Hello. Sorry it took such a long while. Besides having schoolwork to think about, I got creeped out by the hit counter. I don't even have an idea how you guys managed to find out about this story. Believe it or not, Eyes of the Tiger has the greatest number of hits of everything I've written, even the RK fics (sigh). Considering I'm a regular at the RK section and just pretty much a visitor to the GB section, THAT is really weird. Thanks to everybody who does read this, whether you review or not (although I would like it if you review!).
The story finally settled during a boring lecture. On with the story. Argh, such troublesome subject-pronoun agreement! Too much talking! Too many pronouns! Yare-yare….
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Ban did not leave his suite that whole day.
He felt it. That day was the last he would have in that room. It was a great life, and he would miss it. But that was not his kind of life. Living in a gilded cage was not his idea of living. But, all the same. He hated to give up that soft bed, those fluffy pillows, and the impeccable room service.
As he relished the simple but opulent breakfast facing the view of the city outside, the cleaning lady entered with a trolley full of rags and various tools.
He greeted her as she made up the bed. "Hey, 'ba-chan. This is my last day. I won't be seeing you again."
"You will be missed, young sir," the cleaning lady bowed to him. "You didn't leave a lot of cigarette ash around, you have no idea how helpful that is to us."
He smirked. "I do have a question. Why didn't you tell them? Chan and the other guys. About the Jade Dragon?"
The middle-aged lady smiled, and walked him out to the balcony, where there were no hidden microphones. "I used to clean house for Kitano Kaoru-san, and I knew about the sale, for Kenji's sake. I was the one who made sure this hotel bought it, and I've been taking care of it ever since. They know about this dragon, and they've always wondered if that is THE one they were after. That's one of the reasons you were made to come here – to confirm the identity of the statue." She looked wistfully at the marble center table, without the prominent green statue.
Not bad for a cleaning lady, Ban tsked. "It's back at the old lady's house, I've been told."
Much relief swept over the cleaning lady. She finally took one of his hands, and patted it. "You're still very young. Live long and well."
Live long? He chuckled. That won't happen. Not with the way he smoked like there was no tomorrow, even he knew that. But he planned to live well.
He silently continued with his breakfast, as she silently continued with her cleaning.
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8:00 pm. A large warehouse in the midst of the city.
The members of the board slowly shuffled into the warehouse, and sat at a long table prepared for the purpose. Ban also went in with this group, followed by Chan and a few of his assistants.
Ban flopped onto the seat farthest from the center, but the wiry small man went to him, and offered the center seat. He shrugged, and went. Chan sat down beside him.
"Send her in please," the little man said.
The beautiful blonde young woman from the midnight meeting entered first, in a black ensemble that reached up to mid-thigh. Behind her was a young man, also with blonde hair, in a blue suit over a tie-less shirt. He pushed a cart in front of him, with a wooden crate placed above it.
It had been weeks since Ban had last seen Amano Ginji, aside from that camera shot from a few days back. It had been months since he had seen Ginji in anything but khaki shorts, white shirt and green vest. It had been years since they had met and fought, the infamous Raitei wearing a blue shirt jacket.
It brought back memories of a promise.
Hevn sat on a chair placed behind a small table, facing the assembled group of middle-aged to old men. Ginji stopped the cart beside her. Quietly, he lowered the crate onto the floor, and lifted off the top and sides.
The beauty of the Jade Dragon manifested itself to the group, who could not help but stand and walk to where it was placed. They looked over the statue from top to bottom, gushing about the quality of the stone used and the craftsmanship of its maker, even the beautiful calligraphy at the base.
Ban tried to look unaffected, yet his eyes betrayed his panic, as he glared menacingly at the negotiator and the retriever. But Ban took another long look at the statue, and its details. He stopped glaring at Hevn and Ginji, and smirked.
"A deal is a deal, Mr. Chan," Hevn reminded.
"And we are ready with your payment," Chan did not skip a beat. He snapped for an assistant, who opened a door and let in another man with a suitcase. "May I remind my constituents that we have been successful in getting this much money, thanks to the efforts of our newest member." The members murmured and whispered among themselves, and looked at Ban.
The suitcase was opened, and revealed to be full of stacks of dollar bills. Hevn took up one stack and inspected it. It was not padded and not forged. The gleam in her eyes increased as she checked and every stack, and confirmed that they had been paid the full amount. She told the assistant she was satisfied. The assistant closed the suitcase, and presented it to the young woman. She accepted it with a bright smile and sweaty hands.
The wiry man returned to his place beside Ban, patted him on the shoulder, and faced him. "So, Midou-han, have you considered? What I told you?"
Ban lowered his glasses and looked at the man squarely. "Thanks for the great times here. But you don't have pizza. That ticks me off. Once the Jade Dragon is given to you, I'm gone. I don't care what you do to me."
"And Amano-han?" Chan hissed.
"You know what I learned last night about Ginji? He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. So don't threaten me about killing him, ever again." Ban cocked back his glasses over his eyes, and pocketed his hands.
"Thank you for your honesty, Midou-han," Chan gave him a very sly smile, as he drew out a dart gun. "Of course, as I have said, I will have to keep you quiet."
He fired a shot, and sent a dart straight into Ban's neck, before he could react. He pointed the gun at the blonde young man, preventing him and the woman from coming closer, as Ban dropped onto the table. He approached the statue again, and ran his fingers across the base.
" 'The eyes of the tiger and drawn to the heart of the dragon.' " he read aloud. "The words I have been searching for, all my life! The clues to a treasure!"
"They are words that mean absolutely nothing to you," a young but authoritative voice spoke behind him.
Chan looked, and found a young man in a white Chinese jacket, with white tousled hair and dark violet spectacles. Slung on the figure's back was the scabbard of a large Chinese sword. He was not sure if his eyes were fooling him or not, but he had seen that man in the archives many, many times. He dropped the gun in his shock. "The…..the……the White Tiger!"
"Tell them, Chan." The figure smirked and placed his spectacles firmly over his eyes.
He kept silent. He finally knew where the last unknown secret vein of jadeite could be found. There were actual towns in China with such names. He just to go to them, and find them. He did not have to tell the members of the board. That secret vein would be his to know, and he would become rich, very rich! He did not need Midou-han anymore, he did not need the rest of the organization! He grinned like a fox back at the young figure facing him. He finally had the clue to a century-old secret.
But the figure smirked back at him. "There is no secret vein, you fool. This statue comes from the Silk Road, like every other genuine piece. Given to me, in exchange for weapons. Now, tell them."
The wiry little man's jaw dropped.
The figure approached ever closer, his piercing eyes kept on the section head. The figure pushed him to the wall, and pinned him with a terrible grip. "You will tell them and keep your life, or I will end it here." He began to squeeze, and count in Chinese: one, two, three….
"You would have done the same!" Chan squealed out in panic. "Used the newcomer's potential, made the organization respect him – and me in the process, then killed him when he got too cocky. You would kill the others off, and get their holdings, too!"
The figure shook his head. "That's typical. Very typical. Very predictable. Indeed, I might have done that. But with more class." He released the grip, took the sword on his back, and pointed it at the smaller man.
Chan looked at the figure, aghast. "But I--"
"Try again when you have better ideas, you bastard. That's why you'll never take my place. That's why no one ever will."
"But, White Tiger, sir!"
"The game is up, Chan Feilong. Your minute is over."
A flash of light blinded him temporarily, and he rubbed his eyes to get his sight back. But as soon as he could see again, Chan saw that the White Tiger was gone, and he found himself surrounded by the members of the board, all glaring at him.
"So that is what you planned to do," one of the elder members said.
"Now, now, let me explain……." Chan began to sweat.
"No explanations are needed. The White Tiger has spoken for all of us. We thank you for introducing him to us, because we have seen how he works and how he thinks. But we do not need his presence to run the organization his way. Definitely, we do not need him to pass judgment on you."
"You don't understand!"
The elder put it to the vote. It was unanimous. Removal of all rights, privileges, and holdings. Deportation to the most obscure section of the organization, within 24 hours.
Chan Feilong was carried out of the assembly, cursing reincarnations, and shouting orders of "shoot to kill".
Midou Ban, Amano Ginji, and Hevn were gone.
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So, what really happened?
The negotiation did happen, of course. The exchange of the suitcase and the statue did occur. But what Chan remembered, after that short conversation with Ban, was different from what everyone else saw.
The assembled group saw Chan Feilong fall into a trance, staring straight at Midou Ban, as Ban approached slowly and forced Chan to the wall. They heard Ban say, "Tell them, Chan." They saw him pin Chan to the wall with the Snake Bite, then say "You will tell them and keep your life, or I will end it here." The group heard Chan give the quick rundown of his plans, making some of them look at him with anger. Ban finally released him, still in a trance.
"It was great knowing you all," Ban bowed to the other board members, "but I and this blonde fool are the GetBackers. Remember us if you need anything retrieved."
Then he, Ginji, and Hevn made a quick exit, taking the suitcase with them and leaving the large green statue behind. They calmly walked out of the warehouse, into the parking lot of the large area. As the negotiation had been completed, they were not stopped.
Hevn briskly walked ahead of the two men with her, flipping open her cellular phone and talking to the Transporter. In one hand she kept the suitcase, rather anxious that either one of the GetBackers might get the cash in trouble.
The two young men kept walking, side by side, not looking at each other, both stealing side-glances at the other, checking on the other's face.
They got out of immediate earshot of the organization heads. Finally the dark-haired one spoke up. "Where is it, genius?"
"Where is what?" Ginji asked back, eyes straight at the van.
"The real one. The real Jade Dragon."
"Ah, so you noticed?" Ginji looked at Ban, and grinned happily.
Ban still did not look at him as he kept walking. "The green thing was my centerpiece for weeks, of COURSE I would notice. There's a glow and jade-ness to my statue that isn't in yours. And some of the details in your dragon are missing. So where is it?"
"Still at the Kitano house, where it belongs."
Ban whacked his partner on the head. "You ninny, that's the first place Chan would go look when he finds out he's been tricked."
"I asked Kadzuki-san and Shido-san to stay with them, just in case," the partner rubbed his head and cowered a bit.
"It's not that simple, dunderhead!" Another whack. "And where did you get that copy you gave Chan?"
Ginji smiled, and pulled out a small clipping from the society section of yesterday's newspaper.
"The National Museum ends its exhibit of jade statues and jewelry tomorrow. The National Museum thanks those who have lent their collections for the exhibit, as well as the many visitors……"
"Miss Clayman was nice enough to let us have the replica," the blonde young man explained. "She knows people who know people who know people…."
"For FREE?" Ban found that hard to believe.
"For a quarter what we get out of Chan Feilong, sorry," Ginji explained. "But that was the best Hevn could do. Besides, Miss Clayman had to get somebody to fix up the base, so it can have the Chinese characters."
"That figures….." Ban sighed.
"So, did I do good?"
Ban raised his head as he kept walking, then rolled his eyes. "Not bad."
"Couldn't you be nicer than that?" Ginji pouted and sniffed.
Ban had no time to answer, as shots suddenly rang out through the parking lot.
"GET DOWN!"
Ban grabbed Ginji by the vest and threw him down onto the floor, as more shots were heard.
But Ginji quickly stood up again, and charged. Ran forward and sparked, both. He ran around and sparked all visible guards with guns, keeping as many as he can from firing again at him or his partner. That settled, he ran back to his partner, getting up from the ground, slightly in pain. He found his partner hit by a few darts, a lot like the ones he saw hit Kadzuki before.
"You okay?" Ginji asked as he made a very slight charge to numb the skin and pulled out two darts on an arm.
"Yeah," Ban blew on the small wounds. "Thanks." He pulled out another one on his leg, but began to breathe slowly and deeply.
Ginji suddenly lit up and wrapped himself around him. "Ban-chan, Ban-chan, Ban-chan! I missed you so much, Ban-chan! It was so so hard to think without you, you know! Ban-chan, Ban-chan! I'm glad you're back, Ban-chan!"
But Ban pried himself loose and knuckled Ginji – but weakly. "You'll squeeze the life out of me…..if the poiso--(cough, cough, cough)……" He dropped on one knee.
"You sure you're okay, Ban-chan?" the blonde young man asked like a 6-year-old would.
"Stop asking and keep going, or more of those lackeys will get us," the dark-haired partner ordered in between deep breaths. He stood up slowly and dragged his feet closer to the van.
Ginji nodded and ran on slightly ahead. He waved to the Transporter, and opened the hatch for the back of the van. He waved happily at Ban to hurry up.
But as Ban passed the driver's seat of the van, he dropped a small something into the Transporter's lap, and went on without saying anything. Ginji looked back at Himiko, and saw her hold up Ban's lighter with a puzzled look. Ban followed Ginji inside the back of the van, teeth clenched and face dotted with sweat. He suddenly took off the purple-tinted glasses and handed them to Ginji. Ginji looked down at the glasses, and back at his partner.
The glasses and the lighter. Those were the only things Ban owned that he would not part with.
"Ban-san!" Natsumi greeted from a little deeper inside the van. Beside her were Hevn and Paul.
"Natsumi…" he panted for a while, and smiled sadly at the girl. "Natsumi…really sorry I yelled at you…." And panted again.
"No worries, Ban…san?" she said.
She waved to Ginji, and pointed at Ban, making Ginji take a good look. His partner was very pale, desperately catching his breath, and desperately forcing a smile back at Natsumi. Ginji grabbed for a flashlight and shined it over his partner. That was when he saw it. One small dart was still there, at the side of the neck, hidden under the messy hair.
Ban had been hit a total of 4 times. There was no antidote in sight.
"Hey, Natsumi…." He said, still breathing hard. "Someday…..someday…..I'll beat you at table tennis…..okay?..." He looked at Hevn. "I'll always be the manager……capiche?" Then Paul. "Thanks for……looking after….that dunder…..head….."
Finally, Ban faced the blonde young man beside him. "Gi….Ginji…I……couldn't keep……my promise……."
And he fell to the floor.
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Argh. In almost every other sentence I kept asking which "he" or "him" referred to which person, if each "he" or "him" would be understood. Terrible, terrible! Such is why the last section mostly has Ban, Ginji, Ban, Ginji, Ban, Ginji, because using the pronouns would be confusing. Ay, caramba!
If it helps any, may I remind that this is a story in between where the anime ends and the manga-only material begins. So, since the Lost Time arc still happens (and boy such awesome things are still happening in this arc), I suppose you can guess from there. Furthermore, I am an RK fan, and I live by Kenshin's oath in my writing (ne, JML, junyortrakr?). As you can probably see, the story is starting to wind down. I originally planned for 10 chapters, but it got just a bit longer.
For those of you in the States, I understand that the Rurouni Kenshin manga volume 18 has already been released by Tokyopop. Go get it, so you can have a little idea who Enishi is (although, at volume 18, it's still pretty much the tip of the iceberg) and what he looks like. You'll see what I mean when I say that the anime Ban is a doppelganger, and the manga Ban is heavily based on him.
Taiy-chan – Hope you're doing well in school. Atropos' Knife –Yeah, I liked the hospital filler ep a lot, too. Ah, request, request! A little review of "Tenshi" (it's in the story list), if you don't mind, grazie! JML – Thanks for explaining. But I probably won't send a lot of chaos. Tenshi-sama – I like Kitchie Nadal's voice and songs, and the fact that she doesn't force herself to do things that she can't, like reach high notes. Junyortrakr – Sorry if it's simple. I'm not a gangster story or a detective story writer. Jiro Came to Town is still going nowhere, because I realized that I painted myself into a corner. I don't know how Jiro-kun should react to the engagement, if he should react at all, and what he would do, then incidentally how everyone else will react. While I do have some ideas, they're pretty common I think, and I'm not very satisfied with them. Laily – Thanks for liking. Hope you're still seated.