V:DREAD
It was only after they were sure that their perpetrator was out of sight did they manage to breathe again. Raggedly.
"Is it still far from us?" Ginji gauchely asked.
Unfortunately for Ban, he had to breathe a few more gulps of air first. After all, he was the more petrified from the two. "Yes, I hope to believe so. I don't ever want to think of that disgusting creature within a one-meter radius from me!" he declared, his face a bit flustered.
Ginji blinked, as if seeing his partner for the first time. And a few moments, he laughed his whole heart out. Which drew out a condescending glare from Ban.
"What are you laughing about, you stupid worm!"
"Nothing." He laughed harder.
"What are you laughing at!"
"Really, Ban-chan, it's nothing! It's just that I never thought you fear them soooooo much! You suddenly acted like a woman out there!"
"Bloody afraid! Look at it, Ginji! Look at it! It's goddamn huge! It's got red eyes! Its hair is all messed up! It's bloody yucky and squishy and--!"
Yucky? Squishy?
"Ban-chan, they're naturally small and very cute to look at! And completely harmless!"
"Naturally! There is nothing natural AROUND HERE!"
"Okay, so I also got scared the first time I looked. But it's just a--"
"Then why not go sleep with it if you're soooo comfortable with it! Go find it again and have it as your partner instead!"
His laugh grew harder. "Ban-chan, YOU are ridiculous! You act like a hysterical girl!"
"I act like a what!"
Okay, so maybe his belly has had enough. "Nothing."
After a few more moments of calming berated heartbeats, Ban finally stood up, his eyes bulging in so much frustration. Though they're conveniently hidden in his glasses.
"Let's go before that pesky swine could smell us again! God, I hate this part of town! Where's that goddamn map!"
Ginji wisely followed suit, his barely controlled laughter repressed with a gurgled grin.
Who would have thought that an oversized rat could do such an effect on the famed fearless Jagan wielder?
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
It's raining again.
Not that it mattered. But it seemed coincidental that whenever the getbackers have a very serious job, it would just rain hard.
The limousine being out of place in this street didn't help much, either. But it still didn't matter. Because he felt obliged to at least pay up for his sins against the self-acclaimed prosecuting victim, Kagami agreed to give Hevn one final favor. Which is why they are here now.
There was exactly three full minutes of silence before Hevn finally cleared her throat and decided to talk again, while her fingers motioned for the limousine door.
"Just stop here. I can walk my way to the Honky Tonk." And with that, Hevn moved to the door if only Kagami didn't restrain her with his hand. She stared hard at him. He stared intensely as much. Not one of them would wish to surrender on this fiery battle of staring and speaking first.
Then suddenly, Hevn laughed her flirtatious laugh, startling Kagami.
"But Kagami, of course I will come back." With her pointed look on his offending hand, she tried freeing hers. She stopped short again, when a yellow umbrella was pushed against her. She stared her confusion and was seriously answered back with a look that is twice steady. Round two.
She smirked, and caressed his cheek so gently it was insulting. "You suddenly care for my health? Really, Kagami, I never thought you're so sweet. But I might as well tell you that slight fevers can't kill me—"
"Takatori has a thing with soaking wet seats. Be back half an hour. I won't wait longer." And as if to infuriate her further, he opened the door for her, not trying to hide his insulting grin.
The door slammed right to his face.
She was fuming when she walked her way. How dare he tell her what to do when he is nothing but a passing circumstance on her part! How vile! Who is he to order her around! What right did he have to impose such obedience from her!
'I'll show that bastard that I will return anytime I want! I don't care if he waits for hours or if he leaves me! See if I care! I might as well sta—!'
And suddenly, she was not so angry anymore as a very interesting plan came to her mind. And secretly laughing, she hastily made her way to the café. She'll show Kagami who's the boss here this time around.
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Natsumi was already reaching for her umbrella when the famous tinkling of the bells was heard. She was already choosing her words to tell the person non-offensively that the store had closed, if only that familiar voice hadn't spoken up first.
"They've left for their next job, Natsumi. Can I have some coffee, please?"
"He—Hevn-san! What a surprise! What brings you here at such an hour?"
Nonetheless, she still served the slightly reddening lady with the cup of coffee.
When Paul realized that after some few moments Hevn still would rather concentrate on her drinking than answering Natsumi's inquiries, he made his move instead.
"Is something, or someone, troubling you, Hevn?"
Still, no response. From her drooping lowered lashes, she could make out their semblance of a worried, frustrated sigh. She hid her smile in the cup as she leisured on her coffee.
As much as she loved them, she knew that they would rather see her being sent safely home by that guy than suffer an hour of unwanted hostage with her, if ever they would know. She hated using people sometimes, but she really had no choice.
'And besides, I know they'd completely understand my situation if I explain it to them,' she mused. ('That would be after the situation has calmed down', she mentally noted, albeita little more emphatically
She was brought up short from her reveries with Paul's pompous cough. And finally looking at Natsumi's overtly worried expression guiltily, she finally managed to put them out in the dark a little. She set down her cup and smiled sweetly at them. That always worked on them. Always.
"I just came from our meeting with the get backers' new client. The two finally decided to take the job."
"Oh, that's nice. I'm so happy that Ginji-kun finally has employment. Especially after all that he's been through these past weeks," Natsumi said a little mistily.
Hevn could only smile at Natsumi's remark. Why, she couldn't help but just see the possibility of a very wonderful match for Ginji-kun in Natsumi and her innocent and kind charm. Ah, the growth of a wonderfully blossoming love…
Hevn suddenly looked down in regret. After all that she's been through, after all that she'd been bound to, she knew she'll never be able to have that kind of love…
It's the prize she had to pay. She had never thought of anything else but to accept it. She'd been taught the hard way to never forget that fact about her ever again…
Red moons. Dead bloody brown leaves.
"Hevn-san?" Natsumi gently called her out from her musings. Again.
"Yes, Natsumi-chan?"
"Uhhmmm…I was just wondering why Ginji-kun and Ban-chan aren't with you right now…have they gone home already?"
"Natsumi, you weren't listening to Hevn at all. They already took the job. Which means that they've left and have gone to somewhere else far from their homes," Paul chided.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" and with a flush, Natsumi bowed her head. She didn't know who she was most embarrassed to, Hevn or Paul, that she decided to call neither of their names.
"It's alright, Natsumi-chan. I was also at fault, too. If I hadn't arrived at such fashion as I did, you could have focused more on what I said without necessarily recovering from any shock," she gently coaxed. She then turned her attention to Paul. "And you. At least be a little gentler to the kid," she tartly reprimanded.
"Hmmph. And I thought I was the one who was doing you a favor. Women," Paul muttered just as sourly, though both knew they don't really mean it.
This is why she loved this place so much. No pressure. No rules. No obligations. No stress. Feel free to do whatever you wanted to. It's not that they don't care to mind. It's that they care so much; they'll simply accept you—with no conditions—for whatever you can only offer. No demands whatsoever.
And hell, won't she admit that this exactly is the kind of refuge she needed right now.
"Face it, Paul. We women are just more helpful with each other. Unlike you inscrutable men."
For a moment, Paul wanted to retort but decided against it and let it pass. Hevn, feeling triumph at the tips of her fingertips, merely leaned back and sophisticatedly covered her devious mirth with her hand. Natsumi, too stunned to follow through the whole tirade, simply smiled and took the pleasure of serving both grown-ups with new steaming cups of coffee. Which both had accepted just as gratefully.
"Hey, Natsumi, aren't you supposed to be going home already?" Paul finally asked after sipping from his cup. The newspaper was forgotten for good.
"I think it's already sort of late, too, Natsumi. You still do have a class," Hevn seconded.
"Oh, please don't worry about me. Don't you remember that I already took some overtime work before and have gone home later than this hour? Besides, Mister Paul, we still have a customer," Natsumi insisted while offering a wink.
Hevn could only laugh at that. While Paul merely grunted his, "Oh, alright."
"Don't worry Natsumi, if this makes any of you feel better, I'll bring you to your home myself. After all, I seem to be the culprit of all these," Hevn said.
"You better do," Paul couldn't help but give in this time.
"That's not the proper way to show one's gratitude, you know," Hevn snapped back.
"What should I be grateful for? You made it blatantly clear that you're the one at fault. You're merely doing your supposed job. I'm merely accentuating it."
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?"
"It's the fact that—argh, why waste my energy anyway? As dumb as people like you are, my efforts would only end up in vain!"
"What do you mean by that!"
"It's called a big ego and hedonism, Paul."
"Hedonism! When did we ever talk about hedonism!"
"Exactly my point."
Natsumi, though originally the supposed center of their argument, seemed more unaffected and confused as ever as she dutifully just refilled their slightly forgotten cups.
A few moments after she returned from the kitchen to replace the kettle though, a sound was heard amidst the increasing loudness of the two debaters' bantering in the growing length of the night.
Though slightly surprised, Natsumi couldn't help but smile at the prospect of another visitor, probably (hoping) Ban and Ginji.
But at the sight of him though, Natsumi's tender greetings were stopped all at once.
"Err, Sir Paul? Hevn-san? It seems that we have another customer."
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They didn't hear it, but rather, felt it. The moment they felt the sudden gush of the chilly wind on their skins, they knew someone had opened the door and brought the cold in.
And she knew then that she is in deep, complete trouble.
At the sound of Natsumi's wary voice, Paul was the first to break off and see the client. A reason why Hevn, her back on the customer, freely gave her rolling eyes, staring heavenward, as if frustratedly asking for some divine help.
She'd rather diligently drink on her cup. Than face undoubtedly his bent-up fury. A moment later she looked at her watch in surprise. An hour and a half. She didn't know she had dallied that long.
'No wonder I can feel his destructive violent tendencies', she gravely pondered.
"K—Kagami-san! This is quite an unexpected surprise! Err…are you looking for Miss Himiko? I'm so sorry but she's already gone—"
"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm here for something else," Kagami snapped, cutting Natsumi's musings off with his vehemence.
She need not look at him; she could already feel his fuming eyes boring into her back. And yet, after those uttered first words, he said nothing more but just stood there. She never intended to try to bring them out from him. Neither Paul nor Natsumi dared break the silence. The friction he made was so profuse it could easily suffocate all of them with its intensity.
But two could always play that game pretty well. So she still remained composed and calmly drank her coffee, and with her back still ignoring them, she silently told them that she wanted nothing from the dilemma at hand.
Though at this particular moment, it would only be downright idiotic if anybody still didn't get it that she's much more than part of the tension brewing intensely.
The door was closed and she could hear steps, one quite emanating a different sound.
It was a wet sound. Which would mean—
"Kagami-san, I'm so sorry that you haven't caught Himiko-chan today. You must have been greatly disappointed. Here, would you like to have some coffee? Or would you rather have tea? Don't worry, we can—"
"I want nothing, thank you."
"But, you're soaking wet! You at least need something to warm you up!"
"My temperature, so to speak, is completely fine, thank you."
Of course. Who was she kidding? He's bloody seething right now, seething and impatient. After all the aggravation she'd caused him, how could he not? Boiling point.
Hevn inwardly sighed. So he's wet. No big deal. He gave her the umbrella, after all. No use to be so guilty about it, right?
'Serves him right. I did warn him, after all.'
She was so preoccupied with her increasing conscience that her hairs suddenly pricked the moment Kagami's chilled and wet skin brushed hers. So, he's seating next to her. Still, no big deal, right?
Right?
Right?
The trickery of it all.
No doubt it was all because of Natsumi. Natsumi and her kindness. Natsumi and her innocence. Natsumi and her ignorance. She shoved him next to her, served him coffee, gave him hastily heated sandwiches, and chatted non-stop, still not letting go of the Kagami-Himiko tandem. If only she hadn't known better, she would've thought that she's smitten by the guy, but she knew more to know that she was just plainly being helpful and nice. She had to thank women's intuition for that. Or rather not.
She's trying to help her by getting them close so they could patch their issues up. Think she had helped. Guess not.
But knowing that she didn't help much but rather worsened it to an aggravating iota, she then tried to veer him away from her. Covering her ass. From complete abomination. From him. From his eruptive fury. From his maltreating ways.
'Thank you, Natsumi.'
Bu he is from Babylon City, and all efforts aren't left unnoticed. Especially by him.
"Thank you for your sensitivity but I really need to retrieve something in no time. I'm afraid it's urgent."
"Oh—if it's not that daunting then, I suggest you eat and drink first…are you okay with not changing your clothes?"
"For your concern, thank you again. But a little cold won't harm me much."
She must have turned lethargic from all the tension and the intense emotions. For she's quite sure that she heard the seduction on Kagami's voice. What is he up to now?
Five more minutes. Ten more minutes. Her cup has long gone been empty. Natsumi has long become silently eerie. He has long continued to be unresponsive. She could sense from his unnervingly sinister stillness that the plate and cup and saucer were all left untouched. And it took her a while more—by looking at Natsumi's expression—that all his attention was pooled to her. So that would explain this very, very uptight situation that she's all enduring right now.
That a slight twitch nearly jumped her to her nerves if only she doesn't have that much innate self-control.
Without any further thinking, she let the words out. "I'm taking Natsumi home."
"Hevn."
"I'll stay longer in the street, anywhere. And I suggest you also take your rest. I don't wish to impose you any more trouble. For that I thank y—"
A deathly sigh on hearing her deceptively sweet, soft voice. She knew. He's very, very, very angry right now. She didn't care. She hates him as much.
"I am going to take you to your apartment now, whether you like it or not."
"Don't you dare."
"Oh, really?"
Uh-oh. Now she wished she could take all of it back. That voice already rang trouble. That voice told her she had already gone too far.
Then there was silence.
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She was not even able to utter a squeal when Kagami nonchalantly carried her on his shoulder and left the Honky Tonk—amidst the rain, in front of a jaw-dropping Natsumi and a wide-eyed (though covered in glasses) Paul—for good. He must have been tired of playing games for he did something unnatural which made Hevn shut up. After all, two hours is quite a long time.
Without another word, he opened the limousine door and dropped her on the seat. To intimidate her further, he sat close to her, almost choking the very breath out of her, locked the doors and gave her a testing look. Hevn, though against the very will of her mottled pride, chose to shut up, earning a sneer from the man.
The limo then sped off. Kagami continued to give her the cold-dispensing-her-as-if-she-never-existed treatment as the minutes gone by. But she hated to lose, so she did it again.
"And I thought you told me something about wet seats," she grumbled quite a little louder.
Silence.
"You should have at least bothered to use that damn umbrella."
Silence.
"You should have at least allowed me to properly bid them goodbye."
Silence.
"And how could you, when I already told you that I'm going to take that poor Natsumi home—"
"So be it. We'll take Natsumi home. Is that all?"
And as if on impulse, the vehicle sharply stopped and swerved back to Honky Tonk.
"That's not all, Mister! I don't want you to tell me what I need to do or not to do for you hold nothing in my life! How conceited are you to think that you should take it to your self-patronizing consideration the actions I must take?"
"How conceited are you to think that it is you I am taking into my consideration and not the one who has employed me for this job? How conceited are you to haul an innocent girl into your vengeful plot and endanger her return home in the process?"
An invisible cat—no, lion—finally caught and smothered her tongue. She didn't know any verbal cure for self-guilt. So she finally shut up.
But not without saying the last word.
"You dumb fool. It's quite obvious I hate you."
"So I am dumb. So I am a fool. So you hate me. All are taken. So what else do you want so that I could finally dump you to your home and be out of it once and for all?"
He's finally shredded the very last piece of dignity she kept for herself. So much for being too arrogant.
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He snored. And snored again. And snored again. A second later the fluffy—previously gigantic—furry animal resting at his stomach joined the throaty, hearty choral. Their snoring is endless.
And then he flipped over, almost crushing the little creature—to his sadistic delight—with his stomach. But that furry thing is a wise creature, and so, just as dramatically, it simply rolled over too, and climbed up the enormous sheets also known as Ginji's vest, and continued its journey to paradise on the guy's back.
Then after all the muffled rumblings, the snoring continued.
Ban could only sigh at his partner and his new found pet. After all, they've been following the erratic trail of RE005 for four hours now and still there was not even a one-meter development. It didn't help that he has grown unfamiliar with the place and that a while ago he greatly experienced an exhausting rat race. And that rat in the rat race suddenly shrunk and became Ginji's—he already disowned it—new found groupie.
Not that he was complaining. Taking the rat aside, he was actually loving the peculiar beauty of the sky. A hobby not even Ginji actually knew. A hobby he would only love to only keep to himself.
The beauty of Zebulon itself is that it's sky-less. Or sky-full, that everything that lay above and below his feet will be considered as the sky. And the greater beauty of it is that the sky—or whatever it is called—is colored dark teal. Quite like the darker shade of his eyes.
He sighed again. The eyes which was first stared hard by a pair of amber-colored ones. Not even his mother had dared done that without feeling any fear.
He can't deny the fact that he missed her, just as much as he couldn't deny her fullness. But right now he was not concentrating on her fullness, though. He was wondering on why those eyes, which was always only talking about money, suddenly gave depth and talked about something she wished he could know. He is sure of this fact. He can never be a Jagan wielder if he didn't know these.
And so he came up to a conclusion that she really is more involved here than how much she willed herself to be.
He finally realized that he never really knew her at all. As to why she decided to take her kind of job for he is sure that her wit and intelligence could take her to somewhere else higher. Of course, he never really bothered to care at first for both of them only wanted the money. But he wouldn't also want to accept that only a hard staring experience made him dwell on such musings.
He again glanced down at the red dot which is quite taking the leisure of suddenly going around in circles. RE005. He was more than curious as to why someone in Zebulon bothered to even care about something from the human dimension.
It really must be powerful, for money will never interest the Zebulon-dwellers at all. They're only in it for power. Or any possible threats against them. And to think that that Takatori guy would even hire someone as powerful as Kagami to really keep watch…
That information warned him that he must tread carefully lest they fail again. Lest they barely make it alive. Again.
After all, five million yen without someone spending it all is always a complete loss.
sneer devious
And like a choreographed dance of Fate, the red dot finally stopped. Calculating the distance, he realized that they were only separated by around three miles. That stunned him short. And quickly, he hurriedly shook Ginji to wakefulness, careful not to even touch the furry one, even with the urgency.
"Ginji, wake up, worm! The box is here! We have to take the chance or it might run off again! Wake up or I'll leave you alone!"
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Natsumi stared her confusion at the suddenly somber pair beside her. Hevn must be too wrecked up—physically, emotionally and mentally—that after thirty minutes of their travel from that Honky Tonk return, she finally slammed into Kagami and fell asleep. She was even more confused that Kagami didn't even complain but rather drew the sleeping woman close to his chest and protectively laced his arm around her shoulders and back. By the looks of it, they seemed like two besotted lovesicks. Who would have thought that these two were just breaking a record through their stubborn cold wars?
Despite everything, though, Natsumi remained as the grateful guest as she smiled her assurance on Kagami when he silently asked if she was still alright. ooOoOOoOooBut her patience and curiosity was wearing thin.
"Uhmmm…you think she still is coping?"
Of all the responses expected, his weary smile was not one of them.
"She's a strong woman, Natsumi. There's no doubt she is more than coping."
"I would like to thank you for taking me home, Mister Kagami—"
"There's nothing to thank for, Natsumi."
"And I'm sorry that you were not able to see Himiko tonight—"
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Natsumi. Besides, she was not the purpose of my visiting."
She slightly blushed. Even if it was not a secret that Kagami had feelings of infatuation for Himiko, she can't help but not get curious on how he looked at Hevn.ooOoOOoOoo
"Ehhh…she really is somewhat hard to control, right?"
Kagami looked rather surprised at her question. "I never knew you looked at Hevn that way, Natsumi."
"Nope. That's not how I see Hevn, Mister—"
"Please. Just call me Kagami."
"Kagami, then. Uh, anyway, I was just wondering if you look at Hevn the same way the others look at her."
"What do you mean the others? You mean Ban, Ginji, Akabane, Shido, Paul—"
"I rather saw them experience it than express it in words. She in some way had them floored and contorted with rage at some point, you know. You, on the other hand, well…I never…"
"I understand what you mean."
She rather looked surprised but also relieved. "You do?"
"Yes."
"And…well? Uhmm…you know, how do you do it? I was very certain you were really ready to kill her for her impertinence right then and there. But looking at the two of you now…"
He shocked her again. He smiled as he regarded the sleeping girl in his arms. Genuinely. She can't blame him. She was always envious of Hevn's beauty. Her sleeping peacefully like that only made her look like an angel more.
"I also, at some point, lose my control on guarding her. But your job is your job, and I am always committed to my job at hand. I simply am not that affected with the simple reason that she really does not affect me that much at all. Unless it has to do with my job to be going smoothly well. Furthermore, dealing with Hevn a while ago was a little easier compared to the earlier meetings we had. "
Of course. She forgot one thing the guys always say when it comes to Kagami. The observant one. The passive, unaffected observer. As always.
But she can't help but observe something else more, though.
"You talk as if you already know her before…"
Kagami stopped to ponder at that. He smiled again.
"Yup, I do know her before. I met her in Infinite Castle. With the Get Backers."
Though relieved, she was disappointed at his answer. She was somewhat shocked at herself on what she's been thinking, like a love triangle angle…
But as always, things will surely come to its end. Natsumi's house was already seen by a few miles more.
"She was always kind to me, you know. I don't know why I am explaining this to you. But I guess I just wanted to tell you before I go. She may act so naughty sometimes…but she's always worried about those two when they are gone and couldn't catch her expression. She was like a big sister to me. She always understands me, makes me feel at home when the other transporters just come to the café. For me, she's my bestest friend."
She then looked at Kagami as she holds the handle. "That's why I'm asking my apologies for her. She really does not mean to insult you. Maybe there's just something she wanted to tell you but can't directly say it in words."
And for that, she went out. She then smiled and bowed her head.
"Thank you so much for the lift, Kagami-san. And can you say 'take care' to Hevn for me, if you won't mind?"
Kagami just shook his head and smiled. Natsumi's change did amuse him.
"Thank you, then. Goodbye again, Kagami-sa—Kagami."
The limo had already left her house, but Kagami's smile hadn't left his lips yet. He looked at Hevn's peaceful form and played at one of the strands of her hair. At the touch, he suddenly trembled. Whatever he's been thinking at that moment, it will only remain with him.
He then moved closer so his mouth could reach her ears. So he could whisper the words he wanted to say.
"You have a very perceptive friend, Hevn. Is that why you chose her as your friend?"
But just as always expected, he was only met by silence.
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