Chapter 8: Hong Kong Beat
The repairmen for the wiring didn't know what hit them. The fireballs were about the size of basketballs and caused enough damage and confusion for Himiko and Mei to escape and buy them more time before the building's power was restored.
"Good work," Himiko said, leaving a sleep scent trail behind them.
Mei nodded, but did not speak. She had a sick feeling in her gut that had nothing to do with any magic field's interference and thought it better that she kept her mouth closed.
They rounded another corner and nearly ran smack into Tai Yi at the head of a group of burly looking men in black suits and dark glasses.
There was a moment of stunned silence as the two parties stared at each other, before Tai Yi, his face a reaching a vivid shade of puce shrieked:
"Get them!"
Himiko grabbed Mei by the collar of her shirt and they sprinted away from their pursuers. They dodged around corners, trying to loose the guards' trails and burst through doors into more maze-like corridors.
"Catch them! Catch them! But don't kill them! They need to be alive for the ceremony!" Tai Yi's shrieks followed them throughout their chase, and they heard some guards ordering each other to use tranquilizer rounds.
"Dammit," Himiko cursed, "There's no way we'll get away from them if we can't find a way off these floors!"
Mei had turned a pallid shade of green, her brow covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. "This way," she croaked, grabbing Himiko's arm and dragging her in the opposite direction she was about to go.
"That way? Are you daft? That's a dead end!"
But instead of the collision Himiko had expected when they came in contact with the wall Mei was running towards, there was a slight chilly feeling, but other than that the wall gave as much resistance as a shadow. They were on a landing on a flight of stairs.
Himiko stared at Mei a moment, eyes wide in surprise. The smaller girl was being violently ill over the stair rail.
"Are you alright?" Himiko rested a hand on Mei's quivering shoulder.
"Listen," Mei croaked, spitting over the rail and looking urgent. "Get out of this place! Warn Ban and Ginji to get rid of the other tear and the four treasures they collected and make sure they don't come anywhere near this place."
"The other tear?"
"Ginji will know what I'm talking about when he looks in the coat I gave him," she turned her blanched face to the wall they had just run through where the sound of footsteps getting closer was audible. "Go! Hurry! There'll be another wall like this on the third floor landing. Pass through it and you'll end up in a main hall where there's a desk and several doors. The third door left of the dragon pillar will take you outside, the others are fakes and will imprison you. Don't speak to the woman at the desk, she's not real, she'll put you under a spell."
Himiko gave Mei a dubious look, and Mei's expression became more urgent.
"Look, I don't know how I know this... all I know is I've been here before and I'm having weird flashbacks. There's something here I need to do before I get out. I don't know what yet, but please..."
"Alright," Said Himiko finally. The voices and footsteps were getting more audible. "Take care of yourself, Mei."
And Himiko was hurrying down the flights of stairs. Mei watched her until she was out of sight, her breathing becoming more and more shallow, before hurrying as fast as her legs would take her up the stairs.
"Thirteenth floor..." She murmured under her breath. "I need the thirteenth floor... there's something there..."
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Himiko found the main hall easily enough. It was very impressive, if a little unnerving. She did not need Mei to tell her the woman at the desk wasn't real. There was something distinctly mechanical about her movements. In fact, it was the same with the people coming in and out of the building. Every time Himiko tried to follow one with her eyes they'd move into a crowd and disappear from sight. The ones moving in would seem to vanish into walls.
There were five doors, and four pillars in between them. One pillar had a base of a turtle and a snake rising up from it. The second pillar was a dragon... that would be the one she was looking for. To the left of it was a glass door, identical to the other five except for the fact that that was the only door with sunlight coming through. She spared a glance at the other two pillars. A phoenix soaring upwards, its wings flattened at its sides and a tiger on its hind legs swiping at the ceiling. Himiko shuddered, and went out the glass door and into the streets of Hong Kong.
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"Ban-chan, it's hot."
Ban mentally ticked a number off in his mind while gazing sullenly out the limousine window at the heavily crowded streets. "That's the thirtieth time you've said that in three quarters of an hour. Give it a rest Ginji, I know it's hot."
But Ban didn't completely blame Ginji. Hong Kong was hot, crowded, hot, humid, hot, sticky and hot.
Not to mention it was hot.
"Ginji, stop sweating on me."
"But Ban-chan!" Ginji had latched onto Ban's shoulder and was chewing in his usual way of saying 'I want to be spoiled right now and you're not indulging me, so I'm going to punish you, but that's okay cuz you're my Ban- chan and I love you'. Ginji could say a lot with body language but it always finished with 'I love you'. But only recently had Ban figured that out.
Maria, Ban, and Ginji were seated in the back, Maria fanning herself with a cheap souvenir fan that was trying too hard look authentically Chinese with its cheap dragon and phoenix pattern. It was the type of fan vendors sold to gullible tourists, claiming that it was worth every overpriced penny they paid for it when in fact tens of thousands identical fans were sold throughout Hong Kong by vendors claiming the exact same thing, and then happily counting the overpriced pennies the tourists spent. Maria had bought the fan to cool off and it would probably get lost in the disaster area that was her study within the week. Maria was watching Ban and Ginji, too hot and sweaty to express anything more than mild interest while she fanned her cleavage. Ban wished to God she wouldn't do that in the presence of others, but Maria never set much by what other people thought, otherwise she would never have become a witch.
Akabane and Bai Hu were up front; Akabane was driving and Bai Hu was cheerfully chatting with the equally cheerful resident-psychopath.
The AC, Ban mentally cursed it over and over again, had broken down. Even Akabane had taken off his hat and coat and rolled up his sleeves. Bai Hu remained in his navy blue suit however and didn't have a bead of sweat on him but Ban assumed that Gods didn't get hot anyway.
The hotel was one of those expensive ones that Ban had been in a couple of times as a kid and once as an adult and that was when he was disguised as a bellboy. The limousine stopped outside the huge building that was trying as hard as the fan to look authentically Chinese, and succeeding to the same degree. It looked like every westerner's idea of what a Ming Dynasty palace or a Yin Dynasty manor looked like (the architect hadn't actually been consistent in his styling of time periods). And there were lots of dragon sculptures. It was also like the fan in the sense that it was overpriced for what it was, but Bai Hu seemed to be covering the expenses so Ban didn't really care. Bai Hu and Akabane were going to share a double-bed room, Maria had a single-bed suite to herself and Ban and Ginji were to also share a room, although when Bai Hu was asking for it, Ban couldn't quite understand the rapid spoken Chinese. Man, he must be getting rusty. But after that, the lady at the front desk wouldn't stop shooting them odd looks.
"Midou-san, Amano-san, here's the key to your room." Bai Hu said amiably, handing Ban the key. It jingled innocently when it landed in the palm of his outstretched hand. Bai Hu grinned, and slung one arm over Ban's shoulder and whispered so only Ban could hear what the tiger god would say. "This is usually Huang's line of business, but from what Maria told me... well, that room I think will be perfect for you."
THAT, Ban thought every single capitalized letter of it, did not bode well.
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Ban looked around the room. It had literally floored Ginji, who was now, as stated, floored. Bai Hu grinned.
"Like it?" His tone was innocent but his smile would have made Satan look like a saint.
"WE ARE NOT A MARRIED COUPLE."
Ban knew that somewhere up ahead Akabane would be smiling smugly to himself, and he could HEAR Maria cackling as she opened the door to her room. He rounded on Bai Hu, looking furious.
"If you weren't immortal, I swear to God (whichever one, it doesn't really matter, preferably one you despise), I would KILL you."
"You'll thank me in the morning," Bai Hu said lightly and with that he went to go catch up to Akabane.
Ban wanted to rage and storm some more, but his mind was soon taken off that.
"Ban-chan! Check out the wine cabinet!" Ginji exclaimed from somewhere on the other side of the very elaborate canopy bed (with dragon-shaped posts, Ban thought wryly).
Ban grinned. His mood had improved on the spot. "Free booze? Woo hoo! Count me in!"
And he shut the door behind him.
---------------
Mei hauled herself up the last few steps, and collapsed on the landing of the thirteenth floor. Her breathing was coming out in ragged gasps, before she got to her feet.
She had lost the guards. They must have thought that both she and Himiko had gone down, rather than splitting up. It had been a hard and exhausting run up three flights of stairs to get out of sight from Tai Yi and his cronies, and even with the barrier against her magic down, the tide of long buried memories was flooding her mind and making her sick.
Pushing through the wall of the landing, she came into another corridor. This one was small, and led straight ahead to a single door.
It was in there.
Mei pushed forward, and forced the door open. It wasn't locked or anything. Tai Yi must had a magical barrier set up around it and when the frequency blocking out a witch's magic was brought down, the security on the door was lost.
Mei paused as she stepped through, blinked several times, rubbed her eyes, and blinked some more.
The inner dimensions of this room were impossible! She had been standing in a corridor and now she was standing outside a small closed paddock in a huge palace garden. It was an enormous palace and above the sky was clear blue dotted with puffy silvery white clouds. The landscape rolled on into forests and mountains. Mei stepped around the paddock onto the ledge of a steeply sloped hill. Below, there was a village.
Mei knew this spell. It was an advanced version of what Maria had taught her about compressing time into a crystal lattice. That was why so much of Tai Yi's building was made of aluminum! When it came to using this spell on a large scale, metal was more effective than crystals in conducting time. It was slower, yes, but more durable, and ready in large amounts.
Mei ran her fingers over an elaborately carved railing. It seemed solid enough. Tai Yi must have compressed time into the catacomb-like structure of the office building and created a gateway between present Hong Kong with a past.
This, Mei knew, was forbidden magic. Even witches didn't use this spell on this level. Certainly compressing time into a crystal was acceptable. If you were caught in a tight spot and needed time to make a decision or a hasty getaway, shattering the crystal and wrapping the excess time around yourself gave you a suitable chance.
But to open a door between time...
"Our father is really quite the remarkable hypocrite," Said a voice not far behind Mei. She spun around to face a young and very effeminate boy, clad in blue satin. His hair was also blue, tied in a long plait that fell to his waist. He was hovering above the ground by means of two rings below his feet. He had another pair of rings, one around each wrist. In his right hand he carried a spear.
"Nocha," Mei gasped as another memory surfaced.
Nocha and Mei stared at each other for a long time before Nocha looked away first and let out a low chuckle.
"So that's it." He said softly, mostly to himself, and smiling wryly.
Mei didn't get it, and was about to ask but Nocha had read the quizzical expression on her face.
"Why you didn't come for us sooner. That man who took you must have placed a very powerful memory charm on you so you'd forget about your family. Mai thought you were being a coward." His cold demeanor seemed to melt and he drifted towards Mei, resting a welcoming hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad to see my younger sister again, especially after loosing Mi."
And after six years of repressed memories, Mei finally remembered her family. Nocha had been the first; a sexless prototype of merging magic with genetics. Then had come Chamka Tan, who was mostly human; only capable of using hydro-based spells. Like Nocha, he was defective but Tai Yi had kept him alive anyway, as a landmark. Then the triplets had been born. It wasn't the way it should have been, but the addition of witch DNA had caused the egg to split into three. Mai had been the powerhouse, capable of molding time and space to her liking. Mi was like Chamka Tan, mostly human and in Tai Yi's opinion, defective. Mi was only capable of generating low energy currents. And then Mei, the last of the triplets to be born. She was capable of pure witch magic. She had few memories of Yiku, as she had just been born when Mei left.
Tai Yi had HATED Mei for this.
Then Lucifer had come. He had taken Mei away from this place, to a home with a teacher who would love and care for her. And she had forgotten about her family.
Reaching up, she embraced Nocha, sobbing into the blue satin her apologies.
"I knew when I saw you," he said softly in her ear, stroking the violet hair, "that someone had tried to cover your memories of us. Perhaps for your protection so that you wouldn't be killed by us on Tai Yi's orders. I knew that little Mei would never completely abandon us out of cowardice."
"I should have remembered sooner... I should of come back... I'm sorry!" There were great dark blotches on Nocha's shirt where the tears had fallen, and Mei's nose was starting to run.
"You needn't have bothered trying to escape," Nocha continued, while Mei dried her eyes that were now red and puffy. "The ceremony would not have gone to completion. Mai, Kyo, XiXi, Yiku and myself planned to kill Tai Yi when we were to present the four treasures to the high priest."
"Kill...?"
Nocha nodded. "Kill Tai Yi. Yes. Mi, Kyo, Yiku, and his more recent creation, XiXi, were never loyal to him, although they remained because they cared about Mai and myself who were very close to him." He took a deep breath. "Please understand, I still love father dearly. He gave me life, and for that I will always be grateful. But that man that walks in father's body, that speaks with father's voice... he is not Tai Yi."
Mei look perplexed. "An imposter?"
Nocha shook his head. "No. Let me explain. Father did not always hate witches... it was after your birth that his obsession with destroying all witches began. I don't know why it started, but it changed him. He had always strived to create life, then for some reason, he sought to destroy it. He found out about the Tears of Zhu Que, heard they were being protected by a witch, and found out what they could do. He schemed, and schemed, and finally he planned to use them to wish for the death of all witches, and then he would use you and a person opposite to you in a ceremony that would seal the tears away so no one could undo his wish." The boy took a deep breath, his exquisite, doll like face looking tired and sad. Two dark and perfectly arched brows were furrowed with confusion and sadness. "He had planned to use you and Mai in the ceremony, but it called for a virgin and..." Nocha took a deep breath, as if he were in great pain, "Chamka Tan he... he did not want Mai to be killed so he and Mai..."
Mei rested a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You don't have to go on. I can figure that much out."
"None of us have told Mai yet why Chamka Tan seduced her, but it worked. Tai Yi decided against using her, and selected instead another girl of old witch heritage. But by then, Mi was beginning to show her resentment towards this ceremony. She didn't want to see her other sister killed, but you were the only virgin witch with the proper personality type so that turned her openly against Tai Yi. He had her murdered, and used as a decoy to trick your teacher into believing you were dead so that she wouldn't pursue you. I think it was actually seeing one of our family killed that turned Mai and myself against father, but we are Tai Yi's enemies, and we are plotting to end his life so that he will not use the tears to kill witches everywhere."
Mei nodded, taking all of this in. She could believe Nocha because he was incapable of lying. How he had gotten any of this by Tai Yi was beyond her, but he must have somehow managed. She stood back, wiping away the last few tears, her expression determined.
"What do you need me to do?"
Nocha glanced over at a white crane that flew low overhead. "Let me recapture you. Go through the ceremony. Let us deal with Tai Yi."
---------------
Himiko stopped running to catch her breath, and cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see if she was being followed. The large crowd on the side walk was shooting her odd looks, but she paid them no mind, because about two blocks away she saw the flutter of a familiar black trench coat and the tails of an all too familiar white dress shirt vanish into a an elaborate looking hotel.
"My god, they really did come for us..." Himiko straightened, and ran a hand through her hair that was damp with sweat. And then she remembered what Mei had asked her... She needed to talk to Ginji! In a new burst of speed, she sprinted for the hotel.
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When Shido came around, Madoka was sitting beside him, cradling his head in her arms. It took a moment for his vision to come into focus, but he could recognize Madoka by her scent. He raised himself up, Madoka giving a startled gasp, hands searching wildly for him.
"I'm alright," He reassured, and she nodded.
"You have a lump on your head, but nothing seemed damaged," Madoka said abruptly. "Still, I was worried."
Shido glanced around the prison. "Where are we?"
"The older girl, I think her name was Mai, used some sort of strange power to take us to Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong?" Shido's mouth fell open.
"Yes. I think they used magic to get here, because one minute we were at home, and then all of a sudden we were in this building." Madoka stood slowly, running her fingers over the wall. "They'll be coming back. Mai said her boss wants to question you."
"Question me?" Shido looked perplexed.
"They think you know where Ban and Ginji are."
"But I don't! And neither do you."
Madoka nodded sadly. "I know. But they think we're lying."
There was a sudden clicking sound on the other side of the huge door. Shido was on his feet immediately, standing like a wall in front of Madoka. If they wanted to fight, he'd give them a fight.
The man with the guitar heaved the door open, and stepped in. Upon seeing Shido's hostile stance, he quickly raised both hands, in statement of truce.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I come in peace mate."
Shido relaxed a little, but he still kept himself between the guitar man and Madoka.
"What do you want?" He said levelly.
"My name," said the man with the guitar, "is XiXi Toppe. I'm here to tell why you're here."
Shido stared at XiXi doubtfully, but the musician seemed unarmed and he kept his hands raised to indicate he was not going to make any sudden movements.
"Listen, this may take a while, but I need you two to sit down and listen."
Shido, still guarding Madoka sat, still keeping himself between XiXi and the violinist.
"My time is limited, before the security cameras come back up, so I'll make this as quick as possible. In a nutshell, Nocha, Mai, Yiku, Kyo and myself are not your enemies."
"Oh yeah?" Shido snarled as the lump on his head gave a painful throb. Madoka rested her hand on his arm.
"Let him explain, Shido-san."
Shido shot XiXi a disgruntled look, but quieted. XiXi nodded his thanks to Madoka who completely missed the gesture because she was blind.
"You see, the five of us are genetic experiments made by the man who employed you to steal the earrings; Tai Yi. We are his personal bodyguards. But recent events, that need not be named, have turned even his most loyal followers; Nocha and Mai, against him. He is no longer using his genius for bringing together those who are gifted with supernatural powers; witches; with those who do not possess the gift, but instead to rid the whole world of those who are gifted. For that, he needs the two stone tears to make a wish that would end the lives of witches everywhere, and then he plans to use the blood of one of his other creations; Mai's sister Mei and this other girl Himiko Kudo in a sacrificial ceremony that will seal the tears away forever so his wish will not be undone."
Madoka looked horrified. "That's terrible!"
Shido agreed, but he still didn't trust this man.
"That's not the worst of it. Tai Yi knows that your friends, the Get Backers, possess the five treasures needed in the ceremony, and he also has a hunch that Mei left the second tear with them, which is why he had us kidnap you."
"He thinks we know where Ban and Ginji are?"
XiXi nodded. "That, and we can use you as hostages to lure them here with the four treasures."
Shido looked thoughtful for a moment. "How would they get to Hong Kong?"
XiXi shrugged. "Wherever there's a will, there's a way. I believe they are friendly with several transporting agents?"
"Friendly isn't the word..." Shido muttered ruefully. Even he had noticed Akabane's advances on Ginji, and while Ban and Himiko had been friends in the past, something had happened that, while Himiko had forgiven Ban for what it was she definitely didn't look like she was going to be forgetting any time soon.
The door to the cell opened again. This time it was Mai, looking panicked and somewhat harassed. Shido thought she looked a bit familiar...
"XiXi, are you done yet? The wiring crew almost has the circuits back up! We can't let the security cameras see you in here!"
XiXi nodded. "We'll be back later. Remember, if you want to get out of here alive, this conversation never happened. We will do all we can to help you, but you'll have to sit tight for a day before we can do anything."
Shido stared back at XiXi, looking caught between fury and resignation. He settled for nodding back his consent.
Mai looked between Shido and Madoka, and XiXi. "Don't discuss what you've been told between yourselves either. We need this plan to go without a hitch for it to work. And Himiko and Mei have escaped it seems."
XiXi's head shot up. "What?!"
"Right," said Mai, "We have to find them. Fast. Let's go, now. The lower floors' power is back up."
The thick door slammed shut behind XiXi in their haste to get out. Shido heard the click of several locks.
"We'll be alright." He said softly, keeping Madoka close to him. "That XiXi... he seems like an asshole, but he wasn't lying."
"Are we going to help them?"
"Just cooperate," Shido replied. "That's the best we can do. But things will be heating up soon. I can feel it."
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Ban lay spread-eagle on the squishy mattress of the post-nuptial hotel bed. His shirt had been discarded somewhere on the floor, and his cheeks were flushed with alcohol. Ginji hovered over him, almost completely undressed and just as rosy cheeked as his partner. Their lips touched again and again in series of delicate exploratory kisses, hands wandering over exposed skin and then seeking out in the rumpled garments the feel of un-exposed skin as well. Ginji, being the more sober at the moment, had taken the lead. Ban gave a little 'mur' of satisfaction when Ginji had found his prize but other than those few quiet noises, they were long past words.
Ginji kicked off his boxers and sidled on top of Ban who drew his, HIS Ginji down so that they were pressed together. Ginji made a little whimper of desperation. He was hot. It was the combined effect of the alcohol, the thermostat being set at eighty some-odd degrees and Ban's little attentions to all the secret and sensitive parts of Ginji's body. A bead of sweat dripped off the tip of his nose, and he panted heavily into Ban's ear.
"This feels good."
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Himiko rounded into the hotel, getting strange looks from a group of elderly tourists from England. She shot them a look that implied that anyone who didn't look away right now was going to meet an unpleasant end. They looked away. Other than the small group, the lady at the front desk and a few bellboys the main hall was otherwise deserted. She hurried for the hotel desk, her face sheen with sweat.
"Did Midou Ban, Amano Ginji and Akabane Kuroudo just check in?"
"I beg your pardon?" said the young woman in unsteady Japanese.
"Midou Ban," Himiko explained quickly. "Tall, blue eyes, white shirt, hair like a sea urchin? His friend is Ginji, blond, spiky haired, bandana, white t-shirt...?"
The woman at the desk turned bright pink. "Oh, yes, them. A man named Bai Hu checked in with them, a European woman, and a man in a black trench coat. Would you like me to tell them you called on them?"
"No," said Himiko. "It's urgent I talk with Ban and Ginji right away."
"But I'm afraid they might be..." the woman saw the disgruntled look Himiko was giving her and her resolve disintegrated. "...Let me find the number for their room." She started rifling through a few papers, while Himiko tapped her feet impatiently. Sparing a glance out the door, she saw across the street a familiar man with steel-blue hair making inquiries of a passerby who suddenly pointed at the hotel door. With a sudden rush of urgency, Himiko looked desperately back at the woman who was still digging through folders and then down at the registration book. She saw Ban and Ginji's name... and a room number. Memorizing the number, she sprinted for an elevator just as Chamka Tan started walking briskly and purposefully towards the revolving hotel doors.
"Hey, wait!" Cried the woman at the front desk as Himiko bowled over a bellboy and disappeared behind the sliding doors of the elevator.
Just as she disappeared, Chamka Tan burst into the hotel lobby and fired at the ceiling.
"Would everyone please remain calm?" His voice echoed off the high marble walls with just a hint of excitement in it.
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"Ah... Ginji, what're you...? Aaaahhhn..."
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"Top floor," Himiko murmured under her breath, "Room 1904."
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Tai Yi stood to his full height, staring down at the unconscious Mei.
"Good work Nocha. As soon as Himiko is recovered we will begin the ceremony. The half moon will be directly opposite the sun in the sky at 6:37 tomorrow. We have a little over eighteen hours. Tell XiXi and Mai to bring me the other two prisoners. We need the four treasures and they know the people with them."
"Sir."
"Oh, and Nocha?"
"Sir?"
"Are you loyal to me?"
Silence.
"Nocha."
Nocha turned, and faced the man.
"My loyalty lies with Tai Yi and only Tai Yi."
A smile curved on the thin, sallow lips.
"I see. Good answer. Be on your way."
"Sir."
---------------
Maria stepped out onto the balcony of her hotel room. A warm breeze rustled her long dark hair, and her fingers clenched hard on the iron rail.
She could see Tai Yi's laboratory about three blocks away. Tomorrow morning, they would infiltrate it, and recover the stolen tear and kill Tai Yi.
Well, the Get Backers would recover the tear, and she was going to wring Tai Yi's neck with her bare hands.
Downstairs she heard a sudden commotion.
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"Ban-chan, what was that?"
Ban looked unconcerned and dragged Ginji back down on top of him.
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Himiko stepped off the elevator onto the landing and made a dash for Ban and Ginji's room.
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End of Chapter 8
Cackles Well, here's the end of part 8 and I'm really really sorry for not updating sooner. Bows and begs for forgiveness I've really been taking my sweet time with this, and I'm sorry, but I've been mega ultra super busy makes more excuses . But it's up! And now I'll work hard to finish it. We're almost at the end and thank you to everyone who's stuck with me so long on this. I think my writing has improved drastically since I first wrote this. I'll be coming up on the one year anniversary of this fic in a little more than a month, so I hope to have it done before then. Thank you again!
Vil: We all want to know more! Wah, I've planned and replanned the ending for this more times than I can count but I will finish it!
Alien21xx: Ah, I lurv cliffhangers (sorry, but the end of this chappie is a whole shitload of them, Sorry!)
Anyway, thank you everyone! I'll post again soon!
The repairmen for the wiring didn't know what hit them. The fireballs were about the size of basketballs and caused enough damage and confusion for Himiko and Mei to escape and buy them more time before the building's power was restored.
"Good work," Himiko said, leaving a sleep scent trail behind them.
Mei nodded, but did not speak. She had a sick feeling in her gut that had nothing to do with any magic field's interference and thought it better that she kept her mouth closed.
They rounded another corner and nearly ran smack into Tai Yi at the head of a group of burly looking men in black suits and dark glasses.
There was a moment of stunned silence as the two parties stared at each other, before Tai Yi, his face a reaching a vivid shade of puce shrieked:
"Get them!"
Himiko grabbed Mei by the collar of her shirt and they sprinted away from their pursuers. They dodged around corners, trying to loose the guards' trails and burst through doors into more maze-like corridors.
"Catch them! Catch them! But don't kill them! They need to be alive for the ceremony!" Tai Yi's shrieks followed them throughout their chase, and they heard some guards ordering each other to use tranquilizer rounds.
"Dammit," Himiko cursed, "There's no way we'll get away from them if we can't find a way off these floors!"
Mei had turned a pallid shade of green, her brow covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. "This way," she croaked, grabbing Himiko's arm and dragging her in the opposite direction she was about to go.
"That way? Are you daft? That's a dead end!"
But instead of the collision Himiko had expected when they came in contact with the wall Mei was running towards, there was a slight chilly feeling, but other than that the wall gave as much resistance as a shadow. They were on a landing on a flight of stairs.
Himiko stared at Mei a moment, eyes wide in surprise. The smaller girl was being violently ill over the stair rail.
"Are you alright?" Himiko rested a hand on Mei's quivering shoulder.
"Listen," Mei croaked, spitting over the rail and looking urgent. "Get out of this place! Warn Ban and Ginji to get rid of the other tear and the four treasures they collected and make sure they don't come anywhere near this place."
"The other tear?"
"Ginji will know what I'm talking about when he looks in the coat I gave him," she turned her blanched face to the wall they had just run through where the sound of footsteps getting closer was audible. "Go! Hurry! There'll be another wall like this on the third floor landing. Pass through it and you'll end up in a main hall where there's a desk and several doors. The third door left of the dragon pillar will take you outside, the others are fakes and will imprison you. Don't speak to the woman at the desk, she's not real, she'll put you under a spell."
Himiko gave Mei a dubious look, and Mei's expression became more urgent.
"Look, I don't know how I know this... all I know is I've been here before and I'm having weird flashbacks. There's something here I need to do before I get out. I don't know what yet, but please..."
"Alright," Said Himiko finally. The voices and footsteps were getting more audible. "Take care of yourself, Mei."
And Himiko was hurrying down the flights of stairs. Mei watched her until she was out of sight, her breathing becoming more and more shallow, before hurrying as fast as her legs would take her up the stairs.
"Thirteenth floor..." She murmured under her breath. "I need the thirteenth floor... there's something there..."
---------------
Himiko found the main hall easily enough. It was very impressive, if a little unnerving. She did not need Mei to tell her the woman at the desk wasn't real. There was something distinctly mechanical about her movements. In fact, it was the same with the people coming in and out of the building. Every time Himiko tried to follow one with her eyes they'd move into a crowd and disappear from sight. The ones moving in would seem to vanish into walls.
There were five doors, and four pillars in between them. One pillar had a base of a turtle and a snake rising up from it. The second pillar was a dragon... that would be the one she was looking for. To the left of it was a glass door, identical to the other five except for the fact that that was the only door with sunlight coming through. She spared a glance at the other two pillars. A phoenix soaring upwards, its wings flattened at its sides and a tiger on its hind legs swiping at the ceiling. Himiko shuddered, and went out the glass door and into the streets of Hong Kong.
---------------
"Ban-chan, it's hot."
Ban mentally ticked a number off in his mind while gazing sullenly out the limousine window at the heavily crowded streets. "That's the thirtieth time you've said that in three quarters of an hour. Give it a rest Ginji, I know it's hot."
But Ban didn't completely blame Ginji. Hong Kong was hot, crowded, hot, humid, hot, sticky and hot.
Not to mention it was hot.
"Ginji, stop sweating on me."
"But Ban-chan!" Ginji had latched onto Ban's shoulder and was chewing in his usual way of saying 'I want to be spoiled right now and you're not indulging me, so I'm going to punish you, but that's okay cuz you're my Ban- chan and I love you'. Ginji could say a lot with body language but it always finished with 'I love you'. But only recently had Ban figured that out.
Maria, Ban, and Ginji were seated in the back, Maria fanning herself with a cheap souvenir fan that was trying too hard look authentically Chinese with its cheap dragon and phoenix pattern. It was the type of fan vendors sold to gullible tourists, claiming that it was worth every overpriced penny they paid for it when in fact tens of thousands identical fans were sold throughout Hong Kong by vendors claiming the exact same thing, and then happily counting the overpriced pennies the tourists spent. Maria had bought the fan to cool off and it would probably get lost in the disaster area that was her study within the week. Maria was watching Ban and Ginji, too hot and sweaty to express anything more than mild interest while she fanned her cleavage. Ban wished to God she wouldn't do that in the presence of others, but Maria never set much by what other people thought, otherwise she would never have become a witch.
Akabane and Bai Hu were up front; Akabane was driving and Bai Hu was cheerfully chatting with the equally cheerful resident-psychopath.
The AC, Ban mentally cursed it over and over again, had broken down. Even Akabane had taken off his hat and coat and rolled up his sleeves. Bai Hu remained in his navy blue suit however and didn't have a bead of sweat on him but Ban assumed that Gods didn't get hot anyway.
The hotel was one of those expensive ones that Ban had been in a couple of times as a kid and once as an adult and that was when he was disguised as a bellboy. The limousine stopped outside the huge building that was trying as hard as the fan to look authentically Chinese, and succeeding to the same degree. It looked like every westerner's idea of what a Ming Dynasty palace or a Yin Dynasty manor looked like (the architect hadn't actually been consistent in his styling of time periods). And there were lots of dragon sculptures. It was also like the fan in the sense that it was overpriced for what it was, but Bai Hu seemed to be covering the expenses so Ban didn't really care. Bai Hu and Akabane were going to share a double-bed room, Maria had a single-bed suite to herself and Ban and Ginji were to also share a room, although when Bai Hu was asking for it, Ban couldn't quite understand the rapid spoken Chinese. Man, he must be getting rusty. But after that, the lady at the front desk wouldn't stop shooting them odd looks.
"Midou-san, Amano-san, here's the key to your room." Bai Hu said amiably, handing Ban the key. It jingled innocently when it landed in the palm of his outstretched hand. Bai Hu grinned, and slung one arm over Ban's shoulder and whispered so only Ban could hear what the tiger god would say. "This is usually Huang's line of business, but from what Maria told me... well, that room I think will be perfect for you."
THAT, Ban thought every single capitalized letter of it, did not bode well.
---------------
Ban looked around the room. It had literally floored Ginji, who was now, as stated, floored. Bai Hu grinned.
"Like it?" His tone was innocent but his smile would have made Satan look like a saint.
"WE ARE NOT A MARRIED COUPLE."
Ban knew that somewhere up ahead Akabane would be smiling smugly to himself, and he could HEAR Maria cackling as she opened the door to her room. He rounded on Bai Hu, looking furious.
"If you weren't immortal, I swear to God (whichever one, it doesn't really matter, preferably one you despise), I would KILL you."
"You'll thank me in the morning," Bai Hu said lightly and with that he went to go catch up to Akabane.
Ban wanted to rage and storm some more, but his mind was soon taken off that.
"Ban-chan! Check out the wine cabinet!" Ginji exclaimed from somewhere on the other side of the very elaborate canopy bed (with dragon-shaped posts, Ban thought wryly).
Ban grinned. His mood had improved on the spot. "Free booze? Woo hoo! Count me in!"
And he shut the door behind him.
---------------
Mei hauled herself up the last few steps, and collapsed on the landing of the thirteenth floor. Her breathing was coming out in ragged gasps, before she got to her feet.
She had lost the guards. They must have thought that both she and Himiko had gone down, rather than splitting up. It had been a hard and exhausting run up three flights of stairs to get out of sight from Tai Yi and his cronies, and even with the barrier against her magic down, the tide of long buried memories was flooding her mind and making her sick.
Pushing through the wall of the landing, she came into another corridor. This one was small, and led straight ahead to a single door.
It was in there.
Mei pushed forward, and forced the door open. It wasn't locked or anything. Tai Yi must had a magical barrier set up around it and when the frequency blocking out a witch's magic was brought down, the security on the door was lost.
Mei paused as she stepped through, blinked several times, rubbed her eyes, and blinked some more.
The inner dimensions of this room were impossible! She had been standing in a corridor and now she was standing outside a small closed paddock in a huge palace garden. It was an enormous palace and above the sky was clear blue dotted with puffy silvery white clouds. The landscape rolled on into forests and mountains. Mei stepped around the paddock onto the ledge of a steeply sloped hill. Below, there was a village.
Mei knew this spell. It was an advanced version of what Maria had taught her about compressing time into a crystal lattice. That was why so much of Tai Yi's building was made of aluminum! When it came to using this spell on a large scale, metal was more effective than crystals in conducting time. It was slower, yes, but more durable, and ready in large amounts.
Mei ran her fingers over an elaborately carved railing. It seemed solid enough. Tai Yi must have compressed time into the catacomb-like structure of the office building and created a gateway between present Hong Kong with a past.
This, Mei knew, was forbidden magic. Even witches didn't use this spell on this level. Certainly compressing time into a crystal was acceptable. If you were caught in a tight spot and needed time to make a decision or a hasty getaway, shattering the crystal and wrapping the excess time around yourself gave you a suitable chance.
But to open a door between time...
"Our father is really quite the remarkable hypocrite," Said a voice not far behind Mei. She spun around to face a young and very effeminate boy, clad in blue satin. His hair was also blue, tied in a long plait that fell to his waist. He was hovering above the ground by means of two rings below his feet. He had another pair of rings, one around each wrist. In his right hand he carried a spear.
"Nocha," Mei gasped as another memory surfaced.
Nocha and Mei stared at each other for a long time before Nocha looked away first and let out a low chuckle.
"So that's it." He said softly, mostly to himself, and smiling wryly.
Mei didn't get it, and was about to ask but Nocha had read the quizzical expression on her face.
"Why you didn't come for us sooner. That man who took you must have placed a very powerful memory charm on you so you'd forget about your family. Mai thought you were being a coward." His cold demeanor seemed to melt and he drifted towards Mei, resting a welcoming hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad to see my younger sister again, especially after loosing Mi."
And after six years of repressed memories, Mei finally remembered her family. Nocha had been the first; a sexless prototype of merging magic with genetics. Then had come Chamka Tan, who was mostly human; only capable of using hydro-based spells. Like Nocha, he was defective but Tai Yi had kept him alive anyway, as a landmark. Then the triplets had been born. It wasn't the way it should have been, but the addition of witch DNA had caused the egg to split into three. Mai had been the powerhouse, capable of molding time and space to her liking. Mi was like Chamka Tan, mostly human and in Tai Yi's opinion, defective. Mi was only capable of generating low energy currents. And then Mei, the last of the triplets to be born. She was capable of pure witch magic. She had few memories of Yiku, as she had just been born when Mei left.
Tai Yi had HATED Mei for this.
Then Lucifer had come. He had taken Mei away from this place, to a home with a teacher who would love and care for her. And she had forgotten about her family.
Reaching up, she embraced Nocha, sobbing into the blue satin her apologies.
"I knew when I saw you," he said softly in her ear, stroking the violet hair, "that someone had tried to cover your memories of us. Perhaps for your protection so that you wouldn't be killed by us on Tai Yi's orders. I knew that little Mei would never completely abandon us out of cowardice."
"I should have remembered sooner... I should of come back... I'm sorry!" There were great dark blotches on Nocha's shirt where the tears had fallen, and Mei's nose was starting to run.
"You needn't have bothered trying to escape," Nocha continued, while Mei dried her eyes that were now red and puffy. "The ceremony would not have gone to completion. Mai, Kyo, XiXi, Yiku and myself planned to kill Tai Yi when we were to present the four treasures to the high priest."
"Kill...?"
Nocha nodded. "Kill Tai Yi. Yes. Mi, Kyo, Yiku, and his more recent creation, XiXi, were never loyal to him, although they remained because they cared about Mai and myself who were very close to him." He took a deep breath. "Please understand, I still love father dearly. He gave me life, and for that I will always be grateful. But that man that walks in father's body, that speaks with father's voice... he is not Tai Yi."
Mei look perplexed. "An imposter?"
Nocha shook his head. "No. Let me explain. Father did not always hate witches... it was after your birth that his obsession with destroying all witches began. I don't know why it started, but it changed him. He had always strived to create life, then for some reason, he sought to destroy it. He found out about the Tears of Zhu Que, heard they were being protected by a witch, and found out what they could do. He schemed, and schemed, and finally he planned to use them to wish for the death of all witches, and then he would use you and a person opposite to you in a ceremony that would seal the tears away so no one could undo his wish." The boy took a deep breath, his exquisite, doll like face looking tired and sad. Two dark and perfectly arched brows were furrowed with confusion and sadness. "He had planned to use you and Mai in the ceremony, but it called for a virgin and..." Nocha took a deep breath, as if he were in great pain, "Chamka Tan he... he did not want Mai to be killed so he and Mai..."
Mei rested a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You don't have to go on. I can figure that much out."
"None of us have told Mai yet why Chamka Tan seduced her, but it worked. Tai Yi decided against using her, and selected instead another girl of old witch heritage. But by then, Mi was beginning to show her resentment towards this ceremony. She didn't want to see her other sister killed, but you were the only virgin witch with the proper personality type so that turned her openly against Tai Yi. He had her murdered, and used as a decoy to trick your teacher into believing you were dead so that she wouldn't pursue you. I think it was actually seeing one of our family killed that turned Mai and myself against father, but we are Tai Yi's enemies, and we are plotting to end his life so that he will not use the tears to kill witches everywhere."
Mei nodded, taking all of this in. She could believe Nocha because he was incapable of lying. How he had gotten any of this by Tai Yi was beyond her, but he must have somehow managed. She stood back, wiping away the last few tears, her expression determined.
"What do you need me to do?"
Nocha glanced over at a white crane that flew low overhead. "Let me recapture you. Go through the ceremony. Let us deal with Tai Yi."
---------------
Himiko stopped running to catch her breath, and cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see if she was being followed. The large crowd on the side walk was shooting her odd looks, but she paid them no mind, because about two blocks away she saw the flutter of a familiar black trench coat and the tails of an all too familiar white dress shirt vanish into a an elaborate looking hotel.
"My god, they really did come for us..." Himiko straightened, and ran a hand through her hair that was damp with sweat. And then she remembered what Mei had asked her... She needed to talk to Ginji! In a new burst of speed, she sprinted for the hotel.
---------------
When Shido came around, Madoka was sitting beside him, cradling his head in her arms. It took a moment for his vision to come into focus, but he could recognize Madoka by her scent. He raised himself up, Madoka giving a startled gasp, hands searching wildly for him.
"I'm alright," He reassured, and she nodded.
"You have a lump on your head, but nothing seemed damaged," Madoka said abruptly. "Still, I was worried."
Shido glanced around the prison. "Where are we?"
"The older girl, I think her name was Mai, used some sort of strange power to take us to Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong?" Shido's mouth fell open.
"Yes. I think they used magic to get here, because one minute we were at home, and then all of a sudden we were in this building." Madoka stood slowly, running her fingers over the wall. "They'll be coming back. Mai said her boss wants to question you."
"Question me?" Shido looked perplexed.
"They think you know where Ban and Ginji are."
"But I don't! And neither do you."
Madoka nodded sadly. "I know. But they think we're lying."
There was a sudden clicking sound on the other side of the huge door. Shido was on his feet immediately, standing like a wall in front of Madoka. If they wanted to fight, he'd give them a fight.
The man with the guitar heaved the door open, and stepped in. Upon seeing Shido's hostile stance, he quickly raised both hands, in statement of truce.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I come in peace mate."
Shido relaxed a little, but he still kept himself between the guitar man and Madoka.
"What do you want?" He said levelly.
"My name," said the man with the guitar, "is XiXi Toppe. I'm here to tell why you're here."
Shido stared at XiXi doubtfully, but the musician seemed unarmed and he kept his hands raised to indicate he was not going to make any sudden movements.
"Listen, this may take a while, but I need you two to sit down and listen."
Shido, still guarding Madoka sat, still keeping himself between XiXi and the violinist.
"My time is limited, before the security cameras come back up, so I'll make this as quick as possible. In a nutshell, Nocha, Mai, Yiku, Kyo and myself are not your enemies."
"Oh yeah?" Shido snarled as the lump on his head gave a painful throb. Madoka rested her hand on his arm.
"Let him explain, Shido-san."
Shido shot XiXi a disgruntled look, but quieted. XiXi nodded his thanks to Madoka who completely missed the gesture because she was blind.
"You see, the five of us are genetic experiments made by the man who employed you to steal the earrings; Tai Yi. We are his personal bodyguards. But recent events, that need not be named, have turned even his most loyal followers; Nocha and Mai, against him. He is no longer using his genius for bringing together those who are gifted with supernatural powers; witches; with those who do not possess the gift, but instead to rid the whole world of those who are gifted. For that, he needs the two stone tears to make a wish that would end the lives of witches everywhere, and then he plans to use the blood of one of his other creations; Mai's sister Mei and this other girl Himiko Kudo in a sacrificial ceremony that will seal the tears away forever so his wish will not be undone."
Madoka looked horrified. "That's terrible!"
Shido agreed, but he still didn't trust this man.
"That's not the worst of it. Tai Yi knows that your friends, the Get Backers, possess the five treasures needed in the ceremony, and he also has a hunch that Mei left the second tear with them, which is why he had us kidnap you."
"He thinks we know where Ban and Ginji are?"
XiXi nodded. "That, and we can use you as hostages to lure them here with the four treasures."
Shido looked thoughtful for a moment. "How would they get to Hong Kong?"
XiXi shrugged. "Wherever there's a will, there's a way. I believe they are friendly with several transporting agents?"
"Friendly isn't the word..." Shido muttered ruefully. Even he had noticed Akabane's advances on Ginji, and while Ban and Himiko had been friends in the past, something had happened that, while Himiko had forgiven Ban for what it was she definitely didn't look like she was going to be forgetting any time soon.
The door to the cell opened again. This time it was Mai, looking panicked and somewhat harassed. Shido thought she looked a bit familiar...
"XiXi, are you done yet? The wiring crew almost has the circuits back up! We can't let the security cameras see you in here!"
XiXi nodded. "We'll be back later. Remember, if you want to get out of here alive, this conversation never happened. We will do all we can to help you, but you'll have to sit tight for a day before we can do anything."
Shido stared back at XiXi, looking caught between fury and resignation. He settled for nodding back his consent.
Mai looked between Shido and Madoka, and XiXi. "Don't discuss what you've been told between yourselves either. We need this plan to go without a hitch for it to work. And Himiko and Mei have escaped it seems."
XiXi's head shot up. "What?!"
"Right," said Mai, "We have to find them. Fast. Let's go, now. The lower floors' power is back up."
The thick door slammed shut behind XiXi in their haste to get out. Shido heard the click of several locks.
"We'll be alright." He said softly, keeping Madoka close to him. "That XiXi... he seems like an asshole, but he wasn't lying."
"Are we going to help them?"
"Just cooperate," Shido replied. "That's the best we can do. But things will be heating up soon. I can feel it."
---------------
Ban lay spread-eagle on the squishy mattress of the post-nuptial hotel bed. His shirt had been discarded somewhere on the floor, and his cheeks were flushed with alcohol. Ginji hovered over him, almost completely undressed and just as rosy cheeked as his partner. Their lips touched again and again in series of delicate exploratory kisses, hands wandering over exposed skin and then seeking out in the rumpled garments the feel of un-exposed skin as well. Ginji, being the more sober at the moment, had taken the lead. Ban gave a little 'mur' of satisfaction when Ginji had found his prize but other than those few quiet noises, they were long past words.
Ginji kicked off his boxers and sidled on top of Ban who drew his, HIS Ginji down so that they were pressed together. Ginji made a little whimper of desperation. He was hot. It was the combined effect of the alcohol, the thermostat being set at eighty some-odd degrees and Ban's little attentions to all the secret and sensitive parts of Ginji's body. A bead of sweat dripped off the tip of his nose, and he panted heavily into Ban's ear.
"This feels good."
---------------
Himiko rounded into the hotel, getting strange looks from a group of elderly tourists from England. She shot them a look that implied that anyone who didn't look away right now was going to meet an unpleasant end. They looked away. Other than the small group, the lady at the front desk and a few bellboys the main hall was otherwise deserted. She hurried for the hotel desk, her face sheen with sweat.
"Did Midou Ban, Amano Ginji and Akabane Kuroudo just check in?"
"I beg your pardon?" said the young woman in unsteady Japanese.
"Midou Ban," Himiko explained quickly. "Tall, blue eyes, white shirt, hair like a sea urchin? His friend is Ginji, blond, spiky haired, bandana, white t-shirt...?"
The woman at the desk turned bright pink. "Oh, yes, them. A man named Bai Hu checked in with them, a European woman, and a man in a black trench coat. Would you like me to tell them you called on them?"
"No," said Himiko. "It's urgent I talk with Ban and Ginji right away."
"But I'm afraid they might be..." the woman saw the disgruntled look Himiko was giving her and her resolve disintegrated. "...Let me find the number for their room." She started rifling through a few papers, while Himiko tapped her feet impatiently. Sparing a glance out the door, she saw across the street a familiar man with steel-blue hair making inquiries of a passerby who suddenly pointed at the hotel door. With a sudden rush of urgency, Himiko looked desperately back at the woman who was still digging through folders and then down at the registration book. She saw Ban and Ginji's name... and a room number. Memorizing the number, she sprinted for an elevator just as Chamka Tan started walking briskly and purposefully towards the revolving hotel doors.
"Hey, wait!" Cried the woman at the front desk as Himiko bowled over a bellboy and disappeared behind the sliding doors of the elevator.
Just as she disappeared, Chamka Tan burst into the hotel lobby and fired at the ceiling.
"Would everyone please remain calm?" His voice echoed off the high marble walls with just a hint of excitement in it.
---------------
"Ah... Ginji, what're you...? Aaaahhhn..."
---------------
"Top floor," Himiko murmured under her breath, "Room 1904."
---------------
Tai Yi stood to his full height, staring down at the unconscious Mei.
"Good work Nocha. As soon as Himiko is recovered we will begin the ceremony. The half moon will be directly opposite the sun in the sky at 6:37 tomorrow. We have a little over eighteen hours. Tell XiXi and Mai to bring me the other two prisoners. We need the four treasures and they know the people with them."
"Sir."
"Oh, and Nocha?"
"Sir?"
"Are you loyal to me?"
Silence.
"Nocha."
Nocha turned, and faced the man.
"My loyalty lies with Tai Yi and only Tai Yi."
A smile curved on the thin, sallow lips.
"I see. Good answer. Be on your way."
"Sir."
---------------
Maria stepped out onto the balcony of her hotel room. A warm breeze rustled her long dark hair, and her fingers clenched hard on the iron rail.
She could see Tai Yi's laboratory about three blocks away. Tomorrow morning, they would infiltrate it, and recover the stolen tear and kill Tai Yi.
Well, the Get Backers would recover the tear, and she was going to wring Tai Yi's neck with her bare hands.
Downstairs she heard a sudden commotion.
---------------
"Ban-chan, what was that?"
Ban looked unconcerned and dragged Ginji back down on top of him.
---------------
Himiko stepped off the elevator onto the landing and made a dash for Ban and Ginji's room.
---------------
End of Chapter 8
Cackles Well, here's the end of part 8 and I'm really really sorry for not updating sooner. Bows and begs for forgiveness I've really been taking my sweet time with this, and I'm sorry, but I've been mega ultra super busy makes more excuses . But it's up! And now I'll work hard to finish it. We're almost at the end and thank you to everyone who's stuck with me so long on this. I think my writing has improved drastically since I first wrote this. I'll be coming up on the one year anniversary of this fic in a little more than a month, so I hope to have it done before then. Thank you again!
Vil: We all want to know more! Wah, I've planned and replanned the ending for this more times than I can count but I will finish it!
Alien21xx: Ah, I lurv cliffhangers (sorry, but the end of this chappie is a whole shitload of them, Sorry!)
Anyway, thank you everyone! I'll post again soon!