Disclaimer: If Mayumi-san owned the Get Backers, you would've known.
I. The Overture

Thursday night.

For most people, Thursday was unremarkable and ordinary. Very few of these people would make plans on Thurday nights, and if they did, those plans would usually be limited by the need for a sufficient amount of shuteye before starting the last day of school or work, whichever case may be applicable to whatever drudgery they were currently plodding through. For these people who held normal routines and who would most probably continue to hold normal routines until the day they retire, Thursday night was a very normal night.

But for the retrieval duo who called themselves the Get Backers, what day of the week it was held no difference. This particular Thursday night, they were in the middle of a job that most people would not consider normal.

Amano Ginji, the blond half of the Get Backers, adjusted his bowtie as his brown eyes scanned the hotel ballroom that was currently the venue for a fund-raising gala that was attended by various heads of different corporations in Tokyo. Men in their tuxedos and women in their formal gowns mingled with each other, some sipping from sparkling glasses of champagne, some waltzing in the middle of the ballroom as the string quartet played in the background, while some simply stood along the sides of the room and made small talk with the other guests.

"I wonder if Madoka-chan's dinner concert tomorrow will be like this", he mused.

Mido Ban, the brunette half of the retrieval duo, answered, "I doubt it." Upon seeing his partner turn to him with a questioning look, the hint of a smile crossed his lips as he continued, "I don't think she would invite the Yakuza to her dinner concert."

"Oh", Ginji said, with realization dawning on his innocent features. "Of course."

Doing business with the Yakuza was not what most people consider normal either. For once the Yakuza handed out invitations to "fund-raising" events to corporate executives, these hapless honchos would have have to think twice before turning them down. And usually, they would decide that showing up to these events with big fat donations was the wiser decision, even if it was on a Thursday night. Early Friday meetings would then just have to be re-prioritized.

And so there the Get Backers were, in the middle of a Yakuza-hosted fund-raising gala on a Thursday night, waiting for a sokaiya (1) named Tomita Shunji. Apparently, this particular sokaiya did not only engage in corporate extortion, but in theft as well. The Get Backers' client, a young executive of a certain car manufacturer, had hired the retrieval specialists to get back a bloodstone ring that Tomita had taken from him. Having heard about Ban'sJagan had convinced him that the Get Backers were perfect for the job, since the Jagan master supposedly could alter one's perception of reality. This skill, he believed, would be useful in preventing the retrieval from being traced back to him, and thus avoid retaliation from the sokaiya.

The said Jagan master skimmed the faces of the guests for the man that matched the picture that their client had shown them, occassionally stopping his gaze on some of the attractive young women lounging around the ballroom. Since the main guests at this event were corporate bosses "donating" to the Yakuza's non-existent cause, any young woman in the room would most likely be workers in the Yakuza's mizu shobai (2).

He stopped looking at the guests for a moment and turned to his partner, mischief crossing his bright blue eyes. "You know what else would make Madoka's dinner concert different from this one?"

"What?", Ginji asked.

"Natsumi will be there."

Ban smiled amusedly at the sight of color rushing through the blond's cheeks at the mention of the name of the high-school waitress. "You know, I've gotta hand it to ya. Only you can ask a girl out with chocolate icing on your teeth, and she would still say 'yes'", he said, chuckling.

The color from Ginji's cheeks spread toward tips of his ears as he answered, "Chuckle all you want. I'll find something to chuckle about when you finally ask someone out tomorrow."

"Heh", Ban snorted. "Save your chuckles. I'm not gonna ask anyone out."

Ginji frowned and asked, "Why not?"

"Will Madoka throw me out of her party if I didn't bring a date?", he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No", Ginji answered. "But what are you gonna do with your extra ticket?"

"You can have it."

"And what am I gonna do with it?", Ginji asked, a puzzled frown crossing his features.

"You can give it back to Madoka. Or you can throw it away. Or you can use it to make origami cherry blossoms." He shrugged, then turned back toward the guests. "Do whatever you want with it. I don't really care."

"Ban-chan", Ginji said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "You're no fun sometimes."

A young redhead a few feet away caught Ban looking at her. Keeping her eyes on his, she made her way through the other guests toward him, her long crimson skirt fluttering with every sway of her hips. She smiled flirtatiously as she stopped directly in front of Ban.

"Hey, there", she said, her voice dripping with honey. "Want some company tonight?"

Ban gave her a lopsided grin, then answered, "I'd love to, but unfortunately, I'm here for business, not for pleasure."

"Awww", she said, her lips turned down in a pout. "That's too bad. But if you change your mind, let me know."

She gave him one last smile before turning around and heading back to where she came from, perhaps to look for another prospect. As she disappeared among the guests, Ginji commented, "You could've asked her if she's free tomorrow."

Ban raised an eyebrow and turned to his partner. "First, I already told you that I'm not gonna ask anyone out for tomorrow. And second, she's not free, Ginji."

Ginji frowned. "What do you mean?"

One would think that being with Ban almost 24/7 should've let Ginji pick up at least a thing or two about the vitiated ways of this world. But somehow, the former Volts leader still managed to retain his naiveté. That was exactly how Ban wanted it to be, yet he couldn't help but snicker.

The blond's frown deepened as he asked, "What's so funny, Ban-chan?"

Before he could reply, he hissed under his breath as something, or rather, someone, caught his attention.

"Dagger Babe", he muttered. "What are you doing here?"


A/N: Here it is. The sequel. Hope you enjoy the ride ;)

Rabid Lola: Booya:P Thanks for your reviews. I always love hearing from you :)

Atropos' Knife: More Ginji-Natsumi hints for you:D About the Tsuya artbook cover, the girl's hair looks more like black, not violet. And yeah, Ban in a tuxedo is just... sigh. I am such a fangirl.. Oh, and get your cookie ready ;)

(1) The main job description of a sokaiya is blackmailing large companies into paying great amounts of money.
(2) Mizu shobai (literally "water business") refers to the nightlife business. The Japanese traditionally relates water with pleasures of the flesh, so go figure.