Title: Blood of the Snake

By: retroelectric

Warnings: Mature themes, Vampirism, Horror/Supernatural, Yaoi in future chapters

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Get Backers. This is a Get Backers fan fiction, ideas purely fan-made speculations based off the relationship between the Get Backers duo and infused with several elements inspired – and not stolen off the Vampire Chronicles Universe by Anne Rice. It is also important to note that this does not contain ANY of her characters, thus this is strictly NOT a Vampire Chronicles/Get Backers crossover. In this way I do not breach any of Anne Rice's policies regarding fan fiction on her work.

Chapter 2

"Gin-ji..."

"Ban-chan?" Ginji murmured sleepily, rubbing his eyes, half-expecting Ban to answer in his usual gruff manner, but there was none. His sleep-fogged mind instantly cleared as he realised Ban wasn't there beside him. Ban didn't do disappearing acts like this, it was normally Ginji who did so. Even if it were to take a smoke, Ban would wake Ginji up to inform him of it. It was so as to not make Ginji worry.

Come to think of it, Ban had been acting oddly lately. Ginji remembered Ban's restlessness in the Honky Tonk just then. Ban had been shooting wary glances to the outside and squirmed in his seat as though feeling uncomfortable. And when Ginji asked Ban what was disturbing him, Ban shot down any nuances of worry with a rough reply of "I'm fine, Ginji. It's just too warm," and a ruffle of his blond hair. That did not dispel any worry Ginji had for him, but he knew when not to antagonize Ban with his questions any further. So he had finished his dinner in silence but still flickered fleeting looks which screamed worry to Ban's frowning face.

It was times like those, that Ginji wished they had the privacy for him to hold Ban in his arms to comfort him. He knew Ban too well to know what he was feeling even though he showed no emotion. He wasn't as knowledgeable as his partner, but he knew enough from his base instincts to know when there was something wrong.

Getting out of the car, he decided to wander around outside to check where Ban could be. I hope he isn't anywhere too far, Ginji thought worriedly. It was like a subtle change in the air, but he could tell when Ban was in danger, and vice versa. It scared him at the most to think that his partner was hurt, or being attacked, so he let his gut feeling direct him to where he thought Ban would be.

Would he have to face Akabane where Ban would be? Or Fudou, the senile bloodthirsty man after Ban's blood? He was supposed to be dead, or wasn't he? Or Hishiki? Ginji shuddered at the thought, remembering the encounters he had with that hulking man, and it only made him speed up his pace.

His feet brought him to the nearby park, and Ginji strained to see in the darkness illuminated eerily by the flickering light from the lampposts. "Ban-chan?" Ginji called out.

Walking on, he suddenly saw a flash of white on the ground. He rushed to the fallen figure, fearing the worst. Could it be...? "Ban-chan!" Ginji screamed, recognizing the familiar four-tailed shirt and the spiky brown hair. Ginji could recognise those distinctive features anywhere. Ginji fell to his knees next to Ban's unconscious body, gathering his limp body in his arms. "Ban-chan!!" Ginji shook his body, but there was no response.

Tears fell from Ginji's eyes, and fell into his partner's pale skin as he took in Ban's deathly blue lips and unusual pallor. And Ban's skin felt cold, cold as death... He knew, because he had seen death in Mugenjou far too often. Stroking the hair that fell into Ban's eyes, Ginji thought frantically that Ban couldn't be dead, no -- he was the invincible Midou Ban-sama, and he doesn't die that easily. There was still a lot that he wanted to do with Ban, and he didn't think he could live if Ban were not beside him.

Ginji's hand fumbled as he reached for his phone in one of his pockets and his fingers were unsteady as he dialed in Paul's home number.

"Hello?" Paul's bleary voice answered. Ginji tried to ease his sobbing so as to make himself heard.

"P-Paul-san... t-this is Ginji... B-Ban-chan has been attacked, and I don't know w-what to d-do," Ginji sobbed into the phone, his eyes tearing up even more if it was possible.

"What?! Bring him over to my place, you know the address right?" Paul was wide awake now. Even though he showed little sympathy towards the Get Backer's plight, he actually cared for them a lot.

"H-hai. Arigato!" Ginji hung up, and carried Ban's unusually light body towards Paul's apartment.

Ginji was a mess. Paul had been waiting outside his apartment, pacing back and forth and waiting for Ginji to arrive. He hadn't been able to stop his crying, and only when Paul had placed Ban on a spare bed conveniently placed in the living room and tended to him, was Ginji able to calm down.

"I-It's all my f-fault... If only I hadn't been sleeping..." Ginji whispered to no one in particular.

Paul could only sympathise with the sobbing blond boy and placed a free hand on Ginji's shoulder as he wiped Ban's forehead with a damp cloth. It was unnatural and unnerving at the same time to see Ban in this manner. He was usually cool, calm and collected, sometimes brash and he was always lively. Not like this, limp and unconscious and with a certain kind of pallor to his skin which Paul knew was associated with a great loss of blood. If there was blood loss, surely there must be a wound to denote that. Thoroughly checking Ban's body for any wound, he gaped to see four puncture holes on Ban's neck, right where the main artery would be.

"Ginji, you should see this."

Paul pointed to the inconspicuous wound on Ban's neck. Ginji looked at it in obvious surprise.

"A vampire bite?" Ginji mused aloud. Paul didn't know how to reply to that.

"Ban is still alive; don't worry. He is breathing but he has lost a lot of blood. Ginji, why don't you take a rest and we'll see if Ban will be better tomorrow?" Paul stated.

Ginji felt waves of relief pass through him. He smiled at Paul, and in a moment of impulse, went to hug the cafe owner. "Arigato, Master," he said.

Ginji, although relieved at the news from Paul, did not immediately nod off after the older man had gone to his bedroom. He climbed in to occupy the small space of the bed Ban was in. Wrapping a protective arm around Ban's slim waist, Ginji brought his other hand to brush Ban's unkempt hair out of his eyes. A tear fell involuntarily out of his eye. He had to relive the fear of having his best friend become close to death and he didn't want it to repeat ever again. Ginji kissed the corner of his mouth and smiled fondly at his partner.

"Ban-chan, I'm so glad that you are still alive. I wouldn't know what to do if you died because of a vampire bite." Ginji paused, then laughed softly at how ridiculous that sounded. Feeling comforted at the thought that - yes, Ban wouldn't die because of some vampire bite, - Ginji snuggled into Ban's body, finally falling asleep.

Ban awoke late that afternoon, gasping for breath as he struggled to sit up in a bed. Damn his disobeying limbs which were feeling unusually weak. Wait, he was sleeping in a... bed? He looked around his unfamiliar surroundings, his bleary eyes straining to take in the dull and drab colours of the walls. Then it hit him -- he was in Paul's apartment.

Ban's hand flew to his neck as he felt a painful throb there, involuntarily letting loose a groan. The sound attracted the attention of Ginji, who peeked his blond head from the kitchen and giving a bright and sunny grin to his awake partner.

"Oh, Ban-chan!" Ginji exclaimed, bounding over to Ban in an apron and hugging him tightly, as if afraid to let him go. Taking in a deep breath, he hoped that he wouldn't dissolve into tears and attempted to stop it by covering his watering eyes in Ban's shoulder.

"Oh, Ban-chan!" Ginji repeated, feeling a tightening in his throat from all the emotion that suddenly surged to the surface. "You scared me last night! You were missing from the car, and then I got this weird feeling that you might be in trouble, so I found you in a park and you were unconscious and you looked like you were dead, so I called Paul and told him about it and brought you here! He's now at Honky Tonk and told me to stay here until you've woken up." Somehow, Ginji summarized all of his pending questions and Ban managed to return the embrace Ginji was exuberantly giving him.

Pressing a chaste kiss to Ginji's temple, partly to comfort his friend and himself, Ban struggled to remember what had happened last night before he passed out.

The memories came to him like bright flashes of light, and visions of violet eyes and unnaturally pale skin flew in front of his eyes and he grew tense as though ready to attack. Ginji felt the sudden change in Ban's body, and let go of him to study Ban's frowning face.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji said questioningly.

"I was beginning to remember," Ban stated gruffly, rising from the bed a bit unsteadily. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay, Ban-chan! Call me if you need anything!" Ginji answered. Ginji stared after Ban's retreating body. Ban would eventually tell Ginji whatever it was that he was beginning to remember. After all, he trusted Ban and Ban would confide in him.

Eventually.