Authoress' Notes:

Eeek! Ever gotten stuck and taken a break from writing? Well I just did, and now I'm paying for it- my writing's gotten so bad! Sorry for that. It's also 4am and I'm listening to hyper music, so this borderline-angsty chapter just… yeah. It's Special, ne?

By the way, props to ideagala-sama! You left a comment with four suggestions on how to do this chapter. Of them, three (Ginji's traumatic past, Ginji falling asleep on Akabane-sama and a funny admission) were part of my original ideas for it! You read my mind! –finds that all cool 'n stuff-

DISCLAIMER: I DUN OWN ANYTHING!

nyanyanyanyanya

Chapter Five

OMG! PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEE!

Ginji jumped up, power surging through him as he looked around frantically.

Akabane knew that if the Lightning Emperor took over Ginji, he had no chance of defending himself. So, he did something very un-Akabane-ish.

He begged for his life. Granted, it may not have appeared as if he were, but for Akabane, this was the equivalent of screaming, "OH MY GOD PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEE!" and dissolving into tears. Akabane was just classier about it.

"Ginji-kun! It's ok… Ginji-kun, calm down. Please calm down, ok? I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you!"

The lightning still crackled behind Ginji's eyes, but he relaxed slightly. Go away, he thought. I'm not in danger. Go back inside me, Raitei! Ginji shuddered, as, with a tremendous effort, he managed to push the Emperor back down inside himself.

Shaking, Ginji sat back down. "A-Akabane-sama… I'm… I-" And suddenly Ginji was crying as he thought about what had almost happened.

Akabane just sat there. He wasn't sure what to do. Akabane Kurodou, for all his skill and sophistication, was at a complete loss when it came to comforting people.

And it didn't exactly help when Ginji glomped Akabane and buried his head in the other man's chest as he said over and over again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Akabane inwardly conveyed his eternal thanks towards whatever deities might exist for the fact that Kazuki and Emishi weren't present to see the slight blush on his cheeks. If there was one thing he was totally uncomfortable with, it was physical contact.

But that still didn't help. Ginji didn't seem like he would let go any time soon. I could just make him get off of me, I suppose…

But Ginji was being so innocent that Akabane, reminded of a young, dark-haired boy who'd once cried alone with no one to comfort him, didn't have the heart to push him away. He settled for awkwardly patting Ginji on the head, saying, "It's ok Ginji-kun. No one got hurt. It's alright."

Now if there's one thing omniscient narrators have been telling us for frikkin' forever, it's that a good cry makes any problem better. This omniscient narrator is no different- she just feels like pointing out the cheesiness of her own statement. So!

A good cry can make almost any problem better.

This was certainly true of Ginji. After a while, his tears seemed to be lessening, and finally he sniffled and lifted his head slightly. There was a brief yet awkward pause as brown eyes met violet eyes, barely 6 inches away from each other. Only then did the reality of the current situation fully sink in.

With a speed that Akabane himself would have been hard-pressed to match, even at the best of times, Ginji leapt backwards, blushing furiously. "Um… uh, sorry 'bout that," Ginji muttered, looking anywhere but at Akabane.

The blushing Transporter, also avoiding eye-contact, muttered uncomfortably that it was quite alright, really.

Silence appeared, laying waste to the kingdom that is Conversation. There she remained for quite a few minutes, cackling wickedly, yet silently. Eventually Akabane summoned his courage and banished her, defeating her so that all that remained was her piercing, yet still silent, death cry.

"Ano… Ginji-kun?"

"Hm?"

"…when do you think they're gonna let us out of here?"

"…I dunno."

"…ah."

Silence, resurrected, returned to her former domain for a while. But again she was vanquished!

"…Akabane-sama?"

"Hm?"

"…I really am sorry about that."

"…don't worry about it."

"…'k."

Yet again, Silence lived! And… yet again, she died. She's having a rough day, ne?

"…ne, Ginji-kun?"

"Hm?"

"…what happened there?"

"…well Raitei kinda showed up, and he wanted to fry you, but I wouldn't let him," Ginji said, going all chibi and smiling winningly. Akabane sweatdropped.

"…well, thank you, Ginji-kun."

"Huh? For what?"

"Keeping the Lightning Emperor from coming out."

"Oh, um… no problem!"

…Silence is dead. They were merely quiet for a moment. Then Akabane spoke without meaning to. "I must confess, I'm not sure I would have been able to survive had he come out."

Ginji stared. "W-what?" He sounded as if he'd just learned that… well, that Akabane was mortal! What's more shocking than that?

Akabane merely pointed at the puddle of his own blood still gracing the floor. Ginji smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. That."

-----

Hours later, weariness finally won as Ginji's eyes slowly… closed… and he slowly… leaned…

Akabane was rather surprised to find a lump of sleeping Ginji deposited in his lap. He poked Ginji, trying to get the boy to move a little further away. No response. He poked again. Still nothing. Akabane hit Ginji over the head, shouting, "Ginji-kun! Get off of me!"

"…snrgh? …flmmlgrglmf…" And with that enlightening comment, Ginji went back to sleep.

Sighing, Akabane gave up, leaning his head against the wall as he fell asleep.

-----

A few hours later, around 4am, Kazuki and Emishi crept back into the Honky Tonk. They were about to go back to tormenting their captives when they looked at the video camera conveniently placed in the room. Squealing in matchmaking delight, the two unlocked the door to the karaoke room and stole away, giggling.

-----

Akabane woke up as he heard the front door of the shop open. Paul was opening up for the morning. Akabane managed to gently lift Ginji's head off of his lap and place it on the sofa. He crept out of the room and out the back door before anyone could see him.

If anyone had been there to see him, they'd have seen him pause as he left the room, glancing back at Ginji's sleeping form. As it was, no one saw Akabane's face relax slightly as a gentle smile crept onto his face for a moment. But then it was gone, and so was Akabane.

nyanyanyanyanya

Hmm, ya know that part where I said Akabane was pretty much screaming, "OH MY GOD PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEE!"? Anyone ever seen Blues Brothers? Ya know when Jake and Elwood are in the sewer and psycho-chick corners them, and Jake falls on his knees and screams for her to spare their lives? xD Yeah, this is Akabane's equivalent of that moment, pretty much.

Oh, and in case you didn't catch it, the "…young, dark-haired boy who'd once cried alone with no one to comfort him…" is a pointless Akabane angst moment. -shrug- I think it's a cute idea.

Anynyu… please review!