DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Get Backers or any of the characters. (But by now, we've established that I should.)
Before this begins, a thousand apologies for the delay. Being the lazy baka that I am, I put off updating till later that day, but little did I know that my boyfriend would surprise me early for my birthday and kidnap me off for a road trip. So after an exhausting nine days, I come back and find my internet's down. So now you know. I know, this could've been avoided if I'd just updated early, but yeah. I'm shocked my parents let him take me. On the plus side, I had an AMAZING trip. No beter way to spend your eighteenth birthday than cuddled with your boyfriend in a secluded little beach. India's great when it comes to isolated little places. Sorry, you're not here to read about my trips. On with the story now.
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Ban looked on at Kazuki sleeping on a makeshift bed at MakubeX's place. His face looked disturbed, and every once in a while he tossed around mumbling. Ban softly ran a finger along his jaw, thinking about Kazuki's words.
You see, there's nothing special about what my string's made with. It's how it's made that gives it all its strength. The technique lies in uniting numerous extremely thin fibers with just the right twist. I get it from a shrine in Hokkaido. They make it especially for me, and the process is very jealously guarded.
Ginji walked over to Ban and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. "We'll find who did this, Ban-chan. Don't worry."
"I know, Ginji. I wonder how they got the string, though. You think someone stole Kazuki's?" Ban knew this wasn't the case.
Ginji cocked his head slightly. "Maybe so, Ban-chan. Or maybe the shrine made some more string…"
Ban shrugged. "I wonder what connects all those girls. There's usually a pattern in these things, you know."
"I know, and nothing unusual showed up on MakubeX's cameras either. And they're all over the place!"
"Maybe the guy found some way to mess with them. I don't see how, though…"
Ban felt a wave of fatigue pass through him. They had spent the entire day going over the crime scenes. They were all in dark hidden alleys, and they only indicator of the crimes had been the chalk outlines where the girls had been found. He stretched slightly and yawned. I can't sleep now! There must be something I can do…
Footsteps from behind them made them turn around. Juubei and Toshiki had just walked in. They nodded to the Get Backers in greeting.
"Did Kazuki find anything?" Juubei's voice mirrored the exhaustion everyone was feeling.
"No," Ban replied, "Sakura and him went over the tapes for hours, but just the usual stuff showed. She's asleep in the next room. What about you guys?"
Juubei shook his head resignedly. "We didn't find anything either. We asked around everywhere."
"You should go sleep, Juubei," Toshiki suggested.
"I'll go check on Sakura first."
"I'm going to go sleep too, Ban-chan. Good night!"
As Juubei and Ginji left, Toshiki walked over to Kazuki's sleeping form. He brushed a few locks of his hair out of his face. Ban bristled slightly.
"He looks worried, even in his sleep." Toshiki said, half to himself.
You can stop touching him now. "Yeah, he's working himself too hard."
Toshiki continued playing with his hair. "He was like this back then too. Always concerned about everyone else."
Ban narrowed his eyes. Toshiki's touching looked innocent enough, but it struck a chord with him. Ban walked over and sat down on the bed, next to Kazuki. "Excuse me, I think I'll be sleeping now too."
Toshiki moved away. "Of course. Good night."
"Good night," Ban called out, lying down and draping an arm around the sleeping Fuuchouin heir.
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"Ban. Ban, wake up." Ban felt long fingers caressing his face. He opened one eye partially to see Kazuki's face.
"Good morning, Yarnball."
Kazuki smiled slightly. "You saw me sleeping and decided to take advantage of me, Ban?"
"What? I just slept, ok? Don't get ideas!"
"Mind explaining why we're entangled together, then?"
Ban pulled away from the laughing man. "I can't control how I sleep, you know. And I just wanted-"
Kazuki silenced him with a finger on his lips. "It's all right, Ban, you don't have to say anything. It calmed me down, thanks."
Ban pulled Kazuki into his arms and kissed him softly. He drew back, slightly breathless, and smiled at Kazuki's sleepy look. "Come on, we need to get working."
Kazuki pressed his lips together tightly and nodded. They walked out together to MakubeX's main computer area. The computer genius was up, hitting keys faster than any living human.
"Anything new?" Kazuki asked.
MakubeX stopped and looked up at the pair. "Yeah, I think you may want to check out scene 2 once again. The footage shows a boy near there around and hour and a half before we found the body. We haven't talked to him yet."
He hit a few keys, and the face of a small boy of around seven filled the screen.
"His name is Tsumei. His file doesn't have much, except that he used to live with his older brother and mother, but they died three months ago. I think he's been living off the streets ever since."
"We're on it," Kazuki confirmed, tugging slightly at Ban's shirt. Ban nodded in reply and set off with him out to the scene.
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Once again, sorry for the delay. And I must remind you guys that I'll be changing the rating to R from next chap, so remember to turn the settings right if you want to continue reading this. There'll be some BanKazu action in the next part. But no promises as to it's quality, since I'm not the best at steamy scenes.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed my other two fics. FallinOutFallinIn, sorry about him saying "Ban" so much. I really like the sound of him saying his name, but I guess I got carried aay. I reread the fic, and yeah, it sounds kinda stupid with Kazuki saying "Ban" every sentence. siberian orchid, I haven't read the manga, so I really have no idea if Kazuki sews up his victims in it. In fact, I have no idea what anyone's like in the manga except I've read about Ban taking... liberties with Hevn's sizable assets. Ayumi, I'm positive Sir Ian McKellan is gay. I read rumours about a boy toy some time back.
Yeah, too much rambling for such a short chapter. Gomen.
Kerian