Hello everyone!! This is my first attempt at a GB fanfic... I hope you can help me out...I'm not really a Get Backer expert, I just love Ginji-kun. At any rate, you might notice as you go along that there aren't many Japanese words used in this fic...that's coz I don't know any...'
Disclaimer: I don't own Get Backers. That's why this is called a fanfiction. I'm just a fan.
ehem Here's a legend...:
... = text enclosed in asterisks () are weird sounds.. ()
"..." = text enclosed in quotation marks (") are dialogue (for love of the obvious....--)
'...' = text enclosed in apostrophes (') are thoughts
(...) = text enclosed in parentheses (..uhh..do I really need to show you what parentheses are?) are my in-story comments...
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Chapter 1: Trust
Ban wiped the sweat under his chin with the back of his hand. His heavy breathing was the only sound that disturbed the silence of the night. Despite the cool breeze that blew in from the car's open window, his body was drenched in sweat. His eyes searched the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. He looked at his partner who was sleeping soundly. Only then did his heartbeat return to its normal pace.
"Dammit, not again..." He muttered, going back to sleep.
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"Stayed up late?" Paul asked as he served coffee to his resident retrieval agents.
It was more of a comment than a question. Ban had dark circles underneath his eyes and could've passed as dead in terms of enthusiasm. His body was slouched over the counter and his hand seemed to be the only thing that was holding his head up.
"Shut up..." he retorted, pushing his breakfast towards his irritably sunnier-than-sunshine partner who happily helped himself to the extra meal.
"Oooh, how touchy. I wonder what kept my favorite Get Backer up last night?" Hevn teased, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Wouldn't you like to know?!"
Ban drank his in one gulp then sat up straight.
"Ban-chan, is.....something...wrong?" Ginji asked in between bites.
"Don't talk with your mouth full.. What are you talking about?"
"Well" Ginji began, pausing to swallow his food,
"You haven't been sleeping well lately.." After a moment's hesitation he added,
"And this is the fifth day in a row that you let me eat your food..."
The second one earned a couple of raised eyebrows.
"Mind your own business! You should be thankful you get to eat more."
"B-but Ban-chan--"
"Shut up and eat!" Ban snapped. He turned to face Hevn to keep Ginji from saying anymore.
"Don't you have a job for us?" He asked, a bit rudely.
"...hmm...I did but... I don't think you could handle it in your present condition..." Hevn answered, not missing Ban's evasion of the sleep topic.
For some reason, Ban doesn't want to reveal why he doesn't get enough sleep. And if it was enough to embarrass Mido Ban, it was worth sticking her nose into. She looked at Paul and a smile spread across her face. It seems she could enlist Paul's help on this one. Things were about to get interesting...
"What the hell do you mean 'my condition'?"
"I mean you'll probably just mess it up. Look at you! You can barely hold yourself upright for more than three minutes!"
It was only then that Ban realized he was slouching again. Damn! If he were sitting at the booth he could at least lean back. Then he wouldn't look so pathetic.
Hevn watched the play of emotions in Ban's face. She decided to go for it.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Shido could help Ginji on this mission while you get some sleep." She suggested sweetly, making sure she said the Beast Master's name loud enough for anyone to hear.
"HELL NO!! You're not giving my job to that monkey-trainer!!!"
"Well I'd be damned if I'd risk losing a client just because you have insomnia!" Hevn shot back.
'That's my cue.'
"I'm sure Ban would be back in top shape after he gets some sleep. Why don't you give him the job then?" Paul offered, hoping his on-the-spot acting wasn't as obvious as it sounded.
'Ban must be really out of whack if he can't see all the wink-winks Hevn is doing.' He thought as he watched from the top of his newspaper.
'Damn! Why do they keep on saying 'sleep'? It's making me sleepier...' Ban thought irritably as he tried to think of a way to convince their agent.
"That's a wonderful idea! Why don't you go on ahead and sleep, Ban?" Hevn announced spectacularly "I'll wait for you here."
'She's overdoing it.'
"Ok, what are you two up to?" Ban demanded, finally noticing.
That was it. Paul, having more sense, let it go and went back to his paper. Hevn, however, wasn't about to give up...
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.
"You damn well know what I'm talking about! Now, what do you want?"
"Since you asked ever so nicely..." Hevn started, a sly smile on her face.
"I want to know the cause of your sleeplessness."
"Tch! I should've known. Well, it's none of your business!!"
"It is my business!! I'm your agent, I have the right to know what's been keeping you from doing your job properly!"
Paul stared at the two. He almost applauded Hevn's performance. She sounded as if she was genuinely hurt.
"Agent my butt! You just want to know so you can poke me about it later!!"
Ban was stubborn as a mule but Hevn still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She decided to drop the concerned agent act.
"So what if I do?" She stated calmly, pausing for a while before she delivered the final blow.
"But I won't give you any more jobs until you tell me. It's near impossible for you to get jobs on your own and you know it!" She declared triumphantly.
"Ms. Hevn!" Ginji cried, dropping his chopsticks. He tried not to meddle before because he knew things would only get messier but no job for Ban meant no job for him, too. He looked at his partner, hoping Ban wouldn't be so stubborn.
Ban glared at Hevn, refusing to give in to her blackmail. After what seemed to be an eternity, he sighed, a resigned look on his face.
"Fine!" He muttered, but before Hevn could jump for joy, he said,
"We'll look for our own jobs from now on."
The other three stared at him in shocked silence.
"B-Ban-chan..."
"Let's go, Ginji!" He barked, walking out the door.
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"Ban-chan..." Ginji began once they were in the car.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear anything from you!" Ban snapped, shifting gears.
Ginji was going to say something but decided not to after seeing his partner's stony expression. Instead, he looked out the window, staring blindly at the passing scenery.
Ban didn't even have to look at his partner. He knew Ginji was hurt by his refusal to tell him what was wrong. He just couldn't trust anyone with something like this...not even his own partner. He couldn't.... He can't... He just can't....
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Wow, that was long. Well, what do you think? ...R&R please...thanks for reading...Please do read the next chapter...
Disclaimer: I don't own Get Backers. That's why this is called a fanfiction. I'm just a fan.
ehem Here's a legend...:
... = text enclosed in asterisks () are weird sounds.. ()
"..." = text enclosed in quotation marks (") are dialogue (for love of the obvious....--)
'...' = text enclosed in apostrophes (') are thoughts
(...) = text enclosed in parentheses (..uhh..do I really need to show you what parentheses are?) are my in-story comments...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 1: Trust
Ban wiped the sweat under his chin with the back of his hand. His heavy breathing was the only sound that disturbed the silence of the night. Despite the cool breeze that blew in from the car's open window, his body was drenched in sweat. His eyes searched the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. He looked at his partner who was sleeping soundly. Only then did his heartbeat return to its normal pace.
"Dammit, not again..." He muttered, going back to sleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Stayed up late?" Paul asked as he served coffee to his resident retrieval agents.
It was more of a comment than a question. Ban had dark circles underneath his eyes and could've passed as dead in terms of enthusiasm. His body was slouched over the counter and his hand seemed to be the only thing that was holding his head up.
"Shut up..." he retorted, pushing his breakfast towards his irritably sunnier-than-sunshine partner who happily helped himself to the extra meal.
"Oooh, how touchy. I wonder what kept my favorite Get Backer up last night?" Hevn teased, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Wouldn't you like to know?!"
Ban drank his in one gulp then sat up straight.
"Ban-chan, is.....something...wrong?" Ginji asked in between bites.
"Don't talk with your mouth full.. What are you talking about?"
"Well" Ginji began, pausing to swallow his food,
"You haven't been sleeping well lately.." After a moment's hesitation he added,
"And this is the fifth day in a row that you let me eat your food..."
The second one earned a couple of raised eyebrows.
"Mind your own business! You should be thankful you get to eat more."
"B-but Ban-chan--"
"Shut up and eat!" Ban snapped. He turned to face Hevn to keep Ginji from saying anymore.
"Don't you have a job for us?" He asked, a bit rudely.
"...hmm...I did but... I don't think you could handle it in your present condition..." Hevn answered, not missing Ban's evasion of the sleep topic.
For some reason, Ban doesn't want to reveal why he doesn't get enough sleep. And if it was enough to embarrass Mido Ban, it was worth sticking her nose into. She looked at Paul and a smile spread across her face. It seems she could enlist Paul's help on this one. Things were about to get interesting...
"What the hell do you mean 'my condition'?"
"I mean you'll probably just mess it up. Look at you! You can barely hold yourself upright for more than three minutes!"
It was only then that Ban realized he was slouching again. Damn! If he were sitting at the booth he could at least lean back. Then he wouldn't look so pathetic.
Hevn watched the play of emotions in Ban's face. She decided to go for it.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Shido could help Ginji on this mission while you get some sleep." She suggested sweetly, making sure she said the Beast Master's name loud enough for anyone to hear.
"HELL NO!! You're not giving my job to that monkey-trainer!!!"
"Well I'd be damned if I'd risk losing a client just because you have insomnia!" Hevn shot back.
'That's my cue.'
"I'm sure Ban would be back in top shape after he gets some sleep. Why don't you give him the job then?" Paul offered, hoping his on-the-spot acting wasn't as obvious as it sounded.
'Ban must be really out of whack if he can't see all the wink-winks Hevn is doing.' He thought as he watched from the top of his newspaper.
'Damn! Why do they keep on saying 'sleep'? It's making me sleepier...' Ban thought irritably as he tried to think of a way to convince their agent.
"That's a wonderful idea! Why don't you go on ahead and sleep, Ban?" Hevn announced spectacularly "I'll wait for you here."
'She's overdoing it.'
"Ok, what are you two up to?" Ban demanded, finally noticing.
That was it. Paul, having more sense, let it go and went back to his paper. Hevn, however, wasn't about to give up...
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.
"You damn well know what I'm talking about! Now, what do you want?"
"Since you asked ever so nicely..." Hevn started, a sly smile on her face.
"I want to know the cause of your sleeplessness."
"Tch! I should've known. Well, it's none of your business!!"
"It is my business!! I'm your agent, I have the right to know what's been keeping you from doing your job properly!"
Paul stared at the two. He almost applauded Hevn's performance. She sounded as if she was genuinely hurt.
"Agent my butt! You just want to know so you can poke me about it later!!"
Ban was stubborn as a mule but Hevn still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She decided to drop the concerned agent act.
"So what if I do?" She stated calmly, pausing for a while before she delivered the final blow.
"But I won't give you any more jobs until you tell me. It's near impossible for you to get jobs on your own and you know it!" She declared triumphantly.
"Ms. Hevn!" Ginji cried, dropping his chopsticks. He tried not to meddle before because he knew things would only get messier but no job for Ban meant no job for him, too. He looked at his partner, hoping Ban wouldn't be so stubborn.
Ban glared at Hevn, refusing to give in to her blackmail. After what seemed to be an eternity, he sighed, a resigned look on his face.
"Fine!" He muttered, but before Hevn could jump for joy, he said,
"We'll look for our own jobs from now on."
The other three stared at him in shocked silence.
"B-Ban-chan..."
"Let's go, Ginji!" He barked, walking out the door.
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"Ban-chan..." Ginji began once they were in the car.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear anything from you!" Ban snapped, shifting gears.
Ginji was going to say something but decided not to after seeing his partner's stony expression. Instead, he looked out the window, staring blindly at the passing scenery.
Ban didn't even have to look at his partner. He knew Ginji was hurt by his refusal to tell him what was wrong. He just couldn't trust anyone with something like this...not even his own partner. He couldn't.... He can't... He just can't....
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wow, that was long. Well, what do you think? ...R&R please...thanks for reading...Please do read the next chapter...