Retrievers, Transporters, and Ducks! Oh My!

By: Alicorn(a)

Rating: T (PG) for violence

Betas: Riyuji and Rabid Lola

It's so easy to lose yourself in battle. To melt in the rush, and focus your world onto the edge of your blade. The roaring, the screaming, the warm splattering of blood; they all blur and become a numbness. They bring peace. A strange sort of peace that very few others would understand.

Akabane slashed through a line of attackers, bestowing his bloody signature onto anyone who came at him, and on a few who didn't. His fight was like always: his movements were flowing in a graceful pattern, as he whirled in a strange dance, too fast for the eye to see, although the moans of his opponents as they died on his blades were his only accompaniment.

Except that, his opponents weren't dying anymore.

It seemed that death didn't have the same allure. He still loved the rush of fighting, but he just didn't feel like bestowing death upon others, nor did he feel the urge to court it himself.

A particularly vicious berserker attacked, and grazed Akabane's cheek. Said berserker had all the tendons in his major joints efficiently removed as Akabane flashed past him.

I may not have a wife, but I do have a child who depends on me right now, so though it is cliche, I'm afraid that you can't kill me today. The only reason why I'm not killing you now, in fact, is that she might get ... upset. And I don't really want to cope with that at the presentt.

And that was Dr. Jackal's last coherent thought for a while. After all, his sister had just gotten to 52 points, and he couldn't let her BEAT him, now could he?

Whenever Ban, or anyone else, asked him how he made his electricity, Ginji answered that he didn't know how to describe it. Having that power flow through was like having molten heat run through your veins, and out of yourself, twining and burning like lava. But that description was too physical. It was harder than it looked really, because you had to grab at the electricity, and tame the wild beast until you could hold it in your hands.

Hitting people with electrically-enhanced punches was like hitting people while grasping angered cats that were hissing and spitting all the while. That's why Ginji wore his gloves after all. They were reinforced with insulators, and they naturally dampened his shocks. Why else do you think he always took them off when he needed to use his powers in earnest?

Sometimes though,when he was in a fight situation like this, there were too many people crowdingand pushing and jostling and trying to hit him. It was hard to focus, to keep his cool. And whenever Ginji wasn't in control, Raitei was waiting just under the surface, waiting for his chance to emerge, surging every time he shocked someone.

It was scary.

A break in the rhythm of the fighting occurred, a natural breather. Ginji glanced to where Ban-chan was. He kept Raitei away, after all.

Waitasec...

"BAN-CHAN! DUCK!"

Aesclepius hissed.

Let me out, child. You know that you need my power.

Ban snorted as he plowed his way through rows of men, crushing bone and cartilage as he went.

Snake, I'm not gonna call you up. I'll get by on my own strength, and my own strength only.

Aesclepius chuckled darkly. That's what you say now, but later...

Ban heard a distant cry from Ginji, but was too busy with Aesclepius to notice.

Bah. Later is later. Now let me focus you bas--- GAH.

Some idiot had pulled a gun and fired a lucky shot. Icy flames shot down Ban's arm.

Shit, that thing went deep...

Covering his arm with his other hand, Ban shouted across the room, "Yo, Ginji! We gotta end this thing!"

The guards cleared away quickly. After all, there were 4 veteran fighters at work, and the gurads were no match, breaking like dry twigs in a hurricane.

"Ban-chan, are you ok?"

Leaping over the groaning bodies, Ginji rushed to his partner's side, to be greeted by a bop on the head.

"Stupid. If I was so weak that this hurt me, THEN you should be worried. It's just a scratch."

Shinigami ambled over, and took a look at Ban's bleeding arm.

"Geez. MEN. Always have to be so tough."

Shaking her head, she sighed, and said, "It may just be a scratch, but we're teammates for now, and since I can heal it up, I will."

Frowning a bit, she hovered her hands over the wound, and glared at it.

"Gah! That hurts!" Ban felt a strange pulling sensation. His wound burned, but as if he was stretching a joint too far, not as if it was being torn. When he looked down, he could see that the area glowed with a white light.

Finally, Shinigami stopped and looked up at Ban, panting.

"Sorry, but that's the best I can do with what I've got. I'm not at full health right now..."

Ban looked at the wound. The bullet had taken a chunk out of his arm, butthat gaping holehad now mostly filled in.All in all, itlooked more like a simple scrape, rather than a bullet wound.

"Hn. That's some skill you've got there."

Amayako didn't know how to react. This was only the second time she had used her skills on someone other than herself or her brother. The other time hadn't gotten such a good reaction.

"Um, thanks..."

Looking over to her brother, she turned back, and murmured, "We should be going, ne? Personally, I don't wanna know what happens when the next wave comes."

After a moments consideration, she added, "By the way, I got up to 70... you?"

Akabane responded with his patented "I-am-amused-but-must-not-show-it-because-of-my-image" grin, and replied, "71, sister dearest."

AN: Note the lack of footnotes... was the fic stillunderstandable? Please tell me.

Thanks to:

Kaeru Soyokaze - heh I'm glad you enjoyed my writing. I don't think Ginji gets a pairing yet... because frankly, I don't see anyone that I deem worthy of my favorite character /swt/

Rabid Lola - Thank you oh wonderful, marvolous, beta-who-I-love. I needed that X3.

marbles - Hee... sorry, that scene just HAD do be written ... and Ban being the pervert that he is... XD I'm sorry for leaving you in suspense! Hopefully this is better?

Atropos' Knife - Teehee! Maybe there's an allergy to hair conditioner that runs in the 'family' ... 'cuz Jackal certainly doesn't use any either... And I'll keep the titanium tips in mind, but I may warp reality just the TINIEST bit ... this is anime-verse after all /fufufu/

Yes, the ducks reference was extremely subtle here, because, quite frankly? Ducks are hard to find in a scene with this much fighting ... but they'll re-appear all over the place... you just have to find them 83