A/N: I will be continuing this story as well as finishing Snake Charmer. Please don't get all up on me for maybe going outside of canon. Sadly, as far as I'm concerned the whole mystery about the and the true origins of Raitai and the Infinity Fortress and what actually happens to Ban when he over-uses his Jagon is actually pretty boring and not very well written. The real reason a lot of fan girls like GB isn't the plot but the unique, simple premise and the entertainment value of the relationships between the characters. So, I'm going to concentrate on that and not concentrate on the happenings in canon. Okay? Okay. We're good.
I have been in love before but, never so deeply or as strongly as I am now. Because, as childish as it may seem, Ban reminds me of the witch-princes that Teshimine used to tell me about in fairy tales. His arrogant voice and powerful hands hide a fair and gentle heart. He comes from a far away place that I cannot find on a map and he can speak a language I cannot understand. I am certain that his anger is some form of magic.
However, for a long time I was convinced that no matter how soft his intelligent, rough gem eyes grow when he looks at me that he would never love me the way that I wanted. Princes don't fall for lowly street urchins like me. Or so I thought. He is rebellious. He isn't like anyone else I know. He is always surprising me. So, he surprised me when he told me that it didn't matter to him that we are both boys.
It wasn't any surprise that I was surprised when he pushed me into the empty bathroom as we tiptoed down the broad hallway of the gigantic mansion. There was a masquerade ball going on downstairs for all of Tokyo's high society. I could hear the noise and music and laughter muffled through the quiet of the upstairs.
I stuttered nervously, "Ban-chan? This is a bathroom."
"Well, duh," he flipped off the lights and pressed me up against the cold tile wall.
"I don't think what we're looking for is in here," I couldn't help but wonder why he had to get himself all hot and bothered now of all times. I had been all ready to go earlier that day. But, had waved me aside, insisting that he wasn't interested because he wanted to read.
I could sense him smiling carnivorously though the dark as he ran his lecherous hands down my back, inside my jacket, "I know that but, how about a quickie for good luck? Lemme screw around with you for a little bit."
"I don't think that's a good idea," I argued. I looked listlessly away to indicate that I wasn't interested. But, he just pressed his little, sinuous self up against me and kissed me so hard that our teeth clicked. It was typical Ban. He wants what he wants when he wants it. Like a child, he doesn't take 'no' for an answer. He closed his eyes. I left mine cautiously open. He still didn't get the message. He was relentless.
We were there for work – not play. But, he has been getting more and more cocky as more and more jobs have been coming in. I think he is convinced that he really is invincible. He nuzzled my neck. His lips were warmer than usual. But, his strong hands were familiarly cold against my skin as he unclipped my cummerbund and un-tucked my shirt. I tried to fight him off with a last breathless whimper of, "But, this tux is a rental."
"Come on," he hissed against the sensitive spot where my neck meets my jaw. I shivered. He must have taken that as a sign of consent because he stopped trailing his fingers over my stomach and plunged his hand down the front of my trousers. I cried out loudly. He always teases me, tells me that I get this lost look in my eyes every time we do it – just like I'm a virgin or something.
He kissed my cheek. I could feel his lips curl into another smile, "Shut up, stupid. You'll get us caught."
He knelt. I helped him to unlatch my belt and tug my pants down my hips. My heart pounded with uneasy excitement. What we were doing was so stupid – stupid and dangerous, just like everything else Ban gets us into. I just knew somebody was going to walk in on us. So, I decided that if anybody saw us they were going to have to die – screw being the warrior of love and mercy.
His mouth was soft and warm and wet and he can do things with his tongue that I just can't wrap my head around. I bit my lip, buried one hand in my hair and one hand in his. He steadied my hips. I leaned bonelessly up against the wall. He wasn't building me up slowly and deliberately like he usually does, "Ah, Ban-chan. Feels real good, but…"
He didn't take the hint. I desperately balled my fist up in his hair to try to get him to slow down. He pulled my hips forward and sucked harder in response. I winced and swore then swore again when, after he bobbed his head a few more times, I gave in. Pleasure crackled and throbbed electrically over me and for a moment in time it was completely impossible for me to think straight.
My knees felt watery and weak. I collapsed in a puddle on the floor. Luckily there wasn't much of a mess to clean up. Ban stood over me shamelessly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You're pathetic," he remarked. As always, when he spoke to me there was the hint of a loving, yet sardonic, smile in his voice, "Put yourself back together. It's indecent, sitting there like that."
"You bastard," I accused for the third time in a row.
"I know. I know. I'm a bastard. But, you really need to get dressed," now that his little fit of passion was over he seemed nervous. He found my cummerbund for me in the dark and draped it goofily over my head as I tucked in my shirt. He smoothed his hair and left the room.
I followed him after a minute. We walked down the hallway in silence. His eyes shifted back and fourth and every once in a while he would open a door and look into the room. I just stayed toward the center of the hallway because the walls on either side were line with expensive looking glass vases. The last thing I wanted to do was break something.
But, just to break the silence I asked Ban, like I honestly didn't know, "What are we looking for again?"
"Outrage! It's a board game where the object is to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London." I didn't know what either of those things were but, I didn't interrupt. Ban's hair was plastered down over his head and his feet tread very quietly on the hardwood floor. "This one is from a special edition though. Only twenty were made. The pieces are scale replicas of the Crown Jewels made of 18 karat gold and embedded with real gems."
"That's kind of stupid," I mused out of boredom. Rich people always find ways to spend their money on the stupidest things. As more jobs have been coming in more often than not we aren't getting back things that are of any emotional value to the clients. I guess we should feel lucky for this. But, I think it is sort of sad. The recovery service is becoming a posh investment for the wealthy, like expensive handbags or fast cars. Some people are just hiring us to show off their affluence. Ban isn't complaining though. I guess this is what he was counting on from the start.
"Yeah," Ban agreed quietly next to me then dropped the line of conversation.
We turned a corner and began stealthy searching the next hallway. I started a new conversation, "Have you ever played?"
"Played? No. I read the box once." We came to another door and Ban put his hand up to quiet me before I could comment on how sad it is that he never had anyone to play board games with. Not that I know anything about playing board games. As a child I had never heard of such things. Ban whispered, "Listen."
He has good instincts and a good sense of direction. So, I put my ear to the door and listened, "I hear someone."
"More than one someone," he corrected.
I frowned, "Think this is it?"
He nodded I took a step back to prepare myself. He kicked the door down. We could have just opened it. But, he likes to be dramatic. He has to be a badass about everything he does. I blinked.
The room was full of people – dangerous looking, startled looking people with guns pointed at the door, pointed at us. My hands instinctively rose above my head. I could feel myself smiling uncomfortably. Nobody spoke. I saw the board game sitting in the middle of the table. It looked like they had been in the middle of play.
If I have learned anything from this job it is that rich Yakuza types are weird and nasty. When they aren't threatening people for protection money or ruining people's lives with drugs or selling sex they usually have some strange, seemingly innocent hobby – like playing board games. If they weren't pointing guns at our heads I would have laughed. It was odd to see so many tough-looking grown men gathered around, upstairs at a party instead of downstairs mingling, playing a harmless game.
Still nobody spoke. I tried, "We're with the catering service."
"Yeah, the catering service," Ban lied. "We were just looking for the bathroom."
He started inching backwards to make a break for it. That excuse might have worked if Ban hadn't kicked down the door, as much as announcing our identities before we entered the room.
Someone growled, "Shut the fuck up, dumbass," and suddenly there was a bullet hole in the wall next to Ban's head.
I felt helpless with my hands in the air. The one thing that I am most afraid of is a loaded gun. I'm quick but, not quick enough to dodge bullets. I pleaded, "Ban-chan, make with the Evil Eye."
He glanced at me his hands were above his head too, "Ginji, I can't."
"I told you to shut the fuck up," another somebody roared.
A pistol cracked again and there was a horrible burning sting in my shoulder. The first thought that came to my head was, 'Well good thing we got insurance on these tuxedos because they aren't going to want it back with bloodstains.' Then the pain hit me. That was the first I had ever been shot. It hurt more than people make it look like in the movies. I grabbed myself and tried not to cry out. They were serious. I knew that the next shot would be between my eyes. My heart was pounding. I quietly entreated, "Ban-chan."
And I was surprised when he replied, "You've got one minute. Grab the game and don't get any fucking blood on it, Gin," then collapsed to the floor.