Fandom: Getbackers

Summary: He thought he was stuck in another one of those stupid conversations with his partner, until realization began rushing in.

Title: Do You Believe In Ghosts?

Author: Hana Rui

Genre: supernatural, death-fic

Pairing: Ban Mido x Ginji Amano

"Ban-chan, do you believe in ghosts?"

What the hell...? It took everything the Jagan Master had to keep himself from shoving an angry fist down his partner's throat. It wasn't only because it was a stupid question to ask of a man his age and rearing, but because Ginji had been asking the very same question for the last thirty minutes. And it wasn't even like he was not replying or anything. He was actually very careful in giving his curt reply in such a way as would make it say both, "Yes, you dimwit" and "Will you cut this crap" at the same time.

It didn't seem to be working on the then passively persistent blond freak, though.

And the idiot wouldn't even look at him, for godssake! All throughout the drive back to Honky Tonk from some mission which nearly caused them their lives, Ginji had done nothing but fix his gaze straight ahead while waiting for an interval of about three minutes to air that question of his over and over again.

The guy had this really strange aura about him, and his voice sounded a bit strange as well. Like it was another person talking through Ginji's mouth, and that it was a whole new other entity residing in his body.

Ban could only see one side of the unusually detached guy's face, but it was enough view to tell him something was definitely not right. But even after minutes of pulling the car over at the nearest curb, he still could not figure out just what it was that ticked him the wrong away about his partner.

"Ban-chan, do you believe in ghosts?"

There it was again. The words were starting to sound like a curse upon Ban's protesting auditory faculties. And the monotonous, almost arctic tone that was used to say them incited a numbing rush of chill down his spine as he tried to focus his gaze on his unflinching companion.

Ginji was sitting a little too stiffly than was necessary. His eyes did not only have that faraway look in them, but they seemed to be a couple of empty pools of lifelessness staring all the way out into nonexistence.

And his lips, those usually lively lips looked a little too dull and pale. The side of the face which he could see was of an almost deathly hue. And now that he was actually starting to pay attention, he also caught a whiff of a familiar coppery scent that made his stomach want to turn inside out in revolt.

His first impulse was to reach out and touch his buddy. Just to make sure he was really there. And that he was still of this world...

A simple enough feat that made the usually gutsy Ban sweat profusely in anticipation and panic. His heart was beating half a dozen times a second and he was sure he was turning the same ghastly color as whoever or whatever it was that had been sitting beside him all along.

"Ban-chan, do you believe in ghosts?"

He chose to ignore the question this time—it wasn't like Ginji was paying attention anyway—and proceeded in his attempt to get his hand as close to his buddy as would allow him to touch and feel his presence.

Finally, his hand fell upon the blond guy's shoulder, and went right through the void causing his eyes to widen abruptly in shock. "What the—?"

There was suddenly the shrill ringing of a phone—his mobile phone and he tried to gather enough of himself back to answer it, ask whoever it was on the other line what was going on.

Before he could reach into his pocket, however, a hand suddenly went right through his chest and fished out the phone for him. He stared in frozen awe as the hand pressed the receive call button and positioned the phone a few inches short of his ear.

His breath was starting to come out in gasps and he was suddenly terrified of the truth that was gradually forming in his head, unabling him to move even an inch from the seat he seemed to be sharing with someone of the same plain as the present Ginji—an intangible existence that did not quite belong.

What the hell was happening?

"Hello?" It was Shido's voice, echoing like some cult music in his head. It sounded so damn close, confirming his earlier notion of sitting right on top of the guy.

Or right through the guy...

"Yes... We got the artifact," the Beast Master was saying. "But Mido... It all happened so suddenly, Hevn-san. We weren't able to do anything."

He frowned in utter confusion as snippets of what had been their worst case yet began to rush into his mind, reminding him clearly enough why he was suddenly finding himself in this goddamn situation.

There had been a fusillade of bullets and a couple of loud explosions. He could vaguely remember pushing Ginji off of the building with the item they were supposed to retrieve a second before the whole structure began crumbling under his feet.

It had happened too fast, he hadn't gotten a chance to—

"No," he muttered to himself, as the realization hit him. "No..."

"No, I don't think Ginji's taking well to it," Shido mumbled into the phone. "He's really freaking me out." Perhaps realizing it was a little awkward to be talking about someone in that said someone's presence, Shido opted to step out of the beetle and resume his phone conversation outside.

During which moment, Ban turned his gaze back to his buddy, and felt his heart wrench painfully as he watched one eye glisten a moment before a trail of fresh tears rushed down the pale cheek.

"Ban-chan," he sobbed. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

He knew now why Ginji had kept on asking that question, and why the blond freak didn't seem to have heard his response every time. The very idea of it all was enough to break any man apart...

Especially when he was no longer part of this world.

"Because... I do," Ginji was saying, barely able to force the words through the agony racking up at his throat. "I really do."

Ban was suddenly filled by an overwhelming desire to hold his partner close, make him feel his presence just this once. But how could he do so now that he was nothing but a wisp of air waiting for that one final breeze to blow him completely away?

I'm sorry... Ginji...

-end-

Note: Written for 55themes Halloween Challenge livejournal

Thanks for reading! :)