Chapter Fifteen:
Formicophilia:
March 2nd, 2010.
9:28 p.m.
The wedding had to be perfectly ideal. So, Tsuzuki
decided to go basic. He carried Anna back to their room in the traditional way.
Anna slid open the door and her husband kissed on the forehead.
"I love you," he whispered. Anna nuzzled him on the neck.
He carried her to their futon, but he didn't let go right away.
"Anna-chan," the groom said. His bride looked up.
"Yes?" she asked. Tsuzuki gave her a small kiss, his lips
nearly touched her earlobe.
"I want to treat you like a virgin tonight," he murmured.
She parted her lips to speak, but he lightly shushed her.
"Please?" he whispered. Anna pressed her lips together.
"Alright," she said. Tsuzuki kissed her forehead.
"Thank you," he whispered. He kissed her on the lips and
laid his bride on the futon. Anna watched as he stood over her.
"Now," he said. "I'll be right back. Just going out to
get one more little present for you." The bride tilted her head.
"Another gift?" she asked. Tsuzuki smiled and patted her
on the head.
"Now just stay right there," he said. The shinigami knelt
down and gave her a little kiss. Her heart softened to get into the atmosphere.
Tsuzuki gently pulled away. The bride watched as he left the room.
--------
April 7th, 2010.
8:47 p.m.
The case didn't seem to be moving at all. As a result,
Konoe sent Tatsumi to step in.
"I told you, we're fine," Tsuzuki insisted. Tatsumi
didn't buy it.
"Your investigation is going nowhere," he said.
"We're fine!" Tsuzuki insisted. Tatsumi narrowed his
eyes.
"Prove it," he said. The color
drained from Tsuzuki�s face. Oh crap! Now
what? The shinigami forced himself to smile.
"Alright," he said. "In fact,
you pick the place." Please don't let it
be a strip club!
--------
Luckily, the shinigami ended up
at a tea house. Well, more of cosplay tea house. Tonight's theme? Geisha and the
Floating World. At least the girls were dressed in short, brightly colored
kimono here. The men enjoyed the attention they lavished on them. The secretary
felt relaxed here. I miss times like this,
he thought. At least the women had some
class then. However, he was not here for that. The man turned to Hisoka.
"What do you have so far?" he whispered. A hostess came
by and refilled their drinks. Hisoka took a sip of his soda.
"Not much," he said. Busy place tonight, must be discount
night. Why else would there be mostly old men here? Sure, the shinigami were old
too, but still�
"Well, what do you have?" Tatsumi asked. The girls looked
young in this tea house. The "baby" of the employees had to be eighteen tops,
probably a bit older. Her clothes and make-up made her look even younger. Hisoka
set down his drink.
"Just rumors and girls trying to have sex with us," he
said. Some girls had their tongues down some of the patrons' throats.
Twenty-something ladies sat in their laps, legs on either side of them. A couple
of middle-aged business men in nice suits groped on the girls' big busts
underneath their yellow and green kimono. Dirty minds could only imagine how wet
they were. The men may have been watching the foreplay show, but Tatsumi had his
eyes focused on a particular pair.
"Kurosaki-kun," he said. The koto music on a cd floated
over their heads as Hisoka looked at him. Tatsumi didn't wait for an answer.
"Does she look familiar to you?" he asked. Hisoka turned
in the direction that his senior was pointing. Tsuzuki sat on the velvet green
couch with a "geisha." He held a cup of hot green tea as she talked his ears
off. Her whitish-plum kimono drew in attention to every curve on her small body,
but what caught the men's attention the most was her bright red hair that came
down to her shoulders. Her hair lightened up the make-on her face. Hisoka
frowned.
"She looks like Kimoto-san," he mumbled.
"Yes," Tatsumi replied. Both watched Tsuzuki and the geisha with strong doubt in their minds. He drank his tea as she kept talking.