Aimi rushed around the corner of the street and into an alley, ducking into a familiar nook that she always hid in. She had held onto the prize for a day and was supposed to meet up with her employer tomorrow to deliver the diamond rose she had stolen for him. Unfortunately, she had come across those accursed Get Backers again and they'd interrupted her route home from her honest job at a local restaurant, and of course she had the rose on her.
She saw someone pass her and sighed. 'Good, they fell for it,' she thought, peeking her head out. When she couldn't see them, she stepped out and turned around only to be met face to face with Ban Midou. "Fancy meeting you here," she said with a smirk, meeting his eyes.
He grinned back at her and held out his hand. "The diamond, Aimi."
Without hesitation, she whirled around and bumped into Ginji Amano, the other half of their team. He smiled down at her small frame. "There's nowhere to go Aimi," he told her. "Just hand over the diamond and we'll be on our way."
She shook her head. "No. It is my job to get this thing to it's new owner. I'm not going to let you two stand in my way." She lifted her arm to punch him but stopped as she felt something hard grip the back of her neck. Her arm fell to her side as she groaned in pain. "Ban…"
"I wouldn't make any sudden movements," he said. She could just hear the smug smile in his voice, making her blood boil. He was enjoying this. "My snake bite has got a firm grip on your spinal chord. One false move and you'll be sleeping for a very long time." He moved to right behind her, his breath tickling her neck. "Just give us the diamond."
Her face grew dark as a sadistic smile came across her lips. "Just what makes you think I'm afraid of death?" she asked him. She left him no time to wonder or react. She threw her body around, ready to beat her fist into his face when they all heard a loud snap! Her eyes widened for a second before they closed and she collapsed onto him.
"Ban! What happened!" Ginji yelled, closing the distance between them and checking on her.
Ban was also feverishly checking for signs of life: breathing, a pulse, anything! He stared down at her worriedly as he stuck his fingers to her neck. "She's alive," he whispered with a sigh of relief. Then he glared at her sleeping form in anger. "How dare you risk your life like that Aimi?" he growled. He searched through her pockets and pulled out a little jewel in the shape of a rose then stood. "She'll be fine here."
"But Ban-."
"Let's go Ginji," he said, starting to walk away. "We'll come back and check on her after we've returned this, first."
Ginji sighed and stood up as well, leaving his green vest over Aimi's sleeping body. "If you think she'll be ok," he murmured, following him out of the alley.
They reached the diamond's owner's house a few minutes later and handed it over to him. "Thank you boys," he said. "You really are as good as you say you are." He motioned one of the men in suits over. "As promised, your two hundred million yen reward; cash and in full."
Ban and Ginji glowed down at the briefcase full of money. "Thank you very much for your business," Ban said with a small bow of the head. "Tell your rich friends about us! If it's missing or stolen, the Get Backers will find it!"
They grabbed the suitcase and headed over to the Honky Tonk. "Hey Ban?" Ginji started as Ban went on about all of the things they could buy with the money they'd just earned. "Something doesn't feel right."
"What, like you guys still not paying your tab even after a successful job?" Paul asked, cleaning a glass.
Ginji shook his head. "No, that's not it," he said, earning a scornful glare form Paul. "I feel like we're forgetting something."
At the exact same moment, the two Get Backers looked at each other. "Aimi!" They rushed out of the restaurant and to the alley where they had left her. When they got there though, she was gone. "Well that's weird," Ban said. "She should've been knocked out for the rest of the night at least after that blow. It's only been an hour."
He lit a cigarette as Ginji investigated further. "Hey look, it's my vest," he said, picking it up from the ground. "It was folded pretty neatly to the side."
"Then she's fine," Ban said, turning around. "A random stranger wouldn'y take the time to fold up your stupid vest. She must've woken up and done it herself then went home."
Chibi-Ginji jumped on Ban's back. "But Ban! What if she didn't wake up? What if some random stranger did fold it and she's really trapped somewhere and being tortured? We should go find her!"
Ban threw him off and took a drag. "I'll go check her apartment and make sure she's alright, ok?"
Ginji jumped up and started to march out of the alley. "I'll go too!"
"No." Ginji frowned and sulked. "I'll go alone. I'll meet you back at the Honky Tonk later."
Ginji sighed and started to walk that direction. "Fine. Be careful."
Ban scoffed and headed the opposite direction to Aimi's apartment. 'There's no way she could've recovered from that so quickly,' he thought as he walked. 'She's tough, but I had her spine. She could've died and yet she gets up and walks away from it like it was nothing?'
He entered the apartment building and trudged up the steps to the top floor. The Get Backers had encountered Aimi on numerous occasions while on a job. She was a thief and they were a recovery service. It was only natural that they'd clash and that eventually they would end of following her to her place of living. Not to mention all of the other countless visits Ban paid her while not working.
He broke into her apartment with ease and stepped inside. It was pitch black, but the moonlight seeping in through the balcony window provided enough light to see so he could maneuver his way to her bedroom. Not that he needed to see to know where that was.
"Aimi?" he called as he walked into the open room. She stirred in her bed and looked at him. He smiled and walked over. "How in the hell were you able to get back here after feeling my snake bite like you did?" he asked.
"Go away," she mumbled, rolling over so her back was towards him.
He chuckled and climbed into the bed with her. "Oh come on, don't be a sore loser," he murmured in her ear.
"I'm not. I'm being tired. You guys gave me a hard run tonight," she replied, his hand feeling up her shirt to her breast. "Besides," he squeezed, "I have nothing to be sore about."
"What is in your bra?" he asked, moving his hand inside and pulling out the hard object he'd felt. He held it up in the moonlight and saw the diamond rose that they'd recovered from her not long ago. He gaped at her uncaring body laying there, still not paying attention to him. "How did you get this?" he demanded, holding it in front of her face.
She grabbed it from his hand swiftly and snuggled into her bed more. The only reply he heard from her was, "Did you have a nice dream?"
His entire system went through a shock. "What do you mean?" He looked at the back of her neck, brushing the hair aside so he could see. There were no markings or bruises to indicated his firm grip had been there before. "You used my own Jagan against me?" She laughed softly. "But how?"
At this, she turned her head back to face him, slightly surprised at how close he was to her face. She pointed to her eye and smiled triumphantly. "Double sided mirror contacts," she told him. "I met your eyes on purpose tonight. While I could see you clearly, your Jagan only saw your own eye's reflection." She rolled back around and got comfortable again. "I got tired of you using that stupid trump card of yours on me on my jobs, so I had them custom made. Now go away, I'm tired and don't feel like it tonight."
Aimi's platonic relationship with the Get Backer wasn't something she normally refused at night. He was a great release after a stressful day of being a waitress and equally stressful nights of being a thief. But her exhaustion told her to sleep and forget about Ban Midou for the night.
Before she could get settled enough to sleep, he grabbed her wrists, flinging her on her back, and pinned them to the bed. The diamond that she was still holding on to had flown out of her hand and on the bed next to them.
Ban glared down at her from his position on top of her small body wedged between her legs. "Don't ever do that again," he growled, his face contorted in anger.
She squinted back at him in disbelief. "Do what? Protect myself and my mind from your invading jagan? I don't think so Ban! I'll do what I have to in order to complete my jobs whether you like it or not!"
"I thought you'd died!" he yelled, oblivious to the harsh squeezing he was applying to her wrists. "I thought that I'd killed you at first! You had me scared half to death! I'm serious! Don't ever wear those stupid contacts again!"
"Or what?" she challenged, fuming up at him.
Her determined glare sent him over the edge. He had to admit that the look she got in her eye when she was angry with him pushed him to do strange things. Normally, if someone was fighting with him, he'd punch them. But Aimi…
He crashed his lips down onto her own, nipping harshly at them. His hand tightened around her thin wrists and he knew there were going to be bruises there later. He even knew he was hurting her before she pulled away from his kiss to tell him.
"Ban let go of me," she breathed. She struggled against him, trying to move her body out from under his to no avail. He moved his mouth to her neck and shoulder, biting down roughly, enjoying all too much her cries of pain. "You're hurting me Ban! Let go!"
He released one of her wrists only to grab onto her hair and yank her head back for better access to the front of her throat. She used her new limited freedom to take hold of his shoulder and pull on him. No matter how much she tugged though, it was no use. He was far too strong to fight off. And it wasn't like she didn't know that. There was just no way she was going to give up without a fight.
"I mean it Ban! Get off!" she screamed.
Suddenly, he did. He sat up straight and looked down at her, smirking evilly. "Something wrong?" he asked.
She panted as she stared at him, half angry and half relieved. Her hand flew to her sore neck as she felt something wet trickling down it to her pillow. She held her fingers in front of her face and gasped slightly in shock. "You drew blood," she mused, gazing at the ruby red liquid on her finger tips.
Ban laughed at bit to himself. "That's what will happen if you don't throw out those stupid things covering your eyes."
Aimi looked between her fingers and his face. He was serious… and he was laughing about it. She slammed her fists into his chest repeatedly. "You asshole! That hurt! You think this is funny! I'm bleeding because of you and your stupid pride that I bested you with your own trump card! I hope you're happy because you will never sleep with me again!"
With ease, he took her wrists once more and pinned them to her pillow by her head. She thrashed around angrily but when she realized it only amused him more, she forced herself to calm down. "Better?" he asked, that annoying smirk still on his smug face.
She huffed a frustrated sigh. "That hurt," she growled.
He chuckled and bent back down, kissing her again, only a little more gently this time (though not much). She wrapped her legs around his waist as they did their usual midnight dance. He'd push in, she'd scream his name. She lock her lips on his, he'd slip his tongue past them. He'd bite her now bloodied neck, she'd dig her nails into his shoulder. Same routine like every other night like tonight. But of course, Aimi'd never asked for anything other.
Ban collapsed on top of her as they both panted, out of breath. One of her arms encircled around his waist while the other rested past his shoulder and stroked his sweat soaked hair; something she did out of her own liking and not for his. For some reason, she enjoyed playing with the other's hair.
A few minutes of catching their breaths and he sat up, pulling her naked body with him so she was in his lap, straddling him. "Still mad?" he asked, kissing her over and over. He moved to her throat and then down to her chest as she squeezed him to her.
"No," she answered, smiling a bit. "Are you?"
"Not really." His kisses traveled back up to her lips. He laid her back down on the bed and rolled over on his back, combing his fingers through his damp hair.
She reached over the bed and tossed him his boxers, then threw on her own underwear and made her way for the bathroom. There was a glow from the room as she turned on the light and screamed. "Goddamn!" she exclaimed, causing Ban to chuckle. "Why the hell did you bite me so hard, Ban?"
He heard the sink turn on and shrugged to himself. "I was angry and horny. Never a good combination with you around."
The water stopped running and the light flickered off. "Apparently," she mumbled, climbing back into bed, not before tossing her bloodstained pillow on the floor next to her. "I looked like a victim in a horror movie. There was so much blood on my neck."
He laughed as she curled into his body, wrapping a leg around one of his. "Sorry," he said, unapologetically. "Grab my pants for me. I want a smoke."
"Those are bad for you," she said, still getting them from the floor and handing them too him. He lit one and tossed the rest of the pack back by their clothes. She took it from his lips and took a drag from it. "Thanks."
"No problem," he replied with a half-laugh, wrapping his arm around her.
"So, you gonna stick around this time?" she asked.
He sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "You know I can't stay."
"No, I know you won't stay." She tilted her head up, resting her chin on his chest. "You'd rather sleep in a little car with a guy than sleep in my big bed with me."
"You wouldn't understand."
Aimi huffed and laid her head back in the nook of his shoulder. "Guess I'm just good enough to fuck but that's it," she grumbled.
He put his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. "That's not it," he told her, holding the cigarette to her lips for another drag. She took it and he continued with, "Besides, you're the one who wanted this to be no strings attached. Conflict of interests, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember." Smoke flitted out of her lips as she spoke. "But what is one night going to hurt? Hm?" She slid up so half of her body was on top of his and his hand that was on her shoulder fell to her bare lower back. "Just stay one night. If you don't like it, fine. I won't bother you about it anymore."
Ban sighed and smiled. "That's all it will take to shut you up?"
She rolled her eyes and laid back down against him. "See you in the morning," she said softly.
Except, when morning came and the moonlight that was streaming through her windows was replaced with sunlight, he was gone.
Aimi woke up and realized she was no longer snuggled into Ban's hard body, but to her soft pillow. She sat up and looked around. His clothes were gone and with the exception of the bloody pillow and countless marks and bruises on her body, there was no sign he was even there at all. She sighed and plopped back down. "Jerk," she muttered as something caught her eye.
She reached out and grabbed an envelope that was laying on her bed next to her. Inside was a note. She opened it and sighed.
'I stayed until you fell asleep. Thanks for the diamond. We should do this again sometime. -Ban'