Here's the second chapter, the complete second chapter. Heh sorry for the inconvenience again.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Getbackers. I don't even have enough money to buy Getbackers dvd's. Not that it would make any difference if I did own the dvd's, because I don't own a dvd player.

Chapter Two

Next day……

Ban glared at Natsumi. 'I got her a bouquet,' he muttered. 'Isn't that enough? Why do you have to plaster my hair down?' 'It's always nice to look neat when you tell someone you love them.' replied Natsumi, who was trying very very hard to tame Ban's spikes with hair gel since, of course, he wouldn't do it himself.

Shido, who had decided to visit the Honky Tonk that day, smirked. 'The look suits you, Snake Man,' he said, 'You used to look like a snake with spikes. Now you just look like a snake with hair.'

Ginji almost had to electrocute Ban to stop him from beating Shido into a pulp.

Natsumi held up a mirror so Ban could see his reflection. 'What do you think?' Ban stared at his reflection. And stared. And stared. He was wearing his usual clothes but his hair looked like it was run over by a steamroller. It was that straight. He looked like….a schoolboy. With a cigarette half-hanging out of his mouth.

Shido opened his mouth to crack another joke, but Ban held up a hand. 'Shut it, Monkey Boy.' Then he turned to Natsumi. 'You really expect me to do it like this?' She nodded and smiled widely. 'Himiko-san will be so surprised to see you like this!' Ban looked into the mirror again. 'Heck yeah she will….' replied Ban sarcastically.

Natsumi clapped her hands joyously. 'Stand with the bouquet,' she ordered, 'I want to see how you look.' Ban sighed and took the bouquet from the counter and stood in front of Natsumi. Natsumi frowned. 'Straighten up…' she murmured, 'No, straighter, take that cigarette out of your mouth, Ban-san, I don't think she wants to hear you tell her you love her with a cigarette in your mouth….shoulders back, back straight…perfect,' she breathed and stepped back and looked at Ban. 'And smile,' she said. Ban smiled. Natsumi nodded. 'One more thing,' she said, and went into the kitchen.

The smile slipped off Ban's face, and he looked around at Ginji and Shido. Ginji was nodding at him sympathetically and Shido was busy trying to conceal his laughter. Unsuccessfully.

Ban sighed and looked at the door of the Honky Tonk. For some reason, he wished Master was here. But he was off on a vacation with his girlfriend. Yes, his girlfriend. Very surprising. Ban's cigarette had fallen out of his mouth when Paul told them that he was, in fact, very capable of having a love life.

'It won't be that bad, Ban-chan,' said Ginji, 'You'll feel on the top of the world when she tells you she loves you too.' Ban smiled a genuine smile at that. It would, he figured….. 'That's if she does love him back,' Shido pointed out. 'Shido-nii!' exclaimed Ginji.

Ban grit his teeth. That's it, he was going to beat the pulp out of Monkey Boy right now, this instant, and make sure he did a good job of it and then feed his rotting body to his many animal friends- 'Here you go, Ban-san,' said Natsumi, coming out of the kitchen before Ban could inflict any injury onto Shido and handing him a box of chocolates. She smiled at him. 'Every girl loves chocolates,' she said, 'Even Himiko-san.'

Ban looked down at the chocolates. 'Natsumi, you sure about this…?' She nodded. 'I'm confident. Just be calm, don't do anything stupid, and yeah…be calm. That's the most important thing to do.'

'Have you rehearsed your speech?' asked Ginji. Shido stared at Ban. 'He has a speech?' he asked incredulously. Ban ignored him and pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and cleared his throat and started reciting it:

'Kudo Himiko, in all my twenty seven years of life, I have never met anyone as beautiful and sweet as you. Whenever I look at you, my heart starts beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings, and I feel that there cannot be anything more wonderful than the image standing before me. So, today I want to tell you, Kudo Himiko, how much I love you, and wish to spend the rest of my life proving my love to you. I hope you feel the same way and accept this bouquet of flowers as a token of my love for you.'

Ban put the bouquet and the chocolates on the counter and looked up, feeling very stupid about himself. Natsumi had tears in her eyes and Ginji was smiling at him and Shido was…looking constipated. Maybe that was because he was trying very very hard not to laugh. Fat chance of that happening in the near future.

'She's going to love you,' whispered Natsumi tearfully. 'Sure is a Kodak moment,' commented Shido sarcastically. 'You'll do great, Ban-chan,' said Ginji. Ban nodded. 'Hai, thank you.' He didn't know why, but he felt really really nervous.

Natsumi looked at the clock. 'She'll be here in another five minutes.' she whispered. 'Are you ready, Ban-san?' she asked. 'Uh…yes.' Ban looked at his shoes. He looked up to see Natsumi staring at him. '….What?' 'One more thing, Ban-san,' said Natsumi, 'Don't look down when you tell her you love her, okay? She won't be able to hear what you're saying otherwise.' Ban grunted.

Then he heard it. Himiko's motorbike. Ginji craned his neck. 'There she is, Ban-chan.' Ban turned and looked. Yep, there she was, taking off her helmet and climbing off her bike like she did the day before. He straightened up and said in a very corny chick flick guy kind of voice, 'Wish me luck,' picked up the bouquet and the chocolates and exited the Honky Tonk.

Himiko's back was facing him when he reached her. She was looking for something in the trunk of her motorbike. Ban cleared his throat and held out the bouquet of flowers and the chocolates. Yes, to her back. She didn't seem to notice, she was so busy looking for her….'Where are you, you stupid vial of perfume..?' she muttered.

Ban cleared his throat. 'Kudo Himiko..' he began, but suddenly out of the blue flew…a crow and settled on Ban's shoulder. Ban stared at it. Or rather, he glared at it.

And the crow also seemed to be glaring back at Ban. Could crows glare at people in the first place? Ban shook his head and tried to shoo the crow away as silently as he could and without letting the box of chocolates or the bouquet of flowers fall down. But the crow didn't fly away. It didn't even budge. Okay it did budge, a little bit, but just enough to fly onto the bouquet. A few petals of the flowers fluttered to the ground, crushed.

Ban took a step back, waving the bouquet around, trying to get the crow to fly away. Far, far away. But the crow had an abnormally strong grip on the flowers and just wouldn't let go. Instead, it flapped its wings really hard, startling Ban and causing him to take several steps back, and the box of chocolates fell down and rolled away.

Himiko, by the way, was still deep in search of her vial of perfume, so deep in search that she didn't notice Ban tussling as silently as he could with the bird.

'Get off, you stupid bird, I'm doing important stuff out here!' muttered Ban, trying to strangle the crow with one hand and trying to hold onto what was left on the bouquet with the other. Finally after several minutes, he did manage to get the crow to fly off the bouquet, but the crow hovered around him, tugging at his flattened hair and make it stick up, in an even messier version of his usual hairstyle.

'STUPID-BLEEDING-ARRGGHH!!!' Ban started to try hitting the bird with the bouquet but then he remembered the bouquet was for Himiko so he had no choice but to turn to the last alternative:

'SNAAAKE….' 'CAW! CAW! CAW!' The crow flapped his wings harder and flew away from Ban, apparently quite frightened now.

Ban glared at it as it disappeared into the sky and then looked at the bouquet. There wasn't much of it left now, only some twigs and a little bit of dirty plastic and paper. And the flowers were on the ground in the form of crushed petals. Ban turned around to see that a couple of crows had settled near the box of chocolates and were now tearing the paper covering it apart.

'Ban?' He turned around to see Himiko frowning at him. Oh crap. 'What's with the…?' Himiko gestured at Ban's appearance.

He couldn't see himself, but Ban definitely looked worse for wear: his hair was sticking out, he was covered in twigs and his sunglasses were half hanging off his ears. And he was surrounded with crushed flower petals. And his shirt was torn.

Himiko kept staring at him. 'Why are you holding twigs?' she asked. Ban blinked. '..um…' 'And your hair's…messier than usual, and your shirt is torn, and…were you in another fight, Midou Ban?' she demanded.

Ban looked at her. 'Huh?' 'If aniki were here, he would have not liked to see you in that state, believe you me, Ban, he would have beaten you up himself if he got the chance-'

'I wasn't in a fight,' said Ban quietly. Himiko stopped ranting and turned to Ban. 'What?' 'I wasn't in a fight.' repeated Ban. Himiko turned slightly red. '…oh. Well. Then-' 'I need caffeine.' muttered Ban, and started walking back to the Honky Tonk. He glanced through the window as he walked, with Himiko walking behind him.

Natsumi had a river of anime tears flowing down her face. Tare-Ginji had a sweatdrop hovering above his head. And Shido….

Shido was smirking. Nothing new, but there was something different about this smirk. It was a knowing smirk. Like Shido had succeeded in doing something. And then Ban realised.

Shido had sent the crow to Ban. He knew that incident hadn't happened just like that. Ban grit his teeth. He was going to kill Shido first chance he got.

As for now…he just needed coffee. And a bath.

Okay, the ending was a little bit..um…it needed a little improving.

So….what did you think?