Update! Update! I'm back. I'm going to finish this and I am going to continue working on Snake Charmer. Warning: there be spoilers about what happens to Ban if he over-uses the Evil Eye but not spoilers as to how this has anything to do with actual GB canon. Hope that makes sense.

Also, I'm looking for someone to beta-read an Akabane POV fic that will serve as transition into the final chapters of Snake Charmer. It is about what really happened to Ginji when he kidnapped him. So, it is going to be decidedly NC-17 for violence. Any takers?

Enjoy! Please review.

- dangerprawn

"Ban should not still be here."

I was very confused, I felt my eyebrows wrinkling, "You mean he should be dead?"

"No," she shook her head. "No. He should have ceased to exist entirely – as in he should never have existed. He should not still be here and we should not still know that he was ever here."

My head hurt trying to imagine how that was even possible, "I don't think I understand."

"It is sort of like this: he ran out of the extra energy he gathers off of people. So, he used the energy that is his Ban – his mind, his body and his soul. Usually when witches do that – especially with powerful magic like the evil eye - it uses up so much of them that they simply cease to exist. Whatever magic they worked happens and then poof – they're gone completely from this universe. But, he's still here. I guess," she smiled something that did not look like a happy smile, "he figured out a way around it. He always was a genius for evading punishment."

This was all very worrying and very confusing. If I understood what she was saying correctly that meant that not only should Ban-chan be dead but, that I should not have all the happy memories of him, that I would still be Raitai. I always thought that death would be the worst possible fate any of my friends could suffer. But, to lose a friend and be deprived of all of the wonderful things they brought me while they were living? It was a horrible thing to think and it was no wonder Ban-chan never told me. I really wasn't sure that I needed to know.

"What's going to happen to him now?"

"Honestly," she leaned back in her chair and sighed, "I don't know, Ginji. I've never seen anything like it before." She seemed down for a moment. But, then sat up again and smiled brightly, "More likely than not he should be fine. He did, after all, survive the initial shock of it."

I had no idea what she meant by that but I had the feeling that was because she was leaving out something important. It annoyed me that witches are so damn secretive all the time about their magic. Well, Maria and Ban-chan, the only two witches I know are secretive. I don't understand what the big deal about it could be. Maybe all witches are born that way or else they have to be that way in order to be a witch.

She hurried on in her explanation, "From looking at him it seems like all he did was burn himself out. Which is good, I guess, because that's all I can really help him with. So, I treated him for that, the over-use of his magical energy."

"Was that what was happening to him with the bleeding and the hurting?" I interjected. "It looked sort of to me like he had over-dosed on something from the way he was acting."

"Yes, the opposite of that though," she corrected. "It works like this: what happened was, he used up such a massive amount of energy, very quickly so his body shut down the pathways by which he takes this energy in. It took so long for him to notice that something was wrong, I suppose, because his body was busy using up his reserve capacity. When he ran out he started going through withdraw. Someone with witch's blood needs magical energy to sustain themselves just like you need food."

"Okay." I tried to look like I understood. But I don't think I got all of it. She knew.

"Ban tripped the breaker switch in his system to the power supply that keeps him alive. He ran on emergency back-up batteries until they wore out. What I gave him basically reset him. Now, he's starting back up."

I didn't know what to say. I looked over at Ban-chan laying in the doorway. He was scowling in his sleep in a way that I could not tell if he was having a good dream or a bad dream.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Maria rise gracefully and the dishes floated over to the sink. I guess I hadn't even realized that I had eaten my meal because I was too concerned over Ban-chan to taste it. She touched my hand to get my attention. I tore my glance away from Ban-chan to look at her again.

"You really shouldn't worry about it too much. He used to short himself out all the time when he was a kid."

"Really?"

It was hard to imagine Ban-chan being anything other than perfect in his control over his abilities. But, I guess he had to start somewhere.

"Yeah, well, maybe not all the time. I think I remember him doing it once when he was 5 and again when he was 7. And I don't think it was ever as badly as this," she was gathering her bags and preparing to leave, "Don't tell him I told you that, though."

I walked with her down the short hallway that leads from the living area of our apartment to our door.

"Is there anything special I'll have to do to take care of him?"

"No," she replied. "Not really. Just keep a close eye on him, he's going to be weak and physically ill for a while. He'll probably sleep a lot. Try to make sure he doesn't use any magic for a while. And make sure his fever doesn't get out of hand. Try not to let him eat anything strange." Don't let him eat anything strange? What was that supposed to mean? "Also, he'll probably be a little moodier and testier than usual. But, that should only last for about a week."

Moodier? Testier? I tried to keep my jaw from dropping. I didn't know that was possible and I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I opened the door for her.

"Oh," she started fishing around in her purse and handed me a little blank envelope. "Do me a favor and give that to him when he wakes up. Bye-bye, Ginji."

She stepped over the threshold and disappeared before the door even clicked shut.