Into the Woods by Cienna
Chapter 1
Author's Note - I decided to write a story with a bit more of a plot this time. It's still headed in the same direction, though (Ban/Ginji love in case you couldn't guess). Thanks to takadainmate for betaing. Please read and review.
Disclaimer -I do not own Getbackers and the characters contained herein do not belong to me. I will be making no money from this project, sadly.
The day was cold and cloudy as they set out for their retrieval in the Hokkaido National Forest. Ginji couldn't contain his excitement and it was all Ban could do to keep him from running from one souvenir shop to the next once they arrived at the Sapporo airport.
"I'm sure they'll have better souvenirs once we get out of the airport, Ginji. And you really don't need a raccoon tail hat."
"But it's so cute, Ban-chan. And it would make me look like a real adventurer in the wilderness." He put the hat down and fingered a fake bear claw necklace.
"Do you think we'll see any bears?"
"I doubt it. It's getting close to winter now. They're probably all hibernating." Privately, Ban doubted there were any bears left in the Hokkaido National Forest at all. He had heard that they had all been removed and taken to some sort of bear sanctuary that was more like an old rundown zoo.
"What are these, Ban-chan?" Ginji was now pointing to a jar filled with water and what looked like two fuzzy green balls.
"Those are those algae ball things that are so famous here." Ban picked up one of the small jars and gazed at it intently. "I think they're called Marimo or something."
"Wow! Look at these, Ban-chan! They're huge!" Ginji stared at a large aquarium that held several of the algae balls. "Can we get some?"
"No way. The last thing we need is to carry around some stupid algae balls on this trip. This isn't a vacation, you know."
Ginji frowned. "I know. It just kind of seems like one because we took a plane. And it's not like we'll probably ever be able to afford to come to Hokkaido again."
"Don't talk like that. If this retrieval goes well, we can come back and spend a month here. These clients are loaded. They paid for our airline tickets, didn't they?"
"That's true." Ginji traced his finger along the edge of the aquarium, following the swaying movement of the algae balls. "Do you really think they'll pay us what they said?"
"Why wouldn't they?" Ban asked.
"I don't know," Ginji said. It just seems like we never seem to make any money."
"I have a good feeling about the job this time. I think things will work out. If you don't screw them up that is."
"Ban-chan!" Ginji looked hurt. "You're the one who messed up our last retrieval by getting into a fight with the client, not me."
Ban grimaced. "I told you we're never discussing that again."
"Sorry, Ban-chan." He looked eagerly back to the aquarium with the algae balls. "Are you sure we can't get some?"
"I said, no." At Ginji's obvious disappointment, Ban's resolve wavered. "Maybe when we're leaving."
Ginji immediately brightened and threw his arms around Ban. "Thanks, Ban-chan. You're the best!"
"I didn't say definitely." Ban wormed his way out of Ginji's grasp and stepped back to look at his partner. Ginji had been more touchy than usual lately and it was beginning to make him uncomfortable. He had never even thought about it in the past, but for some reason whenever Ginji had touched him recently he found himself having feelings he shouldn't. Feelings he shouldn't be having for another guy who was his best friend, anyway. He tried to put those thoughts out of his mind for the time being and concentrate on the retrieval. "Come on. We have to pick up the rental car."
The car they ended up choosing was a sturdy red SUV that Ban decided would be good for snow covered Hokkaido roads. Not that it was snowing yet, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. In fact, the weather had been grey and gloomy since they had arrived, and he doubted snow could be far away. They climbed into the car and Ban tried hard not to feel guilty for driving something other than the ladybug. As they pulled out of the rental car parking lot he eyed the darkening sky anxiously.
"Can we stop in Sapporo, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked. "I heard they have really good sushi there."
"Not this time," he replied. "We have to get going. It's a three hour ride just to get to the entrance of the national forest."
"Will we be able to drive the car all the way to the cabin?"
"Once we get into the forest a bit we're probably going to have to get out and hike. From what I can tell from the map, the cabin isn't exactly close to any roads. Actually, it looks like it's kind of in the middle of nowhere."
Ginji was now bouncing up and down excitedly. "I can't wait to find out what's in the box. Do you think it's money?"
"I have no idea what it is and we're probably not going to find out. Remember, that guy with the weird hat said that inside the box there's going to be a sealed envelope. He doesn't want us to open it." Ban fingered the small silver key in his front pocket. They had been given the key to unlock the box as well as a map of the forest that was supposed to lead them to the location of the cabin the box was in.
"What happens if we accidentally open it?"
"We probably won't get paid. With our luck anyway. So you better not try anything like that."
Ginji laughed. "You're the one I was thinking might not be able to resist opening the envelope, Ban-chan."
"I think with this much money at stake, I should be able to restrain myself."
"I hope so, Ban-chan. We do need to pay off all those parking tickets at least." A few minutes later Ginji began rummaging in the backseat. "Since we're not stopping for lunch, we better have some snacks. Do you want chocolate or onigiri?"
"Hmm...I think onigiri is the more lunch-like option," Ban answered.
"Okay." Ginji pulled the snacks out of the plastic bag. "Here you go. I'm having chocolate."
Ginji placed the onigiri on Ban's thigh because he was driving, letting his hand linger a moment longer than was strictly necessary. Ban looked at him suspiciously, and Ginji quickly pulled away, tearing open the wrapper of his chocolate. Ban wondered if he should address the situation. "Ginji..."
"Ban-chan, look out!"
There was real panic in his partner's voice and Ban quickly forced his eyes back to the road. A small deer was crossing the road a short distance in front of them. Ban slammed on the brakes, barely missing the animal. Ginji had grabbed his arm in surprise, and Ban could feel the faint tingling of the constant electric current that ran through his friend.
"That was really close, Ban-chan." Ginji breathed a sigh of relief which Ban couldn't help echoing.
"That's for sure." Ban wrenched his arm out of Ginji's grasp. "Next time don't distract me like that," he snapped.
"I wasn't distracting you Ban-chan." Ginji's brown eyes widened at the accusation. "Not on purpose anyway. I was just giving you your onigiri."
Ban looked shakily down at his leg and took a deep breath. That really had been close. And he was angry at himself for taking things out on Ginji. "Well, the onigiri has apparently flown across the car somewhere so you'll have to get me another one."
"Fine." Ginji pulled out another onigiri and handed it to him. Ban ate it quickly and then smoked five cigarettes in a row. They spent the next few hours in silence.
Eventually they came to a sign that said 'You are now entering the Hokkaido National Forest.' The road became more narrow and the trees denser. Ginji was peering raptly out the window, probably in search of an elusive Hokkaido bear. Ban kept his eyes carefully on the road just in case any other animals decided to dart in front of them. Maybe he should havegotten that rental insurance after all.
"Look, Ban-chan, it's snowing!" Ginji gestured out the window to small flakes. The snowfall was so light that at first Ban could barely see it.
Ban frowned. "Good thing we got the SUV with four wheel drive."
"Do you think it'll start snowing harder?" Ginji asked.
"Probably," Ban said. With our luck anyway."
"I thought you liked the snow, Ban-chan."
"I do. While we're in the car, anyway. Walking around in it for hours might not be quite as fun."
Ginji's face lit up. "Oh, I forgot we have to go hiking. Well, we have lots of winter clothes at least. And we might even get to spend the night outside."
Ban frowned. "I hope not." Their clients had given them enough money that they had been able to buy what they needed for the treacherous weather in Hokkaido. Ban was not fond of the cold so he had been careful to make sure they had enough cold weather clothing. He had also bought some camping equipment just in case their search took longer than expected. Although as far as he could tell from the map, they wouldn't have to hike for more than a few hours once they reached the trail.
As they drove deeper into the forest it began snowing harder and harder. The gentle flakes became a white wall that left it almost impossible for him to see. As the weather conditions became worse, the few other cars that had been on the road seemed to disappear. This definitely wasn't like driving in Tokyo. Ginji had stopped looking out the window and was now staring at the wall of white in front of them.
"This is kind of scary, Ban-chan. Can you even see the road?"
Ban could hear the worry in Ginji's voice and tried to reassure him. "It's not that bad. As long as we get to the trail before it gets dark we should be fine. And it shouldn't get dark for hours."
Ginji looked unconvinced. "It's already kind of dark because there are so many trees here and the sky is cloudy. Maybe we should pull over for awhile, Ban-chan. Until the snow stops."
Ban took in the raging storm doubtfully. "It doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. And we really have to get to that trail today. We don't have enough supplies to spend a lot of time out in this weather."
"But, Ban-chan..."
"We don't really have much of a choice, Ginji. Not if we don't want to end up freezing to death or something."
Ginji looked resigned. "I trust you, Ban-chan," he said softly. "It'll be okay."
Ban couldn't help but feel like Ginji was now the one trying to reassure him. "Of course it will," he said, hoping that his best friend's unconditional trust in him wasn't unfounded.
As the hours went on Ban realized he was getting tired. Driving in the snow took a lot of concentration and it was wearing him down. Ginji had been talkingnonstop for awhile now, probably trying to keep him from worrying about the weather. But with the storm looking like it had no end in sight and the fact that with all the snow they seemed to have missed the trail they were looking for, it wasn't doing much good. Suddenly he spotted something glowing in the distance and interrupted Ginji.
"Do you see that?"
"What?" Ginji leaned forward and looked out the front windshield. "Where?"
"Straight ahead." Ban pointed to the lights that seemed to getting closer by the second.
Ginji squinted, trying to see the lights more clearly. "It's another car! We haven't seen any cars since we first came into the forest! Maybe we're getting near a ranger station or something!"
"Ginji, that car is headed straight at us!" Ban stared at the car and slowed down, assuming it would slow down too and move to its own lane as it approached. Instead it seemed to be gaining speed as it came closer and closer.
"Ban-chan, they're going to hit us!"
Ginji's hand on Ban's arm stood out vividly for a moment as he swerved off the road and went over an embankment that he hadn't even realized was there. They seemed to be going down and down for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. When they hit the tree Ban was almost relieved. At least it hadn't been the ladybug he had crashed. He felt a sharp pain on his forehead and when he reached up to touch it his fingers came away wet. After staring at them for a moment he realized the wetness was blood. Then he blacked out.
tbc
