Author's Notes: There! I've finally managed to finish this piece! Been stuck with it for quite a while (been sitting in my desktop for months gathering Momiji-dustbunnies ;) I really didn't know how to go about with some of the scenes, which might have made Ban a bit OOC --; (how could I do this to him!) Nevertheless, I do hope you still enjoy and would very much appreciate your C&C's! Thanks for reading! Thanks for Bu-chan for the last-minute beta-work (and for ditching her homework because of me )

Theme #3: Wounds
Vignette Title: Some things take time
Summary: During Mission Retrieve the Bento, episode 30-something in the anime (not in the manga I think, it's a filler episode). Yes, the one where Shido was hailed master of all wild monkeys. Ever wonder who takes care of the Get Backers when they're injured on missions?

Disclaimers: Getto Bakkarazu and its characters are owned by Rando Ayamine-sensei and Aoki Yuya-sensei. The only thing I'm claiming here is the theme and plot—because my lovely Muse invented them—and in no way am l affiliated with any of these people (or will I ever be --;)

Translations:
Itai – "It's painful"; "Hurts!"
Saru – monkey
Demo – "but"
Daijoubu desu ka? – "Are you ok?" (polite)


The Invincible Ban-sama will never admit to pain – he was –is invincible after all – and if he can help it, he can just pretend that the fresh wound on his right arm did not exist in the first place; and that the salty sweat that trailed down his neck, permeating into the bandaged cut on his shoulder was nothing more than a ridiculous… ant bite.

The long, irritated gash, however, did not like to be ignored and stubborn as its owner was, it would remind the Jagan Master of its presence, ever so tactfully, every time Ban lifted his cup of hot, brewed coffee.

...which he now dropped, meeting its doom on the hard, wooden floor; broken into a hundred tiny pieces—but not without spilling a dribble of hot liquid onto his pant-leg and shirt.

"Itaaaiii!" And this day just keeps on getting better and better.

Thus, Ban would yell, scream and curse – though not necessarily in that particular order, yet all at the same time, because of all the pain and annoyance that stupid crack of flesh was causing him.

He rarely got injured on missions, because Ban was hardly ever careless. And it was the standard operating procedure of the Get Backers to avoid any reckless fighting as much as they could help it, because their focus would always be on the retrieval.

However, getting into a stupid fight with animals – or rather, being scratched, scraped and punched by a bunch of wild monkeys was another matter all together. For the record, he did try to ask them nicely into giving back their lunch – the operative word being "try".

Ban cursed under his breath as his injury stung him again for the nth time, as he was reaching down for the broken pieces of porcelain. He needed to remember to apologize to Madoka later, to see if he could get away without paying for it. Bad luck-ed, bruised and broke weren't exactly the most appealing of conditions right now.

Wincing, Ban tried to ignore the stinging and uncomfortable pain… only failing miserably as another sting racked his already sensitive nerves. He could only be so grateful that Shido wasn't in the room at that moment, because that Monkey Trainer was not allowed to have the pleasure and satisfaction of watching Ban cry like a girl because of those stupid injuries.

He would curse all the saru in the world.

"Hai, Gin-chan! There you go!"

Natsumi's cheerful voice carried across the room, and Ban turned his attention towards where the girl had just finished redressing Ginji's – might he note – minor injuries. Still, his partner didn't stop whimpering, milking the most out of Natsumi's soothing touches.

"Mou itai! The alcohol stings, Natsumi-chan!" Ginji whined in childish tones, begging the young girl to blow cool breaths to take away the nipping at his wounds. Natsumi chuckled mildly as she complied.

"Stop sniveling, you idiot! You know you can heal those cuts by yourself!" Ban was as irritated as his gash. Seriously, Ginji should think of some other way to make a move on Natsumi. He had overdone it with the injured-hero act already.

"Demo, Ban-chaaann! It really, really stings!" Now his partner was acting more like a five-year-old who'd cut himself the first time, and it was actually becoming more ridiculous than cute. Natsumi didn't seem to mind though, as she continued to ease Ginji's pain, laughing easily at his act.

Ban rolled his eyes and began picking up the broken pieces of porcelain. He couldn't help but scream through his teeth though, as the old injury on his shoulder chose that sweet time to prick at him, assisted by his more recent ones.

"K'sss—" It hurt too much for him to even concentrate on shouting out obscenities, and Ban felt tears well up in his eyes as he struggled to shut out the sheering pain, stumbling backwards onto the floor as a consequence.

"Ban-chan!" "Ban-san!"

He vaguely heard Ginji's worried yelp, because at the same time, Natsumi had called out his name and was quickly at his side, aiding his wounded shoulder with one hand as she ushered him slowly to the nearby couch.

"I'll go get Ban-chan some ice and something cold to drink!" After he made certain that his partner would be alright in Natsumi's good hands, Ginji skipped out the room towards the kitchen (if he actually knew where that was).

"Ban-san, let me take a look at that shoulder…" Natsumi offered kindly, with one hand already gingerly taking off the sodden bandage on his arm, while the other eased him out of his undershirt. She inspected the wound concernedly, as she would often do.

Natsumi took the job of caring for the Get Backers seriously, and was doing quite magnificently at it as well: most of the time she was their waitress or their cook, but more often than not, she was their nurse when they did not have the money to pay for pricey hospital expenses.

"It needs to be redressed," Natsumi told Ban calmly; light, feathery touches tickled his skin as she carefully cleaned the wound with alcohol.

Ban hissed. It stung madly—

--but was immediately soothed by soft, cool breaths blown onto it to ease the sting. He felt his cheeks burn as the image of Natsumi's lips hovering way too close to the sensitive skin on his shoulder sunk into his head. If she should just press a little closer, her seemingly soft lips would…

Kehh! What the hell was he thinking!

Alarm bells suddenly went off in his head. The girl was obviously trying to mend his wounds and there he was thinking naughty thoughts about what her lips would… would do if…

Natsumi had already stopped blowing onto his shoulder, but was still perilously close to the sensitive skin near Ban's neck as she bandaged up his injury. She was ever so gentle and her touch was soothing. Ban felt himself go lax at her ministrations, almost letting out a soft moan when Natsumi's hands moved across his back, alleviating his tensed muscles.

His eyes snapped open, the bells ringing madly inside his head again. Ban was clearly distracted; he was confused and somewhat… scared at the same time. He never really allowed anyone to be this close to him—except for Ginji, of course—invading too much of his personal space was taboo. It was… a bit comforting, for some reason, though.

He moved his gaze away from her, just as she was finishing patching him up, glad that she was too preoccupied with the task to notice that light coloring on his cheeks.

Natsumi was many things to the Get Backers, and even though Ginji might make a move on her once in while, the girl clearly had a sister-friend vibe emanating from her. It had once been enough to cause him to back off… once. He did not know where all of these other feelings began coming up from, so suddenly, out of nowhere.

Well, actually, he knew where; he could feel it tightening in his pants.

But Ban ignored it, his attention settling on the view outside the window. Shido and Madoka were resting peacefully under a big tree, their eyes closed, serene smiles playing on their lips as they sat side by side; while all of the Monkey Trainer's animal minions surrounded them as though on guard. There was a bit of space between them, they were almost touching, but nothing other than the tips of their fingertips caressing each other. Ban watched as Madoka shifted in her seat to lean on the trunk as she guided Shido to her lap to rest… almost immediately as though on instinct, Shido curled and snuggled up to Madoka's welcoming embrace.

Something in Ban tugged at his ever cool and devil-may-care attitude. He had to admit: he was a tad jealous of the Monkey Trainer for having snagged up a pretty and nice girl like Madoka. Sure she whipped him up nicely, but Ban wondered how good it must feel to actually have somebody take care of him once in a while… to curl up into the arms of a woman, feel the warmth of her breath and caresses, and not be smacked in the head for potential indecency. Ban never had that growing up; Maria and his Grandmother were not exactly the affectionate kind of women.

So, yes, he envied the Monkey Trainer tremendously. And sometimes, he wished for someone like Madoka to take care of him, to worry about him, fuss over him every now and then, someone like a girlfriend, somebody like—

"Ban-san? Daijoubu desu ka?" Natsumi quipped in, breaking his thoughts. She peered at him anxiously, the pools of her soft, gray eyes meeting Ban's usually intense, blue orbs. Natsumi did not look away. Anyone else would have looked away… but not her. And very few Ban would have allowed to look at him directly that way. Once more, that scary-comforting feeling.

"Ban…san?"

"Ah-aa… I'm fine." He gave her a grateful, reassuring nod, banishing what was left of the light blush on his cheeks earlier. And as though to emphasize more of his point, he lifted the injured arm fervently—biting back a bit of pain in the process.

"See?" Ban flashed her a cocky grin when he recovered, "I am the Invincible Ban-sama, aren't I?"

Natsumi giggled politely. "Maybe so, but you're still human." She gave one last gentle pat to his bandaged arm and shoulder before arranging things back into the first aid kit.

"Some injuries just take a little bit more time to heal, Ban-san, even in your case." She smiled kindly at him. "Let it rest for now, alright?"

Natsumi stood up, gathering all the equipment with her. Before she could move away though, Ban caught her free hand with his uninjured arm—he felt her tense a bit, perhaps from having been caught unawares by the unexpected, wanton contact.

"Hey… thanks."

She seemed mildly surprised at his gesture, but eventually felt her hand relax in his grip. Natsumi returned to him her familiar, innocent, warm smile.

Ban realized, perhaps there were some things he wasn't quite as resilient to, after all; because some things do take some time to settle. But he could wait. He knew he was content with the way things were, for the moment.