DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Get Backers or any of the characters. (Except little Tsumei, as I said. Disclaimers make me pouty...)

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It wasn't long before the crime scene was abuzz with people working on it. Since the cameras were quite sparse in such well-lit areas, that particular spot didn't show up on any of the security videos. Ban hung back a little, surveying the developments unfolding before him. Ginji had stayed back with Tsumei and MakubeX. Toshiki circled the body slowly, recording the positioning on a hand-held camera. Juubei and Sakura were out scouting for suspects. Kazuki was crouched down next to the dead girl, looking for any clues around her.

"So, that's her then." Kusuriya Gen arrived on the scene, all set to examine the body.

"Yeah, don't think she's been gone too long," Ban replied. "I passed that place around twenty minutes before I found her."

"Yeah, doesn't mean anything though. She could've been dead a long time. He just had to dump her there."

Ban's face contorted in distaste. "I stepped in a puddle of blood. She'd just about stopped bleeding then. Must've been alive up to a few minutes before I found her."

"Not like she could scream or anything…"

"So, how's Ren doing?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but her vital signs are strong. She'll be fine in a few weeks, but it's the trauma I'm worried about."

Ban nodded grimly. He hated the stench of blood the dripped from the air. It reminded him of things long buried. That's not my child, that's a monster! Ban quickly shut out the shrill voice. Since he'd met Ginji, that voice had stopped plaguing him like it used to. No more nightmares, or flashes.

He turned to Gen, and realized the old man had already moved onto the girl, carefully examining the cuts. Ban felt a slight pang when he saw Kazuki talking to him, knowing he must be enquiring about Ren. He watched them intently throughout their chat, seeing the disappointment and sadness in Kazuki's eyes. Toshiki's words rang in his head. He'd said Kazuki always worried about everyone else. That's all there is to it, and now is not the time to even be having these thoughts.

Ban turned on his heel and walked back to Ginji. To the calm, safe from the blood surrounding him.

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Ban, Ginji, Tsumei, MakubeX and Kazuki sat in a loose group. MakubeX was sifting through his files, a job he did better than anyone else. Tsumei had a sleepy look on his face and lay curled up in Ginji's lap. Ginji looked equally tired, and sat leaning against a wall, half-asleep. Ban sat going through the video Toshiki had made earlier. Kazuki sat looking over MakubeX's shoulder, glancing away every few minutes as if planning to leave.

Ban looked up from the screen he was studying and turned his attention to Kazuki. His discomfort, it's not only because I'm here. It's been there right since I came to this place…Ban frowned to himself. He thought back to the conversation they'd had. He forced himself not to wander onto the status of their relationship, and to think of what he'd said before instead. He was worried that he might be suspected, he'd said. And had denied the crime.

The sadness in his eyes, it's not purely that… something else more furtive there. He'd almost sounded… guilty? No, that's not the word. He didn't lie to me, but he wasn't completely honest either.

Ban studied Kazuki for a few more long moments. His restlessness seemed to be increasing with every passing minute. Yes, there was guilt. Not guilty of the crime, but definitely guilty about hiding something.

Enough was enough. Midou Ban was not the type to take things passively. "Fuuchouin!"

Kazuki's head jerked towards Ban, and as their eyes met, Ban saw growing apprehension in the other man's. "Yes, Ban?"

"Walk with me, Kazuki." Ban's voice softened the tiniest shade as he got up. He knew whatever Kazuki was keeping from everyone was really getting to him.

Kazuki stood up stiffly and moved close to Ban. "I don't want to talk about last night!" he hissed angrily to Ban.

Ban pulled his hand into his own broader ones. "It's not that. Come now."

Kazuki narrowed his eyes slightly, but went along anyway. They walked quietly out to the hallway, wandering slowly down the dimly lit path.

"I'm not apologizing about last night, if that's wh-"

"You know what, Yarnball," Ban cut him off quietly, yet forcefully, "the things going on now are bigger than us. Don't waste your time thinking about last night when you should be worrying about how to get this guy."

"Oh, so thinking about us is a waste of time now?" Kazuki's voice carried the same bitterness it had last night.

"Kazuki, things between us, they're pretty normal, you know."

Bells jingled loudly as Kazuki stopped abruptly. "Normal? Is that what we are, Ban?" The bitterness was gone, replaced by a slight strain of wildness and panic.

"Us? Hell, no. But things between us are. All couple have fights at some point, but if they're determined enough, nothing gets in their way."

Kazuki was far from his usual unruffled self. Beads of sweat were working their way slowly down his smooth brow. "So what is it, Midou? What did you need to talk about then if you're so sure things will work themselves out?"

"It's not about us. You're hiding something very important. Kazuki, Ren was hurt. Does she mean so little that you need to keep secrets?"

"Oh Ban…" Kazuki sagged against Ban's chest, his face buried in his shoulder. "Sh-she means so much to me. It's just, every way I look, things don't fit. They keep coming back to one thing."

He tugged slowly at the bells in his hair. Ban cupped Kazuki's cheek and brought his face level with his own. "You can't solve the riddle of the strings."

Kazuki bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Ban, I swear, there's only one instance in the last few months that's a blank to me. But even then, none of it is missing. Just the string that's usually lost in a fight is gone. That's pretty much unusable, you know. Definitely not strong enough to-" he choked slightly, "to keep a struggling girl's lips sewed together."

"So, what don't you remember?"

"Around a month before we, you know, I remember sitting in my living room reading my book. I must've fallen asleep or something, and woke up an hour or so later."

"A nap? What's your point?"

"I woke up in Mugenjou."

"Oh… and that's all you're keeping from me?"

Kazuki averted his eyes a little. "No. I wrote to the shrine in Hokkaido. I told you, they make it especially for me, right?"

Ban nodded. "Wrong," Kazuki continued, "they've been making it exclusively for the Fuuchouins for the last few generations. They know all of us by sight. And they hand it over only to us, or the Kakeis, on order."

"So… that narrows it down to Juubei, Sakura, and you?"

"And guess who's the one with the memory gap."

Ban snorted. "You're unbelievable, Yarnball. Even if you did collect the string, I can hardly believe you went all the way to Hokkaido and back in a hour."

"Yeah, but I could've written to them in that time. We have an inside code, you see. We keep things very professional. They only know our names, and nothing of our lives… so no request would seem odd."

Ban scuffed his foot impatiently at the floor. "So, you're saying you were hypnotized, or something?"

Kazuki shrugged sadly. "You have the Evil Eye. Could be something similar. But, these blackouts… it's not the first time, Ban. I used to do things I couldn't remember a lot when I first came here, after my family died. After my mother died."

Ban held him close for a while, just holding him up. "So, when you wrote to the shrine, what did they say?"

"They received an order that day. Delivery was made to me. They have records of me taking it."

"But you only said you had one hole in your memory…"

"Whoever placed the order requested delivery at night. That was a slow couple of weeks, and I slept all night that time." Kazuki sighed heavily. "Or so I think." He added bitterly.

Ban stroked his long hair gently. "Why didn't you just come out with it earlier, Kazuki?"

"I only got my reply a couple of hours ago, for one. And I was so sure I was away at all the times of the attacks… I didn't really think much of that one black-out."

"And you were asleep when the last girl was attacked? Right after our fight?"

"No, I was with Toshiki the whole time after that incident."

Ban stiffened slightly at his words. He hated the image forming in his head, Toshiki holding his Yarnball close and comforting him. Crooning sweet nothings…

His voice was carefully devoid of emotion when he spoke. "At least you have an alibi, huh?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Ban, maybe we should pay a visit to the temple."

He doesn't want Toshiki with him, or Juubei, if things turn out for the worst. He wants me. He doesn't even remember the stupid tiff.

Ban smiled slowly at the depressed man. "All right, I'll tell Ginji. We can start right away."

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So, off to Hokkaido and snow for our brave heroes! Crimson, thanks a lot for the review. Angelic priestess, I have to admit, your reviews are addictive. They're the funnest to read! And you said I was inspiring! I'm gonna do my happy dance in a sec.

And since I've always found snow and wintermelancholic and romantic, Hokkaido is where they'll first make love. If it's in the next chappie, it might take a week or so to write, but I promise to work harder. I've fallen behind so much on updating, and I posted the firt six-seven chapters on pretty much consecutive days. They were mostly planned out to start with, and now I have to form each chapter from scratch. So sorry for the bad frequency.

Well, back to bed for me... midnight now.

Kerian