Ginji had to scamper to keep up with Akabane at first, but once he'd managed to match his pace with Akabane's, he looked down at his shoes. "Ano… Akabane-san?"

"Yes, Ginji-kun?"

"Maybe you shouldn't get your man's body back. I mean, this could be like a whole new start for you! You could get a new job, where you wouldn't have to kill anymore!"

Akabane wished he had this conversation on tape. He'd make Himiko pay up. "A job based on my body, like stripping or modeling? No. I do not think so."

"You could-" Ginji hesitated. Somehow, most of the jobs Ginji associated with traditional femininity really didn't seem to fit Akabane. He especially did not want to think of the possibility of there one day being many tiny Akabane's in the world. The mental image of him tied to a chair while several scalpel-wielding black haired toddlers ran in circles around him was not appealing. "Start a restaurant!"

Akabane stopped, wondering how Ginji had come up with that career option. "A restaurant?"

"Mmm, mmm!" Ginji nodded. "You could be a super-fast sushi chef, like those guys on TV. Chop-chop-chop-chop!" Ginji exaggerated, waving his arms up and down in the air like a toy robot for emphasis.

"I am lucky I can operate a microwave without starting myself on fire," Akabane replied with a shrug. This was why he adored Ginji-kun. He was not on a job, and yet, somehow he was not bored.

Ginji thought for another moment. "Then- how about working in the circus! You could… do fancy knife-throwing tricks! Can you juggle?"

"I am afraid with a body like this, I would be expected to be my own scantily-clad assistant, and I do not know how that would possibly work out. I do not like being publicly exposed."

"Mmm… geeze, Akabane-san, it's not like you have a bad body at a- ERK!" Ginji cried, slapping his hands over his mouth. He couldn't believe he'd just said that. He could not believe he had just said that to Akabane. What was wrong with his head?

Akabane just snickered softly. "Are you feeling all right, Ginji-kun? You seem to be a little green around the girls… oh, I am sorry. I meant to say gills."

"Stop teasing me, Akabane-san. It's not funny," Ginji pouted. He wished Ban were there. Ban would protect him from the scary Akabane.

"I will stop teasing you, for we are at my apartment. Goodnight, Ginji-kun. I appreciate the accompaniment."

"Goodnight, Akabane-san," Ginji sighed, letting out the breath he'd been holding through the entire trip. He couldn't believe it. He'd gotten Akabane home completely without incident or scalpel-blades.

As Ginji started to leave, Akabane began walking up the stairs. He was so busy thinking about how his luck seemed to be improving that he didn't see the wet, slippery patch on the middle stair. He only felt it as he slipped, falling backwards as his arms reached out desperately to try to stop his fall. His legs went up, over his head, and he knew that the impact he was going to receive upon landing would not be pleasant…

But there was no impact. At least, not on his head. There was a "floof" sound, and he found himself cradled in Ginji's arms. They both regarded one another for a good, solid minute before Ginji turned absolutely red in the face and pushed Akabane upright. "Sorry, so sorry Akabane-san, but I saw you falling and I…"

"No need to apologize," Akabane answered, brushing off a sleeve in an attempt to cover up the dignity he'd lost by doing something as stupid as falling down his stairs. "I am not completely used to the lower center of gravity of this body yet."

"Are you okay, Akabane-san?" Ginji asked.

"I am fine. I think I may have struck my twisted my ankle in the fall, but I will put some ice on it and it will be fine." He attempted to put weight down on that ankle, noticing that it seemed mostly fine if a bit swollen.

"Let me help you, Akabane-san!" Ginji exclaimed, offering a friendly arm.

"You really are amazing, Ginji-kun," he asked, just staring at the arm without accepting or declining it.

"Huh? What do you mean, Akabane-san?"

"You are obviously terrified of me, and consider me one of the vilest villains to crawl the underbelly of the world. We have tried to kill one another. Yet you are here, ready to give me a hand if I should happen to sprain my ankle."

Ginji tried to think of an explanation, then just shrugged and said, "I try to do to other people what I would want them to do to me, Akabane-san. Even if they don't live by the same philosophy."

"Do to others what you would want them to do to you?" Akabane asked. He knew he was taking that phrase in the wrong way, but he didn't want to take it right. It was far more amusing to twist into something dirty. He put his foot down, and then dramatically made a face to make it look like it hurt more than it really did. "I do not think I can put any weight on it."

Ginji looked back and forth as though another option might appear to him, and then sighed. "I'll carry you up the stairs, Akabane-san."

He was startled by how little the other man seemed to weigh. It had to be the female body, as he'd accidentally had Akabane sit on him in one of their other missions, and he remembered Akabane as being rather heavy at that time. When they reached the top of the stairs, Ginji tripped on something and nearly dropped Akabane.

"What was that?" he asked, setting Akabane down next to his door. He picked up the box. "It's for you, Akabane-san!" Ginji said brightly.

"For me? That is odd… it must have gotten blown off my doorstep in the storm," he commented. Ginji handed it over as Akabane stood on one foot, fumbling with the door locks.

"Well, if you're home, then I really should get back… Ban-chan will be wondering where I went…" Ginji whimpered, backing away from Akabane.

"Will you not let me repay your kindness with food?" Akabane asked, gesturing to his kitchen. Ginji's stomach let out a very loud growl. He'd used the last of his and Ban's food money to buy Ban's pain medications, after all, so Akabane had said just the right word. That left Ginji trapped between a rock and a hard place. He could go hungry, or he could enter the Jackal's den. Starve to death, or be eaten… which was the less painful choice?

"I… I suppose it would be okay for me to have just a little something, Akabane-san…" Yes, he'd grab something and make his exit as fast as possible.

"Take your time, I owe you a debt of gratitude," Akabane smiled, limping over to his table with the box. "Just bring me some ice, please."

Ginji nervously brought Akabane a bag filled with ice cubes from the freezer, trying to keep as much distance between himself and the killer as possible. Akabane smiled. "I am very grateful," he grinned, removing his sock and shoe to place the ice on one delicate, slender ankle. Even his feet looked prettier in a woman's body, he thought to himself. Then, he asked himself where that thought had come from. He did not like his female body, nor did he think it was pretty… did he?

"Ginji-kun, do you think this body is pretty?" he asked.

Ginji, rooting through the fridge in hopes of finding snacks, froze up. There was absolutely no way to answer that question. If he said no, he would make Akabane mad. If he said yes, he might encourage Akabane to do very frightening things. "I… I… I think the body doesn't matter if the mind is pretty!" he said brightly, proud of himself. That was the kind of thing girls loved to hear, or so he'd been told.

"Mmm… I suppose there is no hope for me then, even with this body." If Ginji was going to spout stereotypical self-esteem drivel, then he was going to reply in kind with stereotypical angst.
"Don't say that, Akabane-san!" Ginji cried. In one hand, he had an apple. In the other hand, he had a handful of rice. Pieces of rice were dripping all the way down his shirt, as he'd been trying to shove both in his mouth at once.

"Are you suggesting that I do not have an ugly mind?" he asked, intentionally manipulating Ginji into giving him a compliment. Ginji made a flat face that indicated he knew Akabane was just fishing for praise by that time.

"Do I have to answer that, Akabane-san?" he asked dully. By that time, his pockets were bulging with food items he had 'covertly' snuck from Akabane's fridge. "I really do have to be getting back now, Ban-chan will wake up and he'll wonder where I am…" He stopped in mid-sentence, as Akabane's arms were now wrapped around his chest, his breasts pushed straight into Ginji's back. Ginji turned red in the face and trembled.

"Why do you not have a girlfriend, Ginji-kun? You seem like the kind of sweet dope girls want." Ginji made a face, not knowing if that was a compliment or not.

"I have-haven't found the right girl," he stammered, absolutely frozen or not. Akabane was running one female finger over his lips, causing him to shake further. He wanted to run, but his legs refused to move.

"Or… could it be that the emotional scars of the Thunder Emperor keep you from getting close to anyone, in case they might hurt you?" Akabane laughed as Ginji trembled. "No, that is not it… after all; you do seem to love your Ban-chan. I envy you. It is not a feeling that I believe I will ever experience."

Ginji tore himself out of Akabane's grip. His heart was racing, but… but… it didn't feel like it was racing in the same way it usually was when he was so close to Akabane. He swallowed hard, his legs feeling like jelly. What the heck was wrong with him? "You're wrong, Akabane-san! Everyone is capable of finding someone they love." He looked down at his shoes. "At least, that's what I want to believe…"

Then, Akabane did the very last thing anyone would have ever expected him to do. It was even the last thing he had expected himself to do. He walked right up and Ginji and gave him a full kiss. To his absolute horror and shock, Ginji found that he couldn't tear himself away from Akabane. 'No, no, no, this is AKABANE-SAN! You know? DOCTOR JACKAL?' his mind was screaming. His body, however, was screaming 'Warm female flesh! Warm female flesh! I am gonna get some!" To his mind's absolute horror, it seemed that his body was fully in control. It was like he couldn't stop. Like… like he was also under a spell. Like just being near Akabane put some kind of spell on him that made him lose control of his own body.

It was a cliché, he knew, but somehow Ginji found Akabane wedged between himself and a wall. Akabane's hands were roaming into regions he had never had female hands before explore, touching whatever they found. Ginji wasn't quite sure where his vest had gone by that point, but he found himself surprisingly not caring. Akabane was so warm, so soft, so…

Then, Akabane's cell phone rang. It rang, and it rang, and it rang loudly. Akabane looked away from Ginji, trance-like state suddenly broken. "Stupid phone," he muttered. When he turned back around, the front door of his apartment was wide open, and Ginji and Ginji's vest were long gone as well. "Stupid, stupid phone!" he fumed, kicking his hallway table over as he stomped over and slammed his door shut.

Outside, a good two blocks away, Ginji sat fully clothed in a public fountain. It wasn't exactly a cold shower, but the water was freezing. He had made fun of Ban for showering in fountains before, but he needed it, and any port in a storm…

Back at his apartment, Akabane angrily yanked his shirt back into place. He stormed over and grabbing the phone. "This had better be a call about a very, very interesting job," he hissed into the line. After all, he had just lost his chance to get to test out the Thunder Emperor's powers in a way he'd never gotten to explore before.

"Jackal?" the voice on the line asked, sounding urgent. It was the tender at the transporters bar. This was odd. It was very early in the morning, and even transporters had their hours of operation. The tender knew this. It had to be something very important for someone as seasoned as the tender to be calling him at that time. "I am so glad you finally picked up! I have been trying to call you all night!"

"I had my phone on silent," Akabane sighed, wondering why he'd turned the sound back on as he waited for Ginji to bring ice. Well, he knew the reason. In case he got a call, because he hadn't known what as going to develop. If he hadn't, he would probably be doing something far more fun than talking to the tender on the phone at that moment.

"You've… got a problem. That client who hired you yesterday? Well, maybe two days ago now, but…"

"It does not matter," Akabane cut the tender's ramblings off, getting himself a juice out of the fridge. He felt as though he needed something harder, but it wasn't his nature to keep alcohol around. "What is the problem?"

"He came in looking for you again today. I tried to explain to him that you do not come in every day, but he said he couldn't reach you on your phone and demanded to see you. I said that you might be out on another job and… well…"

"And yes?" Akabane asked.

"He kind of lost it."

Akabane set his juice down, holding the phone between his shoulder and his ear while he worked on unclasping the safety pins on his shirt. "What do you mean by lost it?" Akabane asked, sounding unpleased.

"He climbed up on a table, shouted until everyone in the bar was staring at him… and then announced that you were now his private, personal transporter, and that anyone who attempted to hire you away from him would meet with a short and cruel fate."

Akabane put a hand on his face, rubbing his eyes. "I am not in the mood to deal with this right now," Akabane groaned. "I will call the client tomorrow and inform him that if he wishes to attempt to possess me, he might find himself meeting a short and cruel fate." This was the most ridiculous thing Akabane had heard of in a long time. He'd had his fair share of jealous significant others in his life, but this was the first time he'd ever had to deal with a jealous client.

"Before you go, did you find the package I left for you?"

"You left that?" Akabane asked, glancing over at it.

"It's from your client. I swore in blood that I'd take it to your place, since I refused to give them your address."

"I thank you for that. I generally do not approve of psychotics other than myself knowing where I live. What is in it?"

"I don't know. Be careful when you open it though; that guy was nuts."

"I understand. I will deal with him myself tomorrow," Akabane answered, hanging up the phone. So that really hadn't been worth losing a chance to permanently mentally traumatize Ginji, but he guessed it was kind of important. It was something he should deal with sooner rather than later, at the least.

Akabane walked over to the package, frowning at it. He cautiously undid the string typing it shut with one scalpel, then jumped back. When he didn't smell explosives, gunpowder, or anything else dangerous, he moved closer again and carefully flipped the lid off the box with one scalpel.

Cautiously, he leaned over and peered inside. Lying in the box was a bundle of fabric, as well as a note. Akabane frowned and picked the note up gently between two fingers. When he was convinced it was only an ordinary piece of paper, he unfolded it.

"My dear Doctor Jackal," the note began. Akabane rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. The client was addressing him that casually, and yet addressing him by his code name? "I was very pleased with the job you did for me last, but sad that you could not stay to spend the night. I believe we would have had delightful conversations. Perhaps we can meet again? I have many, many more transport jobs for you. They are good jobs. You will like them."

"Do not try to tell me what kind of jobs I will like," Akabane snapped at the letter, one hand holding it while the other hand fumbled with the bra clasp. "I hate that."

"The bar that you transporters frequent… it is a bit rough, is it not?" Akabane read out loud from the letter as he slid the bra up and over his head, dropping it on the ground. "Well, we are transporters," he commented to himself as he started working on getting the pants off.

"I would like to meet you at a classier establishment to discuss my next job for you. I would like you to meet me Friday evening." Akabane paused. "That is tonight, isn't it?" he muttered as he kicked the pants off and across the floor. He really needed to go shopping. He was getting sick of having to squirm around for ten minutes at a time to get his pants on. "No, I would not only like it, I would cordially request it. I would like, however, for you to wear this when you come to meet me."

Akabane put down the letter and lifted up the bundle of fabric. He frowned. "He sent me a top, but where are the pants?" He asked, continuing to riffle through the packaging. He turned back to the letter. "Perhaps it will tell me…"

"I tracked down where your coat came from. The girls at the store were delighted to help me… pick out… clothing in your size." Okay, that was it. He'd talked to those girls. Client or not, Akabane imagined a painful future for him. Still, where was the rest of the outfit? He found the top, and the underwear, but… no pants?

Akabane held up the rather small piece of fabric, squinting at it. It was not supposed to be a dress, was it? Well, he would figure it out later, he thought as he threw it to the side. At the moment, he just wanted a shower and bedtime.

He yawned widely, wrapping a towel around his body and stepping into his bathroom. What a week this had been! At least, he had gotten more than a full taste of what trials a female transporter had to face. He should be getting his male body back any minute now… yes, he bet that when he woke up, he would be a man again, and the whole issue with the client would be moot. He stepped into the bathroom and hung up his towel. At least he could still enjoy the pleasures of a warm, relaxing shower without being disturbed.

Had he looked straight up, he might have noticed something. Over the shower hung a small fan vent, intended to carry the shower steam outside rather than letting it linger in the apartment to encourage mold and mildew. That vent, prior to that day, had been perfectly flush with the ceiling. Today, it gaped slightly. Just a little, really only enough that you would notice if you were concentrating on it, which Akabane was not.

The tender had not noticed someone following him to Akabane's apartment. The tender had not noticed a man waiting in the shadows as he left the package for Akabane and scurried off. No one had been around to see the man creep up to Akabane's door, slink against it, and then put the time and dedication into opening all four locks.

Once inside, no one had also seen him creep into the bathroom, remove the grate over the ceiling fan, and install a small web-camera just above the fan blades. Of course, if the blades were stopped at a particular angle, or were on during the shower, the camera would have been of no use. Unfortunately for Akabane, he usually did not turn the fan on until after his shower.

The "client," one Fujimoto Yukio, leaned back in his apartment, enjoying the feed the little camera was putting out. He leaned back in his chair, a little bit of drool puddling in the corners of his mouth. "She looks just like… her," he sighed, looking around his room. The walls in his computer room were covered… no, not covered, papered… in posters of the fetish model the girls at the Venus Fly Trap had mentioned to Akabane. Any space not adorned by a piece of memorabilia was taken up by a preserved butterfly corpse. "And she acts like her, too! So aloof and cold, a true creature of darkness" he said, hands over his fluttering heart. "She is the living duplicate of the woman I have pined for all these long, lonely years!" Yukio sighed to himself, leaning back in his computer chair. Slowly, a threatening grin spread over his thick lips. "And she will be mine."

Meanwhile, voyeurs upon voyeurs, the red-haired sister leaned back from her viewing globe. "How does this fat little man play in to your master plan to get the man to decide to become a woman permanently? If anything, having a pervert like that after me would make me want to go back to being a man faster than you could say Bibidi, Bobbidy, Boo!"

"He's not part of my plan," the green-haired sister answered, emerging from the bathroom with newly-dyed black hair. "I am just keeping an eye on him in case he interferes with my plans. Right now, he is just an idiot, but if he becomes an obstruction I will take care of him in short order. How do I look?" she asked, flipping her new black hair forward.

"Like yourself, only with black hair. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"You will see when the time is right for us to make our move, sister. You will see."

A/N: There is an R rated version of this chapter. If people are interested, I will let everyone know when I get around to posting the higher-rated versions, probably on another site.