Cain's Sin Trilogy
Part 1: Merveilles Arc
Chapter 1: Merryweather's Request
The flurry of the snowstorm outside had caused them to hunker in silence in the café. Ban's fingers twitched and shivered in spite of the hot mug of steaming coffee in one hand and a rapidly burning cigarette in the other. Ginji hunched miserably over a saucer containing breadcrumbs. He had the sniffles and neither of them had eaten in two days. Now the cold only served to emphasize empty feeling in his stomach.
"Ban-chan, I'm still hungry," he whined despondently, staring with wide teary eyes at the saucer, then at Ban, who simply flicked at his cigarette and sipped his coffee in that slow, desperate manner that bespoke not of enjoyment but drawn-out misery. Ban was obviously trying to make the most out of the heat emanating from his mug.
"Ch, tell that to the master." He jerked a finger at the open door of the backroom in the café. "You know we don't have money."
"But Ban-chan, he won't even turn the heat up and I can feel my nose is going to fall off."
Paul chose this moment to reappear from the room, and his reply consisted of an arched brow and a shrug before he took up his usual place behind the bar and picked up his newspaper. No, Paul wasn't going to do them any more favors—the two idiots should have known that winter was going to be hell freezing over, and they hadn't bothered to come out wearing clothes warmer than the usual cotton shirt. Not to mention they hadn't had any business done in two weeks, which naturally meant both were about as broke as hobos in Mugenjou. That in turn meant there was no money to pay for the impounding of the car, much less for food. Ginji's sandwich was the first solid thing he'd eaten in two days, but Natsumi's allowance could only buy the pair so much. Paul had given her the rest of the day off before the snowstorm started, before Ban and Ginji became insufferable.
"Master, please, can you please turn the heat up?" Ginji sniffled into a napkin. His cold was getting worse and it made his eyes water and his voice sound funny, not to mention every inch of exposed skin was covered in goosebumps.
"Maybe you should have worn something thicker for the weather," Paul said from behind his newspaper shield. "You realize it's winter and snowstorms happen in winter."
Ginji gave a great groan of aggravation, and attempted without much success to pull down the sleeves of his shirt with quivering hands. "But our coats are in the car and it's in impound and it's been there for a week, and I haven't eaten in two days—"
"Ch, shut up and just say you want the coffee," Ban muttered pushing the half-full, lukewarm mug in front of Ginji even as he stubbed out his cigarette. His fingers were still twitching and the joints felt stiff but he was feeling a hell of a lot better than his partner, whose face was flushed with fever, nose runny in spite of the freezing temperature. Even Ginji's hair seemed to droop with his cold.
Ginji grabbed the mug, savoring the way the heat from the coffee warmed his fingers and was about to put the mug to his lips when a thought struck him. "But Ban-chan, this is all you've had in two days."
Ban gave his partner a sidelong glance, aware that Paul was watching them even from behind the newspaper. This way, there was at least the minute possibility the man might be swayed… "Eh, never mind, you can have it. Upsets my stomach if I haven't eaten anyway."
Ginji's eyes were doubtful but he drank the coffee anyway, eyes misting at the way the hot liquid trailed down his throat and settled warmly in his stomach. When he set Ban's mug down, there was another sandwich on the plate and Ban was enjoying another cup of coffee. Paul's defeated sigh rustled the corners of the paper as he picked it up again.
Silence reigned again as Ginji attempted to stuff his face with the sandwich and Ban lit up a fresh stick. Silence until the door chimes jingled to announce the entrance of another customer. Paul set his paper down. Ban peered over the rim of his glasses to watch as two bundled figures, one tall and covered in expensive mink fur, the other child-sized and muffled with cashmere, swept in, a whirlwind of snow in their wake.
The child-sized bundle of clothing reached into a fold of the thick cashmere coat and produced a damp, crumpled piece of paper. The ink was runny, no doubt from melting snow, and the paper's edges were crinkling hopelessly, but one could still make out the distinct "Get Backers" printed in Ban's precise handwriting.
"Is this where I can see the Get Backers?" The voice was too muffled for the three to distinguish whether the child was a boy or a girl.
Ban instantly jumped off his chair, all smiles at the promise of another job (finally) to feed him and his starving partner. He could practically hear the crisp yen notes rustling under his fingertips as he sized up their rich-looking prospective customers. Ginji was more sedate, possibly because of his cold, but the smile blossoming from his wan features spoke volumes of gratitude for the prospect of payment, and food.
"Yes, we're the Get Backers. We retrieve any and all objects you've lost, with 100% success rate." He grinned fiendishly. "If you'll just head this way, my partner and I can discuss with you the details of your retrieval."
The child nodded, little mittened hands moving quickly and deftly to remove the heavy hooded cashmere coat, revealing straight, long blond locks that glinted in the soft light of the café like spun gold. Too-large blue eyes blinked at the two in a kind of dazed curiosity. The white taffeta dress she wore over several layers of thick petticoats was of immaculate lace and silk. The slim chain at her throat was 24 karat white gold.
Ban and Ginji gaped at her.
The girl, who looked to be about nine years old, stared back, her blue eyes shimmering like fluorescent headlights until Ban shifted his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and smacked Ginji into the table to stop him from staring. The girl giggled slightly, a soft, high-pitched, flighty sound.
Ban cleared his throat. "Now miss, if you could tell us about what you'd lost…?"
"Um, my name is Merryweather Hargreaves, sister of the Count of Cornwall." Her Japanese was fluid tinged only with the slightest English accent. She shifted slightly, her eyes lowering as she indicated her companion, a rather nondescript looking man whose one distinguishing characteristic was that he was unusually tall. "This here, Oscar Gabriel."
Ban tipped his head politely in acknowledgement. "Midou Ban, and the idiot with the runny nose is Amano Ginji. What is it you want us to retrieve?" He had to be unusually polite. This little girl looked like she had money enough to buy off Shinjuku without breaking a sweat over her bank account.
Merryweather fidgeted with her wool mittens, eyes still lowered to her hands. "It's about my brother, Cain. I… I think there's something wrong with him ever since Riff was gone."
Oscar sighed, reached over and pulled the mittens off Merryweather's fingers before she twisted them out of shape. "What she's saying is that her brother, Cain, has been half-mad with the sudden disappearance of their manservant, Riff."
Ginji looked adorably confused as he held up a napkin at his runny nose. "But I thought you were her manservant…" His voice trailed into a miserable little groan of pain as Ban whacked the napkin over his face to shut him up before he annoyed their prospective customers.
Ban smiled, blithely ignoring Ginji's pain. "Yes, yes, could you tell us more about him?"
Merryweather stared down at her gloveless little hands. Ban noticed that the skin of her palms were white, like she'd been clenching her hand too hard and the blood fled from the fingertips. When she spoke, her voice was oddly distracted.
"Well, Cain-oniisama is usually…"
"Ban-chan, why does she call her brother 'Oniisama'?" Ginji wondered aloud, obviously not paying attention.
Ban rolled his eyes and was sorely tempted to punch Ginji's sorry face into the wall if he wasn't feeling sorry for him because of his cold. "Because Cain Hargreaves is English nobility, and you can't just call them by their names."
"But she's his sister!" Ginji pointed out.
"But he's still the count, so everyone has to call him by his proper title."
"Even his sister?"
"Shut up, Ginji."
"…went to the theater a few weeks ago. He usually leaves without telling me, but I never worry, because Riff is with him." Her little hands closed into fists. Ban watch the movement of the thin hands. "I—I don't really know what happened. Oniisama came home that night and he was bleeding because someone stabbed him on his side." She paled at the memory. "He passed out and Oscar went out to look for Riff, if he was with Oniisama, but Riff was gone."
Ban nodded thoughtfully. "well, this Riff guy, he ain't the type who'd run off on your brother?"
Merryweather's wide eyes met his, almost imploringly. "No. Riff wouldn't leave us for anything! He's sworn to protect Oniisama!"
Ban muttered a soft "Ch". Ginji on the other hand was smiling at the little girl, that boyish charm working wonders even on a nine-year-old that sometimes Ban had to wonder at his partner's magnetism.
"Don't worry! I'm sure Riff will find a way back to your brother. We'll find him for you."
Merryweather instantly brightened, like Ginji had just offered her a candy treat she couldn't resist. "Really? You'd look for Riff? That's great! I miss him terribly and Oniisama is getting me worried."
"Ch," Ban muttered again. "I guess we will then, but we have to tell you miss, this won't come cheap."
"Ban-chan!" Ginji exclaimed in dismay. "We've got to help her!"
"Oh if she wants our help so badly, I'm sure she can pay us. Her brother's a noble after all."
"But Ban-chan, she's so cute! We can't not help her!"
It was at this point that Oscar intervened, the droll look in his bored eyes mirroring his exasperation at the two. "Excuse me, how much are you asking for anyway?"
Ban turned calculating eyes at him. "Hmm, between the obvious danger of this case, and the fact that there are no leads whatsoever, I think I'd settle fairly for 700 000."
"Yen?" Oscar looked both relieved and unimpressed. "That shouldn't be too bad…"
"Euro,"Ban clarified, grinning at the way Oscar's eyes bugged out and the way Merryweather kept tugging his hand as if to coerce him into accepting the atrocious price anyway. "And we'll take a 10% downpayment. We need to prepare things." Ignoring Ginji's irritating "What things?" follow-up, Ban held out his hand, smug in the knowledge that neither the kid nor Oscar would bother haggling down the price. They'd probably never even have to argue for things since they seem to be both so filthy rich.
"All right," Oscar conceded ungraciously, reaching for his wallet, and counting out crisp bills into Ban's hand. A glance confirmed that the bills were indeed Euro, and the Englishman wasn't bluffing.
"Great!" Merryweather said, clapping as she bounced to her feet and held out her little hand for Ginji to shake. She obviously liked the blond idiot already. "The theater would be the best place to start looking clues though. Maybe I can arrange transportation for you…?" She trailed off and looked expectantly at Oscar.
The big man groaned and nodded. 'All right, damn it! Ugh, I swear if you weren't the cutest thing, you're just too much, Merry!" He faced Ban with growing irritation. "I'll reserve plane tickets so you can get there as soon as possible. Merry's driver will pick you up at the airport."
"Huh? Why, where is the theater anyway?" Ginji asked.
"The theater is in Osaka. Miss Merryweather would probably want you two to look through the mansion, and—" he groaned again at the eager look on Merryweather's face "—accommodations will be in the mansion so you don't have to spend for a hotel."
Merryweather gave a little clap again even as Ginji threw his arms around Ban's neck, utterly forgetting that he wasn't even feeling well at the promise of so much money, decadent living for at least the mission's duration, and a plane ride on top of everything!
"We're gonna be rich!"
Part 1: Merveilles Arc
Chapter 1: Merryweather's Request
The flurry of the snowstorm outside had caused them to hunker in silence in the café. Ban's fingers twitched and shivered in spite of the hot mug of steaming coffee in one hand and a rapidly burning cigarette in the other. Ginji hunched miserably over a saucer containing breadcrumbs. He had the sniffles and neither of them had eaten in two days. Now the cold only served to emphasize empty feeling in his stomach.
"Ban-chan, I'm still hungry," he whined despondently, staring with wide teary eyes at the saucer, then at Ban, who simply flicked at his cigarette and sipped his coffee in that slow, desperate manner that bespoke not of enjoyment but drawn-out misery. Ban was obviously trying to make the most out of the heat emanating from his mug.
"Ch, tell that to the master." He jerked a finger at the open door of the backroom in the café. "You know we don't have money."
"But Ban-chan, he won't even turn the heat up and I can feel my nose is going to fall off."
Paul chose this moment to reappear from the room, and his reply consisted of an arched brow and a shrug before he took up his usual place behind the bar and picked up his newspaper. No, Paul wasn't going to do them any more favors—the two idiots should have known that winter was going to be hell freezing over, and they hadn't bothered to come out wearing clothes warmer than the usual cotton shirt. Not to mention they hadn't had any business done in two weeks, which naturally meant both were about as broke as hobos in Mugenjou. That in turn meant there was no money to pay for the impounding of the car, much less for food. Ginji's sandwich was the first solid thing he'd eaten in two days, but Natsumi's allowance could only buy the pair so much. Paul had given her the rest of the day off before the snowstorm started, before Ban and Ginji became insufferable.
"Master, please, can you please turn the heat up?" Ginji sniffled into a napkin. His cold was getting worse and it made his eyes water and his voice sound funny, not to mention every inch of exposed skin was covered in goosebumps.
"Maybe you should have worn something thicker for the weather," Paul said from behind his newspaper shield. "You realize it's winter and snowstorms happen in winter."
Ginji gave a great groan of aggravation, and attempted without much success to pull down the sleeves of his shirt with quivering hands. "But our coats are in the car and it's in impound and it's been there for a week, and I haven't eaten in two days—"
"Ch, shut up and just say you want the coffee," Ban muttered pushing the half-full, lukewarm mug in front of Ginji even as he stubbed out his cigarette. His fingers were still twitching and the joints felt stiff but he was feeling a hell of a lot better than his partner, whose face was flushed with fever, nose runny in spite of the freezing temperature. Even Ginji's hair seemed to droop with his cold.
Ginji grabbed the mug, savoring the way the heat from the coffee warmed his fingers and was about to put the mug to his lips when a thought struck him. "But Ban-chan, this is all you've had in two days."
Ban gave his partner a sidelong glance, aware that Paul was watching them even from behind the newspaper. This way, there was at least the minute possibility the man might be swayed… "Eh, never mind, you can have it. Upsets my stomach if I haven't eaten anyway."
Ginji's eyes were doubtful but he drank the coffee anyway, eyes misting at the way the hot liquid trailed down his throat and settled warmly in his stomach. When he set Ban's mug down, there was another sandwich on the plate and Ban was enjoying another cup of coffee. Paul's defeated sigh rustled the corners of the paper as he picked it up again.
Silence reigned again as Ginji attempted to stuff his face with the sandwich and Ban lit up a fresh stick. Silence until the door chimes jingled to announce the entrance of another customer. Paul set his paper down. Ban peered over the rim of his glasses to watch as two bundled figures, one tall and covered in expensive mink fur, the other child-sized and muffled with cashmere, swept in, a whirlwind of snow in their wake.
The child-sized bundle of clothing reached into a fold of the thick cashmere coat and produced a damp, crumpled piece of paper. The ink was runny, no doubt from melting snow, and the paper's edges were crinkling hopelessly, but one could still make out the distinct "Get Backers" printed in Ban's precise handwriting.
"Is this where I can see the Get Backers?" The voice was too muffled for the three to distinguish whether the child was a boy or a girl.
Ban instantly jumped off his chair, all smiles at the promise of another job (finally) to feed him and his starving partner. He could practically hear the crisp yen notes rustling under his fingertips as he sized up their rich-looking prospective customers. Ginji was more sedate, possibly because of his cold, but the smile blossoming from his wan features spoke volumes of gratitude for the prospect of payment, and food.
"Yes, we're the Get Backers. We retrieve any and all objects you've lost, with 100% success rate." He grinned fiendishly. "If you'll just head this way, my partner and I can discuss with you the details of your retrieval."
The child nodded, little mittened hands moving quickly and deftly to remove the heavy hooded cashmere coat, revealing straight, long blond locks that glinted in the soft light of the café like spun gold. Too-large blue eyes blinked at the two in a kind of dazed curiosity. The white taffeta dress she wore over several layers of thick petticoats was of immaculate lace and silk. The slim chain at her throat was 24 karat white gold.
Ban and Ginji gaped at her.
The girl, who looked to be about nine years old, stared back, her blue eyes shimmering like fluorescent headlights until Ban shifted his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and smacked Ginji into the table to stop him from staring. The girl giggled slightly, a soft, high-pitched, flighty sound.
Ban cleared his throat. "Now miss, if you could tell us about what you'd lost…?"
"Um, my name is Merryweather Hargreaves, sister of the Count of Cornwall." Her Japanese was fluid tinged only with the slightest English accent. She shifted slightly, her eyes lowering as she indicated her companion, a rather nondescript looking man whose one distinguishing characteristic was that he was unusually tall. "This here, Oscar Gabriel."
Ban tipped his head politely in acknowledgement. "Midou Ban, and the idiot with the runny nose is Amano Ginji. What is it you want us to retrieve?" He had to be unusually polite. This little girl looked like she had money enough to buy off Shinjuku without breaking a sweat over her bank account.
Merryweather fidgeted with her wool mittens, eyes still lowered to her hands. "It's about my brother, Cain. I… I think there's something wrong with him ever since Riff was gone."
Oscar sighed, reached over and pulled the mittens off Merryweather's fingers before she twisted them out of shape. "What she's saying is that her brother, Cain, has been half-mad with the sudden disappearance of their manservant, Riff."
Ginji looked adorably confused as he held up a napkin at his runny nose. "But I thought you were her manservant…" His voice trailed into a miserable little groan of pain as Ban whacked the napkin over his face to shut him up before he annoyed their prospective customers.
Ban smiled, blithely ignoring Ginji's pain. "Yes, yes, could you tell us more about him?"
Merryweather stared down at her gloveless little hands. Ban noticed that the skin of her palms were white, like she'd been clenching her hand too hard and the blood fled from the fingertips. When she spoke, her voice was oddly distracted.
"Well, Cain-oniisama is usually…"
"Ban-chan, why does she call her brother 'Oniisama'?" Ginji wondered aloud, obviously not paying attention.
Ban rolled his eyes and was sorely tempted to punch Ginji's sorry face into the wall if he wasn't feeling sorry for him because of his cold. "Because Cain Hargreaves is English nobility, and you can't just call them by their names."
"But she's his sister!" Ginji pointed out.
"But he's still the count, so everyone has to call him by his proper title."
"Even his sister?"
"Shut up, Ginji."
"…went to the theater a few weeks ago. He usually leaves without telling me, but I never worry, because Riff is with him." Her little hands closed into fists. Ban watch the movement of the thin hands. "I—I don't really know what happened. Oniisama came home that night and he was bleeding because someone stabbed him on his side." She paled at the memory. "He passed out and Oscar went out to look for Riff, if he was with Oniisama, but Riff was gone."
Ban nodded thoughtfully. "well, this Riff guy, he ain't the type who'd run off on your brother?"
Merryweather's wide eyes met his, almost imploringly. "No. Riff wouldn't leave us for anything! He's sworn to protect Oniisama!"
Ban muttered a soft "Ch". Ginji on the other hand was smiling at the little girl, that boyish charm working wonders even on a nine-year-old that sometimes Ban had to wonder at his partner's magnetism.
"Don't worry! I'm sure Riff will find a way back to your brother. We'll find him for you."
Merryweather instantly brightened, like Ginji had just offered her a candy treat she couldn't resist. "Really? You'd look for Riff? That's great! I miss him terribly and Oniisama is getting me worried."
"Ch," Ban muttered again. "I guess we will then, but we have to tell you miss, this won't come cheap."
"Ban-chan!" Ginji exclaimed in dismay. "We've got to help her!"
"Oh if she wants our help so badly, I'm sure she can pay us. Her brother's a noble after all."
"But Ban-chan, she's so cute! We can't not help her!"
It was at this point that Oscar intervened, the droll look in his bored eyes mirroring his exasperation at the two. "Excuse me, how much are you asking for anyway?"
Ban turned calculating eyes at him. "Hmm, between the obvious danger of this case, and the fact that there are no leads whatsoever, I think I'd settle fairly for 700 000."
"Yen?" Oscar looked both relieved and unimpressed. "That shouldn't be too bad…"
"Euro,"Ban clarified, grinning at the way Oscar's eyes bugged out and the way Merryweather kept tugging his hand as if to coerce him into accepting the atrocious price anyway. "And we'll take a 10% downpayment. We need to prepare things." Ignoring Ginji's irritating "What things?" follow-up, Ban held out his hand, smug in the knowledge that neither the kid nor Oscar would bother haggling down the price. They'd probably never even have to argue for things since they seem to be both so filthy rich.
"All right," Oscar conceded ungraciously, reaching for his wallet, and counting out crisp bills into Ban's hand. A glance confirmed that the bills were indeed Euro, and the Englishman wasn't bluffing.
"Great!" Merryweather said, clapping as she bounced to her feet and held out her little hand for Ginji to shake. She obviously liked the blond idiot already. "The theater would be the best place to start looking clues though. Maybe I can arrange transportation for you…?" She trailed off and looked expectantly at Oscar.
The big man groaned and nodded. 'All right, damn it! Ugh, I swear if you weren't the cutest thing, you're just too much, Merry!" He faced Ban with growing irritation. "I'll reserve plane tickets so you can get there as soon as possible. Merry's driver will pick you up at the airport."
"Huh? Why, where is the theater anyway?" Ginji asked.
"The theater is in Osaka. Miss Merryweather would probably want you two to look through the mansion, and—" he groaned again at the eager look on Merryweather's face "—accommodations will be in the mansion so you don't have to spend for a hotel."
Merryweather gave a little clap again even as Ginji threw his arms around Ban's neck, utterly forgetting that he wasn't even feeling well at the promise of so much money, decadent living for at least the mission's duration, and a plane ride on top of everything!
"We're gonna be rich!"