(A chapter! And yet, I still don't own GetBackers... But we knew that, now
didn't we children?)
"Ya, Paul," Ban said, stepping into the Honky Tonk, no more than ten or fifteen minutes after Ginji had walked in. Said blond-haired boy was sitting at the counter, looking worried.
"Ginjikun... Is something wr-" Ban started, peering at his friend. Then he noticed the booth in the corner.
Atop the seat closest to the wall was a curvy figure covered in dark, thick grey. Ban stood there, staring.
"Talia!?" he screamed, bug eyed. The girl on the seat didn't stir.
"Banchan, she passed out... Is that normal?" Ginji asked, blinking at his friend's reaction.
"Normal!? What about that girl -is- normal?" Ban said, turning around. "I'm getting out of here before she wakes-"
"But... But Banchan! That's not very nice to say about your sister!" Ginji said, standing and ready to go after Ban.
He turned back toward his partner, twitching. "Sister!? Is that the lie she fed to you to find me?"
"Lie?" Ginji asked, the shock clearly showing in his voice, "you mean Talia's not..?"
"No! She's just some stalker who needs a new hobby!" Ban yelled.
About at that moment there was a rustling in the corner, and a tiny yelp.
"Bansama!" Talia screeched, running toward him and jumping at him in a blur.
"No! N-" was all Ban managed to get out before the two fell to the floor in a chaotic tangle of arms and legs.
Natsumi blinked from behind the counter. "Well... She seems awfully happy to see you. At least she doesn't look so sick anymore!"
Ban got ahold of himself after a moment and pushed Talia away, standing.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, showing up here!?" Ban said. He looked seriously pissed.
"I... You were gone one day and I looked everywhere... And then... I mean... Why didn't you tell me you were going... I was so worried... And..." Talia trailed off, tears gathering at the corners of her violet eyes.
"Don't you get it? I don't give a damn! Stop -bothering- me, Talia!" As he spoke, she fell to her knees, covering her eyes with her hands, and they could all see the tears streaming out of her eyes.
Paul was reading a newspaper. He rustled it pointedly, as if silently saying "I'm not involved with any of this." Natsumi, meanwhile, was running around the counter to kneel beside Talia, muttering words of assurance.
"Banchan... You should have been more gentle with her," Ginji said, making a face at his fuming partner. Ban said nothing, and looked away.
Natsumi put her hand lightly on Talia's back, whispering that it'd be okay, and she jerked away suddenly, much as she'd done to Ginji earlier that day, having to move a lot more since Natsumi was much closer to her. She practically crawled on her back to get away, her tear stained hands slipping along the floor.
"Leave me... Leave me alone!" she yelped, curling up into a ball to cover her face. The walls of the cafe shook suddenly, as if someone with quite a bit of power had punched them simultaneously.
Ban's eyes widened, and he swore under his breath.
"Damn it, you!" he said, rushing toward the girl that resembled him and leaning over in front of her. "Do you hear me!? Stop this now!" The strange shaking began again, the shelves starting to tremble and threaten to throw their contents onto the floor. Paul looked upward, folding his paper.
"Ban, if she breaks anything, you're paying for it," he said.
He twitched, looking up at Paul. "This is -not- the time!"
"Just FYI."
Ban looked back at the girl sobbing at his feet. He wondered if she was even crying anymore, if her eyes weren't as they sometimes went--blank, cold, reflective--when her powers chose to surface. But he could hear a sniffle.
"Oi, stop this! You're going to cost me a lot of money, here!" Ban said, grabbing her by the shoulder. This time she made no move to get away.
"Is that all you care about!?" she yelled, looking straight up into his face. As she did so, a few glass things fell from shelves and tables. Paul stood.
"Bansan..."
Ban grabbed Talia by the collar of her jacket, making sure not to grip too hard.
"Talia. Stop this, right now," he said, in the calmest voice he could pull off. Talia looked up at him, tears gushing.
...Right now... Stop this right now...
She felt, not the same as she had earlier. This hadn't happened before, but someone -had- said that before... In that same, calm, commanding tone.
Talia grasped onto something... A memory.
Then she was falling and it was gone.
Ban caught her as she passed out, her head ending up against his chest quite neatly.
"How cute," Hevn said from the doorway, her arms crossed under her chest. "I suppose you're too -busy- to take a job, hm?"
Ginji jumped in her way as she made a move to leave.
"No, no, not at all, just wait right here while I separate these two lovebirds-" Ginji tugged on the back of Ban's shirt, and was rewarded with a firm backhand.
"It's not like that, damnit!" he said, standing with Talia strewn over his arms, and walking toward the booth she'd been resting in before.
"Anyway..." Hevn said, watching Ban gently lay the girl down.
"Why did she freak out like that when Natsumi touched her?" Ginji asked, cutting in, "She did that to me earlier, too.."
Hevn stood there, tapping her foot.
"Well, she never found out why, at least she didn't know why when I knew her, but she-"
"That's it, I'm going," Hevn said, starting to storm off.
"Nonono!" Ginji and Ban both jumped in front of her this time, and Ginji went to lead her toward an empty booth. Soon they were at least semi- settled down. Hevn ordered a cup of coffee, and the Get Backers watched her tensely while she sipped at it.
"Well..." The two leaned forward as she began to speak, anxious.
"I don't know if I can give this delicate job to such desparate men. You might jump the gun and get in some kind of trouble..." She said, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. The two crashed down onto the table.
"Hevn-san! You know us better than that!" Tare-Ginji whimpered, clinging to her shoulder. Amazingly he failed to get that she was just screwing with their heads. She thwacked him off, sending him flying facefirst into ban as she chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Here's the deal," she said, holding up her hands in a mock guesture of surrender, "Your client wants to meet with you personally, but he said to give you the rundown on the situation."
She took a deep breath and began again. "Our client--he'd like to stay mostly anonymous but we'll call him 'ichi'--used to work for a particular branch of a large company nicknamed 'Metto'... It's one of those cover-up stories you're always hearing about. These guys have close ties with the government and some serious power in decisions, but their existance is practically unknown. They, and their subsidary companies, work on unusual warfare tactics and weapons. Many of them are quite different, but they test a lot and the final products are usually efficient..."
She paused, making sure she was being listened to, and then continued. "Our man Ichi used to work for them, like I said. He had a son. Now the boy apparently still works for Metto, and hasn't been seen for years... He was forced to leave, and now he's worried they're using him. But the thing is, I couldn't find a single record of his ever existing, no less having a job with the company...
"This guy, though. He hasn't seen the boy for years, I guess. And that's all. I don't know what else he'll have to say about it, but he said he had important information. Here's the information about your meeting," She slid a manilla envelope across the table and then stood, taking one last sip of her coffee. "Be there, don't be late. You make me look bad when you don't show up."
Ban took the envelope carefully and watched Hevn leave, exchanging a glance with Ginji. After she left, they both sat for a moment, sort of mulling over what they'd just learned.
"Um... Bansan?" Natsumi said, tapping him on the shoulder lightly, "I hate to interrupt your thoughts, but where'd Talia go...?"
"Ya, Paul," Ban said, stepping into the Honky Tonk, no more than ten or fifteen minutes after Ginji had walked in. Said blond-haired boy was sitting at the counter, looking worried.
"Ginjikun... Is something wr-" Ban started, peering at his friend. Then he noticed the booth in the corner.
Atop the seat closest to the wall was a curvy figure covered in dark, thick grey. Ban stood there, staring.
"Talia!?" he screamed, bug eyed. The girl on the seat didn't stir.
"Banchan, she passed out... Is that normal?" Ginji asked, blinking at his friend's reaction.
"Normal!? What about that girl -is- normal?" Ban said, turning around. "I'm getting out of here before she wakes-"
"But... But Banchan! That's not very nice to say about your sister!" Ginji said, standing and ready to go after Ban.
He turned back toward his partner, twitching. "Sister!? Is that the lie she fed to you to find me?"
"Lie?" Ginji asked, the shock clearly showing in his voice, "you mean Talia's not..?"
"No! She's just some stalker who needs a new hobby!" Ban yelled.
About at that moment there was a rustling in the corner, and a tiny yelp.
"Bansama!" Talia screeched, running toward him and jumping at him in a blur.
"No! N-" was all Ban managed to get out before the two fell to the floor in a chaotic tangle of arms and legs.
Natsumi blinked from behind the counter. "Well... She seems awfully happy to see you. At least she doesn't look so sick anymore!"
Ban got ahold of himself after a moment and pushed Talia away, standing.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, showing up here!?" Ban said. He looked seriously pissed.
"I... You were gone one day and I looked everywhere... And then... I mean... Why didn't you tell me you were going... I was so worried... And..." Talia trailed off, tears gathering at the corners of her violet eyes.
"Don't you get it? I don't give a damn! Stop -bothering- me, Talia!" As he spoke, she fell to her knees, covering her eyes with her hands, and they could all see the tears streaming out of her eyes.
Paul was reading a newspaper. He rustled it pointedly, as if silently saying "I'm not involved with any of this." Natsumi, meanwhile, was running around the counter to kneel beside Talia, muttering words of assurance.
"Banchan... You should have been more gentle with her," Ginji said, making a face at his fuming partner. Ban said nothing, and looked away.
Natsumi put her hand lightly on Talia's back, whispering that it'd be okay, and she jerked away suddenly, much as she'd done to Ginji earlier that day, having to move a lot more since Natsumi was much closer to her. She practically crawled on her back to get away, her tear stained hands slipping along the floor.
"Leave me... Leave me alone!" she yelped, curling up into a ball to cover her face. The walls of the cafe shook suddenly, as if someone with quite a bit of power had punched them simultaneously.
Ban's eyes widened, and he swore under his breath.
"Damn it, you!" he said, rushing toward the girl that resembled him and leaning over in front of her. "Do you hear me!? Stop this now!" The strange shaking began again, the shelves starting to tremble and threaten to throw their contents onto the floor. Paul looked upward, folding his paper.
"Ban, if she breaks anything, you're paying for it," he said.
He twitched, looking up at Paul. "This is -not- the time!"
"Just FYI."
Ban looked back at the girl sobbing at his feet. He wondered if she was even crying anymore, if her eyes weren't as they sometimes went--blank, cold, reflective--when her powers chose to surface. But he could hear a sniffle.
"Oi, stop this! You're going to cost me a lot of money, here!" Ban said, grabbing her by the shoulder. This time she made no move to get away.
"Is that all you care about!?" she yelled, looking straight up into his face. As she did so, a few glass things fell from shelves and tables. Paul stood.
"Bansan..."
Ban grabbed Talia by the collar of her jacket, making sure not to grip too hard.
"Talia. Stop this, right now," he said, in the calmest voice he could pull off. Talia looked up at him, tears gushing.
...Right now... Stop this right now...
She felt, not the same as she had earlier. This hadn't happened before, but someone -had- said that before... In that same, calm, commanding tone.
Talia grasped onto something... A memory.
Then she was falling and it was gone.
Ban caught her as she passed out, her head ending up against his chest quite neatly.
"How cute," Hevn said from the doorway, her arms crossed under her chest. "I suppose you're too -busy- to take a job, hm?"
Ginji jumped in her way as she made a move to leave.
"No, no, not at all, just wait right here while I separate these two lovebirds-" Ginji tugged on the back of Ban's shirt, and was rewarded with a firm backhand.
"It's not like that, damnit!" he said, standing with Talia strewn over his arms, and walking toward the booth she'd been resting in before.
"Anyway..." Hevn said, watching Ban gently lay the girl down.
"Why did she freak out like that when Natsumi touched her?" Ginji asked, cutting in, "She did that to me earlier, too.."
Hevn stood there, tapping her foot.
"Well, she never found out why, at least she didn't know why when I knew her, but she-"
"That's it, I'm going," Hevn said, starting to storm off.
"Nonono!" Ginji and Ban both jumped in front of her this time, and Ginji went to lead her toward an empty booth. Soon they were at least semi- settled down. Hevn ordered a cup of coffee, and the Get Backers watched her tensely while she sipped at it.
"Well..." The two leaned forward as she began to speak, anxious.
"I don't know if I can give this delicate job to such desparate men. You might jump the gun and get in some kind of trouble..." She said, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. The two crashed down onto the table.
"Hevn-san! You know us better than that!" Tare-Ginji whimpered, clinging to her shoulder. Amazingly he failed to get that she was just screwing with their heads. She thwacked him off, sending him flying facefirst into ban as she chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Here's the deal," she said, holding up her hands in a mock guesture of surrender, "Your client wants to meet with you personally, but he said to give you the rundown on the situation."
She took a deep breath and began again. "Our client--he'd like to stay mostly anonymous but we'll call him 'ichi'--used to work for a particular branch of a large company nicknamed 'Metto'... It's one of those cover-up stories you're always hearing about. These guys have close ties with the government and some serious power in decisions, but their existance is practically unknown. They, and their subsidary companies, work on unusual warfare tactics and weapons. Many of them are quite different, but they test a lot and the final products are usually efficient..."
She paused, making sure she was being listened to, and then continued. "Our man Ichi used to work for them, like I said. He had a son. Now the boy apparently still works for Metto, and hasn't been seen for years... He was forced to leave, and now he's worried they're using him. But the thing is, I couldn't find a single record of his ever existing, no less having a job with the company...
"This guy, though. He hasn't seen the boy for years, I guess. And that's all. I don't know what else he'll have to say about it, but he said he had important information. Here's the information about your meeting," She slid a manilla envelope across the table and then stood, taking one last sip of her coffee. "Be there, don't be late. You make me look bad when you don't show up."
Ban took the envelope carefully and watched Hevn leave, exchanging a glance with Ginji. After she left, they both sat for a moment, sort of mulling over what they'd just learned.
"Um... Bansan?" Natsumi said, tapping him on the shoulder lightly, "I hate to interrupt your thoughts, but where'd Talia go...?"