I Need You to Love Me

Instead of Aya staying with her, Meg stayed in Rachael’s room, armed with a shotgun. Aya left with the other transporters, and Jinx remained in her room for the rest of the night, since her five-minute catnap turned into a deep sleep.

“Bloody hell, you can play both?” Meg asked after learning that she played violin and cello. “Yeah, I don’t have a cello though. Ban’s bringing my violin to me after his job.” She nodded.

“Is he a transporter too?”

“No, he runs a recovery service with his friend Ginji.”

“Oh cool! Maybe he can get my lucky tie from Jinx.” She laughed lightly.

Rachael was about to say something when everyone downstairs started shouting and several crashes along with several cries of pain cut her off. “Hold on, it could just be the teams fighting. We are all in competition after all. Plus destruction is kind of our idea of fun.” Meg explained quickly, though still reaching for her shotgun.

Someone kicked the door down, Rachael screamed and jumped back, and Meg fired a warning shot. Everything stopped.

“CHRIST MEG!” the man screamed, higher than Rachael had ever heard a man scream before.

“Well you shouldn’t have burst into the room like that Daichi I could have killed you! If I wasn’t the kind to give warnings you would’ve been dead you damned twit! What in God’s name is wrong with you?!”

“They told me she was a new teammate! We were gonna initiate her! You don’t have to freaking shoot my face off, damn! I fucking pissed myself!”

At that moment Meg and Rachael both started laughing, amazed that they hadn’t noticed his soaked jeans before. “Yeah, fuck the both of you.” He spat and stormed out. “You’re fixing the door!” Meg shouted, “Asshole.” She added quietly.

“What now, since the door’s broken off the hinges?” Rachael asked. “We can sit up here and do the same thing we’ve been doing, or we can go down and join the party. I warn you though, they’re a rowdy bunch.” She answered. Rachael was still weary about the housemates, and decided to stay in her room.

“Drink ye swabs! Drink like yer life depends on it! Because it does!” someone ordered downstairs, followed by several cheers and roars or laughter. “Jinx’s team, Blackbeard’s Beauties. They’re a pirate gimmick.” Meg explained. “Oh,” Rachael nodded before the echo of cans rang out, followed by yet more laughter. “And that was someone knocking down the Pyramid.” She laughed, again Rachael nodded.

A few hours later Rachael and Meg were downstairs joining the party. The Blackbeard’s Beauties girls were all in uniform, which consisted of different pirate-styled costumes of their own making, and all of them were done to be sexy without looking like whores. They looked tough and strong, and Rachael loved it. There was a second team in uniform, dressed in black and teal cheerleading outfits, fighting against Blackbeard’s Beauties on everything. Meg explained that the Cheer Reapers and Blackbeard’s Beauties were competing against each other for the final district’s championship to be the team to go on to the Shinjuku Bucket, which was the final championship to become the top team in Shinjuku. The award was a “Golden” Barf Bucket, which was a plastic mop bucket, spray painted gold, on a weighted wooden base with an award plaque bolted onto the front. The bucket was filled with alcohol, and medical supplies.

The Cheer Reapers and Blackbeard’s Beauties may have been enemies on the Derby floor, and in their house games, but when someone came to the door, pissed off and demanding to know where Rachael was, they were close allies.

“Who the hell are you?” one of the Reapers, “Bloody Mary” demanded. “Her boyfriend!” he retorted. “And I’m the Holy Virgin.” One of Jinx’s teammates replied, rolling her eyes as the two women guarded the door. “Damn it, let me in!” he yelled.

Rachael walked around the corner just in time to see Ban try to push through, and get pinned to the wall by both girls. Ginji was a small and frightened chibi in the doorway, watching as he fought against them, threatening to use his Snakebite. “We will kick your ass bitch!” Another woman from another team shouted as she joined the others.

“Guys, stop!” Rachael yelled before the fight could go on. “You know him?” Mary demanded. “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend!” she explained. “See?” Ban scoffed as the two women let him go, dropping him half a foot to the ground. Rachael smiled wide and darted into his awaiting arms.

“I missed you.” She grinned. “Hasn’t even been a day.” He smirked. “I don’t care, I missed you anyway.” She retorted and kissed him as Ginji slowly walked into the house. “Okay! Everyone this is Rachael’s boyfriend, and his friend! So, no more pinning him to the wall, yeah? They can visit whenever, she obviously trusts them!” Meg announced. “Jinx made it clear not to let anyone in because she was in some trouble with her drunk of an ex, who beat the shit out of her. That’s what the bruises are from, remember? So of course we’re gonna pin his ass up the first time we see him.” Jinx’s teammate defended. “Carla, I understand that. I’m not angry, I actually think it’s quite funny. This is just for future reference.” She smiled.

“Now boys, and Rachael, this is Cut-Throat Carla, and Bloody Mary, from Cheer Reapers and Blackbeard’s Beauties. The third woman, who was going to beat your brains in is, Bone Breaker Shino.” She introduced, “And I’m Meg.” She finished with a nod to the guys. “What’s your nickname?” Ginji asked curiously. “Blind Meg the Nightmare. Bon Breaker and I are teammates on Crypt Creepers.” She smiled wickedly.

“We’re not as bad as we look. You don’t have to be afraid of us… unless you try to hurt one of us, or do something to seriously cross us. Then you’ll have the whole house after you. But you seem like nice guys, so I doubt we’ll have that problem.” One of the other girls smiled. She had long brown hair that was about an inch past her feet, and very green eyes. “I’m Kotori.”

Ginji’s eyes were glued to Kotori, making her smile and giggle softly as Ban and Rachael went upstairs to her room. Ginji gasped and took off after them, blushing lightly at being so distracted by the derby girl in front of him, and fell through the stairs before he could reach the top.

“What the hell?” Ban gasped, quickly spinning around to see what happened, only to see a hole in the stairs, and no Ginji. “He fell through! Pay up Crypt Creeper!” someone howled as Ginji ran back up the stairs as a chibi to hide behind Ban. “They’re scary people, Ban. Those girls are crazy.” He explained as Meg ranted about loosing the bet. “They’re not that bad, Ginji. They’re just different; they’re really nice people.” Rachael smiled and led them into her small room, with no door since Daichi had knocked it down.

“Here,” Ban smiled, handing her the violin he promised to bring her. “Thanks so much! I knew I could trust you.” She beamed, kissing him quickly and putting the violin beside one of her bags. “You’re okay with staying here, right? Because we can find something else if this isn’t good for you.” He asked. “I’m fine. I kind of like it here.” She laughed as Jinx’s roar of fury echoed through the downstairs, demanding silence enough to sleep before her door was slammed shut. “Bitch!” someone yelled. Even Ban flinched when her door slammed open again, and the unmistakable sounds of an ass kicking sounded from the party below them.

Rachael sighed and sat down on the bed with her head in her hands. “What’s wrong?” Ginji asked quickly. “Nothing, tonight was just really rough.” She sighed. That was when Ban noticed the bruises on her throat for the first time. “Rachael,” he pushed cautiously, watching her closely with worried and pained eyes. Something had happened to her, and it was because he wasn’t there to help her.

“I fought them Ban, you told me to fight with everything I had if they found me again, and I did.” She smiled weakly, “But there were so many… Jinx was fighting, and Aya was helping her because she couldn’t fight them off on her own, and he was so much bigger than I am I couldn’t push him off,” she explained quietly, covering the bruise on her throat with her trembling hand. “Miss Rachael, did he hurt you?” Ginji asked sadly, but with a lot of anger to his voice while ban sat down beside her. “Not like that, no. He tried to kill me, choking me to death… I, I was still fighting, but I couldn’t breathe, and everything was going fuzzy…” she answered, trying not to cry. “But he didn’t, you did good Rachael.” Ban smiled supportively.

“Akabane saved me. He killed him and helped me get back up.”

Ginji was shocked, but happy that she was safe. “You’re okay though?” He asked worriedly. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She nodded quietly. “Good. Care if we stay tonight?” Ban asked with a smile. “Of course not!” she laughed as he kissed her softly.

“Someone get a sheet for the room over here, we have lovers without a door!” someone shouted as they passed Rachael’s room. Rachael started blushing a deep red, and Ginji went chibi. “You’re not gonna be doing that, are you?” he asked blankly. “No,” they answered together as Jinx came limping into the room. “I’m sleeping in here tonight, you get my room with a locking window, and door, and swarm of bodyguards… the party won’t end until tomorrow evening.” She announced.

Ban nodded as Rachael stood up and Ginji grabbed her bag. “There’s a cot against the wall, I have a bed, and if need be you can order them to move the couch. Just remind them if I have to limp down there because they won’t help you, someone’s getting a crutch up the ass.” Jinx announced. “Thanks.” Rachael smiled and walked down to the room they would be staying in.

Ginji took the cot, and Rachael and Ban took Jinx’s bed. Rachael was much more at ease with Ban there to hold and protect her, and because of that was able to fall asleep pretty quickly, even with the noise of the party outside the door.

“Hey Ban, buddy?” Ginji asked quietly after a few hours of silence between the two.

“Yeah, Ginji?”

“Does Miss Rachael always whimper like that in her sleep?”

“Every night I’ve spent with her. She’s had a rough ride.”

“Should we wake her up? It sounds like she’s having a nightmare.”

“She’ll be all right.”

“How do you know?”

“She isn’t crying in her sleep, and doesn’t look like she’s in any pain… if I wake her every time she has a nightmare, she’d never sleep again, Ginji.” He sighed sadly while gently rubbing Rachael’s back. Ginji nodded and tried to sleep, but between the sounds of the Derby House, Rachael’s nightmare-caused whimpers, and the fact that the cot was by far the most uncomfortable thing he had ever tried to sleep on, sleep wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

Just as he was about to doze off, Rachael started screaming. He jumped and was actually scared out of bed, hitting the floor with a hard thud, just to be hit in the head as the door was thrown open. Meg came in armed with her shotgun, while Daichi stood beside her wearing Brass Knuckles. Bloody Mary had a pocket knife, and Shino stood with her fists up and snarling guard dog at her side. “It’s okay, Rachael you’re okay, you were dreaming again.” Ban sighed while comforting the terrified woman in his arms. “What happened?” Daichi demanded. “She has nightmares,” Ginji answered, rubbing the side of his head where the door hit. “What did he do to her?” Meg asked softly, mostly thinking out loud. “He didn’t do anything, Ban just takes care of her any time they’re together. He said she has nightmares a lot.” Ginji answered, defending his friend.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean him. I was talking about her ex, the one who left those bruises on her neck and arms.”

“He didn’t do anything nice for her.” Ban answered shortly, and left it at that.