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♘ CHARACTER INFORMATION
[ personality ] On the outside Tsuzuki appears to be a pretty happy go-lucky guy with a very large sweet tooth. He enjoys teasing his young partner Hisoka and being an all around playful guy, which does end in him being called an idiot and being swatted, hit, or having something thrown at him by the boy. He gets along well with most other people, such as his fellow shinigami. Terazuma is the exception, as they have some sort of rivalry going on, their fights tending to end with something around them destroyed. (Hakushaku is also an exception, due to his perverse flirtations with Tsuzuki, and reminding him he will take repayment of the man's debt with his body. The relationship with Muraki is more complicated, hating the man for everything he has done to Hisoka, other people, and himself, but refusing to kill him in cold blood). There's also a sort of childishness to the way he acts from time to time, like when he pouts about having to do reports, or isn't getting paid a bonus due to damages he caused, or cries when he's denied a certain food. Tsuzuki can often be seen stuffing his face with some sort of food or sweet most of the time, even when he should be working instead.
In regards to his job, Tsuzuki does slack off when it comes to filling out reports and any other type of paper work associated by proxy. However, out in the field he is a force to be reckoned with and shows his serious side. Tsuzuki doesn't enjoy his job, but it is something that must be done, and he has come to try and accept it. He is a peaceful person who enjoys gardening, and likes animals. (The animals appear to like him as well, as if attracted to him in some small way. Often times birds and squirrels gather around, and dogs have taken an immediate liking to him.) There are times when he feels great remorse after a case, saddened by the fact he had to take a spirit to be judged, or an innocent was killed during a case. When an innocent's life is taken, Tsuzuki has the habit of blaming himself, feeling guilt and thinking there must've been some way he could've been able to prevent it. He has been known to go out to bars after these cases to try and forget, drinking himself into a stupor. It's been implied by the creator that Tsuzuki is an alcoholic.
Underneath his smiles and laughter, there is a very deep self-hatred and a longing for acceptance from others. Part of him doesn't believe that he deserves the friendships he has, a feeling that no matter what he does, he doesn't belong and he is simply a monster-- something not human. Tsuzuki falls into depression easily, yet masks it behind his usual care-free smiles so not to worry those around him, his friends who care deeply for his well being, happiness, and sanity.
Tsuzuki is not a very mentally, or emotionally, stable person. With enough prodding and poking, he can be pushed over the edge into severe depression as noted above, or even fits of rage where he becomes dangerous if provoked. (For example, he punched and shattered the bullet proof glass separating him from Muraki, while in the belly of a cruise ship during the "King of Swords" arc.) These fits of rage usually do not last very long, but he can cause a lot of damage. However, they are different from those Terazuma usually provokes, as those fights are more out of them being rivals instead of deeply rooted anger and hatred. His anger seems to increase the power he already has, in some cases shattering objects from his mere presence, like a bottle of wine, if they are too close to him.
In regards of the depression again, this usually involves bringing his insecurities more to the surface: the fact that he may not be human (that being the reason as to why he was always chased after and injured as a child growing up), that he didn't belong around humans, and that all he ever brings with him is death. He fears that he doesn't deserve any of the love or friendship that he has received during his time as a shinigami, due to the sins of his past. Instead, everyone should hate him or wish for his pain, misery, and his death in the end. He can even be convinced that any of the deaths that go on around him, during a case, are his fault, which starts the downward spiral into further self-hate, and can cause him to freeze up on the spot in misery.
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[ history ] As the manga begins, the readers are introduced to Meifu (the world of the dead), a place where the cherry trees are always in bloom and is on an opposite plane of existence as Chijou (the living world), while being told of the workings of a particular organization's section.
Within Meifu, there is an organization known as JuOhCho (The Ministry of Hades). This is a government type organization that keeps track of the dead souls' admission, sorting them through judgment of sins and deeds throughout life, and even sentencing. EnmaCho (the Judgment Bureau) is one of ten government bureaus that form JuOhCho. This bureau's Shokan (Summons) Division answers only to EnmaDaiOh (Mysterious King of Hades). The Shokan Division employees maintain the balance between life and death, and are often sent out to retrieve a soul that has lingered too long within the living world, in order to bring them to trial. From time to time it is a still-living person who has lived much longer than they are supposed to. (This being the reason they are called shinigami, or Gods of Death.) The Shokan (usually made of up to eighteen people) is one of the highest ranking, but also the lowest paid division of them all.
There is a book called the Kiseki that contains the names of people who are dead. When a person dies their names are written in the book. It is kept within the Hall of Candles, a place on the edge of Meifu, which contains all the flames of human life. This is where Hakushaku lives, watching over these flames, along with the Kiseki. It is by this list that the dead are admitted into Meifu. People who are on the list, but haven't died as they were meant to, are often the cases handed over to the shinigami to be investigated and find out why they have not passed on yet, and in the end bring them to be judged.
Tsuzuki, the second oldest within the Shokan (the first being Chief Konoe), takes care of the Kyūshū area, which includes Nagasaki, and is the shinigami in charge of the ShoKouCho (2nd Division), along with his partner. Shinigami must always have a partner in order to keep each other in line, and on track, within their duties. A shinigami is someone who still has close ties to the living world, and thus chooses to become such a being due to their own selfish desires, to have the privilege in traveling between the dead and living worlds for whatever purpose that made them take such a "dirty" job.
He has the history of not keeping a partner for very long, often assigned a new one whenever a case is in his district. In this particular introductory case (a story within the first tankōbon, "Two on Opposites Sides of the River") a girl had lost the will to live, and her name had appeared on the Kiseki, butto this day, she remained alive. A young man named Asuna, who was re-assigned to the Shokan from another division, becomes Tsuzuki's partner. Further into the chapter it is discovered the girl had lost her will to live due to her friend drowning to save her life, and thus no longer sees the point in going on. Tsuzuki offers to help come up with a creative suicide, appearing eager to get the case over with so he can get paid his bonus. Asuna, however, tries to talk the girl out of it by speaking rashly, but instead it causes her to be all the more ready to kill herself.
Tsuzuki caused the girl to pass out with a spell and looked as if he was about to kill her. Then Asuna rushed in, ready to fight him in order to keep the girl alive. However, to his distress, Tsuzuki put a barrier around her to keep him from preventing the girl's death. During the battle, Tsuzuki used ofuda to create illusions that cause Asuna to believe he was giving his all, allowing the younger shinigami to believe he broke the barrier to save the girl, as he falls into the river. In the end it is revealed that Asuna is the deceased friend, encouraging her to live on, even if it was just for him, and her name is removed from the Kiseki due to her will to live again. The younger is, of course, re-assigned, leaving Tsuzuki partner-less again.
In the "Nagasaki" Arc (also within tankōbon 1) there are mysterious deaths where people are being drained of all blood with little evidence left behind, other than two puncture marks on one side of the victims' neck. For this reason it is dubbed the "Dracula Case"(in the anime, it's "The Vampire Case"). Tsuzuki is told that he has another partner assigned to him for the case, who was already sent out to Nagasaki to start the investigation, and that he can take one of the Gushoshin Brothers with him. (The Gushoshin Brothers are the librarians of sorts for the Shokan, and look like white birds in clothing. They are very short and often float in mid-air.) Once in Nagasaki, a girl runs into Tsuzuki and rushes off soon after. He notices something red on his collar, assuming it was just her lipstick.
A scream is heard. Another dead body is found. Rushing over Tsuzuki notices the puncture wounds and takes off after the girl. He realizes it was not lipstick smeared on his collar, but blood. During the chase he looses sight of the girl and runs into a church, stumbling upon a strange man in white kneeling before the cross, who turns with a single tear falling. Stunned, Tsuzuki fumbles in trying to ask if he's seen the girl, after apologizing. With no as an answer, Tsuzuki rushes back out, no sign of her anywhere-- only to be held up with what felt to be a gun at his back, and a demanding young man's voice tells him to freeze. Tsuzuki is mistaken for the vampire by this young man, as he had been "skulking" about the area suspiciously. Just as it seemed he was about to be shot, Gushoshin drops in (after being left behind with the bag Tsuzuki had been carrying) and explains that the boy, Hisoka, is Tsuzuki's new partner.
It's discovered during their first meal as partners that Hisoka was fooled into becoming Tsuzuki's partner by being told he was the hardest working shinigami in the Shokan Division, when in reality he is widely known as the laziest one there and complains almost constantly. This results in a childish fight, which ends in a drinking contest where the boy had to be carried back to their hotel room. Here is where Tsuzuki catches a likeness to a famous singer and the girl he had been chasing. She is Maria Wong, a Chinese girl who was supposed to be dead after committing suicide, and yet she was in Nagasaki performing during a festival which brings up suspicions that this may be something more than what was initially thought at the beginning of the case. With more investigation, it's found out that Maria's stepmother paid someone to bring the girl back to life as an obedient walking dead, and that something must've gone wrong if she needed to consume blood to remain as she did.
Later, after the two try to find Maria and are kicked out of the studio she was supposed to be at, they split up. Hisoka goes to the library in Meifu, telling Tsuzuki he was going to meet him later. Being stood up, Tsuzuki leaves the meeting place and comes across the scene of a small girl suddenly fainting in the park. This is where the second meeting with the man from the church comes from, saying he is a doctor and can look over the child. Tsuzuki waited while he tended to her. Outside of the rest area, the man introduces himself as Kazutaka Muraki. They speak of human weakness, and the doctor parts with a warning for Tsuzuki to keep his nose out of things, unless he lose someone else important to him.
Despite such an unnerving meeting, and after confronting Hisoka near the forbidden section of the library on standing him up-- learning how strong of an empath the boy is when he finds him-- Tsuzuki lures Maria out into the open by pretending to sleep on a bench, using a fuda to bring her back in control, banishing the dark force that had been the controlling factor within her. This leads to Maria regaining her senses, crying over what she had been made to do, Tsuzuki comforting her in that she can now spend what time she had left as she wanted. Hisoka and Tsuzuki both go with Maria to confront her stepmother, the older shinigami speaking to her alone to get further information from her- and it is found Doctor Muraki Kazutaka is the man paid to revive and control Maria. During all of this Hisoka vanishes, Tsuzuki running out with Maria as the boy's scream is heard, to find the hallway he'd been left in stained with blood. Muraki had kidnapped the boy as bait for Tsuzuki, which works as Maria tags along once the boy has been located by the older shinigami's bird familiar. An epic battle ensues, leaving a weak Hisoka and Maria under one of Tsuzuki's shields as he and the doctor fight, shikigami against summoned dragon. The shield begins to break, causing Hisoka to try and set up another. Tsuzuki takes a blast when the shield isn’t put up in time that destroys most of his back and nearly blows a hole through him. Muraki tries to attack the boy again and by syncing up their powers Muraki is forced to retreat and Tsuzuki heals much quicker than he would have on his own. The case ends as Maria finally passes again and the doctor vanished amongst the flames.
At the end of the arc Tsuzuki is standing out in the rain as Hisoka walks up behind them, the elder shinigami believing the boy has come to end their partnership. Instead Hisoka claims he would like to remain Tsuzuki's partner, if the man will take him despite the problems this case caused them. After Tsuzuki talks about the boy, as if he was going to tell him to find another partner, he says with a smile he would like him to stay. This is where their partnership truly begins.
During the "Last Waltz" story, Tsuzuki and Hisoka are sent to investigate a girl whose name appeared on the Kiseki, yet still remains amongst those of the living. She mistakes Tsuzuki for her brother, who died in a car crash, due to his voice. Throughout the investigation we find that she had been fighting to remain alive in memory of her brother and continue dancing to be of some use. Due to a student taking her dance partner, and a competition coming up she wants to enter desperately no mater what, Tsuzuki is chosen to be the replacement. Here we learn more about Tsuzuki's sister, Ruka. Thanks to Ruka, he is quite the remarkable dancer, so he and Hisoka end up living with the girl for a while-- which gets the elder scolded. Later, Hisoka leaves due to sensing Tsuzuki feeling more than just respect for the suppose to be deceased girl, coming back only when the dance competition begins. The girl dies after one final dance, feeling fulfilled thanks to Tsuzuki's kindness.
"Devil's Trill" is where we meet Hijiri Minase, a young boy who looks strikingly similar to Hisoka, who has just had a cornea transplant to save his eye. The problem is that with the cornea comes the contract with a demon from the previous owner, and due to this strange things begin to happen (such as Hijiri trying to kill himself after meeting the daughter of the dead man the cornea had been donated from). After the attempted suicide failed, Hijiri comes face to face with Tsuzuki and Hisoka- originally having been sent to investigate a violin said to kill anyone who plays it, which had also fallen into Hijiri's possession as a gift since it to belonged to the dead man(who was the original person under investigation before death). Thanks to Watari's research (another Shokan shinigami, science department) it was found the contract's seal was that of Sargantanas, the Dragon Knight Brigadier- one of the ranks under command of the Grand Duke of Hell. The price was the man's daughter, Kazuza (who Hijiri had grown fond of), due to her ability to see demons-- getting rid of her before she was able to die and become a shinigami was beneficial to the demons. In an effort to protect them both they burn the violin in order to draw out Sargantanas, which works and a battle between the demon and Tsuzuki results in the man being bitten before appearing to destroy the demon with Byakko's power.
Later we find out Tsuzuki had been possessed, due to Sargantanas being a parasite like demon, which results in the shinigami being trapped in a dark place. It is implied, in canon, that Tsuzuki committed a horrific crime when he was younger, but are no clues are given as to what the crime was other than it possible murder due to the child version (a hallucination caused by Sargatanas to keep him obedient and depressed so he won’t fight back) speaking of the dead left behind Tsuzuki, but this could mean his job as a shinigami as well. This past crime is used to lock him within his mind, giving Sargantanas full control of his body and powers. Sargantanas then tries to murder Hijiri, disguised as Tsuzuki, in order to end the contract and obtain Kazuza. Demon controlled Tsuzuki then storms Meifu to find Kazuza, since she was sent there for protection, using two of Tsuzuki's shinigami to rain destruction upon the place. During this we find out Hijiri was not killed, due to Hisoka disguising himself as the boy and surviving due to his shinigami healing abilities (he had suspected Tsuzuki was possessed due to not feeling any of the man's usual emotions, and the fact he couldn't remember that Konoe enjoyed sweet things when Hisoka tested him by saying the Chief hated sweets so he got him something not sweet as a gift). In the end, after a failed attempt by Hisoka to separate Sargatanas from Tsuzuki the first time, the shinigami is pulled out of the darkness from an image of Hijiri projected into that space created by the demon telling him he was not hated and he was needed (this projection was caused by Enma himself. He isn't willing to let Tsuzuki out of his grasp yet) during the second attempt. Tsuzuki is able to destroy the demon once it is out, but from all the destruction caused by the fighting Kazuza dies protecting Hijiri from a falling pillar- but is taken by the shinigami to join their ranks some day.
"King of Swords" is the arc in which Tsuzuki and Hisoka find themselves boarding a cruise ship that is suspected to be involved in strange disappearances in Hong Kong (the Shokan Division often helps out other provinces when it also involves their own). They are sent undercover, Tsuzuki being brought on as a dealer for cards in the ship's casino. Soon the elder shinigami tries to go to the room shared with his younger partner, only to be accosted by guards due to it being in the VIP section of the ship- this is where he is saved by none other than Muraki Kazutaka, who he thought had died in the flames back in Nagasaki. Immediately he's suspected to be involved in whatever is going on, yet becomes a victim in a series of murders where tarot cards are left behind (Muraki is later found to be alive still after attacking Tsuzuki in the belly of the ship to feed on his energy, and has his false mechanical eye cut out due to the surprise attack). Tsuzuki takes Hisoka back down to find the reason for the disappearances. The Cruise ship was being used for transporting, and transplanting, illegally required organs. Muraki turns up again, and is indeed behind all of this, having dragged yet another girl into it. Tsubaki-hime had been used to commit the string of murders during the cruise. She’s later shot by Muraki once he no longer had any use of her (she was then killed by Hisoka, as she was slowly dying anyway).
As the ship sinks from explosives left there by Muraki, the people on board are rescued to have their memories wiped, and Hisoka and Tsuzuki are in a helicopter. Hisoka breaks down about having killed Tsubaki-hime leaving Tsuzuki to be the one comforting him. They have grown closer to each other since their first case, knowing a little more about each other.
In "Hokkaidō" it is time for the Shokan Division's yearly holiday, which sends them to the location where another Cho is located, so two of their shinigami come along (this is where we first meet Saya and Yuma, who enjoy Tsuzuki's company as much as he does theirs'. They also try to dress Hisoka up in dresses and cling to him every chance they get). After enjoying themselves at a very expensive inn, while out in the hot springs, they meet a little group of speaking animals who soon reveal they are from the Snow Queen's kingdom (where the spirits of animals who have been abused or murdered are taken care of) and that their beloved Queen is missing. With the proper reward having motivated Tatsumi (the secretary of the Shokan Division), he has everyone working to try and find her, splitting everyone off into groups. It is Tsuzuki who finds the Snow Queen, after getting into a fight with the dragon spirit of a river and summoning his dragon shiki Sohryu, by stumbling upon her passed out in the snow. It comes to light that she had taken a bite from a frozen muffin, which caused her to pass out, having no idea how she got out of the kingdom (it was also a muffin Tsuzuki had baked, left behind in the palace by Saya and Yuma, thus Tatsumi doesn't get the money reward and Tsuzuki gets in trouble since all of his food is considered nearly lethal or disgusting in taste.
"Saint Micheal" is the arc where Tsuzuki and Hisoka are sent undercover to an all boys private Catholic school (Tsuzuki as a priest, Hisoka as a student) due to the mysterious death of a student, Okazaki Izuru, and his soul not being found. Tsuzuki meets one of the teachers, Mitani, and speaks to him as Hisoka investigates amongst the students(during the night he finds out one, the dorm head, is really a female exorcist who has been sent by Enma to protect Hisoka and Tsuzuki, due to the ties of demon activity in the case). The teacher Tsuzuki speaks with asks to speak with him in a confessional like way, speaking of sins of the flesh, and the taste of forbidden love, also confesses to murdering Okazaki, along with the boy whose body was found during the investigation, Fujisawa (the first having killed himself after cutting his own fingers off, stabbing, and burning himself), but never having thrown his body into the ocean. Tsuzuki tells him of his understanding on how he feels, him too knowing such a love, a love he could never have.
From Hisoka's conversation with the exorcist sent by Enma, Tsukiori Kira, it is found out that a demon is trying to bait out Tsuzuki (this demon's name being Focalor) due to his killing Sargantanas and opening up the position of the Dragon Knight Brigadier, which Grand Duke Astaroth wishes for Tsuzuki to assume. This has made Tsuzuki a target for low class demons to try and snatch away the position, and is why Focalor made a deal with the murdered boy, this deal was to grant his wish to be loved by the teacher and once it was granted the demon killed the boy and took his soul and body, killing anyone who then got in his way. It was, essentially, all part of a plan the demon had to bait Tsuzuki to come out, due to it being an unsolved death.
The demon is destroyed after angering Tsuzuki and being burned by Suzaku's fires, but the teacher is also killed as a causality from the demon attacking him while possessing the murdered boy's body. Hisoka manages to pull Tsuzuki out of a downward spiral of guilt, as the elder shinigami blames himself for the deaths as it was all to draw him out into the open. It ends with Tsuzuki praying.
"Storybook" begins with Tsuzuki dreaming, and in this dream he is visited, in bed, by one Muraki Kazutaka asking to marry him with the promised gift of a million roses (this promise was made during the "King of Swords" arc). Tatsumi has been hired to help Muraki claim Tsuzuki by the doctor with a large sum of money in this dream, the elder shinigami waking with a start- only to find something on top of him. He finds Watson, Hakushaku's English gardner/butler standing on top of him with an invitation to Hakushaku's cherry blossom viewing. At this party Tsuzuki grows angered at Tatsumi from leftover emotion from the dream- which isn't helped by Tatsumi saying how idiotic Tsuzuki is and that being why he dumped him as a partner- sending the man running off into the Hall of Candles(Hakushaku lives here, and throws all of his parties there). Tsuzuki, of course, gets lost in the large castle and stumbles into Hakushaku's study, ending up sucked into one of the invisible masked man's books (this one is special, as all Hakushaku has to do is give it characters and the basic plot, allowing it to write itself). Hisoka soon notices Tsuzuki has been gone for a long time and brings it up, Tatsumi brushing it off as him being lost, but soon Hakushaku suggests they go looking for him.
While the others search, Tsuzuki finds himself in the world of the book's current story, and is found by a young lady simply called "girl" who names him "Angel"-- this is because he had fallen out of the sky and crashed. Tsuzuki finds that, well, this "girl" looks a lot like him, if he were a woman. She takes him back to her house where he meets someone who looks like Konoe, this being the girl's father-- this has him realize this girl is suppose to be him and that all Hakushaku did was put characters based on his fellow shinigami into this book of his.
Throughout this story in the book Tsuzuki does what he can to help his female counterpart, who he gives the name of his sister "Ruka" so she is more that just "girl". To help her earn money to keep the farm (and money for her father's medication when he suddenly falls ill) he performs tricks with his ofuda magic, causing the elements of fire and water to spin in the shape of hoops, folding fuda into origami birds that turn into his familiar and take flight, and summoning Byakko. All of this earns the money needed, but later has the blame of a sudden illness that takes the lives of people suddenly cast on him as they accuse him of being an angel of death. He is then hunted down and killed by the character who resembled Tatsumi. In this arc we also learn more about the time when Tatsumi and Tsuzuki had once been partners. Because Tatsumi could not take the depression Tsuzuki used to have after every case he broke them up, leaving Tsuzuki alone and partner-less once more. Ever since Tsuzuki believed the man hated him, aided by the sometimes cruel comments Tatsumi made to him- like earlier in the story.
Near the end Tsuzuki finds out that everything Tatsumi has ever done in their past, after the break up, was to try and ensure the elder shinigami's happiness, that Tatsumi could be happy as long as Tsuzuki was, and by being allowed to watch over him. The actions of Tatsumi's book counterpart was much the same in his actions of trying to marry off Tsuzuki's female counterpart to someone who could afford to have her live without being poor any longer, or worry for her father. The manager of the book (a talking winged beetle) informed Tsuzuki all of these characters possessed the true feelings of the people they were based on. Once the story ends Tsuzuki is rescued, confronted as he lands right in front of Tatsumi and they reconcile, strengthening a friendship he thought was gone.
Near the beginning of "Kyōto" Watari asks for Tsuzuki and Hisoka to help on a case in his district that involves the murders of women, who have had part of their hair cut off for some mysterious reason. Tsuzuki asks why Watari asked for them to come and help, which he explains; one woman was clutching what appeared to be platinum hair with silver highlights. This detail quickly brings about the suspicion of Muraki being involved, and since the pair have experience with the doctor, Watari felt they needed to be brought into it. Investigation starts immediately afterward, once they find the shabby little inn Tatsumi booked for the three to be staying in.
Meanwhile Hisoka had been sent out shopping while Watari and Tsuzuki delved deeper into what information they were able to gather, also confirming the hair found belonged to that of one Kazutaka Muraki. This is where Hisoka stumbles upon Muraki, just after the man has murdered another woman. They are soon interrupted by Watari and Tsuzuki finding the boy, since he had been gone too long so they had come looking for him with the use of one of Watari's inventions, soon confronting the doctor. Ignoring Watari and Hisoka in favor of Tsuzuki, he asks the man to come with him to a place where they can talk more at "leisure" with one another; a restaurant owned and run by a friend of Muraki's, which doubles as a geisha house in secret. This is the place Tsuzuki confronts Muraki about the murders after growing tired and angry with the doctor's avoiding answers to his questions, and discovers the man is indeed the one behind the deaths of the women and that it was all to bring Tsuzuki to him. Tsuzuki goes to attack Muraki right there, but is dodged and brought down to the floor by the quick movements of the doctor and pinned down to where he cannot escape. While pinned Muraki comments on Tsuzuki wearing his watch on his right wrist, asking if it's because he's left handed or to hide a wrist scar. Thankfully, for Tsuzuki, the doctor is stopped when his friend, and owner of the establishment Oriya barges in on them and more or less kicks Muraki away from Tsuzuki to scold him for bringing a man into the place as if he were a male prostitute since Oriya holds only females in his restaurant. While Tsuzuki is leaving the restaurant Muraki tells him he will be staying there while in Kyoto and he is welcome to come there whenever he is in need.
In a flash where we see Muraki speaking with his former teacher (this man is who the murders were for, to bring him genetic material to further his experiments of cloning individual body parts and organs in order to create a human being with the perfect body) we learn that Tsuzuki had been a former patient of Muraki's grandfather, as shown by a photo dated in 1925 during the Show Period. He had been admitted to the hospital as an insane patient, but was kept there despite there being no knowledge of his relatives or any money. Why? Because Tsuzuki survived for eight years in that hospital without food, water, or sleep while his physical condition never declined- at least until Tsuzuki finally managed to kill himself 72 years ago in that hospital bed he'd been sentenced to. Even before he was a shinigami, Tsuzuki healed remarkably fast, but he wanted and dreamed of dying so much that he slashed his wrist over and over again yet still kept living despite wanting his long life to end. Slashed until he could see the white of bone and the wounds decayed and festered, as blood flowed, yet never did he die until that final attempt. Even he did not know why he kept living for so long.
Hisoka stumbles upon Tsuzuki as he thinks back to Muraki mentioning his watch, confessing to himself that, yes, he wears the band to hide the scars on his wrist from those attempts. The boy can sense something is wrong, but he acts like everything is fine, hiding the problem. Hisoka protests that it is unfair, but the elder of the two confesses to rather having it this way, instead of him, Watari, and Tatsumi hating him if they ever knew the truth. No matter how much Hisoka wishes to be told, the boy is left feeling as if he is just not trusted enough for Tsuzuki to tell him his problems or be someone he can talk to. This thought process is interrupted by Watari saying he has gotten more data on Muraki.
Their investigation leads them to a college, where it appears that Muraki has been coming to the university under orders from the director of the Tokyo hospital he works for, concerning something that has to do with the university's surgical ward. This is where one of two girls seems to see the shinigami despite the matter of them being in spirit form. The three run off, but Muraki has seen them as they go, along with the matter of the girl seeing them. Muraki later finds these girls and sets two summoned Kocho to attack them. Tsuzuki runs to the rescue, due to hearing their screams as Muraki summons horrible monsters to devour the girls, where the shinigami freezes up at the sight of human blood, seeing it as belonging to the person he killed(Muraki commits on him looking pained, questioning if the sight of blood reminds him of that horrible night). Tsuzuki is left frozen in place, watching as one of the girls is devoured, as one of the monsters is then set to attack him in his vulnerability as he manages to grab hold of the other girl (who had yet to be harmed).
Tsuzuki is saved by the sudden intervention of Tatsumi, who has control over his shadows and uses them to stop and kill the monster Muraki had sent after his old partner, and manages to surprise the doctor. This leaves Tsuzuki to protect the girl as Tatsumi battles Muraki. The doctor soon vanishes, leaving them after Tatsumi manages to draw blood from him, but not before convincing Tsuzuki that the other girl had to die because she had seen Tsuzuki as in seeing a shinigami meant that you had to die. The girl wakes up in time to hear this. and that her best friend was murdered because she had seen this man, the one in black clothes, who was holding her then (she begins blaming the shinigami for it, making it their fault she was now alone. She became suspect to her friends' death, even being slapped by her mother for "taking away her child". Everyone at school leaving her alone, believing she'd killed her friend and was lying about Muraki killing her because the man had an alibi). Tsuzuki later wakes up in a hotel room, comforted back to sleep by Tatsumi, who leaves him alone to rest and grows angry from what Muraki had done, vowing to make him pay. He finds Hisoka, who asks Tatsumi to cheer Tsuzuki up because he's no good at such things. The secretary tells him as Tsuzuki's partner he should be the one doing such a thing as over so many months together he should know Tsuzuki better than anyone, but relents saying he will this one time cheer Tsuzuki up.
Tatsumi takes Tsuzuki shopping the next day, ending at a tea room where Tsuzuki asks for his help in protecting that girl who had survived. There's a sense of pride, as usually Tsuzuki would wait with sad eyes for direction, but was instead asking for help to do something. Tatsumi gladly accepts, saying he will do everything in his power to help. This ends up in them going undercover at the university as three teachers, Tatsumi, Tsuzuki, and Watari, and Hisoka as an exchange student as four brothers. All of this is to keep an eye on the girl, who suspects they are following, waiting for the right moment to kill her. Fellow female classmates soon come to torment her because the four of them are paying such attention to her. She confronts Tsuzuki when he goes to ask Tsuzuki if anyone has seen her, blowing up and yelling, blaming them all for her friend dying, going so far as to yell she wished he had died instead, screaming that she hates Tsuzuki and calling him a God of Misfortune. Despite Hisoka telling him to ignore it, the elder of the two is saddened by her screaming at him.
Later Tsuzuki cuts himself on a book's page and is hounded to go to the doctor's office simply so no one notices the cut had healed over already. This is where he once more finds Muraki, saying he is taking the place of the usual school doctor and then asking if he was free that night as he had two tickets to a play, and if he would like to go (and that he had originally planned to go with someone else, a woman, but was "jilted" instead). Muraki also adds that Tsuzuki cannot say no, as if he does that girl he had been watching over would die (she had been taken by Muraki's former teacher while Tsuzuki was in the school doctor's office with Muraki). This is the only reason Tsuzuki agrees to go to the play with him, so long as he doesn't lay a finger on her. It's during this play that Muraki tells Tsuzuki that, after studying the data and DNA samples left to him by his grandfather, his body and blood has something non-human within it. That if Tsuzuki were to be called anything, human wasn't it. That Tsuzuki is a demon blood bearing monster, and this is the reason why he could not die so easily, didn't age while in that hospital without food, water, or sleep for eight years, and why his eyes are such an strange purple color.
After the play, and that talk with Muraki, Tsuzuki goes to drown his sorrows in alcohol and Hisoka finds him in the bar. He re-calls Muraki saying he wasn't human, that his DNA arrangement was different, and ends up running outside as snow falls. Hisoka chases after him to find the man stabbing out his own eye with a sharp rock. While stopping him, Hisoka feels and sees Tsuzuki's childhood. The discrimination, persecution, and loneliness the man felt as a child, feeling that his being alive was a crime soon after. Even when he was young, Tsuzuki felt he was different, but all he wanted to do was to be together with humans, to just be human, his unfulfilled dream. As the man cries Hisoka comforts him, telling him he is human, reassuring him of it and that he had always been human.
While Hisoka tries to help Tsuzuki walk home they come across the prone form of the girl Muraki had kidnapped. She is fine, just passed out, so they take her back to the hospital in Meifu. Tsuzuki stays behind to sit with her, but Muraki had done something to the girl which causes her to transform into a centipede like monster with the want to destroy Tsuzuki. This causes Suzaku to come out without being summoned, destroying the hospital and the girl along with it from her attempt in killing Tsuzuki. The girl's death causes him to withdraw into himself, and Watari and Tatsumi come upon the destruction and witness Tsuzuki holding the girl's head, licking at the blood as if he were trying to do something to heal it (it is mentioned that victims of severe trauma mimic actions made in past traumas). Suzaku doesn't allow anyone near the man, guarding her master as if he were a chick in her nest, him slowly going insane. Muraki appears (no one there sure how he got into Meifu) soon after Tsuzuki exhausts himself and slips into a state of madness that leaves him unresponsive. Muraki seizes the opportunity and takes him away, vanishing in light and white feathers.
Tsuzuki is taken into an underground lab that is below the university, a place where Muraki keeps the head of his half brother that ruined the doctor's family when he was a boy and was the cause of his parents' deaths. Muraki has planned to remove Tsuzuki's head and replace it with that of the half-brother's, Saki, so that he may be revived and give Muraki the chance to kill him with his own hands. While Tatsumi, Watari, and Hisoka look for Tsuzuki days after he was taken away, Muraki gives two keycards to Oriya that will let whoever has them into his lab to be used in distracting the shinigamis a little longer from finding him (thanks to Watari's investigation they found a connection between Muraki and the establishment Oriya runs). During this distraction Tsuzuki awakens from his unresponsive state and stabs Muraki, sending the man to the ground to slowly bleed to death. Tsuzuki then states he is going to kill the both of them, Muraki laughing at his own state and that Tsuzuki wishes to die with him, summoning the only shiki that would be able to end his life. Touda, a serpent of Hell fire that is hot enough to kill even a shinigami, is summoned and soon goes about burning the entire underground land down, metal working melting, sending structures crashing down around them.
During the fires, the group of three soon arrive with the keycards, Hisoka having been the one to get the keycards from Oriya in a contest to see who had the stronger will to help who was dear to them. They come upon the land in a mass of flames, spotting Tsuzuki sitting calmly in a clear area as things burned and fell around him. Tatsumi holds them back for a moment, saying that if it was Tsuzuki's wish to die, that perhaps it was best to let him. Hisoka refusing to believe Tsuzuki really wants to die, goes into the fires after him, hugging onto the man and pleading for him to come back, to stop and live, even if it was just for him. Just before a burning beam, and the rest of the structure, falls onto them Tatsumi rescues them with his shadows.
Back in Meifu, in part of the hospital that had been re-built already, Tsuzuki wakes up with his friends glad to see he was alright. Tatsumi later sits with him, confessing he had hesitated in saving Tsuzuki and wondering if he hated him for rescuing him after all (Tatsumi told Watari he had originally planned on just saving Hisoka, but saved Tsuzuki as well at the last minute). With a smile Tsuzuki thanks the man. He later finds Hisoka outside and is told he probably shouldn't be walking around yet. Hisoka then tells him that Muraki was still alive out there, somewhere, because a horrible white light had pulled him out of that fire. There they vow to keep going, growing stronger, and to help Hisoka surpass that man who still lived.
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[ abilities ] Tsuzuki has control over 12 Shikigami, which makes him one of the strongest shinigami in his section. At times he is even refered to as the "right hand of Enma" due to his power. Amongst the ranks of his twelve shiki are the four guardians of the North, West, South, and East- Genbu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Sohryu. It is said that gaining a shiki increases the power of a shinigami, and no other shinigami is known to have mastery over more than three.
Along with the ability to summon any of twelve shiki, Tsuzuki also has ofuda magic. These ofuda have a wide range of powers, including creating a very strong shield, summoning the elements to use in attack, sealing away or banishing demonic/dark magical forces, and being used to create Tsuzuki's familiar- a white bird he usually uses to track down someone or to carry messages by tying a note to its leg. This bird is created by folding a fuda into an origami bird and blowing on it.
He also has very high stamina and is able to take a lot of damage to his body without being instantly killed. As an example, Tsuzuki has had most of his back destroyed, but was not killed by it when any mortal would have, and was able to recover from it by syncing his power up with his young partner Hisoka. Even before his death, Tsuzuki has been able to heal much quicker than most, most injuries received healing nearly instantly after they are received.
Tsuzuki has been shown to have a sort of abnormal strength, which was demonstrated when he grew angry from Muraki's belittling comments and punched bullet proof glass hard enough to shatter it (this was within the Queen Cameilia after the doctor had shot Tsubaki-hime). This strength is usually only seen when he is angry enough to use it.
Being a shinigami, Tsuzuki is able to fly despite mostly being seen running or walking to his destination. He has used his ability to fly while rescuing Hijiri Minase during the Devil's Trill Arc. Usually humans are not able to see shinigami unless they are able to sense spiritual presences and have an awareness of them, but shinigami are able to raise their spiritual presence so normal people are able to see them as well.
Tsuzuki is a terrible cook, despite being able to eat whatever food it is he cooks. To anyone else it is inedible due to a horrible, horrible taste (which has actually caused someone to faint, after they had taken a bite from a muffin he had baked-- see "Hokkaidō"). It's been proposed in canon that his taste buds are also dead because the food he cooks appears to taste fine to him.
He enjoys planting and keeping flowers, having a green thumb. This along with dancing is something his sister taught him, and has stuck much better than his cooking abilities.
[ personality ] On the outside Tsuzuki appears to be a pretty happy go-lucky guy with a very large sweet tooth. He enjoys teasing his young partner Hisoka and being an all around playful guy, which does end in him being called an idiot and being swatted, hit, or having something thrown at him by the boy. He gets along well with most other people, such as his fellow shinigami. Terazuma is the exception, as they have some sort of rivalry going on, their fights tending to end with something around them destroyed. (Hakushaku is also an exception, due to his perverse flirtations with Tsuzuki, and reminding him he will take repayment of the man's debt with his body. The relationship with Muraki is more complicated, hating the man for everything he has done to Hisoka, other people, and himself, but refusing to kill him in cold blood). There's also a sort of childishness to the way he acts from time to time, like when he pouts about having to do reports, or isn't getting paid a bonus due to damages he caused, or cries when he's denied a certain food. Tsuzuki can often be seen stuffing his face with some sort of food or sweet most of the time, even when he should be working instead.
In regards to his job, Tsuzuki does slack off when it comes to filling out reports and any other type of paper work associated by proxy. However, out in the field he is a force to be reckoned with and shows his serious side. Tsuzuki doesn't enjoy his job, but it is something that must be done, and he has come to try and accept it. He is a peaceful person who enjoys gardening, and likes animals. (The animals appear to like him as well, as if attracted to him in some small way. Often times birds and squirrels gather around, and dogs have taken an immediate liking to him.) There are times when he feels great remorse after a case, saddened by the fact he had to take a spirit to be judged, or an innocent was killed during a case. When an innocent's life is taken, Tsuzuki has the habit of blaming himself, feeling guilt and thinking there must've been some way he could've been able to prevent it. He has been known to go out to bars after these cases to try and forget, drinking himself into a stupor. It's been implied by the creator that Tsuzuki is an alcoholic.
Underneath his smiles and laughter, there is a very deep self-hatred and a longing for acceptance from others. Part of him doesn't believe that he deserves the friendships he has, a feeling that no matter what he does, he doesn't belong and he is simply a monster-- something not human. Tsuzuki falls into depression easily, yet masks it behind his usual care-free smiles so not to worry those around him, his friends who care deeply for his well being, happiness, and sanity.
Tsuzuki is not a very mentally, or emotionally, stable person. With enough prodding and poking, he can be pushed over the edge into severe depression as noted above, or even fits of rage where he becomes dangerous if provoked. (For example, he punched and shattered the bullet proof glass separating him from Muraki, while in the belly of a cruise ship during the "King of Swords" arc.) These fits of rage usually do not last very long, but he can cause a lot of damage. However, they are different from those Terazuma usually provokes, as those fights are more out of them being rivals instead of deeply rooted anger and hatred. His anger seems to increase the power he already has, in some cases shattering objects from his mere presence, like a bottle of wine, if they are too close to him.
In regards of the depression again, this usually involves bringing his insecurities more to the surface: the fact that he may not be human (that being the reason as to why he was always chased after and injured as a child growing up), that he didn't belong around humans, and that all he ever brings with him is death. He fears that he doesn't deserve any of the love or friendship that he has received during his time as a shinigami, due to the sins of his past. Instead, everyone should hate him or wish for his pain, misery, and his death in the end. He can even be convinced that any of the deaths that go on around him, during a case, are his fault, which starts the downward spiral into further self-hate, and can cause him to freeze up on the spot in misery.
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[ history ] As the manga begins, the readers are introduced to Meifu (the world of the dead), a place where the cherry trees are always in bloom and is on an opposite plane of existence as Chijou (the living world), while being told of the workings of a particular organization's section.
Within Meifu, there is an organization known as JuOhCho (The Ministry of Hades). This is a government type organization that keeps track of the dead souls' admission, sorting them through judgment of sins and deeds throughout life, and even sentencing. EnmaCho (the Judgment Bureau) is one of ten government bureaus that form JuOhCho. This bureau's Shokan (Summons) Division answers only to EnmaDaiOh (Mysterious King of Hades). The Shokan Division employees maintain the balance between life and death, and are often sent out to retrieve a soul that has lingered too long within the living world, in order to bring them to trial. From time to time it is a still-living person who has lived much longer than they are supposed to. (This being the reason they are called shinigami, or Gods of Death.) The Shokan (usually made of up to eighteen people) is one of the highest ranking, but also the lowest paid division of them all.
There is a book called the Kiseki that contains the names of people who are dead. When a person dies their names are written in the book. It is kept within the Hall of Candles, a place on the edge of Meifu, which contains all the flames of human life. This is where Hakushaku lives, watching over these flames, along with the Kiseki. It is by this list that the dead are admitted into Meifu. People who are on the list, but haven't died as they were meant to, are often the cases handed over to the shinigami to be investigated and find out why they have not passed on yet, and in the end bring them to be judged.
Tsuzuki, the second oldest within the Shokan (the first being Chief Konoe), takes care of the Kyūshū area, which includes Nagasaki, and is the shinigami in charge of the ShoKouCho (2nd Division), along with his partner. Shinigami must always have a partner in order to keep each other in line, and on track, within their duties. A shinigami is someone who still has close ties to the living world, and thus chooses to become such a being due to their own selfish desires, to have the privilege in traveling between the dead and living worlds for whatever purpose that made them take such a "dirty" job.
He has the history of not keeping a partner for very long, often assigned a new one whenever a case is in his district. In this particular introductory case (a story within the first tankōbon, "Two on Opposites Sides of the River") a girl had lost the will to live, and her name had appeared on the Kiseki, butto this day, she remained alive. A young man named Asuna, who was re-assigned to the Shokan from another division, becomes Tsuzuki's partner. Further into the chapter it is discovered the girl had lost her will to live due to her friend drowning to save her life, and thus no longer sees the point in going on. Tsuzuki offers to help come up with a creative suicide, appearing eager to get the case over with so he can get paid his bonus. Asuna, however, tries to talk the girl out of it by speaking rashly, but instead it causes her to be all the more ready to kill herself.
Tsuzuki caused the girl to pass out with a spell and looked as if he was about to kill her. Then Asuna rushed in, ready to fight him in order to keep the girl alive. However, to his distress, Tsuzuki put a barrier around her to keep him from preventing the girl's death. During the battle, Tsuzuki used ofuda to create illusions that cause Asuna to believe he was giving his all, allowing the younger shinigami to believe he broke the barrier to save the girl, as he falls into the river. In the end it is revealed that Asuna is the deceased friend, encouraging her to live on, even if it was just for him, and her name is removed from the Kiseki due to her will to live again. The younger is, of course, re-assigned, leaving Tsuzuki partner-less again.
In the "Nagasaki" Arc (also within tankōbon 1) there are mysterious deaths where people are being drained of all blood with little evidence left behind, other than two puncture marks on one side of the victims' neck. For this reason it is dubbed the "Dracula Case"(in the anime, it's "The Vampire Case"). Tsuzuki is told that he has another partner assigned to him for the case, who was already sent out to Nagasaki to start the investigation, and that he can take one of the Gushoshin Brothers with him. (The Gushoshin Brothers are the librarians of sorts for the Shokan, and look like white birds in clothing. They are very short and often float in mid-air.) Once in Nagasaki, a girl runs into Tsuzuki and rushes off soon after. He notices something red on his collar, assuming it was just her lipstick.
A scream is heard. Another dead body is found. Rushing over Tsuzuki notices the puncture wounds and takes off after the girl. He realizes it was not lipstick smeared on his collar, but blood. During the chase he looses sight of the girl and runs into a church, stumbling upon a strange man in white kneeling before the cross, who turns with a single tear falling. Stunned, Tsuzuki fumbles in trying to ask if he's seen the girl, after apologizing. With no as an answer, Tsuzuki rushes back out, no sign of her anywhere-- only to be held up with what felt to be a gun at his back, and a demanding young man's voice tells him to freeze. Tsuzuki is mistaken for the vampire by this young man, as he had been "skulking" about the area suspiciously. Just as it seemed he was about to be shot, Gushoshin drops in (after being left behind with the bag Tsuzuki had been carrying) and explains that the boy, Hisoka, is Tsuzuki's new partner.
It's discovered during their first meal as partners that Hisoka was fooled into becoming Tsuzuki's partner by being told he was the hardest working shinigami in the Shokan Division, when in reality he is widely known as the laziest one there and complains almost constantly. This results in a childish fight, which ends in a drinking contest where the boy had to be carried back to their hotel room. Here is where Tsuzuki catches a likeness to a famous singer and the girl he had been chasing. She is Maria Wong, a Chinese girl who was supposed to be dead after committing suicide, and yet she was in Nagasaki performing during a festival which brings up suspicions that this may be something more than what was initially thought at the beginning of the case. With more investigation, it's found out that Maria's stepmother paid someone to bring the girl back to life as an obedient walking dead, and that something must've gone wrong if she needed to consume blood to remain as she did.
Later, after the two try to find Maria and are kicked out of the studio she was supposed to be at, they split up. Hisoka goes to the library in Meifu, telling Tsuzuki he was going to meet him later. Being stood up, Tsuzuki leaves the meeting place and comes across the scene of a small girl suddenly fainting in the park. This is where the second meeting with the man from the church comes from, saying he is a doctor and can look over the child. Tsuzuki waited while he tended to her. Outside of the rest area, the man introduces himself as Kazutaka Muraki. They speak of human weakness, and the doctor parts with a warning for Tsuzuki to keep his nose out of things, unless he lose someone else important to him.
Despite such an unnerving meeting, and after confronting Hisoka near the forbidden section of the library on standing him up-- learning how strong of an empath the boy is when he finds him-- Tsuzuki lures Maria out into the open by pretending to sleep on a bench, using a fuda to bring her back in control, banishing the dark force that had been the controlling factor within her. This leads to Maria regaining her senses, crying over what she had been made to do, Tsuzuki comforting her in that she can now spend what time she had left as she wanted. Hisoka and Tsuzuki both go with Maria to confront her stepmother, the older shinigami speaking to her alone to get further information from her- and it is found Doctor Muraki Kazutaka is the man paid to revive and control Maria. During all of this Hisoka vanishes, Tsuzuki running out with Maria as the boy's scream is heard, to find the hallway he'd been left in stained with blood. Muraki had kidnapped the boy as bait for Tsuzuki, which works as Maria tags along once the boy has been located by the older shinigami's bird familiar. An epic battle ensues, leaving a weak Hisoka and Maria under one of Tsuzuki's shields as he and the doctor fight, shikigami against summoned dragon. The shield begins to break, causing Hisoka to try and set up another. Tsuzuki takes a blast when the shield isn’t put up in time that destroys most of his back and nearly blows a hole through him. Muraki tries to attack the boy again and by syncing up their powers Muraki is forced to retreat and Tsuzuki heals much quicker than he would have on his own. The case ends as Maria finally passes again and the doctor vanished amongst the flames.
At the end of the arc Tsuzuki is standing out in the rain as Hisoka walks up behind them, the elder shinigami believing the boy has come to end their partnership. Instead Hisoka claims he would like to remain Tsuzuki's partner, if the man will take him despite the problems this case caused them. After Tsuzuki talks about the boy, as if he was going to tell him to find another partner, he says with a smile he would like him to stay. This is where their partnership truly begins.
During the "Last Waltz" story, Tsuzuki and Hisoka are sent to investigate a girl whose name appeared on the Kiseki, yet still remains amongst those of the living. She mistakes Tsuzuki for her brother, who died in a car crash, due to his voice. Throughout the investigation we find that she had been fighting to remain alive in memory of her brother and continue dancing to be of some use. Due to a student taking her dance partner, and a competition coming up she wants to enter desperately no mater what, Tsuzuki is chosen to be the replacement. Here we learn more about Tsuzuki's sister, Ruka. Thanks to Ruka, he is quite the remarkable dancer, so he and Hisoka end up living with the girl for a while-- which gets the elder scolded. Later, Hisoka leaves due to sensing Tsuzuki feeling more than just respect for the suppose to be deceased girl, coming back only when the dance competition begins. The girl dies after one final dance, feeling fulfilled thanks to Tsuzuki's kindness.
"Devil's Trill" is where we meet Hijiri Minase, a young boy who looks strikingly similar to Hisoka, who has just had a cornea transplant to save his eye. The problem is that with the cornea comes the contract with a demon from the previous owner, and due to this strange things begin to happen (such as Hijiri trying to kill himself after meeting the daughter of the dead man the cornea had been donated from). After the attempted suicide failed, Hijiri comes face to face with Tsuzuki and Hisoka- originally having been sent to investigate a violin said to kill anyone who plays it, which had also fallen into Hijiri's possession as a gift since it to belonged to the dead man(who was the original person under investigation before death). Thanks to Watari's research (another Shokan shinigami, science department) it was found the contract's seal was that of Sargantanas, the Dragon Knight Brigadier- one of the ranks under command of the Grand Duke of Hell. The price was the man's daughter, Kazuza (who Hijiri had grown fond of), due to her ability to see demons-- getting rid of her before she was able to die and become a shinigami was beneficial to the demons. In an effort to protect them both they burn the violin in order to draw out Sargantanas, which works and a battle between the demon and Tsuzuki results in the man being bitten before appearing to destroy the demon with Byakko's power.
Later we find out Tsuzuki had been possessed, due to Sargantanas being a parasite like demon, which results in the shinigami being trapped in a dark place. It is implied, in canon, that Tsuzuki committed a horrific crime when he was younger, but are no clues are given as to what the crime was other than it possible murder due to the child version (a hallucination caused by Sargatanas to keep him obedient and depressed so he won’t fight back) speaking of the dead left behind Tsuzuki, but this could mean his job as a shinigami as well. This past crime is used to lock him within his mind, giving Sargantanas full control of his body and powers. Sargantanas then tries to murder Hijiri, disguised as Tsuzuki, in order to end the contract and obtain Kazuza. Demon controlled Tsuzuki then storms Meifu to find Kazuza, since she was sent there for protection, using two of Tsuzuki's shinigami to rain destruction upon the place. During this we find out Hijiri was not killed, due to Hisoka disguising himself as the boy and surviving due to his shinigami healing abilities (he had suspected Tsuzuki was possessed due to not feeling any of the man's usual emotions, and the fact he couldn't remember that Konoe enjoyed sweet things when Hisoka tested him by saying the Chief hated sweets so he got him something not sweet as a gift). In the end, after a failed attempt by Hisoka to separate Sargatanas from Tsuzuki the first time, the shinigami is pulled out of the darkness from an image of Hijiri projected into that space created by the demon telling him he was not hated and he was needed (this projection was caused by Enma himself. He isn't willing to let Tsuzuki out of his grasp yet) during the second attempt. Tsuzuki is able to destroy the demon once it is out, but from all the destruction caused by the fighting Kazuza dies protecting Hijiri from a falling pillar- but is taken by the shinigami to join their ranks some day.
"King of Swords" is the arc in which Tsuzuki and Hisoka find themselves boarding a cruise ship that is suspected to be involved in strange disappearances in Hong Kong (the Shokan Division often helps out other provinces when it also involves their own). They are sent undercover, Tsuzuki being brought on as a dealer for cards in the ship's casino. Soon the elder shinigami tries to go to the room shared with his younger partner, only to be accosted by guards due to it being in the VIP section of the ship- this is where he is saved by none other than Muraki Kazutaka, who he thought had died in the flames back in Nagasaki. Immediately he's suspected to be involved in whatever is going on, yet becomes a victim in a series of murders where tarot cards are left behind (Muraki is later found to be alive still after attacking Tsuzuki in the belly of the ship to feed on his energy, and has his false mechanical eye cut out due to the surprise attack). Tsuzuki takes Hisoka back down to find the reason for the disappearances. The Cruise ship was being used for transporting, and transplanting, illegally required organs. Muraki turns up again, and is indeed behind all of this, having dragged yet another girl into it. Tsubaki-hime had been used to commit the string of murders during the cruise. She’s later shot by Muraki once he no longer had any use of her (she was then killed by Hisoka, as she was slowly dying anyway).
As the ship sinks from explosives left there by Muraki, the people on board are rescued to have their memories wiped, and Hisoka and Tsuzuki are in a helicopter. Hisoka breaks down about having killed Tsubaki-hime leaving Tsuzuki to be the one comforting him. They have grown closer to each other since their first case, knowing a little more about each other.
In "Hokkaidō" it is time for the Shokan Division's yearly holiday, which sends them to the location where another Cho is located, so two of their shinigami come along (this is where we first meet Saya and Yuma, who enjoy Tsuzuki's company as much as he does theirs'. They also try to dress Hisoka up in dresses and cling to him every chance they get). After enjoying themselves at a very expensive inn, while out in the hot springs, they meet a little group of speaking animals who soon reveal they are from the Snow Queen's kingdom (where the spirits of animals who have been abused or murdered are taken care of) and that their beloved Queen is missing. With the proper reward having motivated Tatsumi (the secretary of the Shokan Division), he has everyone working to try and find her, splitting everyone off into groups. It is Tsuzuki who finds the Snow Queen, after getting into a fight with the dragon spirit of a river and summoning his dragon shiki Sohryu, by stumbling upon her passed out in the snow. It comes to light that she had taken a bite from a frozen muffin, which caused her to pass out, having no idea how she got out of the kingdom (it was also a muffin Tsuzuki had baked, left behind in the palace by Saya and Yuma, thus Tatsumi doesn't get the money reward and Tsuzuki gets in trouble since all of his food is considered nearly lethal or disgusting in taste.
"Saint Micheal" is the arc where Tsuzuki and Hisoka are sent undercover to an all boys private Catholic school (Tsuzuki as a priest, Hisoka as a student) due to the mysterious death of a student, Okazaki Izuru, and his soul not being found. Tsuzuki meets one of the teachers, Mitani, and speaks to him as Hisoka investigates amongst the students(during the night he finds out one, the dorm head, is really a female exorcist who has been sent by Enma to protect Hisoka and Tsuzuki, due to the ties of demon activity in the case). The teacher Tsuzuki speaks with asks to speak with him in a confessional like way, speaking of sins of the flesh, and the taste of forbidden love, also confesses to murdering Okazaki, along with the boy whose body was found during the investigation, Fujisawa (the first having killed himself after cutting his own fingers off, stabbing, and burning himself), but never having thrown his body into the ocean. Tsuzuki tells him of his understanding on how he feels, him too knowing such a love, a love he could never have.
From Hisoka's conversation with the exorcist sent by Enma, Tsukiori Kira, it is found out that a demon is trying to bait out Tsuzuki (this demon's name being Focalor) due to his killing Sargantanas and opening up the position of the Dragon Knight Brigadier, which Grand Duke Astaroth wishes for Tsuzuki to assume. This has made Tsuzuki a target for low class demons to try and snatch away the position, and is why Focalor made a deal with the murdered boy, this deal was to grant his wish to be loved by the teacher and once it was granted the demon killed the boy and took his soul and body, killing anyone who then got in his way. It was, essentially, all part of a plan the demon had to bait Tsuzuki to come out, due to it being an unsolved death.
The demon is destroyed after angering Tsuzuki and being burned by Suzaku's fires, but the teacher is also killed as a causality from the demon attacking him while possessing the murdered boy's body. Hisoka manages to pull Tsuzuki out of a downward spiral of guilt, as the elder shinigami blames himself for the deaths as it was all to draw him out into the open. It ends with Tsuzuki praying.
"Storybook" begins with Tsuzuki dreaming, and in this dream he is visited, in bed, by one Muraki Kazutaka asking to marry him with the promised gift of a million roses (this promise was made during the "King of Swords" arc). Tatsumi has been hired to help Muraki claim Tsuzuki by the doctor with a large sum of money in this dream, the elder shinigami waking with a start- only to find something on top of him. He finds Watson, Hakushaku's English gardner/butler standing on top of him with an invitation to Hakushaku's cherry blossom viewing. At this party Tsuzuki grows angered at Tatsumi from leftover emotion from the dream- which isn't helped by Tatsumi saying how idiotic Tsuzuki is and that being why he dumped him as a partner- sending the man running off into the Hall of Candles(Hakushaku lives here, and throws all of his parties there). Tsuzuki, of course, gets lost in the large castle and stumbles into Hakushaku's study, ending up sucked into one of the invisible masked man's books (this one is special, as all Hakushaku has to do is give it characters and the basic plot, allowing it to write itself). Hisoka soon notices Tsuzuki has been gone for a long time and brings it up, Tatsumi brushing it off as him being lost, but soon Hakushaku suggests they go looking for him.
While the others search, Tsuzuki finds himself in the world of the book's current story, and is found by a young lady simply called "girl" who names him "Angel"-- this is because he had fallen out of the sky and crashed. Tsuzuki finds that, well, this "girl" looks a lot like him, if he were a woman. She takes him back to her house where he meets someone who looks like Konoe, this being the girl's father-- this has him realize this girl is suppose to be him and that all Hakushaku did was put characters based on his fellow shinigami into this book of his.
Throughout this story in the book Tsuzuki does what he can to help his female counterpart, who he gives the name of his sister "Ruka" so she is more that just "girl". To help her earn money to keep the farm (and money for her father's medication when he suddenly falls ill) he performs tricks with his ofuda magic, causing the elements of fire and water to spin in the shape of hoops, folding fuda into origami birds that turn into his familiar and take flight, and summoning Byakko. All of this earns the money needed, but later has the blame of a sudden illness that takes the lives of people suddenly cast on him as they accuse him of being an angel of death. He is then hunted down and killed by the character who resembled Tatsumi. In this arc we also learn more about the time when Tatsumi and Tsuzuki had once been partners. Because Tatsumi could not take the depression Tsuzuki used to have after every case he broke them up, leaving Tsuzuki alone and partner-less once more. Ever since Tsuzuki believed the man hated him, aided by the sometimes cruel comments Tatsumi made to him- like earlier in the story.
Near the end Tsuzuki finds out that everything Tatsumi has ever done in their past, after the break up, was to try and ensure the elder shinigami's happiness, that Tatsumi could be happy as long as Tsuzuki was, and by being allowed to watch over him. The actions of Tatsumi's book counterpart was much the same in his actions of trying to marry off Tsuzuki's female counterpart to someone who could afford to have her live without being poor any longer, or worry for her father. The manager of the book (a talking winged beetle) informed Tsuzuki all of these characters possessed the true feelings of the people they were based on. Once the story ends Tsuzuki is rescued, confronted as he lands right in front of Tatsumi and they reconcile, strengthening a friendship he thought was gone.
Near the beginning of "Kyōto" Watari asks for Tsuzuki and Hisoka to help on a case in his district that involves the murders of women, who have had part of their hair cut off for some mysterious reason. Tsuzuki asks why Watari asked for them to come and help, which he explains; one woman was clutching what appeared to be platinum hair with silver highlights. This detail quickly brings about the suspicion of Muraki being involved, and since the pair have experience with the doctor, Watari felt they needed to be brought into it. Investigation starts immediately afterward, once they find the shabby little inn Tatsumi booked for the three to be staying in.
Meanwhile Hisoka had been sent out shopping while Watari and Tsuzuki delved deeper into what information they were able to gather, also confirming the hair found belonged to that of one Kazutaka Muraki. This is where Hisoka stumbles upon Muraki, just after the man has murdered another woman. They are soon interrupted by Watari and Tsuzuki finding the boy, since he had been gone too long so they had come looking for him with the use of one of Watari's inventions, soon confronting the doctor. Ignoring Watari and Hisoka in favor of Tsuzuki, he asks the man to come with him to a place where they can talk more at "leisure" with one another; a restaurant owned and run by a friend of Muraki's, which doubles as a geisha house in secret. This is the place Tsuzuki confronts Muraki about the murders after growing tired and angry with the doctor's avoiding answers to his questions, and discovers the man is indeed the one behind the deaths of the women and that it was all to bring Tsuzuki to him. Tsuzuki goes to attack Muraki right there, but is dodged and brought down to the floor by the quick movements of the doctor and pinned down to where he cannot escape. While pinned Muraki comments on Tsuzuki wearing his watch on his right wrist, asking if it's because he's left handed or to hide a wrist scar. Thankfully, for Tsuzuki, the doctor is stopped when his friend, and owner of the establishment Oriya barges in on them and more or less kicks Muraki away from Tsuzuki to scold him for bringing a man into the place as if he were a male prostitute since Oriya holds only females in his restaurant. While Tsuzuki is leaving the restaurant Muraki tells him he will be staying there while in Kyoto and he is welcome to come there whenever he is in need.
In a flash where we see Muraki speaking with his former teacher (this man is who the murders were for, to bring him genetic material to further his experiments of cloning individual body parts and organs in order to create a human being with the perfect body) we learn that Tsuzuki had been a former patient of Muraki's grandfather, as shown by a photo dated in 1925 during the Show Period. He had been admitted to the hospital as an insane patient, but was kept there despite there being no knowledge of his relatives or any money. Why? Because Tsuzuki survived for eight years in that hospital without food, water, or sleep while his physical condition never declined- at least until Tsuzuki finally managed to kill himself 72 years ago in that hospital bed he'd been sentenced to. Even before he was a shinigami, Tsuzuki healed remarkably fast, but he wanted and dreamed of dying so much that he slashed his wrist over and over again yet still kept living despite wanting his long life to end. Slashed until he could see the white of bone and the wounds decayed and festered, as blood flowed, yet never did he die until that final attempt. Even he did not know why he kept living for so long.
Hisoka stumbles upon Tsuzuki as he thinks back to Muraki mentioning his watch, confessing to himself that, yes, he wears the band to hide the scars on his wrist from those attempts. The boy can sense something is wrong, but he acts like everything is fine, hiding the problem. Hisoka protests that it is unfair, but the elder of the two confesses to rather having it this way, instead of him, Watari, and Tatsumi hating him if they ever knew the truth. No matter how much Hisoka wishes to be told, the boy is left feeling as if he is just not trusted enough for Tsuzuki to tell him his problems or be someone he can talk to. This thought process is interrupted by Watari saying he has gotten more data on Muraki.
Their investigation leads them to a college, where it appears that Muraki has been coming to the university under orders from the director of the Tokyo hospital he works for, concerning something that has to do with the university's surgical ward. This is where one of two girls seems to see the shinigami despite the matter of them being in spirit form. The three run off, but Muraki has seen them as they go, along with the matter of the girl seeing them. Muraki later finds these girls and sets two summoned Kocho to attack them. Tsuzuki runs to the rescue, due to hearing their screams as Muraki summons horrible monsters to devour the girls, where the shinigami freezes up at the sight of human blood, seeing it as belonging to the person he killed(Muraki commits on him looking pained, questioning if the sight of blood reminds him of that horrible night). Tsuzuki is left frozen in place, watching as one of the girls is devoured, as one of the monsters is then set to attack him in his vulnerability as he manages to grab hold of the other girl (who had yet to be harmed).
Tsuzuki is saved by the sudden intervention of Tatsumi, who has control over his shadows and uses them to stop and kill the monster Muraki had sent after his old partner, and manages to surprise the doctor. This leaves Tsuzuki to protect the girl as Tatsumi battles Muraki. The doctor soon vanishes, leaving them after Tatsumi manages to draw blood from him, but not before convincing Tsuzuki that the other girl had to die because she had seen Tsuzuki as in seeing a shinigami meant that you had to die. The girl wakes up in time to hear this. and that her best friend was murdered because she had seen this man, the one in black clothes, who was holding her then (she begins blaming the shinigami for it, making it their fault she was now alone. She became suspect to her friends' death, even being slapped by her mother for "taking away her child". Everyone at school leaving her alone, believing she'd killed her friend and was lying about Muraki killing her because the man had an alibi). Tsuzuki later wakes up in a hotel room, comforted back to sleep by Tatsumi, who leaves him alone to rest and grows angry from what Muraki had done, vowing to make him pay. He finds Hisoka, who asks Tatsumi to cheer Tsuzuki up because he's no good at such things. The secretary tells him as Tsuzuki's partner he should be the one doing such a thing as over so many months together he should know Tsuzuki better than anyone, but relents saying he will this one time cheer Tsuzuki up.
Tatsumi takes Tsuzuki shopping the next day, ending at a tea room where Tsuzuki asks for his help in protecting that girl who had survived. There's a sense of pride, as usually Tsuzuki would wait with sad eyes for direction, but was instead asking for help to do something. Tatsumi gladly accepts, saying he will do everything in his power to help. This ends up in them going undercover at the university as three teachers, Tatsumi, Tsuzuki, and Watari, and Hisoka as an exchange student as four brothers. All of this is to keep an eye on the girl, who suspects they are following, waiting for the right moment to kill her. Fellow female classmates soon come to torment her because the four of them are paying such attention to her. She confronts Tsuzuki when he goes to ask Tsuzuki if anyone has seen her, blowing up and yelling, blaming them all for her friend dying, going so far as to yell she wished he had died instead, screaming that she hates Tsuzuki and calling him a God of Misfortune. Despite Hisoka telling him to ignore it, the elder of the two is saddened by her screaming at him.
Later Tsuzuki cuts himself on a book's page and is hounded to go to the doctor's office simply so no one notices the cut had healed over already. This is where he once more finds Muraki, saying he is taking the place of the usual school doctor and then asking if he was free that night as he had two tickets to a play, and if he would like to go (and that he had originally planned to go with someone else, a woman, but was "jilted" instead). Muraki also adds that Tsuzuki cannot say no, as if he does that girl he had been watching over would die (she had been taken by Muraki's former teacher while Tsuzuki was in the school doctor's office with Muraki). This is the only reason Tsuzuki agrees to go to the play with him, so long as he doesn't lay a finger on her. It's during this play that Muraki tells Tsuzuki that, after studying the data and DNA samples left to him by his grandfather, his body and blood has something non-human within it. That if Tsuzuki were to be called anything, human wasn't it. That Tsuzuki is a demon blood bearing monster, and this is the reason why he could not die so easily, didn't age while in that hospital without food, water, or sleep for eight years, and why his eyes are such an strange purple color.
After the play, and that talk with Muraki, Tsuzuki goes to drown his sorrows in alcohol and Hisoka finds him in the bar. He re-calls Muraki saying he wasn't human, that his DNA arrangement was different, and ends up running outside as snow falls. Hisoka chases after him to find the man stabbing out his own eye with a sharp rock. While stopping him, Hisoka feels and sees Tsuzuki's childhood. The discrimination, persecution, and loneliness the man felt as a child, feeling that his being alive was a crime soon after. Even when he was young, Tsuzuki felt he was different, but all he wanted to do was to be together with humans, to just be human, his unfulfilled dream. As the man cries Hisoka comforts him, telling him he is human, reassuring him of it and that he had always been human.
While Hisoka tries to help Tsuzuki walk home they come across the prone form of the girl Muraki had kidnapped. She is fine, just passed out, so they take her back to the hospital in Meifu. Tsuzuki stays behind to sit with her, but Muraki had done something to the girl which causes her to transform into a centipede like monster with the want to destroy Tsuzuki. This causes Suzaku to come out without being summoned, destroying the hospital and the girl along with it from her attempt in killing Tsuzuki. The girl's death causes him to withdraw into himself, and Watari and Tatsumi come upon the destruction and witness Tsuzuki holding the girl's head, licking at the blood as if he were trying to do something to heal it (it is mentioned that victims of severe trauma mimic actions made in past traumas). Suzaku doesn't allow anyone near the man, guarding her master as if he were a chick in her nest, him slowly going insane. Muraki appears (no one there sure how he got into Meifu) soon after Tsuzuki exhausts himself and slips into a state of madness that leaves him unresponsive. Muraki seizes the opportunity and takes him away, vanishing in light and white feathers.
Tsuzuki is taken into an underground lab that is below the university, a place where Muraki keeps the head of his half brother that ruined the doctor's family when he was a boy and was the cause of his parents' deaths. Muraki has planned to remove Tsuzuki's head and replace it with that of the half-brother's, Saki, so that he may be revived and give Muraki the chance to kill him with his own hands. While Tatsumi, Watari, and Hisoka look for Tsuzuki days after he was taken away, Muraki gives two keycards to Oriya that will let whoever has them into his lab to be used in distracting the shinigamis a little longer from finding him (thanks to Watari's investigation they found a connection between Muraki and the establishment Oriya runs). During this distraction Tsuzuki awakens from his unresponsive state and stabs Muraki, sending the man to the ground to slowly bleed to death. Tsuzuki then states he is going to kill the both of them, Muraki laughing at his own state and that Tsuzuki wishes to die with him, summoning the only shiki that would be able to end his life. Touda, a serpent of Hell fire that is hot enough to kill even a shinigami, is summoned and soon goes about burning the entire underground land down, metal working melting, sending structures crashing down around them.
During the fires, the group of three soon arrive with the keycards, Hisoka having been the one to get the keycards from Oriya in a contest to see who had the stronger will to help who was dear to them. They come upon the land in a mass of flames, spotting Tsuzuki sitting calmly in a clear area as things burned and fell around him. Tatsumi holds them back for a moment, saying that if it was Tsuzuki's wish to die, that perhaps it was best to let him. Hisoka refusing to believe Tsuzuki really wants to die, goes into the fires after him, hugging onto the man and pleading for him to come back, to stop and live, even if it was just for him. Just before a burning beam, and the rest of the structure, falls onto them Tatsumi rescues them with his shadows.
Back in Meifu, in part of the hospital that had been re-built already, Tsuzuki wakes up with his friends glad to see he was alright. Tatsumi later sits with him, confessing he had hesitated in saving Tsuzuki and wondering if he hated him for rescuing him after all (Tatsumi told Watari he had originally planned on just saving Hisoka, but saved Tsuzuki as well at the last minute). With a smile Tsuzuki thanks the man. He later finds Hisoka outside and is told he probably shouldn't be walking around yet. Hisoka then tells him that Muraki was still alive out there, somewhere, because a horrible white light had pulled him out of that fire. There they vow to keep going, growing stronger, and to help Hisoka surpass that man who still lived.
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[ abilities ] Tsuzuki has control over 12 Shikigami, which makes him one of the strongest shinigami in his section. At times he is even refered to as the "right hand of Enma" due to his power. Amongst the ranks of his twelve shiki are the four guardians of the North, West, South, and East- Genbu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Sohryu. It is said that gaining a shiki increases the power of a shinigami, and no other shinigami is known to have mastery over more than three.
Along with the ability to summon any of twelve shiki, Tsuzuki also has ofuda magic. These ofuda have a wide range of powers, including creating a very strong shield, summoning the elements to use in attack, sealing away or banishing demonic/dark magical forces, and being used to create Tsuzuki's familiar- a white bird he usually uses to track down someone or to carry messages by tying a note to its leg. This bird is created by folding a fuda into an origami bird and blowing on it.
He also has very high stamina and is able to take a lot of damage to his body without being instantly killed. As an example, Tsuzuki has had most of his back destroyed, but was not killed by it when any mortal would have, and was able to recover from it by syncing his power up with his young partner Hisoka. Even before his death, Tsuzuki has been able to heal much quicker than most, most injuries received healing nearly instantly after they are received.
Tsuzuki has been shown to have a sort of abnormal strength, which was demonstrated when he grew angry from Muraki's belittling comments and punched bullet proof glass hard enough to shatter it (this was within the Queen Cameilia after the doctor had shot Tsubaki-hime). This strength is usually only seen when he is angry enough to use it.
Being a shinigami, Tsuzuki is able to fly despite mostly being seen running or walking to his destination. He has used his ability to fly while rescuing Hijiri Minase during the Devil's Trill Arc. Usually humans are not able to see shinigami unless they are able to sense spiritual presences and have an awareness of them, but shinigami are able to raise their spiritual presence so normal people are able to see them as well.
Tsuzuki is a terrible cook, despite being able to eat whatever food it is he cooks. To anyone else it is inedible due to a horrible, horrible taste (which has actually caused someone to faint, after they had taken a bite from a muffin he had baked-- see "Hokkaidō"). It's been proposed in canon that his taste buds are also dead because the food he cooks appears to taste fine to him.
He enjoys planting and keeping flowers, having a green thumb. This along with dancing is something his sister taught him, and has stuck much better than his cooking abilities.