FoUr

The Importance of Minding Your Business

Shinji entered the apartment as fast as she could. The feeling that someone was stalking her had grown too much for her to handle. It was creepy to think that someone was eyeing her every move. She felt it even after she had locked the door. Her heart beating fast, she walked into the living room.

"Jackal-san!" she gasped is surprise. The owner of the house was seated on the sofa, looking very comfortable in a white polo shirt with light blue vertical stripes and a pair of denim pants. He had never worn anything so casual before. Even his hair looked laid back tied in a ponytail. "I thought you were coming home late,"

"They just gave me the list of things they wanted done today," explained Akabane, observing his nails. "But they said I could accomplish all of them tomorrow. Change of plans is all. Why? Don't you like seeing me here?"

"O-of course I do!" Shinji said, embarrassed. "This is your house after all. Claiming it as my own would be wrong,"

"But this is your home, too, Shinji-chan," Akabane stood up to approach her. "Remember? You're my lover now, meaning everything I own is basically yours. I didn't give you any restrictions now did I?" Shinji shook her head. "I only desire for your own personal pleasures. As for my own…" He went close enough so that his body touched hers. He whispered in a rough voice, "…I doubt that you'll ever be able to give them to me,"

He stood back and smiled at her. She, in turn, looked at the side, disappointed with herself. When was her turn in satisfying him going to be? She knitted her brows and looked at the dark-haired man. "I can do it, Jackal-san! I can fulfill your desires, just like you can," She said, blushing furiously. What in the world was she saying?

Some spirit, Akabane thought. A smile of extreme amusement played on his thin lips. "Oh? But all of them involve pain. Besides, I'm hard to please. If you don't scream enough, I'm going to lose interest, and you won't like it when I'm bored… Shinji-chan,"

Shinji saw Jackal's eyes obtain a frightening character. It looked as though he was aching for something so badly, yet he was holding it back. Her mind was telling her to stop provoking him. At the same time, she registered the situation as a chance to finally witness the truth to Jackal's mysteriousness. What made him so dangerous, and up to what extent would he remain that way?

"Try me," were her last words before he pulled her into a searing kiss. He was like an animal, his tongue pushing into her mouth while her hands ripped at her clothes. He pushed her against the wall and kept her there. The feel of her against him made him feverish, and soon enough he had lost control of the savage deep inside him. He bit her lower lip until a metallic taste sent his taste buds and the rest of his body in heaven. Blood. It was what he lusted for, unlike other mature men who longed for sex and riches. No. He wasn't going to have any of that. Blood was at the top of his list.

Akabane sucked the liquid of life, causing Shinji's lips to become pale. He thought it was too little and proceeded to trailing kisses down her neck. He marked his territory with dark bruises before biting down effortlessly, for her skin was thin and could easily be injured. Shinji's voice stuck in her throat at the sensation that made her eyes fill with tears. She tried to push Jackal away, but alas. He was too strong. The pain was soon replaced by a tingling and overwhelming sensation as he licked the wound he had created clean. However, he wasn't about to finish.

"I need… more," he grunted. "More… blood…" Shinji heard this and used all of her strength to escape. She didn't realize that she had lost so much blood, and fell to the floor feeling weak and nauseous. She turned to look at Jackal who had brought out his knives. "Where are you going, Shinji-chan? I thought you said you didn't mind pain? You still have more pleasure to give me,"

Shinji's eyes grew. Akabane smiled, and his fangs began to grow. He closed in on her and—

"Ban-chan! Hey, Ban-chan!" Ginji shook his partner. Ban had been daydreaming, and at that moment he was sweating like a pig.

"Where is she?" demanded Ban. "Where's Jackal's girlfriend?"

"She's still inside the store," answered Ginji. "You told me to pay close attention, and you're the one whose mind's wandering. What happened to you?"

"Nothing, nothing," lied Ban as he wiped his face with a handkerchief. "But I saw terrible things, Ginji. I'm thinking they were premonitions. We can't let them happen in reality,"

"What? But Ban-chan, you don't have powers to see into the future,"

"They felt too real not to be true. We really have to protect that girl, or else she'll end up as Jackal's suck toy,"

Ginji became confused. "Suck toy? That's ridiculous, Ban-chan,"

"No more questions," Ban put a finger on Ginji's lips. "That girl's in danger. We have to get back her true consciousness. She's under his control,"

"Whatever you say, Ban-chan," said Ginji with a shrug. He didn't think Akabane was too evil not to have a love interest. He was still human.

But not in Ban's mind he wasn't.


Akabane arrived at his apartment at eleven in the evening. He had finished the job quite slowly for his standards, but he had been paid a big amount, which was good. He was thinking of all the things he was going to do with it when he spotted a chipmunk and a pineapple in the hallway. As he walked on, he saw Mido Ban and Amano Ginji outside his door. He smiled.

"Nice to see you here, Get Backers," a crisp voice said from behind. Ban and Ginji feared the worse and faced the speaker, who turned out to be the person playing in their minds. "By the way, how did you get here? Is there something you need?"

"N-no," Ginji answered nervously. "We were just, um, passing by you see, and…"

"Passing by, and ending up in my front door? What luck," Akabane lowered his hat and pulled out four knives. "More fun for me, I guess,"

The Get Backers quickly stood up and ran for their lives, knives going after them. Shinji opened the door the second the two were out of sight, and she looked cross the hall. No one was there. "Were you with someone, Jackal-san?" she asked him.

"Not at all," Akabane went inside. "I was merely talking to myself. May I ask why you're still awake at this hour?"

"I was reading this," Shinji held up a newly bought manga. "And I have more. See?" She opened a cabinet. Inside were about forty volumes of various manga. "I've been seeing them ever since I was a little girl, and I've always wanted to have one. I couldn't help myself. There were so many good titles,"

"Good for you," beamed Akabane. "I'm going to clean up and go to bed. Don't stay up 'till morning, alright?"

"I won't," Shinji sat back down on the couch and resumed her reading. A thought crossed her mind, and she went to the bathroom. "Jackal-san?"

Akabane opened the door. "What is it, Shinji-chan?"

"I think I left a manga in there," she said. "Could you get it for me, please?"

"Wait a sec," He walked away from the door but kept it open. Shinji went in since Akabane was still fully clothed. She saw a dozen bottles of pills in the sink. Some were open while others weren't. She grabbed one, and as she was about to twist the cap a hand stopped her. "Don't… touch these," Akabane warned. He gently pushed Shinji out of the way and arranged the bottles in the medicine cabinet.

"Do you… drink all of those, Jackal-san?" inquired Shinji. "Oh! Are you sick or something? Let me help you,"

"I'm sick, yes, but what I have is controllable," said Akabane monotonously. "As long as I take my medication, I'm fine. No need to worry about me," He didn't face her while he said this.

"That's good. I'll make sure you get better. Well goodnight, Jackal-san,"

Akabane stopped her from leaving by grabbing her by the arm, and then he kissed her. At first she was taken aback, albeit seconds later she felt comfortable and gave in with only her folded hands in front of her chest separating them. He tightened his grasp around her, deepening their osculation. He withdrew after a while, leaving her half-lidded and red. She went out of the bathroom slowly, still entranced by the unexpected action of Jackal's. The man could only smile despite his terrible secret. He locked the door and took the rest of his pills in peace. He stared at his bony hands that had been covered in blood too many times to be counted. He thought he was never going to fear anything, but he conceived that idea wrong, because one thing suddenly haunted his mind:

He was going to have to protect Shinji from all peril; with all his might he was willing to do that. However, he himself was part of that danger. Would he be able to contain his natural instincts? Or will it take over his entire being, and destroy them both?


Author's Note: Wow. It took me several revisions to write this particular chapter. Wonder why… Well school's out, and so I'm free to update as often as possible. Whee! I realized that I could complete a single chapter in one day (since they're always so short) and that I want to make another fanfic for a different anime. Let's see… I've come up with an updating schedule, and this one I'm going to update every Tuesdays and Fridays. Yes. That's a reasonable arrangement. Of course, if I get hyped I might update on some other day or whatever. Hehe.