Disclaimer: The Get Backers are the property of Ayamine Rando and Aoki Yuya. Since you're reading this without paying me a cent, it's quite obvious that I'm not making money off this.

Two men dressed in business suits stopped walking outside the Honky Tonk Cafe. One of them, who seemed like he was in his forties, looked at the Honky Tonk sign, then at a yellow flyer in his hand.

"Looks like we're here", he said to his younger companion, who nodded and pushed the cafe door open.

Wan Paul, the owner of the Honky Tonk cafe, smiled at them as they came in. "Good evening", he said. "How may I help you?"

"Do you know where we can find...", the older man started to say, then paused as he held the flyer up. "... the Get Backers?"

Paul pointed with his thumb to one of the booths at the far corner of the cafe. The man directed his gaze at the booth and stared. A spiky-haired brunette was stuffing a slice of pizza into his mouth like there was no tomorrow, while a blond stuffed-toy-like creature was trying to reach for the pizza over the brunette's shoulders. The brunette seemed to be successful in warding off the creature, much to the creature's dismay.

"Ban-chan!! That's mine!", wailed the poor-looking creature.

The two men's jaws dropped to the floor.

"My god", gasped the older man. "It can talk."

Paul cleared his throat. The brunette looked up and froze as he saw the two men staring at him. The blond took advantage of the brunette's distraction and grabbed one of the slices of pizza. He stuffed the whole slice into his mouth and started to chew when he turned his head and saw what got his partner's attention.

The older man opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated when he saw the blond doll staring back at him.

Noticing his companion's discomfort, the younger man spoke up. "Are you the Get Backers?", he asked.

The brunette gulped down the last of the pizza that was in his mouth and replied, "Yes, we are. This way please." He stood up and led them to a clean booth. The blond doll transformed into a normal-looking guy in an instant and followed them.

"How did you...?", the older man said as he looked at the blond in amazement. He suddenly shook his head. "Never mind."

"I'm Mido Ban", the brunette said as they settled down.

"And I'm Amano Ginji", said the blond.

The older man smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you. My name is Wataki Taese." He motioned his hand at his companion. "And this is my assistant Manoyu Ishido."

The assistant bowed his head in greeting. "Pleased to meet you."

"So you want us to retrieve something?", asked Ban.

Wataki's smile disappeared. "Yes", he replied. "I'm a curator at the Tokyo National Musuem, and..." He paused as his eyes took on a pained look. "... we've lost something very valuable."

Manoyu reached inside his suit and took out a photograph. Ban took the photograph from his hand, looked at it, then stared at the men.

"You're kidding."

Wataki shook his head. "I wish I am, but unfortunately, I'm serious."

Ginji took the photograph from Ban's hand and looked at it. He saw an intricate-looking Tachi sword [1]. "Wow", he breathed. "This is a beautiful sword."

"That's not just any beautiful sword", Ban told him. "That's the Mikazuki Munechika, one of the Tenka Go Ken [2]. It's considered a National Treasure."

"Yes, yes, it IS a treasure", Manoyu nodded his head. Then his face suddenly turned serious as he looked at the retrieval experts. "So you understand how important it is to get it back."

Ban met Manoyu's eyes with his. "So how did you manage to lose something so important?"

"Ban-chan", Ginji hissed at him.

"It's okay, Amano-san," Wataki smiled at them sadly. "I ask myself that question ever since it got stolen."

Ginji's eyes widened. "Stolen?", he asked.

Manoyu nodded. "Last week", he replied. "During the storm."

A strong typhoon had hit Japan the week before. Although it didn't hit Tokyo directly, it still brought great thunderstorms that damaged some homes and some electrical systems.

"We had the minimum number of security personnel during that time", Manoyu continued. "There was a power failure at about 2:00 in the morning. We thought it was caused by the storm. We called the police as soon as we realized that somebody had deliberately tampered with our security systems, but the storm caused the police to be delayed. By the time they arrived, the thief was already gone."

Ban thought about what Manoyu said. "But since the sword is a National Treasure, shouldn't this be a job for the police?", he asked.

Manoyu looked at Wataki with a questioning look. After a moment, Wataki nodded at his assistant. The assistant turned his head back to the retrieval experts, and sighed heavily.

"We've just lost... two policemen ... in a failed attempt to recover the sword", Manoyu said. "They're currently in the process of planning a new operation."

"The museum has been doing its own investigation", Wataki said. "It's not like we don't have faith in the police. It's just that we would like to have the sword back as soon as possible, so we're trying all means to recover it." He paused.

"Go on", Ginji said as he nodded.

Wataki continued. "We hired informants to find out where the sword is, and where it's headed. So far, they've been doing a great job. Right now, we need to hire other people to actually retrieve it."

"What do your informants say?", Ban asked. "Where is the sword now?"

Wataki gave a little smile. "We can't tell you that ... unless you accept this job." His face turned serious. "It's important that this doesn't get out. The public shouldn't even SUSPECT that the sword is missing."

Ban raised his eyebrows. "Don't you think that's a little hard? I mean, people would kinda notice that the Mikazuki Munechika isn't on display, wouldn't they?"

Wataki and Mayuno looked at each other again. Wataki looked at Ban, then at Ginji, seemingly trying to decide whether to trust them. Finally, he sighed.

"The one at the museum", Wataki started to say, "is a replica." [3]

Ban stared at Wataki.

"Like I said, the public shouldn't suspect that the sword is missing", Wataki continued as he looked at Ban straight in the eye. "Which is why we would like to hire you. We hear you have talent for discretion."

Ban looked back at him. "Indeed we do."

"We'll pay you eight hundred thousand yen", Wataki said. "Four hundred thousand now, and four hundred thousand when you give us the sword."

Ban thought for a moment, then said, "Wataki-san, are there other complications to this mission that we should know about?"

Wataki's eyebrows shot up. "Complications?", he asked.

"Yes. Complications. Such as, say, other people who may be after the sword, perhaps?"

A smile slowly crept into Wataki's lips. "Ah, complications." He nods in understanding. "Well ... " Wataki's expression turned serious. "Have you heard of the Dark Fleet?"

Ginji slowly shook his head. He looked at Ban, who seemed to be thinking. Finally, Ban said, "An international smuggling organization."

Wataki smiled again. "So you've heard of them?"

Ban nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of them." He narrowed his eyes. "Do they consider the sword ... a high priority?"

Ginji, who was beginning to be confused, looked back from Ban to Wataki.

"It most probably is", Wataki answered. He smiled at them. "But THAT shouldn't be a problem, should it? I've been told that you are the best retrieval team around."

Ban just smirked back at the curator.

"So what do you say, Mido-san, Amano-san?" Wataki looked at each retriever in the eye as he said their name.

Ban raised his eyebrows. "If it's high priority, that means we have to deal with the Silver Claw, isn't that right?"

Wataki nodded slowly. He looked at Ginji, then back at Ban. After a long moment, he said, "Alright. I'll make it one million yen, then."

Ginji's mouth dropped open. He turned to Ban, drooling.

Ban shook his head. "Two million."

Ginji's eyes become wider. "Ban-chan...", he whispered.

Ban whispered back, "Shut up, Ginji."

Wataki thought for a moment, then said, "I'll give you five hundred thousand now; two million when you give me the sword."

This time, it was Ban's mouth that dropped open.

Recovering quickly, Ban smiled and said, "The Get Backers accept this job."

Note: More on the Dark Fleet and the Silver Claw on the next chapter. Look forward to it!

[1] The Tachi sword is the first type of Japanese sword to use a long curved blade.

[2] Tenka Go Ken - Five Most Famous Swords in Japan. The Mikazuki Munechika really exists, and is currently (as of this writing) at Room 13 of the Tokyo National Museum. Unfortunately, the sword exhibition will be there only up to Dec. 5, 2004. So go check it out if you can ;-)

[3] The one at the Tokyo National Museum is NOT a replica. It's the real thing. My apologies to the museum. Please don't sue me.