Orphean Wing
Chapter Two


He hadn't ever become accustomed to high class society. The clothing, the houses, the cars, the food, etiquette and manners -- it was too much for him. But to see her face light up with a smile so blinding and eyes so soft, he was willing to adapt.

Shido glanced out the window as the car moved quietly through the city streets. Madoka sat by his side, hands clasped in her lap, and every so often, at a sharp turn or a bump in the road, their knees would touch. Across from them in the limousine (lavishly provided by the concert committee) was Ginji, curled up on his side, eyes closed and lulled to sleep by the steady movement of the car. He had been so excited when Madoka invited he and the snake bastard along to her recital, but a few performances and glasses of champagne later, he was fast asleep, snoring faintly.

Thinking of the snake bastard, he frowned. Something seemed off about him that morning. It wasn't like him to give up an opportunity for free food and a chance to mooch off high society. More than that, Madoka had once told him she thought Midou understood the violin in a way Ginji did not begin to comprehend. That a bastard like him could appreciate it and its art had made him snort softly.

But Midou remained behind at the cafe, saying that while Ginji was off enjoying the expensive life, he'd back home working his ass off to feed them for the next week.

It was more than the snake bastard's behavior. It was the way the air felt, some odd, underlying tension Ginji did not sense, but Shido could feel and hear. The birds were quiet as well. He had grown so accustomed to their chatter, only when they were silent did he know something was wrong.

Probably nothing, he dismissed, gaze leaving the city lights. Sometimes feelings like this happened, some with reason, and others not. Until he knew for certain, it wasn't worth the energy to worry.

He felt fingers touch his hand, Madoka reaching blindly for him, and he took her hand into his. Eyes finding her in the dark backseat, he could see her smiling.

"Thank you for coming, Shido-san," she said, and her fingers squeezed his. She laughed quietly. "Ginji-san is asleep, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Shido answered. "Idiot passed out the second we got into the car." Several champagne glasses had made for one sleepy Ginji. Shido was almost looking forward to turning over the pleasantly buzzed thunder emperor over to his partner.

"I hope he enjoyed it."

"He did. Don't worry."

"Did you, Shido-san?"

Shido tensed at the question. "Ah..." How did she do that? Always catch him off guard with so simple a question, yet a question he felt was weighted with the world. Of course he enjoyed it. He loved to listen to her play. But he had never had a strong grasp of words, and he didn't know how to put what he felt into a language she understood. It was easier with animals.

He turned his face away, embarrassed, and muttered softly, "Yeah, I did."

"You're not blushing, are you?" Her voice held a note of amusement, and he remembered how she had once accused him of blushing and then touched his face to feel his warm cheeks. Even the memory was enough to color him.

"No," he denied, still in a mutter. Again, she laughed softly.

"Liar."

The brakes whined as the limousine pulled to a stop. Hand slipping from Madoka's, Shido reached for the door handle and pushed it open, stepping outside. The Honky Tonk cafe was still lit up even at the time of night, a friendly respite for night owls and insomniacs. Unconsciously, he tugged at the suit jacket he wore, inexplicably uncomfortable. Something about being in an expensive suit in lower Shinjuku...

"Should we wake Ginji-san?" Madoka joined him outside the limousine. The driver had been instructed to come to the cafe first, then take them the rest of the way to Madoka's estate. He sat by quietly, his window rolled down, awaiting instruction.

"What, that idiot fell asleep?" A new voice interjected, and Shido glanced over to find the snake bastard standing outside the shop. It unnerved him, sometimes, how quietly and precisely he could move. Just like a snake approaching its kill.

"Hi, Ban-san," Madoka said brightly. Ban glanced in her direction, and when he answered, there was something odd about his tone. Something was bothering him.

"Yo, Madoka-chan."

Resting a hand on top of the limousine, Ban poked his head inside to find his sleeping partner. Seemed almost a shame to wake him. Lying there so comfortably, no idea of what was happening in Mugenjou in his mind. For a moment, Ban almost didn't want to shake him awake.

"Oi, Ginji." He reached out, rapping his knuckles lightly against Ginji's cheek. Brown eyes snapped open, disoriented and confused, and Ginji blinked around slowly.

"Eh? Oh, Ban-chan..." He blinked slowly. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, you did. Looks like you had fun, though." Ban could smell the faint scent of champagne on his breath. "Smells like you did, too."

"Oh..." Ginji laughed sheepishly. Though his buzz seemed to have worn off in his sleep, Ban still gripped his arm and helped ease him out of the backseat. Shido watched, a slight frown curving down his lips, and wondered what was going on in the snake bastard's head.

"It was really fun, Madoka-chan." Ginji flashed her a lopsided grin. She returned his smile with her own, though she could not see his. Ban doubted she needed to. Ginji radiated smiles.

"I'm glad you had fun. Maybe next time, Ban-san will come with us."

A smirk appeared on his face, but Shido could see it was without its cocky mirth. "Yeah. If they let in this monkey trainer, they'd let in somebody like me." Still, Shido took him up on the invite.

"Shut the hell up, snake bastard."

Ban might have said something more, or Madoka might have interrupted, but Ginji silenced all of them, letting out a long, loud yawn. Shido blinked at him curiously.

"Alcohol makes him tired." Ban rolled his eyes. "Thanks for bringing the idiot back in one piece, Madoka-chan."

"Of course, Ban-san."

Shido took her by the hand and guided her back to the car, glancing over his shoulder to see Midou ushering his sleepy partner into the cafe. With Madoka safely inside, he turned around once more, watching them. Midou would (try to) kick his ass if he ever commented on how much the tough-as-shit bastard fussed over his partner. He had seen Ginji into the cafe, sat him down at a booth, and was now barking at Paul to bring him something to eat and drink. Another notch in the ever growing tab.

Amused, he felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He had never liked Midou. Hell, he still didn't. Not much, anyway. Ginji teased and said that no matter what they said, over time and assignments together, through Mugenjou and the recovery of the arms of the Venus de Milo, he and Midou had become friends. Shido would have said it was that he'd learned to tolerate the jerk and his place in Ginji's life. But he never forgot who Midou was. Even if he was a man who doted incessantly on his partner, he was also a man Shido had seen snap necks without the blink of an eye.

Ban saw him watching, his eyes leaving Ginji briefly. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Be back in a sec, Ginji. Gonna see off the monkey trainer and his lady."

The door chime jingled as he opened the door, Ban closing it behind him and lifting his eyes to meet Shido's.

"Something happen?" Shido asked.

"Could be," Ban answered, not missing a beat. "We'll see."

"What is it?"

Ban shrugged. "Don't worry about it for now, monkey trainer. Me and Ginji'll let you know."

It was all Shido was going to get out of him, for now. No reason to worry all of them. It was bad enough, having to tell Ginji there was a chance someone he cared about could be there one day, and then simply gone the next. Add in the monkey trainer, and by default the thread spool, and it would be needless worrying for all of them. Gen hadn't said for sure there were threats on Makubex's life. Wasn't worth the effort to call in the troops just yet.

He was prepared for a fight, but Shido let it go. Maybe it was Madoka waiting in the limousine; maybe it was Ginji gobbling down a pizza inside the cafe. Whatever reason, Shido was letting him off this time.

"All right," he conceded, "but don't take this on yourselves, whatever it is."

"Couldn't if I wanted to." They were disgustingly buddy-buddy and family-like in that way, Ginji and his former kings. Ban lifted his hand in a wave. "See you, monkey trainer."

He watched the limousine long enough to see it disappear around the street corner, thumb rubbing the lighter in his pocket unconsciously -- a nervous habit. When its tail lights disappeared, he turned slowly and headed back into the cafe. The bell chime after him right on cue.

Ginji was sprawled in the booth he had left him, dressed in his wrinkled suit, tie askew, and pizza sauce on his fingers. High class, he was not. He lifted his head, soft brown eyes meeting Ban's and a doofy grin on his face.

"It was a lot of fun," he said. "Madoka-chan's concert, I mean."

"Yeah, I got that." Ban slipped into the booth across from him. It was late. Natsumi was already gone for the night, and Paul would be closing up the shop soon. They would be kicked to the curb as usual, but at least for now, they had this moment. Ban didn't really want to tell him what was going on out on the cold street corner.

"You should have come."

"Next time. Anyway, turned out pretty lucky I was here today."

Ginji's face lit up. "Did we get a job?"

"Yeah. It's kinda complicated, though."

Ginji continued to grin. "It's okay. Whatever it is, we can do it, right?"

Yeah, he knew that. They were the Get Backers. Their success rate was (nearly) one hundred percent. But this job was different than most they came by. It was personal, and it threatened the lives of people Ginji cared for.

"You remember that guy Gen?"

Ginji blinked, puzzled. "Yeah. The pharmacist in Mugenjou."

"He requested the job." Probably could have chosen a better moment to spring it on him, Ban thought. Preferably when he wasn't still feeling the affects of a buzz and blinking at him with such a lost, confused expression.

He leaned back in the booth and reached for his cigarettes. "He says people are going missing in Mugenjou. That all the ones that don't exist in the real world are being deleted by whoever the hell runs that place. He wants us to find the guy who created the program that made those people."

He wasn't expecting much of a reaction, and he didn't get one. Ginji sat silently for a long moment, processing the information. Ban could try explaining it to him in as simple of terms as he could, but even then, he doubted his partner would understand. Ginji had never understood the truth of Mugenjou. He knew there were virtual people and that Makubex was one of them, but to Ginji, it didn't matter. They were all people. Every single of them was a living, breathing person, whose life had value and meaning, and they were the people he had once sworn to protect.

"Deleted...?" Ginji repeated.

Ban let out a stream of smoke. "The old guy thinks the computer kid might be in danger."

"Makubex?" Ginji asked quietly. Ban shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't think you'd want to turn it down. I told him we'd help him out."

With a sharp twist of his head, Ginji looked up at him. "'course we will. I can't let anything happen to Makubex."

Ban grinned. He couldn't expect anything less of his bleeding heart partner. "I figured you'd say that."

"He's my friend. Even if he's... it doesn't make any difference to me. I can't let them hurt him."

Whoever the hell 'they' were. There was someone or something that tugged the strings inside the infinite fortress, but hell if Ban knew who it was. Not even Ginji, who had been revered like some god there, had any idea of what happened in the levels above the Beltline. It made things a little more difficult when their enemy was someone they had never seen or knew even existed.

Difficult, yeah, but not impossible. Especially not for the (nearly) one hundred percent rate Get backers.

Reaching out a hand, Ban flicked Ginji in the forehead. "Don't make that face. We'll help out the computer kid."

Ginji flashed him one of those smiles that seemed to radiate light. "Thanks, Ban-chan."

"Yeah, yeah." Ban sighed. "We just better get one damn big pay off for this..."