Archive of Our Own

It was time for vacation, and Chief Konoe was ready to throw a dart and find out where they were all going this time. He wrapped the blindfold around his eyes and aimed as best he could, everyone around him waiting with baited breath, each hoping for something different.

Watari had his eyes shut tight and hands clasped together as he prayed for somewhere warm and somewhere he could go swimming.

Terazuma couldn't watch, his back to the map of Japan tacked onto the wall. He'd love to go somewhere quiet and rural, with the smell of nature, or a bamboo forest, like he had back home when he was alive. He figured Wakaba would enjoy that kind of place too, who was currently talking to her Shiki friends about the gate and checking on Gensoukai.

Tatsumi hoped it was somewhere fairly inexpensive, but he could also definitely go for a place with nice hot springs where he could relax for a few solid hours.

Hisoka watched, curious where they were going, as Tsuzuki was in the office furiously finishing up paperwork. His only wish was that it was somewhere relaxing, but also where he wouldn't get bored doing just one thing. He'd always wanted to try camping, honestly. He knew Tsuzuki would just be glad to get away from work for a bit.

Konoe threw the dart, and everyone held their breath.

It hit the map, landing on a solid land mass to the relief of those who had put up with a middle-of-the-ocean hit before.

Watari hissed, and Tatsumi grimaced, making an equally displeased sound.

Konoe looked a bit down about it. "It's no good, huh?"

Terazuma blinked at them, thinking them all stupid.

"What's wrong with Kyoto?"

Tatsumi crossed his arms. "I'm not sure if Tsuzuki would feel so good about going back still."

Terazuma scoffed. "He's fine! He just got injured on a case, right?"

Terazuma followed Tatsumi's line of sight, they both stared at Hisoka.

Hisoka sighed quietly. "If we ask, he'll say he's fine just so he can go. But I'm not letting him go back, not yet." He shook his head, knowing that those memories still scarred them both.

"If that's how it is, then I'll stay here with him."

Terazuma frowned.

"Chief..." Watari said gently. "Maybe just this once, you can re-throw. If it's somewhere equally bad, we'll do Kyoto, but maybe we'll be able to go somewhere else."

Konoe thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah. That sounds best." He gave Terazuma a look. "If we all went to Kyoto, imagine how long he'd complain about not going!"

Terazuma groaned and his shoulders slumped. "Alright, fine! Kyoto's off the table."

Konoe retied the blindfold and aimed again, shifting his hand a little higher, or at least he hoped it was.

The dart flew, and hit.

Hisoka sighed and headed for the door. "I'll go tell him."

Hisoka leaned on the desk and Tsuzuki immediately sprung up, eyes wide and hopeful.

"So?"

"...We're going to Hokkaido again."

Tsuzuki pumped a fist. "Woo! Hot springs and snow and- ...Why do you look so down about it?"

Hisoka frowned. "Because that means we'll have to hang out with those girls again. What a pain!"

Tsuzuki gave him a smile. "They're not that bad."

"Not to you maybe."

So they went, though Wakaba ended up staying behind because of an issue with Gensoukai. Terazuma volunteered to stay with her, but she urged him to go and bring her back a bunch of souvenirs. Tatsumi stayed with her though, realizing that a trip with Tsuzuki and Terazuma would not be relaxing.

He did tell Hisoka he wasn't going, and asked him to keep a good eye on Tsuzuki for him, to which Hisoka replied, "Of course".

And of course they met up with Saya and Yuma.

Who immediately greeted Hisoka with too much cheer.

He slapped them away, and Tsuzuki ended up being the wall between them.

"Tell us, Tsuzuki-chan! Did anything fun happen since we last saw you?"

He smiled. "Well, let's see... Oh, Hisoka got a shiki."

"Don't talk about me!" Hisoka grumbled.

Tsuzuki chuckled.

"Uwah! How cool, Hisoka-chan!" Yuma said.

"Is it something cute?" Saya asked.

Hisoka eyed them carefully. He didn't think Kurikara was cute, of all things.

"He's a black dragon."

"Ooh, how cool! A dragon definitely suits Hisoka-chan!"

Saya thought about it. "Ehh, but are there so many dragons in Gensoukai? I don't remember really seeing any other than Tsuzuki-chan's."

"It's Kurikara." Tsuzuki said plainly.

Hisoka knew Tsuzuki still held mixed emotions about the whole situation.

Saya looked surprised. "That Kurikara!?" She looked at Hisoka with wide eyes.

Hisoka nodded.

Yuma cheered. "Wow! Hisoka-chan is tough too!"

Tsuzuki grinned along with her. "He's tough and cute and smart!"

Watari joined in. "AND he comes from a rich family!"

"Watari-san, please don't..." Hisoka pleaded softly.

Terazuma joined in too. "And he's a hard worker!"

Hisoka blushed.

Even Konoe pitched in. "Kurosaki-kun also has the patience of a saint for dealing with his partner all this time."

"Hisoka-chan is a perfect 10!" Saya said, wow'd.

Hisoka scowled. "I'm not perfect!"

Tsuzuki chuckled. "I also think Hisoka-chan is a perfect 10!"

"Don't call me -chan!"

"Hehe, oops..."

They reached their lodgings, which was a nice ryokan with an onsen, and they all decided to have a nice warm soak before going out for a late lunch.

"Bon, come to the onsen with us!" Watari pleaded.

Hisoka gave him a hard look, crossing his arms. "Why?"

"Because we've known you so long, and you never do! Pretty please? Please, please, please?" He bent over, making himself lower than Hisoka and pressed his palms together to beg.

Hisoka watched him, thinking about it.

Seeing that Hisoka was starting to waver, Watari thought quickly of an offer to seal the deal, trying to think what would Hisoka not refuse? But he realized nearly immediately that there wasn't anything Hisoka needed. He wasn't someone who cared to buy much of anything, he wasn't a food glutton like Tsuzuki and he didn't care that much about alcohol.

"I'll do anything." Watari said instead. Quickly remembering that Hisoka liked learning stuff, he added,

"I can teach you something? I know a lot about science, but I know some stuff about other things too."

He saw the sparkle in Hisoka's eyes then, but he knew he could be unpredictable, and might still turn him down.

Hisoka let his arms fall to his sides. "Deal."

"Yes!" Watari pumped both hands in fists. "I'll see you in there, Bon!" And he rushed off to get ready himself.

Watari was first to get in, and Hisoka was second.

"So, when we get back, is there something in particular you want me to teach you about?" Watari asked, curious what about the offer had piqued Hisoka's curiosity.

"Well... You know a lot about demons, right?"

Watari nodded. "They're my hobby."

"I was wondering if you could teach me about them, like the different types, and what their likes and dislikes are."

"Sure can! But, I'm surprised, I didn't know you were interested in demons."

"Why wouldn't I be? We deal with so many of them, I just thought it would make things easier if I knew more about them."

It made sense, but Watari could tell there was something else. He silently watched Hisoka, who could tell from his empathy what Watari wanted to ask.

"Also..." Hisoka said, a bit softer this time. "Well, I was wondering... About Tsuzuki. He's convinced he's at least partially a demon. I was wondering if you think it's possible?"

"Ah. I see. That's a tough one, to be honest... It's complicated. It depends on what you think of as being a demonic influence... You want to learn about demons, so you can see if there's one that matches Tsuzuki?"

Hisoka nodded, but Terazuma came out to the onsen, so they stopped talking about it.

"I can teach you all you like after the trip."

"Sure, thank you."

Terazuma was only mildly surprised to see Hisoka. He didn't know the extent of his shy-ness, not having been around him much outside of work.

"Hey, Kurosaki-kun, not joined to your partner's hip for once, eh?"

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "No, but he is coming, I presume."

"Great."

Terazuma slipped into the water, sitting across the bath from Hisoka and at Watari's left, sighing pleasantly at the hot water.

"By the way," Terazuma started. "I was wanting to ask how you're doing, with your shiki and all. Yours is parasitic too, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes, he is. But I think we've got a good understanding of each other. Yours actually transforms your body, right? Kurikara doesn't do that with me."

"Ah, yeah, there are different types of parasitic shiki." He said, a bit bitter. "Mine is the type to use my body as a vessel to come into this world and fight. The benefit is that it increases my defense against a demon's attack though."

Hisoka nodded. "Kurikara can add a fire element to my psychic powers, like pyrokinesis, but otherwise he just straight up appears, like with Tsuzuki's shiki."

And speaking of, Tsuzuki showed up.

"Eh, Terazuma is already here?" He said in a disgusted tone. "I thought they didn't let dogs in the baths here."

"Why, you-!"

"Eh!? But Hisoka is here too?!"

A little embarrassed, Hisoka pointed to Watari and sunk down in the water a little bit.

"Watari-san bribed me!"

Tsuzuki chuckled. He himself had let Watari bribe him before. Tsuzuki got in the water, sitting quite close to Hisoka.

So close that Watari and Terazuma couldn't help but stare, intrigued.

And Hisoka was so unbothered by it, that it made them wonder just how close the two were.

And then Tsuzuki stretched out, placing an arm, not around Hisoka, but along the stone rim behind him.

I thought he was going to wrap an arm around Kurosaki-kun! Terazuma thought, exhaling in relief.

Do they do this when they're alone? Watari wondered, bewildered.

"Hisoka, you're so skinny. You need to eat more." Tsuzuki said, poking a rib.

Hisoka wrapped his arms around his ribcage and leaned away.

"Don't do that!"

Terazuma stared, even more confused. Ehh? But he doesn't want him to touch him? But he can sit so close to him, naked?

Watari was in the same boat as Terazuma. What strange boundaries they have...

"Besides," Hisoka continued. "It's not like I would actually gain weight, stupid!"

After the soaking, everyone met up outside the ryokan and headed out for a bite to eat. Saya and Yuma recommended a few places until everyone could agree on where to go.

They decided to make the trip down to Odori park to get something to eat before checking out the snow festival.

Everyone got their food and were eating it outside, despite the cold, and having a good time.

Yuma's mouth was full of yakisoba, refusing to bite down and sever the neverending noodles. She and Saya had bought a bunch of food, so that they could snack on it throughout the rest of the evening and not have to wait in line again, not afraid of eating chilled food.

Tsuzuki had at least 4 different things, but he and Konoe had gone in together to share bigger family-sized dishes. Terazuma had gotten the same as Yuma.

Saya had just finished a croquet, and was reaching in the bag to grab some kebab when Terazuma opened his mouth.

"If you keep eating like that, you'll get fat!" He joked, knowing full well that shinigami can't gain weight anyway.

Hisoka felt a spark of furious anger from Yuma, but her mouth was too full to chew him out.

"Y-you're right..." Saya muttered, pulling her hand out of the bag.

Hisoka saw a flash of a memory so strong, his mere proximity to Saya was enough, when usually he'd need to touch someone to see such a thing so clearly.

It was of Saya, so thin and worn down, so tired and frail. Feeling so empty and dizzy and faint. She was looking in a mirror, her face gaunt, not even hidden by her makeup. When she saw her reflection she thought, pretty.

Hisoka understood immediately, and felt a hot burst of anger in himself just as bad as what he felt from Yuma.

He grabbed the front of Terazuma's coat and punched him straight in the face as hard as he could, which, as someone who grew up learning martial arts, was pretty damn hard.

Everyone gasped except Tsuzuki, who burst out laughing behind him, always enjoying when Terazuma got his ass handed to him.

Hisoka grabbed the bag of food in one hand, and looped his elbow around Saya's, dragging her away from the group, much to everyone's absolute surprise, including Saya's.

Hisoka said nothing for a while, just walked fast with Saya's arm looped through his.

Eventually he stopped, when the anger in his chest had died down and he could feel the cold air around them again.

"Sorry." He said, because she might not have wanted to run away like that.

She shook her head, unsure what to say.

"I saw." He said then. "I wasn't trying to, and I didn't mean to see it. Sorry."

He let go of her arm, then held the bag of food out to her.

"Terazuma's a dick. You can eat whatever you want."

She smiled softly at him. "I can't believe you punched him for that..." She took the bag.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and looked away from her. "People give me shit for my eating habits all the time. We don't have to eat as shinigami, so I don't see much point in it."

"We still get hungry, if only out of habit." She said quietly, as if it were something she had learnt to repeat.

"I don't." Hisoka said. "But... When I was alive, I was hated and neglected, so I wouldn't always be told when food was available. I had to know. I had to search it out for myself. And I would forget, so fully in my own head and trying to become stronger and better... I stopped feeling hungry." He said it nonchalantly, having long been used to it.

Saya looked down at her shoes. "...That's still an eating disorder, just so you know."

"I guess so. I realize I stopped feeling hungry because I was so stressed out. Anxiety, I guess. But it's carried over into my death. I rarely feel hungry, and knowing I don't have to worry about it for health reasons, just means I can let myself forget for days at a time. Tsuzuki hates it, and keeps making me eat, but..."

"The worst part of it all..." Saya said, voice so much like water that Hisoka initially thought she was crying.

"...Is that when it was too late... I didn't want to die."

Hisoka said nothing while she gathered her energy to continue.

"I realized that my family was going to be so sad when they found out I died, and my friends too, the few I had left anyway. And I thought of all the things I still wanted to do and see, and how it was going to be impossible if I died. I didn't want to die..." She said, and she did cry then.

Hisoka kicked at the snow by his feet.

"So? What did you want to do?"

She wiped at her face with her gloves. "I really like fashion and makeup and... And I guess I wanted to be a model, or at least a stylist." She wiped at her face a bit more, and Hisoka was mildly surprised that her makeup hadn't smudged in the slightest.

"Yuma likes to let me do her makeup sometimes, because she knows all of this, and we'll do little fashion shows together sometimes, just for fun." She laughed. "Silly, I know."

"It's not. Tsuzuki really likes gardening and said my house was cold-looking, so he brought some over, but I know nothing about it. He comes over all the time to help me take care of the plants and teaches me about it. It's something we can do together, outside of work, and it's nice. If it's something you two enjoy, then what's so silly about it?"

She looked up at him and gave him a big smile. "You're so right. Actually... You remind me of my little brother."

He blinked at her, surprised. "I do?"

She nodded. "Like you, he would hate it when I would try to do girly stuff with him. But he was my brother, and I loved teasing him. He teased me too of course. When... When everything was too far gone, when I was in the hospital... I remember him holding my hand, and telling me that when I got out he would let me do whatever I wanted. That I could give him a full makeover. Aaaand I'm crying again. Sorry."

She wiped furiously at her eyes, trying to laugh it off.

"You miss him." Hisoka said softly, then a bit louder, he said, "Ahh, you know! I wouldn't mind your fussing over me if it wasn't girly stuff!"

She looked up at him again, her hands lowering from her face.

"Of course I don't want to wear a dress or anything! But if it was boy-stuff I wouldn't always get so mad."

She gave him another small smile. "Okay. Next time, you'll have to let me dress you up in a cool style!"

Hisoka nodded, just a tiny bit embarrassed.

She laughed.

Hisoka took the bag of food from where it was hanging on her wrist, and pulled out the wrapped-up kebab inside.

"Here, eat."

She took it, still smiling. She reached into the bag and took out a second one, holding it out to Hisoka.

"They're really good, so you should try it! ...I've learnt that even if you can't finish it, just eating what you can is okay."

Hisoka took it, unable to refuse.

The two ate their kebabs as the sun was setting, and the lights were starting to turn on.

"Oh, look, a tiny snowman-" Saya said, pointing to two lumps of snow by a bench.

"-But he fell over."

She walked over and put the head lump back on top, but it was lopsided and not quite round anymore, and only a single pebble remained of an eye.

Hisoka clicked his tongue. "It's too small." He said, taking the pieces and rolling them up in a bagger ball to be the base. Following his lead, Saya started to form the head to go on top. Hisoka took the skewers from the kebabs they had both eaten (forcing the two of them to have to eat the last two pieces of meat on the stick), and he stuck them on the body for arms, as short as they were.

They found stuff to use for eyes, a nose, a mouth, and even eyebrows.

"Looks much better." Hisoka said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Ah," Saya pulled a camera out of her pocket. "Hisoka-kun, could you take a picture?"

He took the camera, saying nothing about her sudden decision to use -kun with him instead of -chan.

She sat down on the bench next to the snowman.

"He reminds me of my first boyfriend, Takahiro-kun." She said dreamily. "He also had a dumb face with a heart made of ice."

Hisoka couldn't help the snort of laughter.

She made a peace sign with both hands and smiled for the picture.

After he took the picture, she stood up and took the camera back, looking at the picture.

The two ended up walking through Odori park, looking at the snow sculptures, and Hisoka took more pictures at her request.

They continued the walk, ending up at Tsudome, while Saya clicked through the pictures on the camera, smiling.

"You would have made a really good model." Hisoka said.

She looked up at him, surprised.

He flushed, though his cheeks were already red from the cold.

"Sorry, that was a bad thing to say, huh?"

She shook her head. "Not at all! Thank you, Hisoka-kun."

"Why -kun now?"

"Because it's more boyish, right?"

"So- what should I be calling you? Saya-san? Saya-kun? Saya-chan? Ah, no wait, what was your last name again?"

She shook her head quickly, smiling. "Not telling!"

He tsk'd again. "Well, anything besides 'Saya-chan' sounds weird anyway."

She hummed a happy tune, and Hisoka could see there was more of a spring in her step now.

The two stopped to watch professional snowboarders do flips coming off a ramp.

Saya took some short videos and pictures. Then, without looking at Hisoka, she asked,

"Ahh, but Hisoka-kun doesn't like having his picture taken, right?"

"I never said that. It's only a picture, so why would I dislike it?"

She smiled big. "Then, can we take one together?"

He nodded, and she let out a short happy noise.

The two pressed their shoulders together as Saya tried to get the angle right for a selfie.

Hisoka stuck his tongue out at the last second, making Saya laugh.

"You're too nice to go for such a bad-boy image!" She said.

"Ah, my bad, try again."

But this time, he took the camera from her and took their picture. He handed it back afterwards, simply saying,

"My reach is longer."

After they left the snowboarding area, they took a few more pictures, with Saya feeling free to take more pictures of Hisoka now.

They were taking another selfie, with Hisoka once again holding the camera.

Saya did a double peace sign again, so Hisoka copied it with his free hand, making Saya smile wider, and took the picture.

"Saya!" Yuma called out.

"Yuma!" Saya grinned.

Yuma rushed over, pulling Saya into a super tight hug. The other shinigami were there too, and Tsuzuki looked relieved to find them, pulling Hisoka into a hug too.

"Get off me!" Hisoka grumbled.

Tsuzuki let go, while Saya and Yuma were still hugging tightly.

"We were worried about you two. We weren't sure if you stayed together or not." Tsuzuki explained.

Hisoka saw Terazuma staying far back from the two, and couldn't help glaring at him. Watari was also standing nearby with Konoe.

Tsuzuki's smile grew at the mere memory.

"You broke his nose." He said happily, obviously trying to keep another fit of laughter down. "His nose was bleeding for a solid 10 minutes!" Then, with a more calm expression, he asked,

"Where did you two go?"

Hisoka shrugged. "We ate and looked at the snow sculptures."

"See, that's what Yuma thought, but when we walked through, we didn't see you."

"Oh, we made Takahiro-kun first."

Yuma, overhearing, burst out laughing. Saya said they took a picture, so Hisoka handed the camera over to show her. Tsuzuki leaned in also, seeing the picture of Saya with the snowman.

"We also watched the snowboarders." Saya said. "It was a lot of fun."

"Eh, what are you, Saya-chan's boyfriend now?" Tsuzuki asked with an unreadable expression.

"No! Don't be an idiot!" Hisoka said, slapping his arm.

Terazuma made his way over, looking sheepish and wary.

"Torii-san... I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It was mean. I know if Wakaba were here and heard me say that, she wouldn't talk to me for a week. So." He bowed properly. "I'm very sorry!"

Yuma nodded, her hands on her hips.

Tsuzuki whispered to Hisoka,

"She chewed him out almost the entire time we looked for you two."

"Thank you." Saya said. "I accept your apology."

Watari clapped his hands together. "Great! Now that everyone is back to getting along, how about we all go try out the sledding!"

Terazuma and Tsuzuki made sure to start at the same time and see who could reach the bottom first, making it a race.

They couldn't agree on who actually won.

"Hisoka! Your ears are so red!" Tsuzuki said, putting his warm gloved hands over them.

"So are yours, you know!"

Tsuzuki chuckled, putting his hands on his own ears then.

"But you know, I'd love to go sledding down an actual mountain, wouldn't you?"

"It's only the first day of our vacation, so we could probably go up to the mountains and do that."

Tsuzuki turned and called out to the girls. "Saya-chan, Yuma-chan! Do you know where to go real sledding?"

"Ooh yeah! We could go tomorrow!"

They went to the mountains early the next day, made their way to the top, and paired up to go down.

Tsuzuki and Hisoka paired up, Konoe opted out entirely, Saya paired up with Terazuma, leaving Yuma with Watari.

Hisoka sat in front, with Tsuzuki behind him. The wooden sled had a short rope with which to try and steer with, so Hisoka took it up.

The start of the sledding was nice and peaceful, but soon they were going very fast. Tsuzuki started out by holding onto Hisoka's shoulders, but quickly ended up wrapping his arms around his torso.

"Hisoka-! Don't you think you're taking those turns to sharp?" He asked.

"No."

They swerved wide to avoid a tree, almost hitting another one.

"Then don't you think you're turning too closely to those trees?"

"Oh relax, it's fun."

Tsuzuki frowned.

Apparently he and Hisoka had a different idea what fun meant.

"If I had known you were such an adrenaline junkie, I wouldn't have let you take the reins!" He said helplessly, shutting his eyes so he wouldn't have to see how narrowly they missed the next turn.

Hisoka chuckled, laughing at his expense.

Which, truth be told, were the only times Tsuzuki had heard Hisoka laugh so far.

Snow demon! Tsuzuki thought loudly, and he hoped Hisoka heard it too.

Going at such a fast speed meant that when they reached the bottom, Hisoka tried to twist the sled to the side to hard stop, knocking them both into the snow and wiping out.

Tsuzuki was just glad they managed to survive, and laid there in the snow, enjoying not moving at the speed of sound.

Hisoka picked himself up out of the snow, dusting the snow off his pants and arms.

"Tsuzuki. Come on." He held a hand out. "Before you get run over by Terazuma-san."

Tsuzuki took his hand, and being a bit stubborn, allowed Hisoka to actually help pull him up, instead of putting much strength into it himself.

"He's not down here yet?"

"Nope. We beat him down." Hisoka dragged the sled along to the lodge at the base of the mountain, put it where everyone put theirs, and he and Tsuzuki headed inside to meet up with Konoe, who was enjoying a hot coffee by the window.

"Chief, did you see?" Tsuzuki asked, sitting down next to him at the big table. "Hisoka's so reckless!"

"We're not even hurt, stupid!"

"Never drive a car, Hisoka, you'll get in a wreck like that!"

"What makes you think I'd drive a car the same as sledding? Don't be such an idiot!"

Konoe sighed. His peaceful sitting and drinking coffee had turned to unwanted excitement.

"Ah!" Tsuzuki pointed to the window, where they could see Terazuma and Saya coming down. Reaching the bottom at a more normal speed, Saya threw her arms up, making an inaudible woo!

The two entered the lodge shortly after, but went first to the counter to order hot drinks.

Hisoka got up to order also, asking what Tsuzuki wanted.

Meanwhile, Watari and Yuma came down the mountain as well.

Watari sat down next to Tsuzuki after ordering, and Terazuma sat down next to Watari as the two came back at the same time. Yuma got the window seat across from Konoe, Saya next to her, and Hisoka at the end.

They weren't a particularly loud table, but an energetic one. Telling stories, and catching up, and laughing. All in all, a much better mood than the night just before.

Watari was leaning over the table, telling the girls how Tsuzuki opened a window at the office once and all the papers blew off his desk.

They laughed, and Terazuma did too.

"Yeah, and I helped you clean it all up and organize it back!" Hisoka said, shooting Tsuzuki a look that said don't you ever do it again.

Tsuzuki smiled sweetly. "Yeah, even though Tatsumi said no one was allowed to help me."

"Aww!" The girls coo'd. "Hisoka-kun is such a sweet partner!"

Hisoka blushed. "No... It's just that we had plans that night, and I didn't want him to be late."

"Plans?"

"We were having dinner."

"Out?"

"No, I cooked."

"AWW!"

"I need something stronger than this..." He muttered, getting up from the table.

A few of them chuckled.

With Hisoka gone, Watari couldn't help but ask.

"Actually, Tsuzuki, you and Bon have gotten a lot closer, haven't you?"

"Eh? Have we?"

"You don't think so?"

Tsuzuki hummed a short tune in thought.

"I mean, he's obviously very attached to you."

"He is?"

Watari blinked at him. "Well... I mean... In Kyoto...? And in the onsen before too."

"Oh. Oh, well..." His face was turning red.

"Well?"

Tsuzuki looked down at his hands, fidgeting. "Please don't tell him?" He looked around to each person at the table, making sure they all promised.

"Well, he's cute and smart and all that stuff, right?"

Everyone nodded along, save for Konoe who really wanted to stay out of it.

"So... I guess... I keep getting closer to him, and I don't know why he lets me, but-"

"Get on with it!"

"I've sorta... Fallen for-"

Hisoka came back and Tsuzuki immediately shut his mouth.

The sudden silence was not lost on Hisoka.

But he heard a practically collective thought amongst everyone, Ah, so that's it...

Unsure, but figuring it was directed at him, he sat down, saying slowly,

"I thought it was obvious that I meant I was getting alcohol...?"

Watari laughed, trying to ease the uncomfortable silence. "Of course! Ahh, but Bon, aren't you still underage? You're like 19 now, right?"

He rolled his eyes, lifting the cup to his lips. "Bite me."

Watari laughed again. "Ah of course I guess it really doesn't matter, does it?"

Convinced then that it was nothing but everyone being weird as usual, Hisoka relaxed.

"Ahh, Hisoka-kun?" Saya said, holding her phone in her hands. "So I can send you a copy of the photos we took, could you give me your email address?"

"Just use the work one." He said simply.

"Eh? Are you sure that's okay?"

"Mm-hm." He nodded.

Tsuzuki, resting his chin in his hand, gave Hisoka a tired look as he addressed Saya.

"Hisoka doesn't have a cellphone."

"I don't need one." He said in an equally tired tone.

It seems they had this conversation often.

"And like I always say- wouldn't it be more convenient to talk to each other? It's helpful for cases, you know!"

"And like I always say- we aren't apart enough for it to make that much of a difference!"

Yuma reached a hand over the table, waving it at Tsuzuki.

"Ah, ah, Tsuzuki-chan! It's fine, it's fine. Just leave it."

Hisoka was surprised at Yuma's support, but didn't want to say anything.

Tsuzuki, too, was surprised, but he listened to her.

"Wait, but you have a computer then?" Saya asked.

"Just the work one."

"So you don't have a Twitter or LINE account or anything?" Yuma asked.

He shook his head slowly.

The girls sighed dramatically.

"How can you call yourself a member of the youth!?" Yuma bemoaned.

"What young man doesn't have a Twitter to follow his favorite celebrities!?" Saya complained.

Tsuzuki was smiling, in complete agreement with them.

Hisoka frowned, pouting. "I don't really have favorite celebrities though."

The girls groaned. Yuma got up to sit on Hisoka's other side, the girls now having him trapped in. She pulled out her phone and Saya and Yuma began teaching him all about a world he had never gotten the chance to be part of.

He kept up his air of indifference, even if it did intrigue him.

"I just didn't grow up with it!" He explained. "We barely had electricity, only in a few rooms!"

Yuma gave him a confused look. "Where did you live? The boonies?"

"Up in the mountains."

"How many rooms did your house have?"

He shrugged. "I never counted!"

"How can you not know!?"

"It's a big house!" He argued.

Tsuzuki piped up, adding, "Hisoka's from an old samurai family. It sounds like he might've lived in an actual old traditional style house, with like grounds and stuff. Right?"

Hisoka nodded. "That's right. It sat on the edge of the village so there was a lot of land with it."

"Did you have those whistling floorboards?" Tsuzuki asked with a bigger smile, curious.

"Yeah, sorta. The house is pretty rundown so a lot of them don't work anymore, but some do."

"How cool!"

The girls pulled Hisoka's attention back to their phones.

"I do know how to use a phone, y'know...AND the internet. I'm not completely oblivious."

Tsuzuki muttered, "Maybe I should stop letting you use mine, so you have to get your own..."

The next day was a designated shopping day, giving everyone a chance to pick up some great souvenirs.

Hisoka ended up dragged off by the girls, as expected by nearly everyone. They took him in a few clothing stores, but thankfully only asked him to try on boy's clothing. He still didn't enjoy being treated as a dress-up doll, and still held his ground if he legitimately didn't like something.

What made it easier was that the girls were trying on clothes too.

"I really don't need to buy any clothes." Hisoka said, trying on a jacket that Yuma shoved into his hands forcefully. "I have no interest in spending money."

"So you're a very frugal person? Uwah, you must be loaded after working here, what, 3 years now?"

"But it's the total opposite to Tsuzuki." He said. "I always have to loan him money because he spends too easily."

"So if you loan him money, you're expecting him to pay it back one day? Good luck..."

"Ah, no..." He took the coat off, pulling at the sleeves to get his arms out.

"I guess... I give him money. He owes way too many debts for me to spring another debt on him. If anything, I hope that by being able to get money from me, it stops him from accruing more debt elsewhere."

"You want to help him."

"Of course I do."

"You care about him a lot."

"...Of course I do." He said softer.

Saya and Yuma exchanged a glance, causing Hisoka to give them a look. Their look gave his empathy a feeling like a noisy bell ringing, and he wondered what it had meant between them.

If he was being honest with himself, he knew that he loved Tsuzuki more than anything, but the feeling of it confused him and he preferred not to think about it.

He more worried about Tsuzuki's feelings, worried that he'd never be able to see Hisoka as an equal, and only forever as a kid.

When they left that store, Yuma went on ahead to get in line for lunch so they could beat the rush. Saya simply messaged her with what she and Hisoka wanted.

"You and Yuma-chan have been more calm with me than usual. Did you talk to her or something?" Hisoka asked, walking down the street with Saya.

She nodded. "I did. I told her that when we hung out that evening, we talked a lot, and that you were more likely to be friendly with us if we were a bit quieter with you."

"Hm. Well, thank you then. See? If you two had acted this way from the start, it wouldn't have been so bad!"

She laughed. "And now, you're even calling her -chan!"

He blushed. "I can't remember your last names! You're always 'the Hokkaido girls' in my head, and everyone only calls you Saya-chan and Yuma-chan!" He sighed. "I guess it's easier this way anyway."

Hisoka stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring straight ahead, getting up the courage to bring up a topic on his mind.

"Can I ask you something?"

Saya nodded. "Sure."

"What do Tsuzuki and I look like to you? As partners. When I look at you and Yuma-chan, you're both very obviously comfortable with each other. You could have told me you were friends from when you were alive and I would've believed it. Do Tsuzuki and I look like that too?"

"Hm..." She thought about it for a moment, thinking back on all their interactions.

"You two look... Really close." She said, nodding her head in agreement with herself. "I can tell you aren't afraid to say things to each other, because you both know you still like each other."

"That's not true though!" He said. "He doesn't tell me things a lot, and I have trouble saying things to him sometimes too... It's hard."

"Are they things that would upset him, or upset you?"

He pursed his lips. "It's more complicated than that. It's... Things that would hurt both of us. Hurting him hurts me, and not just because of my powers. I know that he gets upset when others are upset too, and that's why he won't say upsetting things if he doesn't have to. But that's what I worry about! I worry that he'll be thinking about something bad and he won't tell me, and things will get worse... And then he'll get hurt again, just like in Kyoto..."

Saya had heard Tsuzuki got hurt really bad on a case in Kyoto, but hearing Hisoka talk about it, now she wasn't sure her assumption of him being hurt by a monster was true. Something even worse had happened, and she could tell Hisoka had picked his words carefully. She realized something absolutely horrible had happened, and no one had the heart to talk about it openly.

"I think... You should sit down with him and have a talk about that. I know it'll be hard, but you should let him know just how much you're there for him. Tsuzuki-chan always looks happy, but I know he can't be all the time. I'm sure you've seen him sad, since you're his partner, so maybe you should just remind him that you're always there for him?"

"Sorry... I shouldn't have burdened you with this. It's really not as big a deal as I'm making it out to be." He said stubbornly. "I'm just being paranoid."

"It's okay! Boys are dumb about their feelings, so talking to girls always helps!" She joked. "But you need to figure it out for yourselves too!"

He chuckled softly.

Shortly after, they arrived at the fast food joint where Yuma had already grabbed a seat and ordered their food. Yuma waved when the entered and the two made their way over. Saya sat next to Yuma, allowing Hisoka to have the opposite booth to himself.

It embarrassed him to know they were being so considerate to him now, but he was also grateful for it. He would never have spent so much time with them if they still fawned over him like they used to.

Saya and Hisoka took their coats off, and then all three dug in to their meals.

"Hey, Hisoka-kun," Yuma started. "How'd you die?"

He choked on his drink, needing to cough a solid three times before he could even speak.

"What's it to you?" He asked, annoyed.

"Well, me and Saya know how each other died, and we're friends now, so-"

"I don't know how you died!" He said accusatively.

"I was gonna tell you after, but I'll go first." She said, resting her chin in her hands. "I was kidnapped, taken advantage of, knocked unconscious, and dumped in a nearby lake." It was said methodically, and detached.

"I was pretty upset about it for a few years, but I don't really feel anything about it anymore."

Hisoka looked at the table.

"That's horrible. Did they ever catch the person who did that to you?"

"Yeah, he's in jail now. But I didn't know for a long time."

Feeling a small sense of camaraderie, he answered.

"My murderer is still walking around somewhere." He said bitterly. "They sent out a notice to each department, didn't they? About a doctor with a fake eye and strong powers?"

Yuma sat up straighter and nodded, silent.

"He gave me a curse that slowly killed me over 3 years time. I still have it, and Tsuzuki and I have dealt with him on a couple cases now, but we haven't seen him in about a year now."

"Is that why the notice said to contact you and Tsuzuki-chan, or Tatsumi-san?"

Hisoka blinked. "It says to contact Tatsumi-san?" Then, after thinking about it, "Ahh, yeah, he would want to know."

Yuma looked sorry she asked. "Curses are nasty stuff."

"You're tellin' me." He said, trying to return to his usual nonchalance. "So, is it coincidence or do they prefer to pair partners up like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like..." He motioned between the two. "Murders and suicides? No offense, Saya-chan."

Saya didn't look bothered. "I don't think it's on purp-"

Yuma gasped softly. "Wait, Tsuzuki-chan-?"

With wide eyes, Hisoka placed a hand over his mouth. He had just blurted out Tsuzuki's secret so easily.

"It's...I'm... Sorry. I'm so used to being around Tatsumi-san and Watari-san and they know about it, so... Sorry. Please don't tell him that you know. He's- I mean it was so long ago really, and..." He was rambling, nervous, face flushed.

"No, of course not!"

"We won't!"

The three grew quiet, Hisoka taking a sip of his drink just to try and calm his nerves.

Saya remembered what he said when they were walking together, saying that he worried Tsuzuki would be thinking about something bad and wouldn't tell him, only to get hurt again, like in Kyoto.

She now wondered if it was related, if something had happened. She could tell it was a soft subject, so it didn't seem like the kind of thing that Tsuzuki just told Hisoka about casually like Yuma had just done.

"Well... Thanks for being a good sport, Hisoka-kun." Yuma said, trying to lighten the mood. "As a reward, I brought you a gift!"

"Wh-what?"

She handed over a small plastic shopping bag with a box inside. He pulled it out, and Yuma encouraged him to open it right away, a big smile on her face.

He opened it up and pulled out the device.

"You got me a phone?" He asked blankly.

"Yup! Now we can all chat and send pictures to each other all the time!"

"Wow it's so cool!" Saya said.

"Of course it's cool! It's Sharp's 01B model in super sleek black!"

"Those light up too, don't they?" Saya said with a smile.

"Yup!" Yuma giggled. "I have one in white myself!"

"How many phones do you have...?" Saya muttered.

Hisoka listened to their antics. It seems our situations are reversed.

Still, it was a nice gesture. And it did look cool.

"Thank you Yuma-chan. But this is a nice gift, I don't know if I can-"

"Up-bup-bup!" She said, sticking a finger out to shush him. "If you don't accept it, then you have to wear a girls seifuku to make it up to me!"

Hisoka held onto the phone more firmly.

"I graciously accept your gift, Yuma-san!" He said, bowing his head quickly and politely.

Saya chuckled, and Yuma told him it was 'no problem!'

They spent another 15 minutes while Hisoka had to make an account on different apps and follow the girls' accounts.

Well, he could always just ignore their notifications if it got to be too much.

They also were able to do a contact share so that Hisoka could have his work colleagues numbers without having to type them in himself, saving time and effort, which he was thankful for.

"You're being too nice, it's making me nervous." He muttered, shoving the phone in his pocket as they left, and carrying the phone box in the bag he was given.

"Friends are nice to friends!" Yuma said in a huffy tone.

Saya smiled. "Just send us souvenirs if you go anywhere cool!"

Hisoka nodded.

As a group, they all met back up after lunch.

"Did you get Chief's sweets?" Hisoka asked his partner, who was holding three bags in his hands. Konoe had gone off to do some more sightseeing and asked them to get him some sweets for later.

"Yup!" He smiled.

Hisoka eyed the bags carefully. "Who else did you buy for?"

"Wakaba-chan, and Tatsumi too. I also got a really nice dessert from this one place that-"

"Tsuzuki..." He sighed. "You were only supposed to buy souvenirs, you know!"

"I did! I bought me a souvenir! You bought something too!" He said, motioning towards Hisoka's bag.

"No I didn't. It was a gift from her." he said, jerking his head at Yuma, who held up two peace signs and smiled.

"I got him a keitai!"

"Eh? A real cell phone?!" Tsuzuki was shocked. "You better actually use it and carry it on you, Hisoka!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "I don't like wasting things, of course I'm going to use it!"

"Give me your info before I forget!" Tsuzuki said excitedly, pulling his phone out of his pocket and creating a new contact for Hisoka. He took a picture of Hisoka while he was looking at his own phone, not quite knowing his own number yet, and set it as the contact picture, smiling while he did so.

When the trip was over, everyone bid adieu to the Hokkaido girls.

"Hisoka-kun, I expect you to keep up to date on my twitter feed!" Yuma said with a big grin.

Hisoka gave her a peace sign. "I already muted you."

"Eh!? Why!?"

Hisoka scowled. "Because you went off on some late night tangent about a Korean band!"

"You're so mean!"

Tsuzuki laughed, before giving the girls a big hug goodbye. "I'll make sure he uses it every day."

Hisoka rolled his eyes.

Saya gave Hisoka a big smile when the hug was over, that Hisoka took half a step back in preparation. She giggled.

"I won't hug you."

He relaxed.

"But thanks for hanging out with me, even though it was your vacation."

"You aren't so bad when you're not being overbearing."

She waved goodbye, and hope to see him again soon.