Weeeh! I come bearing a new chapter! Amazing. Usually it takes me months to update. .:coughs:.
Ban: .:.Tiptoeing away.:.
chibi Zayla: HEY! You're suppose to do the friggen disclaimer!
Ban: .:.at a distance.:. Do it yourself! Bleh! .:.sticks out tongue.:.
chibi Zayla: Fine, fine. Akabane can do it. He can also become Ginji's new partner. You know him, he finds Ginji to--
Akabane: To be an excellent partner in every sense of the word. .:.smiles:.
Ban: OO chibi Zayla does not own Get Backers and is very poor--Hey you pervert! Get the hell away from Ginji!
Akabane: .:.holding a shaking Ginji:. But he's cold, don't you see?
Ban: He's shaking 'cause he's afraid of you, moron!
Ginji: I'm scared, Ban-chan! ;;
chibi Zayla: I'm just...gonna let them work it out. . ;;
Chapter 2
He sat at the counter, a cup of coffee in hand. Paul, the owner of the Honkey Tonk, dried off yet another cup. Silence. The only sound lingering in the small establishment was the soft clank as Ban set his cup down. He would glance out the window every now and then, probably waiting for someone, so thought Paul. He had a clue as to who it was, too. But his glances weren't too frequent and his composure was calm and aloof. How was it that for the past few days, Ban Midou sat at this very same counter with such an anxious looks waiting for Ginji and yet suddenly, here he sat, waiting for the same person...yet more in control of his moods? Paul set down his now clean cup and cleared his throat. Here goes...
"You want something else? It'll go to your tab, don't forget," he said. It was a nice way to start the conversation. He forgot about how generous he could be at times.
"Hm? Oh, no thanks," was replied nonchalantly. Paul was stunned. Since when did Ban Midou, part of the I-can't-ever-get-enough-money-to-buy-food recovery service, turn down food? Something had to be up and Paul secretly swore he would get to the bottom of it.
"You waiting for Ginji again? Maybe you should go out and look for him at Shido's." Well that was being blunt. Paul's strategy was to chat Ban up...but the plan had just failed. A dumb mistake on the former negotiator's part. Ban merely shook his head.
"I'm actually waiting for Himiko today." And he took another sip from his cup.
Waiting for...Himiko...?
After a few moments of aftershock the response finally kicked in. Thinking it over, it wasn't as surprising as Paul had thought. Himiko and Ban were old friends, having both bad and good memories together. So it was only natural to see them together now and then. Still, it was just...odd to see Ban waiting for Himiko and not Ginji.
"Paul?" The hand waving slowly before him, snapped him from his thoughts. Ban was looking at Paul with arched brows. "You okay, man? You sort of zoned out for a minute..."
Paul nodded. "Sorry about that. I was just wondering when it was you'd pay your damn tab." Oh, nice save, he thought to himself. Ban gave him a sour look.
"I told you already, you scrooge. Work's a little...slow at the moment. But don't you worry your pretty little head. You'll get your tab paid." Ban was rewarded with a disbelieving look.
"If your word is good then why not start paying me now? Give me any money you got on you." He stretched out his hand, palm upward, and waited for his money. Ban slapped it away.
"I can't give it to you, Paul. I got use for it now."
"What for? You just got yourself a coffee here. You ought to at least pay for that." There was the sound of a bell as the door was opened.
"I'm going on a date," he said pointing to the person at the doorway. Paul looked over as Ban got up and made his way to the Honky Tonk's exit. He saw them walking away through the window. He could see Himiko's mouth moving and then Ban grin.
And there stood Paul, mouth gaping, eyes wide.
The movie they were going to see wasn't as crowded as Ban had thought. Himiko found two seats in perfect viewing range of the screen. They sat down with their popcorn and candies. Surprisingly, Ban had offered to pay for their tickets and even buy the sweets for Himiko and himself. Imagine the ultra stingy Ban acting like a gentleman, commented Himiko. Ban would only give her a small glare.
"I'm still surprised, Ban."
"Damn it, Himiko, I paid for you, but if you keep bringing it up then I'll sure as hell make you pay me back every cent!"Himiko laughed at him.
"No, you idiot. I meant that I'm surprised over the fact that you invited me to the movies."
"Oh? What's so surprising about that?" Ban took a sip form his drink and coughed. The sodas always had way too much gas in them. He leaned back in his chair and waited for a response from his friend. His eyes stared ahead at the screen when suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something bright yellow.
"I just thought you'd be coming with--"
"Ginji?" He heard her agree with him, but really didn't pay much attention. He was focused completely on the person sitting two rows away. The boy laughed wholeheartedly. His companion grinned awkwardly. Ban instinctively growled.
Shido...
Himiko looked at Ban and blinked twice, not really understanding what had gotten into him so suddenly. She was about to speak, but was silenced by the sudden darkness. The screen lit up with bright images of dancing sodas and singing popcorn. It'd be best just to forget about it for now...
Three rows ahead sat two young men, opposites not only in character, but also in composure. The blond was slouched back in his hair. His eyes darted back and forth from character to character, fully engrossed with the movie. The raven haired fellow sat up straight, hands in his lap. He would timidly move his hand near the blonde's, then hastily place it back to his lap. A few minutes of this and his patience tired. Without thinking, Shido draped an arm around Ginji's shoulder's. He sighed in relief. And then something hit him.
CLONK.
It wasn't really painful, sort of like a poke to the head. But when Shido turned to see what it was, he saw only rows of seats, some empty. Strange. Shrugging it off, he went back to watching the movie.
Three rows behind them sat Himiko with a scowl on her face. Ban's grinning face slowly made itself shown as he lifted himself from behind the seat in front of him. He grabbed a few more jawbreakers and was ready to aim.
"You're such a baby, Ban," said a very annoyed voice. Ban flung the small candy at his target and hid himself yet again. This went on for a few more minutes. And poor Shido had no clue as to what was going on. That is until he spotted Himiko.
"Is he still looking?"
"Uh-huh."
"Still?"
"Uh-hu."
"How 'bout now?"
"Oh yeah," said a deeper voice. Eh? Why did Himiko's voice suddenly get deeper...?
Crap.
Before he knew it, he was being lifted up by his collar. He turned his face and sure enough there stood Shido, his arm out and holding on to Ban's collar. Ban Midou grinned.
"Hey there, monkey trainer!" He was shoved back into his seat. "OW! What the hell was that for, moron!" There were simultaneous 'shhs' heard. He didn't pay them any attention.
"I could ask you the same thing, snake-for-brains! What the hell are you throwing candy at me for!" A few more 'shhh's. Neither one was paying attention to them.
Ban feigned innocence. "What? I don't know what you're talking about. Me and Himiko were sitting here enjoying the movie." Shido growled.
"You know damn well it was you!"
"Shido, calm down," cried Ginji. Ban hadn't noticed when Ginji had arrived. But he was there now, tugging at Shido's arm. "Come on, Shido. If you don't then we're gonna get kicked out..." And as if on cue, there came the usher with a group of ornery people.
The group of four stood outside the theater. Having been successfully kicked out, there was a bit of anger going around (mostly between Shido and Ban). There were glares passed around, muttering of harsh words, and of course, the usual flipping off. Pretty soon, Shido and Ban had gotten into a quarrel...which resulted in contact between fist and flesh. Ban was firing up another onslaught on Shido. His fist was raised and ready to attack...And then he was pushed backwards.
He was groaning loudly now, half from the pain and half from anger. And what the hell was that heavy thing on top of him! All he saw was a bright yellow. It was tickling his nose, too. Wait...
"Sorry, Ban-chan..." Ginji pushed himself up enough to be face to face with Ban.
Perfect. And in this position, too.
"What the hell was that for, Ginji?" He wouldn't make eye contact with him. He just wouldn't.
"Er...It was the only thing I could thing of to make you guys stop fighting..."His quiet voice was enough to let Ban know that he was really sorry. That was enough to mellow out all anger Ban had previously had.
"It's alright, Ginji. Just get off of me already." The blond smiled happily and did as asked. Once he was finally on his feet he walked over to Shido and whispered a few things into his ear. Shido then proceeded to nod and walked over to Ban. The Jagan master took a step back, not wanting to fight him again.
"I'm not going to hit you, snakehead. I'm just going to apologize."
Odd..."I...accept..." Ban couldn't help wonder what brought this on so suddenly. Not that he cared that much. With a smug grin he said, "It was your fault to begin with, monkey trainer. So of course you'd be sorry." Poor Shido. With arrogance like that he couldn't help but want to hit Ban all over again. He was pretty close to it, too. Lucky for Ban Ginji stepped in. He tugged at Shido's arm and told him it was time to go.
"Go? Go where?"
"We're gonna get some ice cream, Ban-chan. I'll see you later!" And he walked off with Shido once again.
There stood Ban feeling very, very isolated.
Himiko thought it best to leave the sulking Ban to his wallow on his own. Misery loves company and she was not going to stay long enough to be dragged down with him.
"Next time I'd appreciate it if you left me out of your little love triangles." That said, she walked off.
Walking down the dimly lit streets was a small comfort for Ban. It was somewhat bleak and he agreed with the atmosphere. Perfect for inner feelings, anyway. That all changed pretty quickly.
His phone rang, clearing his cluttered thoughts away.
"Hello? Is this Ban Midou?"
"Yeah, who's ca--Madoka, is that you?"
"Yes."
He sat across from Madoka with a confused look on his face and although Madoka couldn't see it, she could tell what he was feeling.
"I'm sorry to call you over here to late, Ban. I just didn't know what else to do...You have to help me, please." She was on the verge of tears now. Ban flinched slightly.
"Hey, don't cry! Just, uh, tell me what you need help with and I'll try to do my best, okay?" She seemed to calm down at that.
"I'm sorry. I just want you to do a job for me. It's that's all right with you."
"A job? Sure. What do you need for me to recover? Your violin--it wasn't stolen again, was it?" Recovering the violin last time was hard enough. Ban didn't want to have to go through that again. Madoka shook her head.
"No. What I need for you to recover is much more precious than that."
"Then what is it?"
"Shido."
Eh?
"Uhm...What was that?" He cleaned out his ear as best he could. Maybe he wasn't hearing right or something. That happened sometimes, right? But the blush on Madoka's face was proof enough that Ban's hearing was perfectly fine.
"I...I want you to recover Shido for me." At this point her face was as red as tomato. Cute in a way. But what was this about Shido?
"I still don't understand, Madoka. Was Shido kidnapped?" He saw her bite her lip.
"No, it's not anything like that. I just...he doesn't spend time here anymore. I miss him. I really miss him. I know it sounds a little childish...but I...I..." And then she was silent. Ban sighed.
"I accept. I, Ban Midou, part of the GetBackers recovery service, have decided to take on your job. I'll get him back for you."
"Oh, thank you!" She hugged him endlessly.
But his real motivation was to retrieve Ginji.
Well? Whatcha guys think? I kinda rushed some of it, so that's why it's bad. .:sob.:
Please review. I'd like it very much!