GetBackers Fan Fiction ❯ Wilhelm's Manuscript ❯ Chapter Two: The Hotel of the Goshoku Sisters ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer- Nope, Get Backers still ain't mine, nor do I want it. (I do have a copyright, and it's not all it's cracked up to be.)

Quick Note- Kaneko does not have Evil Eyes. There's something else about her eyes that Ginji notices. Just thought I'd clear that up early. And Kuroko is the reason why you don't watch Ringu and Get Backers back-to-back. I really don't like how this chapter turned out, and it was going to be longer but I decided I had a good cut-off point. Next chapter will be much better. I hope. Once again, my beta reader bailed on me so just my new spellchecker this time. If she's not around when I finish the next chapter I'll find a new beta reader.

Wilhelm's Manuscript

Chapter Two: The Hotel of the Goshoku Sisters

By A Girl Named Goo

There were no lights on in the room. A lone figure was sitting in a padded chair, situated before several monitors overlooking several rooms, almost all of which were empty. As he examined the actions on one monitor he held a phone up to his ear.

"So they're on their way?" a masculine voice with a thick German accent asked.

"Yes, they are. I just got a call from the Negotiator. They will be here any minute," the man in the room said confidently, his voice a hoarse whisper. He suddenly began coughing, and spat out blood into a tissue before waiting for the person on the phone to keep speaking.

"And the girls are ready?" the man on the phone continued.

"Jakob, you know them better than that. They have been entertaining half of our guests since yesterday, and I don't think they suspect a thing."

"That's good. Because you know what will happen if you ruin this for me, Mr. Amaya," the one of the phone warned ominously, forcing the foreign name out awkwardly.

"Yes, sir," Amaya confirmed.

"Very good." With that, the other hung up.

Amaya hung up the phone and grabbed another handful of tissues, doubling over as he coughed into it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So that's it?" Ban asked, looking at the building they were standing in front of. It had an odd design: instead of floors it was square shaped with the lobby, dining area, and baths on the side facing the road and the rooms lining the other three sides. From the top of a hill they had driven over to get to this place Ban had seen that there was a courtyard in the center with a pool.

"Western style," Hevn said. "It looks like a motel from the outside, but I can assure you it's very nice on the inside. I had a contact here check it out for me. And the price was decent, so it won't cost Mr. Hamrich that much."

"Where are all the people? I don't see any other cars," Kadsuki noted, looking at the adjacent parking lot.

Hevn sweat-dropped. "Business has been slow lately."

"Which is why you got such a great deal," Ban finished.

Ginji's stomach growled then. "Ban-chan, can we get some breakfast?"

Ban was still glaring at the empty parking lot as he eased into a parking space. "I'm sure they'll serve us some once we get checked in."

After comfortably parking, they walked over to the front of the Bug to get their luggage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Be careful with that!" a voice shouted from a room adjacent to the lobby, where several crashes could be heard.

"I am careful!" a higher voice shouted back.

"Please, calm down! The guests will be here any minute!" a third voice added.

Everyone in the lobby sweat-dropped as Hevn hesitantly reached over to the bell on the desk, giving it a light tap. As if by magic, all of the noise in the other room disappeared. A door behind the desk slowly opened, and a figure emerged from the other room, turned, and smiled at the others.

"Hello," the woman said cheerfully. She was about middle aged, although still rather pretty. His long hair was dark green and braided down her back, and her eyes were large, brown, and friendly. Instead of wearing any kind of staff uniform she wore blue jeans and a loose green sweater. "Do you have reservations?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Hevn, who was still standing in front of the desk, her hand hovering over the bell. She retracted her hand and nodded slowly. "It should be under 'Hevn-san'," she told her slowly.

The woman nodded and opened a book. "Four rooms? Excellent. The rest of your party is already in the dining area. After breakfast we'll show you all to your rooms." Everyone was watching her dumbly again, and her smile started to waver. "Um...this way, please? And you can leave the bags. My sisters can get them."

As the woman lifted a board that allowed her to walk out from behind the desk, Ban leaned over and hissed in Hevn's ear "did she just say 'the rest of your party'?"

Hevn sped up to follow the woman as she pushed open another door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You told us you didn't hire anyone else!" Ban cried out as he looked around the dining room. Already sitting at the table were Shido, Emishi, and Himiko.

"No, I didn't! I just said I could replace you!" Hevn argued. "This is a difficult job. You have two groups who want to stop you. We can't take any risks."

"Shido-kun!" Ginji cried happily, running over to the table and sitting near said man, who gave him a rather surprised look. "You're going to be working with us?"

"Or so it seems," Shido confirmed, looking around the room at the people who had gathered there.

"Hevn-san said if we did this job we would be rich. And how could I resist when I found out our hotel was being run by lovely ladies?" Emishi added.

"Who we haven't seen since we got here," Himiko added. She was slumped over the table and was looking a little worn out.

"Where are they?" Kadsuki asked. He walked over to the table to sit down, Jubei following him.

"In there," Himiko answered, pointing at the door next to the one they had just walked through, where the woman who had shown them in had apparently disappeared to. Written on the door was "EMPLOYEES ONLY. KEEP OUT". In tiny print below "KEEP OUT" was written "please!".

"Relax, Lady Poison. You're just tired," a chilling voice said from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look for the source of the voice. Mostly concealed by shadows was Akabane.

"Here to stab us in the back again, I see," Ban muttered, his eyes flashing angrily.

Akabane walked over to the table, but didn't sit down. "Midou Ban, you know as long as I am working with you I do my job. Even if I take other jobs in the meantime. Besides, this one sounds like it's going to be fun."

"Hevn!" Ban snapped, turning toward her. She had also sat down at the table, looking like she wished she could sink into the carpet and disappear.

"Ban-chan, sit down," Ginji said cheerfully, motioning to the empty seat across from him, which would put Ban between Emishi and Himiko.

Ban noticed Akabane seemed to be hovering in that area and sat down next to Hevn. "I'm fine here," he muttered, lighting a cigarette (with his old lighter this time).

"No smoking!" a voice called out, surprising him enough to make him drop his cigarette onto the carpet. He quickly picked it up and smashed it out on the table, looking for the source of the voice.

The door to the "employees only" area was open now. From the door came five women, single-file seemingly in order of height, each bringing over two trays of food before standing on the other side of the room, still in a line. The first looked suspiciously like a man, with very short golden-blonde hair and narrow golden eyes, golden stud earrings shining in her ears. Like the other, she was wearing blue jeans, but for a shirt she was wearing a yellow men's dress shirt.

The next was the woman with the green hair who had checked them in. For the first time Ban noticed she had emerald studs in her ears. She smiled at him warmly and took the cigarette from his hand before joining the other in the line.

The next was wearing a white kimono. Her black hair was long, stringy, and somewhat greasy, concealing her eyes but keeping her ears, pierced with silver studs, visible. Her skin was eerily pale, and Ginji couldn't help but cringe away from her as she placed food on the table in front of him.

The fourth had royal blue hair in a functional wedge-cut and dark blue eyes behind wire-frame glasses, her face expressionless as she put down her plates, sapphire earrings in her ears. Unlike the others she was wearing some semblance of a uniform, with neatly pressed light blue pants, a white blouse, and a royal blue vest.

The last, who was carrying plates, glasses, and chopsticks in a delicate balancing act was obviously the youngest, wearing a pink sundress dotted with minute red hearts. She couldn't have been even in high school yet, as she still had a cute, child-like face and diminutive, un-developed frame. Her hair was slightly wavy and shoulder-length, silver in color and kept back with a shiny red headband. The little rubies in her ears sparkled as she put plates in front of everyone, offering on to Akabane only to be politely refused, and then putting down glasses and chopsticks. When she came around the second time Ginji noticed her eyes. They were dark red, strange but not unsettlingly so. But there was something else about them...

The woman with the green hair cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Ginji had been reaching over to get some food, and Kadsuki lowered his hand. As soon as everyone was facing the line of women, the one with the blonde hair spoke.

"We're the Goshoku sisters, and this is our hotel," she said simply. "I'm Kozeniko, the manager. The boss isn't to be disturbed so if you have any problems you bring them to me." She pointed to the green-haired one. "This is Kusakiko. She does all of the cooking and the first aid. If you're hungry or sick, you tell her." She pointed to the pale one with the stringy black hair. "This is Kuroko. She does most of the cleaning. She doesn't talk much, though, but if you make a mess let her handle it." Kozeniko walked down the line behind the blue-haired one. "This is Kikaiko. She gives you all the information you could possibly need. If you have any questions about the hotel or anything in it, you talk to her. If you're lost, just say so and she'll be able to find you." Ban was about to ask how she managed that one, but Kozeniko had already moved on to the last sister. "And this is Kaneko."

Everyone waited for Kozeniko to continue, and when she didn't Ginji asked the question on everyone's minds. "What does Kaneko-chan do?"

It was Kusakiko who answered. She shrugged. "Whatever needs to be done. Waiting on guests, showing them to their rooms, things like that. She's obviously a lot younger than the rest of us, so she can't really do much."

Kaneko waved to Ginji, who waved back, although he had a confused look on her face. Well, at least she was cheerful...

"After breakfast we'll show you to your rooms," Kuzeniko told them. "But right now, you can eat."

Ban leaned over to Hevn as the girls disappeared to the "employees only" room. "Four rooms for nine people?"

"Eight," Hevn corrected. "Akabane-san said he had his own accommodations."

"You couldn't get us all our own rooms?!"

Hevn reached over and began to load her plate with food. She hadn't eaten since mid-day the previous day. "And raise our business expenses? That comes out of our end profit, you know. You didn't set a number for our profit so that's what will happen. I just saved you some money. The more money you all get, the more I get. Understand?"

Ban couldn't argue, so instead he ate.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"One one one one...." Kaneko chanted, skipping and looking at the numbers of the doors in the hall, which were odd-numbered and in descending order. "One!" She stopped suddenly, causing Ban and Ginji to both collide with her. She took a card out of the pocket if her dress, slid it through the slot next to the door, and handed it to Ban. "Room number one. Would you like a tour?"

"Yes!" Ginji cried excitedly at the same time Ban said "No". Although Ginji was completely taken by the petite employee, there was something about her and her sisters Ban just didn't trust.

Kaneko pushed past them, carrying their bags. Apparently she had chosen to take Ginji's word over Ban's. "Room!" she announced, putting the bags in front of a door. "Closet!" She walked over to another door and opened it to reveal a sink, a toilet, and a shower. "Bathroom!" She walked over to a pair of sliding doors and threw them open. "Courtyard and pool!" She walked over to the bed and jumped on it. "Bed!" She sat up and pointed across the room. "Television!" She pointed at the bedside stand. "Phone!" And she finally stood and walked over to the door, closing it. On the back was a map of the layout of the hotel, including a fire escape route. "Map!"

"Wai! Ban-chan, we have a pool!" Ginji cried, running across the room and looking out beyond the sliding doors.

"There's only one bed?" Ban asked, looking at Kaneko and ignoring Ginji.

"Um....hold on," Kaneko said, walking over to what looked like a solid wall. "There should be...um...somewhere....here!" She suddenly kicked the wall. It fell over to reveal a bed. She pulled down the metal bar that supported the bottom, smoothed out the dusty covers half-heartedly, then threw herself onto it. "It works! Yay!"

Ginji walked over to the bed and also threw himself onto it. "Ban-chan, I want this one!"

Ban rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. He just wanted Kaneko out of the room.

"I've gotta go now," Kaneko said, standing up. "Bai bai, Midou-san! See you later, Ginji-kun!"

"See you, Kaneko-chan!" Ginji shouted back, still "testing" the bed by bouncing up and down on it.

And with that she was gone.

"Ne, Ban-chan, she's so cute!" Ginji announced.

Ban looked at the doorway. "There's something weird about her. About all of the sisters."

Ginji suddenly looked serious, looking down at the floor. "I know," he said. "But she's so nice. This place is so nice."

Ban sighed and sat on his own bed. "It is. Just watch out, all right? Tomorrow we're going down to the bay to see about renting some equipment to look for the manuscript."

"All right. But can we go in the pool first?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki sat down on the bed in the room they had just received a tour of. Jubei was standing near the door, and Kozeniko was blocking the doorway, leaning against it casually. "So, do you need anything else?"

"You look familiar," Kadsuki told her. That had been bothering him since he had first seen her. "Are you sure you're a girl?"

"I'm as much a girl as you are a guy."

"Touché," Kadsuki sighed. He thought a bit harder. He'd never heard of the Goshoku Sisters, but he had heard of... "Do you know the Sanshoku Sisters?"

Kozeniko glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Three girls. The Sanshoku Sisters. Queen Bee, the Miracle Worker, and Gold Coins."

Kozeniko narrowed her eyes further. "What do you know about them?"

Kadsuki knew he had struck a nerve. "In Mugenjyou, long ago before I joined the Volts and had my own gang, there was a section called Jyoukamachi on the fringes of the lowest level. Jyoukamachi was mostly a sanctuary for women and children, and it was protected by the Sanshoku Sisters."

Kozeniko sighed. "I know about that place. It disappeared, and everyone there who didn't disappear with it had to move to the lower level or leave."

"And the Sanshoku Sisters?" Jubei asked, knowing where this line of questioning was going.

"They disappeared," Kozeniko said flatly. "If we are done discussing history and you don't need anything, I'll be going now." She turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

"Just what I thought," Kadsuki said with a smile. "Three of those girls are the Sanshoku Sisters. I don't know where the other two came from."

"Why is that so important?" Jubei asked.

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Apparently not."

"Sanshoku-sensei, the middle sister. The Miracle Worker. She was a doctor and an herbologist. She earned her title after making scars on a severely burned little girl disappear. I think Kusakiko is that sister."

Jubei sighed and looked at the floor. "I know where this is going."

"It couldn't hurt to see what she can do," Kadsuki told him.

Jubei shook his head. "You heard Kozeniko-san. They aren't the Sanshoku Sisters anymore. I don't think they want us to know who they are."

"I just wonder how they ended up working here..." Kadsuki mused, staring at the closed door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't think I want to watch those two," Kozeniko muttered, looking at Kusakiko, who had just come back from showing Hevn and Himiko to their rooms. The were currently in a room full of monitors, similar to the ones in the room of their boss.

"Why not? I like them," Kusakiko said idly, watering some plants she had growing in a box under a sunlamp. "You got the lovers. You're very fortunate."

"Stop being such a romantic. You're old enough now to know love is not the answer to everything," Kozeniko muttered. The door to the room opened, and Kikaiko walked in, having just checked on Shido and Emishi, who she was assigned to watch.

"They're very interesting," Kikaiko reported flatly, pushing up her glasses.

"And they figured out who we are," Kozeniko told them. "They know we were once the Sanshoku."

Kusakiko dropped her watering can. "How?" she asked softly.

"They're from Mugenjyou."

The door opened once more, and Kaneko walked in. The conversation immediately ceased. Kaneko and Kuroko didn't know about Mugenjyou or the Sanshoku, and they never would if the others had any say in the matter.

"Ginji-kun is fun!" Kaneko announced cheerfully. "Can I keep him? Please?"

"Focus," Kozeniko snapped. She was a temperamental person by nature, but the fear of having her past discovered was making her even more irritable.

"Amaya-san won't be pleased when he finds out," Kusakiko whispered into Kozeniko's ear. Then she said, louder, "I think I will go and offer my services to the pair in room two."

"Why?" Kaneko asked, cocking her head to the side.

Kusakiko smiled down at her. "One of them is blind, and I think I can help."

"Don't expect any miracles," Kuzeniko warned. Then she whispered into her ear "remember what happened last time you bought into your own hype."

Kusakiko nodded, walked across the room to where her plants were growing, and removed something from the cabinet. "I'll check on the ladies in three while I am out. Where is Kuroko, by the way?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neither one moved. Kuroko stood on one side of the dining room, eyes hidden, arms drawn in close to her, not speaking. Akabane had an amused smile on his face and he looked at her from beneath his hat. Were they engaged in some sort of contest? Or did the young woman not want to move unless he did?

"You are very patient," he observed. When she nodded, he continued to speak. "When will you move?"

"I am supposed to serve you," she said quietly. "Even if you do not have a room, you are here."

"Why do you have to serve me?"

"Because my boss said I have to."

"Your boss?"

"My employer."

"Where is your employer?"

"He cannot be disturbed."

Akabane nodded. Although his smile had not faded, he was in no mood to talk in circles with this woman. "Good day. I will be seeing you again," he said to her, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you get a load of that girl who has been serving us? I mean, talk about ice," Emishi prattled on. He was on the fold-out bed, having been kicked off the other by Shido the previous evening when they arrived. "What do ya think it takes to get her to smile? I'll bet ya half the money I make on this job that I can make her smile."

"No," Shido said simply. He was standing in the entrance of the courtyard, stroking a bird that had landed on his hand.

Emishi sat up. "Because you know I can do it, eh, Shido-kun?"

"No. Because I don't like taking advantage of the weak-minded."

Emishi finally stood up and walked over to him. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

Shido released the bird and closed the doors. "It means you're not funny. It would be an easy win. And I really don't want your money."

Emishi pretended to cry. "That hurts me, Shido-kun!"

Shido slid a panel on the door away to reveal a small window. Ginji, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, had just cannon-balled into the pool and was now swimming eagerly. Ban, clad in similar attire, was easing his way in. Or he was before Ginji grabbed his ankle and pulled him off the ladder.

"It's true," Shido told him simply.

"I always used to be able to make her smile," he muttered. "What happened to her, anyway? Didn't she used to have a personality?"

Shido closed the window and looked at Emishi. "Things change. People change. These are obviously very different Sisters than the ones we knew from Jyoukamachi."

"They're weird now, though. Cold. Mean. Even Kusakiko-chan. She used to be so nice."

"This whole place is odd," Shido observed, sitting on the bed. "Did you notice how many of those 'employees only' doors there are? Most hotels only have one for the kitchen, one for the manager's office, and one for the employee lounge. It seems like their are more 'employees only' doors in this place than there are rooms open to guests."

"I can explain that," a soft voice said. Emishi turned around quickly as Shido glared in the doorway. Kikaiko was standing in the doorway, looking oddly robotic with her stiff posture and expressionless face. "I apologized if I startled you. I did knock. You must not have heard me."

"What's the deal with the doors?" Emishi asked, ignoring her apology.

Kikaiko readjusted her glasses. "We all live here. We all have our own rooms. Our boss also has his own room and office. Then there is our break room and the kitchen."

"Where is your boss, anyway?" Emishi pressed. "Doesn't he know you're supposed to greet your guests?"

Kikaiko's expression almost faltered at that statement. "If you don't need anything, I will be going," she said at last, shutting the door behind her.

"Yup. This place is definitely screwy," Emishi assessed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why should you get that bed? I am exhausted! I didn't get any sleep last night because I had to check out this weird place you found for us to stay in, and before that I was riding my motorcycle back and forth for a full day!" Himiko argued.

"I had to ride in a car with Midou Ban and Amano Ginji! And besides, my back hurts," Hevn shot back, grabbing her back for effect.

"Maybe if your things weren't so big-"

"Um...excuse me?" a voice asked meekly from the doorway. The bickering women turned to glare at the source of the voice. "Is....is there a problem?"

"Are there any more rooms available? I'll pay. Extra," Himiko asked.

Kusakiko shook her head. "No, I don't believe so. They are all spoken for. Perhaps you should try playing a game to see who gets the bed."

Himiko and Hevn turned to face each other, before chanting in unison "Rock paper scissors shoot!" Hevn threw down rock, and Himiko threw down paper.

"I win," Himiko said simply, walking over to the bed and throwing herself onto it.

"Best two out of three!" Hevn demanded.

"You lost. Now let me sleep," Himiko told her, voice muffled by the pillow.

Kusakiko looked over at the other bed. "I suppose I could change the bedding, if you would like..."

"Do what you want. I'm going into the pool."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Watch out, Ban-chan!" Ginji shouted in warning, before running over to the edge of the pool and executing a perfect cannonball. There was a sign that said "no running", but no one was around to enforce it.

Ban wiped the water from his eyes and looked in the clear water, trying to find his sunglasses. Finally locating them, he down in, retrieved them, and replaced them. "I told you to stop doing that, Ginji," he muttered, but not loud enough for Ginji to hear. He was rather enjoying watching his partner having such a good time, even if he got a bit over-excited.

"Can we stay here again when we're not working?" Ginji asked. He as floating on his back now.

"I don't...don't...whoa...." Ban lost his train of thought.

"'Whoa'?" Ginji asked, opening his eyes and standing up again. He noticed what had caught Ban's attention: Hevn, in a very tiny black string bikini.

"Mind if I join you boys?" Hevn asked. She received a pair of dumb nods in reply, and slid into the cold water. The fact that Ginji and Ban were already in cold water didn't seem to be helping.

They probably would have been frozen in the pool all day if a shrill voice hadn't screamed "LOOK OUT!". Everyone just barely got out of the way in time for a pink flash to land in the pool with an unbelievable splash. When the pink streak resurfaced, Ban almost left right then: it was Kaneko, wearing a hot pink one-piece.

"Don't you have work you should be doing?" Ban asked her, scooping up his sunglasses before they could sink to the bottom of the pool. The size of that splash in relation to the petite girl and the amount of momentum she had was disturbing him, and he still didn't trust her.

"I am working. I'm supposed to make sure you are comfortable," Kaneko explained. She proceeded to dogpaddle over to Ginji.

Ban was going to make a comment about not being comfortable when she was around, but she and Ginji were already engaged in a splashing contest. Perhaps his distrust of her was unfounded. But he wasn't going to let his guard down, just in case.

"I think she likes him," Hevn said to Ban. He hadn't even notice her approach as he watched Kaneko try to run from Ginji in a game of water tag.

Ban sighed. "I don't trust her. Or her sisters."

Hevn shrugged. "Kusakiko has been serving us. They do have an odd habit of appearing at times that are far too convenient."

"How old do you think she is, anyway? She looks young enough to be one of the older ones' daughter."

"Kusakiko says she's fifteen. I asked after she ran into me in the hall. You're right about there being something odd about her. When she landed on top of me she weighed at least twice as much as she looks."

Kaneko was chasing Ginji around the parameter of the pool now. Ban readjusted his glasses. "That's what I thought. The splash she made when she landed in the pool was much too big." He looked over at Hevn now. "Leave it to you to find us a hotel run by a group of weird, untrustworthy sisters and an invisible boss."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"They look like they're having a good time," Kadsuki observed from his place at the window to the courtyard.

"You should join them," Jubei offered. "We'll probably be a while here."

"Oh, not long," Kusakiko reassured. "In fact, I'm just about finished. Remember: that's not a cure, but it should prevent any further nerve damage and buy you some time until you do find one." She put the lid on the jar of sweet-smelling ointment that was next to her on the bed and stood, leaving Jubei face-down and topless on the covers. "Give that about an hour and then go down into the baths to get off the excess before it hardens on. That is usually not pleasant."

"Thank you," Kadsuki told her sincerely. "I do have one question, though, Goshoku-sensei, if it's not too much to ask..."

"Ask me anything. And please, call me Kusakiko. I've never liked being called 'sensei'. Too stuffy."

Kadsuki nodded. "Kusakiko-san, why did you leave Mugenjyou?"

Kusakiko dropped the jar. She paused for a long time, before kneeling down and picking it up. "Please don't tell any of the others I talked to you about this. Kuroko and Kaneko aren't supposed to know about Mugenjyou, and Kozeniko and Kikaiko want to forget about it."

"So you were the doctor at Jyoukamachi," Jubei said, mostly to himself. "And the others..."

Kusakiko sat in a chair near the door. "That was long ago. Before the Raitei left...Jyoukamachi was his idea, you know. A whole section of the lower portion just for women and children, and also for the sick and disabled. Kozeniko- my real sister- and I came just after it was established. It was her idea to protect it. She said with my medical training I'd be an invaluable asset. We originally met Kikaiko as a patient, but then she started helping Kozeniko, and we got our new names and became the Sanshoku sisters. And when the Raitei left....it just disappeared. It was like Jyoukamachi never existed. People we cared about were gone...it was too much. And we knew we couldn't stay in Mugenjyou. It was time for us to move on. And that's when we met our boss. He told us he would employ us at his hotel if I would be his personal doctor, and we ended up getting trapped here."

"Trapped?" Kadsuki repeated, staring at the woman intently.

Kusakiko shifted the jar of ointment in her hands. "He wasn't so bad until he got into debt. He's still working it off. And then Kuroko and Kaneko came...they weren't like us. But we couldn't refuse them. They were lost souls, just like Kozeniko and I were when we first found our way into Mugenjyou. And we didn't have a choice." Kusakiko suddenly looked up at Kadsuki, tears in her eyes. "I've said too much. Just listen to me: do as we say. Follow all of the rules, no matter what. Stay out of the rooms that are for employees only. And be careful of what you say or do. There's always someone watching or listening."

Kusakiko stood and left the room, wiping away the tears and walking all the way down the hall. She pushed a door open, a was suddenly overwhelmed by the bitter scent of medicine and antiseptic. The room was cold, sterile, and very dark. "Amaya-san, I've done it."

The sound of wet wheezing was heard before a figure in front of a wall of monitors spoke. "So I saw."

"I didn't want to."

"So you've told me."

Amaya began to cough hard, dropping the oxygen mask he had been holding to his mouth and grabbing some tissues. Kusakiko ran to his side, picking up the mask and putting it over his face, although his coughing was splattering blood inside of it.

"Is it time..." he started, before coughing again. "Time for my medicine?"

Kusakiko looked at her watch. There were still three hours to go before he needed to take his medication, but instead of telling him so she said, simply, "yes, it is."

End of Chapter Two

Notes on Jyoukamachi:

- Name means "Castle Town" or "Town Outside the Castle".

- Actually a part of the lower level.

- Disappeared when the Raitei/Ginji left because it was his idea, and Babylon City didn't want any trace of it left.

- The people disappeared because they weren't real.

- Goo didn't want to include it or any Mugenjyou connection in this fic, but decided this fic needed the cliché former Mugenjyou residents who are pissed at Ginji or people who influenced Ginji.

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "Employees Only! The Secrets of the Goshoku Sisters and Amaya Hajime". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.