Ban sat lazily on the park bench watching Ginji kick a ball around with some kids he　had met all of 5 minutes before.  The kids loved him already.  He took a long drag on the cigarette in his hand and inhaled deeply to allow the nicotine rush to completely occupy his mind.  He didn’t want to think about what he might have just got them into.  But sooner or later Ginji would ask and he would have to answer.  Ban considered telling Ginji not to get involved, but he knew Ginji would never allow that.  He also considered calling Hevn and telling her he had changed his mind.  Let the Monkey Trainer do it.  Much less complicated.  Let them, whoever they were, have the diary.  What did he care anyway?  That stuff had nothing to do with him.  He had left that behind… Though he knew he never could.  It was his fate.  His curse.  His family.  Ban sighed and raised the cigarette to his lips again.  Wasn’t he not supposed to be thinking right now?  Ban watched Ginji kick the ball straight past a boy he supposed was playing goalie.  Who’d have thought the clutz wasn’t bad at football.  Ban watched his friend wave goodbyes to his new found companions as he jogged over to where Ban was sitting.

“You should have played!  It was fun!” he panted breathlessly, taking a seat on the bench.  Ban did not answer.  Ginji knew full well Ban would never play like that.  Or maybe he didn’t.  The idiot always garnered hope for even the worst of lost causes.  Ginji leaned back and looked up at the sky, sighing thoughtfully.

“You should just ask.” Ban said flatly, staring intently at the cigarette in his hand.

Ginji turned his eyes towards his friend and smiled gently.

  “I thought you might just tell me, but that’s good enough.”  Ban turned his face the other way.  “So why did we take the job?” Ginji asked quietly.

  “That book is a diary which belonged to an ancestor of mine,” Ban answered.  He paused, considering how much he should tell his best friend.

  “So it belongs to you…and your…family…?” Ginji stumbled over the words, unsure what Ban’s reaction would be.

  “Not really.”  Ban gave no indication of how he felt.  “Until about 40 years ago it was thought to have been destroyed.  And I saw it a while back in that museum.  My grandmother didn’t seem interested in acquiring it though…Which is strange now I think about it…” 

  “Maybe you should ask her?” Ginji suggested cheerfully.  Ban started at the suggestion, turning angrily towards Ginji.

  “No!  I’m not talking to her…” Ginji’s face fell.  He looked awkwardly at his hands.

  “S…sorry, Ban-chan…” he mumbled. 

  “I…didn’t… mean to shout at you,” Ban ground out.  “I just meant that might not be a good idea.”  He sighed.  Ban hated this kind of thing.  Hated it when Ginji felt he needed to tiptoe around him for fear of upsetting him.  It wasn’t like Ban was going to leave Ginji just because he might say something he didn’t like.  And Ban hated that he couldn’t tell his best friend that. 

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ban said.  “Anyway, it’s not so much about the diary as the people who want it.”  Ginji looked at him, confused.

  “Well, many people believe that the book contains spells and stuff that are powerful,” Ban explained.  Ginji’s eyes lit up in understanding.

  “Ah!  Like what that man said about people trying to steal it from the museum.”

  “Yeah.  But the thing is, I heard the diary is indecipherable.”

  “Eh?  Then why do people try and steal it?”

  “There’s a story about a guy called Don Ojori who had the book in the 19^th century.  He was said to have decoded the diary and used its power.”

  “Then people can read it.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Maybe some of the old families can.  Like those who still use magic or whatever.”

  “Oh.  So you think maybe those men were…from one of those families?”

  “Yeah…”  Ban sat thoughtfully for a moment.

  “They were looking at you weird.”  Ginji hadn’t say anything, but the way they looked at Ban was what made Ginji feel most uneasy about the job.  Ginji noticed Ban frown and knew there was more to this than he was saying.

   “I just don’t know why any of them would go after it,” he said finally.  “If they are from one of the families then they should know that it wouldn’t be a good idea to try and use its power.”  Ginji decided it best to let the former matter alone seeing as Ban had completely ignored his previous statement.

  “Is it dangerous then?” he asked instead.  Ban shrugged and threw his spent cigarette to the ground.

  “People say it’s unlucky to have the book.  Everyone who has ever kept the book for a while has died.”  He smirked.  “Horribly.  But the old hag once told me that there was stuff in there you shouldn’t do.” 

  “Then we shouldn’t give the book to them?”

  “No.”  Ban paused for a moment and turned to his partner. “Ginji, I don’t think they mean us to find it anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If they…know who I am they will know I won’t give them the book.”

  “Then why hire us?” Ginji asked, getting even more confused.  Ban smiled ruefully.

  “To keep us in check.  Because they know I’ll try and find it.  I suppose there are lots of reasons.”

  “Oh.”  Ginji thought for a moment before an idea hit him.  “Then we should find it first anyway!”  Ban looked at him curiously.  “But we shouldn’t keep it long,” Ginji added, “I don’t want us to die.  Horribly.”  Ban had to laugh at that. 

  “No,” he allowed, “Neither would I.”  He leaned back, glad that was over.  Although he hadn’t told Ginji everything that would be enough for now.  Now he just had to work out where they should start.  But maybe not today.  Looking over at his partner, Ban saw that Ginji was sitting with his eyes half closed, smiling slightly.  It really was a nice day.  Ban turned his head to the sky.  Where there had been clouds earlier, there was now nothing but a brilliant blue canvas.  It was odd, Ban thought, that even when things felt so right there was something nagging at the corners of his mind, like even his own brain contrived against him ever being contented. 

“It really got hot suddenly, didn’t it Ban-chan?”  Ban froze.  The feeling that a second before had been just a shadow of discomfort churned suddenly into something more solid.  Something was strange, or wrong, but he couldn’t place it. 

“Ban-chan?” Ginji repeated.  Ginji was looking at his partner now, a little concerned.  It was like he had heard this before.  Like Deja-vous but stronger.  It unsettled him.  Ban tried to think what it could be, but his gut just told him to leave the park now.  It ached so badly it hurt.  Not one to ignore his instincts, Ban stood up abruptly. 

“Let’s get out of here, Ginji.”  His tone was final.

“Ban-chan…”  There was a cry behind them.  One of the boys Ginji had been playing with earlier was calling him. 

“Ah…Hang on a minute, Ban-chan,” Ginji said, sprinting off back towards the boys.  Ban cursed and was just going to go after him when the feeling hit him again.  He looked around, feeling oddly panicked.  He could see nothing out of the ordinary; some people sitting on the grass talking, a couple walking leisurely along the path, another group of children chasing after each other.  And then there was Ginji, smiling at the boys he had befriended, waving and running off into the small clump of trees a few metres away.  The feeling grew stronger as Ginji ran further from him.  Breath clenched in his chest, heart beating madly, Ban could only watch in absolute fear of something completely unknown as Ginji disappeared into the trees.

***

As soon as he had passed between the first trees, Ginji felt the temperature drop and the light lessen even though the trees were not particularly dense.  It was easy to make his way through the trees though he had no idea where he should look.  So he just walked in a straight line as best he could, looking cautiously around for the ball.  So focused was Ginji on the area around him that he didn’t notice the ball lay right in his path and, flapping his arms frantically, tripped on it landing solidly on his back. 

“Owww…” Ginji sat up and rubbed his back tenderly, looking for the cause of his fall.  The ball sat a few feet in front of him.  Ginji cursed his own stupidity, but at least he had found the ball.  All he had to do now was take it back to the boys then he could go meet up with Ban again.  Ban.  Now that he thought about it, Ban had started acting really strangely just before the boys had called him over.  He would have to ask Ban what was wrong.  He seemed so intent on leaving all of a sudden, almost like he was scared.  Though Ginji knew Ban was afraid of very few things.  He reached out and picked up the ball then pushed himself up off the ground.  He thought he should hurry back to Ban.

Then he heard something strange.  It was almost inaudible amongst the sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind and the people talking and children playing in the distance.  Ginji thought it strange, here in the small patch of trees, to hear the soft ringing of a bell.  He followed the sound, getting louder with every step, until he saw a girl of maybe 6 or 7 standing amongst the trees looking around curiously.  She held a small bell in her hand.  Sensing someone watching her, the girl stopped and looked in Ginji’s direction. 

“Is anyone there?” she called a little fearfully.  Not wanting to scare the child, Ginji moved a little closer to the girl so she could see him better and waved, ball tucked firmly under his arm.  He smiled as kindly as he could.

“Ah…hello.  It’s only…um…me,” he called back, but then realised that the girl didn’t know who “me” was.

“Are you lost?” he asked.  The girl looked at him oddly, then smiled and began walking over to him.

“No, I’m not,” the girl replied brightly.  She held the bell up in front of Ginji’s face.  “Do you like my bell?” she asked. 

“It’s very pretty,” Ginji said, laughing slightly.  “But what are you…”

“Here,” the girl interrupted, shoving the bell into Ginji’s free hand.  “It’s for you!”

“For me?” Ginji asked, looking closely at the bell, then back up at the girl.  “Why?” The girl giggled.

“Because I like you!” she replied, then ran off further into the trees.  Ginji stood stunned for a moment before he thought to run after the girl, just in case she was lost, but he quickly came out the other side of the wooded area and back into the park.  He couldn’t see the girl anywhere.  Slightly unsettled, Ginji turned back and walked slowly the way he had come.  He looked down at the bell on his hand.  Its metal looked old and beaten, but felt warm in his hand and its ring as he walked was soft and not unpleasant.  Ginji wondered if perhaps he should try harder to find its former owner.  But then he smiled.  If she wanted it back very badly she would surely find him; that was his job after all.