FicWad

Hisoka and Tsuzuki looked at one another uneasily as they stood before a rather run down looking cabin where they had been directed to meet their liaisons from the American office. It had taken them the better part of an hour to hike through the humid, swampy woods on the outskirts of town, and they both felt wilted from the heat. Tsuzuki mopped his brow, inwardly cursing the near tropical weather of their new location. Hisoka looked like he only had a tentative hold to consciousness.

"I hope these aren't the accommodations," Tsuzuki said.

"I didn't even think Tatsumi was that cheap," Hisoka muttered in reply. Tsuzuki was about to say something, when a figure bounded into view from around the side of the shack. A boy with light brown skin and gray eyes dressed in blue jean cut offs and a white tee shirt smiled at them in welcome. His long, curly hair was pulled into a topknot atop his head, and he had a fishing pole slung casually over one shoulder.

"Hey there! You must be them fellas from Japan," he said in a friendly drawl. Tsuzuki reached out to shake his hand, with an expression of surprise.

"Yeah, that's us. I'm Tsuzuki, and this is Hisoka," he said, eyeing the boy curiously. He didn't appear to be a day over eighteen.

"Well, great! You're just in time, too. Jarrett's in there cooking up a mess of catfish. There's biscuits and greens, too, I reckon by the smell," the boy said, inclining his head towards the cabin door. "Hope you're hungry." Tsuzuki's eyes lit up.

"Well, that hope's never in vain when it comes to me," Tsuzuki said with a laugh, as they followed the boy up the steps of the rickety porch.

"My name's Hy, by the way. Nice to meet you!" the boy called cheerfully over his shoulder as they entered a small room with a wood floor. It wasn't quite as dismal inside, at least, Tsuzuki thought. The windows were large and adorned with yellow gingham curtains, letting the sunlight shine on the modest but neat furnishings. Hy laid his pole in the corner by the door, and called out a greeting that was answered by a grunt from what could only be the kitchen by the aroma and sounds of cooking drifting through the open door.

"It ain't much, but it's home," Hy said with a contented sigh, sinking into a chair by a well worn wooden table. "Make yourselves comfortable. Food'll be ready in a minute."

Hisoka and Tsuzuki sat at the table with him, looking around in awkward silence for a moment. Hy lit a very thin cigar and looked at them through the smoke which he exhaled. A man emerged from the kitchen, carrying a stack of plates. He had a rather severe appearance, except for the stained apron he wore. His hair was long and black, pulled back at the nape of his neck, and his face was wary and unsmiling. He reminded Tsuzuki a little bit of Terazuma, he thought with a shudder.

"Awful habit, Hy," the man grumbled, fixing his younger partner with a stern look.

"Can't get any more dead than I am," Hy said, shrugging somewhat irritably. "This is Jarrett, guys, my partner."

Jarrett fixed an icy blue eyed stare upon them, and did the thing Tsuzuki least expected. He smiled at them.

"Well, well, well. Welcome to our humble little abode," he said politely, shaking each of their hands as they introduced themselves. He gave Hisoka a look of interest.

"You're even younger than Hy," he said softly, shaking his head. Hisoka stiffened slightly.

"I apologize. No offense intended," Jarrett said graciously, and returned to the kitchen after laying out the plates. Hy laughed at the expressions on the faces of his guests.

"Jarrett's weird. Just ignore him," Hy said.

"I heard that, you little rascal," Jarrett growled from the kitchen. Hy propped his elbows on the table, lowering his voice.

"Jarrett's old. Like, really old. He died back during the Civil War. He wrote books. Poetry and stuff. You should ask him about it sometime. He's got all sorts of crazy stories. He seems kinda quiet, even unfriendly sometimes, but he's pretty cool. Just always got lots going on up here," the boy said, tapping his temple with a wink. Tsuzuki smiled warmly.

"Sounds like Hisoka here," Tsuzuki said, reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair and stopping, thinking better of it. Hisoka gave them a distracted look, hearing his name.

"What is it?" he asked, blinking.

"I see what you mean," Hy said, Hisoka looking at them both with confusion and annoyance as they started to laugh.

*

The dinner was excellent. Fried catfish, fluffy biscuits, greens, butter beans, and, to Tsuzuki's delight, a blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream.

"You guys sure know how to treat guests. This is excellent," Tsuzuki said happily, his eyes glazing at his sated palette.

"S'what they call southern hospitality," Hy said with a grin.

Hisoka had a brooding, far away look, Tsuzuki noticed with a frown, wishing there was anything he could do to unburden his young partner. He could usually provoke a reluctant smile if he tried hard enough, or at least a distracting show of irritation, but he knew that things were far more delicate right now between them. He only wished he could get Hisoka to talk to him.

"So, how'd you guys die, then?" Hy asked, breaking Tsuzuki from his thoughts. The pair of shinigami stared at the boy with mouths agape. It was absolutely taboo to ask such a question of their past, and they were stunned at the boy's bluntness.

"Hy!" Jarrett said angrily, turning to his guests. "Forgive the boy's rudeness. I'm afraid he hasn't been with the department long." Hy shrugged.

"Sorry, guys. I didn't know it was that big of a deal. I'll tell you about me, anyway. I got eat up by an alligator," Hy said. Jarrett shot him an exasperated look.

"You did not. Stop being ridiculous," the older man said.

"But that's a lot less depressing than the truth," Hy said with a grin, receiving another warning look from his partner. "Oh, all right. I was an orphan, and I had to do a lot of shady things to get by, running drugs and stuff. I got caught in some gang crossfire. I like the alligator story better."

The other three men fell silent, none of them intending to share a story of their own. Jarrett broke the silence at last.

"So, you guys think this Dr. Muraki guy is the one stirring up the trouble?" he asked. "They gave us the file on him. Sounds like one nasty character."

"To say the very least," Tsuzuki said darkly. "Yes, it seems like the kind of case he would be involved in, and we've had -- well, we've had indications that he's at work again."