Disclaimer: Yeah, it's kind of funny; I changed my name to a double name Aoki and Ayamine…not buying it?
Authors Notes: See bottom, needless say some thanks have to be given.
Dominus Grim
Chapter Two: The Hand Off
Anger comes in many forms, but it should be especially feared in a profession where so many have a talent that borderlines if not surpass the word lethal. That was the case on the hot summer afternoon where the client of both the Transporters and the now finishing Get Backers decided to initiate the switching of hands of the parcel.
"Well…that went…ahem, well." Akabane said to the nigh stomping girl in front of him. Hearing this; Himikos' shoulders quaked and with a speed that…almost…impressed Akabane, whirled around to face him.
"Don't…start…with me…Jackal." Now, Akabane was not a man very prone to fear if at all, but he was prone to slight unnerving and this statement did just that. As was his nature though, the Jackal found humor in others emotion.
"I don't see why you are mad at me my dear, the goal was accomplished, despite some…hurdles." Akabane let off a slight chuckle at both his statement and the grimace and sound of disgust Himiko made as a result. Himiko turned around and continued walking towards the truck that, uncharacteristic of its drivers moniker of "Mr. No Brake", was currently parked.
Suddenly a white Beetle, a certain Lady Bug drove past the ambling duo, screeching to a halt for only a moment.
"Yo Himiko! I meant what I said, bout you and HEVN that is!" the ever sneering, ever smirking, and ever cigarette smoking face of Ban Mido yelled with his partner Ginji Amano doing his best to hold him back. A look of shock crossed Himikos face, only for it to be replaced by one of rage as the mistress of poison scents drew one of her many vials within the ticks of a second.
"Later babe!" Ban said when Himiko was a second or two away from the drivers' side window. Giving her a wink, Ban floored the little Lady Bugs engine and drove off.
"Damn you, you limp dick snake bastard!" Himiko thundered seriously considering throwing one of her vials in the vein hope it would land in the Jagan wielders eye, mouth or body part that shant be mentioned. As if acting as the eternal balance to his friend, the spiky blond head of Ginji Amano poked out of the sunroof.
"Himiko-Chaaaan! I'm really sorry about what Ban said! I'm sure he didn't mean it! And if it's true, that's cool to I guess-"the apology was then cut off by a 200 kilo grip that pulled Ginjis blond scalp back to the confines of the car. Neither Himiko nor Akabane heard the inevitable exchange between the Get Backers but both could pretty accurately assume the reason why Ban was yelling at a stammering Ginji.
"Bastard, I don't know what Ginji sees in him." Himiko muttered while flicking off the now distant car.
"Gin-Kun has a knack for seeing the depth of others." Akabane commented with a smirk. Touching the brim of his hat, the Jackal smiled at the memory of how Ginji conducted himself during the hand off. "Fearful Friendliness" was a good way to describe it but "incredible paranoia" worked well too. Himiko looked at the Jackal for a moment or two.
"Depth, to Ban? You don't know him like I do, and Ginjis' just a sappy idiot. Bans about as shallow as they come, dark past or not."
"Really, dark past you say?" Akabane asked, his curiosity piqued. The opportunity to learn about a potential obstacle was intriguing, throw in that that obstacle was one of the Get Backers and his interest was upped a notch or three. Himiko smiled a witty smirk.
"Sorry Jackal, I may hate the snake but you're not getting any stories from me." Jackals face than had a sort of interrupted look but was quickly replaced by a smile.
"Hate the snake wasn't what Ban-Kun was implying earlier?" he asked, perfectly masking his sarcasm with a veil of gentility.
"Jackal…" Himiko said almost threateningly, but then sighed in exasperation. The honk of a truck brought the two out of their repartee.
"I hate to bruise any egos, but don't we have a schedule to keep?" Maguruma asked from the drivers' seat, his voice border lining a yell due to the distance. Himiko looked at the man Mr. Unstoppable then at the still smiling Jackal. Without another word the Transportation pair slipped into the truck.
"Did you get the book, the, what the hell was it again?" Maguruma asked adjusting the mirror as he brought the truck to traffic.
"The 'Dominus Grim', funny name for a book don't you think?" Himiko asked, cradling the book like a precious commodity, akin to treating a baby like a bag of bills.
"Yes quite odd actually. The title alone is worth a good amount of ones intrigue." Akabane mused with the questioning stares of Lady Poison and of course Maguruma who kept his eyes on the road only out of occasional boredom. Akabane thought of toying with the pair for a moment or two, but then vouched against it deciding that professionalism trumped pleasure "For now anyway."
"The first word Dominus is Latin for God, but what is interesting is the second part of the title, the word Grim which could be interpreted any number of ways." Himiko looked at the book in her arms a moment and at the Jackals request handed the book to his neatly gloved hands at which point he continued.
"The word can be of any a number of languages, one might assume English, and even if that is the case then the word itself can still be looked at in various lights."
"Such as?" Himiko asked her aroused interest more than making up for Magurumas' now focused sense on the road. The infamous "Man with no brakes" cared little for details, at least for a professional's sake, and so needed only the point of the matter explained.
"Well, it can be construed as meaning 'bad', or 'dark' or possibly foreboding but what really excites me is its likely reference to the Western Bringer." Akabane said with a molecules different smirk than his usual. As if actions didn't already trump words, Akabane was expressing his interest in the book by gliding one of his scalpels dangerously close to the word Grim in the title. Himiko thought better of warning Akabane of damaging the parcel as unless an opportunity for instant homicide was apparent, professionalism was his prime concern, so instead she thought of questioning him on the term "Western Bringer", but then, knowing him, and putting together what she had just heard.
"The Grim Reaper." Himiko said without a hint of doubt. Akabane lightly clapped his penchant for theatrics alive and well.
"Where's the drop off?" Maguruma asked, doing his best to stifle the chuckle that threatened him whenever Akabane "acted" not really for fear of his life but rather to get the job done.
"The clients mansion in the borders of Kyoto, from there he will make an escorted escape, or so he told me. He was such a nervous fellow…I can't imagine why." For some reason the Jackals infamous scalpels decided to make an appearance, the blades seemingly capturing and holding the light from the summer afternoon sun while commingling with the light and impregnating it with a touch of crimson.
"Kyoto? That's quite a ways off." Himiko said, not looking forward to the experience of essentially a family trip down the high ways and express ways.
"Hmm, I see we think on more similar wave lengths than you might think, you needn't worry"
"How do you figure Jackal, as I recall you said the client was only worried about 'out of state' factors trying to kill him."
"Trying to kill him yes, but there are many who would want this book on its own, disregarding his murder." Himiko listened to this response, noting that Akabane said "murder" when most people would have said "life".
"What's so special about this book Jackal? I know as professionals we're not allowed to read it or technically even know it's a book, all that aside there must be something you're not telling us, something that an article on page E-27 of the Sunday Times neglected to mention…" Himiko said, intentionally trailing off.
"Why Miss Himiko, when did you become such a curious little thing?" Akabane stated in mock scold. Himiko felt the resolve in her interrogation falter slightly but she pressed on.
"You're rarely if ever out of the loop on anything Jackal. I find it hard to believe you don't know anything about this book." Akabane mused for a moment, placing the book in front of his side.
"Mind you…this is just hearsay, but from what I've heard the Dominus Grim is the bible as written by the traitorous apostle Judas…after he hung himself. A bit odd, no?" Himiko looked at him and then slowly faced the drivers' side window, a smile becoming quickly evident over her face. "Now it grabs my interest."
From then the Transporters drove on in relative silence, a few sayings here and there regarding directions, where to possibly go for drinks later, the sexual preferences of some of their acquaintances, how the pop idols of today were the real con artists and a few tidbits hear and there about what a certain Doctor would do if given the idol competition.
But then, as the afternoon wore on, it began. Voices that could not be heard by ears began whispering…
To Be Continued
Authors Notes: I really just want to say thanks to those of you who took the time to review my humble little word clump.
Rabid Lola: I'm glad you're liking the story so far, and I hope these little clues to the books title answer your question a little bit…just not all of it, cause if you did, then you already know the ending, get out of my head!
Sylerna: Thank you for your compliment, blame it on hoarding over the Get Backers volumes a few too many times. As for Magurumas nickname, well, I hope this chapter alleviates the pain a bit, heh.
Atropos' Knife: Thank you for the praise, I was racking my brain a bit to get the characters to kind of "act" off each other without them going OOC, I'm glad the result was to your liking.
Well, I guess I'll see you all when I see you, later.