For Old Time's Sake
A Get Backers Fanfic by Rabid Lola
Disclaimer: I do not own the dakkanya, also known as the Get Backers. I own their offspring. Hehe. It was fun writing this...I was bored. Can you tell? I wanted to "visualize" the life of the kids of the Get Backers. As Riyuji said upon hearing it…What a messed-up house. Tell me if you like it. Slightly AU…Ren and Makubex are real, and Himiko's curse has been nullified. Note: When Yamato says Ginji-san, he's referring to the Ginji we all know and love. When he says plain Ginji, he's referring to…the other Ginji. Also, "ototo" means younger brother.
A young man sat at a well-worn, secondhand desk, hair hanging around his face, dark eyes tired.
The young teacher rubbed his eyes tiredly, and sighed. He was new to the school…reported only today, as a matter of fact. Only one more essay to check...he wondered if he could cram it in tomorrow, before classes started. After all, how complex could the essay of a seven-year-old be?
He glanced at the name, and gave an involuntary exclamation of surprise. His eyes widened.
Midou Yamato.
Midou…the name of that Get Backer, the enemy of many, himself included, all those years ago? He had not seen that name, or any vestige of its owner, for years. And Yamato…hadn't that been the name of one of Midou Ban's victims?
He glanced at the paper…s. Oh Lord, when he'd said, "write about yourself," he hadn't meant a whole autobiography!
He wavered, for a while, undecided, but the temptation was too much. He had to find out who this Midou Yamato was…and what his relationship was with Midou Ban.
He sat back, sighed, and began to read.
It began, like most children's essays, with simple statements:
My name is Midou Yamato. I am seven years old. I live in a house with many people. They are my Otosan, my Okasan, my ototos Ginji and Yuji, Amano Ginji-san and his wife Natsumi-san, Teshichan and Ban. My Otosan's name is Ban, too. But he says that when I tell someone his name I should say Midou Ban-sama. Okasan always rolls her eyes when he says this. Sometimes she even punches him a little, and Ginji-san always laughs. Okasan's name is Himiko. She said, no titles. Ginji-san and Otosan are best friends. That 's why we all live together. It's fun living in a house full of people. There are many kids to play with, but I'm the oldest of them all, so I'm always the leader. Sometimes it's annoying because they always cry. But Teshichan helps me take care of them a lot. That's really her whole name, Teshichan. Sometimes I call her Teshi. Sometimes I feel sorry for her because she's the only girl. I'll tell you about us kids first. We're five, three Midous and two Amanos. I'm first. I have dark green hair like Okasan, but my eyes are like Otosan's . Some people find them weird coz they're so bright. I like them. I'm tall, only a little past Otosan's waist. And I'm strong. Okasan tells me to be careful, because I might hurt others. I keep trying to spike my hair like Otosan, but Natsumi-san and Okasan said not yet. Teshichan's after me, and she's five. Natsumi-san said she's a very old five, and Okasan agrees. Teshichan's shorter than I am, and she has long brown hair and dark eyes. I think they're grey. She's fun, for a girl. She's my best friend…the others are too young. We're not as close as Otosan and Ginji-san, though. They can tell what the other is thinking. And if one of them needs something or is missing the other always knows what to do or what to get. I don't know how they do that. Otosan says Teshichan looks like Ginji-san, but Ginji-san's a boy, so I don't know if I got that right… Next is my ototo Ginji. He's three, and he's small. He only comes up to Otosan's knee. His hair brown, like Otosan's. His eyes are a weird color…they're not like Otosan's, but not like Okasan's, either. They're something in between. It's cool. Ginji is funny. He keeps getting into trouble and messes. Okasan says she'll have to put a leash on him, he's too naughty. Natsumi-san is always trying to make him behave with cookies. Natsumi-san's cookies are good. Okasan says Ginji looks most like Otosan. When I ask who I look like, she smiles and says her aniki. Her aniki is in heaven. Otosan says he was a good man. Next is Teshichan's ototo Ban. He's like Ginji, just as naughty, and hyper, and he's also three. His hair is yellow, and his eyes are like Ginji-san's. He's naughty, too. Teshichan and Natsumi-san and actually everyone in the house find it really hard when the two get together. Last is my youngest ototo Yuji. His hair is dark, and so are his eyes. He's two years old, and he's a really happy baby. He rarely cries, and he's always following us around, copying us and joining our games. It's fun having a baby brother. He stays with Teshichan a lot. And guess what, Natsumi-san's pregnant again! Soon there will be three Amano kids. Otosan jokes Ginji-san about trying to catch up with him. I don't get it. But if Natsumi-san's pregnant it means later on she won't be able to do the cooking…oh no. I'll tell you about the grown-ups next. Otosan and Ginji-san are dakkanya. They are the Get Backers. They were the Get Backers since before I was born. Natsumi-san says they started around five or six years before Okasan and Otosan and she and Ginji-san got married. Otosan's cool…he has this power called the Snake Bite and he can crush ANYTHING, and he's made us say hi to his snake friend As…As…I don't know how to pronounce the name. And he can give people dreams for one minute, he calls this the Jagan. Ginji-san does lots of really cool stuff with electricity. If we go swimming, he doesn't stay as long as we do, coz he's afraid of electrocuting us. Sometimes if there's a power failure he fixes the electricity, or whatever's electric and broken at home. Sometimes he's the reason there's a blackout or a broken object. The first time Akabane-san came by, Ginji-san's reaction caused all the lights in the street to flicker, and he said it was because he was so happy because he hadn't seen Akabane-san in years. But I don't think so because he was in his weird stuffed-toy form when saying this and he was shaking a lot. So… They tell us a lot of stories of their adventures a long time ago and even the ones now. My favorite is when they had to get the IL from Makubex-san, and when they had to fight five archangels. That was cool. The others like those best, too…except for Teshichan. Teshichan is such a girl! She said her favorites are when her parents fell in love, and when mine did. She's the only one who knows those stories, she made Okasan and Natsumi-san tell her. The rest of us found it too mushy, but I saw Otosan and Ginji-san's faces red. Okasan is a hakobiya. Her motorbike is cool. Sometimes she lets us ride in it. Sometimes she works with Otosan and Ginji-san. Sometimes she doesn't. But she never works against them anymore. I'm glad. She's also called Lady Poison. I don't like that name, it makes her sound bad. But I find her perfumes cool. She said she might teach me to use them, when I'm older. But even though her perfumes are cool, it can get annoying when she's making new ones and the house is full of weird smells. Natsumi-san used to work in Wan-san's coffee shop. She quit when Ban was born because four kids were too many to leave in the Honky Tonk while Otosan and Okasan and Ginji-san and she were working. She stays at home and takes care of us and the house, and we all help her. She cooks the BEST food. Okasan says it's a miracle we're not all fat. The coolest thing is that we get to meet the people from their stories. Shido-san and Madoka-san live kinda near, and their kid Satsu is my friend. He's cool. They have two little girls, too, Ayame and Taki. Ayame's around a year younger than Teshichan, and Taki's Yuji's age.. I like their house. There are so many animals. Ginji-san says it's because Shido's the Beastmaster. It sounds scary, but the animals are really friendly. They play with us a lot, even the lion. The younger kids like Emishi-san. He always makes us laugh. He has a girlfriend now, and I keep hearing Otosan say things like "May he be lucky this time!" Kakei-san is cool too. He's a doctor. Once he fixed my broken ankle. I got it when I was walking on the roof of Madoka-san's garage and fell off. Almost all the grownups scolded me after, not only my parents. It was weird…the things they do are more dangerous! Makubex-san is cool. He gives us all these really great computer games. He even has a game with them as characters! Otosan and Ginji-san and Okasan and Natsumi-san and everybody, I mean. That's my favorite. But I always wonder why Natsumi-san's weapons in the game are ping-pong balls. She always laughs at this, and Otosan and Ginji-san look embarrassed. We're not allowed to visit Makubex-san, though. The grownups told us we're not allowed to go into Mugenjou until we reach at least ten years old, and only if one of them's with us. I'm scared of Hevn-san, a little. She's really nice, and she's the one who gives Otosan and Ginji-san jobs, but I heard she's tough. And she wears weird clothes sometimes. Wan-san's funny, and nice. He always gives us gifts. I've never seen his eyes. He always wears dark glasses. Come to think of it, I've never seen Shido-san's eyebrows, either. Teshichan's favorite is Kazuki-san. He has two kids, Hitomi and Keisuke. I like his wife Ren-san better, though. She also makes cool computer games. I find Kazuki-san weird…why does he look like a girl? I thought he was Ren-san's older sister the first time! But Ginji-san told me what he can do with strings, and it's really cool. He can listen to people talking really far away, and tie them up, and sew their body parts together. Ginji is weird. He likes Akabane-san best. I don't know WHY! Akabane-san is SCARY. In the stories he's scary. In real life…he's scary! He likes playing with knives, and killing people! But Ginji likes him, he finds him cool. Akabane-san's favorite seems to be Ginji, too…he'd better not hurt my little brother. Otosan doesn't think he will, but all the same, you can see him on guard when Akabane-san comes into the house. Ginji-san's funny…he turns like that stuffed toy thing when Akabane-san comes sometimes, and Teshichan always laughs at him. Sometimes Ginji-san plays with Yuji in that shape, because they end up the same height. I like it best like that, when we're all playing together, even the grownups. It's fun when Otosan carries us, and turns us upside down and swings us around, or tells us all these cool bedtime stories about the Valkyries or the gods or the wars between humans and ghosts. Or when Ginji-san does the rough stuff, and makes cool glowing things in the air with his electricity. Okasan is as good as Otosan at telling stories and even wrestling with us. Natsumi-san is teaching me in chess and ping-pong. We're on big happy family, and I hope it stays like that always. It's scary sometimes, you see, when Otosan and Okasan and Ginji-san are on a job. Sometimes they come home really late. Once, they didn't come home for one week straight, and it was only supposed to be three days. That was Otosan and Ginji-san then, and I think they were working with Shido-san or Kazuki-san. Okasan was pregnant with Yuji at that time, and she and Natsumi-san were so worried. Emishi-san even stayed in the house to guard us if anything happened, Ginji-san asked him to. Things happened before…when I was about five, and we were having a Christmas party in Madoka-san's house, some people attacked the place. That was the first time I saw all the grown-ups fight. And that was the first time I saw Otosan use the Snake Bite. I haven't seen him use the Jagan yet. I'm glad Otosan uses his powers for good things. Fuuchoin Hitomi got injured then…her great grandpa Gen-san and Ren-san were working really hard to save her. Otosan and Okasan and Ginji-san and everyone else's jobs are dangerous. But it's great because they're doing good things and helping other people. I'm proud of them. I want to be like them when I grow up. Gomen, Sensei, I guess I've made my essay too long. Otosan always says that I inherited Okasan's talkativeness. That's another thing Okasan hits him for. Then he says it might be over-exposure to Ginji-san. I'll end here now. This is me, Midou Yamato, and my life. I like my life. Many things are weird, but that makes it cool.
"Yamato!"
A thin, dark-haired boy was arrested by the sound of his name…singled out, for a moment, from the gaggle of youngsters going home.
"Yamato!" the teacher called again, striding forward in a whirl of white robes.
The boy spun and faced him cheerfully. "Hai, Miroku-sensei?"
Miroku beckoned, speaking to the driver of the bus that Yamato had been about to board. "A word with him, Kelo-san, if you please?"
"Try to keep it under five minutes," the man replied, looking at the clock.
"Miroku-sensei?" Midou Yamato was standing in front of him now, head tilted in questioning, bright blue eyes…clearly inherited from his father, wide.
"I read your essay yesterday," his sensei began.
"Oh!" Comprehension dawned on Yamato's face. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed. "Gomen, sensei, if it was too long…"
"Iie, Iie, no problem," Miroku hastened to reassure him. "I merely have a few questions."
"Oh! Okay!" Yamato perked up. "What are they, sensei?"
"Well…" Miroku wondered how blunt he should be. "Your father is, as I read, Midou Ban-" he caught himself. He'd almost said –sama, much to his dismay. "-san?"
"Hai, sensei!"
"And you live with Amano Ginji-san?"
"Hai!" Another curious tilt of the head. "You know them, sensei?"
Miroku nodded. "…Aa. The Get Backers."
"You do! Cool!" Yamato said, enthusiastic.
Miroku had to smile, too. "Are they busy, by any chance?"
Yamato was bright, he caught on quickly. "They try not to get work on Fridays, so that they're free for sure on weekends. So I think they're home now. Do you want to see them, sensei?"
Miroku found himself agreeing. "Aa, arigato. I'd like that very much. Come, I'll drive you home…Kelo-san, you may leave, I'll take young Midou to his house."
"Hai, Sayonara." The door of the bus hissed close, and slowly, the vehicle rumbled off.
"This way, Yamato."
"Are you sure it's okay, sensei?" the young boy asked anxiously, skipping beside his long-legged teacher.
"Certainly."
"Arigato!"
Yamato's house was relatively far from the school. Miroku was amazed that he could find his way at age seven…proving that if Ginji's loquaciousness was contagious, his lack of directional sense didn't seem to be. Soon, they pulled up in front of a moderately-sized house, two floors, which clearly showed that the Get Backers had made their big hit, and were doing well. And that their wives were probably educating them in the art of saving and keeping money.
Yamato was out of the car almost before it stopped. He skipped and ran up to the front door, bellowing at the top of his voice, "I'm home!"
The door opened, and a young, tanned woman in her late twenties stepped out. She shared a bit of Yamato's facial structure, and had the same dusky green hair.
"Okasan!" Yamato shrieked. "You're home!"
Himiko smiled and opened her arms, and the little boy ran into them. Motherhood hadn't done much to alter the Lady Poison physically, but there was a new strength to her slight frame and a different kind of maturity in her eyes. "Hai, I am," she replied to the bundle hugging her tight around the waist. "You're home early!"
"Miroku-sensei brought me home!" Yamato piped happily.
"Miroku-sensei?" As Himiko untangled herself from her eldest son's embrace, Miroku thought he saw her stiffen. How much did Midou's wife know? The woman turned and met his eyes. "Konnichiwa," she said carefully. "Thank you for bringing my son home." She smiled down at her son and said, "Go inside, Yamato. Greet the others."
Just as the boy passed the door, there was a pounding noise and two familiar figures rushed out. One, his hair the usual spiky mess, stopped slightly in front of his wife and pushed up his purple glasses. Miroku could almost feel his cautious glare. The other, blond, bouncy, and still wearing the green army vest and tan shorts, blurted out, "Yukihiko-kun!"
Yukihiko smiled and said, "Konnichiwa, Ginji-kun, Midou-san, Himiko-san."
Yamato's head popped out of the door. "You know my sensei?" he asked the grownups, astounded.
Ban smiled at his son. "Aa, we do. We haven't seen him in a long time. Now go inside, Natsumi has some treats for you."
When the boy disappeared, Ban turned to Yukihiko and asked in a wary tone, "You teach my son?"
Yukihiko nodded, and answered, "Hai."
"Ban-chan, I'm sure he won't hurt any of us, or any of our children," Ginji said. He turned his eyes to Yukihiko. "Won't you, Yukihiko-kun?"
Yukihiko nodded, spreading his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I come in peace. And…" A broad smile grew on his face. "Alone."
Ginji smiled back, and Ban asked, "How?"
"You, Midou-san, know that my siblings and I share the same body," Yukihiko answered. "But it's possible for us to separate." A pang of sorrow shot through him…it was still a slightly sore point.
Ban looked at him, carefully. Then, miraculously, a tiny smile twitched the corner of his mouth. "Aa," he said. He stepped aside, and nodded to Himiko. "Yukihiko, my wife, Himiko." A huge grin broke over Ginji's face at this, as Himiko nodded and smiled at the youngest Miroku, tension gone.
"Come inside!" Ginji said, finally free to greet Yukihiko with an exuberant hug. He hadn't changed at all. In fact, neither of them had…they still looked the same, acted the same. Only inside were they different—Ban certainly cursed less, for one—they had little lives to shape, and change, after all.
Once inside, Yukihiko was introduced to the characters in Yamato's essay…who were jumping around Natsumi, trying to reach the tray of cookies she held above their reach.
Ginji laughed as he hurried to help his wife, ruffling the heads of his daughter and his son on the way. Himiko called, "Kids, say hi to Yamato's teacher!"
Yukihiko took a liking to them all…cheerful Teshichan, exuberant Ban and Ginji, baby Yuji…and they liked him, too. As Teshichan put it…
"You're the nice brother, right?" she asked, eyes wide.
"What?" Yukihiko was startled, looking down at the little girl.
"You're the friend of Tou-chan's, the one who doesn't really like fighting," she explained. She smiled happily. "Even Ban-san thinks you're decent."
"Oh! Hai," Yukihiko answered, smiling.
He stayed for a while, talking to the Get Backers, explaining his shift from mamoriya to schoolteacher…at least temporarily until his siblings reconciled with his ethics. In fact, he stayed long enough to have dinner with them.
It was nice to have these friends, and normalcy, for a change.
And to talk with these friends, for old time's sake.
...--EnD--...
I don't know how Yukihiko got to be the teacher. 0o but anyway…. :D ja ne!