Cold Day

Disclaimer: GB belongs to their respective author and artist, Yuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine.

If there was anything that could annoy Midou Ban other than the fact that he was out of money and there were no jobs, it was:

a) Ginji doing something really stupid

b) Somebody trying to get them all killed

c) Winter

Winter annoyed him thoroughly ever since he'd been so 'kindly' bestowed the power of the Jagan by his oh so beloved grandmother, otherwise known as the Witch Queen. (For once, Ban had nothing to add to that.)

But back to the subject at hand, the Jagan wielder disliked winter because it made him… funny. Not funny ha-ha, but funny, extremely weird. His behaviour would grow very queer in the cold and it bugged him to no end, even after he'd come across the reason for his behavioural difference. He'd explained it to Paul some years back when the café owner was first introduced to the weird, wonderful world of the Get Backers.

In winter, snakes, like most reptiles, hibernated. With little food, their energy levels decreased. They would also grow sluggish with the lack of warmth and perhaps become disorientated. It was probably why snakes slept all winter rather than risk being caught off guard by a hungry mongoose and was too slow to run or fight back.

However, for Ban, there was no excuse for sleeping all winter. He wasn't a snake, no matter WHAT Monkey Boy said. His human body, lean as it was with little fat to fall back on, wouldn't survive if he napped in his car until spring arrived. So, when winter "reared its ugly head", Ban had to deal with

a) Being a little slower in body and mind

b) Always feeling like crawling into the car and curling up into the fetal position to nap

He particularly disliked reason A since it meant less snappy comebacks, slower reflexes in fighting and less energy to grope HEVN.

And wouldn't you know it; this year's winter had crept up, clamped its jaws on him by the shoulder and was currently obsessively gnawing on him with all the possessiveness of a beaver on a log.

Ban grimaced at the sudden imagery. …I've been hanging around Otowa's place too long.

He'd been unprepared for Mother Nature's sudden decision to start throwing snow all across Shinjuku. Like he'd said to Paul, he'd much rather stay in the warm café then go out into the freezing slush. Even if it meant losing a client.

The Honky Tonk owner just replied that the cold was messing with his brain and that the real MidouBan would never have said that.

A loud, long yawn interrupted his train of thought. With a stolen blanket from the back room of the Honky Tonk around his shoulders, he sat at a booth, trying not to fall asleep and ruin his image as "Midou Ban-sama, All Around Tough Guy with Enough Machismo to Overpower an African Bull Elephant".

…really, I need to stop following Ginji to Otowa's house. Damn Monkey Boy and his animal imagery…

The café was relatively quiet since Paul was taking inventory in the storeroom (with a wide variety of colourful curses, half of which he had learned from the Get Backers, another quarter he had made up and the last quarter of very eloquent, long worded curses he'd heard Juubei spout when Kazuki was insulted). Natsumi on the other hand, had persuaded Ginji to follow her shopping to pick something out for Paul's birthday.

Ban smirked. Persuaded wasn't the exact word. All it had taken was one simple question, her normal smile and "Gin-chan" had jumped up like an eager puppy, ready to please. He was inwardly gratified though that both Ginji and Natsumi had extended an invitation to him to come along with utter sincerity.

But even if his thinking processes slowed down in winter, he wasn't entirely stupid. So, in his usual drawl, he declined and told them to go ahead and not to spend so much. (Paul had snorted in response to this piece of advice since it was his birthday present they were going to buy). It was really no surprise to him that his partner had taken a shine to Natsumi and vice versa. If anything those two matched each other in optimism and spirit.

…dammit, I'm getting soft.

The distant zooming sounds of the cars outside seemed to blend into a drone that Ban felt rather than heard. Paul's muttering were just that; unintelligible mutterings. His eyelids drooped slowly, blurring his vision of the falling snow outside the door. Ban curled up some more into the blanket, trying to trap the warmth. Bringing his knees up to his chin, he sat sideways, leaning against the wall and clutching the blanket with one hand from within. He didn't even reach for the cigarette box on the table. It was too cold.

Too cold, really to be awake…

And he had no money for a hot cup of coffee…

Maybe… he could… just…

Just…

His chin met the top of his knees with a small thump as eyelids covered the dark blue eyes.

-ººº-

Two hours had nearly ticked by when the door to the Honky Tonk opened and closed quickly, letting in a small draft. Observant eyes scanned the empty café then spotted the blanketed, huddled figure in the booth at the opposite end. Walking closer, the eyes turned slightly amused yet exasperated as they recognized who was curled up and asleep.

Kudo Himiko shook her head as she placed a paper bag on the table. Honestly, was there anything cuter than a full grown braggart of a man sleeping like a small child?

…cuter? asked a suspiciously cheery silent voice in her head with a tone that usually went hand in hand with a knowing grin.

Pathetic, corrected Himiko quickly. Anything more pathetic than a full grown braggart of a man sleeping like a small child. That was what she meant.

UH huh…

Stop that. Right now.

I'm not doing anything…!

And quit grinning.

With a feeling she was going insane. Himiko shook her head. Today, somehow or another, she just wanted to be like a normal person. That meant no dwelling on her brother, no thinking about the cause of his death.

Today, she just felt a strong urge to pretend to be a normal person… an ordinary teenager.

And an ordinary teenager, on a cold wintry day, stopped in for a hot drink after shopping for essential items in the falling snow.

Sharp hearing caught the tail end of a curse and she stepped round the counter, calling softly for Paul.

…softly?

So I won't wake Sleeping Beast there.

Ah. I see.

Wipe that smile off your face.

I have no lips, you know.

Even if, wipe that grin away.

Himiko ignored the silent snickering as she called out. Paul came to the storeroom doorway, a clipboard in hand and looking rather pissed off.

"Ah, Himiko-san. You've caught me at a bad time…"

"So I see… I just wanted a hot chocolate, if you have any."

He nodded as he put away the clipboard. "Give me a sec'." As he made his way to the counter, Himiko heard him mutter something about "of all the days to give Natsumi the day off…" and "bloody plastic stirrers that kept on changing in number so he wouldn't be able to count them properly".

"If I may ask, just what's gotten you so ticked off?" asked Himiko as Paul handed her a mug of hot chocolate.

Paul bristled as he glared in the direction of the storeroom. "Ah, inventory days always give me a bad mood. I swear, the crockery around here moves behind my back. One minute, there're 35 packets of sugar, the next there's 53."

"….how long have you been at this, Paul-san?"

"Started a few hours ago," was the weary reply. At the raised eyebrow he received, he sighed. "I haven't taken inventory for at least nine months alright? Sue me if I thought I could get it all done in one day."

Himiko only shook her head as a sudden thought came to mind. "…need any help?"

Paul raised an eyebrow at the sudden offer. "I'd be glad to have you help me but don't you have any jobs to do?"

She shook her head. "Gave myself the day off."

Paul smirked. "People on a day off don't usually find work to do."

"I'd rather work here in a warm café than go around outside in that snow. So, do you want my help or not?"

The Honky Tonk owner seemed to recall someone saying something similar but the word 'help' drove everything out of his mind. "1000 yen an hour fair?"

"Fine." She gulped down the rest of her drink. "Let's go."

-ººº-

Ban emerged out of La La Land suddenly with a slight jolt. Blinking, he wondered what had happened for a moment.

…I fell asleep… SHIT!

Desperately hoping that no one had seen him asleep like a baby, he suddenly spotted the bag on the table. Curiously, he dragged it over and rummaged through it without thinking.

Hmm… groceries… toothpaste…sanitary pads… hot water bottle-

Wait…what the…

Ban surmised the bag to belong to Natsumi. A flitting thought about how if it were Ginji's, the blond boy was going to face a serious interrogation crossed his mind as he slowly stretched, paying no more attention to the paper bag. He could hear the voices from the storeroom so Paul was still taking inventory. Deciding to see if he was done and could make Ban a pizza, the brown haired boy got to his feet and slowly made his way to the storeroom.

What he eventually saw from the doorway made him blink.

Instead of seeing a familiar blond partner and a cheery waitress, there was the familiar figure of Himiko, making notes on a clipboard as Paul counted supplies.

Silently, he watched as she helped Paul go around and count how many instant coffee packets there were. A smart remark from Himiko was only countered by Paul's dry reply. Ban had to smirk, hearing his old friend speak like the teenager she was.

She really didn't act like a teenager. Which was both good and bad, to Ban's mind. Yamato had often said there were two sides of her, Mature Himiko and Teen Himiko.

Somehow Ban found himself wishing Teen Himiko would stick around most of the time.

Because it would mean that she didn't think of dangerous jobs she did. It would mean she didn't think of the past…

It would mean she didn't think of hating him.

There was a pause as Ban mentally whammed himself into a concrete wall, much like what he did to Ginji on a regular basis.

He continued to watch as they went around taking inventory. From the sound of it, Paul owed Himiko at least two thousand yen for her help now. Himiko commented that if it had meant walking around in this dusty excuse for a storeroom, she'd have asked for three thousand yen an hour.

"That sounds like something Ban would say," was the slightly muffled reply as Paul stuck his head into a box on a shelf to check on the sweetener packets.

"What?"

Yeah, concurred Ban silently. WHAT?

"Ban would have probably said the same thing if he ever worked like this. Come to think about it… he said the same thing as you did just now." Paul drew his head out. "19 sweetener bags."

Himiko raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

"There're 19 sweetener bags."

"No, no, what were you saying about Ban saying the same thing as me…?"

"Oh that. He was commenting about how he'd rather stay inside Honky Tonk than go out in the snow." Paul moved onto another shelf. "Hmm… I could have sworn I kept the Nescafe here…"

Ban's sharp eyes caught the look on Himiko's face.

And started at the twinge his insides went through when he saw there was a hint of a smile there on her lips.

Why he was pleased, he had NO idea. All he knew was there was this… this warm, fuzzy feeling creeping up from his stomach and into his chest when he saw that she'd smiled a little when Paul said they were alike. (Of course the fact that she could be smiling at something else was ignored)

Ban suddenly glared, slightly disgusted at himself. It was winter talking, he figured. The cold was doing this to his brain.

"Ban always did hate the cold," was the comment that broke through his reverie.

"Eh?"

Himiko nodded even if the distracted Paul was actually 'eh-ing' at the fact he'd found the Nescafe bags in a different place. "He'd always get grumpy in low temperatures. Said he didn't like himself in the cold." She smirked. "Ironically enough, it was in the cold weather that he was more likeable."

"28 bags."

She made a note. "Less cocky, less of a braggart… more… more human, funnily enough. I could talk to him without getting too riled up on those days."

"…55 serviette packets."

Again the pen moved on the clipboard. "But I guess if the cold days make Ban less of himself… it wouldn't be good."

"What on earth… 45 paper plates?"

"After all, all that cockiness and arrogance is part of him. It's the part that just hides what's inside." She smiled a little. "He doesn't like showing people just what he's really like… he's afraid, I think. Afraid of showing it because he's scared of disappointing them… afraid that if he lets his guard down for a minute, he'll lose control."

"Why do I suddenly have 60 bags of party favours? …uh, don't write that down, Himiko-san."

Himiko wasn't listening by this point. "It's easier to be rude and brash from the start. That way people don't get disappointed if he behaves like a total jerk… it's strange… but he cares for people that way I suppose."

"Himiko-san, what's 13 plus 22?"

Lady Poison was grateful he'd been distracted by the inventory. It meant no one would remember all the ridiculous blathering just now. "35, Master."

"35 Styrofoam coffee cups. And are you?"

She looked up from noting down the number. "Am I what?"

Paul looked at her with a small smile. "Are you disappointed in Ban?"

Crap, he did pay attention. "Uh… well, of course. Of course I am. He's always broke, uncouth, a letch and a plain braggart… why wouldn't I be disappointed?"

Paul only smiled. "You know, Himiko-san, as excellent a courier as you are, you need to learn a few things about lying. Because you're really not convincing me."

Himiko made a face. "Well, it's the truth."

"Uh huh." Paul turned his attention back to inventory taking. "Let's see here… I don't remember that box over there…"

Himiko opened her mouth to reiterate the fact that she was telling the truth. Then thought better of it and shut her lips again, knowing it wouldn't do much good. Even if he didn't know her well, Paul had seen right through her.

She was actually proud of Ban for well… being strong and being himself. She was proud of him; after her brother had told her what he had done was for her sake, that he was strong enough to actually kill her brother, insane as that sounded. Just so they could keep her safe.

Kudo Himiko was proud of Midou Ban, despite all that had happened.

She sighed as Paul opened the box to discover expired jars of coffee.

I'm so damn transparent.

-ººº-

"Are you disappointed in Ban?"

"Uh… well, of course. Of course I am. He's always broke, uncouth, a letch and a plain braggart… why wouldn't I be disappointed?"

Ban snorted, sitting where he had been earlier and still curled up in the blanket.

Thanks a lot, Himiko-chan, he thought, adding the suffix derisively.

He wasn't surprised that she was disappointed. Why wouldn't she be? He was the one who killed her brother after all. The one who killed her only family. Even if Yamato had been a friend whom Ban trusted and respected no less than Ginji, the fact of the matter was that he had murdered her hero.

Of course she was disappointed.

Then again… she was disappointed in his actions in the present… not the past. She had said nothing about forgiving him for killing Yamato but… it seemed to Ban as if she'd just accepted it or something. He didn't know. It looked like Lady Poison had decided to let the matter rest, and disliked him now because of… well, who he was and not what he had done.

…that hurt even more somehow.

…hurt? The invincible Midou Ban-sama is actually feeling hurt?

Shut up.

Well, well… if it hurts this much, that must mean you reeeally want her to actually like-

If you don't shut up right now, I'm gonna squeeze your esophagus to dust with the Snake Bite.

I don't have one remember? I'm just a voice.

Ban silently growled in annoyance.

But all that psycho babble talk about his arrogance hiding what was inside… pfft. Utter nonsense. He wasn't as deep as Himiko thought he was.

…was he?

He'd lived with the curse of the snake in him for so long, he sometimes didn't know where snake ended and human began. Some people only saw the snake part, those that only met him once or twice and people he didn't like. Some people saw the human side of him, like Ginji's comrades and Paul and Natsumi.

Few saw both snake and human together. Ginji did.

And apparently, so had Himiko.

Was that why she was disappointed? Because she had seen that he was snake and human, was that why she was disappointed in him?

Did he even make sense anymore? Because he certainly didn't make sense to himself.

With an uncharacteristic headache, Ban glared at the snow still falling softly outside the Honky Tonk.

I knew there was a good reason to hate winter.

Ban came to a decision. He reached behind the counter and pulled out a case full of beer that Paul kept for celebrations. All 48 bottles of them went with him to the booth.

Drown my confusion in beer. That's always good…

When Himiko and Paul emerged, they found Ban sleeping in the same booth. Paul shook his head.

"Five hours straight and he's still sleeping."

Himiko looked over and nearly smiled. "Is that all, Master?"

"Yep." Paul opened up his cash register and took out some paper yen. "There. Seven thousand yen in exchange of seven hours of menial labour."

Himiko smirked, pocketing the cash. "I don't know what you're going to do with several cartons worth of expired coffee."

Paul grimaced. "Neither do I. I'll figure it out."

"That's probably what you said when you took your last inventory," answered Himiko dryly.

Paul only smirked. "Want another hot chocolate? On the house."

"…no thanks. I've got to get going."

"Okay then. Thanks for the help."

As Paul busied himself with making himself a drink, Himiko remembered her groceries and went to collect them. Raising an eyebrow at the number of glass bottles piled up under the booth, she bent over to take her paper bag.

And bloodshot, dark blue eyes caught hers.

She was hardly surprised that they were glaring. So she glared back.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Then why the angry look?"

"Guy can't be angry?"

"When you're angry at me for no good reason, yes."

"M'not angry at you."

"Yes you are."

"M'not."

Himiko wondered at the bizarre kind of conversation were they having at the moment. Then again, it wasn't surprising since this was one of the rare occasions where Ban sounded like he was purely drunk. "Then what're you angry at?"

"…the snow." And after a pause,

"'Nd you being disappointed."

Himiko, despite the rising embarrassment, narrowed her eyes. "You were eavesdropping?"

"NO… I was goin'… to ask Master to make pizza… didn't know YOU were gonna be there…" He continued glaring. "What's your problem, 'nyway?"

"My problem's always been you."

"Hah!" He hiccupped a little then blinked. "…think I'm drunk."

"You think?"

Ban glared at her. "Dunno why… I ever promised Yamato… that I'd take care of you. S'not like you can't take care of yourself…."

Himiko 'humphed' and folded her arms, looking away, trying to remember he was drunk and didn't know half the things he was saying.

"Then 'gain… you've… always made me… think you didn't need… help when you actually did."

Himiko glanced uneasily back at him. He seemed to be talking to himself now, helped along by the 48 bottles of beer he'd downed.

"S'if you could take on… ev'rything y'self… MOST things…y'kick ass… 'ut not everything…"

She turned fully around now, facing his red, drunk face. Himiko hadn't whipped out any of her poisons since she knew he was drunk.

"Y'grew up too fast… we all grew up too fast…" He hiccupped again. "Guess that's alsowhy Yama-to… made me promise to take care… of you… not to protect you… but make sure you don't actu'lly try'n be an adult too fast. Coz' he wouldn't be here to tell you that…"

He looked blearily at her, but still glared.

"Don't like you… to be disappointed… 'specially since I'm the… one who's supposed to watch your back… don' like you… being disappointed…"

Himiko had sat down opposite him, feeling strange.

"…I'm not."

He glared again. "…not what?"

"…I'm not disappointed in you."

He blinked slowly, like blinking away sleep. "Wha?"

She smirked. "I'm actually… pretty proud of you."

Ban's brain slowly caught up and he managed to smirk. "Heh… liar."

"You're a liar as well," shot back Himiko. "Making all of us think you're some kind of jerk when you're actually a good guy."

…what did I just say?

"Tuh. Am a jerk… s'what I've always been."

"…" She sighed. "Yeah. That's what you've always been, true."

Her voice dropped to a murmur.

"But you've never been something more than a brother and a friend… till now."

"Coun't hear… Whassat?"

"I said go get some sleep, snake." Standing and reaching into her bag, she pulled out the hot water bottle and threw it to him. "Here. Fill it up with hot water. It should help."

Catching it, he looked at the hot water bottle then at her. "How'd you know?"

Himiko shrugged, picking up her bag. "I just did."

He watched her take several steps to the door. Just as she pushed the café door open, she paused and glanced back.

Blue eyes, suddenly sharp again, met hers.

And surprisingly, she just smiled.

"Goodnight, Ban."

"Goodnight Himiko."

The door closed once more.

-ººº-

Paul, at the counter, with his habitual newspaper and a cup of coffee glanced over at Ban, keeping the hot water bottle close.

"…weren't really drunk, were you?"

Ban smirked. "48 bottles could never get me drunk."

The café owner shook his head. "That was manipulative."

"She knew anyway."

Ban looked out the door, out into the snow and his mind's eye saw a brave young woman walking in the snow with a paper bag of groceries.

He smirked slightly, feeling the warmth of hot water.

"She always does."

End.

A/N: Guess what I'm trying to portray here is that those two know each other quite well and they're falling for each other and are slowly starting to open up. The key word here being "slowly."

Oh the OOC-ness that happens when you try to get those two stubborn asses together... (-gets whammed into the wall-) Itei...

For the life of me, I can't remember who wrote a story that was the main idea of this: Ban going weird like a snake in winter. It was a short one, I recall but I really can't remember who wrote it or the title. Whoever it is, I apologize if I've plagiarized your story but I thank you deeply. Please do contact me if you've any problems with this story posted. Thank you again.

...this is definitely one of the stranger stories I've written. -sweatdrop- I apologize, Rabid Lola-san, really no idea what I was doing. -double sweatdrop-