Restless Dreams: Chapter Two
"Ban-chan? Ban-Chan! Come on, wake up!"
Ban groaned and opened his eyes slowly. A blond blob floated into his vision. He vaguely smelled leather. His head throbbed dully, nothing too serious, and he winced. "What the fuck...?" he asked dazedly.
"You got hit by lightning," said Ginji. Oh, that. Ban had been trying to forget about that. "We almost got caught by a searchlight, but I knocked out the light before they could see us," he continued. "I dragged you back to the car. You were covered in mud, so I changed ya; hope you don't mind."
Ban blinked and sat up, then blinked again. His vision focused, sharpening everything around him, and he wiped at his bleary eyes. He pressed a hand to his face and exhaled. "How's your head?" he asked.
"Good as always," Ginji smiled.
"Shame. You coulda used some brains."
After a few seconds, Ban looked down at himself. He was dressed in his undershirt and a spare pair of Ginji's cargo shorts, of all things. His hair had been respiked with electricity.
He wished he had more pants.
Outside it was still raining, though otherwise it seemed to be quiet. They sat silently together in the dark as the rain pattered steadily on the car, threatening to lull Ban back to sleep. This entire job had been weird from the start. He was stupid to think that it would have been easy for the money Pinchiorri had proposed, because it certainly hadn't been.
As soon as they had gotten out of the car earlier, searchlights and security had sparked to life. They covertly made their way inside the grounds, taking down guards when necessary, while Ginji fried the fuse boxes. The place seemed to run on different generators for each area, so they had to blow them one by one. That had to be a bitch to maintain, Ban thought, so there must be another reason for the heinous layout. It was like someone had been expecting them.
They finally reached the inside of the grounds. Ginji whispered a coast-is-clear and from the shadows Ban hurried towards him. Then he froze. A shadow had crept over the blond. Ban watched him turn around slowly and look straight into the chest of Hishiki Ryuudo, the Undead.
Suddenly something landed beside him, and he barely had time to register Hishiki picking Ginji up before something hard struck his throat. Ban stumbled back but caught his balance. He coughed and glared at his opponent, a tall, gi-clad man wearing all black. Ban couldn't make out his features in the dark.
"Snake bite!" Ban snarled and lunged forward. The man sidestepped left and grabbed Ban's arm, spinning Ban around as he moved. Pain shot through his arm as the man twisted his wrist to the ground, taking Ban with him. He landed hard on his back, and then felt himself flipped onto his stomach as the man held his wrist above him. He swung his legs hard and knocked the man off balance, then wrenched his arm free and rolled into a crouch.
The man smirked. "You would be wise to leave now," he said calmly, his voice deep, and gestured toward where Ginji and Hishiki were. Ban chanced a glance and saw Ginji land a flying kick at Hishiki's head, then tumble to the ground when Hishiki didn't move with the force.
"Fuck," he murmured, remembering his opponent, and stood, ready to face him. Suddenly he heard a crack and whirled around. He watched his partner slide down the barracks wall, unconscious. Blood trailed down the wall after him.
Ban turned back slowly towards his enemy. They stared at each other, Ban's fury apparent, his adversary cool and collected. They watched each other, twitching at the slightest movement the other made. Tense; ready to spring at any moment. Seconds stretched on for hours.
And suddenly Ban wasn't there. The man looked around confusedly, wondering where he'd gone. He seemed to have disappeared.
"Just one minute," Ban whispered from over the wall, waist-deep in mud, partner slung over his shoulder.
Ban shook his head out of his thoughts and sighed wearily. Ginji shook him lightly and said, "Ban-chan, we should rest."
"No," Ban said firmly, and he moved for the car door. "We're professionals, and we're getting that evidence tonight." He opened the door to the rain, still falling in torrents, and stepped out. Ginji followed suit and both of them marched back toward the perimeter walls.
They stopped. Squinting though the rain and already soaked to the skin, Ban frowned. "Ginji!" he yelled through the downpour. "Ginji, you knock out these search lights?"
"What?" Ginji called back, straining to hear him.
"I said, 'Did you take out the search lights here?' "
"No, the rain isn't letting up any..."
Ban snatched his collar and jerked him closer. "Did you blow all these searchlights?!" he yelled slowly and loudly.
"Oh! No, I don't think so. I think we only hit the ones on the other side."
"...Then where are they?" Ban asked agitatedly.
Ginji blinked. "I..." he hesitated. Ban was right. It was pitch-black, and only the distant streetlights of the highway lit the night. "I guess I coulda hit them. The wiring is all weird, so..." he trailed off.
"All the better for us," Ban said, and strode forward again. He knew very well that it could be a trap, but right now he was pissed and wet; nothing would daunt him. Ginji shook his head, flinging water from his sopping blond hair, and followed.
They turned south and made their way back down the first path to the gatehouse. They crawled through the wet foliage and opened the door to the barracks. Ban was admittedly unsettled by the searchlights' absence, but he wasn't about to complain as they stepped inside the musty outpost. It was dark and dank and made Ban feel wetter than he already was.
The soaked brunette walked in front, creeping flat along the solid stone walls of the fortament. He slowed his pace, stepping carefully around a ladder leading to the outlook balcony. The two were taking extra care to be silent, not wanting to be caught again.
They stopped suddenly when they heard a thump above them. Ban held his breath, apprehensive. He turned slowly and nodded at Ginji, who nodded back and climbed the ladder while Ban stayed on lookout. His head disappeared up the ceiling hole, and Ban tried to calm the adrenaline rushing to his head.
Ginji reappeared after a minute, looking confused. "There's no one here," he said aloud, "and I don't sense any electricity wiring. It's been cut."
Ban furrowed his brows and said nothing. This was very odd.
"Let's keep going. It's probably shift change or something, which means we can make it into the place itself before they come back. Easy street," he said, ignoring the tingling feeling in his gut.
They slowly opened the grounds entrance door, looking for any sign of movement outside. Ginji nodded an affirmative and the agents moved out into the main grounds. Ban immediately put himself on guard, looking for either Hishiki or the martial artist. They moved stealthily around the inner courtyard, dodging behind trees and constantly on their toes. The main keep loomed ahead of them, though they could barely make it out in the dark.
Pretty small for such an old pagoda. Lucky this ain't no Himeji castle, Ban thought, or we'd be fucked.
"Ban-chan," Ginji said, his voice loud and serious.
Ban turned sharply toward him. "Ginji, you idiot, shut up!" he hissed.
"There's no one here. I can't sense any human current near us." Ginji stared around bewilderedly and made his way toward Ban. He stood beside him, looking confused. "Ban-chan, there's something wrong here," he said, sounding almost scared. But he couldn't have been scared; he was a GetBacker. Ban felt the need to remind him of this now.
"Let's go."
And they went.
The main keep was now ten feet away, and they could make out the huge entrance. A great door with an elaborate gable loomed above them. Ginji hesitated at the door, a look of apprehension on his face. Ban rolled his eyes and swaggered to the door heedlessly. He pushed open the door and coughed as dust kicked up. Wait, dust? Ban had figured that this place was used enough that dust wouldn't have time to gather. Oh well.
He shrugged it off and stepped through the pagoda entrance. It was old looking but well maintained from what he could see in the darkness. He sensed Ginji's presence behind him and started forward again, looking down the long wooden hallway.
After both were inside, Ban shook his head vigorously, spraying water everywhere. "God, I'm drenched." Ginji nodded distractedly, shaking out his own limbs best he could. Ban wrung out the wettest of the borrowed shorts and looked up.
"Where should we start?" Ginji asked.
"Damned if I know," Ban said tersely and headed left, down the more lighted path. Moonlight shone through the thick paper walls, so he guessed that the Takamura guy would use a lighted path as well.
Something slammed behind him. Everything went dark with the loss of the outside light. Ban froze and then whirled around, ready to fight. From what he could see, his partner was facing the door. But that was all he could see.
"Why'd you shut the door, idiot? I can't see for shit in here!"
Ginji's silhouette turned slowly. "I didn't close it, Ban-chan," he said, his voice uneasy.
Ban's eyes narrowed, and he said flatly, "It was the wind, ignore it. Put up a light, will you? Just don't set anything on fire." Ginji nodded and suddenly his skin was aglow, casting a pale white luminosity on both Ban and himself. With the light's return he looked less antsy, but Ban felt him walk considerably closer as they headed down the hallway.
Ban stopped and slid open a paper-windowed door. The room was fairly bare. Nailed to the back, fully wooden wall was a plain shelf covered with dusty books. In the corner stood a brass coat hanger. Imprints on the floor suggested long-gone furniture. Ban sighed agitatedly. "Nothing here," he said, and they slid the door shut and moved on.
They passed through hallways in uncomfortable silence, sliding doors, checking for secret compartments, anything to help them on their blind trek for evidence. They moved down every set of stairs they found; Ban was sure they were now underground. There still seemed to be no sign of people anywhere. It was like they were completely alone in this giant castle. Room after identical room they passed in the darkness, Ginji paranoid and Ban in complete denial of any strangeness.
"Ban-chan, where the hell are we?" Ginji asked quietly as they slid open another door that no doubt led to ten other rooms.
"...We're not lost, if that's what you're asking."
Ginji smiled. It was the first time he'd done so in an hour. Ban didn't understand why he was so afraid of a dusty old pagoda. "'Course we aren't, Ban-chan," Ginji said. Ban slid the door shut behind them, cracking it slightly to remember his place. He wished Himiko were here; her tracking scent would have done them well.
Suddenly they heard a thump. Ginji inhaled sharply and Ban whirled around, looking for the source of the noise.
"Where did it come from?" Ginji whispered.
Ban shook his head, eyes darting around.
The floorboards creaked. Ban's heart pounded and adrenaline rushed to his head. Something was wrong. They creaked again. And again. And again.
Footfalls, Ban realized. Too heavy to be normal. In succession, one right after the other, they fell. Then they sped up. Something was running closer and closer. Ginji's breath was fast and shallow. They both approached the door, Ginji's electricity crackling with his fright.
"Get ready!" Ban hissed, and he wrenched open the door. He stared into darkness. There was nothing there. The hallway was clear and so very dark that it seemed to stretch on forever. It was as if he could fall into the black abyss and never return.
"BAN-CHAN!"
Something heavy crashed into him and he was sent sprawling across the floor. Jolting back to the present, Ban saw his partner fall on top of him. He looked up toward the doorway where he was hit—and froze.
It was a giant. It was humanoid, but gigantic. It had dark brown skin— was it skin? – and no face on its gigantic round head. Instead, sharp gray spikes protruded from its head, identical to the ones on its long, burly arms. All over its body, strips of decaying flesh hung from blackened bone. It smelled of rotting fruit.
Ban's eyes widened in horror and denial. "Holy fuck," he whispered softly. Ginji scrambled to his feet, holding his side. He'd jumped in front of Ban as the... thing had attacked. "This isn't real," Ban said, still whispering. "This isn't real; this can't be real— it's not possible."
The thing raised an arm gracefully and let out a roar. Ban snapped back to reality and jumped out of the way as the thing slammed its arm into the ground where he'd been, splintering the wood. Enemy. Good. He clasped his hands into a ball and swung hard at the thing's neck, dodging spikes. It bent backwards with the blow, maintaining perfect balance. Ban jumped away and stared in disbelief.
"Ginji..."
Ginji's lip was trembling with terror, but he nodded once and ran forward. He grabbed his metal-link belt and pulled it off, then whipped it at the monster. It extended and fastened around the thing's arm. Ginji hollered, emitting deadly volts through the belt and searing them into the monster's body.
It released a piercing shriek and Ban immediately slammed his hands over his ears. He kept his wide eyes riveted on the monster, which had stopped its scream and started advancing toward them again. Ban froze and fumbled for the ground behind him, trying to dart out of its line of fire in the tight hallway.
The ugly bastard seemed to have stop reacting to Ginji completely and begun focusing solely on the prey on the floor. It raised its captured arm to strike and jerked Ginji, sending him careening into the air. The shadows danced across their figures as Ginji's light sailed across the hallway.
In the blink of an eye, he smashed into the floor behind the monster. Ban heard the floorboards give out, and Ginji yelled as he fell through the ceiling of the floor below. He grabbed onto the belt for dear life.
The monster's arm wrenched backward with the force, and Ban scrambled blindly to his feet in the semi-darkness. "Snake bite!" he screamed, and plunged his hand into its rotting flesh. The thing shrieked and lost its balance as something cold and sticky flowed from the wound. Ban snarled and struck it again, tearing through the tissue. Flecks of blood, his own or the monster's, splattered onto his clothes and face. He struck over and over, adrenaline pumping and panic driving him on.
The monster kept partly losing its stability with Ginji tugging at its arm restraint. The only light left was Ginji, glowing just inside the hole in the floor.
Suddenly the thing lost its balance. It was dragged across the polished floor, screeching, toward the hole... Ginji screamed. There was a huge crack and suddenly everything went dark.
Ban stood, panting hard, arms covered in blood. He was alone. Everything was black.
He was afraid.
-tbc
Author's notes: And now it gets creepier. I really don't think Ban could handle the loss of that kind of logic since his mind is so analytical, so I think it was in-character enough with the given situation. Hope y'all like it and drop me a line because reviews make me warm and tingly inside.
a/n '04: Edited a bit for your reading pleasure.