Disclaimer: The Get Backers I own not. Sue me not. Speak like Yoda, I do
usually not.
Warnings: Shounen-ai (well what do you expect? Fan-girl am I), a LOT of mythology mixed into this. Also a brief note, the backwater legend Ban talks about DOES NOT EXIST as far as I know. I made it up along with the stone tears for the sake of a plot device. Everything else in here is carefully researched mythology. Gotta love Google.
Brief before-story-note: While I haven't read far enough in the manga yet, a friend of mine from school told me Ban and Ginji eventually get enough money for an apartment. So in this story they aren't house-less! Well, apartment-less anyway.
Get Back the Tears of Zhu-Que!
The day had been quiet, which was unusual at the Honky Tonk café. That was why Wan Paul and Natsumi looked up expectantly when a soft jingle at the door announced the arrival of customers. That was why Paul glowered at the two familiar faces of the blond and brunet retrieval agents who stepped in, along with a whirlwind of snow.
"I'm only serving paying customers today, Ban. If you haven't got money, get OUT." Paul punctuate the last word with a noticeable twitch. "And Natsumi isn't going to pay for you either. I won't let her." He added.
Midou Ban gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Relax Paul. We have money today."
"So that last job went well I presume?" Paul asked, his hostile demeanor vanishing in an instant.
Ginji beamed with unconcealed pride at this statement. "Yep! Ban-chan didn't even have to use the Jagan! We made... what was it again, Ban-chan?" Ginji had never been the greatest at remembering numbers.
Ban smirked, drawing a wad of cash out of his pocket and flipping his thumb through it. He loved the sound of money rustling softly, especially if it was rustling softly in his hands. "Two-hundred-thousand yen." He accentuated the statement by waving the crisp wad of brand-spankin' new bills in Paul's general direction.
Wan Paul let out a low whistle, rather impressed. "What'd you have to retrieve to make that sort of cash?"
Ginji danced from on foot to the other, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Just a vase from some crooks!"
Ban laughed out loud. "The stupid old bat who hired us, I almost feel bad, as though we gypped her or something, the job was so easy. She was pretty rich though." He stuffed the cash back into the breast pocket of his shirt.
"Ban-san, you have no conscience when it comes to money, do you?" Natsumi scolded.
"Of course not! Oooooh, the wonderful thing about money is that money's a wonderful thing--" Ban had begun singing in his giddy joy at having made so much money, but stopped abruptly when a soft chiming at the entrance of the café announced the arrival of another customer. It might be a prospective job for the Get Backers, and in the world of business decorum was imperative.
The door had swung open again and in stepped a girl with another gentle flurry from the snowstorm outside. Slight would be an appropriate term to describe the physical appearance of the girl. She had a slight frame, barely reaching five feet, a small round and somewhat pretty face with tiny lips curved into the slightest smile, high cheekbones and dark brown friendly eyes. She looked no older than sixteen. Her clothing was bright, eccentrically colorful, and heavily layered. She wore a red fleece vest over a blue and white striped blazer, a transparent plastic yellow skirt over a violet and white flower patterned skirt over an orange and yellow star patterned skirt over a pair of white, blue and neon green trousers. Her shoes were a bright yellow and the chunky heels gave her the two inches she needed to not be legally classified as a midget. He hair was cut off evenly below her earlobes and dyed a florescent green. Her wool cap was a light blue and the rim came down to her eyebrows, a fringe of her bright green hair sticking out awkwardly. She was a bizarre sight, but radiated the same sort friendly cheerfulness as Ginji, and her slight build hardly made her seem intimidating. Ban and Ginji watched, perplexed, as she looked around slowly, her gaze falling on the pair of retrieval agents.
"Are you guys the Get Backers?" She asked, shuffling in a slightly nervous manner.
Ban nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, that's us. We have a 100% success rate, but let me tell you, we don't work for free," he boasted the not-quite accurate figure.
The girl also nodded, toying with a strand of florescent hair. "I know that. I don't expect anyone to work for free," she flashed what seemed to be a knowing smile at Paul, who gave her an incredulous look, but quickly returned her attention to Ban and Ginji. "And money doesn't matter to me, so please name your price."
Ginji clapped his hands together in utter delight. "Hooray! We just finished a well paying job and now we get to start another one! Ban-chan, I think the Get Backers are growing in popularity!"
Ban smirked, but said nothing. He was watching the small girl who was staring back at them with a calculating look in her eyes. Now that he thought about it, her gaze was slightly unnerving, as if she could look through at someone's very soul. Ban had a feeling his brown-nosing-the- client façade more than likely not going to work on this girl who looked like she just arrived from mars and only had the vaguest idea of how to put clothing together.
Meanwhile the young girl reached into her pocket and produced... something. She was holding whatever it was tightly in the palm of her hand, so Ban and Ginji couldn't see.
"You guys gotta promise.... You guys gotta promise not to take it if I show it to you."
Ban and Ginji exchanged glances, then their turned back to the bizarre girl.
"Right, we promise we won't take it." Ban said reassuringly. This was beginning to confuse him.
The girl unclosed her fingers, and there, resting in the palm of her hands was a small earring. A clear shimmering stud set in sterling silver glinted up at Ban and Ginji in the dim light of the café. Upon closer inspection, the stud gave off a faint glow that had nothing to do with reflecting the light in the café. There was something almost eerie about the way the stone shined.
"It's one of a pair. The other was stolen from my home by..." she paused, her expression thoughtful "... some burglars. Had I not been there, they might have stolen both... but I need the other one back, because they'll want this one without a doubt."
Ginji studied the earring for a moment. "It's very pretty, but I don't think burglars would risk coming back for it."
"Oh they would alright," Ban said knowingly, "If that's what I think it is," he tapped his finger on the crystal clear stone, "then they'll be more determined to snatch it from you than anything. What's your name kid, and how did you get a hold of these?"
The girl stared up at Ban, momentarily taken a-back, but seemed to recover quickly. "My name is Mei Noches."
Ban smirked, and closed the girl's hand over the earring. That explained everything.
"Figures. You're Maria's apprentice, aren't you?"
Mei nodded. "I can't give you my real name. I'm sorry."
"No, that's quite alright. If you're her apprentice, she'd have trained you not to give your true surname so she's got you using hers. That's powerful magic, and if we're going to be dealing with people who know about the Stone Phoenix Tears, then the last thing we need is someone to have power over our client. How much has Maria taught you?"
Mei shuffled nervously again from one foot to another.
"I've been her apprentice for six years, so I'm clear on the basics. I know quite a few difficult spells and uh..."
"And...?" Ban coaxed.
"Promise not to tell Lady Maria?"
Ban sighed in exasperation. What was with this kid and promises?
"I'd rather slit my own throat than tell her." He replied.
"I taught myself some of the more high level spells. I don't know if I'm any good, 'cuz I obviously can't practice them, but I understand the process and theories."
Ban listened as Mei continued.
"I need to get the other earring back, you see. Lady Maria trusted me to guard the tears, so I made them into earrings. That way they'd always be with me, well protected. But these strange men broke into my room and snatched them from the box I kept them in. I used a fire spell on one of them, and he dropped the earrings. I managed to grab one which rolled to my- "
"That's enough Mei. I don't need a blow by blow description of how the earrings were separated. What I need to know is do you know who stole them?"
Mei shook her head.
Ban sighed and slumped down in a chair. Ginji, Paul and Natsumi were watching quietly from the sidelines as Mei explained the situation.
"Mei, listen to me carefully," Ban said slowly when the girl had finished talking, "I want you to stay at Maria's side at all times until Ginji and I resolve this."
"So you'll take the job?" Mei's expression lit up and she clapped her hands together in delight.
Ban smirked, but nodded.
"Yeah, I'll take the job. I lived with Maria for a while. I know what it's like to have to.... deal with her. Just stick close to her. She'll be able to protect you and the other tear. Let Ginji and me take care of the bastards who robbed you."
---------------
Mei left the café shortly after Ban accepted to take on the mission. When she did however, Ginji immediately took a seat next to Ban, looking a little stunned.
"So Maria has an apprentice?" Said Ginji happily. He liked Maria. He had never had an Auntie figure in his life, but she fit the role perfectly.
"For six years it seems." Ban replied, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. It wasn't that he hated Maria. The woman was bouncy (in more ways than one) and had a wonderful personality. It was just that she was so overbearing at times. And the fact she was nearly a century old was enough to turn Ban's insides to ice water.
"So what are the Stone Phoenix Tears? And how do you know about them?" Ginji inquired.
Ban sighed, as Natsumi set down two mugs of coffee before each of the retrieval agents. She'd come back to get their order when they were done talking business. For now, she'd settle for listening. Some of the jobs the Get Backers got were too interesting to not listen in on.
"The Stone Phoenix Tears come from a statue of the ancient Chinese God of the southern empires. It's a backwater country legend but the phoenix god Zhu-Que, in Japan called Suzaku when attacked by heretics was said to cry two tears to mourn its fate before turning to stone. The statue was said to be lost or destroyed by heretics but they kept the tears. The tears had crystallized and embodied the sacred beasts most treasured power..."
Ginji was enraptured by the tale, as was Natsumi. Even Paul had stopped polishing glasses to listen intently.
"What was the most treasured power?"
"To grant the deepest, most desperate desires of the one who possessed both tears."
A long silence crept through the room. It didn't take much to imagine what could happen if some of the people the Get Backers were familiar with got a hold of something like that. Akabane, for example. Ginji visibly shuddered.
"As for how I know about them, well, that's my little secret." Ban added, breaking the silence and he drew another drag from his cigarette.
"I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess this isn't your average job?" Paul said, producing that day's newspaper from under the table. He skimmed the headlines, and turned the pages to the section with the crossword puzzle.
Ban, for once didn't reply with a scathing remark. "No. People who can risk robbing a witch, especially a witch like Maria Noches, for something that's out of a backwater legend like that, are either very powerful or very stupid. And I don't think these people are stupid if they knew to get the tears off of the apprentice." He sighed, slumping forward. "Trouble is, there are countless smart, powerful people in Mugenjou and Shinjuku alone who'd be willing to rob a witch, that I don't know where to begin. No this is definitely not our average job," he said with a grimace, "this is somewhat personal."
Ban stood slowly, and stretched his long limbs. "But the Get Backers have never failed yet. Let's hit the sack Ginji. I'll figure this out in the morning."
"Oh, Ban, you might want to use some of your payment on that last job for some of you tab here." Paul said, scribbling in an answer to one of the crosswords clues.
"Shit!" Ban bellowed, causing everyone in the café to near as damn it leap out of their skins.
"What's the matter Ban-chan?" Ginji cried, concern etched all over his face. "Did you stub your toe?"
"I forgot to ask that little midget witch-girl about payment!" Ban wailed mournfully.
"Ban-chan! Don't call her that! Mei-chan is nice!"
"Well, she is, she's this tidgy little thing." Ban said defensively. "We'll just have to go talk to her about it tomorrow."
Ginji nodded and bade his farewell to Natsumi and Paul as Ban paid for their coffee.
---------------
"So the Stone Phoenix Tears will grant anything you want, in the entire world?" Natsumi exclaimed excitedly when the two had left, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down for a break. "What would you wish for, Teacher?" She asked suddenly.
"Mm ..." Paul mused for a few minutes, filling in a few words in a crossword puzzle he had set down on the counter. "I'd wish that Ban would actually pay his tab once in while. But he seems to have no trouble paying the rent, so it's not too bad. Maybe a new coffee machine?" He shrugged and Natsumi laughed. "Well, what would you wish for, Natsumi?" He inquired defensively when her laughter finally subsided.
Now it was Natsumi's turn to look thoughtful. A long, ponderous silence permeated the room before Natsumi spoke again. "I'd wish for... for there to always be time later."
Paul looked up, mildly puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"
"Well," Natsumi laughed again although Paul failed to see what was funny. "My days are always so packed what with school and work and chores at home. Then there'll be college and then I'll have to get a job, then I'll probably get married and have kids. I know that sounds like a wonderful life for some people, but watching Ban and Ginji and everyone come in here, I got to thinking."
Paul was looking up at Natsumi from his crossword puzzle, his brow furrowed. "What do Ban and Ginji and everyone's lives have that the one you just described doesn't?"
"Well..." Natsumi began slowly. "Their lives have.... Life. There's always time for them to do what they like. With the way they live fate draws them to eachother and... and there's something tangible between all of them, a bond there that I've never seen at school or at home or even on the streets. I want to have time to have a bond with someone like that."
Paul gave a weary sigh and set down his crossword puzzle.
"Natsumi, listen to me carefully. I don't want you going through life without knowing what connects these people to eachother. These people, Ban, Ginji, Kazuki, Shido, everyone, the bond that holds them together is loss. Each of them has lost someone precious to them, and the grief, the overwhelming guilt, they all have that in common, and that draws people like them together like metal to a magnet. While they don't talk about it, you can see it in their eyes... a dead hollow look. They aren't grand adventurers and treasure hunters like Indiana Jones, so don't romanticize them like that. They are what they are because they've seen Hell. Natsumi, do you really want to go through that? Just to get close to somebody?"
Natsumi shook her head, stunned.
Paul smiled, and lifted his crossword puzzle once again. "I didn't mean to be so blunt about it, but I didn't want to mince words either. You're an intelligent person, so I don't think sugarcoating the truth would be any good for you."
"No, it's alright. Thank you, Teacher."
"It's getting late. You better head home. I can close up by myself tonight."
Natsumi nodded and finished her coffee.
---------------
When Natsumi stepped out of the Honky Tonk into the bitter cold air, Paul was switching off the coffee machines. She glanced around the nigh deserted city and smiled. Christmas decorations hung on dimly lit shop windows, wreaths hung from the street lamps which cast faint yellow glows on the snow covered road. Already Ban's gray ladybug had a two-inch blanket of snow on it. Natsumi exhaled a cloud of mist that drifted off into obscurity and started heading home.
The Mugenjou leered through the snowy night, as if to intimidate any stragglers into scurrying back to their safe warm homes.
Natsumi wasn't easily intimidated.
---------------
Ban stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. Ginji was sprawled out on the musty couch, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face when Ban took a seat on an arm of the sofa, rubbing the towel over his damp torso. Ginji didn't look up.
Ban sighed and set the towel down. "S'matter Ginji? You've been quiet the whole damn day. It's kinda creepy." Ban reached for a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table, opened it, and pulled one out with his teeth. After lighting the cigarette, Ginji still hadn't replied.
"C'mon, out with it." Ban swatted Ginji's shoulder lightly. The blond boy looked up, eyebrows raised as if seeing Ban for the first time.
"Huh?" Came the response.
Ban sighed and threw up his arms in exasperation. "Idiot. Stay in the real world. Now, what's wrong with you? You've been spacing out all day."
Ginji was quiet for a long while. Ban was about to ask again when Ginji spoke, slowly and carefully.
"Ban-chan.... What would happen to Get Backers if... if you got married?"
Midou Ban nearly choked in surprise.
"Married?"
Ginji nodded and Ban made a distasteful face.
"Married?!"
Ginji looked a little surprised at Ban's reaction.
"Ginji, I don't understand why you go off on tangents like that. Do I look like I'm going to get married anytime soon? Jeez, I just turned twenty. Besides, who the Hell would marry me?"
"Hevn?"
Ban managed to catch himself before he choked in surprise again.
"Hevn. is a bit too old for me. And wa-haaaaaaay out of my league."
"Himiko?"
"Himiko would probably poison the wedding cake. Besides, I think she's a lesbian."
"A what?"
"Nevermind."
"What about Natsumi?"
"That would be on the 'Hell no' meter. Can we say 'jailbait'? Furthermore, why are you asking about my love life? You think I'd just run off and leave you and the Get Backers for some... some woman?" Ban looked absolutely incredulous. It was too weird for Ginji to be asking about things like this.
Ginji sat up slowly and shrugged. "Sometimes... sometimes I get to thinking, and then I realize... I realize Ban-chan is the only thing keeping me from going back with them!"
Ban stared down, open mouthed at Ginji who was looking everywhere in the room except at his partner. He did not need to ask 'go back where?' or 'with whom?' because Ban knew. Ginji had often talked about his fears of returning to the Mugenjou with the former members of his gang, and made it quite clear he had no desire to do so with out raising merry Hell. And while Ban knew it, and Ginji knew it, that Ban was all that kept Ginji from going back, it had never been said.
The dark haired man slid off the arm of the tattered old couch, somehow managing to keep his towel in place and sunk down on the cushion beside Ginji.
"Ginji, I want you to listen to me very carefully..."
It was a rare moment, where Ban's voice would become soft and gentle. The man would lay a hand on Ginji's shoulder to assure the blond that he was indeed there. But Ginji liked Ban's eyes best. The dark eyebrows would be furrowed in concern, and the eyes shone with affection. It was these eyes Ginji loved best about Ban because they were only for him. They looked like an ocean on a hot sunny summer day and if Ginji worshipped anything besides Ban-chan, it was the ocean.
"...God I hate this sappy talk, but listen, I ain't running off with no woman. I'm never leaving you alone. You're stuck with me, like it or not because we're partners..."
"...And friends?"
"BEST friends." Ban said firmly. He gave Ginji's shoulder a squeeze and smirked. But even with his 'do your worst' smirk plastered on his rugged face, his eyes were still gentle. Ginji smiled up at Ban, relieved.
There was a knocking on the door.
Ban and Ginji startled, having not realized they were staring back at eachother for what must have been at least five minutes.
"I'll get it," Ginji said happily, because he didn't want Ban answering the door in only a towel. The brunet had been complaining for the past few days that people were 'getting funny ideas'. Ginji could only smile and nod with a vacant expression on his face until Ban explained what he meant by 'funny ideas'.
Ban slumped back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. What the Hell had that been about? Now that he got to thinking about it, he realized that he had been unable to tear his eyes from Ginji. He also had to take deep breaths because his heart was going a million miles a second. And most importantly, he didn't mind a bit. Sure he didn't like it when people when they asked how long he and Ginji had been 'together', or when he overheard some punk in the Honky Tonk call him a faggot (this remark had been met with a 200kg punch. Thankfully Natsumi had also heard the man and saved Ban and Ginji from being forced out of the café for good by Paul), or when people on the streets shot them funny looks. But gay had never really bothered Ban. It didn't strike him as wrong or disgusting. He didn't have parents that would kick him out, so he didn't have to deal with the consequences of family members. As for friends? Well, Ginji would be a bit too dense to care, Hevn wouldn't mind, Himiko was more than likely a lesbian herself, and to top it all off he had caught the thread-spool Kazuki and the porcupine Juubei in a private moment less than two weeks ago. It hadn't bothered him a bit. In fact he had felt a little happy for the two of them... and a little envious. So maybe he was gay? No, he definitely liked women. They were soft and beautiful, and could be tough as nails and that was a major turn on. But maybe guys as well? Ban took a long and final drag of his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray on the coffee table. He'd have to think about it some more, later.
Ginji returned from the door, holding a large brown envelope, bulging with countless unknown papers.
"No one was there, but someone left this." Ginji handed the envelope to Ban and sat down beside his partner. Ban turned the envelope over, examining it thoughtfully.
"It says something on the front of the envelope... 'a gift from...." Shit that's Chinese... 'B... Bai... H... Hu...' Bai Hu? 'A gift from Bai Hu'?" Ban raised a brow at Ginji who stared up at him equally perplexed.
"Do you know Bai Hu?"
Ban shook his head. "Only as a Buddhist mythological character. Bai Hu is the Chinese name of the tiger, Byakko from the Si Xiang." Ginji stared up at Ban blankly. "Like Zhu Que is Suzaku?" Ban added.
"Oh! So, does that mean he's Suzaku's friend? Is Suzaku's friend helping us?" Ginji laughed. "I bet if this Bi-Hue is a tiger, Shido would know him!"
"That's Bai Hu. But I don't think it's the actual deity. It's probably just an alias for someone who knows something about the missing tear." Ban tossed the envelope on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. "But we'll worry about it tomorrow. For now I just wanna get some sleep."
Ginji pouted.
"But Baaaaaaaaan-chaaaaaan, I wanna see what's in the envelope!"
"In the morning." Ban snapped. "I'm too tired to be translating damn Chinese in the middle of the night. Get some sleep."
Ginji sighed, staring longingly at the envelope but didn't protest further as Ban got up to extend the couch into a bed that could fit two to three people. Ban was rather pleased with the second hand couch that had a dual purpose. It saved him having to spend another 50,000 yen on a bed that he and Ginji would only bicker over anyway. Besides, he had gotten used to having Ginji sleeping at his side in the car during the day's before they had an apartment. With the extendable couch it was the same, only a lot more comfortable, and Ban didn't have to worry about banging his knee on the steering wheel.
When they had settled into bed and switched off the lights, Ban found himself thinking again.
He could understand why Ginji worried about him leaving. Sometimes he thought about what would happen if he lost Ginji and realized that he couldn't bear to live.
End of Part 1.
Ai-chan: whooo-ee, that was fun! I love these two lotsalots! They make such a pretty couple. Anyway, I'm trying to keep in the spirit of Get Backers here, and with all this Buddhist mythology I don't want it to end up sounding like an FY fic! (Note: if you don't want your fics turning out icky like mine, never watch Fushigi Yuugi and Get Backers in a row!). Anyway, Maria will be appearing in the next chapter. I love Maria, as much as a girl can love a manga character so for you lot who no like the bouncy- bounce crew of GB, I make face at you! :P Now a few end of fic notes.
Note 1: Mei Noches, the apprentice to Maria Noches, is based on my friend from school, Mei (I will not post her last name here because of icky stalker people). She's helping me write this fic and giving me all sorts of tidbits into the Buddhist faith. Best of all she's Chinese and thus knows all the Chinese names of the four gods that has helped me lotsalots! Thank you Mei! You're too damn cool for words! Although in real life Mei-chan isn't as short as the Mei in this fic! Soz Mei!
Note 2: A few translations are in order!
Zhu Que : Suzaku : Red Phoenix
Bai Hu : Byakko : Tiger King (Or White Tiger)
Si Xiang : Four Cardinal Directions
Warnings: Shounen-ai (well what do you expect? Fan-girl am I), a LOT of mythology mixed into this. Also a brief note, the backwater legend Ban talks about DOES NOT EXIST as far as I know. I made it up along with the stone tears for the sake of a plot device. Everything else in here is carefully researched mythology. Gotta love Google.
Brief before-story-note: While I haven't read far enough in the manga yet, a friend of mine from school told me Ban and Ginji eventually get enough money for an apartment. So in this story they aren't house-less! Well, apartment-less anyway.
Get Back the Tears of Zhu-Que!
The day had been quiet, which was unusual at the Honky Tonk café. That was why Wan Paul and Natsumi looked up expectantly when a soft jingle at the door announced the arrival of customers. That was why Paul glowered at the two familiar faces of the blond and brunet retrieval agents who stepped in, along with a whirlwind of snow.
"I'm only serving paying customers today, Ban. If you haven't got money, get OUT." Paul punctuate the last word with a noticeable twitch. "And Natsumi isn't going to pay for you either. I won't let her." He added.
Midou Ban gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Relax Paul. We have money today."
"So that last job went well I presume?" Paul asked, his hostile demeanor vanishing in an instant.
Ginji beamed with unconcealed pride at this statement. "Yep! Ban-chan didn't even have to use the Jagan! We made... what was it again, Ban-chan?" Ginji had never been the greatest at remembering numbers.
Ban smirked, drawing a wad of cash out of his pocket and flipping his thumb through it. He loved the sound of money rustling softly, especially if it was rustling softly in his hands. "Two-hundred-thousand yen." He accentuated the statement by waving the crisp wad of brand-spankin' new bills in Paul's general direction.
Wan Paul let out a low whistle, rather impressed. "What'd you have to retrieve to make that sort of cash?"
Ginji danced from on foot to the other, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Just a vase from some crooks!"
Ban laughed out loud. "The stupid old bat who hired us, I almost feel bad, as though we gypped her or something, the job was so easy. She was pretty rich though." He stuffed the cash back into the breast pocket of his shirt.
"Ban-san, you have no conscience when it comes to money, do you?" Natsumi scolded.
"Of course not! Oooooh, the wonderful thing about money is that money's a wonderful thing--" Ban had begun singing in his giddy joy at having made so much money, but stopped abruptly when a soft chiming at the entrance of the café announced the arrival of another customer. It might be a prospective job for the Get Backers, and in the world of business decorum was imperative.
The door had swung open again and in stepped a girl with another gentle flurry from the snowstorm outside. Slight would be an appropriate term to describe the physical appearance of the girl. She had a slight frame, barely reaching five feet, a small round and somewhat pretty face with tiny lips curved into the slightest smile, high cheekbones and dark brown friendly eyes. She looked no older than sixteen. Her clothing was bright, eccentrically colorful, and heavily layered. She wore a red fleece vest over a blue and white striped blazer, a transparent plastic yellow skirt over a violet and white flower patterned skirt over an orange and yellow star patterned skirt over a pair of white, blue and neon green trousers. Her shoes were a bright yellow and the chunky heels gave her the two inches she needed to not be legally classified as a midget. He hair was cut off evenly below her earlobes and dyed a florescent green. Her wool cap was a light blue and the rim came down to her eyebrows, a fringe of her bright green hair sticking out awkwardly. She was a bizarre sight, but radiated the same sort friendly cheerfulness as Ginji, and her slight build hardly made her seem intimidating. Ban and Ginji watched, perplexed, as she looked around slowly, her gaze falling on the pair of retrieval agents.
"Are you guys the Get Backers?" She asked, shuffling in a slightly nervous manner.
Ban nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, that's us. We have a 100% success rate, but let me tell you, we don't work for free," he boasted the not-quite accurate figure.
The girl also nodded, toying with a strand of florescent hair. "I know that. I don't expect anyone to work for free," she flashed what seemed to be a knowing smile at Paul, who gave her an incredulous look, but quickly returned her attention to Ban and Ginji. "And money doesn't matter to me, so please name your price."
Ginji clapped his hands together in utter delight. "Hooray! We just finished a well paying job and now we get to start another one! Ban-chan, I think the Get Backers are growing in popularity!"
Ban smirked, but said nothing. He was watching the small girl who was staring back at them with a calculating look in her eyes. Now that he thought about it, her gaze was slightly unnerving, as if she could look through at someone's very soul. Ban had a feeling his brown-nosing-the- client façade more than likely not going to work on this girl who looked like she just arrived from mars and only had the vaguest idea of how to put clothing together.
Meanwhile the young girl reached into her pocket and produced... something. She was holding whatever it was tightly in the palm of her hand, so Ban and Ginji couldn't see.
"You guys gotta promise.... You guys gotta promise not to take it if I show it to you."
Ban and Ginji exchanged glances, then their turned back to the bizarre girl.
"Right, we promise we won't take it." Ban said reassuringly. This was beginning to confuse him.
The girl unclosed her fingers, and there, resting in the palm of her hands was a small earring. A clear shimmering stud set in sterling silver glinted up at Ban and Ginji in the dim light of the café. Upon closer inspection, the stud gave off a faint glow that had nothing to do with reflecting the light in the café. There was something almost eerie about the way the stone shined.
"It's one of a pair. The other was stolen from my home by..." she paused, her expression thoughtful "... some burglars. Had I not been there, they might have stolen both... but I need the other one back, because they'll want this one without a doubt."
Ginji studied the earring for a moment. "It's very pretty, but I don't think burglars would risk coming back for it."
"Oh they would alright," Ban said knowingly, "If that's what I think it is," he tapped his finger on the crystal clear stone, "then they'll be more determined to snatch it from you than anything. What's your name kid, and how did you get a hold of these?"
The girl stared up at Ban, momentarily taken a-back, but seemed to recover quickly. "My name is Mei Noches."
Ban smirked, and closed the girl's hand over the earring. That explained everything.
"Figures. You're Maria's apprentice, aren't you?"
Mei nodded. "I can't give you my real name. I'm sorry."
"No, that's quite alright. If you're her apprentice, she'd have trained you not to give your true surname so she's got you using hers. That's powerful magic, and if we're going to be dealing with people who know about the Stone Phoenix Tears, then the last thing we need is someone to have power over our client. How much has Maria taught you?"
Mei shuffled nervously again from one foot to another.
"I've been her apprentice for six years, so I'm clear on the basics. I know quite a few difficult spells and uh..."
"And...?" Ban coaxed.
"Promise not to tell Lady Maria?"
Ban sighed in exasperation. What was with this kid and promises?
"I'd rather slit my own throat than tell her." He replied.
"I taught myself some of the more high level spells. I don't know if I'm any good, 'cuz I obviously can't practice them, but I understand the process and theories."
Ban listened as Mei continued.
"I need to get the other earring back, you see. Lady Maria trusted me to guard the tears, so I made them into earrings. That way they'd always be with me, well protected. But these strange men broke into my room and snatched them from the box I kept them in. I used a fire spell on one of them, and he dropped the earrings. I managed to grab one which rolled to my- "
"That's enough Mei. I don't need a blow by blow description of how the earrings were separated. What I need to know is do you know who stole them?"
Mei shook her head.
Ban sighed and slumped down in a chair. Ginji, Paul and Natsumi were watching quietly from the sidelines as Mei explained the situation.
"Mei, listen to me carefully," Ban said slowly when the girl had finished talking, "I want you to stay at Maria's side at all times until Ginji and I resolve this."
"So you'll take the job?" Mei's expression lit up and she clapped her hands together in delight.
Ban smirked, but nodded.
"Yeah, I'll take the job. I lived with Maria for a while. I know what it's like to have to.... deal with her. Just stick close to her. She'll be able to protect you and the other tear. Let Ginji and me take care of the bastards who robbed you."
---------------
Mei left the café shortly after Ban accepted to take on the mission. When she did however, Ginji immediately took a seat next to Ban, looking a little stunned.
"So Maria has an apprentice?" Said Ginji happily. He liked Maria. He had never had an Auntie figure in his life, but she fit the role perfectly.
"For six years it seems." Ban replied, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. It wasn't that he hated Maria. The woman was bouncy (in more ways than one) and had a wonderful personality. It was just that she was so overbearing at times. And the fact she was nearly a century old was enough to turn Ban's insides to ice water.
"So what are the Stone Phoenix Tears? And how do you know about them?" Ginji inquired.
Ban sighed, as Natsumi set down two mugs of coffee before each of the retrieval agents. She'd come back to get their order when they were done talking business. For now, she'd settle for listening. Some of the jobs the Get Backers got were too interesting to not listen in on.
"The Stone Phoenix Tears come from a statue of the ancient Chinese God of the southern empires. It's a backwater country legend but the phoenix god Zhu-Que, in Japan called Suzaku when attacked by heretics was said to cry two tears to mourn its fate before turning to stone. The statue was said to be lost or destroyed by heretics but they kept the tears. The tears had crystallized and embodied the sacred beasts most treasured power..."
Ginji was enraptured by the tale, as was Natsumi. Even Paul had stopped polishing glasses to listen intently.
"What was the most treasured power?"
"To grant the deepest, most desperate desires of the one who possessed both tears."
A long silence crept through the room. It didn't take much to imagine what could happen if some of the people the Get Backers were familiar with got a hold of something like that. Akabane, for example. Ginji visibly shuddered.
"As for how I know about them, well, that's my little secret." Ban added, breaking the silence and he drew another drag from his cigarette.
"I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess this isn't your average job?" Paul said, producing that day's newspaper from under the table. He skimmed the headlines, and turned the pages to the section with the crossword puzzle.
Ban, for once didn't reply with a scathing remark. "No. People who can risk robbing a witch, especially a witch like Maria Noches, for something that's out of a backwater legend like that, are either very powerful or very stupid. And I don't think these people are stupid if they knew to get the tears off of the apprentice." He sighed, slumping forward. "Trouble is, there are countless smart, powerful people in Mugenjou and Shinjuku alone who'd be willing to rob a witch, that I don't know where to begin. No this is definitely not our average job," he said with a grimace, "this is somewhat personal."
Ban stood slowly, and stretched his long limbs. "But the Get Backers have never failed yet. Let's hit the sack Ginji. I'll figure this out in the morning."
"Oh, Ban, you might want to use some of your payment on that last job for some of you tab here." Paul said, scribbling in an answer to one of the crosswords clues.
"Shit!" Ban bellowed, causing everyone in the café to near as damn it leap out of their skins.
"What's the matter Ban-chan?" Ginji cried, concern etched all over his face. "Did you stub your toe?"
"I forgot to ask that little midget witch-girl about payment!" Ban wailed mournfully.
"Ban-chan! Don't call her that! Mei-chan is nice!"
"Well, she is, she's this tidgy little thing." Ban said defensively. "We'll just have to go talk to her about it tomorrow."
Ginji nodded and bade his farewell to Natsumi and Paul as Ban paid for their coffee.
---------------
"So the Stone Phoenix Tears will grant anything you want, in the entire world?" Natsumi exclaimed excitedly when the two had left, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down for a break. "What would you wish for, Teacher?" She asked suddenly.
"Mm ..." Paul mused for a few minutes, filling in a few words in a crossword puzzle he had set down on the counter. "I'd wish that Ban would actually pay his tab once in while. But he seems to have no trouble paying the rent, so it's not too bad. Maybe a new coffee machine?" He shrugged and Natsumi laughed. "Well, what would you wish for, Natsumi?" He inquired defensively when her laughter finally subsided.
Now it was Natsumi's turn to look thoughtful. A long, ponderous silence permeated the room before Natsumi spoke again. "I'd wish for... for there to always be time later."
Paul looked up, mildly puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"
"Well," Natsumi laughed again although Paul failed to see what was funny. "My days are always so packed what with school and work and chores at home. Then there'll be college and then I'll have to get a job, then I'll probably get married and have kids. I know that sounds like a wonderful life for some people, but watching Ban and Ginji and everyone come in here, I got to thinking."
Paul was looking up at Natsumi from his crossword puzzle, his brow furrowed. "What do Ban and Ginji and everyone's lives have that the one you just described doesn't?"
"Well..." Natsumi began slowly. "Their lives have.... Life. There's always time for them to do what they like. With the way they live fate draws them to eachother and... and there's something tangible between all of them, a bond there that I've never seen at school or at home or even on the streets. I want to have time to have a bond with someone like that."
Paul gave a weary sigh and set down his crossword puzzle.
"Natsumi, listen to me carefully. I don't want you going through life without knowing what connects these people to eachother. These people, Ban, Ginji, Kazuki, Shido, everyone, the bond that holds them together is loss. Each of them has lost someone precious to them, and the grief, the overwhelming guilt, they all have that in common, and that draws people like them together like metal to a magnet. While they don't talk about it, you can see it in their eyes... a dead hollow look. They aren't grand adventurers and treasure hunters like Indiana Jones, so don't romanticize them like that. They are what they are because they've seen Hell. Natsumi, do you really want to go through that? Just to get close to somebody?"
Natsumi shook her head, stunned.
Paul smiled, and lifted his crossword puzzle once again. "I didn't mean to be so blunt about it, but I didn't want to mince words either. You're an intelligent person, so I don't think sugarcoating the truth would be any good for you."
"No, it's alright. Thank you, Teacher."
"It's getting late. You better head home. I can close up by myself tonight."
Natsumi nodded and finished her coffee.
---------------
When Natsumi stepped out of the Honky Tonk into the bitter cold air, Paul was switching off the coffee machines. She glanced around the nigh deserted city and smiled. Christmas decorations hung on dimly lit shop windows, wreaths hung from the street lamps which cast faint yellow glows on the snow covered road. Already Ban's gray ladybug had a two-inch blanket of snow on it. Natsumi exhaled a cloud of mist that drifted off into obscurity and started heading home.
The Mugenjou leered through the snowy night, as if to intimidate any stragglers into scurrying back to their safe warm homes.
Natsumi wasn't easily intimidated.
---------------
Ban stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. Ginji was sprawled out on the musty couch, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face when Ban took a seat on an arm of the sofa, rubbing the towel over his damp torso. Ginji didn't look up.
Ban sighed and set the towel down. "S'matter Ginji? You've been quiet the whole damn day. It's kinda creepy." Ban reached for a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table, opened it, and pulled one out with his teeth. After lighting the cigarette, Ginji still hadn't replied.
"C'mon, out with it." Ban swatted Ginji's shoulder lightly. The blond boy looked up, eyebrows raised as if seeing Ban for the first time.
"Huh?" Came the response.
Ban sighed and threw up his arms in exasperation. "Idiot. Stay in the real world. Now, what's wrong with you? You've been spacing out all day."
Ginji was quiet for a long while. Ban was about to ask again when Ginji spoke, slowly and carefully.
"Ban-chan.... What would happen to Get Backers if... if you got married?"
Midou Ban nearly choked in surprise.
"Married?"
Ginji nodded and Ban made a distasteful face.
"Married?!"
Ginji looked a little surprised at Ban's reaction.
"Ginji, I don't understand why you go off on tangents like that. Do I look like I'm going to get married anytime soon? Jeez, I just turned twenty. Besides, who the Hell would marry me?"
"Hevn?"
Ban managed to catch himself before he choked in surprise again.
"Hevn. is a bit too old for me. And wa-haaaaaaay out of my league."
"Himiko?"
"Himiko would probably poison the wedding cake. Besides, I think she's a lesbian."
"A what?"
"Nevermind."
"What about Natsumi?"
"That would be on the 'Hell no' meter. Can we say 'jailbait'? Furthermore, why are you asking about my love life? You think I'd just run off and leave you and the Get Backers for some... some woman?" Ban looked absolutely incredulous. It was too weird for Ginji to be asking about things like this.
Ginji sat up slowly and shrugged. "Sometimes... sometimes I get to thinking, and then I realize... I realize Ban-chan is the only thing keeping me from going back with them!"
Ban stared down, open mouthed at Ginji who was looking everywhere in the room except at his partner. He did not need to ask 'go back where?' or 'with whom?' because Ban knew. Ginji had often talked about his fears of returning to the Mugenjou with the former members of his gang, and made it quite clear he had no desire to do so with out raising merry Hell. And while Ban knew it, and Ginji knew it, that Ban was all that kept Ginji from going back, it had never been said.
The dark haired man slid off the arm of the tattered old couch, somehow managing to keep his towel in place and sunk down on the cushion beside Ginji.
"Ginji, I want you to listen to me very carefully..."
It was a rare moment, where Ban's voice would become soft and gentle. The man would lay a hand on Ginji's shoulder to assure the blond that he was indeed there. But Ginji liked Ban's eyes best. The dark eyebrows would be furrowed in concern, and the eyes shone with affection. It was these eyes Ginji loved best about Ban because they were only for him. They looked like an ocean on a hot sunny summer day and if Ginji worshipped anything besides Ban-chan, it was the ocean.
"...God I hate this sappy talk, but listen, I ain't running off with no woman. I'm never leaving you alone. You're stuck with me, like it or not because we're partners..."
"...And friends?"
"BEST friends." Ban said firmly. He gave Ginji's shoulder a squeeze and smirked. But even with his 'do your worst' smirk plastered on his rugged face, his eyes were still gentle. Ginji smiled up at Ban, relieved.
There was a knocking on the door.
Ban and Ginji startled, having not realized they were staring back at eachother for what must have been at least five minutes.
"I'll get it," Ginji said happily, because he didn't want Ban answering the door in only a towel. The brunet had been complaining for the past few days that people were 'getting funny ideas'. Ginji could only smile and nod with a vacant expression on his face until Ban explained what he meant by 'funny ideas'.
Ban slumped back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. What the Hell had that been about? Now that he got to thinking about it, he realized that he had been unable to tear his eyes from Ginji. He also had to take deep breaths because his heart was going a million miles a second. And most importantly, he didn't mind a bit. Sure he didn't like it when people when they asked how long he and Ginji had been 'together', or when he overheard some punk in the Honky Tonk call him a faggot (this remark had been met with a 200kg punch. Thankfully Natsumi had also heard the man and saved Ban and Ginji from being forced out of the café for good by Paul), or when people on the streets shot them funny looks. But gay had never really bothered Ban. It didn't strike him as wrong or disgusting. He didn't have parents that would kick him out, so he didn't have to deal with the consequences of family members. As for friends? Well, Ginji would be a bit too dense to care, Hevn wouldn't mind, Himiko was more than likely a lesbian herself, and to top it all off he had caught the thread-spool Kazuki and the porcupine Juubei in a private moment less than two weeks ago. It hadn't bothered him a bit. In fact he had felt a little happy for the two of them... and a little envious. So maybe he was gay? No, he definitely liked women. They were soft and beautiful, and could be tough as nails and that was a major turn on. But maybe guys as well? Ban took a long and final drag of his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray on the coffee table. He'd have to think about it some more, later.
Ginji returned from the door, holding a large brown envelope, bulging with countless unknown papers.
"No one was there, but someone left this." Ginji handed the envelope to Ban and sat down beside his partner. Ban turned the envelope over, examining it thoughtfully.
"It says something on the front of the envelope... 'a gift from...." Shit that's Chinese... 'B... Bai... H... Hu...' Bai Hu? 'A gift from Bai Hu'?" Ban raised a brow at Ginji who stared up at him equally perplexed.
"Do you know Bai Hu?"
Ban shook his head. "Only as a Buddhist mythological character. Bai Hu is the Chinese name of the tiger, Byakko from the Si Xiang." Ginji stared up at Ban blankly. "Like Zhu Que is Suzaku?" Ban added.
"Oh! So, does that mean he's Suzaku's friend? Is Suzaku's friend helping us?" Ginji laughed. "I bet if this Bi-Hue is a tiger, Shido would know him!"
"That's Bai Hu. But I don't think it's the actual deity. It's probably just an alias for someone who knows something about the missing tear." Ban tossed the envelope on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. "But we'll worry about it tomorrow. For now I just wanna get some sleep."
Ginji pouted.
"But Baaaaaaaaan-chaaaaaan, I wanna see what's in the envelope!"
"In the morning." Ban snapped. "I'm too tired to be translating damn Chinese in the middle of the night. Get some sleep."
Ginji sighed, staring longingly at the envelope but didn't protest further as Ban got up to extend the couch into a bed that could fit two to three people. Ban was rather pleased with the second hand couch that had a dual purpose. It saved him having to spend another 50,000 yen on a bed that he and Ginji would only bicker over anyway. Besides, he had gotten used to having Ginji sleeping at his side in the car during the day's before they had an apartment. With the extendable couch it was the same, only a lot more comfortable, and Ban didn't have to worry about banging his knee on the steering wheel.
When they had settled into bed and switched off the lights, Ban found himself thinking again.
He could understand why Ginji worried about him leaving. Sometimes he thought about what would happen if he lost Ginji and realized that he couldn't bear to live.
End of Part 1.
Ai-chan: whooo-ee, that was fun! I love these two lotsalots! They make such a pretty couple. Anyway, I'm trying to keep in the spirit of Get Backers here, and with all this Buddhist mythology I don't want it to end up sounding like an FY fic! (Note: if you don't want your fics turning out icky like mine, never watch Fushigi Yuugi and Get Backers in a row!). Anyway, Maria will be appearing in the next chapter. I love Maria, as much as a girl can love a manga character so for you lot who no like the bouncy- bounce crew of GB, I make face at you! :P Now a few end of fic notes.
Note 1: Mei Noches, the apprentice to Maria Noches, is based on my friend from school, Mei (I will not post her last name here because of icky stalker people). She's helping me write this fic and giving me all sorts of tidbits into the Buddhist faith. Best of all she's Chinese and thus knows all the Chinese names of the four gods that has helped me lotsalots! Thank you Mei! You're too damn cool for words! Although in real life Mei-chan isn't as short as the Mei in this fic! Soz Mei!
Note 2: A few translations are in order!
Zhu Que : Suzaku : Red Phoenix
Bai Hu : Byakko : Tiger King (Or White Tiger)
Si Xiang : Four Cardinal Directions
