Vigil
A Get Backers Fanfic by Rabid Lola
Disclaimer: I only own the children and the evil nameless antagonists. Another weird one, because it's in first person and present tense…again.
Another fic from the point of view of one of the Get Backer's offspring. This time, it's Teshichan, Ginji's daughter.
You don't need to read "For Old Time's Sake" before this one, but you might get lost as to who's who in this fic.
If you don't read and thus get lost…there's a character key at the bottom of the page. ?
"Ban-san" refers to Midou Ban, plain "Ban" to Amano Ban. Oh, just read.
"Kaasan, Tou-chan's lost again."
Why did Kaasan look so scared when I said that?
My knees hurt. I skinned them when Ban-san pushed me to run and I fell. Ban-san shouted, then, and I was so scared I got up and ran. I heard him beat up the people running after me. I didn't want to look back…I didn't want to see.
My hair's a mess, and it hurts, too. The bad people were pulling my hair too hard, when they were trying to stop me from running away. I think there's blood on my neck, because the knife did cut me, just a little. Tou-chan was shouting at them, when he and Ban-san saw me. He used his electricity and I felt the knife spin away and felt the man behind me get electrocuted and fall. My hair crackled a little, and the sparks passed over me, but that was all. I even managed to shock the person beside me, by holding his watch and telling all that sparky energy to move away…
Before Ban-san and Tou-chan fought them, I heard Ban-san say something to Tou-chan about me inheriting electric eels. Then they were around me and telling me to stay behind them, and they began fighting. But then the bad guys ran away and we chased them, into the dark streets, but I was running too slow. And when I heard Ban-san shout "GINJI!" I ran harder and found Ban-san, and I went to him and when he looked at me I saw he was frantic. He told me to run home and tell Kaasan that Tou-chan had gotten lost. Then I saw a blast of electricity somewhere far off, and Ban-san shouted "Ginji!" again, and suddenly more men came out, and this time they had guns. And they fired and I did something, I'm not sure what…I know I felt crackly all over and the bullets didn't hit me or Ban-san. Then Ban-san pushed me and told me to run, and I fell, and he yelled "Move!" and I jumped and ran all the way home…
And now Kaasan's stopped cooking and she's wiping blood of my cheek—my cheek? Where did that come from?—and she winces as she touches me and I crackle a little. She strokes my hair softly and says, "Teshichan. Relax. It's okay."
Relax? Why? I'm not tense…but as soon as she says this I can feel me relaxing, and I stop crackling. And she hugs me, not minding the blood, and takes me out of the kitchen, and says, "Let's get you cleaned up, first." Kaasan is so calm. But I can tell she's worried, I can feel it rolling off her.
Yamato-kun comes down he stairs with Satsu-kun, and I hear their voices, "Hi Natsumi-san! Hi Teshichan!" We both look up as they shout, and I see their faces change from happy-go-lucky to shocked, and then Yamato-kun's downstairs and checking me over, giving me his hanky (he actually has it with him!) to wipe the blood and asking if I'm okay. Yamato-kun's responsible for ten. He's my best friend, even if I'm only eight. Satsu-kun is asking Kaasan what happened.
"Yamato-kun," Kaasan says quietly, and he looks up. "Get your mother. Satsu-kun, use the landline and call your father. I want to speak to him."
The boys nod and run off, and Kaasan makes me sit down and leaves to find medicine.
The door bangs open and I jump sparking. When I turn I see Ban and Ginji, and they're both staring at me with wide, frightened eyes. I try to smile, and then Ban is running to me with a scared look on his face, saying, "Oneechan! Oneechan, what happened?" And he just keeps staring at the blood on my face and neck as I try to calm him down. Ginji comes up and asks the same thing, and suddenly his eyes go wide again. He asks where his Otosan and my Tou-chan are. Sometimes Ginji is too smart for his own good.
I think I'm crying, now, I can feel tears on my cheeks and my breath is coming out funny. I feel to scared, but I can't feel at all, and I'm not sure what's real and what isn't…I'm not too sure what's happening to me. I can feel Ban 's small hands tugging at me, and he's telling me not to cry, asking me not to cry…
And I feel arms around me as Kaasan settles down beside me, and she hugs me again and I start crying. I'm so scared, so scared, I don't know where Ban-san and Tou-chan are, and the men looked so scary and they felt like that dark place, like Mugenjou, and I was babbling about this in front of everyone and I can feel someone else—I think it's Himiko-san—cleaning the wound on my face and the medicine stings but I'm not crying because it hurts, it's something else that's scaring me…
"Himiko-san," Kaasan says softly. "Try to call Ban-san. I'll fix Teshichan's wounds."
Himiko-san nods and stands, and brings out her cellphone. Yamato-kun sits down beside me, and he's quiet, and he has his little sister Michiko in his lap. She's looking at me as if she's wondering if I'm okay. She's only three, she doesn't know anything. I see everyone, coming to me as if drawn by a magnet…Yamato-kun, Ban , Ginji, Yuji, Michiko, and Reiko , and Satsu-kun's standing to one side awkwardly. One thing about our families…the Amanos and the Midous; when someone's in a bad mood, or when something's wrong, we can all feel it, like a cloud covering the house.
Where are Tou-chan and Ban-san?
Reiko 's crawling into my lap, and I wince as she touches my skinned, bleeding knees. She's three, like Michiko, and she says in her baby voice, "Neechan?"
"Ssh, Reiko," Kaasan says, as she cleans the cut in my neck. "Don't bother 'Neechan. She's hurt."
Reiko says something but I don't hear because Himiko-san says, "Ban?"
Everyone goes quiet, and I can see the Midous looking at their okaasan, and Ginji and Yuji and Michiko don't look that scared, because they're too small, but Yamato-kun's worried. I can tell, even if he hides it.
"What happened?" Himiko-san asks. She's calm, outside, and I know she doesn't want us kids to worry. It's not working on me.
I can hear Ban-san's voice faintly, and he sounds like he's calm, too. Why do grownups keep trying to fool us?"
"I see," Himiko-san says. She turns away, and I'm pretty sure this means something's wrong. "What time will you be home?" After a while, she nods and says, "All right, I'll tell Natsumi." She sighs and says in a slightly frustrated voice, "And I'll stay at home." Her voice drops, and I can barely hear it, but suddenly she sounds as small and as worried and as lost as I feel. She tells him something like, "Take care. Please."
As Himiko-san ends her call, the door opens and Shido-san comes in. He's panting as if he's been running, and Kazuki-san's behind him. They ask what happened, and Himiko-san and Kaasan—Kaasan's finished patching me up—go to them, and tell us to stay inside the house and stay out of the kitchen. They go there, and I hear the clinking of mugs and the low murmur of voices.
We kids look at each other in silence, for a while, then Yamato-kun suddenly stands and says, "Let's go upstairs."
We follow, and even though no one says anything, we all go to the boys' room. I don't think we want to separated.
The boys share a room and so do the girls, never mind who's Midou and who's Amano. We're like one family anyway, with four parents. When we get into the room, we sit anywhere, on the beds and on the floor, but we're all facing inwards in a sort of circle. The baby girls are quiet…I told you we can tell if something's wrong.
"Teshichan," Satsu-kun says. "What happened?"
I'm not crying anymore, but I still can't speak properly without gasping. I hug Reiko as I talk; it makes me feel better, somehow. Yamato-kun and Satsu-kun are quiet afterwards, and Satsu-kun stares out the window while Yamato-kun absently sets Michiko on the floor. She scoots over to Yuji and begins to bother him, and pretty soon a normal squabble is in full swing between Yuji, Michiko, Ginji, and Ban. Reiko slides off my lap and joins in.
Yamato-kun doesn't tell them to shut up, for once, and neither do I. Suddenly Satsu-kun gasps, and we turn to face him, and we see nothing extraordinary, only many birds in the skies.
Many birds in the skies…
"They're looking for your fathers," Satsu-kun says, eyes flat and blind-looking. I think he just talked to the birds.
The door opens and Himiko-san comes in. "You're all here," she says, without surprise. A faint smile's on her face as she talks to us, as if she's trying to make us feel better. "Your father and Kazuki are looking for Ban and Ginji, Satsu. You'll stay here until they all get back. Shido asked you to call your mother and tell her. In the meantime…Teshi, Natsumi's looking for you to help her with the cooking. Yamato, Satsu, help me set the table. Ginji, Ban, Yuji, behave. Take care of Reiko and Michiko."
We're pretending to be normal. Only pretending, even if we don't know what's happening to our fathers. Usually we know where they are and what they're doing, and if they're likely to meet enemies on the way. Something like this hasn't happened in a long time.
So we follow, anyway, and before I leave the room I see Yamato-kun put his arms around Himiko-san and he hugs her, and she hugs him back and puts her face in his hair, so no one can see her expression. Yamato-kun's getting tall. I see Himiko-san's back heave in a deep breath, as if she's steadying herself. Then she straightens, and we go downstairs.
I enter the kitchen and I see Kaasan, and she smiles at me, but her smile's not as strong as usual. I suddenly just feel like doing what Yamato-kun did, and I run to her, and hug her. She hugs me back, and I feel wetness on her face, then she straightens and brushes her eyes and says, "Let's make dinner, before they come home."
Kaasan's so strong.
It's nearly eleven PM and they haven't come back yet. I can't sleep. Kaasan and Himiko-san tucked us in right after dinner, because there was nothing else to do, and I haven't closed my eye since. Kaasan and Himiko-san are still up, I can feel it. I think they're waiting downstairs.
Michiko and Reiko are asleep, peaceful in their beds. They are so lucky.
There's a soft knock on my door, and I sit up, scramble out of bed, and open it. Yamato-kun's there, and he puts a finger to his lips and drags me to his room. There, only Yuji is asleep. Ginji and Ban are awake, sitting up in bed, and quiet, for once. Satsu-kun is sitting up in the cot Himiko-san put in the room, and he looks weird. His eyes are half closed, as if he's listening to something far, far away.
He opens his eyes as I enter the room, and for a moment they look like his mother's…lightless and dark. They clear, and normal sight comes in again. But he still looks serious. "I was able to talk to the birds my Otosan sent out," he says. His face darkens even more. "Their orders were to look for Ban-san…and Raitei."
I can feel myself go hot and cold all at once, and behind me I hear Yamato-kun whisper a word I know Himiko-san would scold him for.
I hear Satsu-kun say something about how it wasn't Tou-chan's fault, because the bad guys had a new weapon or something that just caused Raitei to react. That was the huge blast of light I saw before Ban-san made me run. Right now, Tou-chan….Raitei, Ban-san, Shido-san, and Kazuki-san were in Mugenjou.
I sit on the bed and I feel like…like a zombie. I know the boys are worrying because I can hear them calling me but I don't want to answer.
I wonder if I'll ever see Tou-chan again.
I'm running and running and it's too dark…
I smash into Ban-san and look up and his face is all bloody, and bullets hit him and he pushed me and tells me to run some more…
I don't want to go but he makes me and I'm running again, running again, and I can hear Yamato-kun's voice go "Teshichan!" and he sounds happy but I don't know why…and at the same time light blazes and I see Tou-chan burning with lightning and people trying to kill him…
He turns and sees me and his eyes go wide and I think he's trying to say my name, but he can't because there's a knife cutting his throat and his blood's so red…
I scream and scream and I hear Yamato-kun again, but this time he sounds scared and…there's someone shaking me.
"Teshichan!"
It's Kaasan. My eyes snap open and there are tears on my cheeks, and Yamato-kun's pillow is wet. He's sitting up and so is Satsu-kun, and I…I must have fallen asleep because I'm curled up on Yamato-kun's bed. Ginji and Ban were curled up against me, up until I screamed. Now they're at the foot of the bed, shaking. Yuji is awake too, and he's staring at me.
Kaasan is stroking my forehead, eyes worried. "Teshichan, don't…it was just a bad dream."
I can feel me crackling, and I try to calm down. Suddenly I fling my arms around Kaasan's neck and I think I'm crying harder. I know I'm saying I want Tou-chan back, even if he's Raitei right now. Kaasan looks startled at this. I feel Ban crawling into Kaasan's lap for a hug, too, and in the next room one of the girls is crying.
"Do you want hot chocolate?" Kaasan asks after a while.
I nod miserably, and she untangles herself from me and Ban, then kisses our foreheads softly. She goes out and closes the door.
"Teshichan, you scared me," Yuji complains loudly.
Yamato-kun tells him to shut up. Then he stands. "Reiko's crying." He shakes his head as I move, and says, "Stay here. I'll go."
But he doesn't have to because I can hear footsteps, and moments later Himiko-san's singing softly, a lullaby to put Reiko to sleep.
It's two AM and they're not yet back…
"Satsu-kun?"
"Shh!" He stands, and cocks his head towards the window.
We all fall silent…and then we hear the door open, and a mug shattering, and Kaasan's cry.
Footsteps sound in the hall outside. It's Himiko-san, running down the stairs. The low rumble of men's voices floats up from below, and I look at the others. As one, everyone's out of bed and running.
We storm down the stares and stop at the bottom, and I feel like crying again but I've cried too much even if I want to cry out of happiness and relief this time. They're all there…they're all safe. Covered with blood but not as much as in my dream…Shido-san's got a cut on his face, and a few slashes on his arm. Kazuki looks like he has a broken ankle, or something…Ren-san might get mad at him for that. Ban-san's there, and there's a bruise on his face and blood on his leg…a bullet wound, and more blood, and he looks like he's hurting all over but he's grinning and just letting go of Himiko san, who still has her arms around him.
And Tou-chan…Tou-chan's there, and it looks like he's crackling a little, and he looks worse of than Ban-san and a lot more tired, but Kaasan doesn't mind any of these things. They're hugging each other like it's the end of the world, breathing hard, and I think Tou-chan's saying sorry to Kaasan.
"Otosan!" The Midous run to Ban-san, and are scared to hug him at first, because he's not the type to hug, but he sweeps them all up in a big bear one, ruffling their heads and telling them they didn't have to worry, because their Otosan's the strongest man in the world. I can see Shido-san roll his eyes at this, before hugging Satsu-kun.
Tou-chan looks up, and his brown eyes brighten when they see me. "Teshichan, are you all right?" he asks, and I know it's my Tou-chan and not Raitei.
I can feel this huge sob tearing out of me and I run to him and hug him as hard as Kaasan was, and Ban's right behind me, hugging Tou-chan tight, too. He puts his arms around us both and whispers that it's okay…he tells us he's sorry, and I don't know why. I shake my head and hug him still, even if he's bleeding and hurt, he doesn't mind. Thank God he's alive…
Ban-san and Tou-chan laugh as they hear the two girls upstairs shout, "Tou-chan! 'Tosan!" They separate from us for a while and go to clean up, before the babies see them, and Kaasan and Himiko-san tell us to change out of our bloodied clothes and put them in the laundry right away.
Satsu-kun and Shido-san and Kazuki-san leave shortly after, and we wish them a safe trip home. I'm so glad we have friends to help, in times like these…
We're going to sleep together tonight, Kaasan tells me. Me, Ban , Reiko , her, and Tou-chan. All the Midous will sleep together, too. She says the kids will need it, so we have no nightmares.
I know I won't have any more tonight, because Tou-chan's home, and safe.
Tou-chan's home, and everything's all right.
…--EnD--…
Character Key:
Teshichan, Ban, and Reiko are Ginji and Natsumi's kids.
Yamato, Ginji, Yuji, and Michiko are Ban and Himiko's kids.
Satsu is Shido and Madoka's kid. He has a few sibs at home.