Unexpected Remedy - a Get Backers fanfic

Disclaimer: Get Backers does not belong to me. This is a work of fanfiction.

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Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click.

Mido Ban flinched, annoyed by the repetitious sound. His face was hidden behind a newspaper, reading up to see if there was anything that might lead to a job. The news, however, was just as quiet as Hevn had been lately. Just as quiet as the Honky Tonk would be, if not for that infernal clicking.

Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click. Click-click-click-click.

Finally Ban couldn't take it anymore. He hurled the paper down onto the table, crumpling it into a wad. "Ginji!" he exclaimed, glaring at the blond-haired man sitting across from him. "Cut that out!!"

Amano Ginji blinked. He was bored, and had been drumming his fingers on the table absently, thinking about how nice it would be to do something fun, like go to the beach or have some good sushi. He hadn't even realized how loudly he'd been drumming. "G-gomen, Ban-chan," he said with a sheepish smile. Ban could be so touchy.

Ban shot a glare of warning at his companion across the booth, then picked up the crumpled mess of newspaper and attempted to flatten it out on the table. Ginji leaned back in the booth and stared at the ceiling.

A few moments of blissful silence passed. Ban buried himself in the reports of petty theft; unfortunately, nothing here seemed to be important enough to trouble himself with. Mostly people who had gotten mugged; retrieving money generally meant that the reward would not include money. If there was one thing Ban really hated, it was not getting paid. He frowned and turned the page.

His ear twitched. Ginji was whistling.

"Ginji," Ban said in a warning tone, not moving the paper from in front of his face.

The whistling continued; in fact, it grew louder.

The newspaper crumpled into a ball and was winged at Ginji's head. "Ow! Ban-chan, that hurt!" Ginji rubbed his forehead, looking at Ban with a hurt expression.

"Then shut up!" Ban answered irritably, getting up out of the booth and stomping over to the counter. "Natsumi! Coffee!"

Natsumi bounced over to Ban, filled coffee cup already in hand. "Can I get you anything else, Ban-san?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"You can kill Ginji for me," Ban snapped, looking over his shoulder at Ginji, who was looking even more wounded than before. Instead of returning to the booth, he crossed the cafe to a different booth, taking up residence there and sipping his coffee disdainfully.

Ginji's expression turned from injured to insulted. That was the last straw. He got up and went over to Natsumi, speaking to her in low tones. "Ne, Natsumi-chan, what do you think is wrong with Ban-chan?"

Natsumi's usually amiable demeanor had faded, and she too was glaring at the corner where Ban was now sitting. "I don't know, but I wish he'd stop it. He gets like this every once in a while and it really hurts my feelings."

Ginji reached out a comforting hand and put it on Natsumi's shoulder. "Don't worry, Natsumi-chan," he said with a smile. "I'll make Ban-chan feel better."

"How?" Natsumi asked, looking up at Ginji with big eyes.

"Ano.. I haven't quite gotten that far yet, Natsumi-chan," Ban admitted, scratching the back of his head. "But I'll figure something out!"

Just then, then bell on the door of the Honky Tonk jingled, signaling the entrance of a customer. Natsumi perked up. "Welcome!" she called out. "Oh, Hevn-san, how are you?"

Hevn brushed her hair back from her face and approached the counter. "Not bad, Natsumi-chan," she replied, sidling up to Ginji. "Thought I'd drop in on my favorite dakkanya," she added with a wink.

Ban looked up at the sound of the door opening, and zoomed across the room to greet her. "Hevn-san! Just the person I wanted to see! How are you? Can I get you anything? Buy you coffee?"

"No jobs, Ban-kun," she interrupted.

Ban's face fell. "Figures," he snapped. "Lousy chuukaiya." He stalked back over to the booth in the corner, his face dark and bitter.

Hevn blinked and looked at Ginji and Natsumi. "What's with him?"

"I don't know," Ginji said mournfully, casting a baleful glance at his friend. "He's been like that all day. It's making me sad, Hevn-san."

"It's like he has male PMS," Hevn said, picking up the cup of coffee that Natsumi had made for her and taking a sip.

Ginji blinked and looked up at Hevn. "Ne? What did you say, Hevn-san?"

Hevn looked startled. "Ano.. forget it, Ginji-chan," she said hastily, taking another gulp of her coffee. "I have to run! Just put the coffee on the Get Backers' tab, Natsumi-chan!" And in a flash and a jiggle of breasts, she was gone, leaving a bewildered and thoughtful Ginji in her wake.

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Later that night, at the Get Backers' apartment, Ban was curled up in bed, his head buried under the covers, when he heard a familiar sound.

Click-click-click-click.

It was coming from the door. Ginji was drumming his fingers on it.

"Ginji, baka, go away!" Ban practically whined, rolling over and curling up tighter, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Ne, Ban-chan, please let me in!"

Ban groaned. "Unless it's a job or a pile of money, I'm not interested."

Ginji's disappointment seemed to emanate through the door. "Please, Ban-chan? It'll make you feel better, I promise. Besides," he added as an afterthought, "it's my room, too."

"Fine, come in," Ban grumbled. "But I don't expect you'll be able to make me feel better."

The door opened hesitantly, and the warmth of Ginji's infectiously joyous personality permeated the air like a drug. Ban smiled to himself under the covers - but only for a second, of course.

Ban heard a few rustles and a clink on the bedside table, followed by Ginji's voice. "Okay, you can look now, Ban-chan!"

Apprehensively, Ban peeked his head out from under the covers. He looked up at Ginji, who was smiling proudly, then turned his gaze to the table. There was a vase of flowers, a box of chocolates, and a small white bottle.

"That's.. very thoughtful of you, Ginji," Ban said slowly, much to his friend's delight. "But what the hell is this?" He pointed at the bottle.

Ginji scratched the back of his head. "Oh, the nice man at the drugstore suggested that. He said it'd make you feel better. He called it.. oh, what was it?"

Ban raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Oh, that's right," Ginji finished finally. "Midol! For your PMS!"

Ban sputtered. "My WHAT?!"

"Y-your PMS, Ban-chan," Ginji said, looking a little flustered. This wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. "T-that's what Hevn-san said you had."

"Only women get PMS, baka!" Ban screamed. "I'm not a woman!"

Now it was Ginji's turn to raise a suspicious eyebrow. "Is that so?" he said in a teasing tone. With that, he leapt on top of Ban in a rustle of sheets, carelessly knocking the bottle, the flowers, and the chocolates off of the table.

A 27names production.
All works copyright 1998-2009+ Erika Riggio.
Please do not use without permission.