Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Ascend from the Darkness ❯ Chapter 1

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Ascend from the Darkness (Yeah…I know…real original)
Author: Lady Nagisa
Series: Yami no Matsuei
Rating: Know what…I have no clue…we'll say R right now to be safe…I'll change it if I need to later. Knowing me…it'll end up NC-17 ( --Cloudy says it has to be NC-17)
Category: Angst, Yaoi, Sap, AU (from the Manga timeline), OOC, OC
Pairing: Tsuzuki x Hisoka, Tsuzuki + OC
Archive: Er…Star's Gaze, FF.net….anyone actually wants this thing, email me and ask.
Spoilers: Hai! Hai! This fic will contain scenes from at least the final arc of the anime series and references to other happenings throughout the series.
Author's Notes: Uh…*sweatdrops*…Obviously I have a long way to go before I can read my manga. There are some beginning scanslations out there, so hopefully eventually I will be able to write one of these based on that ^_^ For right now I can only go from the anime. Please forgive any toes I may tread upon by writing from there. This is supposed to take place awhile after the final episodes of the anime, The Kyoto Arc … after Tsuzuki and Hisoka have recovered from their injuries.
Disclaimer: Yami no Matsuei is property of Matsushita Yoko, I am only playing with the characters a bit. This is for entertainment only…no money is being exchanged. Don't sue…you won't get much from my pitiful paychecks.

Also...just to avoid possible confusion...when I give someone's full name I am using the traditional Japanese method of the family name first

//blah…blah…blah…// = Flashbacks
"blah…blah…blah" = Thoughts
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Ascend from the Darkness

Part One

// "Tsuzuki, let's go," Hisoka held out his hand, oblivious of the searing flames that threatened to consume them both.

Tsuzuki looked away, the anguish in his violet eyes almost unbearable, and shook his head.

"Tsuzuki…"

"That's enough, Hisoka," His eyes filled with tears. "I've already lived more than my share. I'm…" His voice broke as his tears streamed down his pale cheeks. "…so…tired. I can't exist anymore. So, goodb-"

Hisoka gasped and flung himself at his partner, wrapping his arms around the taller man, his body trembling violently.

"Hisoka…" Tsuzuki's voice was soft and filled with confusion.

"Then stay for me! I don't want to be alone anymore!" The blonde Shinigami cried burying his face against Tsuzuki's shoulder. "Where I belong…is by your side! I…" He tightened his arms around Tsuzuki, his voice cracking in his grief and desperation. "…I need you!!!"

Tsuzuki raised his hands to hold the boy close, aware only of Hisoka's violent sobs. "Can…I stay with you?" He whispered, his voice barely heard above the roar of Touda's flames.

Wordlessly, Hisoka nodded his head. //

"Tsuzuki!!!" A coarse voice echoed through the halls of the Shokan Division, followed closely by the Chief of the division stalking through the hallways. "Where the hell has that idiot gone this time??" He snarled as he rounded the corner where Hisoka was sitting at a small desk.

Hisoka looked up and shook his head. "He's probably back on earth trying to get his hands on more sweets," The boy snorted.

The chief muttered something under his breath and tossed a folder at Hisoka. "Fine, I'll give this case to you. YOU find him…he is YOUR partner!"

The light haired Shinigami sighed and sat back in his seat. He'd hoped that the recent events in Kyoto would have settled the dark-haired man down…but he should have known better. And he was still stuck working with him.

As the older man talked, Hisoka opened the folder in front of him and started to read.
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"A re you sure you are all out?" A tall, violet eyed man leaned over the counter and blinked desperately at the girl working there.

"Yes. You bought everything," She replied with a wide-eyed look.

"I couldn't have. I brought…" He opened his wallet and looked in it. "Um…maybe I did…" He flustered. The Chief was going to hang him for this.

"You know, if you spent more time at the Division, where you belong, you'd get in less trouble." A dry voice spoke from behind him.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki spun around to face his green eyed partner, hiding his empty wallet in his coat at the same time.

"You're hopeless…you know that?" Hisoka shoved his hands in his pockets. "If you stayed where you were supposed to, you'd know when we have work to do, instead of me having to come track you down." With that said the boy turned and stalked out of the little pastry shop.

"Hisoka! Wait a minute!" He threw a bright smile over his shoulder at the stunned girl and ran out of the shop after his partner.
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"W e have a case?" The tall brunette asked after he caught up with Hisoka.

"If you were where you belonged, you'd know that by now," The boy snorted as he leaned against the railing overlooking the river.

When Tsuzuki didn't reply the younger Shinigami glanced over at his partner and sighed. "I guess you will never change," He turned around and rested his back against the rail, his hands in his pockets. "Several young women have recently died but their souls have never arrived, the Chief wants us to see what we can find out about it."

"Any idea what happened?" Tsuzuki turned around and studied his partner. "I take it their names were recorded, so was their any information on the way they died?"

The blonde reached into his jacket and pulled out a file, handing it to Tsuzuki. "From the looks of the bodies, they seemed to have been killed in some sort of ritual." He reached over and pointed at one of the pictures. "See this?"

"It looks like a rune," Tsuzuki squinted and peered at the picture.

"Every one of them was found with those symbols carved onto their bodies,"

Tsuzuki looked through a couple more of the pictures before closing the folder. "Were there any other marks? How did they die?"

"The only other marks on them were rope burns around their necks," Hisoka opened the folder and showed Tsuzuki a report.

"Strangulation?"

"So it seems," The blonde slipped the folder back under his jacket. "It seems to be some sort of curse, but what or why, we don't know."

A curse, Tsuzuki studied the young Shinigami, trying to discern his feelings. Something of this nature had the potential to affect the boy even more than most cases. It was a little close to personal where Kurosaki Hisoka was concerned.

Hisoka glared at the brunette, his green eyes sparking, "What?"

"N-nothing," Tsuzuki started and looked away quickly. He learned a long time ago that his partner didn't like the idea of anyone being concerned about him. The kid was too independent for his own good sometimes.

Hisoka glared at him for a moment longer before shrugging and walking away, "The Chief wants us to stay here while we're working on the case, unless we need something back at Shokan. We need to find a room and," He turned back around and shot Tsuzuki a vicious look. "I've got the money for our expenses. Tatsumi gave it to me before I came down."

The dark haired Shinigami wilted visibly as he watched the boy walk away. With his partner in control of the expenses, his visits to the little pastry shop he'd found would be limited…very limited. With a sigh, he tucked his long coat around himself and quietly followed the boy.
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"So where do we start?"

Tsuzuki looked up from the various papers and photos that he had spread around on the bed before him. "Dinner?" He asked hopefully.

Hisoka muttered something under his breath and then got up from his chair and grabbed his jacket. "For once, maybe you are right," He admitted as he shrugged the coat on. "I'll go pick something up, you stay and figure out what you think we should do first."

The brunette nodded as the boy walked out of the room and then turned back to the photos. Picking one up, he frowned and studied it. There didn't seem to be any real connection between the appearances or nationality of the young women. They all came from different backgrounds and social levels. No clues there. The only real thing he could determine from the reports on them was that they were all close in age, late teens and early twenties, and all very pretty.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall, there wasn't much to work on.

"Tsuzuki?"

The dark haired Shinigami jumped and looked up into Hisoka's bright eyes. Sitting forward he winced, as his back protested his sudden movement, and looked around. "I must have drifted off," He muttered.

"I wasn't even gone that long," The blonde youth snapped. "Did you manage to figure anything out before you feel asleep?" He asked as he set a bag on the small table in the corner.

"Yeah, that no one knows much of anything." Tsuzuki swung his long legs off the bed and walked over to sit down. Peering into the bag his violet eyes lit up. "Hisoka! You bought dorayaki!!" He exclaimed as he looked back up at the boy, his face taking on a puppyish look. [1]

Hisoka colored slightly and looked away. "Well, I know how much you like sweets and there was enough money in today's budget," He mumbled. When he looked back he covered his face with his hand as he grumbled silently.

Tsuzuki had already managed to unpack the bag and was merrily tearing into his share of the sweets…before eating the rest of his dinner. Smiling happily the brunette looked up at the boy and an innocent looked crossed his face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"You really are hopeless," Hisoka sighed as he sat down and reached for his own food. "So, did you at least decide where we should start looking?"

"Two places we can look, one is where the deaths occurred and the second would be the records that the police have. Maybe there's something that we didn't notice." Tsuzuki sat back. "I think we should have Watari look into those runes. I'm sure he could decipher them there might be a clue there. There has to be some reason that someone would kill them in such a way that their souls can't move on."

Hisoka shook his head; as much of an idiot as Tsuzuki seemed sometimes, he really did have an amazing ability for sorting things out.

"We should get some rest, it's probably going to be a long day tomorrow," The older man continued.

"Fine," The blonde stood, throwing his empty tray into the trash. "I'm going to take a shower first though."

"Do you want your dorayaki?" Tsuzuki called after him.

Idiot. "No, you take them," The boy replied as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Tsuzuki made quick work of the remaining food and then cleared off the table. Walking over to the bed, he picked up the papers and photos and put them back in the file folder, setting the folder on the stand beside the bed.

Once he had settled in his bed he turned the light out, leaving the single lamp by his partner's bed burning, and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before his ears picked up the sound of running water in the other room and his imagination took care of the rest. He found himself thinking about the young blonde that he now worked with.

With his eyes closed he could almost envision the Shinigami standing in the shower, the hot spray bouncing off his pale skin and running down his slender limbs. He could imagine the look of pure pleasure on Hisoka's face as he lifted it into the steaming water, his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through his short hair.

He found himself wondering what it would be like to slip silently into the tiny room and…

With a loud groan, Tsuzuki rolled over and grabbed his pillow, shoving it down over his head to block out the sounds of the water.

Yeah…he'd slip into the shower and Hisoka would tear his head off…that's what would really happen. The boy was about as approachable as a prickly pear…

It was going to be a long case if they had to share the same room the entire time.
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TBC ……

[1] Dorayaki are pancakes with sweet azuki bean filling.