Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only this story belongs to me. :)

Tenoko: Okay, for those of you reading, I realized I had been making Ginji's eyes blue in previous chapters, I've corrected that mistake and returned them to brown. My apologies.

Precious Things

Chapter seven

Strands of his dark hair fell gently over his shoulder as he leaned in closer over the boy, offering a reassuring smile as he gently ran his thumb over the blond's cheekbone. Hesitating, Akabane took a moment to memorize Ginji's face, the way he bit his bottom lip between his teeth, averting his gaze shyly before a sort of calm washed over his features, his gaze locking with the dark of Akabane's.

"Go head."

And without another word, the dark man covered Ginji's mouth with his own, immediately feeling electricity hum through his entire body. He kissed him slowly, treasuring the moment. After an uncertain pause, Ginji softly began kissing him back, hesitantly at first, then more assured. He tilted his head further back to make the kiss easier, a trembling hand coming up to cover Akabane's own that still cupped the blond's jaw, the other hand came to rest against Akabane's chest, gripping the shirt material lightly.

Smiling against the blond's mouth, Akabane broke the kiss, dark eyes opening to witness the other boy's face. Long lashes fluttered open as though waking from a dream, his light brown eyes now earth colored, his pupils dilated. His features simply seemed peaceful, causing a pleased smile to cross the dark man's lips; a faint blush darting across the blond's nose as he offered a shy smile, before Akabane placed one more soft kiss against his mouth then straightened.

Natsume still stood cemented to her earlier spot a few feet away, her camera held up with one hand, while the other one covered her nose and the lower portion of her face. A sly smirk crept across Akabane's lips and he winked to Natsume, and she bolted from the room, one hand still covering her face as she rushed into the kitchen. A cry of surprise followed her entrance, only for her to reappear running from the room and up the stairs dragging Himiko behind her.

"Natsume, slow down! What's the matter? Shouldn't we go to the bathroom with your nose bleeding like that?! What happened?"

The other males in the kitchen came out curiously, their gaze following the two women who had dashed up the stairs before shifting to the two men in the living room. Ginji was still rooted to his chair, while Akabane was comfortably half-sitting on the table's surface, once again leisurely shuffling the cards in his hands.

"What happened?" Questioned Shido, a brow raising in suspicion.

Kazuki frowned in concern. "Neither of you hit her, did you?"

Sighing, Ban shook his head. "I don't know. Ginji can be pretty competitive, especially if they were playing for snacks, but I don't think even that's enough to make him hit her. Maybe Akabane decked her..."

Chuckling, the dark man set the cards on the table and moved away, past Ginji to follow suit upstairs.

"Why would I do that? I already got my treat." A pleased smile crossed over his lips, and he inclined his head to the males by the kitchen as he passed. "Now, while all of you speculate, I'm actually going to go check on Miss Natsume." He stated, beginning to ascend the stairs.

"Will you come back?" A voice called out suddenly from behind him. He slowly turned to see Ginji standing a few feet from the table, like he'd thought about going after Dr. Jackal as though to stop him. A furious blush encompassed the blond's face, and he glanced away, turning his head to hide the hopefulness he was afraid was evident there. "To watch the movies with everybody, I mean."

Offering a soft nod, Jackal smirked at him.

"Why of course Ginji-kun. I did promise, after all. You'd best do something about your prize though, lest Emishi steal it away from you. Speaking of which..." His smile turned more sinister as he shifted his focus to the silent joker standing by the kitchen. "I'm certain Miss Himiko has some peroxide among her medical supplies. Should I borrow some for you while I'm up here, so you can pay off your losses?" A cackle escaped him as he turned and made his way upstairs not even waiting for a response.

A half whimper/sob escaped the auburn haired man, a hand raising up to swipe at his cheek. "My hair..." He blubbered, slinking up the stairs after the mysterious doctor.

--

--

Kazuki smiled back at Ginji as they slowly trekked through the snow-covered forest.

"You know, Mr. Ginji, you didn't have to come with me."

The blond nodded, pulling his coat closer around his body.

"I know, Kazu, but I wanted to. There was no reason for you to have to search by yourself, and I know Juubei is only so much help." The brunette didn't argue, only smiled politely in response as Ginji reached his side. It was snowing again, soft layers falling from the sky. "Ban thinks that with this snow the thieves might take another opportunity to make away with whatever it is they meant to steal."

Nodding, the thread master brushed part of his hair over his shoulder, before adjusting one of the bells in his hair.

"If Shido's information is correct and the people who made you sick earlier are using to snow to cloak themselves, then yes, it would be a most opportune time for them. But tell me, Mr. Ginji, why aren't you searching with Ban as you normally would?"

Honey colored eyes slowly took in the scenery around them, peering through the whites, browns and greens for any sign of anything moving.

"Ban is searching with Himiko right now. I wanted to give them some time together."

"You're really very sweet, Mr. Ginji," Chuckled the brunette, before his laughter faded away to be replaced by a quiet seriousness. "But that's not the only reason you decided to accompany me on this search, is it?"

Frowning, Ginji only offered the thread master a sideways glance before continuing to carefully scan all around them. Searching for any signs that someone other than themselves had been out in those woods.

"How do you mean, Kazu?"

Detaching a bell from his hair, Kazuki busied himself about rolling it between his fingers with flawless ease, as he slowly edged himself into the subject at hand.

"Something is bothering you. Something you don't know what to do about on your own, and you probably feel you can't very well discuss it with Ban, so you came to me." He smiled at the man he still viewed as his leader. "You knew whatever the problem was I would never judge or hold it against you, I wouldn't even laugh."

Cheeks turning a light hue of pink, the blond snorted in frustration, not turning to look at his friend. "Am I really that transparent? Even Ban knew something was bothering me yesterday."

Slender brows raised in curiosity. "Was his advice of no help?"

Ginji sighed heavily, his breath coming out in a thick white cloud.

"No, his advice was a lot of help, but my problem seems to be growing, and again, I don't know what to do, but I couldn't tell Ban about it because I thought he would freak out. Actually I know he would freak out."

Nodding, Kazuki offered, "Well, why don't you start by telling me what your problem was and the advice Ban gave you, then tell me how the situation has changed, and I'll see what I can do to help, okay?"

The blond nodded glumly, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "It's really simple to begin with, and maybe I'm just worrying too much, but it started when we came here and Akabane was here."

"You and Ban thought he wouldn't be." Stated Kazuki, nodding in understanding.

"Right, because Hevn couldn't get a hold of him. Well, Akabane and I got along just fine, for some weird reason, in fact, he was acting like a different person, so much so that everybody seemed to be getting along just fine with him."

The brunette nodded his agreement. "He does seem much more at peace and contented than he usually is."

"So I'm not the only one to have noticed, good. Well, the day before we got sick, he and I were left alone that morning and he made breakfast for the both of us, then we took a walk around the lake and just talked. The whole time, we got along just fine, and it started to bother me because I wasn't scared of him or anything like I normally am."

Kazuki chuckled, peering at the blond playfully. "He does have a tendency to make you nervous, doesn't he?" Ginji nodded, and the brunette asked. "Would you rather he was giving you a reason to be afraid of him?"

"Well, no..." Frowned the blond, before turning eagerly to his friend. "But it's what I expect! With him being so- so normal, I wasn't sure what to think. I told Ban about it, and he said that maybe there were two sides to Akabane just as there had been two sides to me, and that it was okay for me to want to be friends with Akabane, despite his past behavior. So I decided to quite worrying about it and do just that: be friends with Akabane."

"So wherein does the problem lie, Mr. Ginji?" Asked the brunette, frowning in confusion. So far there didn't seem to be any reason for Ginji to have concerns. At Kazuki inquiry though, the blond flushed a deep shade of scarlet, purposely refusing to look at the brunette. "Ahhh..." Crooned Kazuki, realization suddenly dawning. "That's why you came to me instead of Ban."

The blond looked up in confusion. "What is?"

Kazuki looked at him pointedly. "You like Akabane, and not just as a friend." Ginji opened his mouth to argue and Kazuki held up a finger to cut him off. "Or at least, you kind of like him in a way more than friends." He paused, watching Ginji with his head tilted slightly to the side. "That, and something happened between you, didn't it?"

The blond turned an even darker shade of red than before, ducking his head so as to avoid Kazuki's observant gaze. "Well, it's just, you're... well... y'know..."

"Not unless you tell me, no, I don't Mr. Ginji." The brunette laughed. "My specialty is threads, not mind reading."

"You and Juubei are..." He paused, searching for the right word so as not to offend his friend. "...more than just friends."

The brunette waved his hand dismissively.

"Juubei and I probably aren't the best people to compare your relationship to. Our relationship is both simple and complicated, and at times simply complicated." Laughed the feminine man.

"But, you're both guys..." Ventured Ginji, stealing glances at his friend as they continued to walk through the thick drifts of snow. "And you both... care about each other."

"We're in love with each other you mean?" Kazuki said for him, not the least bit embarrassed. Ginji nodded. "Well, you're right. Juubei and I both care deeply for each other, but like I said, our relationship is both complicated and simple. Though we both know how the other one feels, Juubei is stuck in a mindset to forever serve by my side as my guardian. He thinks if he allows himself to give into what he feels, he'll end up somehow betraying his vow to protect me, or that something will happen to me because he was careless. And for that, it causes a lot of tension between us at times." He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, there are times when even he puts aside his stubbornness and succumbs to his feelings and emotions, and when he does... it's nice. It's not always enough to know how a person feels about you, sometimes it's nice to feel it too, for them to show you they love you." He laughed suddenly, waving his hand dismissively again. "I'm sorry, I got off subject. Okay! You like Akabane; I have the sinking feeling he likes you too. This bothers you because you're both male, Akabane's past behavior, you think Ban will freak out, and it's very unexpected I'm sure." Ginji nodded, and the brunette continued. "Which is why you came to me for advice. So tell me why it bothers you so much, I mean, people go every day having a crush on someone and it never bothers them. What happened between you and he that you're suddenly in a panic?"

Ginji's blush this time made Kazuki smile, if only because the sight of his once fearless leader so embarrassed was rather adorable.

"Well, you remember how we were all playing games last night, and Natsume wanted to do penalty games, right?"

The thread master smiled fondly at the memories of the night before. "Indeed. I love that Emishi had to bleach his hair, I've never seen him cry and mope so much. I think the only thing that got him through it was that Natsume offered to do his hair for him then assured him he was still very attractive. He was on cloud nine after she said that, no matter what his hair looked like."

"Well, one of the penalties Natsume came up with was that whenever I lost, I had to be kissed by the person who lost the game before the one I did..."

"Ah!"

"And I lost the last game we played..."

"Let me guess, Akabane lost the one before that, am I right?" A nod. "So he kissed you?" Never had Kazuki seen anyone turn so red, even Ginji's hair seemed to turn red as he nodded timidly. The brunette nudged him playfully in the side. "...And?"

"It was really nice..." Admitted the blond.

"So it was a kiss-kiss, not just a peck." Mused Kazuki.

"Oh it was definitely a kiss-kiss."

"Well that explains Natsume's 'reaction' and later Himiko's." Stated the brunette softly.

Ginji rolled his eyes. "I think she took a picture of it."

The brunette shook his head in disagreement. "She didn't just take a picture, she recorded it on her camera from start to finish."

All the color drained from the blond's face. "Oh God. She didn't show everyone, did she?"

Kazuki shook his head. "Of course not. She showed Himiko that's all. It's why she drug her upstairs."

"Well, what do I do, Kazu?"

The brunette shrugged. "This may not seem very helpful, but try not to think about it so much. Don't worry, don't think, just act accordingly. And don't worry about Ban either, as long as he knows Akabane isn't going to hurt you, and he knows you're happy, then Ban will be happy."

"I don't understand what you mean by 'act accordingly'..." Worried the blond.

Kazuki pursed his lips together, searching for a way to explain.

"If you like Akabane, then like him, it's okay. If you liked it when he kissed you, that's okay too. If you want to be around him, seek him out. Don't worry about it, just act accordingly."

The blond continued to frown in confusion.

"But I don't understand, Kazu. Won't that cause problems?"

Shaking his head, Kazuki's brows drew together. "I don't see how."

"What if Akabane doesn't want me to... act accordingly?" He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "What if he was just fulfilling the penalty? What if there was no meaning behind the kiss, and it's just me who's feeling like this?"

The thread spinner placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"...I don't think that's something you have to worry about, Ginji. If it had meant nothing, he could have just as easily just peck kissed you, or kissed your cheek or forehead, like a friend would. He kissed you, really kissed you, right?"

The blond nodded. "Yeah, then he gave me another quick kiss before walking off."

"Well, then, he's definitely interested in you, Mr. Ginji. Why not test the water? Either react or confront him on it, it'll make things easier on both of you."

--

--

Ginji stared at the body of the man on the ground, before shifting his gaze to Emishi and Natsume in surprise.

"This guy attacked the two of you while you were out searching for clues?"

Natsume nodded happily.

"Yep!"

Himiko raised a brow in question. "How can you be so cheerful? What if he'd killed one of you?"

The teenage girl shook her head.

"No waaaay! Emishi totally kicked his butt! It was great! I wasn't the least bit worried." She frowned at the corpse on the ground. "Emishi left him alive, though. The guy's death is his own fault, he took something from a vial before Emishi could physically get to him."

Ban growled, furiously scratching the back of his head in irritation before turning to Himiko.

"Well, we have to call the authorities to take care of the body, but will you assist with the autopsy, let us know anything you find?"

Lady Poison rolled her eyes. "Ban Midou, you know very well they aren't going to let me assist in the autopsy, I'm not a legal doctor. I'm more of a chemist than anything. Now, I can make sure they give me the results of the autopsy, but that's all I can do." She shifted her gaze to the Joker of the group and the teenager that was fussing over him. "Are you sure the two of you are okay? No injuries at all?"

Emishi shook his head, smoothing a hand over his bleached blond hair that was pulled back in its signature pony tail.

"Nope. I'm right as rain, this guy wasn't even worth the effort it took to beat him. I could have done it in my sleep."

The dark haired woman wasn't satisfied.

"I'd still like to do some blood tests on the both of you to make sure you didn't inhale anything potentially dangerous."

"But..." Kazuki began softly. "Why attack Emishi and Natsume? Why not sneak into the house while it's defenses were down? I mean, most of us were out searching the grounds, only Juubei and Shido were there to protect it, rather than all of us."

"Maybe he thought his hiding spot had been compromised, he may have thought they'd already spotted him." Stated Shido flatly, his arms crossed over his chest. "Or maybe they were getting close to something they weren't suppose to find and he gave his position away in an effort to distract them."

Ban nodded in agreement.

"He's got a point, did the two of you thoroughly search the area? Even after the battle?"

The pair nodded in unison.

"Went over the place with a fine tooth comb." Stated Emishi simply, shoving his hand into his pockets and standing in a casual slouch.

"Did anyone else find anything?" Questioned Ban, gaze shifting over the different faces of their group. No one said anything. "Akabane?" Called the brunette, causing the dark man to look up curiously as the focus shifted to him. "Is there anything you want to let us know?"

A slender brow raised as his eyes narrowed challengingly.

"Are you implying you think I know something?"

Ban took out a cigarette and lit it, never taking his eyes off Akabane as he did.

"Did I say that? You're the only one who hasn't said anything. In fact, during all our meetings, you're the only one with nothing to say."

"Because I have nothing to say." Dr. Jackal retorted flatly.

"Really? You have no thoughts about what's been going on?" Challenged Ban.

The doctor smiled pleasantly. "Oh I never said that, I just said I have nothing to say."

Ban snorted, his lip curling back in a snarl. "Then, please, enlighten us as to your thoughts on the subject."

Akabane's dark eyes narrowed threateningly. "There's nothing to say really. But if you're so paranoid-"

"I'm not paranoid!"

"-as to think I'm keeping something vital from you, I was merely thinking perhaps we should not spread ourselves out so thin from now on. As opposed to four groups of two, maybe just two groups of four, one group always staying at the house. Someone could call Hevn to see if she's learned anything new from the client, send the blood results to Paul and have him cross reference the items required to make the poisons with items purchased by individuals lately. I can't imagine they're in high demand by the general public." He paused as a slow smile crept across his face. "I thought those actions were so simple to come up with you'd surely already thought it up on your own, Midou. Perhaps I was mistaken in thinking so."

Grinding his teeth, Ban tossed his cigarette away in disgust, sneering at Jackal.

"For your information, Smart-ass, I had already thought of that. In fact, I've already contacted Hevn to see if she's been able to get anymore information out of the client, and Paul is already searching for hits on the chemicals we found in yours and Ginji's blood! So there!"

Jackal smiled pleasantly, tilting his head to the side.

"Wonderful." He turned to go inside the house. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's quite cold out here and getting colder I believe."

The others moved to follow the dark man's lead, Himiko being stopped by Ban. She turned, arching a brow in question. He shook his head, signaling she wait till everyone had gone inside. Once they were gone she looked at him pointedly.

"I'm not moving the body if that's what you want."

He shook his head.

"No. I need your phone. Call the authorities about the body while I call Hevn and Paul. The cocky son of a... 'I thought these actions were so simple to come up with'." He mimicked with a sneer. "I've got a lot on my mind, jerk! A dead body, members of my team were attacked, someone could have been hurt, we still don't know why we're here or what we're suppose to protect."

"Why didn't you just tell him that while he was still out here? Rather than lying and bluffing your way around it." Himiko asked, holding her phone to her ear, then frowned. "I'm on hold."

Taking out his own phone he immediately dialed Hevn.

"He was trying to make me look incompetent!"

"You can do that all on your own, Ban." She retorted with a teasing smirk. He glowered at her, and she smiled. "You are the one who pushed him for a response. You were mad when he wouldn't say anything, now you're mad at what he did say. Give the guy a bre- oh! Hello. Yes, there's been an accident up at our cabin." She turned away from him to speak, moving a few feet away.

"Hevn speaking." The blonde's voice resound in his ear.

"Hevn! Look, things just got more serious up here and I need help from you and Paul."

--

--

Sighing, Ginji handed a cherry sucker to Natsume as she came to sit next to him on the steps leading up to the loft on the third floor. One of the huge duffel bags of snacks sat at their feet, both of them waiting on the person in the shower to finish. With a sigh, Natsume slumped over to rest her head against Ginji's shoulder, the stick to the candy held between her lips. Brown eyes shifting to the female by his side, Ginji biting his bottom lip.

"Hey, Natsume...?"

"Yeah?"

"Um... the thing on your camera..." He felt himself blush slightly, and the teenage girl lift her head to look at him curiously. He chanced a glance at her then quickly looked away. "Could you not show it to everyone?"

His question seemed to upset her, her expression falling, before she put her head back on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Ginji. I showed Himiko, but only because I knew she would never believe me, and it had something to do with a conversation we'd had before. I wouldn't broadcast your personal business like that, Gin, I would think you would know that..."

The blond suddenly felt guilty; his request had hurt her feelings.

"I didn't think you would, but this isn't a normal situation... I mean, I didn't want you to think it was just a funny penalty, like a big joke and tell everyone... And I mean it may have been just because of the penalty, but it was a big deal, Natsume, at least to me, and I just don't want... it might make things complicated, or upset someone, I mean, it's our business, so..."

She hugged his arm, kissing his shoulder.

"Relax, Ginji. I understand, I mean, I didn't realize it was so serious to you, but I respect that, and wasn't going to tell anyone anyway, but now I'll be doubly sure not to."

He nuzzled the top of her head.

"Thank you, Natsume." He whispered, before a comfortable silence fell over them and they continued to wait for the person showering in the bathroom.

"If it makes us even... I like Emishi." She stated after a long moment of silence.

He glanced at her, and though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was blushing.

"You should tell him. He'd be happy." He told her with a smile.

"You think?" She questioned softly, causing the blond to nod.

"Don't tell him I told you, but I think Emishi really likes you, too."

"Thanks, Ginji."

Again they fell into a comfortable silence. A few minutes later the door to the bathroom opened, billows of steam escaping into the hallway as a half-dressed Akabane exited into the hall. He stopped when he saw the pair seated at the bottom of the steps leading up to the third floor that was his room, they both stared at him in return, both blushing faintly, causing the dark man to smirk. He only wore a black pair of pants, he'd forgotten his clean shirt in his room, and his damp hair hung heavily around his shoulders and sticking to his skin.

"Hello..." He purred. "You have some business with me, or are you merely guarding the entrance to my room?"

Natsume recovered from her stupor first, laughing lightly at his question.

"We wanted to hang out with you for a while, that's all." She grinned broadly.

"Oh really?" He drawled. "I'm awfully popular as of late..."

"We even brought snacks. Ginji decided to share." Natsume stated standing and lifting the bag so that Akabane could pass. Ginji stood too, standing to the left of the stairway. The dark haired man passed smoothly by them, stopping to look at Ginji.

He cast a sideways glance at Natsume. "Ginji's sweet in many different ways, isn't he?"

The teenager laughed.

"If I didn't know better I'd say there was a double meaning to that sentence, Akabane."

He laughed and tapped the end of her nose with his index finger.

"How very astute of you, Natsume. Do you know better?" He questioned gliding up the stairs with the pair on his heels.

Ginji followed in a dazed silence, everything about Akabane leaving him speechless. Dressed only in a pair of pants, his skin still damp with steam rolling off of him, water dripping from his hair and rolling down the toned muscles of his back... Brown eyes drifted over Akabane's many scars, and a faint desire to reach out and trace each of the different scars with his finger overcame him; he shoved his hands into his pockets in order to not embarrass himself. Hopefully, his reaction to the other man was not as obvious as he felt it was; he felt flushed and tingly all over just being near Akabane in such a state of dress. Dear God, what would happen were Akabane to kiss him while dressed like that?

"What are you three up to?" Questioned Himiko from behind them, causing each of them to turn in question.

"We were going to hang out with Mr. Akabane for a while. Want to join in?" She held up the duffel bag she was carrying. "We even have snacks."

The dark haired woman opened her mouth, as if to decline, then stopped, cocking her head to the side.

"Y'know... I think I will. Natsume, Ginji, you two help me get drinks while Akabane finishes getting dressed. We'll make this a proper party." She stated with a wink.

TBC

Tenoko: Another note, if you're interested in Get Backer avatars, I have a bunch on my blog, just click the homepage link on my author's page. By all means, feel free to check it out, okay? You can also find out about updates and ideas I have for my stories, plus see my art, photos, etc.