DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Get Backers or any of the characters. (Damn you, cruel world!)

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Ban woke up the next morning to Ginji jumping up and down on his bed.

"Oi! Ginji! You're going to break it," Ban complained sleepily.

"Ban-chan! I waited and waited, and then I fell asleep. Tell me what happened last night."

Ban shook his head to wake up fully. "Nothing I should be telling you."

"Aww, Ban-chan, you told me about Himiko..."

Ban shoved Ginji off his bed crossly. "That was different."

Ginji grinned up at him from the floor. "Different as in you kissed, no Ban-chan?"

"Why are you so interested in me kissing people, Ginji?" Ban sighed.

Ginji blushed. "You see, Ban-chan, I've never kissed anyone..." he trailed off.

Now Ban was awake. "You're joking right?"

Ginji's face colored further. "Ban-chan, I'm serious."

Ban sniggered. Ginji jumped onto his bed and glared at him indignantly. "Don't be mean, Ban-chan! You know how it was in Mugenjou... I never really got close to people like that."

Ban felt a pang of sadness for Ginji. He knew that feeling. "I'm sorry, I know what you mean, Ginji."

"Then I met you, Ban-chan." Ginji picked at a corner of Ban's quilt. "And, well, you know I like Natsumi, but..."

"But what, Ginji?"

Ginji picked harder. "But it's just that she's still in high school, you know, Ban, and our work isn't exactly safe."

Wow, sounds like he's been giving this a lot of serious thought. And I've been too wrapped up in Kazuki to notice. "Yeah, but it won't stay that way, Ginji. Some day, we'll have enough money..."

"...And I'll wait till then, Ban-chan." Ban seldom saw Ginji this sad.

"Have you told her anything?"

"No, Ban-chan, but we both know that's how it is."

It's so much harder for him in many ways. At least I know that Kazuki can take care of himself, and that he has Juubei covering his back. For a fleeting second, Ginji's eyes clouded with loneliness. Then he blinked, and it was gone.

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Ginji had spent most of the morning begging Ban for details. Neither of them had brought Natsumi up again.

"Ban-chan, at least tell me where you took him!"

"I took him to Bridge 9."

"Ban-chan! I'm serious! Tell me... please..."

Ban shook his head disapprovingly at Ginji. "I'm your partner, Ginji, and if I say I took him to Bridge 9, I took him to Bridge 9."

"You're awful, Ban-chan."

Ginji pouted all the way to the Honky Tonk. Ban pushed the door open, the bell jingling. Too bad Fuuchouin's bells make all others sound like cacophony.

"Good morning, guys," Paul called out.

Ban and Ginji replied with good mornings of their own.

"Good morning, Ban, Ginji," came a low voice from the furthest booth.

"Kazu-chan! Did you come to see Ban?"

They walked over to Ito no Kazuki and sat down across him.

"You're up early," Ban observed, "maybe I should've kept you out longer."

Kazuki yawned. "I'm up because of habit. What's your excuse?"

Ginji grinned. "I woke him up because I wanted to hear about your date."

"You're terrible, Ginji," Kazuki half-yawned, half-laughed. "Ban will never be able to keep up with me if he loses sleep like that."

"You want to see how long I keep up, Kazuki?" Ban retorted, narrowing his eyes seductively.

Before Kazuki could reply to that, Ginji burst out laughing. "Ban-chan! It's funny watching you flirt!"

Ban smacked Ginji on the side of his head. "I'm not flirting!"

"Yes you are, Ban. By the way, I'm never going to be able to go across Bridge 9 without thinking impure thoughts again."

"Wow, you weren't lying, Ban-chan..." Ginji looked at him surprised. Then, he turned to Kazuki. "What do you mean, impure thoughts, Kazu-chan? Did you guys actually... right there on the bridge?"

Kazuki bit his lip to suppress smiling at the look on Ban's face. "No Ginji, Ban found a really nice place under the bridge. That's were we..." Ban shot a glare at him. "Ate dinner." Kazuki finished.

"Did you guys kiss, Kazu-chan?"

"Ginji, I don't ask you what you do walking Natsumi home, so you shouldn't ask me what I do on dates with Ban."

Ginji blushed. "But we just walk, Kazu-chan!"

Kazuki smiled at his former leader sleepily. "Of course, Ginji."

"So did you come just to see me, Kazuki?"

"No, actually, I came to tell you I'll be at Mugenjou the next few days, before you side-tracked me." Kazuki's face clouded over. "MakubeX wants me to look into something."

Ginji's eyes widened. "Is something wrong there, Kazu-chan?"

Kazuki shrugged. "He didn't say much, except that it had something to do with my strings. And he wants me to go see Kusuriya Gen."

"What does the old man want?"

"I don't know, Ban. But MakubeX sounded very worried..."

"Kazu-chan, promise me you'll call us if you need help, okay?"

Kazuki nodded. "I promise, Ginji. I better get going now. Later Ban, Ginji."

He kissed Ban's mouth softly, and left.

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Another really short chapter. I'm sorry I took so long. Visa processes are worse than I thought. If I have to hear about bank statements or title deeds one more time...

To make things worse, I'm down with a pretty bad cold and sore throat. I'm trying to keep my writing going, though. I apologize if this chapter was crap. On the plus side, I finally have a plot to go on with now. The next chap should be up in a week or so, and a lot longer than this one.

Thanks to kataru, AngelicKill, Ryuuen kurai, blackrose and siberian orchid for the reviews! I like taking my story slow, but on the downside, it tends to get boring sometimes. lol I remember laughing my ass off when Hotohori says he isn't married yet because he hasn't found a woman more beautiful than him. Kazuki's very cute in a couple of the eps. Yes, Juubei will have a much bigger part in the story in the upcoming chapters.

I'll go make some tea and spend the rest of the day in bed now.

Kerian