world could ever know.
"Have you ever seen a sunrise in Meifu, Hisoka?"
"Iie, I always miss them."
"Ahh, then you've been missing perfection at its best. You see, sunrises here aren't like the ones on Earth. There are colors you never dreamed of, colors that don't exist outside this world. And the feeling of the sun's morning rays aren't always warm. Sometimes, they can be as cold as ice. It all depends on the person watching it."
"Hmmm...they feel perfectly soothing to me, Tsuzuki. Because I'm watching it with you..."
Hisoka tilts his head up, capturing a small taste of Tsuzuki's lips, and receiving a beaming smile in response. They settle in together, warmed by the touch of the sun as well as each other. Nothing ever comes easy, after all, but when it is time, all the pieces fall into place.
"Being with you, that's all I need, Tsuzuki. All I'll ever need. Without you, everything is wrong, so sharp and cold. I'm nothing without you. Nothing if not by your side. Ai shiteru, Tsuzuki. Ai shiteru..."
-----
"Watari...what are you doing? Come back to bed..."
"Gomen, Tat-chan. Just admiring the view." the rumpled blonde replies, leaning against the window pane casually.
The pair is in Watari's apartment near the end of the building, and the window in his bedroom has a perfect view of the cherry blossom trees outside. Standing beside it, wearing only a thin pair of cotton pants, the observing scientist has been watching the heart-warming scene in the field since Hisoka first dashed outside.
"Seems you were wrong about Kurosaki-kun." he grins, looking over his shoulder at Tatsumi in the bed. The wearied brunette is even more ruffled than Watari, sitting up with the covers barely covering his waist. "I think they'll be all right now, though new horizons are never easy. Maybe I'll have to give little Bon some pointers."
"I doubt he wants anything of the sort. Can't you ever leave other people to their own business?"
"And what if I had left *you* to *your* own business?" Watari shoots back. "Would we be here together now? Or would you be pining over a stack of paperwork?"
Tatsumi narrows his eyes dangerously, but doesn't reply. After all, though Watari can be an incredible pain, it's nearly impossible to win an argument against him. Most shinigami have learned to not even bother. It's a dead-end road; he has an answer for everything.
"I'll give them their privacy, I think." Watari comments lightly, tossing his loose locks of blonde hair over his shoulder as he heads back to the bed. "There are more pressing matters to attend to. I know how much you loath getting off schedule, Tatsumi-san."
Raising a regal eyebrow, Tatsumi tilts his head questioningly as Watari joins him in the bed again. "Don't think this means you're getting a raise."
"Ouch. What do you take me for? I'm already getting my end of the bargain. Better behave yourself if you want to keep getting yours."
"Hentai."
"Right back at you."
*****owari*****
A/N: Wow, I did it again. Another fic behind me. Hope you liked the sap, and the other TatxWat moment. Sometimes, I just can't help myself. Thanks a million to all the reviewers, and PLEASE REVIEW for this final part. All my love and prayers! See ya next fic, minna!
True happiness. A small spec of time taken from the universe to be perfect, without regrets or consequence. They come only a handful of times in a person's existence, but they endure bit by bit as the years go by, refusing to fade completely once we have known the grace of their touch.
The moon hangs low, showered with the first few rays of sunlight brightening up the horizon with dim color. It is early morning, very early, but despite the comfort of sleeping in, something burns on Hisoka's skin, rousing him awake.
Bright, green eyes flutter groggily, taking in his surroundings as he wills himself more and more from the restraints of sleep. He is snuggled beneath the covers of his bed, tangled in the sheets, but he is not alone. Curled in close, with a brunette-colored head resting on Hisoka's bare chest, Tsuzuki continues dreaming away, warm and peaceful against him.
When was it they fell asleep? At what point did their excursions come to an end, leaving them worn and fading into slumber? He can't remember. It had all been so easy, so fitting and complete, with every detail coming to the surface as if they had always existed.
Although he can't remember when it was exhaustion overtook him, he knows very well what has awakened him now. Something isn't right. On the contrary, something is very, very wrong.
Sitting up as carefully as he can, so as not to wake Tsuzuki, Hisoka hangs his long legs over the side of the bed and throws off the covers, staring down at his strangely tingling body. The sight that greets him is not at all welcome, but it is not that surprising, either. He suspected as much, for he recognizes this feeling all too well, like fire imbedded in his skin.
The markings of Muraki's curse have reappeared again, covering every inch of Hisoka's form, for that white angel of cruel intentions had made certain the spell would touch every last limb. He had woven it, written it, carved it in scorching black magic personally, while ravaging the young boy's body for the perverse pleasure of causing another unimaginable pain.
(No...not again...) Hisoka mourns in denial, hanging his head despairingly at this familiar realization. (...he...he's still...out there...taking hold of me...even now that I've...found something...I thought would overcome him...)
Nightmares have no right to be real, but Hisoka's nightmare is. Muraki violated his mind and body, stole his life, and plagues him still, even in death.
Fleeing from the bed, Hisoka snatches up his discarded boxers and slips them back on, retrieving a long violet robe from the closet to cover the remaining traces of his affliction. He can't stand the thought of Tsuzuki seeing him like this again, not after what they have experienced together.
What if he thinks Hisoka's mind was preoccupied with Muraki the entire time they shared the same bed? Will he turn away, believing this? Will he walk away, regretting the night they shared?
(No! Why does it have to be this way? After everything I've done, everything I have become, that bastard still has possession of me? Why?! Why am I deprived of this one happiness? Why can't I love Tsuzuki and be with him without it all being taken away...)
No amount of distance put between himself and that room could be enough as Hisoka sprints out the door, flying through the hallways, down the stairs, and out into the night that is slowly fading into morning.
In his haste, however, he left the door open behind him, and a gust of air rushes in, striking Tsuzuki as it wafts into the room. Left alone in the bed, this wave of cool air ripples over the slumbering man's skin, without the heat of another's body to keep him warm.
Tsuzuki stirs. How late, how early, is the time ticking now, and why is he so very cold?
His unexpected abandonment is realized almost instantly when he finally awakes, shooting up in bed, and searching about the room for his lost companion. Everything is so quiet and empty, eerily unsettling, and the sight of the door swinging gradually back and forth as it hangs open, makes the truth painfully clear.
"Hisoka..." Tsuzuki whispers into the air, offered with no reply, but infused with the incentive to rise and search out his dear partner, no matter how much Hisoka wants to be left alone.
In hardly any time at all, the drowsy shinigami is dressed in his black pants again, deciding it is all he cares to take the time putting on. Hisoka needs him, and that is what is important now. What else matters when the one you love is calling for help, whether they use words to beckon you or not?
The field outside headquarters is dark and chill this early in the morning, but Tsuzuki braves the cold shadows, trudging through the damp grass and between the heavily laden trees with their excess of cherry blossoms.
He stops, half-way from the building to the edge of the clearing, and cautiously looks from side to side, attempting to pinpoint a noise that has disrupted his intent steps. The wind has carried the sound of someone crying to his sharp ears, and although the voice is lower than it once was, Tsuzuki knows exactly who it belongs to.
A little further and to the right, the slight view of a wheat-colored head rests against one of the larger trees. Hisoka is sitting with his back to the trunk, wrapped tightly in a shimmering robe, and sobbing loudly with his head hung limply back.
Tsuzuki approaches slowly, more alert with the cold wind awakening his senses, and especially after finding what he has been looking for. "Hisoka...what's wrong?" he asks gently, crouching down beside his friend, and causing the younger man to tense and flinch his head sharply to stare back at him. "Why did you leave without saying anything?"
Wiping furiously at his tears and breathing sharply from the force of them falling down his face, Hisoka's features contort angrily, and he curls more tightly into a ball, pulling his legs into his chest. "Go away, Tsuzuki! Why can't you ever...just...leave me alone...?"
"Don't start this again." Tsuzuki pleads, sitting down now, though remaining a good foot away to ease the blonde's discomfort. "Tell me what's bothering you. If you shut me out, how can I help make things better? Hisoka, you never have to face anything alone. Ever. If...if you're ashamed of us...I'll understand. We're partners, and we'll always be friends, even if you regret what happened last night."
These hurt but honest words sting Hisoka's ears at the sound of them, and he spins around, glaring back at Tsuzuki harshly. "Is that what you think this is about?! You think I'm ashamed!?!" he screams, unable to hold his tears at bay as they continue pouring from his eyes. "You don't know anything! I wanted last night to happen, and I don't regret any of it. If you have to know why I left...it's because...I know it'll never happen again..."
Succumbing to his tragic sobs, Hisoka pulls back on his robe, revealing his chest, as well as the crimson text scrawled over it in perfect, precise writing. Tsuzuki doesn't have to ask to know the curse spreads over every limb and space of skin. He knows what Muraki did to Hisoka all those years ago. He knows how much of a hold Muraki has on him still, even if they have seen no sign of the sadistic doctor since the incident in Kyoto.
The question is, does Hisoka truly feel Muraki's hold more than Tsuzuki's? In the end, the choice always comes down to him. He has the power, even as a victim, to choose his own destiny. Now that he is no longer a young boy, he also has something else.
He has back in his possession the very thing Muraki stole from him, and nothing can take that away unless Hisoka allows it to be taken.
"Am I supposed to hate you because of that?" Tsuzuki asks flatly, drained of all emotion in his expression. "Is that what this is all about? Muraki is still alive, still able to surface what he did to you, so you think I'm going to hate you for it? Nothing in this world, or any other, could ever make me hate you, 'Soka. I love you. I told you myself. If you don't regret us being together, what makes you think *I* would, just because of a few marks on your body?"
"I...I guess...I'm afraid..." whimpers out a regretful reply. "Muraki is alive...somewhere...and whenever he comes into my life...he takes everything away from me. I can't stop thinking about him now...fearing when he'll come for me again. When he'll come...for *you*."
Softening in an instant, Tsuzuki smiles tenderly with unmatched beauty, exuding kindness, and sliding up against Hisoka beside the tree, while wrapping an arm around the blonde's shaking shoulders. "If he comes again...I'll protect you. If he comes for me...I promise I won't give into him...not like I did before. We'll deal with him together. Together. Love is never wrong, 'Soka, only what you do with it. And this - us - is right, because we care for each other without asking anything in return. Ai shiteru, Hisoka. Always."
Pulling the beautifully grown boy to his chest, Tsuzuki touches his lips lightly to Hisoka's forehead, holding him close and protectively. They fall into silence then, peaceful in the mere presence of each other.
In the distance, the sun is beginning to rise at the coming of a new day, and the world of the dead springs to life unlike anything our world could ever know.
"Have you ever seen a sunrise in Meifu, Hisoka?"
"Iie, I always miss them."
"Ahh, then you've been missing perfection at its best. You see, sunrises here aren't like the ones on Earth. There are colors you never dreamed of, colors that don't exist outside this world. And the feeling of the sun's morning rays aren't always warm. Sometimes, they can be as cold as ice. It all depends on the person watching it."
"Hmmm...they feel perfectly soothing to me, Tsuzuki. Because I'm watching it with you..."
Hisoka tilts his head up, capturing a small taste of Tsuzuki's lips, and receiving a beaming smile in response. They settle in together, warmed by the touch of the sun as well as each other. Nothing ever comes easy, after all, but when it is time, all the pieces fall into place.
"Being with you, that's all I need, Tsuzuki. All I'll ever need. Without you, everything is wrong, so sharp and cold. I'm nothing without you. Nothing if not by your side. Ai shiteru, Tsuzuki. Ai shiteru..."
-----
"Watari...what are you doing? Come back to bed..."
"Gomen, Tat-chan. Just admiring the view." the rumpled blonde replies, leaning against the window pane casually.
The pair is in Watari's apartment near the end of the building, and the window in his bedroom has a perfect view of the cherry blossom trees outside. Standing beside it, wearing only a thin pair of cotton pants, the observing scientist has been watching the heart-warming scene in the field since Hisoka first dashed outside.
"Seems you were wrong about Kurosaki-kun." he grins, looking over his shoulder at Tatsumi in the bed. The wearied brunette is even more ruffled than Watari, sitting up with the covers barely covering his waist. "I think they'll be all right now, though new horizons are never easy. Maybe I'll have to give little Bon some pointers."
"I doubt he wants anything of the sort. Can't you ever leave other people to their own business?"
"And what if I had left *you* to *your* own business?" Watari shoots back. "Would we be here together now? Or would you be pining over a stack of paperwork?"
Tatsumi narrows his eyes dangerously, but doesn't reply. After all, though Watari can be an incredible pain, it's nearly impossible to win an argument against him. Most shinigami have learned to not even bother. It's a dead-end road; he has an answer for everything.
"I'll give them their privacy, I think." Watari comments lightly, tossing his loose locks of blonde hair over his shoulder as he heads back to the bed. "There are more pressing matters to attend to. I know how much you loath getting off schedule, Tatsumi-san."
Raising a regal eyebrow, Tatsumi tilts his head questioningly as Watari joins him in the bed again. "Don't think this means you're getting a raise."
"Ouch. What do you take me for? I'm already getting my end of the bargain. Better behave yourself if you want to keep getting yours."
"Hentai."
"Right back at you."
*****owari*****
A/N: Wow, I did it again. Another fic behind me. Hope you liked the sap, and the other TatxWat moment. Sometimes, I just can't help myself. Thanks a million to all the reviewers, and PLEASE REVIEW for this final part. All my love and prayers! See ya next fic, minna!