Stories (3/?)

Rating: T

Pairings: Tsusoka…eventually

Warnings: shouen ai and yaoi, mild swearing, some graphic violence, references to rape and suicide…spoilers for the anime and magna.

Summary: Even if you try and hide from it, love eventually makes itself heard. What's a reluctant empath to do?

Note: Yes, Osco is undertaking another YnM fic! This story is heavily influenced by the song "Stories" by Trapt…listen to it once and see what I mean.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or storylines of Yami no Matsuei…I am but a poor college student trying to entertain herself.

Reviews are greatly appreciated! Please enjoy!

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Stories

Too much of the same, stories in our lives

I think it's time for a change, don't you?

--- "Stories" by Trapt

Chapter Two: An Interesting Person

If there was one thing Hisoka didn't regret about his upbringing, it was that his parents had insisted on private tutors as opposed to public or even private schooling. Again, Kurosaki upbringing demanded nothing short of perfection, even from a 'monster' such as him, and his parents had looked disgusted when he once asked why he didn't attend school like some of his father's friends' children did. He was a Kurosaki, was their reply, followed by a quick slap to the face as he was hauled back to his 'room' for even suggesting such a thought when company was over. The heir of the family could not afford to have anything less than a superior education.

Besides, his mother would always add with a nasty sneer that still made him cringe when he thought about it, it wasn't safe for him to be around other children. He was a scary child who would never make any friends…who would want to be friends with a monster anyway? He had to admit, that while his parents never had his best interest at heart, forbidding him from attending a normal school had probably saved his life…well, up until his death at any rate. He was having a hard enough time as it was trying to keep his shields up as a Shinigami…he didn't want to think about how these emotions would have affected him as a child who had no control over his gift.

Hisoka let out another annoyed sigh as he shouldered his way past two gossiping girls as he headed towards the health office, desperately in need of some aspirin. He knew that he was, technically, only a few years older than he looked, and by proxy, the people surrounding him, but he felt positively ancient as he walked the halls and watched his 'classmates' interact. They all used such high voices, and seemed to enjoy seeing just who could drown out the other's voice as they discussed various topics ranging from boys, girls, teachers, and extracurricular activities. But what was worse was how every single one seemed to be feeling differently from what they were exuding, which of course hit Hisoka like a sledgehammer. In his time as a Shinigami, Hisoka had had some pretty bad cases, ranging from demon possession to psychotic serial killers, but this case was already working its way towards the top of his list.

He and Tsuzuki had arrived at Osama High School a little over a week ago, the elder man posing as the school nurse and Hisoka as an upper class student, and so far, their demon had remained conspicuously absent. Gushoshin younger had given the pair the profiles of the killed students, and while they each had certain qualities in common, some neighborhoods and others sports, none could be seen as a connecting cause of death. They both had interviewed friends and classmates of the victims, being careful to remain only curious rather than suspicious, but had come up with nothing conclusive. It was so frustrating; Hisoka was starting to wonder if they were dealing with a human killer rather than a demonic one.

However, as much as Hisoka wanted to blame his frustrations solely on the dead-ends of their case, the blonde empath knew it stemmed form more than that. Because of his upbringing, he had schooled himself to be cold and uncaring to protect himself…but this defense didn't translate to his fellow students. He came across as arrogant and unfriendly to most of them, and before he could really try to fit into his role, he had been branded by the student body as the 'strange' new boy and spent the majority of his time avoiding the weird looks he kept getting from the students. That alone wasn't enough to upset Hisoka though…what upset him was how Tsuzuki had instantly appealed to everyone, staff included, with barely nay effort. He knew, logically, that it was natural for the purple-eyed Shinigami to attract people, his personality was an infectious one, but it still bothered him for some unknown reason.

Hisoka gave another annoyed sigh as he placed two fingers to his temple, attempting to block out all the 'voices' surrounding him, forcing his thoughts away from a potentially dangerous topic. He was on a case…he couldn't afford to be a liability to his already unstable partner because he got distracted by his own confusing emotions. He muttered an "excuse me" to a passing teacher has he pushed open the door to the infirmary and shut it with an audible sigh, relieved for once that his partner had such strong shields. He normally was upset with how Tsuzuki would block him out from time to time, again for a reason he didn't want to explore, but at the moment, he was blissfully thankful for the quiet reprieve his partner offered him.

"Hisoka? Is that you?" Tsuzuki asked from behind a partition, apparently busy with something. Hisoka rolled his green eyes to the ceiling, asking silently why he put up with such an idiot for a partner. Why on Earth would Tsuzuki practically announce to the world that he knew the new kid on campus? It was suspicious enough as it was that they had both arrived at the school at the same time. It would hinder their investigation if the students began to think that they actually were investigating the deaths…not to mention the messy amount of paperwork they would have to fill out concerning the breach of Shinigami existence among humans.

This was what a part of Hisoka longed to shout at his partner, but when Tsuzuki poked his head from behind a curtain to blink innocently at Hisoka, the blonde empath felt that annoyance drain from him ad he merely shook his head in frustration.

"Who else would it be baka?" Hisoka countered with a frown. He moved from his spot against the door over to an empty bed where Tsuzuki had pulled back a curtain, promptly sitting down while he still rubbed at his temples, closing his vibrant eyes. Just because he wasn't around the thoughts didn't mean his headache had diminished any.

"I am supposed to be a nurse, 'Soka," was Tsuzuki's humored response. The violet-eyed man surveyed the green-eyed boy sitting on the bed, rubbing the side of his head with a pained expression. He hated it when he had to pry how in pain the empath was…Tsuzuki sighed to himself and fished through a medical cabinet for the aspirin. "It wouldn't be unheard of if other people showed up feeling sick or hurt, you know!"

"I guess," was all that Hisoka responded with, opening his eyes when he felt a small bottle pressed into his hand. He gave his partner a grateful look before taking two of the small, blue pills and handing back the container. He took the pills dry, not noticing the concerned frown still marring his companion's handsome face, and gave his head a little shake before directing his direct gaze back to his partner. "Any new leads?"

Tsuzuki sighed inwardly at his stubborn partner, swearing that one of these days he was going to force the boy to talk about what was bothering him, beyond the pains that aspirin could cure, but pasted on a sheepish smile for the time being. They had a job to do after all, and he, like his honey-blonde partner, was also beginning to feel restless at the lack of activity from this demon they were supposed to be looking for. He wasn't particularly keen on getting this case, the memory of his last demon case still fresh in his mind, but getting out of the office seemed to make Hisoka happy so, here he was. He only hoped the demon's or 'whatever it was' inactivity didn't end up killing more people than it had already.

"Nope…even the students who were friends with the victims seem tight-lipped about the whole thing," Tsuzuki mused. "If it is a demon that's causing all this trouble, there's a chance it was summoned here by some of the students…"

"But the victims aren't related closely enough to pinpoint a select group of students," Hisoka said in response. His brow was furrowed as he attempted to piece together what little information they had. It had become a ritual between him and Tsuzuki after they left the school and retired to the run-down hotel Tatsumi had them holed up in. "Unless it was the entire student body, I don't see how that could be what caused whatever we're facing to show up. How many of the victims were students here again?"

"Four," was Tsuzuki's response, a puzzled look also working its way onto the elder Shinigami's face. "There have been six altogether so far…the two victims that weren't students were somehow related to a student here."

"So, we know the school is the root of it, somehow," Hisoka said as he got up from the bed. He paced when he began to over think, Tsuzuki noticed…the aspirin he took would have no affect if he didn't calm him down. "But what is the connection? Do you think there is none, and the demon is just choosing souls randomly?"

"Demons never do anything randomly," Tsuzuki responded darkly. He didn't like talking about demons…reminded him too much of his hidden heritage. "If it's a demon, there's a purpose behind what's going on…the random pattern would be more fitting for a serial killer. Maybe we should have Gushoshin search the background of the faculty and students, just in case."

"Mmm, maybe," was all Hisoka responded with. The blonde empath was still pacing, his eyes narrowed and body strung tight and tense. Tsuzuki refocused his frown on his young partner and his demeanor. He knew the halls and school were wreaking havoc on his empathy, a large building full of hormone driven teenagers was bound to do that, but there was more than that to what had the blonde so stressed and upset. He may have looked calm outwardly, but Tsuzuki had become a master at reading he hidden messages behind Hisoka's expressions, or lack thereof. Nodding to himself, Tsuzuki strode over to the blonde and placed his hands on the startled empath's shoulders, forcing him to stop his pacing and look into his uniquely colored eyes.

"Tsuzuki! What are you--?"

"Hisoka," Tsuzuki began in a gentle, but serious tone, his eyes showing nothing but concern and…a warm affection Hisoka could feel trickle into him via his empathy. "Tell me what's bothering you…I can tell it's more than just the lack of evidence. It doesn't do you any good to keep it bottled up inside…haven't you learned anything by my own mistakes?" The last part was said in a joking tone, but Hisoka could feel the real worry and truth behind the joke.

"I'm fine, Tsuzuki," Hisoka began, only to pause and look down at the intense look of disbelief in his partner's eyes…why was he always able to affect him so? He looked back up with a slightly embarrassed look, a light blush dusting across his cheekbones. "It's…it's just the entire case, Tsuzuki. Nothing really seems to add up and all the emotions flying around are giving me a headache."

"I knew that…what else is bothering you?"

Damn this man for being able to read him like a book. Hisoka scowled and looked down, mumbling so quietly Tsuzuki had to strain to hear the blonde's soft voice. "I don't know why all their stares bother me…they just do. I've never been good at relating to people and this case is making that painfully obvious."

Tsuzuki smiled sadly at his younger partner, wishing he could say what was on his mind, and in his heart, to assure the fragile empath that it didn't matter what others thought about him. He knew he couldn't though…the boy had just as many scars to heal from as he had and he would not scare him with emotions that were probably still unwanted. Instead, he opted for a safe medium, wrapping his arms loosely around his slim partner's frame and opening his shields a bit, letting some of the more familiar emotions filter down into his partner. Affection, protectiveness, warmth, and, though he tried to keep it as tame as possible, love.

Hisoka let out a sigh unconsciously, soaking in what his partner was feeding into his tired frame. It still amazed him that Tsuzuki could feel these things for screw-up like him. He, after all, was a cold, stubborn, sullen, and bratty little boy that seemed to get into more trouble than he was worth, and this man didn't seem to acre about any of that. Hisoka was selfish though…he took this affection knowing full well that he was keeping a horrible secret from his partner. He didn't really deserve what Tsuzuki offered him so selflessly, it was to good for a broken doll like him, but it filled up his cold interior in a way that made him feel…whole seemed like an apt word.

Realizing what he was doing, Hisoka pulled away quickly, a much brighter blush covering his face as he mumbled a shy and quiet thank you to his partner, who was still staring at him with those terribly kind and open eyes…eyes and emotions he didn't really deserve. They both kind of stared at each other for another moment, neither willing to break and ruin the small moment they found themselves in, but eventually Hisoka turned away, muttering something about needing to get to his last class and that he'd see the elder Shinigami later on. He paused for a moment at the door, hand shaking slightly as it closed over the handle, but he forced away the butterfly-like feelings in his stomach and beating of his heart, not glancing back at those kind purple eyes. He wouldn't be able to leave if he looked back.

Tsuzuki let out a frustrated sigh as the boy exited the infirmary, frustrated at his own boldness and how it had done exactly what he had been trying to avoid, frighten his skittish partner. He knew he shouldn't have listened to Watari and his warped logic in how to approach Hisoka. The scientist, while having the best intentions towards the empath and himself, just didn't know enough about the situation to pass advice that would work. Hisoka had been, well, he had been hurt in too many ways that still made Tsuzuki too enraged for words and it had to be approached…delicately.

Letting out a groan as he seated himself at his desk, Tsuzuki let his head fall forward and rest on the table. Delicately…yeah…this coming from the Shinigami who blew up the library at JuOhCho…twice. Tsuzuki was just going to have to wait for Hisoka to act on his feelings…however long it may take the wounded blonde to do. He would wait though…Hisoka was worth it. With that thought, Tsuzuki let a small and slightly sad smile cover his features as he focused his attention back on their case.

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Hisoka's thoughts were anywhere but school or even the case as he seated himself in his history class, eyes glazed and too full of confusing emotions to focus on any of them. He could feel the dull thrum of his classmates' emotions at his skull, but it wasn't nearly as bad as earlier…he guessed that he had too much of his own emotions to deal with to let others in. It was a strange feeling to Hisoka, as he had spent the majority of life and part of his death ignoring his emotions, but he couldn't say it was completely unpleasant. Most of the emotions he had felt, mostly due to natural instinct and not his own choice, varied from differing levels of fear, pain, and anger…sometimes punctuated by frustration, loneliness and hate. What he was feeling now, though terribly confusing and jumbled, was nothing of the sort. What he was feeling gave him these warm feelings that made him almost want to break out into a ridiculous grin….almost being the key word.

The thing that made it really strange was that it wasn't necessarily Tsuzuki's feelings making him feel this way…it was more the act that those feelings were directed towards him. He knew that Tsuzuki and he had a slightly abnormal relationship, being chased relentlessly by psychotic doctors tended to do that to partners, but it was only recently that he had started to really see it. It was only recently that he had started to feel it, and while he knew that it probably should worry him, it didn't, and that was what scared him. He had never allowed himself to feel so strongly for someone, not since his parents' betrayal, and it terrified him of what would happen if he let him feel like that again and Tsuzuki found out just how damaged he really was. It had broken him when his parents had left him…it would kill him if Tsuzuki left.

Hisoka could feel his hands start to shake of their own volition at the thought, and he glared at them, trying to will them to remain calm. He wasn't calm, but he'd be damned if he started letting the whole world know that. He could hear the bell ring, signaling class should start, but his mind was still going a mile a minute, unable to focus on anything it should, save until a feather light touch graced his hand and make him look up in shock at a pair of concerned brown eyes. Upon further inspection, he saw the brown eyes belonged to a girl of his age with medium length hair that was originally black, but was streaked with dark blue and silver. The girl had a heart shaped face that wasn't breath-taking or anything, but was pretty enough to earn her a couple of admirers, and she seemed to be even shorter than most girls in their class, at least from a sitting position. He wondered for a moment why he didn't feel anything from her touch, but was distracted from the thought by her whispered voice.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary or anything?" the girl asked in slightly worried voice. She didn't have the delicate sound to her voice that most of the girls did here, but rather one that was deeper and slightly harsh to the ear, but it seemed to suit her. "You look like shit." Blunt…a nice change from the tip-toeing and falsely sweet attitudes he had been dealing with for the past week.

"I'm fine," Hisoka hissed back, turning his attention away from the girl and her unnerving stare…it didn't seem affected by his cool brush-off.

"I'm sure you think you are, but you've been looking all over the room and breathing heavily for the past five minutes," the girl replied logically. She didn't seem bothered by the fact he didn't seem to be listening to her either. "Not sure about you, but those symptoms don't strike me as something that's 'fine' to be dealing with."

Hisoka didn't answer the girl, opting instead to keep his gaze focused on his teacher in the front of the class, talking about some past era that the blonde could really care less about. He glanced back over after taking a few obligatory notes, and narrowed his eyes at the girl who was still studying him in a clinical sense. "Can I help you with something?"

"No…you just seemed like an interesting person," the girl replied with a wave of her hand. She shrugged her shoulders before returning to her notebook, using her pencil to finish a drawing rather than take notes on the Meiji restoration. Hisoka snuck a quick glance at the drawing, silently appreciating the skill it took to create such a complex looking picture. He thought he saw her smirk but he turned back around and focused on the teacher's words for the rest of the class. He let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang and stood up quickly to pack away his things, exiting the class towards the school grounds outside. He noticed the girl was following him, and he felt a slight uneasiness about it…he didn't take well to being followed.

"Can I help you with something?" Hisoka asked coldly, glaring daggers at the short girl.

"You're the new kid, aren't you?" The girl asked with a curious look on her face. She held her notebook at her side loosely, her other hand pushing her long bangs out of her calculating eyes. "You don't look familiar and everyone keeps saying how surly and rude the new boy is."

Hisoka rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath angrily…he downright hated this mission. He attempted to walk away from the girl, but she seemed just as stubborn as he was, effortlessly avoiding the moving bodies as Hisoka kept bumping into people with half-hearted apologies. "Would you stop following me?!"

"No…what's your name?" the girl asked, not bothered that the glare she was receiving had scared many of Hisoka's fellow Shinigami into leaving him alone.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I do, are you?" Hisoka asked.

"Nope…as I said before, you're interesting. It's not often that I get to meet someone my own age so different from everyone else here."

"Tatsumi Hisoka," the blonde empath said reluctantly. He and Tsuzuki had decided that his own name was far too well known to use in an undercover case, especially since Kurosaki Hisoka had been dead for two years now, so he had adopted Tatsumi-san's surname as his own for the duration of the case. It was an older name, as Tatsumi-san had died close to fifty years ago, and it worked because the girl didn't seem to think anything of it.

"Hisoka…that's a nice name," the girl said with a hint of a smile, the first Hisoka had seen from the girl. She stuck out her hand and waited for Hisoka to grasp it before proclaiming who she was. "I'm Fujima Minako. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Hisoka said with a smirk, inwardly smiling at this girl's tenacity, one that rivaled another person in his life with violet eyes.

"So, are you going to the infirmary or not?" Minako asked as she pulled out a pair of headphones that belonged to a CD player, giving the blonde empath a questioning look before putting the ear pieces in her ears. "I wasn't just saying you looked like shit to talk to you."

Hisoka shook his head as the two crossed the front lawn of the school, coming to an intersection and pausing…somehow he knew that they would be heading opposite directions. "I've just been thinking a lot. It's nothing beside a headache and that I'm tired."

Minako didn't look entirely convinced, but she shrugged her petite shoulders as she gave the blonde a nod and pressed the play button for her player in her bag. "All right. You should get some rest…see you tomorrow?"

"Uh…sure," Hisoka said uncertainly, not quite sure how to act around this girl according to that statement. She laughed at him before giving him a playful smirk and patting his cheek in a jesting manner.

"Geez, you act like you've never had a friend before. I'll see tomorrow. Like I said, you're an interesting person, Hisoka-kun." With that final statement, Minako turned around and crossed the street, surrounded by a sea of people that swallowed her up.

Hisoka stood frozen where he was for another moment or so, letting her words soak into his mind and smiling inwardly at them. Friends? It sounded nice…he'd never had one before, not really. He and Tsuzuki had never really been friends, events happening around them hadn't really let them become anything but the confusing mess that they were now. His mind feeling a lot less burdened, Hisoka disappeared from the eyes of mortals and leapt into the air, floating above the masses with ease and heading back to the hotel he and Tsuzuki were staying in. He normally didn't use his powers as a Shinigami unless the situation called for it, but he felt like it today…besides, it was a long walk from the high school to the hotel.

His thoughts drifted back to their case and he hoped that maybe Tsuzuki had been able to glean something else besides what they already knew in that last hour of the day, or else they'd have to get Gushoshin searching for a human killer as well. He had already narrowed down the field of demons to a selection of ten, but it would be harder to figure out possible human suspects…humans couldn't really be categorized like demons could be. Hisoka only hoped that they found out what was causing all the trouble soon, if anything, to save Tsuzuki the guilt the empath knew the elder man would feel if more and more victims started emerging. No one had died since they had arrived, but Hisoka didn't know how long their luck would hold out.

Hisoka shook his head and cleared his head as he landed on the ground outside his and Tsuzuki's hotel, knowing it would be better if he tackled this case with a clear head rather than one cluttered with stray thoughts. Despite himself though, a small, almost miniscule, smile worked its way onto his face as he climbed the stairs to his room. At least tomorrow, he wouldn't be entirely alone at school, and maybe, he would even be able to get a new insight into what had happened from Minako. With that thought, he pushed open the door to his room, giving the floating chicken waiting for him a brief nod before sitting down to wait for Tsuzuki to show up.

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The human, a boy with dark hair and eyes, shuddered one last time before collapsing in a puddle of blood that had once been in his broken body. The wound at his neck gave one or two final spurts of crimson before steadying to a trickle, draining the already dead boy of what was left of his life force. A dark figure looked dispassionately at the broken body with a small smile, inhaling the sweet smell of blood deeply before licking the excess droplets off his fingers. He didn't hunger for blood as some of his brethren did, but he could appreciate it's tangy sweetness from time to time. He brushed a strand of pure white hair from his dark red eyes and slowly cleaned off a wickedly curved blade with a spotless handkerchief before tucking the blade away on his person.

This human, like the others, was nothing particularly special, but was necessary for his ultimate goal. The process of finding potentials, harvesting heir souls, and killing them was a lengthy procedure, but the end reward was one that well worth the trouble he went through. He turned away from the already cooling body, blowing the dead corpse a kiss as he left and letting out a quiet chuckle as he walked deeper into the under-city of Nagasaki. The first step of his plan was nearly complete, all the souls from the less-than-desired humans had bolstered his strength and he was ready to take on what he truly wanted.

"Just a little bit longer," the demon said to himself, his voice gravelly and spoken in something akin to a snake's hiss. Just a little bit longer and he would have what he came for…just a little bit longer.

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Fixed the mistake of Tatsumi's name…thanks to everyone who pointed it out for me!

Well…again, sorry for the delay, but this time it wasn't nearly so bad! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review to feed my starving muses! How can you say no to them (Two fairies give their best puppy-dog eyes to the readers)?

Oh, as a side note, Minako is not someone anyone should be concerned about being a Mary-Sue. I assure you, I do not create characters so carelessly and she does have a purpose in this story beyond being a friend for Hisoka. It's a case fic…original characters are bound to happen unfortunately.

Anyway, please review and I'll see you all next chapter!

Osco