14-July-2004
Title: Degrees of Separation
Chapter: 9
Authors: bonnejeanne and Laekin
Series: Chaotic Alliance
Fandom: Yami no Matsuei
Archived at: Currently at Love and Gundams and will also be at Katcom: http://katcom.squidkitty.org/
Pairings: Muraki x Watari, Tatsumi x Watari, Muraki x Oriya
Genre: Drama, Dark Angst, Psychological mindgames.
Rating for this Chapter: PG-13
CMA: Not intended for under-age readers.
Spoilers: None in this section.
Disclaimer: These characters are not ours. We seek no money from this endeavor, just having a bit of fun in the sandbox.
Feedback: positive feedback welcome
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com and/or seregill@aol.com.
Warnings and Author's Notes by Laekin:
Greetings! Well bonnejeanne and I ride again!!!! This time in the Yami no Matsuei universe. The following fic was collaborated on between us with Bonnejeanne handling Muraki, Tatsumi and a special guest star to be revealed later. I am responsible for Watari and Oriya.
Like "The Doll" this is a very dark fiction. It is psychologically complex, it deals with difficult situations as well as complex issues and it will not be to everybody's tastes. We ask, respectfully, that if you do not feel you can see Muraki as a three-dimensional character who is tragic in his own way, you pass over this fic. No need to explain why, we understand! Some may find the content, the emotions and the implications disturbing. If you are one of those who can be disturbed by such things, you've been warned. Any after effects are not our responsibility.
Bonne's Note: Muraki Friendly Fic, so skip if that's not your thing, no hard feelings.
Degrees of Separation: Part Nine
Watari had almost been afraid to go to sleep. Afraid that he'd wake up back at his lab having just experienced one of the most vivid dreams of his existence. But eventually exhaustion combined with the warmth of Tatsumi all along his back, the Kagetsukai's strong arm curled around his chest, and the sated feeling in his muscles had coaxed the reluctant scientist into Morpheus's grasp.
Once down, he'd gone down hard, his subconscious supporting his body's need for rest with messages of warmth, comfort and safety and so Watari hadn't so much as twitched in Tatsumi's arms through the night. And luckily for the lightly sleeping shadow-master, the younger shinigami hadn't even snored.
Morning in the room was distinguishable as the time when the shadows around them faded to nothing, allowing the rather dim natural light from lamps in the other part of the apartment to enter the bedroom.
Tatsumi woke, his internal alarm telling him it was time to get up and go to the office. He looked at the warm person in his arms, and lay quietly instead for a little while, thinking.
If given the chance, Watari was known to snooze until all hours, being more of a night owl type. He gave Tatsumi at least a good forty-five minutes of quiet contemplation time before the blond's subconscious released its hold on all the demons plaguing him and he began to move slowly and a little restlessly in Tatsumi's arms, muttering under his breath as consciousness came closer and closer.
Tatsumi ran a hand soothingly over Watari's hair, smoothing it back. He wanted to stay here, watching the other man sleep. But the drive of duty wasn't going to allow it for much longer.
Watari quieted under Tatsumi's touch and seemed to go back to sleep for another quarter of an hour, but then the chest under the shadow-master's arms rose in a deep breath, a signal of waking, as the scientist came back to consciousness.
The first sensations Watari experienced were delicious ones: Tatsumi's arm around him, the Secretary's long, powerful body spooned behind him, and his partner's fingers moving across his hair. Sensations Watari was keen to just lay and enjoy for as long as possible, wishing he could some how stop time, just freeze it right then, right there, and not let anything come along a spoil the perfection.
But with another deep breath, the scientist acknowledged that the pull of duty was not going to allow either of them to stay still for much longer. Shifting on the pillow a little so he could peek over his shoulder at Tatsumi, Watari smiled. It was a young, boyish expression, momentarily devoid of the tension of the past few months.
"Hi." He spoke softly, still afraid to throw loud words into the peaceful serenity of the morning.
"Good morning," Tatsumi's deep voice answered, as he moved his hand down to drape loosely around Watari's waist. "You may find this amusing. It appears I am going to be late to the office for the first time in...." He frowned. "..hmmm.... I think, ever."
Chuckling softly, Watari stretched a little and settled a bit more comfortably back against Tatsumi.
"I would be more than happy to explain to Konoe what kept you, if you want?"
Dropping his hand down so he could trace his fingertips along Tatsumi's forearm, Watari allowed an impish little smile to dance on his features. A smile that reached up into his eyes, making them twinkle a deep, warm, amber brown. Of course he would do no such thing, the truth was Tatsumi could be over an hour late to the office and still beat the next *early bird* in.
He was answer by a soft snort. "Thank you, no." Tension was stealing into Tatsumi's body and part of him was already getting up, getting dressed and listing the things he had to do, while his body lingered in the warm spot.
Another chuckle followed Tatsumi's snort and Watari rubbed the shadow-master's arm in a soothing manner, then shifted to roll over onto his back so he could look up at his partner.
"I know... we should be getting up. There is... a lot to do...but I ... I'm curious." He was still speaking softly, his voice a little rough and a bit muzzy with sleepiness, but his eyes were clear and intent as they studied Tatsumi's face.
"Why... what changed your mind, Seiichirou? Ah... and don't get me wrong, I ah..." here Watari actually might have even blushed a little before finishing, "I am ... " he paused and then got a bit of a far away look on his face and his smile gentled. "Well, it was a dream come true."
"What changed my mind?" Tatsumi slanted a look down at his lover. "You asked what we were holding back for and I got tired of trying to do the responsible thing. It does happen. Occasionally. Well, rarely, but..."
Watari chuckled and reached up to lay his fingers very lightly across Tatsumi's mouth. He didn't think he needed to say that he knew how hard Tatsumi always tried to do the responsible thing, even when the decisions he made in the name of responsibility were personally painful, but the sentiment was in Watari's eyes for Tatsumi to see if he looked. "I'm glad you changed your mind," the young blond whispered sincerely.
"Hm," Tatsumi started to speak and was stopped by the fingers on his mouth. He reached up and moved them to one side. "Good."
Leaning close, he gave Watari one very sweet kiss, not lacking in the more forceful undercurrents, but they were being harnessed to the plow, so to speak.
Watari grinned impishly at Tatsumi when the shadow-master moved his hand but before he could say anything Tatsumi was kissing him and a gentle warmth filled his veins. The scientist knew that they both needed to get up and start their morning, so while he returned the kiss with passion and genuine desire, both were being carefully banked in deference to the knowledge that they both needed to return their focus to their job and to the situation they were facing.
Leaning back, Tatsumi made a sound suspiciously like a brief sigh.
Then he extracted himself from his lover and got up, pulling off the somewhat soiled pajama bottoms and throwing them into a hamper in the closet. Then he left the room and water could be heard running in the shower a few moments later.
There was nothing suspicious about Watari's soft sigh but while resigned, it was also understanding. He lay back for a long moment, listening to the water start up, debating with himself, then pushed back the covers and got up. Gathering his own pajama bottoms, he added them to the hamper as well as the pajama tops, neatening up as he made his way around the bed and moved towards the bathroom.
Slipping through the bathroom door, he took a deep breath of the soap-scented steam and walked over to rap lightly on the shower door.
"Mind a guest?"
Watari's voice held no insinuation. He came to the bathroom not to start something but because it was a chance to spend a little more time with Tatsumi, just the two of them and... well... Tatsumi, in a shower... who in their right mind would give up the nice visual images that could provide?
The water was turned off and the door opened. Tatsumi could shower in a record 3.9 minutes.
"Go ahead. I have to get dressed."
He slipped around Watari, and then paused long enough to take a very fast kiss. As he turned to go, his eyes lit on the red armband Watari was wearing - very streetkid chic - and he shook his head, but refrained from remark.
Watari snapped his fingers a little but took the disappointment in stride. Stepping into the shower he turned it on and efficiently began to wash himself from head to toe. He'd actually forgotten about his little passenger since the ribbon had been quiet most of the night.
Long hair didn't lend itself to Tatsumi-like speed in getting showered but Watari didn't dawdle under the hot water and was soon shutting off the taps and opening the door, reaching for a towel with which to dry himself.
Tatsumi had already shaved and vacated the bathroom, and was in the bedroom buttoning his shirt cuffs and tying his tie.
Watari didn't often leave his hair down when it was wet and today was no different. Braiding it with quick, efficient fingers as he exited the bathroom heading back into the bedroom, he made the braid tight to help it hold since he didn't have a hair tie with him. The towel was wrapped around his slender waist and he moved to where his clothes were neatly stacked, shaking them out and dressing himself.
He didn't want to say anything, didn't want to bring up all the troubles they were facing, but the scientist was beginning to feel a little self-conscious and he cast about for something to toss out for conversation. Loosely dressed, Watari threw the towel into the hamper and sucked on his lower lip.
"Mmm... I should get down to the lab."
Suddenly the red band around his arm shifted, and then moved, slithering up his shoulder to his neck and then into his hair, winding around the end of the braid.
Tatsumi, fortunately, was brushing off his suit jacket and did not see this action take place.
"Let me know if you plan to be anywhere else," he said, the 'business' creeping into his voice, as well has his posture.
Watari didn't try to fool himself into thinking that seeing Tatsumi slip back into business mode, after experiencing the Secretary's passion and gentleness, was easy, but he did accept that it was *Tatsumi* and a part of the man he loved.
He couldn't quite help a small smile as the ribbon slithered up into his hair and made itself useful. Reaching back to give it a little touch, he otherwise left it alone as he nodded and moved around the small bedroom towards the door.
"I'll let you know, but I'm going to do some more research on the marks and see if there might be a connection between Hisoka's and mine. I'll contact you if I find something specific."
Tatsumi nodded, noticing the ribbon for the first time. His lips pressed together but he refrained from comment.
Watari gave his partner, his lover, another smile. "Well, have a good day... err...try not to work on Tsuzuki's expense reports, I think he mentioned something about an all you could eat buffet."
Tapping the doorframe with his slender fingers, Watari ducked out of the bedroom and headed towards the front door of the apartment. He'd seen the tightening of Tatsumi's mouth, seen the way the shadow-master's eyes had moved up to the ribbon in his hair and he'd thought about asking the Secretary flat out, what was wrong... but he knew Tatsumi and if he continued to stall Tatsumi's attempt to get back into *Secretary* mode, it would just make Tatsumi that much more tense and Watari couldn't bring himself to do that to the man he loved.
Tatsumi found it on the tip of his tongue to tell Watari to eat something, but he swallowed the words. They would make him sound like a mother hen.
Putting on his jacket, he left the apartment on Watari's heels.
Watari was actually, sort of ambling his way down the hallway. Once out in the hall, he'd found the morning Meifu sun streaming through the windows, nice and warm, so he was taking his time walking along, face turned towards the sun. The natural light seemed to highlight his pale skin, and it flashed off the lenses of his glasses but his expression was gentle as he studied the early morning landscape, completely unhurried for some reason.
Tatsumi, however was not unhurried and rarely strolled.
He stepped past his lover, flashing him a look that contained more than a hint of personal concern, and then was gone down the hallway to his office.
Hearing Tatsumi stepping up to pass him, Watari turned to grin at him but the grin turned to a bemused expression as he saw the concern in Tatsumi's eyes in the brief moment before his partner was gone, long strides carrying him on down the hallway.
Stopping, watching the shadow-master's broad back disappear through the door, Watari gave his head a slight shake and continued along, passing by the bullpen to walk straight on towards his lab. He swung through the double doors that led to the modern lab and nearly fell back as he got a face full of feathers.
"003! Ack... down girl... it's okay."
The little owl continued to chirp and warble worriedly as she flew around his head and in an attempt to engage the scientist in a long running game, she flew down and caught the edge of the ribbon in her beak, intending to fly his braid up over his head.
The ribbon curled around the owl's beak, effectively muzzling her.
Also tethering her to Watari's braid...
003 was rather surprised when the ribbon suddenly... *bit* back, and she flapped up into the air, tugging her human's braid and issuing muffled hoots.
"003 what is it bab... " Watari turned his head trying to see what was going on. For a few minutes he looked like a cat chasing its own tail as he spun around, finally stopping and peering back.
"Oh... no... let her go!" Watari coaxed, pulling his braid towards himself and trying to disentangle bird and ribbon... "Err... that goes for you too 003... let the ribbon go... oh geeze come on you two, what are you, children?"
The ribbon released the owl's beak but appeared ready to rejoin, one end rising in the air like a serpent.
003 quickly flew loose but there was fire in her large, dark eyes and she screeched at the ribbon, darting down to make quick threatening motions.
Watari frowned and grabbed his braid. Neatly stuffing it down the back of his shirt so 003 could no longer see the ribbon and ribbon could no longer see 003, he flung his arms out at the irate little owl.
"There, no more problem, but you two might need to learn to live together."
003 gave him a look that was less kind than some of Tatsumi's expressions when Watari was asking for more funding, and with a haughty hoot, she flew off towards her perch, muttering what Watari assumed were owlish expletives.
Shaking his head, the scientist turned and began to take stock of his lab, as if trying to decide where exactly he wanted to start.
"Should probably start with rewriting the reports, the way Tatsumi asked."
The rewritten reports did not take that much time, they were considerably shorter, and blander. Plus he has the originals to start with.
He was just finished with them when he suddenly realized there *was* something out of place in the lab. Well, not out of place exactly, but something there that hadn't been, the day before.
It was a very large packing case, about four feet wide and a good five and a half feet tall. The case itself had a few markings but they were all scuffed or blurred or scratched indistinguishable.
Blinking, his head tilting at an angle, Watari hit 'save' on the computer and stood up, moving towards the case. He quickly began trying to remember if he'd ordered anything recently... a piece of equipment, new furniture... something, but he couldn't bring anything to mind.
Pacing cautiously around the box, the scientist studied it from corner to corner, top to bottom and back again before turning and walking to the room just off his lab. Surfacing with a crowbar, he moved back to the case and was about to attack it to open it when something stopped him, and instead he passed a hand over it, concentrating to see if any magic emanated from the box... or if anything else might set off his self-preservation instincts.
There was a sense of residual magic on the box, but nothing he could identify, and it seemed to have been 'cleansed' or recently purged of magical energy.
One elegant eyebrow quirked upwards... and he reached to set the crowbar to the case. However as he got closer, he thought he heard a soft.... bubbling sound from inside the crate. It was too soft to be sure, it could have been his imagination. For some reason that innocent enough little sound triggered something in his memory and the crowbar fell from Watari's hands to the floor.
"Oh... no... this can't be," he whispered, his expression becoming horrified, and he took a step back from the case, feeling his breathing coming quicker and quicker. He backed all the way to a counter, almost panting now as he held the lip of the counter in one hand and covered his mouth with his other palm, looking at the case like one would a poisonous snake.
Swallowing tightly, he forced himself to move back towards the case, picking up the crowbar, and before his nerve broke, he began to pry the case open, baring what was inside to his eyes.
Whatever it was had been very carefully packed - there was a lot of straw and other packing material inside.
As some of that came away, Watari saw that it was a cylinder-shaped object, like a pedestal, very heavy, with something wrapped like a tarp around the top and tied on. The bottom, what he could see of it, was some kind of metal unit, with a mechanism inside, something that sounded like a pump and a filtration system.
Maybe... an aquarium.
Trembling and unable to stop himself from shaking, Watari set down the crowbar and began to unwrap the tarp. It felt like his heart was in his throat and though he logically knew what it was he was unveiling, there was still a small part of him which was desperate to be wrong.
So very desperate.
When the tarp was removed, the top half of the object was revealed to be a cylinder of some clear material, probably something stronger than Plexiglas.
Inside was a head.
Normally Watari would have taken such a gruesome discovery with a scientific aplomb, in fact, he probably would have been curious and had started looking into the filtration device almost immediately, but with everything else going on, even the hours of peaceful sleep in Tatsumi's arms weren't enough to hold the fractious scientist together.
The crowbar dropped from numb fingers and Watari stumbled back to the counter, his long legs shooting out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor. Curling his knees up to his chest, the young shinigami hugged himself into a small ball and stared up into the half-lidded eyes of Saki, Muraki's brother. He had no idea of the level of activity in the brain matter in the head but it seemed as if those eyes were looking right at him, malevolent and pure evil, and Watari shuddered violently but he couldn't take his eyes off the horror.
From her perch, attuned to her human's distress, 003 flew down and fluttered back and forth in front of Watari, trying to pull his eyes off the cylinder... but even her presence didn't effect the stunned shinigami. Worried, the little owl tried again getting a little closer and finally smacking her human in the face with her wings. The direct contact seemed to help shake Watari out of his initial shock and he waved a hand at the owl, gently shooing her back.
"All right... all right... back, just... stay back from it okay?"
Rubbing his hand vigorously over his face, Watari smacked himself a couple of times on the cheeks and tried to shake off the cold shivering feeling he felt. Forcing himself to keep his eyes off the actual contents of the cylinder, the scientist rolled forward onto his hands and knees and crawled around the entire apparatus. His movements caused him to bump into the majority of the packing material, which he began to sift through carefully.
His search turned up a torn part of a packing slip. Like the markings on the box, the writing was mostly unintelligible, but torn in half was a seal that, while smeared, was unmistakable.
The seal of Enma Daioh.
Plunking back down on his ass in the middle of the packing material, Watari stared at the piece of paper and the torn seal.
"Enma Daioh... what in the world."
Watari pulled his legs up but this time he leaned his arm across his knees and held the paper in between his legs, studying it instead of the head in the jar.
"How would Enma have possession of Saki's head? The last location it was reported was on Earth."
Tapping one fingernail against the paper, Watari sucked on a tooth. "If Enma, or someone close enough to be wielding this seal had this... err.. item...then it supports some of Muraki's claims." Watari sighed and tapped the paper. "Well... supports them, doesn't prove anything, though."
Keeping hold of the paper and keeping his eyes carefully removed from the cylinder, Watari slid forward and began to poke around the apparatus that appeared to be sustaining the liquid that the head floated in. He didn't touch anything, he didn't need to, but he studied it closely.
On close inspection, the apparatus, while mostly of dark or black painted metal, appeared in places to have been scorched or melted. And in other places, to have been repaired subsequently.
Sitting back in his nest of packing material, Watari looked up at 003. He was about to ask her something, when an idea came to him. An experiment... of sorts.
Reaching back, he pulled his braid out from where he'd tucked it down the back of his shirt and flipped it around till he could hold it up between his fingers and peer at the ribbon. Scooting back towards the apparatus, he held braid and ribbon out towards the cylinder, curious to see if the ribbon would react.
The ribbon promptly slithered off the end of the braid and slid around his neck, covering the arcane characters written on his skin.
It drew his attention to the fact that his skin there was starting to tingle a bit.
It was automatic to reach up and touch his neck, now covered by the ribbon. The tingling sensation, while not unpleasant, was disturbing, and it caused Watari to pull back from the apparatus, his eyes going back to the packing slip.
Finally getting to his feet, Watari carried the packing slip over to the computer, turning his back on the head in the jar behind him. Fingers set on the keyboard, he cast his mind back to old, long forgotten codes and then he began to enter them into the computer, attempting to access the files that Enma kept stored on Mother.
Watari wasn't sure what he expected to find but in the end he found very little. He was able to discover, from the numbers on the torn part of the slip, that the *head* had come into Enma's possession shortly after the fire in Kyoto and had been released from inventory in time to be delivered to Watari that morning.
Stumped, the blond tapped his chin, then stood up and moved towards the door. At least some instinct reminded him to pull his turtleneck up around his neck to keep from showing off the ribbon and the symbols glowing on his skin. Stepping out of the lab, he looked up and down the hall, but instead of heading towards the bullpen, he turned and started to walk down the hall towards the main entrance and the guards posted there.
Waiting until there was a slight break in traffic, people coming and going settling into their day, he put on his most chipper expression and breezed up to the reception/guard desk.
"Yo." Watari wiggled his fingers at the two guards sitting there. "Yutaka Watari, Shokan division. Listen, an important package was delivered to my lab either late, late last night or early this morning but it's missing a piece. Did you happen to see how it was delivered? I think I need to get in contact with someone."
The guard's answer was apologetic. "Sorry, I just came on shift an hour ago, I didn't see any deliveries come through."
"Oh. Ah, well could I see the book? See if they signed in?" Watari grinned, after all the Division as a whole was one giant bureaucracy, hell, you had to sign to go into the bathroom!
"Do you have an authorization slip for that?"
Of course it had been awhile since Watari had dealt with any of the bureaucracy beyond his own department.
"Err... yah... sure I do... ah... just give me a second let me find it here." Watari beamed a grin at them and took a step away from the counter. Tugging a small notepad from his lab coat, he pulled the pencil out of the spiral and began to draw what he could remember of the authorization slips, adding a very authentic looking forgery of Konoe's signature to the bottom.
Then he poked his fingers into the notepad and pulled the *slip* free. Tucking both notepad and pencil back into his pocket he made a show of checking other pockets, then turned with a triumphant "Ah hah!" and carried the slip back to the desk.
The guard dutifully turned over the log book.
Watari felt slightly ashamed of himself, but not too much as he scanned over the book, paying particular attention to the entries for the previous night and the early morning hours.
Unfortunately he didn't find any notation that would have matched this particular delivery.
"Damn," he cursed softly but smiled as he turned the book back over to the guard. "Thank you!" Watari started to turn away, only to spin back, index finger poking into the air the way a man with a sudden *idea* will gesticulate.
"Could you tell me the name of the guard who was on duty overnight? It's really important that I find out who delivered this package."
He gave the guard his most winning, coaxing smile as he asked.
"Um ok I guess so... It was Yumi Takeshi."
The smile grew and Watari pulled the notebook back out of his pocket, taking note of the name. "Excellent, thank you!"
Of course, he had no idea who Yumi Takeshi was, but he figured he was rapidly wearing out his welcome at the guard desk. Waving to the guard, Watari walked away, tapping the end of his pencil again the notebook and trying to figure out what was his next step when he stopped and smacked himself in the face.
"I'm forgetting an important possible witness!"
Trotting down the hallway to a quiet little alcove, he turned then to look at 003 who, in keeping with Watari's wishes, was flying close to him but not too close.
"003, what did you see? Did you see someone deliver that case?"
003 seemed to roll her eyes as if to say, 'finally!' Then she began to hoot and chirp out what she'd seen. A single man, dressed in a simple black suit, sunglasses covering his eyes, and he'd been able to handle what was obviously a heavy object by himself.
Watari listened to her, taking careful notes. After she stopped hooting, Watari leaned back against the wall and studied the description frowning a little. She had just described almost anyone in the building. Hell, even Tsuzuki had been known to fit that description at times.
"Did he say anything, girl? Talk to anyone, like on a cell phone or maybe in a magical manner? When did he drop it off?"
003 wasn't able to give him any more information than the fact that it had been dropped off early in the morning.
Exhaling a deep breath, Watari looked at his notebook pensively. "Alright, so I have Saki's head, in a high tech jar that looks like it's been repaired. A packing slip with Enma's seal, a computer log having the head in Enma's inventory not long after the events in Kyoto until this morning and a man in a black suit and sunglasses, having the ability to pick the thing up and handle it by himself. And what I don't have... is a *why*."
Watari rubbed his hand back and forth across his mouth a couple of times, then looked at 003. "Little girl, I think we need to talk to the Gushoshin but first... this is something I think Tatsumi needs to hear about, I've kept enough from him to this point and this is getting way out of my depth... especially if this has Enma's hand all over it."
Sighing, a softer sound, Watari pushed away from the alcove and moved back out into the hallway, his eyes casting back down to the notebook as he walked along.
Head cast down towards his notebook, making small notes as he walked, Watari made a bee-line for the Shokan Division bullpen. He wore his most involved expression and luckily no one tried to stop him for a chat as he slipped through the door and into the hustle and bustle of the morning activities.
Namely, Tsuzuki and Terazuma debating who had rightful ownership of the last cake!
Walking to Tatsumi's office, Watari looked up and silently hoped that Tatsumi wasn't going to be in talking to Konoe or in another possible meeting. He raised a hand to knock lightly on the door.
Tsuzuki, however, noticed Watari pass by and abruptly let go of the cake.
Someone in the office witnessing this glanced out the window to see if it had started to snow.
"Watari!"
Watari, mind focused on the head in his office, the packing slip with Enma's seal, the description of the man who delivered the package, and talking to Tatsumi, was startled when he heard Tsuzuki's shout. The scientist's head whipped up and around and he blinked a couple of times before smiling back to his friend.
"Yo, Tsuzuki."
"Watari! Got a minute?" Tsuzuki began making his way across the room.
Watari paused and looked towards Tatsumi's door really quick. In truth he was anxious to talk to Tatsumi and get down to the Gushoshin and also he really did not want to have to answer any awkward questions Tsuzuki might have, but if he refused, when it was well known that he always had time for Tsuzuki, that would raise eyebrows.
"Of course, Tsuzuki. What do you need?"
The younger shinigami flipped his notepad closed, fidgeting with the pad of paper.
Tsuzuki came up and stood within intimate talking distance. "Are you all right? Your last mission... did something happen? Or... maybe the one before that?"
Watari froze. While Tsuzuki's seniority and ability was recognized by everyone within the department, even the recalcitrant Terazuma, all were equally sensitive to the violet-eyed shinigami's gentleness and the way Tsuzuki could take on guilt not his own. Everyone within the Shokan Division did what they could to shelter and bolster Tsuzuki, even if the only thing they could do was protect the beautiful man from the horrors of their own cases.
Quickly putting a smile that was not too bright but not to dark either on his face, Watari shook his head. "I'm fine. You know me, Tsuzuki, I'm more a labrat and being out in the field back to back has kept me from working on my experiments."
Again, it was not a lie, the missions had kept him from his experiments.
Tsuzuki seemed to search Watari's face for a long moment. "Watari... if you need any help or anything, or just... maybe a snack break? I could come by and visit... All I have to do today is paperwork and it's not that important." Paperwork never was, to Tsuzuki.
For a moment, Watari was tempted. He was so tempted. The chance to talk to someone who was outside of it all, who wasn't directly affected by the events, by his decisions, it was so tempting and for a moment that longing probably showed in his face. But then his eyes caught sight of Hisoka, bopping Terazuma on the head and re-acquiring the cake Tsuzuki had abandoned. The kid was carefully wrapping the cake up and carrying it over to Tsuzuki's desk, setting it there so it would be waiting when Tsuzuki returned.
Watari smiled gently but was careful to make sure Hisoka didn't see him watching. Really, Hisoka and Tsuzuki could be so sweet sometimes.
But that reminded Watari of why he couldn't talk to Tsuzuki, and the scientist gave his head a shake and beamed a grin at his friend.
"Maybe another time. *I* certainly am not going to be the reason your paperwork is in late to Tatsumi again. I don't need Tatsumi on my..." Watari paused. "Err.. neck."
Tsuzuki made a sound of disappointment, then seemed to suddenly be aware that Hisoka was glancing at him and brushed the back of his hair down self-consciously. "Ah... okay, if you're sure..." With a little apologetic lift of his shoulders, he turned and went back to his desk. "OH! The cake fairy came..."
Watari almost changed his mind, but then Tsuzuki was stepping away and the scientist couldn't help laughing at the comment about the cake fairy. He watched Hisoka roll his eyes but a hint of a blush stained the youth's cheek, it was so cute. Not that Watari would ever say those words aloud!
He started to turn towards Tatsumi's door once more but then something made him pause.
~Who are you trying to protect Yutaka... Tsuzuki... or yourself? -Tsuzuki of course- ...Are you sure? Tsuzuki could be a very useful resource in all this. In fact he could be the most useful resource you have easy access to and you're turning your back on him why... because you fear his disappointment in you?... -No, because I fear...- Yes?~
Exhaling a deep breath, Watari leaned his forehead against Tatsumi's door for a moment, then straightened and turned.
"Hey, Tsuzuki. Listen... do you think you could stop by my lab for ahh... lunch?"
Tsuzuki looked up and his eyes widened. "Sure! I'll be there about 11, okay?" Tsuzuki always preferred early lunch, it was one of the things he and Hisoka constantly argued about.
Watari nodded, "That should be fine. I'll see you then."
The young scientist's heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of his chest and he took another deep breath to try to calm his nerves and get his mind back on track. Then he reached up and knocked on the door to Tatsumi's office.
"Come."
Watari smiled wryly but kept the automatic retort to that statement to himself as he pushed open the door and slipped inside.
"Hey there...ahum..." Watari careful closed the door, making sure it was shut before he turned back towards Tatsumi's desk. "Ah, there's a head in my lab."
Watari felt it was best to just come out and say these sorts of things, instead of stringing the recipient of the news along.
Tatsumi looked up from his desk and froze to immobility. "A... what?"
Watari leaned back against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Flipping open his notebook he began to very calmly relay the details to Tatsumi.
"At about 7:54am this morning I entered my lab. At 8:35am I finished up my reports, you know the ones, and happened to be leaning back to stretch when I noticed a large packing case, about four foot by five, five and a half feet in size. I opened said case, finding inside the... ahhh... preserved head of Muraki's brother, Saki. Upon investigation of the packing material I discovered a half torn packing slip with the seal of Enma Daioh on it. I investigated with the front door guards but they had no record of the case being delivered and the guard on duty this past evening/morning was already off duty at the time. I checked the log book. It then dawned upon me to speak to my owl, who was in the lab all night, and she reported that early this morning a single male wearing a dark suit and sunglasses dropped the case off at my lab. He seemed to have no problems making the delivery on his own."
Watari paused, exhaled a breath and looked up from his notepad towards Tatsumi, his head lolling back against the door. "Oh and when I held the ribbon out towards the cylinder containing the head, just to see what it would do, it moved." The scientist reached up and pulled his collar down, exposing where the ribbon was now wrapped around his neck. "Also the symbols on my neck began to tingle and react to the nearness of the... err... item. My next step is to go down and talk to the Gushoshin but ah... I figured I'd best check in with you first."
Tatsumi listened to this recital in silence, having quickly recovered his reserve.
"Did you bring the reports?" he asked.
Watari blinked and then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid they're still back in the lab. Do you want me to go and get them?"
It was a little surreal to have Tatsumi asking about the reports with everything else he'd just shared with him but Watari tried to keep up with the flow of the conversation.
"When we're done here," Tatsumi adjusted his glasses. This one was the "annoyed that someone hadn't followed procedure" adjustment.
However the eyes behind those glasses were considerably more aware... and wary.
It was almost as if he did not want anyone to think he was particularly interested in Watari's bizarre news. As if anyone could hear them, here in his office.
As if someone could hear them...
"So you got the shipment," he said, returning to the subject. He picked up a piece of paper from his desk. "I have a form here requesting that you do certain tests on it before it is returned to storage, you should have received a duplicate copy. There was no form with the box?"
Initially, Tatsumi's apparent coldness really threw the young scientist who had a lot more on his mind that morning, but as he stood there trying to puzzle out what the hell was going on, he remembered their conversation the night before, the way Tatsumi's shadows had cocooned them from prying eyes and ears. Shadows that were not present at the moment. It was hard for Watari, who was used to Meifu being a safe place, to try to wrap his mind around the idea that for some reason, at this moment, Meifu was anything but safe.
Straightening from the door, he made sure his collar was in place before walking over towards Tatsumi's desk.
"I didn't see a copy, it might have been lost in the packing material." Watari fought to keep his voice even, the way an employee would suddenly snap to when they realize that they've pushed the boss's good nature too far and need to focus.
"Then you'll have to make a duplicate of this," Tatsumi answered, holding up the form. "And return the original of my copy," he added, looking over the rims of his glasses. "There's a priority on this, you'll have to put aside you other case work. I haven't been given any reason to think it's that important, but anything from that office gets automatic priority, you know that."
Watari took the form, giving it a quick glance but not really reading it. He looked back up, meeting Tatsumi's eyes directly as he spoke.
"Yes, of course. Though I was going to meet up with Tsuzuki today for lunch. Would you like to join us, or do you think I should cancel due to this?"
Watari rattled the paper as if to indicate it but he also figured that Tatsumi would understand what the topic of conversation over lunch would be, if Watari kept the date with Tsuzuki.
"No, there's no need for that. I'd rather not encourage every department in Meifu to send us their grunt work. But the form notes this as cleared only for need to know, so don't lunch in the lab, go out. And of course, don't mention what you are working on."
Tatsumi looked directly at Watari and nodded his head even as he spoke, as if to let the scientist know he was suggesting that Watari do the exact opposite, at least as far as the conversation went. In other words, keep up the appearance of following procedure but do as he wanted otherwise.
The young shinigami exhaled quietly and nodded back his understanding even as his chipper voice shot back, "Well of course we always get the other departments' grunt work, though you must admit we do a good job of it! Let me go make a copy of this and I'll bring it right back."
Watari's eyes were a direct contrast to the bright note of his voice but he gave his partner a smile before turning to exit Tatsumi's office. He made the necessary copy and carried the original back to Tatsumi.
"I'll get those reports to you, ASAP."
"Good." Tatsumi said, getting up from his desk to accept the form.
Making sure the door was shut, he took Watari by the wrist, pulled him into his arms and kissed him thoroughly, for about two minutes.
Watari had stepped towards the desk to deliver the paper but then found himself caught and pulled into adored arms. His soft, very soft noise was easily lost down Tatsumi's throat and Watari's arms looped around the Secretary's torso, holding him close even as he leaned into Tatsumi's embrace.
The kiss felt like heaven and it lifted Watari's spirits in a way that was hard to quantify so he didn't even try to explain, even to himself, he just took the gift Tatsumi offered and returned it as best he could.
Then Tatsumi let the blond go, adjusting his glasses and giving a glimmer of a private look over the top of them before sitting down.
When he was released, Watari stepped back and his amber eyes twinkled as they danced, quickly and down the Kagetsukai's powerful form, encased in its tailored wool. He lightly touched the side of Tatsumi's shoulder with his fingertips, then turned and headed on out of the office, his eyes already scanning the copy of the form as he faced what sorts of tests he was going to have to perform on the pickled head in his office.
~ * ~
Almost on the dot of eleven, there was a rattling of Watari's door. It was locked. So then there was a knock on it. "Wataaaaaaaari?"
Busy puzzling over one of the test results, Watari's head snapped up and he looked at the door blinking. Then he looked over at one of his many clocks and frowned.
"I thought I set that damn thing." But when he peered at it he realized he'd set it for 10:54pm, not am.
Cursing softly, then sighing, Watari began to scamper around his lab, quickly covering up the head as best he could.
"I'll be right there, Tsuzuki, hold on!"
Washing his hands and making sure he didn't have any disgusting material on his lab coat, Watari darted for the door. He unlocked it and weaseled through, making sure as little of the lab as possible was visible.
"Hey there. Listen, I'm working on some particularly noxious stuff, what do you say we go down to the Italian place with the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, my treat!"
Tsuzuki's eyes lit up with sparkles and little hearts... well one could imagine them anyway. "What a great idea!" He dropped an arm around Watari's shoulders companionably.
Put together the words 'all you can eat' and 'my treat' and it was easy to figure out why! As they walked along, Watari made general small talk, conversing about common interests of theirs and catching up on what gossip Tsuzuki had heard while Watari himself had been out in the field. The Italian place was not too far from the Division building and since they were early, there weren't too many people there yet and the food was nice and fresh.
Wonderful scents of different types of sauces, spices, meats and cheeses filled the restaurant. They got a table somewhat away from the rest of restaurant but still close enough to the buffet and soon had their plates ready to load up with goodies.
Now, Watari usually took an Italian buffet as open season but today he took modest to miniscule portions of his usual favorites, which had him sitting back down at the table while Tsuzuki was still loading up. Watari watched his friend and couldn't help smiling as the plate Tsuzuki carried got higher and higher... it truly was a feat of engineering!
"Tsuzuki, the meatballs won't feel unloved if you leave a few for the rest of the customers!"
Tsuzuki had the manners to look abashed for all of five seconds. "Oh they'll bring out more," he answered happily, setting his mountain of a plate down and plopping himself on the chair in front of it. "This was a great idea. In fact, we should do this a lot more often!"
Somehow he managed to talk and eat at the same time. It was better to look away.
Watari had a strong stomach and actually it was a fascinating phenomenon to watch Tsuzuki eat, talk, gesticulate and somehow appear to enjoy multiple food orgasms all at the same time. For a short while, Watari forgot why they were there and what he had to tell his friend but as Tsuzuki hit the bottom of his second plate, the scientist decided it was time to open up the topic... before Tsuzuki exploded.
"Hey, listen... there is something I... ah... need to talk to you about. Um... got some time, or is Hisoka going to be looking for you soon?"
Tsuzuki put his fork down.
His face began very serious. "I was wondering if you wanted to talk," he said.
People tended to underestimate the powerful shinigami, even as they acknowledged his abilities with magic.
The younger shinigami watched the fork go down and his expression also became serious and perhaps a little sad.
"Oh, I don't know if I'd say this is something I *want* to talk about, but it's something that I think I need to talk about and... you probably need to hear. If for no other reason then so you can be sure to protect Hisoka."
Pushing his half-touched plate away and dragging a water glass close, Watari dipped a finger into the water and began to slowly ring the rim as he took a deep breath and then began to talk.
He started at the beginning, with the Kurosaki case, and went from there. He talked about what he and Tatsumi had been facing, he talked about Tatsumi, he talked about his decision and why he'd made it. He talked about summoning Muraki, he discussed the first *deal* which had been refused and then he talked about the deal which had ultimately been brokered. He went on to explain Muraki's assistance, Muraki's abilities against Yatonogami and even Muraki's admissions about having faced Yatonogami before and his words about Hisoka. He explained Muraki's treatment of himself, and how Muraki had been able to get by his own carefully guarded walls. He related the outcome, and then briefly the events in Tokyo. Then he talked on about returning home, and the doll, and how his own curiosity had piqued and driven him to further investigate Muraki. He told Tsuzuki about the first conversation with Tatsumi, though he kept aside the more personal details about himself and Tatsumi. He explained about his next mission, about the lure it had been to bring him back to Muraki's control. And though it was hard, he talked about the events which followed. Again, not in graphic detail, not in the detail that he'd given Tatsumi in the first report but enough to point out why he couldn't just walk away. Then he came to recent events. To Tatsumi's suspicion, to the danger that Tatsumi was worried about. Again, Watari left out the details of his relationship with Tatsumi, that would be another conversation for another time. He wrapped the conversation up with explaining about Saki and also briefly exposing his neck, the ribbon and the marks.
It was... physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. So much information, some of it private, some of it without neat answers, only speculation, a lot of it, with more questions than answers and at the end, Watari pulled the turtleneck back up, exhaling a deep breath as he reached for his almost empty water glass.
"That's probably what caused Hisoka's reaction the other day. I've been trying to stay as far away from him as possible while I've been in Meifu but he is powerfully sensitive."
Watari cleared his throat a little as he spoke. It was getting a bit hoarse from talking.
Tsuzuki's eyes widened at the recitation, but he leaned his elbows on the table, clasped his hand together and leaned on his knuckles, his expression becoming intent. His skin seemed to loose color a couple of times, but he kept his reactions from interrupting the flow of Watari's narrative.
Watari had finished off the last of the water and was playing with the heavy water goblet but other wise motionless. He just sat and waited for Tsuzuki's reaction and, Enma help him, a part of him wondered if it wouldn't be quicker and easier if Tsuzuki lost his temper and flattened him with Touda.
Leaning back when the scientist was done, Tsuzuki ran a hand over his face, and shook his head.
"Watari..." he said softly. But an immediate response to the story the scientist had told was not something even Tsuzuki could manage.
He simply sat still for a few moments, letting all the things Watari had told him run through his mind.
The minutes stretched on. Then he got up and went to the counter and came back with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He poured into both and lifted one to his lips, leaving the other for Watari.
After drinking, he set the glass down.
"You want to save him."
Watari's reach for his own glass was a subdued affair and he only took a couple of sips before setting back down and spinning it back and forth between his fingers. At Tsuzuki's question, the young scientist leaned back, his legs neatly crossed under the table, and his eyes were cast at a point well beyond Tsuzuki's shoulder as he considered the violet-eyed guardian's words.
"I... I need to understand what made him into the monster we see him as before I can just dismiss the possibility of redemption for him... and I see the monster, I do... but I also keep seeing the child, Tsuzuki... and I can't turn my back on the child."
Tsuzuki drank the rest of his glass of wine and poured another. He looked at Watari, looked away, looked back. Picked up a napkin, fiddled with it.
"It's okay," he said finally. He looked up and met Watari's eyes and for a minute the cheerful facade slipped and there was something, but it was covered again, too quickly.
Watari's head was lowered but he watched Tsuzuki from under his lashes. He watched the fiddling, the second glass of wine, and the way Tsuzuki had a hard time looking at him. And he wished the expression had stayed in those beautiful violet eyes for just a moment longer so he could have known what it meant, for good or ill but Tsuzuki could be just as private with his own thoughts as any of them.
"Thank you," Watari said quietly, but then he shook his head. "But I have to disagree, it's not okay at all. Come on, we should get back to the office."
Watari scooted his chair back and stood, struck suddenly by restlessness and feeling the need to move, his hand pushed aside his lab coat and fumbled for his ever present wallet. He'd learned early on to always keep the thing in his pocket, lest it get blown up on a counter.
Tsuzuki stood up, but he frowned slightly. His hand swept over as if by accident, but it landed on Watari's arm and the grip was firm.
"Yes it is. If... if you can do that then..." he kept his eyes on his own hand on Watari's arm. "Then maybe he's not a monster."
His hand swept away and Tsuzuki turned, sticking his hands in his pockets and starting to whistle as he looked out the window.
The younger shinigami wanted to take comfort in his elder's words. He really wanted to believe Tsuzuki, but for some reason, reliving the whole nightmare had just brought all the emotions back to the surface and all Watari could feel was tired and woefully out of his depth.
He also watched where Tsuzuki's hand was closed around his arm and his lips twitched a little but when he was freed he pulled his wallet out of his pocket, speaking softly.
"Just... keep an eye on Hisoka, an extra keen eye on Hisoka, and also be careful about yourself. Tatsumi thinks there is a lot more going on with all this than we're being told and he's edgy."
Flipping his billfold open, Watari moved towards the counter, pulling out some cash with which to settle up their tab. Once he was done with that, he walked towards the front door.
"Oh, and if you notice anything amiss, you should probably talk to Tatsumi."
He didn't seem to want to discuss Muraki any further.
Tsuzuki caught up with him, walking along, still whistling a little. "Ah, don't worry too much about Hisoka. He's stronger than he looks - which he reminds me of fourteen times a day." Tsuzuki smiled disarmingly. Then he added, "I will."
Watari nodded and fell silent as they continued the short walk back to the Division Headquarters.
TBC