Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Evanescent Days: Everybody's Fool ❯ Everybody's Fool 1:02 ( Chapter 2 )

Evanescent Days: Track 01

Everybody's Fool v.2.0

Yami No Matsuei Alterverse

by Daemonchan

::warning:: SPOILERS!! AU - 3 years following Kyoto. Kurosaki family information stolen from Gensoukai and Kamakura Hen. All that stuff with Kurikara never happened. Manga and anime based. Translations from theria.net.

::author's note:: I know nothing about what Mother is, or what Matsushita-sensei intends for it, but I have to at least mention it. That would make it a spoiler. Duh. I'm also playing with my own ideas of how they move from world to world. I think it's a matter of concentration, not location, and power. They have to know where they are going, which is why it's harder to transport in strange places...Oh, and I'm REALLY making this up as I go along...

::disclaimer:: nothing in this fic but the storyline is mine. Lyrics borrowed from Evanescence and characters from Matsushita-sensei.

::lyrics::

-Yatonokami-

Impressions and telepathic thought

*~*~*~*

::just what we all need
more lies about a world
that never was
and never will be::

Tatsumi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Things were getting stranger in Kamakura: hauntings, zombies, curses...The Kurosaki were truly an unfortunate family. If Tatsumi hadn't disliked Nagare the moment he laid eyes on him, he might have felt pity for the man.

His view of Tsuzuki's young partner was changing with each day spent within his ancestral home. Hisoka had escaped the most horrible pain of his life, even if he had entered one of another kind.

The map of the family line lay on the table in front of him, covered with Watari's books to keep it flat. Strange titles in a mix of katakana and English had kept Tatsumi's attention for the moment it took him to realize that his current partner was perhaps not quite right in the head. A Study of Computer Motivations: Why Me? was the tamest seeming of the group.

He turned back to the map with a sigh. Neatly scrawled kanji met his tired gaze, a meticulous tree climbing from generation to generation and four long scrolls of paper. Male heirs with girl's names, single character lineage from the children of Ren to Nagare's Hisoka. There were far too many only children for his comfort.

The heir is always male. Surely there must have been first born girls...

It was tempting just to accept the eccentricities of such an insular family, almost a society unto itself, disregarding the societal assumptions of names. Many families held certain names with high regard; the tree showed the character for Ren several times over the centuries. Hisoka appeared a few times as well...but usually as the second child, casually marked female.

Another painful kink in the investigation stemmed from the lack of records of the female members of the family. The title was handed from father to son, and daughters were left by the wayside, no note of marriage or death. Kurosaki women simply disappeared into history.

Nagare's name appeared on the fourth part of the scroll, next to his brother, Iwao. The name connected by a marriage line was painstakingly inked out in death, Rui-sama's next to it. One character followed: Hisoka.

Nagare respectfully talked around Tatsumi's questions, eager to accept his and Watari's help when it came to dealing with Rui and her demonic pregnancy. Or to bear the wrath of the horrible specter that had crawled from her grave mistakenly seeking vengeance on Tatsumi. The man hoped that the two would either give up or be killed like their predecessor, Hazama-sensei.

The entire deal was becoming too strange. Nagare suspected that the two who had mysteriously shown up at his door "just in time" were not what they seemed. His eyes may be bound, but the secretary was sure he could see more than most mortal beings. It was more than a possession...

Enma Daioh had made this case priority. Tatsumi suspected that it had something to do with Hisoka's arrival in the Meifu as a murdered soul, though nothing had been done up to this point. The boy didn't really have any attachments to the human world beyond a want to find his murderer, but still chose the strange position as shinigami. Apparently what little control had remained on the situation was rapidly dissolving.

Tatsumi jumped in surprise as a mug of coffee was thumped at his elbow, narrowly missing spattering the rice paper map with a shower of black drops. He gave a stern but ineffective glance at Watari, who shrugged in apology. The blonde immediately began to play with the buttons of his lab coat, a sure sign that he was about to reveal something that Tatsumi probably didn't want to hear.

"Enma-sama has requested our presence in the Meifu."

Decades of training kept his face straight and the sudden surge of guilty panic out of his voice. "Is this about Mother?"

Watari shook his head. "The messenger didn't say."

Mother, the super computer that Watari had vague memories of helping to design, was the heart of the JuOhCho. Tatsumi had only a tiny inkling of her true purpose beyond the storage of information. Their failed hacking attempt had roused a rather unhealthy curiosity in both himself and his partner, the former about her existence and the latter about his own past involvement as one of the five Generals.

Kurosaki-kun's life isn't the only one needing to be unraveled.

Enma would surely know of the failed attempt to raid the database. Tatsumi knew he would have to own up to the act eventually, but...why now?

Though he would never dream of disobeying an order from his god, Tatsumi was hesitant to leave. Nagare was already suspicious; if he found his doctors missing in the middle of the night, he would most likely have them removed and the case would become that much harder.

Watari seemed to read his mind. "No problem, Secretary-chan! I'll hold the fort while you meet with Enma-Daioh."

Tatsumi grimaced as he rose. Why Enma persisted in pairing him with the most genki partners..."Secretary-chan?"

With a knowing wink, Watari ushered Tatsumi away from his chair and sat with mock studiousness. "I'll stare at these kanji some more in case they feel like talking. Go on! I've got you covered."

Tatsumi closed his eyes with a sigh, and was gone a moment later.

Watari chuckled breifly, before turning back to the family tree. He had a moment to miss the comforting presence of 003 before he heard a knock at the door.

"Miya-san?" he said in shock as he slid the shoji back, coming face to face with the distressed maid. Her head was bowed politely, but her breath hitched with sobs. She carried a hand lamp, casting black shadows that made her look more than miserable.

"Please, Watari-sensei...it's Rui-sama..."

Watari smiled gently, nodding in reassurance. "Of course, Miya-san. Just let me gather my things." He turned and collected the large black satchel the he had prepared for the frequent middle of the night emergencies. With a sweeping gesture, he urged Miya ahead of him.

The halls of the cursed home seemed even more menacing in the pale yellow of the lamp than it did in the day. There was no sound beyond their shuffled footsteps. Though, Watari reflected as he looked about him, it's probably fortunate that this family did't invest in the nightingale floors...Odd artifacts were cast in shadow and then left in the darkness as the two hurried to Rui's chambers.

The doctor was beyond being shocked by anything he saw concerning the Kurosaki matron. Her room was in shambles, everything torn from the bed, and parts of the wood work marred with what appeared to be nail marks. The odd spatter of blood painted the bare floors and walls, the tatami mats having been removed long before. Apparently, Rui had been found one morning by Hazama-sensei trying to eat the reed carpet.

Rui stood in silence at the window, completely nude. Her belly was grossly swollen, larger than it had any right to be. Watari approached carefully, hands raised in a gesture of peace. Her moods were swift, and her madness was quick to surface if provoked.

"Rui-sama," Watari began, only steps away. He kept his voice low and chose his words carefully, speaking to her as if to a child. "Why don't we return to bed? It's a cold night and we wouldn't want to get sick."

It seemed as if this was one of the nights when her meager sanity was clinging to the fore as she turned towards Watari with a miserable smile. "You're right of course, Sensei. I was just waiting for my sister." She sighed deeply, arms wrapping about her abdomen. "She'd be so happy to hear about my son..."

The shinigami made sure his smile never faltered. Rui's hallucinations often involved her long dead twin, whose spirit still haunted the lake just beyond the house. Tatsumi himself had been attacked, mistaken for Nagare because of his clothing. There hadn't been any sign of the yuurei since then, but Watari knew it was only a matter of time.

"Ah, Rui-sama. I'm sure she will be here in time. Please come to bed." He touched her arm gently, worried at the cold, pallid skin. The wasted woman obeyed, returning to her bed in an awkward waddle. Miya had already collected the blankets and reassemble the bed as best she could. The exhausted Rui climbed onto the mattress and allowed herself to be tucked in. Watari turned to leave but was stopped by a skeletal hand on his wrist.

"Sensei, please...when she comes," her voice rasped, her fevered eyes fighting to remain open. "Tell her I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her voice broke with sobs, and Watari bit back any response. It was not his place to offer the woman forgiveness.

The last empty whisper seemed to hold in the darkness left in the wake of Watari and Miya's retreat. "I'm sorry, Kasane...Hisoka..."

*~*~*~*

There were very few in Meifu who could teleport themselves directly to Enma Daioh's personal chambers, since you could only transport by imagining the place you wanted to be. Tatsumi had fixed the image of two great doors in his mind. A breath later and he was there, at the gates to Enma Daioh's personal chambers.

The doors were the only features in what appeared to be a wall of nothing but darkness, opening ponderously as the shadow master approached. Twin giants of molten gold, they writhed with life, figures surging to the surface and submerging again in an eternal dance. The doors themselves seemed alive and Tatsumi could swear that he could see faces grinning as he passed between them into the dark to meet his god.

"Tatsumi-san."

The god's voice was a gentle wind across Tatsumi's senses. His well hidden worries seemed unimportant in the presence of a great and loving god.

"Enma-sama."

Enma chuckled at Tatsumi's never ending formality. Though he had changed from the stiff young man who had attached himself to the whirlwind known as Tsuzuki, Enma could see that he had fitted himself into another role that was becoming dangerously close to drowning Tatsumi's spark of life.

"My friend, how goes your investigation?"

"Slowly, Enma-sama," Tatsumi replied, letting his annoyance into his voice. "Kurosaki Nagare is...suspicious. I believe that it has become more than just an ordinary possession."

Enma sighed deeply. "I suspected as much when Kurosaki-kun came to us. He is so much like Tsuzuki-san..."

Tatsumi knew there was more to the statement than just the fact that both shinigami suffered from dark pasts. He had always suspected Tsuzuki wasn't quite human...

Enma's voice broke into his thoughts. "Tsuzuki-san and Kurosaki-kun will be returning from the Gensoukai. Hisoka has failed to bond with a shikigami." He continued before Tatsumi could comment. "He and Tsuzuki are to be assigned to Kamakura. The Kurosaki case is all important and I need my strongest shinigami on it."

The secretary floundered for a response. To deliberately send someone back into their previous life..."But, Hisoka..."Tatsumi began before stopping himself. He had never questioned the word of Enma before, yet he found himself searching for arguments to keep Hisoka blissfully ignorant behind a desk in the Meifu. He realized that he would give anything to keep Hisoka from ever seeing his family again.

He could feel Enma's patient smile."I'm afraid that I must make an exception in Kurosaki-kun's case. It is time, Tatsumi. The boy has many paths before him, and most lead him home. It is unclear where they made lead after, but I do know that he must return. That's an order."

"Wakarimashita, Enma-daioh." With a bow, Tatsumi simply willed himself from his god's audience.

"This will be interesting to say the least, Enma-sama," came a disembodied voice. Enma sighed at Hakushaku's comment.

"Please watch their candles, Hakushaku-san...protect the flame of their life..."

*~*~*~*

Tatsumi appeared his office, sighing at the papers that had piled up in his absence. It was going to get much higher before it was done.

He opened his door, smiling inwardly at Terazuma's shocked face. He enjoyed the small thrill of keeping his employees on their toes. "Wakaba-san? Do you have word from Tsuzuki or Hisoka?"

The blonde smiled, slightly surprised, and nodded. "Hai, Tatsumi-san. We got word from them this morning that they are ready to return."

"Good," Tatsumi interrupted. "Please let me know when you are opening the door."

He didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he shut the door and turned to his desk. He began attacking the pile of paper, organizing his thoughts under the familiar routine of completing forms.

He thought briefly of Watari, still doubtful that the doctor could handle being there without him, though he was sure Enma was keeping a close eye on his partner. Tatsumi also realized that he was more disturbed by what Enma didn't say rather than what he did.

He said nothing of the hacking attempt on Mother. He also hadn't said why it was so important to break a cardinal rule of the shinigami and send Hisoka back to his family.

With a sigh, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and prayed that things couldn't get any stranger than they already were...

*~*~*~*

Failure...absolute...why am I so weak?

It was almost like when the memories of Muraki had come flooding back into my head, my murderer gleefully ellicting every emotion, every image from behind his wall and facing me with the incomprehensible truth. The truth I had forgotten yet sought for...only to be confronted by the one thing I didn't want to admit.

I failed.

I failed to protect myself, I failed to kill the good doctor time and again...I failed Tsuzuki even as I dragged him back from the edge of eternity.

I don't want to rely on you to protect me. I hate being so weak...

And now I'd made the ultimate failure as a Shinigami. Weeks in the Gensoukai and nothing but the suspicion of Sohryuu to show for it. Not one shikigami would stoop to my pitiful level.

"Hisoka? Daijoubu ka?"

No. I'm not all right. You always get hurt trying to protect me. I just had an entire world of spirit gods confirm what I'd suspected all along, from the moment my parents locked me away from the world to the instant I selfishly begged him to stay despite his pain.

I'm a failure.

"I'm fine, baka." That always shuts him up for a while. Any other time I would hope for his insistent probing into my private thoughts but I'm afraid I'd strangle him right now. And I think he knows it.

The air in Tenkuu was tense, a wire waiting to break. Sohryuu was glaring down from his throne, Tsuzuki making his goodbyes to the shikigami he considered family. I stood back, unsure of my place in this world of gods.

Byakko, at least, seemed sad to see me go. He bounded down the stairs and nearly tackled me to the floor. Though I would never admit it, I kind of liked when a shiki touched me. Their emotions were...different to feel and experience. More controlled and soft, unlike the harsh intrusion of human thought.

A couple of rapidly healing ribs were my parting gift from the genki tiger god. Suzaku punched me on the shoulder as she ascended the stairs, in what Tsuzuki hastened assured me was a big sister kind of way. I had to pick myself and my pride off the floor though. For a pitiful moment, I wallow in the theory that they only like me because Tsuzuki makes them like me. It fits my whole failure mood.

Sohryuu was more than happy to see us off. The water dragon waved madly, radiating smugness that the shinigami whose presence was literally ripping his world to pieces was now going home. Empty handed.

Stupid dragon god... I try to pretend that it's annoyance and not jealousy eating away at my heart right now.

I can feel a migraine coming on. We finally make it to the bottom of the stairs after Tsuzuki hugs everything he can get his hands on, gigantic tears glistening in his eyes. With a final embrace with Touda (the snake didn't know quite what to think of that) the door to the Meifu opened.

Wakaba still had her sugary smile plastered on her face, with a hard eyed Terazuma at her back. My meager skill at projecting emotions must be working overtime because even he doesn't have some smartassed remark for either me or my partner.

Hmmm...Terazuma does have a brain when it counts. I can feel the eekings of relief around him, but I can't tell if it's because I failed. Maybe he was scared I'd end up like him...That's it. I'm too tired to wonder if Terazuma has a heart or not.

"I'm going home."

The announcement is met with the usual wave of guilty misery from Tsuzuki and a blessed indifference from Terazuma. Wakaba was just radiating simple happiness (though I can feel the tinges of pity coloring that sunny emotion) and Tatsumi was his usual blank wall.

Matte...Tatsumi?

I hadn't expected the secretary to be here. Another witness to my failure. Tatsumi didn't have a shiki either, but he did have his shadow powers in return, putting him on par with Tsuzuki.

Unlike me...I don't want to have to depend on you...

"Home, Hisoka-kun? Yes, in a manner of speaking." Something in the shadow master's voice kept Tsuzuki from jumping onto his former partner's lap in happiness. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was...distracted. A sudden chill crept up my spine as those hard eyes met mine.

"You have a new assignment. You and Tsuzuki are to assist Watari and myself on our current case. Under Enma-daioh's orders."

Well, that's not unusual. Maybe a little welcome. A case would do wonders for taking my mind off that fact that I was a complete failure. However, I could feel something else, the smallest sense of emotion from the normally controlled secretary.

Fear. For me...

"Tatsumi-san..."

He rose sharply, extending a manila folder. He all but ignored Tsuzuki. This was important. This was for me.

The chill moved from my spine to my arms as I reached for the folder. I could see the neat kanji denoting the souls involved and the area.

Kurosaki Nagare. Kamakura.

Otou-sama. Home.

Monster...bastard child...please...okaa-sama...don't leave me in the dark...

I think I may have screamed in denial as my childhood assaulted my mind. Enma's orders...he's sending me home...

I could feel myself falling, knowing that Tsuzuki was rushing to catch me. His concern and worry crushed my shields and sent me spinning into the darkness I had learned to hate as a child.

"Home..." was my last whisper before I let myself go into the void.