Boys Don't Cry
by Leareth
Chapter Three
"Rice, please!"
Before any objection could be raised, a waitress and more steaming bowls appeared.
"Thank you! Itadakimasu!"
Tatsumi forced his irritation down as his partner ate happily away, and reminded himself that since they were in a public teahouse it would be inappropriate to give Tsuzuki a crash course in dinner-behaviour at the present moment. Emphasis being on the 'crash'. Tatsumi hadn't even wanted to go out to eat. Going out to eat meant spending money. Besides, he had some leftovers back home, and was perfectly capable of cooking himself. Unfortunately, they weren't in Meifu and Tsuzuki had said that he would die of hunger if he didn't eat. Tatsumi didn't really care about that – shinigami didn't die from hunger, and a little hardship never hurt anyone – but the pleading had been getting on his nerves. In the end he had agreed to go out for dinner as long as Tsuzuki was paying. Still, the younger shinigami put a lot of pressure on Tatsumi's self-control. Bad enough that this was Tsuzuki's third helping, the young man didn't even have any decent table manners. He wrapped his fingers around the handle of his spoon in a fist. He shovelled away at the food if he hadn't eaten in years. He hunched over in his chair and put his elbows on the table.
Tsuzuki must have sensed Tatsumi staring at him, for he glanced up. "Youf wunt shum, Tathumi?" he asked.
And he spoke with his mouth full.
Tatsumi sighed and took another sip of his tea. "After this, we shall return to the apartment," he said matter-of-factly. There was a small droplet on his saucer from when the waitress had poured the tea; Tatsumi got his napkin and carefully wiped it away.
"Huh?" Tsuzuki paused in his eating and looked at him. "Why?"
"To complete our assignment, of course." Tatsumi put the dirtied napkin to one side and sat back in his chair. "I don't want to have to stay overnight in the mortal realm. Hotels are expensive."
Tsuzuki frowned a little. "We can get it done tonight?"
"Of course. This is not the first case of its kind. A young spouse dies, he cannot bear to leave his wife alone, so instead of progressing on the spirit lingers in the mortal realm haunting the living. All we have to do is go there tonight and lie in wait for our target."
"By 'target' you mean Nagumo, right?" asked Tsuzuki.
"Of course."
"Then why don't you refer to him by name instead of just 'target'?"
Tatsumi blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"He has a name, Tatsumi," said Tsuzuki seriously. "So does his wife. Why can't you use them?"
Tatsumi's blue eyes became impatient. "What difference does a name make to us, Tsuzuki-san?" he said irritably. "Either way, we have a job to do."
"They're still people, Tatsumi," Tsuzuki retorted. "They're still people with feelings. You can see how much Kasumi-chan loves her husband. And Maya-chan takes such good care of her sister."
"By telling her a lie? I hardly call that 'good care'."
"She wants her sister to be happy!" Tsuzuki's face was earnest. "Isn't that what love is, to see the person you care most about happy no matter what?"
Tatsumi stared at his partner. Those amethyst eyes were uneasily open. "You're a dreamer, Tsuzuki-san," he said at last. "It's a potential risk. The very nature of your duty means that you cannot afford to get too close to those involved in your assignments. You're just leaving yourself open for trouble." He looked pointedly at his companion. "And you have rice on your face. Wipe it off."
"Eh?" Tsuzuki blinked at the change in subject then touched a hand to his cheek. "Where?"
"Near the corner of your mouth."
"Here?"
"Not quite. A bit to the left – no, my left, not yours."
"Here?"
"Too far, back a bit – now down – there! – you just missed it – it's right there—" Tatsumi sighed in exasperation as Tsuzuki's fingers again slipped past the grain of rice that so offended his sense of cleanliness. "Oh, for Enma's – hold still."
Before Tsuzuki could blink Tatsumi grabbed a nearby clean napkin in one hand and reached across the table to take hold of Tsuzuki's chin with the other. The younger shinigami tried to pull away as the napkin was applied efficiently to his face but Tatsumi was having none of that. "Really, Tsuzuki-san," said Tatsumi, sitting back when he was satisfied, "you should behave more appropriately when eating in a public place. It's almost disgraceful. Remember that for your next partner."
"Next—?" Tsuzuki's face fell. "Oh."
Tatsumi made the mistake of looking at Tsuzuki then, and was again startled at the pang of guilt he felt. To cover it he turned away, looking for a waitress to collect the bill. "Please don't take it personally, Tsuzuki-san. This is work."
Tsuzuki was staring at the table. "I know," he said softly. "It's just that ..."
"Just what?" asked Tatsumi as the bill was placed on the table.
Tsuzuki seemed very small in his chair. "I just thought that having a partner meant something more than just working together."
"Like?"
"Friends."
Tatsumi tried to think of something to say. He couldn't. His first reflex had been to dismiss the notion of friendship as ridiculous, but for some reason the words stuck in his throat. Tsuzuki looked so unhappy, and that silenced any protest Tatsumi tried to think of. Quiet alarms were beginning to go off somewhere at the back of Tatsumi's head – since when had he last felt disturbed about hurting someone?
The waitress appeared again to accept payment; Tsuzuki dug around in his pockets and finally fished out some money that he handed it over to the girl with a smile. The moment he and Tatsumi stepped out of the teahouse, however, the smile disappeared. He made no more attempt at conversation, and walked slowly with his head bowed. Tatsumi followed slightly behind gazing at his partner's back. There was something oddly familiar about that posture, and it made him ache.
"Tsuzuki-san."
The other man turned questioningly. Tatsumi looked up and down the street; it was deserted. "You asked this afternoon why people thought that I was, how did you put it, a 'scary person', yes?"
Tsuzuki frowned a little. "Yeah, what about it?"
Tatsumi smiled. "I won't pretend to know all the details, but I suppose one reason could be this." He stretched out a hand, more to focus the younger shinigami's attention than from any need for physical signal, and gestured. Tsuzuki's eyes widened as his shadow peeled off the ground to twist about him in graceful spirals.
"Wow," he breathed. "It's beautiful. Is this your power, Tatsumi? Why does it make you scary?"
Tatsumi drew in the shadows from the lampposts, weaving them all together. "There are only two people in JuOhCho who can do this: myself, and the one who taught me," he said softly. "Not quite on par with a top-level shikigami in terms of sheer power, perhaps, however shadow manipulation has no peer in terms of adaptability. To command something intangible that can both slice muscle and break the surface of the ground ... that takes the highest degree of control."
Tsuzuki watched, entranced, as ribbons of pure darkness danced above his head. Pleased, Tatsumi pulled them a little higher. It was a completely impractical exercise, he was perfectly aware of that, but it was rather fun, another challenge to stretch his abilities.
Plus it made Tsuzuki smile.
Almost reluctantly he ended the little display. Tsuzuki looked disappointed as Tatsumi started walking again.
"Shall we go?"
* * *
A bark from a lonely dog sounded plaintively on the night air then fell. At this late hour the street was lit only by clouded moonlight. Not a soul was stirring – at least, no living souls.
Tatsumi tapped the lock on the door, concentrating. Behind him, Tsuzuki watched in obedient quiet. Having fixed an image of the lock in his mind, Tatsumi caused the shadows inside to turn the tumblers. The lock opened with a soft click and Tatsumi slowly opened the door. He gestured to Tsuzuki to go in before him then just as slowly closed the door again.
The moment they were inside Tatsumi sensed that things were not right. To begin with, there was the sound of voices coming from one of the bedrooms at a time that any sane person would be asleep. Secondly, one of the voices was male, and Tatsumi knew that no men lived in the residence.
"... but why can I only see you now?"
"I can't tell you, please, just trust me—"
"Where do you go the whole day? Why does Maya-chan always tell me that you are away?"
"Please, don't be angry, you cannot understand—"
"How can I understand if you won't tell me anything?"
Tatsumi motioned to Tsuzuki to be quiet as they approached Kasumi's bedroom. There was still Maya to watch out for, but a quick glance into the next-door room showed that she was fast asleep. Tatsumi shut her bedroom door fast. The voices in Kasumi's bedroom were getting more emotional.
"Check first," Tatsumi whispered. Tsuzuki, looking pale and apprehensive in the moonlight, nodded and inched the sliding door open a crack. Then he bent down to peer through. Tatsumi saw a smile appear on Tsuzuki's face.
"It's him," Tsuzuki said softly. "Kasumi-chan's husband. They look so happy together."
"Let me see." Tatsumi gently nudged Tsuzuki to move and let him look. Sure enough, there were two people in the room. One of them was Kasumi. Her face shone even though it was questioning, a complete change from the heavy-eyed woman they had seen that afternoon. The focus of her eyes was the man kneeling before her holding her hands in his. At first glance the man was nothing extraordinary. A second glance by keener eyes showed that he cast no shadow in the moonlight.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I can't stay," Shigeru whispered. Kasumi was crying a little; he lifted a hand to her cheek. "Please, don't cry because of me, love."
Kasumi closed her eyes. "But I miss you so much, everyday ..." She turned her face into his palm, and Tatsumi could see how desperate the man's face was. "Every day I wait for night when you come back."
It was a touching scene, and one that Tatsumi loathed to break. But, as he had told Tsuzuki, this was work. He was about to open the door and interrupt when someone interrupted them.
"What's going on?" Tatsumi and Tsuzuki spun around to see Maya staring at them in absolute shock. Her hair was loose and one hand clutched the front of her robe. In the bedroom behind them the voices stopped. "Tsuzuki-san? Tatsumi-san? What are you doing here?"
"Maya-chan, let me explain—" Tsuzuki began before Tatsumi cut him off.
"He knows we're here, Tsuzuki-san, we have to move quickly."
"Who's 'he'? What are you doing outside my sister's bedroom? Kasumi-chan!" Before the two shinigami could do anything she stepped past them and threw the door open. "Kasumi-chan, are you—" Maya broke off. Her face turned white as she saw who her sister was with.
"Shigeru-san?"
Shigeru smiled sadly, still holding onto his widow's hand. "Maya-chan." His gaze turned to Tatsumi and Tsuzuki standing outside the room and frowned. "Who are—" Suddenly understanding dawned on his face, along with a mixture of resignation and despair. "So. You've found me."
Tatsumi stepped forward. He had hoped to quietly take Shigeru away without disturbing the women but that wasn't possible anymore, and with a sinking feeling he knew this wasn't going to be pleasant. "Nagumo Shigeru. You have to come with us. We are—"
"No!" Kasumi gripped her husband's hand tightly. "You can't take him anywhere! My husband is a good man, he hasn't done any wrong!"
Maya was still staring at her brother in law. Now she stared at Tatsumi, and Tsuzuki behind him looking torn. "They're not police, Kasumi-chan," she said slowly. "They've come to take Shigeru-san to where he now belongs."
Kasumi whipped her head around to look at her sister. "What are you saying, Maya-chan?"
Slowly, Maya knelt by Shigeru's knee and took his other hand. Tears came to her eyes. "He's cold," she murmured. "For a moment I thought, I thought ..." She broke off and burst into tears. "He's dead, nee-chan, Shigeru-san is dead!"
What colour there was in Kasumi's face drained away. She stared at her husband. "It can't be."
Tatsumi took another step. "Nagumo-san, please, come with us—"
"No!" Kasumi threw her arms around her husband who held her tightly. "Shigeru-san can't be dead! I see him every night, he can't be dead, you can't take him from me—"
"Please, Tatsumi." Startled, Tatsumi turned around. Tsuzuki's purple eyes were pleading. "Do we have to do this?"
It was one thing to be remonstrated by the wife and sister, to now be confronted by his own partner was beyond belief. "Tsuzuki-san, we have no choice," Tatsumi said as patiently as possible, trying to ignore the three behind him. "You know what we do."
"Please, Tatsumi." Before Tatsumi could react Tsuzuki had taken hold of his sleeve and moved closer. "Can't we just leave them be? Can't we leave them together in peace?"
Tatsumi couldn't speak. Kasumi and Maya were crying now, and Shigeru was holding them close, but they were merely images on the edges of his attention. Tsuzuki was gazing at him sadly, and that was all he knew. Tsuzuki's amethyst eyes almost glowed in the eerie light, and Tatsumi was frightened of their beauty.
Frightened.
If Tsuzuki wished, if he asked just one more time, Tatsumi realised that he would walk away and leave Shigeru with his family.
"No." Tatsumi forced himself to look away from those eyes. "No," he said in a stronger voice, "we have a job to do. Nagumo-san, you must come with us."
Kasumi wailed; Maya was weeping. Both of them clung to the ghost, pleading with the shinigami not to take him away. Beside him, Tsuzuki turned away so he would not have to see their faces. As he did so, Tatsumi saw that he had closed his eyes as if in pain.
He forced himself not to think about it. He did, however, give Shigeru a moment to embrace Maya and kiss Kasumi farewell, a kiss that would haunt Tatsumi for a very long time with its love and tears. But then Tatsumi could wait no longer, and, escorting Shigeru like a guard does a prisoner, he and a very silent Tsuzuki left, leaving the women crying behind them.
* * *
Konoe put the file in the 'Closed' box with a satisfied sigh. Across the desk Tatsumi sat in the other chair, staring out the window at the sakura trees outside like he had done ever since he had arrived. Konoe wondered at this uncharacteristic brooding but was unwilling to intrude upon it. He tried to look busy rearranging the files and accounts before him, wishing yet again that he had a secretary. "Um, so where's Tsuzuki?" he asked awkwardly.
Tatsumi didn't move. "Common room. There's cheesecake today."
"Oh." Konoe faltered. "So, uh, everything went well?"
Tatsumi shrugged. "If 'case closed' is your definition of 'well', then yes."
"'Case closed' is always well for the Gushoushin." Konoe gave up on his organization attempt with a sigh. "What do you think?"
Slowly, Tatsumi turned to look at the Chief. "What do I think?" he asked mildly.
"Yes. How do you think the case went?"
Tatsumi's blue eyes were distant. "There are always things that can be improved or can't be controlled," he said. "In this case I'd have to say that they were one and the same."
"You mean Tsuzuki?" asked Konoe.
Tatsumi nodded. "He has potential, yes, but he also has a long way to go. For starters he's too impulsive and doesn't think things through which gets him into trouble. Neither does the idiot know about minimising costs seeing that our department budget is so precarious already." Suddenly Tatsumi stood up, startling Konoe, and began pacing the room. "He's irresponsible and always needs you to approve of what he does. He's immature and takes things too lightly. And there's something else about him that I can't put my finger on, but whatever it is, I'm not comfortable with it. Tsuzuki-san just looked at me and—"
He broke off. Suddenly he looked at Konoe as if he had forgotten the old Chief was there. Konoe was staring at the shinigami not quite sure what to think.
Visibly recollecting himself, Tatsumi took a deep breath. "All in all, he's an idiot."
Konoe sighed. "Fine, then. I suppose I should count myself lucky you even agreed to do one job with him in the first place. I'll make the arrangements to split you two up."
"No."
Konoe blinked. "Huh?"
Tatsumi stood with his back towards him, staring out the window. "I said, no. It's a simple negative answer."
Konoe blinked again. "All right, I think my hearing's going, because I thought I just heard you say that you didn't want to break up with Tsuzuki Asato."
"Your hearing is perfectly sound, Kacho," said Tatsumi calmly.
The old chief was getting more and more confused. "Wait a second, Tatsumi," he said, staring at the shinigami. "You kick up one hell of a fuss when I say you're getting Tsuzuki as your partner, you tell me that he's immature, irresponsible and impulsive, you keep calling him an idiot – and yet you say that you're willing to keep Tsuzuki with you?" Tatsumi didn't answer. Konoe stared. "Why?"
Tatsumi slowly turned to stare out the window again, imagining a fragile smile. "I'm not sure," he said softly. "But I will find out."
Chapter Two Chapter Four