I am seriously concerned now. I know Ban and Ginji are tough to write for, but I figured that more hard-core people would get him better than I do. By the way, ladies and gentlemen, please do not expect this story to be long. I am bringing in someone I did not expect to bring in. I hope I did it right. Still, don't expect Himiko (besides that thing in passing a few chapters ago) or Dr. Jackal or the rest of the Mugenjou people. I'd rather not push my luck. Let's see if I can do Ginji with any decency today. Aja!
Writing is therapy for me. Unfortunately for Jiro Came to Town (the other running fic, for RK), it was this chapter that needed to be written to get me sane this time around. Dialogue-intensive. Finished in one day. I had a lot of angst to release? The next chapter might take a while to come, though, because I have to plan it out. Thanks for reading.
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Natsumi finished fixing her hair by the bathroom mirror. She then went to the lockers and took out her school bag and jacket. She was allowed to leave rather early. She had algebra to deal with when she got home.
She waved goodbye to Paul, but heard the café door chime and the door slam shut.
At the bottom of the door, manager and assistant saw their blonde perpetual customer, seated on the floor, panting heavily.
"What happened?" Paul asked.
He got no answer. "Paul-san, can I stay in the basement tonight?" Ginji asked, still panting.
"Why?"
"He told me to stay in the basement."
"Who?"
"Can I?" he said, then like a little boy who remembered, added, "May I? Please?"
Paul scratched his head over the bandana. "I guess you can stay there, if that's what you want. Just don't bother with the computer. MakubeX is sending me a heavy program."
"Yes, sir. Thank you." He gave a final sigh, wiped his forehead, and dragged himself down the steps.
Paul looked at Natsumi and scratched his bandana again. "What just happened?"
"I don't know, either, boss," Natsumi shrugged. But she put down her bag and jacket, and went to the kitchen.
She went to down to the basement, armed with a glass of iced tea in one hand. She found Ginji seated on the floor, blankly staring up at the ceiling.
She tapped him on the shoulder, and offered the glass. He said thank you, drank it all down, gave back the glass. Then he looked up at the ceiling again.
"Natsumi, do you know where I can find a red dragon?" he asked.
"Um, a red dragon is a pretty common thing, especially in Chinatown," she answered. "Why?"
"He asked me to find a red dragon. And to stay in the basement. And to never look for him again."
"Huh?"
"Because it's my fault he's in the mess he's in. It's my fault. Unless I find a red dragon, I can't make it right."
He did not say another word after that, no matter how much Natsumi coaxed him to talk.
From one of the cabinets, she took out a small pillow and a blanket, the same set they used when Sakura came over to do some hacking through Paul's system. She handed them to Ginji, who gave her a little smile of thanks. She said good night and went on her way.
When she came back to the Honky Tonk after school the next day, he was still in the basement, surfing the net for a red dragon. He shook his head in despair at Google, going over the links of the 40th page of search results.
Paul eventually asked Ginji to wash the windows. The young man nodded, got the wash cloth, detergent, and a bucket from the stock room. He got water from the hose outside the café, and quietly soaped and rinsed the windows. He was not even singing, not even whistling.
Neither Paul nor Natsumi asked why. They knew what was the matter with him. Both knew that it would hurt more to ask him to talk about it. But Paul did know he had to talk about something, anything, some time.
He readied a grocery list, and asked Natsumi if she could buy them toward the end of her shift. She said yes.
"Ginji-san, would it be alright if you went with me?" she asked him.
"Sure thing," he answered as he finished wiping the tables. No happy grin.
If manager and assistant had the idea that they would get the blonde sparker to chat a bit while picking up groceries, both were mistaken. He kept to himself, obviously thinking about something, something he did not want to tell them. Still, Natsumi was glad to see him smile a bit more for her, as he helped pick out apples and oranges.
Ginji did not talk much over the next few days. Even if Natsumi tried to be cheerful and happily talked about school work and her club meetings, Ginji listened politely with a forced sad smile. He did not ask for details and did not add his own little stories about the day.
As her little way of cheering him up, she made him go with her every evening after work to the grocery. There was a little stall just beyond the sliding doors, where she got juice for the two of them. It was not too sweet like most drinks, and had just a slight touch of sourness to it, just enough to make it nice. They would then bring it with them, as they walked to the bus stop, and waited for Natsumi's bus to arrive. On normal days neither Ban nor Ginji would be able to do this for her, as they were often out on an evening job. That's why she liked it that, for now at least, she had company going to the bus stop. Not that she didn't like Ban-san, but it was nicer having Ginji-san around. Sad or not.
As the bus came, she got in and waved to Ginji from inside. He gave her a happy grin and waved back.
Poor Natsumi did not realize that he was just being nice. The trips to the bus stop made him miserable. He had to walk alone back to the Honky Tonk afterward. No one to whack him on the head and call him names – and generally, just to make the walk less boring.
The gloom had not lifted when Kadzuki and Shido decided to visit the Honky Tonk.
The two greeted their former leader as they entered, seeing him washing the dishes behind the counter. But as they sat down to a table, they noticed that Ginji had not changed his blank stare through the window.
"Ginji-san?" Kadzuki repeated.
Ginji looked down at the sink and took out another plate.
"Ginji-san!" the string master tried again.
Natsumi saw the trouble, and patted the dishwasher gently on the shoulder, pointing to Kadzuki. It was only then that he snapped out of his reverie, quickly shook his head, and greeted. "Oh, hi, Kadzuki, Shido. Sorry."
Shido sauntered to the counter, and sat in front of the sink. "Out with it, Ginji-san. What's the matter with you? Shades giving you trouble again?"
He shook his head.
"Dr. Jackal?"
He shook his head again.
"Then what IS it!" Shido pounded a fist at the counter.
"I think Ban has more to do with it than Akabane-san," Kadzuki also came near and rubbed his chin. He looked at the blonde young man, sighing at the suds on the sink. "Yes?"
"He said it's my fault why things are this way," he said quietly, still looking down at the sink. "But we planned things out when we went to that building, didn't we, Kadzuki? We didn't get in his way when we went there…….did we?"
Kadzuki could not answer, but began to think.
"He said he might not be able to save me if I tried to find him again. What did he mean?"
Kadzuki did not offer to explain. "Where is he? Ban-san?"
"I don't know! I really don't! But he's, he's, some sort of a mafia guy now, I think. I don't know for how long." He sighed again. "And it's my fault."
Kadzuki sighed as well. "That……….might be true."
Ginji drained out the soapwater and dried his hands. Shido in the meantime gave his fellow Volts leader a stern look. The nerve of him to tell Raitei that he was indeed at fault?
"Calm down, Shido-kun," Kadzuki raised a hand, and grew serious.
It was that aura of a Fuchoin leader, that made Ginji sit with them, also with a serious, all-business bearing.
"As you know, my main work is as an Informer, not as a Retriever, like the two of you. The grapevines have been buzzing of late. The yakuza and the other organizations have heard rumors that the Shinjuku branch of the Hong Kong triad have a new and powerful subleader. In just two days he has managed to orchestrate two, successful, bank heists. It's the kind of thing the other groups would only dream of doing. This new leader got to do it. In two days."
Shido nodded. "I've already got three job requests from those two heists."
"Here's the thing, Ginji-san," Kadzuki said, and took a deep breath. "They don't know the name of the new leader yet. But word has it that he is known by a code name. White Tiger."
Ginji interrupted. "But isn't that the code name of that guy in the picture……….."
"Who looks a lot like Midou Ban," Kadzuki finished.
Ginji looked at his friend with bulging eyes, and sudden, full understanding.
Kadzuki spelled it out for Shido, nonetheless. "The last time Ginji-san and I talked about it, Ban-san absolutely did not want to be this White Tiger person, a former Shanghai triad boss. He was angry at Ginji for taking the Jade Dragon job. He temporarily dissolved the partnership. We knew he was still investigating the case, so Ginji and I took another route, to help him somewhat. But we went wrong somewhere, I know that now. We were used to bait Ban-san into agreeing to be the White Tiger."
Natsumi, listening in on the conversation, instinctively looked at the white mug on one of the shelves, full of blue marker scribbling that the great Midou Ban owned it.
"I don't know Ban-san that well, but I know that it's frightening how much he is getting immersed in this new job," Kadzuki mused. "And if the White Tiger is not careful, he will be hunted down, sooner than he thinks."
Ginji had returned to being blank and brooding. "But what do we do?"
"I've no plans of going against Ban, okay?" Shido muttered as he munched on a sandwich. "I turned down the three jobs directly related to the heists. Running into him during retrieval jobs, I can deal with. Going directly against his work? I'm not that stupid."
"Plus, you want to stay alive to get home to Madoka, yes?" Kadzuki grinned happily as Shido grumbled.
Ginji sighed and looked out the window, blank.
It was then that a young man entered the Honky Tonk with a huff and a puff, quickly asking for the GetBackers. Natsumi saw him and waved. "Hayashida-san! I'm glad you made it!"
As the young man sat down where the two Retrievers and the Informer were huddled, Natsumi gave introductions. He was Hayashida Kenji, a pretty good kendo practitioner and one of Natsumi's friends. He went abroad for a few years of college and had come back to check on his grandmother. But he was all in a panic about getting something back that was sold, so Natsumi referred him to the GetBackers. He was just about as tall and as lean as the other three people, with a short crop of hair.
Kadzuki asked the usual questions, the what, when, and where. Shido listened with interest. Ginji just kept looking at the young man, none of Natsumi's words registering with him.
Hayashida took a picture of a green statue, and placed it on the table.
Ginji suddenly snapped to attention. "But, that's, that's the Jade Dragon!" he exclaimed.
"You already know about it? I'm so glad! I don't have to explain!" the young man said and pocketed the picture. "I know it's a tall order, but I've heard such good things about you guys, I was hoping you could do it."
As Natsumi brought a cup of coffee to the potential client, he began to explain. "It's like this. The statue is a family heirloom of sorts. It was hidden from the world, and quietly passed on through the generations. But my grandmother, she sold it! She needed money to keep me in college, so she sold it! I told her she didn't have to do it, but when I found out, it was too late. Now, for her sake, I want to get the statue back and keep it with us."
"But, but, I can't take this case!" Ginji fumbled. "First of all, I'm by myself right now, and I don't know that negotiating stuff Ban-chan does. Then, I already took in the Jade Dragon case. We have to give it to this person called Mr. Chan Feilong."
"It shouldn't go to anybody, please! I don't know how you do it, but you just have to!" the young man pleaded. "The Jade Dragon belongs to our family now! Even Enishi-sama would want it that way!"
"Enishi-sama?"
"Yukishiro Enishi, the original owner! My grandmother said so! He left it with us!"
"No way," Ginji looked at the earnest young man, not sure what to believe, wanting to be like Ban-chan and be suspicious but not knowing how to be suspicious. "Do you have proof?"
The young man nodded. "I've seen all the replicas, and I'm pretty sure. My grandmother's statue is the only one that has Chinese characters and kanji at the base. It's the real thing."
"But other replica owners can ask for a quote to be placed at the base, can they not?" Kadzuki asked.
"Maybe, but not those exact words," he said. "The replicas don't have it because the words were not there yet when the Jade Dragon was unveiled to the public. The words were added later, while he was building up the Rengoku and the other weapons. That's why the other replicas don't have it, and don't copy it."
"Slow down, slow down!" Ginji's head was starting to ache. "Never mind the story for now, you can tell us later. What are the words?"
"In Chinese: 'The eyes of the tiger are drawn to the heart of the dragon.' In Japanese: 'Death to the red dragon.' "
"No other statue has it?" Kadzuki confirmed. The young man nodded.
"So, if we find this statue, we know that we have the real, true blue, genuine, Jade Dragon?" Ginji added. The young man nodded again.
Shido barged in at this point. "I'm proxying for Shades here, because I know Ginji-san's too nice to ask himself. How much are you willing to pay if we get back the Jade Dragon for you? Last I know, Chan's willing to shell out at least a million for it."
The client's eyes bulged wide. "A million dollars?"
"Yup, just for information about the Jade Dragon. Two million if we find it," Ginji said.
"But I don't have anything close to a million!" he slunk deeper into the seat and sighed. So did the string and beast master.
Natsumi looked at Ginji, begging silently. Paul hid behind a newspaper. Ginji's eyes moved up to the shelf, to the white scribbled mug.
That's right. If he took in the case, he would get Ban-chan back, wouldn't he? Maybe it was worth a try.
Ginji moved to where the client sat and put an arm around his shoulders. "Tell you what. I think you're telling us the truth, okay? We – Kadzuki, Shido, and me – we'll see what we can do, get the Jade Dragon first, then we find out how you'll pay us. Deal?"
Kadzuki sweatdropped at such a crazy proposition. Shido slapped his forehead. "Why do I know he would say that?"
Even the client could not believe it. "Are you sure about this, Amano-san? Because I really don't know how I'll get money to pay you!"
Ginji gave a wide grin. "I want to get back Ban-chan. If this is the only way, I'll do it. Then I'll make him think about how we're to be paid!"
The young man smiled broadly, and bowed to all three. "I promise to pay, really and truly, if you can return the Jade Dragon to us. I don't care how much. I'll find a way. Thank you so much!"
Ginji told him to come back in three days to inquire about how the case was going. He also gave the Honky Tonk's telephone number for contact purposes, and asked the young man for his own contact number. It was the usual way Ban ended negotiations with clients. The new client kept bowing and thanking, then went on his way.
The three Volts leaders then looked at each other.
"Um, Ginji-san?" Kadzuki asked. "I'm sorry – are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Ginji grinned……..and shook his head. "But it won't be so hard," he smiled at them and took out the paper fans. "If we find Ban-chan, we find the Jade Dragon. Or the other way around. Right?"
He recalled what Ban told him a few days earlier: Find a red dragon.
Ban knew about that red dragon. He had seen the real Jade Dragon. He knew where it was. Maybe he was just making sure that was it, that's why he was asking Ginji to find out what the "red dragon" mentioned was. And being already in the triad, it was just a matter of time before he knew about the real Jade Dragon, and would give it over to Chan.
Ginji had to take the Jade Dragon from Ban. Not good. But it had to be done.
If he wanted to get back his friend.
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The new person is Hayashida just because. I've become something of a Samurai 7 nut right now. Hayashida Heihachi is one of my favorites out of the seven samurai.
To those of you who are RK nuts reading this piece, you do realize that I'm making up stuff, right? To the GB people, I am first and foremost an RK writer, and I am mixing in hardcore RK stuff into this story. Stuff I will explain eventually. Just a hint: Don't think too much. I'm not Agatha Christie. I'm sorry if this chapter turned out a bit crazy. It was something of a rush job.
Junyortrakr – You, poor sir, already deserve a reply. Here. Thank you for all the comments. Thank you so much for reading this stuff even if you don't have a blessed clue about what GetBackers is! I highly recommend that you do watch it or read the manga. The world is outrageous but the characters are really well made. As for poor Yahiko, I still don't know what he'll do – or, I know what he will do, I don't know HOW he'll do it. Furthermore, I'm not sure how Jiro is supposed to take all the information when he is finally told. And school life is not the best way to get inspiration. That's why there's still no new update for Jiro Came to Town. I know it's the reason why you read Eyes of the Tiger. I'm not forgetting the RK fic, I promise. I'm just blocked right now.
The Sinner of Anger – Now I am really scared about what I'm doing right. It's not supposed to be that way, seeing I'm just a visitor to the GB section. Thank you so much.
Atropos' Knife – Thank you for all the info about Rena. Thank you for the suggestion about how to deal with Ginji. Thanks for liking the pizza delivery bit, it was a last-minute thing, to complete the chapter. Gabby snitch, the bartender? Nah, I don't think so.