GetBackers Fan Fiction ❯ Adventures In Bansitting ❯ Part 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Part 5:

 

It was probably the laughter that made Akabane curiously poke his head inside the Honky Tonk. Ginji turned as the door opened, “AH-…kabane-san, hi! What brings you here?”

Akabane smiled. “I'm waiting for a client.” There was a squirming bundle in Ginji's arms. Object of a retrieval, perhaps? “…Where is Midou-kun? It's very rare to see you two apart…”

 

“Ah, well, you see… Ban-chan got turned into a baby.”

 

Akabane gave Ginji a flat look. “…You are aware that that's impossible, right?”

 

“Nothing is impossible. Look!” Ginji turned the squirming bundle so that it faced Akabane.

 

Akabane stared at the baby boy blinking at him curiously. He would recognize those eyes anywhere, and there they were, blinking up at him from the face of a baby. “…Well now.” He leaned forward. “My, Midou-kun, it seems that you were always very small…”

 

Ginji laughed, then choked as Ban reached up and grabbed Akabane's hat. “Ack! No, Ban-chan! Don't!”

 

Then entire café was silent as Ban took Akabane's hat and put it on his own head. It was almost like no one was breathing, waiting to see what Akabane would do. There was a sigh of relief when he started laughing, and said “How cute…”

 

“Y-yeah… I'm sorry about that Akabane-san…”

“No, no, don't be. He's only a baby.” As much as he enjoyed killing, there was something about killing an infant that did not sit right with him. They had no hope of fighting back, where a child would at least know what they were running from. There was no fun in killing the utterly helpless. Ban blinked up at him from behind the slit in his hat and beamed.

Shido padded over and took Ban from Ginji. “Come on, kitling, give Akabane back his hat.”

 

Ban gave a pout-y scowl and clung to the hat.

Shido sighed. “Come on, little one. Off with it. He's a busy man.”

 

Ban's look clearly said `No. Mine.'

 

Akabane laughed. “He can play with it until I'm done with my coffee.”

 

“You're being awfully nice today, Akabane-san…”

 

“It wouldn't be any fun killing him like this, and it's amusing to see Midou-kun as an infant.” Akabane leaned forward again. “You'll have to return to normal soon, Midou-kun, or I won't have any fun.”

 

Shido tensed, ready to get Ban to safety before helping Ginji take Akabane down (not like he and Ginji alone could take down Akabane, but he could hope). He might not like the bastard much, but now Ban was an infant, and defenseless, and since he was Ginji's responsibility, that meant he was Shido's responsibility as well. Not because he liked Ban, but because Ginji was his emperor (even if he really wasn't anymore) and that meant that Shido would gladly give up his organs if Ginji asked him to (which he wouldn't, but that's beside the point). It wasn't even that Ginji was his emperor, really. They were all pack, even Ban, and pack-mates always looked out for each other. “Well, your fun can wait.” Akabane merely smiled at him before sitting down and drinking the mug of coffee Paul set before him.

 

“But, the client said that he'd have more information for us in a few days, so… umm… yeah.”

 

Hevn tapped her lower lip with one perfectly manicured nail in thought. “Gin-chan, can you do the jobs by yourself? I mean, without Ban-kun?”

 

Ginji froze his nervous shuffling. Without Ban-chan, there was no GetBackers, because without Ban-chan, there was no `S', and when there was no `S', it meant you were alone. “I hadn't thought of that…” He slumped onto one of the barstools, and scooped up Ban from Shido's arms. “Most jobs wouldn't be a problem, but… without Ban-chan, it's not the GetBackers.”

 

Shido wanted to say something to console his friend, but couldn't find the words, so Shido did the one thing that he knew usually helped him feel better.

 

“Why are you skritching Gin-chan, Shido?”

 

“…Shut up, Hevn.”

 

End Part 5