CHAPTER EIGHTEEN- THE GET BACKERS

One year later…

“It’s a girl, it’s a girl, it’s a girl!” jumped Ban outside the operation theatre of a hospital we know quite well.

“Yes, Mr. Mido, you’re a proud father now,” replied a black haired nurse (remember the one who asked them to do her job in episode 39?)

“Is Natsumi okay? When can I meet her?”

“Well, she’s resting now, but you could go in and have a look at the baby”

“Yes, I’d love to do that,” saying so, Ban walked into the room.

The baby was lying in a cradle next to Natsumi who was fast asleep. The child had deep blue eyes and a few strands of jet-black hair. Ban looked at her lovingly and she smiled back.

“You’re going to grow up to be as pretty as your Mom. Only hope you are as sweet as her,” said Ban.

Meanwhile at another end of the same hospital-

“Will you please let me see whether my wife is alright?” Ginji yelled at some nurses.

“She is, and by the way, sir, you’re a father now. Your wife has just given birth to a bonny baby boy,” replied the nurses.

“Has she now? Can I please meet her?”

“Sure”

Ginji went into the room and Hevn, who was relaxing a little, just sat up straight and gave him a weak smile.

“So, where’s the latest member of our family?” asked Ginji happily.

“Right here,” said Hevn pointing towards the cradle.

Ginji and Hevn’s son had brown eyes just like Ginji and a tuft of dark brown hair.

“He’s nothing like me,” wailed Hevn and Ginji gave a wide smile and said, “It’s okay Hevn, better luck next time,” and Hevn punched him hard turning pink.

“Tell me,” said Ginji slowly, “What do we name him?”

“I love the name Joseph, and it has a readymade nickname too-Joe!”

“Joseph’s a nice name…”said Ginji and leaned over the baby’s cradle, “Hello there, Joseph”

In Natsumi’s room-

“Come on now, Natsumi,” said Ban waking her up, “Tell me what could we name our kid?”

“Ban,” grumbled Natsumi, “Will you please let me rest for just a little while? Our infant’s not running away anywhere, so I think we have a lot of time to decide what her name could be. You could let her live without a label for a few hours, couldn’t you? Anyway, you’d have died trying to bring her into the world; she gave me a lot of trouble. So please, let me catch up on some sleep. I think I deserve that right”

“I can’t do the job of bringing anyone into this world ever, so I don’t think I’ll ever understand,” said Ban, “But she’s so adorable, I can’t stop looking at her. When I look at her, I feel like speaking to her, and when you speak to anyone, the first thing you use is his or her name. That’s something she doesn’t have”

“Okay, fine,” budged Natsumi, “But I’m going straight to bed once the naming business is done with”

“Sure thing”

“Let’s see, how does Kumiko sound?”

“Nah, too Japanese for a blue eyed girl. How about Alexis?”

“Yeah, that sounds cool, we could nickname her Alex”

“Yup”

“See, the job’s already done,” yawned Natsumi, “You can talk to Alex now, but in all those moments of love and affection, don’t forget Alex’s mother”

“Oh, never,” said Ban kissing Natsumi’s forehead, “It’s thanks to you that we have this doll in our life. Oh, yeah, a little bit of hard work from my side too,” and Natsumi pushed him.

“You always have to include yourself in the vote of thanks, right?” she said.

“That’s me”

Natsumi blushed a little and closed her eyes. Ban couldn’t help feeling how beautiful Natsumi looked today. She had another role to play now, another responsibility on her shoulder to take care of. That was being the mother of their child. And Ban decided that he would escort her through this journey whatever it cost him for they were now parents.

As for their baby, he promised himself that he would make her tough enough to face this big, bad world. As she smiled innocently at him, all kinds of thoughts raced through his mind…

Seventeen years later…

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Alex and Joe, happy birthday to you,” sang Hideki, Anneliese, Chelsea, Kenshin, Takeshi, Paul, Ban, Ginji, Hevn, Natsumi, Himiko, Kagami, Sakura, Makubex, Jubei, Kazuki, Haruki, Shido, Madoka, Cruz, etc.

“Thank you,” said Alex and Joe in unison, “Can we cut our cake now?”

“Sure”

Alex seized the knife and Joe held her hand. The two of them cut a piece of the cake and gave it to each other. Alex then said,

“See, it’s delicious, made by my Mum after all, the best cook in the world”

“Okay your Mum is a good cook, no doubt, but my Mum rocks too,” replied Joe.

“Alright, guys,” said Ban, “You guys have grown up now, leave your childishness behind, will you?”

“Okay, as you say”

Let me explain. Hideki is Ginji and Hevn’s second son. Just like Ginji said, Hideki turned out to be entirely like Hevn while Joe is a photocopy of Ginji. Ban and Natsumi have only one daughter and that’s Alex. Reason-She’s enough to drive them crazy. An obedient girl, of course, Alex has all of Ban’s wacky ways. She’s Natsumi on the outside and Ban on the inside with her devilish mind working away in the wrong direction. Anneliese was Cruz and Sakura’s daughter. She was a plain and simple girl who had a secret crush on Joe. Kenshin was Shido and Madoka’s son. A carbon copy of Shido, Kenshin was an international athlete. At a young age he had won many laurels in the sports field. As for Chelsea, she was Haruki, Jubei and Kazuki’s adopted daughter. They found her all alone on the streets of Maze City. Since then, they gave her unprecedented love and never let her feel the need of a mother. She had Haruki’s sense of humor, Jubei’s dedication and Kazuki’s sweet and gentle nature. She was Kenshin’s girlfriend. Anyway, I think the guests have had enough of an introduction. Let’s get back to their party-

“It’s story time,” announced Paul and all of them turned to face him, “Since it’s your birthday,” he said to Alex and Joe, “Let me tell you about what your fathers did for a living many, many years ago. Your fathers ran a retrieval business called the Get Backers. They guaranteed to get back whatever you lost. No doubt they were excellent at what they did but they never really made too much money out of it”

“You didn’t have to say that Paul,” growled Ban and Ginji while the others sniggered.

“Their special abilities made their job easier. However they had loads of enemies…”

Just then the door opened and Clayman walked in.

“What’s up Clayman,” smiled Ginji, “It’s wonderful you came to join us on this special occasion.”

“I’m sorry, Ginji,” said Clayman, “But I’m here on important business.”

“What’s the matter, Miss Clayman?” asked Alex (believe me, she just can’t shut up) and Ban kicked her.

“Well, you must’ve heard of the Madonna of the Rocks?”

“Yes, I have,” said Joe.

“That painting has been stolen from the Louvre museum only a few hours ago”

“What?” exclaimed Ban, “That’s not possible. I would’ve known of it”

“You would if you’d turn on the television”

Ban rushed towards the television, turned it on and flicked through the channels till he reached the one broadcasting news. Clayman was right. It had been stolen.

“So what can I do if the painting has been stolen?”

“You could retrieve it”

“Of course, I couldn’t. You know this Get Backers business shut down ages ago due to some personal problems,” he said looking towards Natsumi.

“I don’t care. I’ve already told the client that you guys would do it. Please, Ban. You’re not even asking Ginji. He is your partner after all”

“I’m pretty okay with the entire idea, Ban,” replied Ginji before Ban could even open his mouth to ask him, “I mean, I kinda miss being a GB”

Yeah, Dad,” interrupted Alex, “Please, please, please say yes. Joe and I would love to see Uncle Ginji and you at work.”

“Hey, wait a moment,” said Ban slowly, “Whoever said you guys would come along on our mission?”

“Please Dad, say yes. I wanna see you as a GB”

“Okay, fine, Clayman. I agree to be back as a GB only on one condition”

“Is it a high pay?”

“No,” said Ban sternly and then breaking into a smile, he said, “If I can have my wife’s consent”

“Ban,” said Natsumi as sweetly as ever, “I always tell Alex and you to follow what your heart’s deepest and truest desire is”

“But you were the one who had a problem with my job in the first place. I mean I became a manga artist only to prove to you that I’m capable enough”

“Ban, I never had a problem with you being a Get Backer. Don’t you know that I was the one who’d keep telling all your clients who came into this very place to have a cup of coffee that you guys were the best retrievers in the world? I idolized and worshipped you. The reason I broke up with you was your irresponsibility. You hadn’t given a thought to what would happen of me once we were married. You had no permanent roof under which you could shelter me. You didn’t know whether you’d have to spend the next few days in starvation or not. Today, you’re well settled, with a happy family and a secure job. If at all you wish to carry on being a GB as a hobby, you surely can. Only don’t make it your occupation. Otherwise, you’ll be welcoming dark days once again. That’s all I have to say. The choice is yours”

“I think I’m okay with the ‘hobby’ plan. Except that, I don’t wanna take this brat along.”

“But I wanna go Daddy,” pleaded Alex, “You told me you’d never refuse me anything on my birthday”

“I remember making that pledge on the day you were born. I can even break it today if I wish to”

“Stop harassing her, Ban,” said Natsumi, the peace-maker, “Take her along if she wants to go. She can take care of herself. She’s old enough now. She can also keep a watch on you if she goes along”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that she can keep you from finding a pretty mistress in France”

“Like I’m going there for that”

“You can’t be trusted”

“If I had to find another woman, I’d have done that twenty-eight years ago instead of improving myself for you,” said Ban hugging Natsumi. All the guests at the party started to whoop and cheer and Alex was heard saying-“I’ve seen much bigger and interesting things happen at my house between the two of them. You know when…” But Ban rushed forward quickly and clasped his hand over her mouth before she could say some more.

“So, then you guys are coming right?” asked Clayman.

“You bet we are,” replied Ban, Ginji, Alex and Joe.

“All right, then!” exclaimed everyone.

“Life is so momentous,” Natsumi said to Hevn, “Especially if you are with the Get Backers”

“The way our lives move on,” said Hevn smilingly, “Is like some kind of book. I’d love to name that book Moments…”

Note: Did you like this fan fic? Moments…is completely dedicated to my friends who have always supported Ban and Natsumi’s pairing which people generally call experimental. The story is loosely based on my life so I won’t give anyone credits for it (except the Almighty!). That’s all I wish to say. By writing this story, I’ve fulfilled a promise I made long ago. Hope you all liked it. I expect you guys to review this story genuinely as writers only learn from their mistakes. If there is any mistake in the story or if you feel I could’ve put it in a better way than it is, you guys could simply review it. Will meet you all soon enough with my next fan fic (which is also under progress). Until then, adios amigos! I

P.S. I am extremely sorry for the delay.