To Defeat the Thunder Emperor. . .

Akabane Kurudo walked with sharp, echoing klicks of hard soled boots. The rain that fell heavy on the people around him didn\'t even seem brave enough to get near. Usually he would have found some breif amusment in that fact, however at the moment, he was lost in his thoughts.

\"Have you fought with the Thunder Emperor before?\"

\"Yeah, I have.\"

\"The Thunder Emperor at 100% of his power?\"

\"Yeah.\"

\"Did you win?\"

\"I\'m still alive. That\'s your answer.\"

It had been a while since that conversation with Mido Ban, and the GetBackers had amused him many times since, however his mind always returned to that conversation. Mido Ban is a very proud person, however he eluded my question. If he won then why would The Thunder Emperor have survived? He did not seem the type to give up. Mido Ban must have gotten away some how, or brought Amano Ginji back to himself. How did he accomplish this? It would be an interesting story I think.

With that in mind, Akabane turned around and moved toward the Coffee shop where the GetBackers met clients. It would appear that a talk with Amano Ginji was in order.
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\"Please Master! Just one slice! I\'m so hungry!\"

Paul turned the page of his paper and clicked his tongue, \"If you\'re so hungry, pay off your tab.\"

\"But. . . but. . . but. . . Ban-chan used the money from the last job to fix the Beetle and. . .\"

\"You did the job too.\"

\"But Ban-chan. . .\"

The wavey haired owner of the Honky Tonky completely tuned out the begging child as the chime over the door signalled a customer.

\"Good Evening! What can I get you?\" He asked the man with a smile.

\"Coffee please, black.\"

Ginji froze a that voice and stiffly turned his head, shaking with fear as he looked to confirm his suspiscions, \"A. . . A. . . akabane-san!\"

\"Greetings, Ginji-kun.\"

\"W. . . what are you doing here?\"

The visible eye arched closed in a friendly smile, \"It is raining outside.\" He sat down beside Ginji and smiled wider when the boy instantly shot across the room to occupy a booth. Moving with the grace and ease of a seasoned preditor, Akabane followed and sat beside him, in Ban\'s usual place, blocking him in. The rivlets of sweat pearling down the chibified face where amusing. \"As always, Ginji-kun, you are very entertaining.\" He chuckled, the odd, breathy sound making Ginji shiver like a trapped cat.

\"I. . . I. . .\"

\"And where is Mido Ban?\"

\"He\'s getting the car fixed.\" Ginji mumbled and glarred at Paul as he sat Akabane\'s coffee on the table. The Blond\'s stomach rumbled loudly and he blushed bright and tried to disappear into his vest.

\"You have not eaten.\" The black clad Transporter guessed.

The blond nodded and whined petulantly, \"Five days.\" His fear of the tall, thin man replaced by the reminder of his empty stomach.

Akabane waved Paul over and smiled at him, \"Please allow him to eat as he wishes, I will afford payment.\"

Ginki\'s eyes were wide and watery and filled with gratitude, \"A. . . Akabane-san!\"

Paul frowned as Ginji began listing what he wanted, \"Have you seen him eat before?\"

\"I haven\'t had the pleasure.\" The killer smiled softly, in his unique, creepy, way. Ginji\'s voice still listed food items even while they spoke.

The shop owner shook his head, \"I hope your rich.\"

\"And I\'ll have a special pizza with curry powder and lots and lots of cheese and rice and then I want. . .\"

\"Enough to feed a hungry friend.\"

Ginji stopped listing and stared at the smiling man with questioning eyes. \"Friend?\"

\"If you don\'t mind.\"

He sat back and stared at the other man while Paul left to fill the order, \"but you\'re always trying to fight me.\"

\"Only because you intrigue me. I have yet to kill you, haven\'t I?\"

The blond thought about that a moment then asked in his typical, straight forward fashion, \"Will you?\"

\"Perhaps one day, but on that day, I believe neither of us will survive.\"

\"Huh?!\"

\"We are both very strong, in fact I think there is no limit to either of our powers. If we were to fight to the death, we would both push ourselves beyond human endurance and we would both die.\"

\"Oh.\" He hummed as he thought about that and began devouring the pizza that Paul offered him, fully aware of Akabane\'s smiling face watching him.

\"Has no one defeated the Thunder Emperor?\"

\"No, but I don\'t want to be the Thunder Emperor anymore.\" He whimpered around a very large bite of pizza.

Akabane smiled to himself. So Mido Ban did not defeat you. How then, did he stop you while you were at your full power?

Ginji, blisfully unaware of the cloaked man\'s thoughts, worked his way happily through his next coarse. He\'d never been ab;e to eat until he was full! Never! Maybe Akabane-san wasn\'t so bad after all. He had killed a lot of people, but he was right, he hadn\'t killed Ginji yet. Or Ban-chan either.

\"Ginji-san?\"

\"Why do you call me that?\" He asked with a curious smile.

\"Hm?\" Akabane reached over the table and scooped a bit of tomato sauce from the corner of Ginji\'s mouth.

Paul peaked over his paper and watched with vaguely amused interest as the black clad killer licked the sauce from his finger in a calculated sugestive manor. He held back his laughter as he waited for Ginji\'s response.

\"Akabane-san! Are you hungry? Get your own!\"

Paul smiled, there it was. Shock. Worry. Annoyance. Ginji would always be Ginji.

\"I am not hungry, Ginji-kun, I was just cleaning your face. Tomato sauce can cause itching if not removed.\"

The blond blinked as he processed the information, then he grinned, \"So that\'s why Ban-chan does it!\"

Paul groaned. The boy might be a powerful fighter and an emperor in Infinite Castle, but here in the real world, he never changed.

\"So why do you call me Ginji-kun? You call Ban-chan Mido Ban, why don\'t you call me Amano Ginji?\"

\"You delight me.\" He said with his usual smooth, cool honesty, \"It is not ofter a person delights me as long as you have, there for I address you in a manor befitting your role in my existance.\"

\"Oh.\" He thought a moment, biting into another bit of pizza as he did so, \"But you always want to fight Ban-chan to, and you still call him by his full name.\"

\"You delight me, Mido Ban challenges me.\" He took a sip of his coffee, \"I want to see how strong I am, to test my limits against a true genius fighter. For this Mido Ban is perfect. You I do wish to fight, but even if we are only talking as we are now, you still keep my attention. No other person has managed that once, let alone constantly. You intrigue me, Ginji-kun.\"

Ginji smiled, \"Thanks!\"

Paul had to cover his mouth to keep from snorting. He didn\'t know if Akabane was aware of his attempts to seduce the blond Thunder Emperor or not. He didn\'t seem the type for seduction. But if he was aware that he was trying his hand at winning the blond\'s affection, he must have been getting very annoyed with him at that moment.

\"Have you ever fought Mido Ban?\"

Ginji finished off the last of the pizza and nodded, \"Yep, in Infinite Castle.\"

\"As the Thunder Emperor?\"

\"Uh huh.\" He swabbed his finger on the pan for the last crumbs and Akabane chuckled, \"I shall order another Ginji-kun.\"

\"Oh! Uh, no, you really don\'t have to! I just . . . I don\'t get to eat ofter so I stock up when I do.\"

\"It is no matter.\" He motioned to Paul and then turned his attention back to the blond, \"Now, you said you fought him at your full power. Did you win?\"

\"No, not really, neither of us won. Ban-chan snapped me out of it.\"

\"Oh?\" Akabane cocked his head, \"I thought nothing could bring you back from full power, but your own will.\"

\"Well it was a shock.\"

\"A shock. What did he do?\"

\"Something weird.\" Ginji blinked at the memory. \"It was like this.\" He leaded over and sealed his lips over those of a very shocked Akabane Kurudo. The black clad man opened him mouth in surprise and the blond\'s sweet, slightly pizza flavored tongue slid passed his lips and curled around his own. Just as Akabane was becoming used to the intimate touch, Ginji pulled away and smiled, \"See?\"

\"Ah.\" Akabane blinked.

\"I thought he was trying to eat me or something and it scared me back into me again.\" He beamed as Paul set the new pizza before him, \"Food!\"

\"Ginji-kun, do you know what that was?\"

\"Huh? Pizza?\"

Doctor Jacker smiled indulgantly, \"No, what Ban did to you, and what you did to me.\"

\"Oh, nope, but it really throws people off guard!\" He laughed and began to dig into the steaming pie before him.

\"I see.\" Akabane looked up as the bell on the door rang and Mido Ban stepped inside looking very much like a drowned rat instead of a snake.

\"Doctor Jackel! What are you doing here?\"

\"It is raining outside.\"

Ban glarred at him and snagged a piece of Ginji\'s pizza as he sat down. Before he could tak a bit, it was gone from his hands and he stared at the Jackel\'s shining knife as it poited at his throat.

\"You did not ask Ginji-san for that, it is his dinner.\"

The jagan user didn\'t answer right away, then a thought hit him, \"How did you buy that Ginji? We\'re broke!\"

The blond smiled and handed the slice back to Ban, \"Akabane-san bought it for me. I already had a whole one to myself before this one! Except for the sauce Akabane-san cleaned off ofme so I wouldn\'t itch.\" Ginji leaned over the table and whispered to his partner, \"I think he has amnesia or something because he\'s being really nice.\"

Ban\'s suspicious gaze seamed to roll right off of Akabane as easily as the rain had. Finally he stood and took hold of the dark Jackel\'s coat, \"Come with me.\" He almost snarled and pulled the man to the bar, out of Ginji\'s hearing range. \"What are you up to?\"

\"I am only avoiding the rain and taking advantage of good company. It is of little consequence.\"

\"Look, I don\'t know what you think you\'re doing, but when Ginji starts trusting someone he trusts them completely, and if he counts you as a friend he\'ll do anything for you. I don\'t want to see him get hurt because you bought him food on a whim and he hesitates over the memory next time you decide to try to kill him.\"

\"I assure you I have no intention of fighting Ginji-kun.\" Akabane smiled his foxy smile and glanced at the Thunder Emperor who wa trying to shove an entire slice of pizza into his mouth at once. \"Although I do beleive I shall defeat him.\" He stood and gave Ginji a warm smile that still managed to make Ban shiver. \"Good bye Ginji-kun. Until next time.\"

\"Bye Akabane-san! Thanks for the food!\"

\"My honor.\" He nodded and left the shop, shoes clicking and coat clinging and totally untouched by the rain.

~tbc~