Title: The Cursed Sword
Genre: Adventure
Summary: how to get information from a little guilty-complexed prisoner.
Pairing: Ban/Ginji
Rating: PG-13 or T
Warnings: violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.
Disclaimer: Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

Sorry for taking long to update - real life is a bitch, you know... plus, the muse is not helping... but I'm doing my best, believe me. Now that we have a new character in the bunch I had to slow down once more and work on their interaction. Sorry if it's boring for you... sniffs

Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone! I tried to reply all of them - if I left anyone without a reply, my apologies. Hope you're still with me, my friends. Do not hesitate in clicking on the review button, your comments mean the world to me!


CHAPTER NINE-A

"Wha..." Ginji blinked in confusion, "but why, Pi-chan?"

Purity looked down and silently played some more with his kimono sleeves. When he spoke, it was with a soft, monotone voice.

"I may have lost part of my memory, but I remember very well what my Master ordered. And I remember that I failed, and because of that, Weed and Iron..." there was a slight wavering, a sob quickly swallowed and he continued, "I am your enemy and I lost the battle. You should kill me."

With an exasperated sigh, Logan headed for the kitchen. Seeing children talking like that got on his nerves.

What the hell happened to this kid to make him say "kill me" and really mean it, just like that?

"I'm gonna make some coffee... I don't have milk so the brat will have to make do with instant hot chocolate and cookies."

"Yay, cookies!" momentarily distracted by the mention of food, Ginji grinned from ear to ear. Then Logan raised a warning eyebrow and the blond Getbacker winced and immediately returned the attention to their prisoner, "Uh, I mean... Pi-chan, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You tried your best... I'm sure your Master, whoever he is, will understand..."

Purity shook his head.

"Failure is unacceptable," he said like he was stating the obvious. "If you don't kill me, my Master will. And I can't face him after what I have done... it's too shameful... I'd rather die here and now."

"You wanna die that much?" Ban finished his cigarette and flipped the butt into the ashtray he had placed on the window sill, next to him. He made to pick one more from the pack in his pocket but changed his mind and crossed his arms with a small twitch of frustration. "I may do you the favor, but not before you answer some questions. I can't use the Jagan on you again and there's a lot of things we need to know."

"Ban-chan, you're being too harsh!"

"No, it's alright!" Purity stood up, ran to where Ban was standing and pleaded, "If I tell you all I know, will you kill me?"

"I said I may do you the favor. If you still feel like dying after all is said and done, that is." blue eyes narrowed, unrelenting. "You're okay with it, I'll see what I can do to help; you're not okay with it, I'm gonna drag you back to your Master and make sure that humiliation won't cut it as a description of what you'll go through."

The boy shivered at the threat. After a moment of hesitation he lowered his head in defeat.

"It is alright. I will answer your questions."


They were now sitting at the table, each with a mug of hot coffee – hot chocolate for Purity – and a bowl of cookies. It was already dark outside and getting cold, even with the heater and the fireplace working.

Must check the heater tomorrow morning, looks like it's not good, Logan thought while his eyes wandered aimlessly from Ban to Ginji to Purity and then back at Ban. None of them was talking, the uncomfortable silence heavy and unsettling.

Purity stared apathetically at his mug of chocolate, small hands balled into fists on his lap. His white kimono was a little dirty from the battle but aside from that, remained impeccably straight and correctly folded around him. For some reason, such tidiness annoyed Logan.

It felt wrong. Very wrong.

Ginji was eating the cookies absently. He had totally recovered in the last few hours, especially after wolfing four bowls of instant noodles and two cans of Campbell's that Logan had bought months ago and never had the guts to eat.

One must be dying of severe starvation to swallow that crap.

And the Blondie had grinned and said that crap was delicious and that it helped him heal faster... Weird kid. Well, he really looked better. There was no sign of pallor on his face, eyes were bright and alert, and sometimes tiny sparkles would crackle when he made sudden moves – this, according to Ban, was a sign that he was completely "recharged".

And speaking of the Hedgehog, he, too, was recovering fast even if not as much as his partner. But then, apart from the cracked ribs most of his wounds were not serious – the little bastard was a smart fighter. Logan had to admit that the boy was tough and probably more experienced in battles than anyone that young had the right to be.

Logan had watched as Ban used the Jagan on Purity, his face hard and cold and unmoving as the boy curled up, shaking and sobbing of pure terror at the dreams planted in his mind. It was disgusting but necessary – the kid had tried to kill them and almost succeeded, after all. Logan had found himself admiring the Jagan user's ability and fairness: he never hesitated, no matter how pitiful the child looked; at the same time there was no cruelty, no hatred toward the enemy in his demeanor.

A loud crack coming from the heater startled them. They blinked, as if awaken from a stupor and looked at each other with questioning faces.

Sensing an alarming smell, Logan ran to the kitchen, where the heater control was, and cursed at the sight of a burned panel. There wasn't much to do since he didn't have a spare part available so he returned to the table with a sour expression, already counting how many blankets there were in the house and wondering if they had enough wood to keep the fire burning until morning.

"We'll have to sleep close to the fireplace tonight. The heater's down."

"Great." Ban grunted. "As far as I remember you told us that you had recently renovated this shitty cabin."

"Yeah, I did, and I'm gonna renovate your face if you don't watch your mouth."

"I would love to see you try, Metal Bastard!"

"Aaaaa, Ban-chan, Logan-san, not again please!" Ginji smiled nervously, "Uh, we were going to make some questions to Pi-chan, ne?"

Two frowning faces turned to the former Lightning Emperor, who warily fidgeted on his chair, waiting for a whack on the head or a stream of colorful insults. To his surprise, nothing happened. The two men just sat on their chairs, reluctantly swallowing their irritation at each other. Ginji sighed in relief.

Thanks God it seems they really aren't feeling like fighting now...

"I guess you're right, Ginji. Business comes first." after directing his most scaring glare to Logan, Ban struck what he considered his best "professional pose" - sprawled on the chair, legs crossed in an intentionally lazy angle – and focused his attention on Purity.

"Alright boy, let's get started." he took a sip of his coffee before shooting the first question. "Who's your Master?"

Purity gulped. He was pretty sure he could get away without revealing anything that would harm his Master or give any the enemy any advantages over him – that was the only reason why he had accepted Ban's proposition. This certainty didn't make things easier, though. He still felt like he was betraying his Master and could practically see Weed's face contorted in disgust at his doing.

But it can't be helped. I'm sorry Weed, I just can't face Master after failing so shamelessly...

Taking a deep breath, Purity forced the words out from his trembling lips.

"His name is Ryoma Yagumo."

There was a snort, a small chuckle and Ban shook his head.

"I wonder why I'm not surprised..."