Summary: The life of a famed GetBacker flashes through his eyes during the last 60 seconds of his racy life as he reflects on what happiness means to him…
Warnings: This is most likely a failed attempt at writing a tearjerker/romance fic. Furthermore, I hope nobody would kill me for murdering Ban-sama in this story. Trust
me, it was a VERY hard thing for me to do especially 'coz I'm one of the biggest Ban-chan fangirls out there.
---Legal Disclaimer applied here---
AND in case some people don't understand what the above meant, let me go into the
details just for your sakes. I DO NOT own the anime series GetBackers, if I did Ban and Ginji would be doing more things than just being partners AHEM… The only elements of this that I own are the pathetic story plot and the grammatical errors. On with the fic!
Title: Happiness is…
By:Kairi21
-60 seconds-
Brown cow-like eyes mournfully watched the rain drops explode on the asphalt road outside the Honky Tonk café. The line between comfortably warm and soaking wet in this situation, was the glass window the blonde had his face pressed to. His partner was somewhat taller than him. He leaned on the wall immersed in his own thoughts.
"Ban?" The blonde turned to ask him something; a question only Ban would understand even without hearing the rest of the sentence.
"No Ginji, you CANNOT go out and play in the rain." Ban's reply caused the other to shrink in an absurdly childlike form. (Tare Ginji if I'm not mistaken.)
"Awww… but Ban…" Ginji childishly tried to argue. He really wanted to play outside.
Ban sighed and watched his partner pout. It's puzzling how he always managed to look cute every time he would throw a childish tantrum. Still, health always came before momentary chances to have fun. The brown-haired GetBacker really wanted to see his partner happy. It WAS his radiant personality and boyish charm that melted the ice in Ban's heart after all. How could the leader of VOLTS, the Thunder Emperor, and this happy idiot be the same person? Ginji was indeed one of the biggest paradoxes in life the wielder of the Evil Eye had ever encountered.
"I said NO Ginji. We couldn't risk having you get sick. We're on a tight budget right now…."
The more childish of the two blinked in confusion. Delicate lashes touched soft sun kissed skin. What tight budget? Was there even ANY cash to burn at all? How could there be if dinner consisted of a slice of pizza which the two had to fight over? In the end, the teen had to give Ban a bit of a "shock". An electric shock to be precise. His electric eel property really does come in handy some times…
Of course, that action resulted in a heated argument and with him latched unto Kadzuki's (or Kazuki or Kadsuki… Aaargh… ITOMAKI-SAN!) head in his deformed state trying to avoid getting close to the "Urchin-head" with an explosive temper.
All that thinking pushed a solitary thought into Ginji's mind; Money was the only thing that made his Ban-chan happy. However, he began to doubt his own judgment so he asked…
"Ne Ban-chan, what is happiness for you?"
"Hmm… Being rich of course!" The brown-haired GetBacker jokingly answered.
"No Ban… seriously…" Ginji frowned.
"Hmm… happiness is…"
-40 seconds-
The two stood on an unnamed bridge overlooking the highway lit up in neon lights as it was "rush hour". A cool breeze played through their hair, making the loose strands dance in the wind. Ginji busied himself with watching the lights shooting past under the bridge. Ban had one end of a cigarette softly pressed against his lips as he leaned on the bridges railing.
"Ban-chan…"
"Hmm?"
"Promise me…" Ginji hesitated.
"Promise me we'll be pals forever?" The blonde's words were full of hope.
Ban sighed and visibly slumped his shoulders. The blonde gave the slightest of shivers as a particularly cold wind swept by ruffling his short spiky hair in the process.
"Ginji, I've told you…" Ban stated with an unreadable expression on his face quite suited to that awkward moment.
"The 'S' in GetBackers means…"
"We're partners…. Thanks Ban." The youth finished the other's sentence content that he needn't worry about being alone.
The night wore on. It was a beautiful evening; the stars sparkled and shone seemingly rivaling the neon lights of the cars rushing past and the bars at the sides of the street. The night breeze picked up and it began to get chilly. Ban noticed the other shiver once more and that was it.
"That's it, we're goin' home…"
-20 seconds-
The dynamic duo was to be found in one of the most common places they slept in. The beetle wasn't exactly the best choice for a good night's sleep, but if the case is a cost cutting issue then…
"Ginji, oi Ginji… you still awake?" Ban, who chose the driver's seat as the perfect place to crash for the night, whispered.
Soft snoring answered his question. Ginji, as Ban liked to put it, had mastered the art of squeezing his somewhat developed body to fit in the back seat of the beetle. Ban knew that the other wasn't awake to hear what he was about to say. Even if he was, he'd be too sleepy to comprehend what he would say.
"Ginji…to me… happiness is…"
-10 seconds-
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Ban's cough got worse, even Natsumi and Paul noticed how the brown-haired GetBacker would suddenly burst into fits of coughing every now and then.
"I told you to stop smoking Ban." The familiar brown cow-like eyes stared into the depths of brilliant blue.
Ban's eyes, the "cursed eyes", were watery at the moment. He was obviously in a very bad condition.
"We're puttin' you in the hospital whether you like it or not." Paul finally stated.
-7 seconds-
The blonde never lost hope. He would always be sitting next to his partner in the white hospital room, relating to him the events of the day. He never stopped smiling but deep inside, he was growing more and more worried. Ban's health wasn't improving and they barely had enough money to pay for his medications anymore. In the end, they had to bring Ban back home and take care of him there. There was a small room at the back of the café' and that's were Ginji watched his partner slowly fade away.
-5 seconds-
The first thing Ban lost was his eyesight. Now, all that greeted Ginji whenever he came to visit were empty unfocused blue orbs.
-3 seconds-
His breathing came in short labored gulps and he felt like he was sinking, almost as if he was drowning.
-2 seconds-
"Oi Ginji… I really feel so tired…"
"Ban no…
"I think I'll go on ahead. I'll wait for you there 'kay?"
-1 second-
"YOU CAN'T GO BAN! YOU PROMISED! THE "S" IN GETBACKERS MEANS…" Ginji's voice grew distant.
-a long silence-
That night, nothing in the world mattered to Ginji. He just lost his Ban-chan, his closest friend. The blonde sat there, next to Ban, clutching his hand that steadily began to lose it's warmth. Tears ran down his cheeks as he recalled the words he heard a long time ago. Ban thought he wasn't listening, but he was.
"Ginji… to me… happiness is…"
"…being with you, no matter what the situation may be."
-"Just One Minute"-
It's ironic to think that the indestructible Ban-sama died of nothing but a lung disease and not in some life-threatening battle. However unfortunate the situation was, it still helped to know that he was happy… even during his last moments of living…
because Ginji was there…
…and always will be.
OWARI
A/N Well? How was it? Horrifying that Ban-sama died yes I know but what do you expect from a tearjerker, a happy ending? It was just as painful for me to write this you know…
It should make you readers happy that Ban-chan and Ginj-chan were reunited in the afterlife after some years. They even continued their antics as partners up there. So…please leave a present for the fic's desperate author (even flames would do). Thanx. 'Til my next post, Ja ne!