St. Rudolph

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Branch

Shiraume

The stories focusing on St. Rudolph, and Yami no Matsuei's Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://www.branchandroot.net/archive/).

"In the Family" published on 2005-01-10 17:53:06.

"Regarding" published on 2005-01-18 14:13:47.

"Cost" published on 2005-01-18 15:02:12.

"Better" published on 2005-01-06 16:22:16.

"Compassion" published on 2005-01-29 18:05:02.

"Baiting" published on 2005-01-25 14:18:46.

"Practicalities" published on 2005-01-30 14:51:47.

"Cooperative Ventures" published on 2005-08-27 17:16:16.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on September 6, 2019 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Cover illustration is "Effect of the Butterfly" by Anastasiya Markovich, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anastasiya_Markovich_Effect_of_Butterfly.jpg).

Cover design by Branch.

In the Family

Branch

Belial introduces the Fujis to the Mudous. Drama with Humor, I-3

Notes: Contains consensual sibling incest.

"Aniki, couldn't you have gotten Saeki-san to practice with you?" Yuuta asked.

The complaint was for form's sake, and his brother's smile said that he knew it perfectly well. Still. Their... reconciliation... was new enough that Yuuta would have preferred some time away from potential irritants and interruptions.

"Ah, Fuji-kun, what marvelous timing you have. One was hoping to introduce you."

Interruptions like that. Yuuta sighed, resigned, and then had to take a second look at the person who had hailed his brother. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone dressed quite that flamboyantly outside a festival. Or, possibly, a circus. He was busy enough looking at the top hat that it took him a few moments to notice that his brother had paused beside the strange person, and was now standing on Yuuta's other side.

Between him and the strangers. Yuuta took a closer look.

There were, in fact, three of them. The other two looked far more normal. A young man and woman, both blond and looking alike enough they had to be related. So what was it about them that was making Aniki tense up?

"Friends of yours, Hatter-san?" his brother asked the oddly dressed one.

"One rather doubts it," the Hatter person answered, serenely. "Fuji-kun, this is Mudou Setsuna, erstwhile Messiah, and Sara, his..."

"Girlfriend," Setsuna put in, very firmly.

"Of course," Hatter murmured, "and this is Fuji Shuusuke, and his brother, Yuuta I believe it was?"

"Yes." Aniki's smile was starting to sharpen.

So, Yuuta tallied up in his own mind, this person who seemed to know his brother, and who his brother seemed a little wary of, wanted to introduce them to a couple who looked remarkably like relatives. He swallowed hard and tried to keep breathing.

"Aniki," he managed, "who is this?" And, more importantly, what did he know?

His brother stepped a little closer to him. "This is Mad Hatter. He's a demon."

Yuuta turned his head to look at his brother, who appeared to be serious. "A demon?" he repeated, just on the off chance he'd actually misheard.

"Quite," Hatter agreed. And a pair of black wings unfolded behind him.

Yuuta stared. "Aniki," he said, very calmly, "what did you put in my juice this morning?"

"One does assure you, it wasn't your brother," Hatter assured him, waving one wing.

"A demon," Aniki reiterated, "who isn't going to be having anything to do with you, Yuuta. Is he?" Hatter was now on the receiving end of a very dangerous look.

He didn't seem concerned.

"Ah, siblings," Hatter sighed. "They're so precious." He fanned his wings. "And entertaining. Why don't the four of you have a nice little chat, then? One is sure it will be good for all of you."

And then he sank out of sight into his own shadow. Yuuta stared at the sidewalk and reminded himself that it wasn't healthy to hyperventilate.

"So," Setsuna sighed, running a hand through his hair, "you've met Hatter before?"

"He can be entertaining company," Aniki observed.

Setsuna blinked at him for a moment before he burst out laughing. "I'll stop worrying, then!"

Sara swatted his shoulder. "Setsuna, cut it out. Maybe Fuji-san didn't know what he was getting into." She gave them a bright, sympathetic smile, and Yuuta relaxed in spite of himself. It might be nice to talk with her sometime, actually. If he was reading the situation right, she might understand a few things.

"You think?" Setsuna asked, raising a skeptical brow. "I bet he did. He'd probably get along with Hatter's boss, too." The thought seemed to amuse him.

Sara planted her hands on her hips. "Enough of that! You said you'd wait until we were both reborn to start playing politics with everyone again."

"Right, right," Setsuna raised his hands, placatingly. "Anyway, I think we'll probably see you at Nationals, Fuji."

"Really?" Aniki sounded only mildly curious, and Yuuta sighed. Some day, he'd figure out how his brother did it.

Setsuna grinned. "I'm a friend of Tachibana's."

"Small world," Aniki commented in an amiable tone.

"Gettin' smaller every day," Setsuna answered ruefully over his shoulder as his... sister?... towed him off with great determination.

"Are you sure we can't have a nice, calm day inside?" Yuuta asked, looking straight ahead, just in case any other weirdness was strolling by.

His brother laughed, softly. "That might be a good idea after all. Come on, let's head home."

End

Regarding

Branch

A memo is mis-directed to Tsuzuki's desk. Humor with Drama

Most of Enma-chou's workers, if asked, would say that Tsuzuki never knew what was on his desk. Notices of meetings, memos about cases, budget forms, if any of them were attended to before it was too late, it was the talk of the department for weeks. According to the average Watari had worked out once to settle a bet in the cafeteria, Tsuzuki was only seen actually reading anything at his desk once every five weeks.

If asked, Tsuzuki would have pointed out, quite reasonably, that he knew exactly what was on his desk. He found out once every five weeks, on average.

"Late anyway, late anyway, closed last week, late anyway," he muttered, sorting through the pile of paper. "Late... hunh?"

"Is one of them actually still current?" Hisoka asked, acidly, not looking up from filling out next month's budget request form.

"Yes," Tsuzuki said, slowly, "but it's not from here."

Now Hisoka looked up. "What?"

"To all demons rank of Brigadier or Duke," Tsuzuki read aloud, "from the domain of Beelzebub. Angelic response to recent demonic acquisitions among mortals are reaching undesirable levels. Any demons who are free are encouraged to go, forthwith, to Assiah (e.g. Earth, the mortal realm) and rectify this. Sec'y, Choronzon."

Hisoka was staring. "There is nothing more blind than bureaucracy," he declared with conviction. "They can't possibly really think you'll participate."

"Well, no, of course not." Tsuzuki nibbled his lip. "But I do kind of wonder just what's going on."

"Not our business," Hisoka said, promptly.

"But we don't have a case right now," Tsuzuki murmured, fingering the memo. "We could go take a look. No harm in that."

Hisoka gave him a baleful look for a long moment before throwing up his hands. "Fine. Fine! Don't think you're going without me, though. Who knows what you'll get involved with if you go alone."

Tsuzuki smiled at his partner, pleased that Hisoka wanted to come, too. It would be good for Hisoka to get out more. "Of course."

"Tennis?" Hisoka said for about the sixth time. "Two of the Great Angels, a Demon Lord, the Messiah, Gabriel's reincarnation, and a Principality are all here on Earth, dancing around each other, stressing the fabric of reality, getting involved with tennis teams?"

"I'm pretty sure a lesser demon was hiding out in one of the boys, too," Tsuzuki added. "Some of them do have a lot of spiritual power, I suppose." He had to admit to being just a little puzzled, himself, though. Not that he couldn't see the fun in watching these boys play; they were very determined and earnest and involved. But he was fairly sure that high ranking celestials wouldn't be hanging around just to appreciate that.

Fairly sure. That Mad Hatter character was making him wonder.

"Maybe we should ask the Gushoushin whether this has ever happened before," Hisoka said, frowning. "This concentration of them on Earth can't be good."

"I do wonder what it might be doing to the boys, to be around this many celestials," Tsuzuki agreed, leaning on the fence to watch the latest team on their list. There didn't seem to be any demons around, or angels either, which almost surprised him. He could hear the church bells from further down the campus. One of the boys did seem to have a touch of... something, though. Tsuzuki squinted.

"Hisoka, can you get anything off that one?" he asked, gesturing.

Just in time for the boy to notice and take a few fast steps back, steel gray eyes wide. A tall, dark teammate came to him and asked something. After a short exchange involving some vigorous gestures they both approached the watchers at the fence.

"Oh, just great," Hisoka groaned.

"I'm sorry, but we don't allow spectators at club practices," the dark one said, politely.

Tsuzuki smiled as brightly and soothingly as he could. "We don't want to be any trouble, we just wanted to check that no one was bothering your team."

The gray eyed boy backed up a little more. "I was right, you are another of them!" he exclaimed.

"No, no," Tsuzuki protested holding up his hands, "we're not, really. Exactly."

Hisoka smacked him on the shoulder. "And now you've confirmed that we know exactly what he's talking about." He gave the wary boy a direct look. "We're not angels or demons. Shut up, Tsuzuki," he added, as Tsuzuki's innate honesty made him start to correct the technical lie. "Our work deals with the messes they leave behind a lot, and we just want to contain the damage this time."

The dark boy, who had listened to all this with his head tipped consideringly, asked, "So what are you?"

"Shinigami."

Both boys edged back this time.

"We're not here on a case," Tsuzuki hastened to add. "It's just... I think one of them has already touched you." He looked at the gray eyed boy.

The boy crossed his arms. "Aniki said Hatter would stay away from me."

"Yuuta." The dark boy put a hand on his shoulder. "Fuji Shuusuke is impressive, but setting him against a demon? This year has gotten strange enough; if it's affecting you we should do something."

Tsuzuki fished through his memories of the day for that name. Ah, yes, the watchful one at Seishun Gakuen. "I'm sure your brother will do all he can protect you. And it's true that Seigaku has its own guardian," Tsuzuki said, softly, "but the Mad Hatter has a reputation for power and subtlety. Your brother doesn't have the training to deal with that, and Raphael doesn't have the motivation. Celestials don't usually get involved with humans without an ulterior motive."

"So what, precisely, are you suggesting?" a new voice asked from behind them. Tsuzuki turned to see a slight boy with sharp eyes watching them.

"Mizuki-san," Yuuta greeted him.

"Yuuta-kun, Akazawa," he nodded, and turned his eyes back to Tsuzuki. "So?"

"To keep outside influences away," Tsuzuki said, simply.

Hisoka slumped against the fence and crossed his arms. "You said it was just to look," he reminded Tsuzuki. "Not that I believed it for a single second, but that was what you said."

"We can't just leave this," Tsuzuki answered firmly, knowing that his partner didn't genuinely disagree. Probably.

"Fine, fine." Hisoka raked a hand through his hair. "Just don't expect me to ask Kurikara to get involved in this. Though he'd probably laugh too hard to manage to be insulting, for once."

Tsuzuki smiled, and reached out with the warmth of his pleasure in place of actually touching Hisoka's arm, which his partner hated for him to do in public. Hisoka sniffed and gave him a sidelong look a little softer than usual.

"I see," Mizuki murmured. "Yuuta-kun?" Yuuta blinked. "It is your team, now," Mizuki told him, with a very significant look for such a simple statement.

Yuuta was still for a moment before his mouth tightened. "Yes," he agreed, not as though he enjoyed the thought right at the moment. "We accept," he told Tsuzuki.

"Great!" Tsuzuki beamed at him.

"Right," Yuuta sighed. "Excuse me, then, I need to get back to practice."

Tsuzuki fetched out a handful of ofuda, sorting through them, as the three boys turned back toward the courts.

"Mizuki-san, I understand why," he heard Yuuta saying as Mizuki came up to walk beside him, "but why them?"

"Because they seem like the most disinterested parties we're likely to get," Mizuki told him. "Besides, doesn't he have lovely eyes? You know how fond I am of purple."

"Mizuki-san!" Yuuta sputtered.

Tsuzuki decided, observing Hisoka's suddenly edged glare at Mizuki's back, that it would be better for all concerned if he pretended he hadn't heard that.

End

Cost

Branch

Tatsumi has a minor upset. Humor, I-2

Tatsumi Seiichirou read the memo he had found in the middle of Tsuzuki's desk. Then he read it again. He put it down, carefully, and walked, calmly, down the hall to Konoe's office.

"I'm going to be gone this afternoon," he informed the department head, and teleported out before Konoe could do more than blink.

"Tsuzuki, what are you doing here?"

Tsuzuki jumped and yelped with surprise as Tatsumi materialized behind him. "Tatsumi-san! Don't scare me like that!" he exclaimed, pressing a hand to his chest.

Tatsumi's eyes glinted, and Tsuzuki decided, with a sinking feeling, that Tatsumi wasn't in the mood to be distracted today. Fortunately, Hisoka had come up with a good explanation and made Tsuzuki memorize it for just this eventuality.

"I'm just warding these mortals from any careless demonic or angelic influences, so the book keeping doesn't get messed up," Tsuzuki said, brightly.

"On your own time?" Tatsumi asked, with a mildness that didn't reassure Tsuzuki at all. "How responsible of you."

Tsuzuki nodded vigorously. "It seemed like a good thing to do. Preemptive action, and all that." He smiled hopefully.

The set of Tatsumi's shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. "I have been tracking the development of this situation, Tsuzuki. Lately I've been considering putting someone on it. It's a bit out of your jurisdiction, but I suppose if you and Hisoka-kun have already made a start it only makes sense to keep you on it." He nodded, decisively. "All right. Consider yourself assigned here. Submit your expense requests as usual."

Tsuzuki let out a breath of relief, thinking of the, really, very minor damages to one of the dorm buildings, where Byakko had run into it while chasing a tennis ball last week.

"Starting from today," Tatsumi finished.

Relief turned to resignation. "Yes, Tatsumi-san," Tsuzuki sighed.

End

Better

Shiraume

Watari takes advantage of the situation. Humor, I-1

The Juuohcho employees frantically threw themselves out of the way as a blond shinigami in lab coat stormed down the corridor, muttering a litany of "funds" and "cut down," with intermittent "Tatsumi," and numerous repetitions of "kill." The look on the man's face was enough to send even Terazuma scurrying for cover.

Watari Yutaka was not a happy man today.

Konoe jumped when the door slammed open and Watari stomped inside. "Where is Tatsumi?" Watari demanded, and Konoe gulped when Watari's smoldering gaze focused on him.

"He left a few minutes ago," Konoe managed to squeak out and Watari narrowed his eyes; there was only one reason why the workaholic would not be at his desk during the office hours: a Tsuzuki-related accident. Watari stalked to Tsuzuki's desk and examined the mess for clues, until a memo on top of the file caught his eyes. The slight frown of concentration changed to a look of understanding, then that of fierce determination, and the next moment, he was gone from the office. Konoe breathed a sigh of relief. They really weren't paying him enough for this job.

Once in Tokyo, it was easy enough to find Tsuzuki — all one had to do was follow the explosions, really — and by the same route, Tatsumi, currently talking to Tsuzuki. Watari stopped to compose himself. It would not do to lose his momentum now. He had a mission to accomplish here! Taking a deep breath, Watari opened his mouth to call out, and stopped.

"I'm just warding these mortals from any careless demonic or angelic influences, so the book keeping doesn't get messed up," Tsuzuki was saying. Watari closed his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

"On your own time?" Tatsumi asked, and Watari hid a snicker. His thoughts exactly.

"It seemed like a good thing to do. Preemptive action, and all that," Tsuzuki explained, and Watari frowned, wondering why he hadn't heard anything about this before (though admittedly he had been rather distracted lately, what with the breakthrough in his potions research...). Watari pursed his lips, the gears turning in his head. Now, he was sure there was some way he could use this situation, once he found out more about what was actually going on.

Very quietly, Watari backed up and teleported to the Juuohcho library, grabbing both Gushoshin on his way and locking the door. Some time later, Watari emerged from the library with an unholy gleam in his eyes, and strode down the corridor back to his lab. For the second time in the same day, the Juuohcho employees frantically scrambled out of Watari's way, fearing for their afterlife.

Three days later...

"Watari-san, are you sure this isn't against the rules?" Wakaba asked, nervously looking around to make sure no one was watching.

Watari gestured her closer, smiling widely. "Of course! Now, Wakaba-chan, I have a special today for my favorite girl."

Against her better judgment, Wakaba drew closer, and peered. Half an hour later, Wakaba carefully snuck out of the lab, flushed and smiling. She couldn't wait to talk to Hajime-chan about this!

Back in the lab, Watari, in his intense concentration, did not notice a presence looming behind him until his shadow began to tremble.

"Watari-san."

Watari, recognizing the voice, promptly whirled around to face him. "Tatsumi. Hi."

"Good afternoon. Might I ask what you are doing here?" Tatsumi's voice was pleasantly icy, and Watari swallowed. Ah well, the cat was out of the bag and all. Watari gave him a sunny smile.

"Writing down all the bets. Do you want to place one?"

Tatsumi was silent for a while. "That," Tatsumi said finally, "is definitely against the office protocol."

"But not against the rules," Watari said winningly. "I checked."

"Watari-san."

"I'll give you a sure winner," Watari said brightly. Seeing Tatsumi's cool glare, Watari tried again. "Okay, wanna split the profit 70-30?"

"50-50," Tatsumi said coolly, pushing up his glasses.

"60-40," Watari countered, not giving an inch.

"Deal." Tatsumi shook Watari's hand once, firmly. "Now that's been settled, we have a meeting in five minutes."

"Sure, just give me a minute," Watari said distractedly as he put away the white board.

"Could I ask why?" Tatsumi asked curiously as they walked out of the lab. Watari shrugged, locking the door.

"I need more funds for my research."

Note: "Better" is the accepted alternate spelling for "bettor."

Compassion

Branch

Mizuki has to deal with Tsuzuki's unexpected perception. Drama, I-3

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Tsuzuki said, nibbling one fingernail in concentration.

Hajime tried not to laugh at the rather cute picture the man made.

"Because St. Rudolph isn't participating in the tournaments any more, all the third years are supposed to retire from the team and pay attention to studying for exams."

Hajime nodded agreeably.

"And you and Akazawa-kun are not doing this because you feel like you have an obligation to be good examples to Fuji-kun for as long as you really should have been able to had fate not conspired against you in inexplicable ways," Tsuzuki recited more or less verbatim from Hajime's explanations.

"That's right." Hajime crossed an ankle over his knee, watching Yuuta practicing doubles with Kaneda. Kaneda's natural flair for it just about made up for Yuuta's stubbornness.

"And how is breaking the rules a good example to him?"

Hajime snorted. Tsuzuki had a talent for asking questions like that while sounding honestly curious. "Knowing when to abide by the rules and when to bend them is a valuable lesson," he noted. "Not that Yuuta-kun hasn't learned it very well already," he added, casting a look of possessive pride on the new team captain.

Tsuzuki gave him a cheerful smile. "For someone who hates surprises as much as you do, Mizuki-kun, you have an odd taste for unpredictable people."

Clearly, Tsuzuki had heard the whole story of St. Rudolph's matches against Seigaku, and Yuuta's insubordination. Hajime leaned back on the bench, brows raised. "I like a challenge as much as the next person, Tsuzuki-san," he murmured.

Tsuzuki directed his smile out over the courts. "Why tennis?" he asked after a minute.

Hajime was genuinely surprised, now. "What do you mean?"

Tsuzuki blinked at him innocently. "Well, I would have expected you to chose debate or something like that. Politics, perhaps. It seems a lot closer to what you actually like doing."

Hajime looked away, reminded sharply of Tsuzuki's disconcerting perceptiveness. "Where's the fun in meeting people head-on, when they know where you're coming from?" he asked, lightly.

Tsuzuki's voice gentled, and he rested a steady hand on Hajime's shoulder. "Just because you change your mind that doesn't mean your life is out of control, Mizuki-kun. You can always choose again, if your first choice isn't what you hoped for."

That cut too close to the bone. "Which is, of course, why you stay in your current occupation when you dislike it so much," Hajime shot back.

"That's because he's a masochist," Kurosaki said, briskly, from behind them. "Tsuzuki," he added, as if Hajime wasn't there, "you have a call from Watari-san."

Tsuzuki winced, suddenly looking far less piercing and far more hangdog. "I'm on assignment, he can't test anything on me while I'm on assignment," he muttered, sounding more forlorn than hopeful. He reached for the phone, and paused, glancing back and forth between the distinctly cool look Kurosaki was giving Hajime and Hajime's amused smile.

Hajime folded his hands ostentatiously. "A challenge, I said, Tsuzuki-san," he repeated, smoothly.

The suppressed laugh in Tsuzuki's eyes said he understood the implied comment on Kurosaki's straightforward nature. Tsuzuki's hand brushed over Hajime's hair as he stood. "Trust yourself. You don't need to control everything to win," he said, softly.

Hajime bit his lip, trying not to react to the sudden shiver of warmth in his chest. He heard Kurosaki sigh as Tsuzuki took the phone and they moved away.

"I swear, you'd pick up every stray we met if I let you..."

Hajime settled comfortably into his irritation at the insult. It was much easier than dwelling on the ache of Tsuzuki's unexpected sympathy.

End

Baiting

Branch

Rikkai encounters shinigami at Nationals. Drama, I-3

The day was clear and hot, good weather for their first match at Nationals. Renji supposed it was cosmic parity for something else to go wrong. He sighed when he saw Hatter's eyes brighten, as the team made their way toward their assigned court. What had caught her attention this time? He looked in the direction she was starting to edge in and suppressed the urge to put a hand to his forehead. Of all the people for Hatter to decide to tease, of course it would have to be Fuji Yuuta, and, by extension, Fuji Shuusuke.

His concerns about stirring up the opposition unnecessarily were preempted rather abruptly, though, when two people materialized between Hatter and the increasingly nervous younger Fuji. Not that long ago, Renji mused, that would have startled him. "People you know, Hatter?" he asked, examining the newcomers. A young man, probably not too much older than they were, with very sharp green eyes and an older man with messy dark hair who probably looked sweet most of the time.

At the moment he looked both tense and angry.

Not that this appeared to concern Hatter.

"Ah," she tapped a fingertip against her lips for a moment, "Tsuzuki isn't it? How nice to finally meet you in person." She eyed the St. Rudolph contingent behind him and shrugged. "You can have them, if you like. It's not as if one doesn't have one's hands pleasantly full."

Tsuzuki now looked like he didn't quite believe he'd just heard the very clear sexual innuendo. His friend looked highly suspicious. And St. Rudolph's Fuji looked like he was considering making a run for it. Renji couldn't quite blame any of them. Hatter did often take people like that.

"Besides," Hatter added, thoughtfully, "One did say one wouldn't interfere with the games, and destroying all the courts probably counts." She glanced at Genichirou, brows raised, and got a glare. "One thought so. Which is the most likely outcome if we got into a tiff over the boys."

"That hasn't stopped any other demon I've met," Tsuzuki said, slowly, easing back just slightly anyway. Someone who would rather talk than fight, Renji noted.

Hatter sniffed. "One outranks you considerably, young one, so there's no need to kill you for that consideration. Equally, one has no intention of forgetting the strength of your bloodline. Sargatanas was an idiot and got exactly what he deserved. One laughed for days when one heard." A thin smile curled her lips. "Astaroth simply isn't having a good century. His lesser demons still, clearly, haven't learned anything from their fellow's destruction; no forethought among them at all. Please do feel free to kill them off. You can think of it as your contribution to the good of all our kind, if you like." She adjusted her hat with eloquent disdain.

Renji's attention sharpened as Tsuzuki and his friend both stiffened. "I'm not a demon," Tsuzuki said, low and hard. His friend took a step closer to him.

Hatter's expression turned tolerant, the way Renji had seen it when Kurai was around. "Far be it from one to interfere in someone else's denial. Take your time."

Renji was genuinely surprised that it was Mizuki who stepped forward and fixed Hatter with a sharp gaze. "Please don't think I don't appreciate the artistry of your goading," Mizuki drawled, "but is it not the case that celestials, just as much as humans, can choose their own paths whether for good or evil?"

Hatter laid a slim hand over her eyes. "Oh, tell one you're not thinking that we could only have Fallen through free will because God isn't enough of a bastard to have doomed a third of His own angels to that fate?"

"Oh, hardly," Mizuki assured her with wide, ingenuous eyes. "According to Raphael-san, He was exactly that much of a bastard."

Hatter took her hand away and tipped her head. "You've done your research. An advance on most demons. One doesn't suppose..." She trailed off, invitingly.

Tsuzuki looked indignant, while his friend looked suddenly thoughtful. The younger one must be rather territorial, Renji decided. Both Akazawa and Yuuta looked distinctly unsurprised.

"Thank you, but I think not," Mizuki replied, charmingly regretful. He was clearly enjoying himself, and Renji was starting to be amused. Then the dark eyes narrowed. "The point is that, while you may entertain yourself by implying otherwise, Tsuzuki-san's nature no more dictates his actions than mine does."

Tsuzuki blinked. And relaxed. For someone as powerful as Hatter implied he was, Renji mused, Tsuzuki didn't seem to have put much thought into his own strength or the presumed causes of it.

Given that, Renji wasn't entirely surprised that it was Seiichi who answered Mizuki. "Yes and no."

Hatter looked around, brow raised. "Seiichi, one hadn't thought you enjoyed these kind of games."

"I don't," Seiichi said, dryly, laying a hand on Hatter's shoulder, "so hush for a moment, Belial."

Renji had to stifle a laugh. That casual command earned some stunned expressions on the other side.

Seiichi took no notice, focused on Tsuzuki as if they were the only two present. "Having a nature beyond the ordinary doesn't make for an easy life," he said. "But denying your nature won't do you any service in the long run. The only way to deal with it is to claim it, to declare it. And to fight for it."

The words passed through the Rikkai team like a tangible thread, drawing them together. The young man's green eyes widened and he rocked back from them as if he could see it happening. Tsuzuki shook his head, though.

"No," he whispered.

There was kindness in Seiichi's gaze, but no mercy. "Then it will destroy you, and likely those close to you."

Tsuzuki flinched, and his friend shook off his surprise and stepped in front of him, eyes blazing. "Enough!" he bit out, slashing his hand down. His mouth, Renji noted, was tight, as if with pain.

Tsuzuki started. "Hisoka," he said, hesitantly.

"Be quiet," Hisoka snapped at him, "I'm fine. You're not." He turned his glare back on Seiichi. "You will stop," he stated.

"Yes," Seiichi agreed after a long, considering moment. "You should think about it though." He turned Hatter around with him and gestured to the team. "Come."

"You let him go pretty easily," Genichirou observed, as they walked on.

"Mm." Seiichi glanced over. "Renji? What did you think of Hisoka?"

"I think he could tell what people were feeling," Renji said. "His responses were too strong for someone just picking up on body language." That, too, was an answer that might not have occurred to him a short time ago.

Seiichi nodded. "He really wouldn't have let me push any further. And the seed is planted, now."

"For your second career, perhaps you should consider becoming a therapist," Hatter jibed, probably disgruntled that her fun had been cut short.

"If he's going to come to us eventually," Seiichi returned, coolly, "he should come well disposed and not insane, yes?"

Hatter's stride hitched, and she looked at him with suddenly wide eyes. Renji smiled. Every now and then Seiichi could still surprise Hatter by the unthinking ease with which he acted in her support.

"So what, precisely, were they?" he asked, hoping to distract her. Hatter liked it when Seiichi showed his cold streak, and left to her own devices tended to express her appreciation in ways that caused bystanders to stop and stare. It didn't help, he reflected, that Seiichi encouraged her if he was in a sharp enough mood.

Hatter eyed him sidelong, but consented to be distracted. "Shinigami. You asked once," she added to Genichirou, "what usually happens to human souls. Those two are part of the answer. Most souls pass through either Uriel's hands or Enma's offices and go on, but some do stay to be employed."

"They used to be human, then?" Yagyuu put in. "Well, mostly," he amended.

"Yes. Humans with strong spirits, of course, or they wouldn't have their current jobs." Hatter paused and looked thoughtful. "Seiichi," she said, slowly.

Seiichi raised his brows.

"How would you like to learn magic?" Hatter asked with a wicked smile.

Renji wasn't the only one blinking at that.

"Um," Seiichi started.

Hatter waved a hand airily. "After Nationals, naturally."

A laugh ran through the team. "Naturally," Seiichi agreed, smiling as they reached the court. "I'll think about it."

End

Practicalities

Branch

Hisoka gets help from an unexpected source. Drama, I-3

Hajime had figured out some time ago that Kurosaki could feel what other people felt, especially if they felt it strongly. It was equally obvious, to anyone who watched carefully, that Kurosaki didn't have perfect control of this 'gift'. Accordingly, Hajime had dropped a few hints about Nationals, how many people showed up, how excited everyone got about the matches. A few neighborly cautions.

He was starting to think both his team's self-appointed guardians had completely missed them.

Kurosaki had been fine until the matches started heating up. Now he was a bit glassy-eyed, and swayed every time the crowd shouted. It probably didn't help, Hajime admitted, that they were currently watching Fudoumine playing Hyoutei. Being in the vicinity of Atobe's club, once he'd finished winding them up, was probably like getting hit over the head with a hammer, for Kurosaki.

Hajime watched with scientific curiosity to see how long Kurosaki would hold out before he fell over.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki murmured, putting a hand on Kurosaki's shoulder.

Well, yes, that had been the other major possibility.

Kurosaki bit his lip, hard. "I'm not... it's..."

Now even Yuuta and Akazawa were noticing that Kurosaki was having problems. Hajime considered Kurosaki's prickly pride and whether Tsuzuki would hold off any expressions of concern because of it. Extremely unlikely, he decided.

Sure enough, Tsuzuki ignored the people around them and actually pulled Kurosaki into his arms. Hajime was a bit surprised that Kurosaki only muttered a protest and didn't pull away. In fact, he even let Tsuzuki press his his head down to Tsuzuki's shoulder and some of the piano-wire tension eased out of him. Of course, now he was shuddering intermittently, but that was all right; Tsuzuki had a good grip.

Hajime adjusted a few of the assumed values in his mental equation of Tsuzuki's and Kurosaki's relationship. Apparently the threshold of distress for Kurosaki to accept Tsuzuki's help or protection was a good deal lower than Kurosaki's snapping and growling suggested. Kurosaki could, it seemed, be practical about some things after all.

"Does he need to be away from here?" Akazawa asked. Another one, Hajime reflected affectionately, with a broader practical streak than the casual watcher might expect. It was a good thing that Hajime wasn't a casual watcher.

"I'm fine," Kurosaki said, a bit muffled. And then flinched as Tachibana drove the ball past Atobe and every spectator roared. His fingers clenched, white knuckled, in Tsuzuki's shirt. Hajime shook his head. Kurosaki could give Yuuta lessons in stubborn, and that was saying something.

"Excuse me," interjected a new voice. "Here."

When a complete stranger closed his hands firmly on Kurosaki's shoulders, Hajime braced for the explosion. He'd never met anyone as fanatical about his personal space as Kurosaki.

The explosion didn't come. Instead Kurosaki slumped against Tsuzuki, suddenly breathing easily again. And Tsuzuki, who had been reaching for a pocket, and presumably some of his ofuda, paused and looked down at his armful of exhausted partner, wide eyed. "Hisoka?"

"It's good," Kurosaki answered, sounding quite relieved, and pulled himself upright. "Who...?"

The newcomer smiled as Kurosaki turned to face him. "Raziel. Pleased to meet you. They are a little overwhelming, aren't they?"

Everyone stared at the bright wings folding back away. Hajime simply had to pause a moment to chuckle over the irony. Tsuzuki and Kurosaki were hanging around St. Rudolph to guard the mortals from undue celestial influence, and here it was an angel who managed to help Kurosaki when he was incapacitated by a crowd of mortals. Delicious.

Kurosaki blinked a few times. "How did you know...?"

Raziel shrugged casually. "I used to get like that, too, before Zaphkiel-sama taught me how to turn down the intensity." He looked down at the match with obvious curiosity. "And they're pretty intense about this."

"Are you associated with any of them?" Tsuzuki asked, cautiously.

Raziel laughed. "Oh, no. I just came to see what could possibly be keeping all of the Great Angels here. Not," he added in a dry tone, "that is isn't quieter with them gone."

"It was that demon that's hanging around Kanagawa, the one that dresses weirdly," Kurosaki supplied, clearly regaining some of his usual snap.

"Mad Hatter," Raziel sighed. "Of course it was." He paused and eyed Tsuzuki for a long moment. "Bet he had some fun with you."

Kurosaki bristled, and Raziel waved a hand. "I don't play those kind of head games, don't worry. But my organization keeps an ear out for rumors, and you've been a pretty popular rumor for a while now, Tsuzuki-san."

"Mad Hatter," Tsuzuki said tightly, "is operating under some mistaken assumptions, the first of which is that I have any interest in that part of my blood."

Raziel grinned. "Well, you could always join us instead."

Hajime had been wondering how long it would be before someone made that suggestion. He nudged Yuuta to keep quiet and folded his arms, watching.

"I could what?" Tsuzuki asked, after a second.

Raziel's mouth took on an exasperated twist. "Look, a third of the demons are angels, or at least were. And the rest are descended from angels. Either from the Grigori who took human lovers or from the children of Lilith and Lucifer. The angels like to make a lot of their perfect forms, but that's just labwork and killing off the 'imperfect' ones. The children of two angels have just as much chance of being altered by their power as the children of demons. Take it from me." The green eyes that had been cheerful were chill now. "It's all the same blood in the end."

Tsuzuki looked stunned, and Hajime put a hand over his eyes. "Do you honestly mean to say it never occurred to you, Tsuzuki-san?" he asked. Surely that particular connection was obvious to anyone who had the most passing acquaintance with angels and demons.

Tsuzuki just blinked at him. Hajime shook his head, ruefully.

"You're a menace to yourself," he informed Tsuzuki. "You need a manager. I'd volunteer out of humanitarian considerations if I weren't already committed."

Kurosaki glared fiery death at him and edged between Hajime and Tsuzuki. Hajime smiled his most urbane smile back and chalked up another success. What he'd told Tsuzuki was true; Kurosaki wasn't a challenge. He was, however, extremely entertaining.

Raziel seemed to be trying not to laugh. "You, on the other hand, would fit in very well somewhere else," he noted.

"Yes, I got the offer already," Hajime murmured.

"Mizuki-san," Yuuta said, at last, giving Hajime the look that meant he wasn't going to hang around in the cross-fire of one of Hajime's games for much longer.

Hajime patted his shoulder. "Of course, Yuuta-kun. Of course."

Raziel shook his head and turned back to Tsuzuki. "I'm not really joking, though. The Third War upset the basic structure of Heaven and Hell. I'm not truly surprised that the powerful ones who survived are looking for new sources of influence and power. To be honest, I expect a major influx of human souls fairly soon. If you want to come, the Anima Mundi will have a place for you and your partner; and your spirits, too. Think about it." He smiled at Kurosaki. "And good luck with your gift." He turned away, strolling on through the crowd.

Hajime looked after him. "I think recruitment must be some kind of genetic predisposition in celestials," he mused. "And Tsuzuki-san," he added, without looking back, "I think you, too, may need to choose again. Or, perhaps, choose for the first time. You won't have any peace until you do."

"Is that your analysis of the situation?" Tsuzuki asked, quietly.

"Gratis," Hajime agreed. "Consider it repayment."

Behind him, Tsuzuki chuckled, and Hajime was hard pressed not to start when his hair was ruffled. "Friends don't give help expecting a return, Hajime-kun."

Hajime sniffed skeptically and did his best to ignore the amusement in Akazawa's face and the suspiciously pleased smile on Yuuta's. Even Kurosaki wasn't glaring at him properly.

Honestly, some people just had no sense of propriety at all.

"Rumors," Tsuzuki muttered. "Information." He glanced at Kurosaki. "Maybe I will think about it."

End

Cooperative Ventures

Branch

One Kurosaki meets another Kurosaki. Humor, I-1

"Cousin." Hisoka planted his fists on his hips and glared up... and up... at the other young man. "Impossible."

The young man in question ran a harried hand through short, orange hair. "Not like it was my idea, shrimp. And if you're a shinigami," he added, as Hisoka reminded himself he wasn't allowed to kill humans whose time wasn't up, "why aren't you in uniform?"

Hisoka blinked. "Uniform? What uniform?" He frowned at Tsuzuki. "Was there a memo about getting uniforms, and you lost it again?"

"... younger sister... mother's name... well, yeah, if his dad was a... huh?" Tsuzuki looked up from the pad of paper he was attempting to chart the Kurosaki geneology on. "Um. I don't think so?" He smiled at Hisoka's maybe-cousin. "So you say you're a part-timer? That's unusual." He nibbled his lip. "For the living, anyway."

Ichigo fished out a small badge and tossed it over, still looking skeptical and out of temper.

Ok, maybe he was Hisoka's cousin after all.

"Oh!" Tsuzuki gave them both a bright, cheerful grin. "You're part of the other branch!"

"The other branch?" Hisoka and Ichigo chorused, and then glared at each other again.

"Different realms, under different rulers," Tsuzuki explained. "We do some of the same work, but recruitment is totally separate. We do cooperate every now and then, but there hasn't been a joint operation for... a couple centuries, I think. The Chief is probably the only one who remembers." He handed the badge back to Ichigo.

"At least he doesn't draw pictures," Ichigo muttered. He eyed them dubiously, but finally shrugged. "Whatever. Hey." He looked Hisoka up and down. "If you're from an old family, are you any good with a sword? They keep telling me I could use some extra practice..."

Hisoka smiled for the first time that afternoon.

End