Title: Meet The Parents (part 5)
Author/Artist: Amethyst Hunter
Pairing: Ban/Akabane
Fandom: Get Backers
Theme: #23 – "candy"
Rating: R (m/m, language)
Warnings/Spoilers: Minor spoilers for the history between Ban and Maria Noches; also spoilers for the manga ending.
Notes: This veers into AU territory as it references events from the manga ending, but I alter things for my own purposes. I know that from this chapter on, things are going to seem a bit iffy re: Ban and his mom, but trust me, there is a reason for it and things aren't necessarily going to end the way they might seem from appearances. ;)
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Akabane's mom, however, is totally mine. And she won't hesitate to let you know it. XD
Summary: Surprises of the relative kind are in store for both Ban and Akabane, and everybody gets a little eye candy – even dirty old women!
--
She was jumping from the back seat window to the front of the car and back again – oh what a surprise that must have been for Ban-kun! - shrieking like the wails of the dead as she sought to alert us to the maelstrom ahead. A blur of black and yellow and green was all the warning we had before Kuroudo-kun and Ginji-kun crash-landed onto Ban-kun's car and ricocheted into the truck.
"Watch out!" Gouzou-kun bellowed, but it was too late. Ban-kun's car was solid but it could only take so much of a beating before its little engine that could decided it had had enough of such rough treatment. The car in front of us reared back and nicked the front of the truck's bumper; there was a loud BANG! and the blistering sound of steel being torn from its mountings, and then all we could see was a white flurry of vehicle struggling to stay in the lane. Horns flared anew and a horrible grinding CRUNCCCHHH snarled beneath us, and the next thing I knew Gouzou-kun and Lady Himiko were cursing at full volume while our transport began to wobble in a way no vehicle should ever behave while in motion.
The lorry's rear door popped open again and just as quickly closed in the wake of a billowing black shadow. A breathless Kuroudo-kun was belting himself into the pull-down seat and pulling the pink lady back along with him. "You might want to brace yourself, Midou-sama! Maguruma doesn't brake often but when he does it's a bit of a rough ride!"
Lady Himiko was trying in vain to pry me from the dashboard. I couldn't decide whether my howling, which by now matched Medusa-chan's in intensity, was more from stunned recognition as my thoughts crystallized in that glaring instant, or sheer terror at the likelihood of becoming a messy stain on the highway to hell.
Car horns were singing the siren song of the damned, accompanied by the symphonic smash of steel and glass from those unskilled enough to steer out of collisions in time. Above the din I somehow was able to make out a combination of Kuroudo-kun's startled "Miss Bastet!?", Ban-kun's "Jesus Mein Gott on a pogo-sticking cracker crumb-bit creamsicle!" and from somewhere at the back of the trailer, Ginji-kun's "Ho-LEEE SHIII - !"
The cacophony flared to a roar and our world exploded into screaming metal. The truck jerked sharply from side to side and then spun sideways with a steaming squeal of rubber. Through the tilting windshield I managed to catch sight of Ban-kun's car. It was shooting all over the road, tagging cars in some kind of warped pinball game before finally spinning a double circle and hurtling right back into the truck's path.
Thankfully for Ban-kun's and Medusa-chan's sakes Gouzou-kun had retained enough control over his vehicle to stop it in time before those massive beast-feet steamrolled the 360 flat. He managed to pull the front end partially straight and the little car smacked into one side of the grill, but by then the momentum had spent most of itself, and both transports ground themselves to a halt through equal parts gravity and the applied excess of brakes worn to a nub.
Silence – exempted only by the wails of passing traffic horns - swamped everything like a choking fog. In the chaos Lady Himiko had managed to drag me loose from the dashboard and was huddled over in her seat with the belt nearly hanging her by her neck, squeezing me almost to a rope of bristling fur. I hated to do it, but I couldn't breathe with her stranglehold, so I scratched my way free of her arms and burrowed into the back of the cab, where Kuroudo-kun was similarly hunched over the pink lady to protect her from injury.
Both their hats had fallen askew from their being knocked around in the back, and Kuroudo-kun stirred beneath his wealth of dark hair. His eyes were wide with shock at the sight of me – and it had to have been a sight, for I knew I looked horridly out of place, what with my own fright – and he held out an arm, to which I ran crying gratefully.
"Bastet! Little one, where on earth – how in the name of Sekhmet did you find your way here?!" I deigned to answer him only with mewls of relief. Never again would Medusa-chan and I ever attempt such a foolhardy act, sneaking along to hide with our humans! Never! Never!
Medusa-chan! I wriggled loose and started up a new stream of ear-wrenching laments, hoping to call out my sister. Disturbingly, no vocals issued elsewhere, and I began to panic. What if - !
"Bastet, no, stay!" Kuroudo-kun tried to tighten his hold on me, but his other arm had gotten tangled in with the pink lady's seat belt while restraining her in the course of the accident, and he wasn't as nimble as he would have liked. I darted from his clutching glove to the front of the cab once more, dodging Gouzou-kun and Lady Himiko who were likewise recovering from the shock and no doubt as dismayed to find themselves confronted with a frightened furperson. I clawed at the windshield, still broadcasting my alarm, ducking under Gouzou-kun's arm when he tried to pull me away from the glass.
I was not to be deterred. I sprang from the dashboard towards the half-opened window on Lady Himiko's side, stretching and fumbling my way out the escape hatch before either of the humans up front could grab me. Descending the heights of Gouzou-kun's monster was harder than boarding it, but I made do, bounding from perch to limb to ground as fast as I dared without slipping.
Ban-kun's car was resting at a diagonal angle with the right front end pointed towards the face of the truck. Smoke was seeping out from underneath the engine hood and drifting in thin spirals from the wheels – one of which was now minus its tire, I realized. I charged for it heedless of the numerous dangers speeding past me; my human and my sister needed me! I was halfway there when the driver's side door flew open and a gnashing ball of fury almost mowed me down.
"Goddammit you assholes, what the blue blazing fuck was that all about!" Ban-kun's face had the peculiar blend of paleness and color that could only come from a near-brush with death. He kept hurling verbal abuse upon the truck as he stormed over to it, banging on the doors. For the time being, he didn't appear to be any more hurt than that.
Medusa-chan! Medusa-chan, where are you!?
BASTEHHHHHHHHHHHHHT!!
The pitiful cry was buried under one of the front seats. I made a beeline for the opened car door and found my poor sister huddled-crammed under a nest of lint and various paper refuse stored beneath the passenger-side seat. She was shaking like a leaf in a breeze.
Are you all right?!
I wanna go home! I wanna go home right NOW!
It's okay, it's okay. Everybody's safe, Ban-kun's safe and so is Kuroudo-kun.
I never wanna go on another trip like this again! Never never ever!
I know. I know! You should have been with me in Gouzou-kun's truck. I got thrown off a shelf like a rag doll! And I fell on top of this strange woman – I remembered then, the original intent behind our disaster of a mission. Medusa-chan, listen! This woman, she's the one that Kuroudo-kun was hired to transport. She knows about Ban-kun and Ginji-kun being the Get Backers, she's Ban-kun's -
The arguing outside made my already-bruised ears twitch. Would my humans be so stupid enough as to engage in a battle right in the middle of a wreck on a busy road? The short answer was yes, of course; humans had never been known for their sensible actions, and however intelligent ours might be they were still subject to human emotions caught up in a tornado of conflicting sensations.
I peered out of the car. Everyone was gathered between both vehicles, staring each other down with the ferocity of a wildfire. Ban-kun was screaming at Lady Himiko, who was shouting right back at him almost nose-to-nose. Gouzou-kun was yelling at the both of them in turn, berating Ban-kun for his actions and trying to get Lady Himiko to stand down. Kuroudo-kun was trying to explain the mess to Ban-kun and kept getting his head bitten off by almost everyone, while poor Ginji-kun – who had survived by using his odd electrical powers to glue himself to the back of the truck's trailer – was just standing there looking confused by all the commotion.
I could sympathize with him. My own mind was reeling from this exploit. All I wanted to do now was crawl under Kuroudo-kun's hat and stay hidden there for a week. But it wasn't over yet. Here came the pink lady, stepping carefully out of the truck.
The group fell quiet momentarily when her presence was noticed, and all eyes turned to her. She approached them slowly but steadily, faltering at times as if on poorly-shod feet, but I thought it was more from the casualties incurred by the emotional battlefield within her. That, and the stress of having been taken for the ride of her life – if not almost the afterlife too.
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Kuroudo-kun said to a suddenly white-faced Ban-kun as he gestured to the newcomer.
He looked her way only for a split second, so fixed was he on his main focus. "What's an extra rider got to do with your fuckup?"
"We wouldn't have tanked so badly if you hadn't gotten in our way like a jackass!" Lady Himiko snapped, rubbing at her bleeding arms. I feared I'd left some dreadful welts on her skin in my haste to escape.
"That's our job, honey, in case you forgot - "
"Don't call me 'honey', you arrogant - "
"Will you just stop it?" Gouzou-kun was getting almost as angry as they were. "That woman is what the whole thing was about! All we were told was to drive her around downtown and when you two caught up with us you'd know what to do. Nobody said anything about wrecking my truck!" He said this last with a baleful look not at Ban-kun but reserved for Kuroudo-kun.
"Hey, wait, that's what we got told for our job," Ginji-kun piped up. "Hevn-san told Ban-chan that we would know what to do with our target when we found it. But I don't know what that is!"
"I should think it's rather obvious," Kuroudo-kun said, oblivious to Gouzou-kun's wrath. "We were hired to bring something back that Ban-kun would be interested in retrieving." He smiled at everyone and swept a hand towards the pink lady, who had stopped several feet shy of them and was now watching with the frozen indecision of cornered prey. "Midou Ban-kun, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you - "
"I know who she is."
This time the silence hung in the air like an awkwardly unpleasant smell. The pink lady – Midou-sama, as Kuroudo-kun had called her previously, haltingly cleared her throat. "Hello, Ban."
Ban-kun had gone from flashfire-white to a sickly gray in less time than it took to blink an eye. He stared at his mother with an implacable expression. His throat muscles bobbed weakly as though they were a dying fish on a hook. Neither Medusa-chan nor I had ever before seen him this enraged.
He finally spoke, a whisper of death more chilling than any Kuroudo-kun had ever dealt. "Fine. I get it. You fucked up, but I get it. I've seen what you wanted to show me. Now you can take it back."
"I beg your pardon?" Kuroudo-kun frowned slightly.
"You. Heard. Me."
"Ban-chan?" Ginji-kun asked softly, sensing the fast-brewing storm about to open up hellfire all over everyone. Even at a distance I could feel as well the tension crackling, and I knew it wasn't just from Ginji-kun's unease.
"We're not supposed to 'take it back', as you put it," Kuroudo-kun said. "Indeed, we can't. That was the point of this transport. We were assured by a very reliable client that this would be of direct interest to you. Really, Ban-kun, I would have thought that you'd be more - "
"Grateful?" His interruption was a harsh crack of the whip. "Is that what you wanted to see?" Blue eyes burned a cold fire that would have fused Gouzou-kun's truck solid to the pavement.
Even Kuroudo-kun looked taken aback. He adjusted his hat and lightly cleared his throat. "I was going to say 'receptive,'" he demurred.
Ban-kun was about to rip another piece of flesh off him when the woman in the pink dress-suit spoke. "It's true, Ban. What the transporters said. I hired them to get me out of the City...and I arranged to hire you and your partner to find me."
That drew gasps and murmurs of consternation from them, except for Kuroudo-kun, who as I'd suspected didn't look terribly startled by the news. It made me wonder what that little girl in the white dress that he'd met in the alley had said to him.
Medusa-chan had crept out from her hiding spot and was cautiously peeking around my back. What's going on?! Who's this woman who says she's Ban-kun's mother?!
I don't know, but he's not happy about it, I told her. The understatement of the century, surely. Ban-kun's skin was swiftly rising to a mottled swath of red-white fury. I expected him to open up with a new stream of violent invective, but the darkening storm clouds in his eyes hadn't broken yet. He continued to bite off his words in short puncturing icicles.
"What do you want."
Elder Midou was nearly as pale as Kuroudo-kun's dress shirt. But she held her ground. "I came to see you," she said quietly.
"Couldn't have just asked for a picture?" Ban-kun spread his arms wide. "Here I am. There. Now you can pay these clowns to ship you back where you came from."
"Ban, you - " Lady Himiko surely had had some scathing answer ready to fly, but Gouzou-kun's big hand on her shoulder was an effective silencer, preventing the other woman's response from being overridden.
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness," Miss Midou said, her voice surprisingly level for one the target of her only child's wrath. "I know...about the kind of life you've led since - "
"You don't know shit." Now Ban-kun was starting his rain of rage, slow and cold and hard but with the promise of fast escalating into a vicious pummeling. "You kick me around for the first few years of my life and then you split like a fart in the wind. Now you show up here wanting a kiss-and-cuddle make-up session so you can soothe whatever late maternal guilt is giving you premature wrinkles? Fuck you!" He spat the words as if ridding himself of a revolting taste in his mouth.
"Ban-kun!" Kuroudo-kun looked quite shocked. "That's no way to speak to a lady, and certainly not one who has come such a long way to meet you!"
"Well I sure as hell ain't gonna puke sunshine and flowers up her ass," Ban-kun snarled. "What the fuck did you think you were doing, Jackal, bringing her around when you knew goddamn well the history between us?"
"I was doing my job," Kuroudo-kun replied tartly, frowning now that he was on the receiving end of his lover's verbal barrage. "Transporters transport whatever they are contracted for, even if that cargo happens to be another person. You know that, Midou-kun," he said sternly, reverting to the less fondly familiar form of address he used whenever he was displeased by something Ban-kun did. "If it's any comfort, I had no idea who exactly the person in question was until I arrived at the pickup site - "
"Bullshit! You've dealt with those Babylon bastards long enough to know what kinds of mindfuckery they're capable of. There's no way you can convince me that you didn't know something was about to go down." Ban-kun snorted. "No wonder you were so accommodating to Hevn. You knew you'd get a shot at going up against me and Ginji."
"Doctor Jackal isn't responsible for this situation," Miss Midou interjected before Kuroudo-kun could offer a defense. "I've told you, Ban. I was the one who requested a transfer. I picked these agents based on the history concerning their team and yours that was given to me by the negotiators who arranged the contracts. I knew it was the only way our paths would cross the way I wanted them to."
"I'd say you accomplished a spectacular disaster, all right," Ban-kun growled, sweeping a hand at all the damage the chase had wrought. "For all the fat lot of good it did you. I'm no more interested in a relationship with you than you were in taking care of me, Mother."
Now that's just mean, I growled, tail lashing as stiffly as a bottle-brush, to Medusa-chan. Ban-kun isn't even giving her a chance to explain herself!
Why should he? my sister hissed. From the sounds of it, she wasn't a very nice mother to him when he was little. I'd be pissed off too.
Maybe, but that doesn't mean that she can't try to make amends for whatever she's done, I replied. She obviously cared enough about Ban-kun to want to find him after so long. That has to mean something...
At the moment, unfortunately, our human wasn't interested in the offer of reconciliation. He was too tightly wound with emotional pitfalls to see that bigger picture presented to him by fate. Miss Midou had taken a step backwards, her pretty face creased into a wince by her son's hostility. She must have expected it; the surprise she wore came not from the angry words themselves but by the degree of bitterness with which they were uttered.
"Ban," she tried again, clutching with one hand at the wrap she had draped over her shoulders, and the other hand gripping her purse. "I know that you're angry. I don't blame you. There's no excuse for what I did years ago. If – if you would let me, I could tell you why...why I acted the way I did..." She trailed off, looking as lost and helpless as a refugee at sea. "I wasn't – wasn't thinking well, I thought...I was afraid – I truly didn't mean to hurt you - "
Her flag of truce was abruptly snapped into pieces by Ban-kun's eruption. "Hurt me? Hurt me?! No, noooooo! You never hurt me, mother. You only tried to bash my brains in every second the old hag wasn't around to stop you from doing it! You ever let dear old dad in on any of your psycho tantrums, or did you just figure it'd be kinder to pass me off as an accident after you made me disappear once and for all? I'd have been better off being flushed out when I was still just a microscopic parasite squatting in the middle of your guts, or didn't you have the balls to take care of your mistake when you had the opportunity?"
The poor woman looked even more miserable by the accusations. I had a sinking feeling that despite Ban-kun's penchant for exaggeration and drama, there was more than a kernel of truth to the ugliness he was leveling at her. "Ban, I'm sorry, I truly am - "
He stabbed a finger at her. "Don't! Don't you dare give me some pathetic attempt at an apology now. I don't want it and don't need it. Not from you. There's nothing you can say that could ever make up for what you did, you sick, twisted, hateful bitch!"
"Ban!" Lady Himiko had one bottle out and ready to go, but again, Gouzou-kun was holding her back. To his credit though, he didn't look any happier about this turn of events than she – or anyone else – was.
"Midou Ban!" Kuroudo-kun's voice had lost its soothing comfort and taken on a harsher edge. "That's quite enough of that! I realize you're upset, but there's no need for such incivility! She's your blood, can you not at least respect that much?"
Ban-kun fried him with blue thunder ablaze. "I think you've done enough, okay, so why don't you just shut the fuck up, Akabane. You have no idea what you're talking about - "
"I know that right now you aren't acting anything like the man that I know," Kuroudo-kun shot back. "The Ban Midou I know would have given his opponent a chance at honorable defense before striking his victim down."
"Yeah, well, that's what monsters do best, isn't it? Strike without mercy. You taught me that, huh, mother?" Ban-kun turned to the now-softly weeping woman in pink. "Monsters, demons, they don't have an ounce of pity in their black hearts for anything or anyone. Why should I be any different? I've got my father's witch-blood in my veins. I'm just like him, a coldblooded snake of a killer. Hell, I'm shacked up with one just like me," he laughed sharply, jabbing a thumb at Kuroudo-kun. "The worst for the worst. Pretty fitting, and just like you said how I'd turn out, mom." He fairly sneered at her. "Bet you must be proud, knowing you were finally relieved of the responsibility of raising a demon-spawn."
"That is ENOUGH!"
The outburst rumbled loud enough to stun everyone into silence, even the ranting Ban-kun and crying Miss Midou. All eyes turned to Gouzou-kun, who had let go of Lady Himiko and was barging into the fray with all the intimidation his bulk could muster.
"You want to take care of your problem right now? Fine. Do it and get it over with." Gouzou-kun took hold of Miss Midou's arm – not ungently – and towed her closer to Ban-kun. He appeared to withdraw, but changed his mind and stiffened his spine, as if wanting to avoid showing weakness in the face of this new confrontation. If his back was any more rigid one could have carved granite from it, I thought.
"Go on," Gouzou-kun ordered. "You want revenge for what happened? Kill her. Right here. Right now."
Ginji-kun gasped audibly. Lady Himiko and Kuroudo-kun protested as one. "Maguruma - " they chorused.
"No buts," the big man cut them off. "He wants to pitch a screaming fit, he can do it on his own time. I'm sick of listening to his motormouth."
Ban-kun had recovered his momentum and was pointing his verbal torpedoes at Gouzou-kun now. "Listen, No-Brakes, you wanna go any time, either shut up and put up or get in your tank and piss off. Nobody asked you to butt in!"
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you." Gouzou-kun could sound remarkably like one of the biggest, meanest dogs alive when he was well and truly angered. His deep voice rumbled like an earthquake preparing to crush Ban-kun, and Medusa-chan and I almost skittered for the underside of the car seat again. "You hate this woman so much, do yourself a favor and off her right now so you can get on with your life, if her presence is that much of a thorn in your side."
Ban-kun's nostrils flared as he contemplated a bullheaded charge. But given that Gouzou-kun was constructed of formidable muscle, and Lady Himiko had now approached with her perfume bottle (flame, of course) held high, and Kuroudo-kun had extended his knives (bright red instead of blue-white), and Ginji-kun was crackling (literally) with tension, he realized that his odds weren't good. He lowered his stony glare from Gouzou-kun to a tearful Miss Midou.
I couldn't hear what she said next because her voice had faded almost completely. However, my time as a kitten on the busy streets had taught me a few useful survival skills, and I had learned to read human mouth movements with a decent record of accuracy. I translated for Medusa-chan:
"It's all right, Ban. I understand. I do. Go ahead and kill me, if that's what you want. I know I deserve it for the way I treated you. And...I know you don't want to hear it, but...I'm sorry. I owe you at least that much of an apology. I know that I can never begin to repair the damage I did. If my destruction is the only repayment you consider fitting, then I accept that as my due."
She seemed to sag in a drooping stem of pink, her head bowing in tired resignation. I couldn't see her face under the hat now, but I imagined that her eyes had closed; likely she had no wish to see her grisly fate coming.
Medusa-chan gaped at me. He's not really gonna do it, is he, Bastet!?
Worried for both sides, we waited for a heart-stopping eternity to see what Ban-kun's final answer would be. Lady Himiko looked torn between wanting to tear him apart or surrender to tears, a remembrance of grief long past dampening her eyes. Gouzou-kun still looked angry, but expectant, as if he held a close bet that no one else knew about. Ginji-kun was on the verge of sheer panic. Kuroudo-kun's face was pinched with clear disapproval, his usually-smiling lips turned down and thinned to irritation. He was tapping still-reddened scalpels against his thigh, as if impatient for Ban-kun to do or say something that would in his eyes necessitate a painful reminder of proper etiquette.
Somewhere off to the east sirens were bleating a call to arms. Several passerby had pulled over and were industriously snapping photographs from their car windows, for what reason only gods knew.
Ban-kun was rooted to the spot, still staring down Miss Midou. She slowly lifted her head, and her eyes were not closed. Her face was still streaked with wet lines, but she didn't buckle to outright sobs or hysterics. She simply stood...and waited.
Finally her son decided. He raised his right hand, the one he used most often in a fight. It was this same hand that was said to harbor the spirit of a great and deadly ancestor descended from the very heavens above. But no sooner had he begun the movement than he ended it, lowering that weapon and jamming his fist against his side.
"Get martyred on someone else's clock. You're not worth the effort," he growled.
Without waiting for anyone's response, Ban-kun suddenly whirled and stalked back towards the car. The closer he got, I realized that what I had taken for a furious glint in his face was the unmistakable shine of deep-seated pain. It must have taken a herculean effort for him to hold his composure in as long as he had, being confronted with the darkness of his past. Ban-kun never cried.
What do we do now? Medusa-chan asked quickly.
Stay with Kuroudo-kun, I said. Ban-kun's too upset right now to think straight. Besides, I think he needs to be alone for a while...
We ran around the other side of the car to avoid crossing his path, not that it would have mattered much because he took little notice of our escape other than to mutter, "Damned crazy cats!" He got in his car and slammed the door shut, and a series of sputtering exhaust fumes coughed forth from the tailpipe as he sought to start the vehicle up.
Kuroudo-kun abruptly appeared in our line of sight. But instead of gathering us up to chastise or comfort us, he headed for the little Subaru with Ginji-kun hot on his heels. They were almost to the driver's side door when the car buzzed to life and shot off like a bullet, the squealing of burnt rubber and grinding of bare wheel on pavement making us all grimace.
Lady Himiko caught up beside Kuroudo-kun. "Will he...will Ban be...all right?" she asked, her voice wavering on the edge of a fathomless chasm.
"Ban-chan," Ginji-kun said softly, his voice a mournful quiver. "Why?"
"Not to be a party pooper, but we'd better scram before the cops get here," Gouzou-kun warned, approaching us with outstretched hands before the sirens could become too loud for comfort. I for one was glad of the chance to leave this chaotic scene, and after her particular adventure it took little persuasion to convince Medusa-chan of the wisdom of hasty retreat. We climbed into the big man's arms and allowed him to carry us back to the truck.
Reluctantly, Lady Himiko and Ginji-kun followed him. Miss Midou had already withdrawn to the rear of the cab, and sat curled in on herself like a drooping flower fading in the throes of late bloom. She was as silent as a ghost, though from time to time droplets of moisture would sprinkle across the fabric of her suit.
Kuroudo-kun said nothing. He stood, gazing into the distance at the vanishing car, until further prompting from Lady Himiko drew his attention. When he turned around, his displeasure had smoothed itself into a calm but somber thoughtfulness.
Ginji-kun, at Gouzou-kun's suggestion, was settling himself in the back next to Miss Midou. He started to put his hand on her shoulder, hesitated, and let it drop back into his lap, unsure if this was the right thing to do under the circumstances. He looked about ready to start crying himself, and his misery was compounded by the fact that he would have to ride with Kuroudo-kun nearby.
Yet that didn't stop him from braving one more question to his best friend's intimate companion. "Akabane-san – what's wrong with Ban-chan?"
Kuroudo-kun sat upon the floor across from the other two people in a flutter of black cloaking. Barely had the tails of his coat settled around his legs than Medusa-chan and I were crawling into his lap. He acknowledged us with idle caresses, his mind clearly elsewhere now. Tilting his hat until it sat just so upon his head, he looked up at Ginji-kun with a grave expression.
"Even the strongest of men suffer their fears."
--
A truth of physics was that in a battle, the larger vehicle would always win. Gouzou-kun's truck, upon closer inspection once we'd fled the scene of our crime, was found to have sustained markedly less damage than Ban-kun's car, despite the initial shock of the clash. The grill would need some work, and there were knife-marks scouring the entirety of the body where Kuroudo-kun and Ginji-kun had dueled, but overall the repairs would prove easy. After pulling out the shredded stumps of what had once been Ban-kun's left rear tire from under one of the axles, Gouzou-kun drove us back to our home at Kuroudo-kun's humble suggestion.
More problematic was the question of what to do with the pink lady, Miss Midou. Since she had been rejected by her son, and apparently was unable to return to wherever she'd come from, she was effectively stranded.
"It is rather late, Midou-sama," Kuroudo-kun said kindly while offering a hand for her to take, in order to step down from the truck safely. "May I suggest a motel nearby? It's quite reasonable in price, and it's close enough should Ban-kun change his mind..."
"I don't think he will," Miss Midou sighed. "But I appreciate the offer anyway. No, you needn't concern yourself," she said, waving away Gouzou-kun's hand when he started to invite her along for another ride. "You've done enough for me, and I thank you."
"Are you sure?" Lady Himiko was still caught between anger and worry; doubtless she would let Ban-kun have an earful the first chance she got. "The motel's not that far off of a drive."
Miss Midou shook her head. "I don't mind. I need the walk. If nothing else the exercise will help put me to sleep tonight." She sighed again.
"Hey, she could come stay with me," Ginji-kun said, looking hopeful. "I live right next door to Ban-chan!"
"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea right now, Ginji-kun," Kuroudo-kun said kindly.
"Yeah, Ginji," Lady Himiko said. "It's a nice thought, but you saw how crazy Ban was back there. Frankly, I'd worry about everyone's safety if she stayed here tonight and he found out about it."
"Oh." Ginji-kun offered up a meager fumble of a smile. "Sorry, Midou-san."
"It's all right. As the transporters said, I appreciate the offer," she told him quietly. "Please don't worry any more. I have money for a room." She looked away into the fading distance of burnished afternoon sun. "I suppose...I'll get by..."
Kuroudo-kun extracted a card from the inside breast pocket of his coat and handed it to her. "Please don't hesitate to call us if you should require anything. I would hate to think that your stay in Shinjuku should come at a complete loss. I personally would like to offer my services as an escort if you choose to pursue an extended tour..."
Miss Midou looked at the card for a while and then slowly put it inside her purse. "Thank you, Doctor." She nodded at Lady Himiko and Gouzou-kun. "Thank you. I trust that the negotiator I spoke with will take care of your fee?"
"Not a problem," Gouzou-kun assured her.
"It's only money," Kuroudo-kun said, to which Lady Himiko raised a brow, but said nothing. She and Ban-kun were more alike in that respect than either of them cared to admit, I thought.
"Please take care, Midou-sama," she said, stepping forward to offer her hand in a gesture of goodwill. "And...I'm sorry about – about Ban. For what it's worth," she said quietly.
"Me too," Ginji-kun piped up. "I know it's hard to believe, but Ban-chan's not really that awful, I swear, Midou-san. He's just...really...sensitive...about some things..."
Miss Midou took their hands and held them gratefully. For the first time since their meeting she bestowed a small smile, wobbling, but brave, upon her chauffeurs. "There's no need to apologize. His accusations are justified. I should have respected that, and I didn't." Her eyes lowered to the pavement. "I guess...I just wanted to see him for just one minute...to know that in spite of all he's been through, he's still unbowed by the world. I think that...that he'll be all right. His father would have been proud." She flicked her gaze suddenly back up to Lady Himiko. "And please...if we should meet again, I would like for you to call me Sabrina."
"Sabrina-san," Lady Himiko said softly as their hands slipped apart, and the elder woman nodded a last farewell to everyone before departing like a shadow at twilight.
"Your asshole partner is a dead man when I get my hands on him!" Lady Himiko fumed as loudly as she dared to Ginji-kun when Sabrina Midou was out of earshot.
"Himiko-san, really," Kuroudo-kun hushed. He very rarely used obscenities himself, and then only when he was upset to the point of losing his prized self-control, claiming that such debasement was beneath a gentleman of his standing. Medusa-chan had told me that Ban-kun said it was just that Kuroudo-kun was entirely too repressed and needed to pull the scalpel out of his ass.
"You saw for yourself how he behaved when she tried to talk to him, Akabane! Even if she is guilty of half the things he accused her of, she didn't make excuses or blame him for her actions. She was trying to apologize, for God's sake! What kind of a bastard won't let his own mother apologize for past wrongs?"
"An extremely upset and emotional one who isn't thinking clearly at the moment," Kuroudo-kun said, holding up one white-clad finger. "We all know how volatile Ban-kun's temper can be. The circumstances need not be compounded by additional hostilities."
"Well, he's gone too far this time," Lady Himiko snarled. "The next time our paths cross he's getting a faceful of corrosion perfume!"
"I'm with Himiko on that one," Gouzou-kun said. "If I'd ever dared speak to my mother that way, even if she was in the wrong, I'd still be spitting soap slivers from here to eternity."
"I can appreciate the sentiment, and I can assure you that I will be having words with Midou-kun myself at the earliest possible convenience," Kuroudo-kun said. "But I must ask that at least for now, you would refrain from interfering, however well-meaning your intentions may be." He looked toward a cringing Ginji-kun. "That includes you as well, Ginji-kun. I know of the delight you take in assisting others, and while I have no doubt of the sincerity of your actions, I believe that they would only prove counterproductive at this point in time. Once Ban-kun has had time to spend his anger, then we might consider how best to approach him."
"I dunno, Akabane-san. He was pretty mad when he left," Ginji-kun said. "I'd let you stay at my place if you want, in case he kicks you out when you go home...?"
Woah, Medusa-chan muttered to me. Ban-kun MUST be pissed if Ginji-kun's volunteering to risk life and limb!
"I can go sleep at Kazu-chan's, or maybe Shido would let me bunk at Madoka-chan's place," Ginji-kun added hastily. We should have known that was coming.
"Thank you for the offer, but it won't be necessary," Kuroudo-kun said. "If Midou-kun thinks he can kick me out of my own dwelling over a silly misunderstanding, he's got quite a different thought coming." Four knives punctuated his statement with a swift hiss of air. "I assure you, I will see to it that he comes to his senses and listens to reason. Speaking of which..."
Uh-oh, Medusa-chan said as we hunkered down in the back of the truck cab.
Kuroudo-kun strode towards us with grim determination. Before either of us could scoot to safety – not that we had much of anywhere to hide – he seized us both with firm hands and bundled us into his arms.
"You have both been very naughty today! You will never frighten us like that again, do you understand, Lady Bastet? Medusa?"
But Kuroudo-kun, I whimpered, we did it for you! You and Ban-kun! We were only trying to protect you two...
"Oh no you don't," he said as coolly as he could manage. "Pleading innocence won't help you now. So help me Ast, if either of you two ever behaves that uncouthly again, I will declaw the both of you myself!"
This set us to mewling and wailing at once, as that specter of painful humiliation was feared by all cats far and wide. Kuroudo-kun would never stoop to such cruelty in spite of his threat, but both Medusa-chan and I knew it was important to press our case. There was nothing like a sound guilt-trip to remind our humans of their place and encourage them to pay proper homage, and sure enough, Kuroudo-kun crumbled like a cookie being sacrificed to Ginji-kun's hunger.
"My poor darlings! My precious ones! I'm so glad that you're all right." We took turns sharing in his kisses and nuzzles, as he sought to reassure us of his devotion to our care, while the other humans looked on with a combination of relief, amusement, and annoyance.
"Why do you put on such a show when we all know the worst that you'll do to them is lock up the catnip pouch for a week?" Lady Himiko sighed.
Kuroudo-kun looked up at her with an armful of purrs and smiled. "Ah, but they don't know that, Himiko-san. Discipline begins in the home. They have to learn early on who is the boss, as any good parent would teach by example."
Medusa-chan and I looked at each other. Oh yeah? my sister growled. We'll see who's the boss the next time you go screeching to Ban-kun after a mouse crawls up your pant leg with you still in it. I still owe you for kicking me out of bed at Maria's!
--
TBC