Chapter Thirteen: Hide and Seek:

-July 13th, 2011-

The shinigami weren’t fond of games on this case. Nevertheless, they ended up dragged into one with the next soul.

It started with a text.

“Huh?” Tsuzuki asked. He pulled out his phone. The shinigami blinked at the screen.

“Play with me?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Huh?” Hisoka asked. His partner showed him his phone. Hisoka narrowed his eyes.

“What is this?” he asked. Then his phone buzzed.

“Excuse me,” Hisoka said. He pulled out his phone. He looked confused again.

“You get the same text?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Yeah,” Hisoka said. They looked up when they heard giggling. In the crowd stood a little boy. He looked about four of five years old with short black curly hair. The child broke into a huge smile. Tsuzuki held up his phone.

“Did you send this?” he asked. The kid nodded.

“Uh-huh!” he said.

“Why?” Hisoka asked. The little boy put his hands behind his head.

“I want to play!” he said. The boy twirled about. His laugher reacted the sky. Hisoka narrowed his eyes at first. Where have I seen him before? Where? Where?

Tsuzuki tilted his head. “Who are you?”

“Secret.”

“Where are your parents?”

“Secret.” The child smiled. Hisoka froze.

“Wait!” he shouted. “He’s one of the high rick souls!”

“What?!” Tsuzuki shouted. He stared at the child again. Their target twirled around.

“Let’s play! Let’s play!” he shouted. The older shinigami tilted his head.

“Okay…” he said. “What game?” The boy jumped up and down.

“Chase!” he yelled. The boy laughed as he started running. The shinigami stared at each other with their mouths wide open.

“Oh crap!” Tsuzuki yelled. He and Hisoka took off running after the child.

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Laughter filled the streets. None of the humans could see them. Tsuzuki gritted his teeth.

“Come back here!” he yelled. “Damn it!” That kid didn’t stop. He only sped away. Hisoka kept his eyes on the crowd.

“Stop running and come with us!” he yelled.

“No!” the child yelled. “You have to catch me first! Play! Play! Play!” Tsuzuki growled.

“We don’t have time for this!” he yelled. “You are hurting innocent people! Cut it out!”

“No!” the child yelled, laughing.

“Enough of this!” the shinigami shouted. Tsuzuki flew up into the sky.

“Huh?” the target asked. The shinigami landed in front of him. The little boy frowned.

“No fair!” he shouted. “No fair! No fair!” The child turned and ran. But, Hisoka blocked his path. The child looked around. He puffed up his cheeks.

“No fair cheating!” he yelled. The kid crouched to the ground. Tsuzuki tilted his head.

“Are you… crying?” he asked. The child smiled to himself as he leapt up into the sky. Tsuzuki and Hisoka looked up.

“Now where is he going?” the older shinigami asked.

“After him!” his partner said. Both shinigami flew after their target.

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By noon, they reached the park. The shinigami found their target under a giant tree. The little boy held out his arms.

“You found me!” he said. “You found me!” Tsuzuki grabbed him by the hand.

“Enough with the games!” he shouted. “You are coming with us!” The child grinned.

“That was fun! Nee-san was right!” he said. Tsuzuki paused and turned to the child.

“Nee-san?” he asked.

“Yes!” the little boy said. “Some lady let us out so that I could play one more time!” Hisoka’s eyes widened.

“Do you remember her name?” he asked. Their target shook his head.

“What did she look like?” Tsuzuki asked. The child took a minute to think.

“Light blue hair,” he said. “She wanted to get rid of a lady she didn’t like. So, she let me out to play.” The shinigami looked at each other with big eyes.

Eight souls left.