I Do Not Own Black Lagoon or Percy Jackson

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A stranger had come to Roanapur.

This was not a new event in the city. Criminals the world of came to the city to do business, make a reputation, or simply improve their standing. Many of these strangers never left the city. Roanapur was home to professional killers. Many in the city killed for a living, whether as assassins for hire, hitmen/enforcers for the various criminal organizations, mercenaries for hire, and others. Almost everyone was armed in some way or another.

This was a city where the wrong word to the wrong person would see you bleeding out in the gutter.

What made this stranger unique, was the fact that hardly anyone took notice of him. Considering the nature of the city, any newcomers were easily identified.

The man had black, salt and pepper hair, and blue eyes. Despite his middle-aged appearance, he was athletically built. With his olive skin tone, and regal features, he was a handsome looking man.

And he was not mortal.

He was Hermes, Messenger of the Gods. He was also the God of Thieves, Trade, Diplomacy, Travel, Language, Persuasion, and Cunning, among other things. Frankly, this city was virtually a shrine to him, and he was taking the time to enjoy the city while he could.

It may not be his primary reason for being here, but considering how rarely he got time off, he figured he'd better take the opportunity while it presented itself.

Eventually, he arrived at his destination, a building with a sign that marked it as Lagoon Company Traders.

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Rokuro 'Rock' Okajima was sitting at the table in the Lagoon Company offices going over the numbers to insure everything was in order. He was alone at the moment. Dutch and Benny were both done at the dock working on the boat, and, it still being relatively early, Revy had yet to show, and was probably still asleep.

He was disturbed by the door opening. He was just about to greet whomever had walked in, and inquire what business they had, when he looked up and saw the last person he expected to see.

"Father?" he said, standing up, and then bowing at the waist. Hermes may be his father, but it was always wise to respect the gods, especially the Olympians.

"Geeze, stand up will ya," Hermes said good naturedly. "You know I don't stand on all that pompous ceremony unless I'm ticked off."

Rock did so, and was relieved to see a smile on his father's face. "What brings you here?" he asked out of curiosity. "I mean, I didn't think you traveled further west than Japan."

"Well it took some time for me to learn the news about your new job, and even more time to build up a block of free time, but I wanted to come congratulate you," Hermes explained. "I mean, I was always so concerned about your need to prove yourself to your mother and step-father, especially when you got that job at Ass-hi or whatever the place was called. But now," he walked over and placed his hand on Rock's shoulders. "Now you're following in my footsteps, you're finally living up to your heritage. And more importantly, this life suits you better."

"It's more dangerous," Rock pointed out.

Hermes waved him off. "You're a demi-god Rokuro, danger's a fact of life for you. But I'd rather you had a short life than a long existence, and that's all you would have had if you stayed at that corporation." He gave Rock a knowing look. "You're a son of Hermes, and that means an average life would suck the life out of you." With a grin he added, "Though you might have still had a life if you had shacked up with that daughter of Ares that drifted through a while ago."

"Daughter of Ares?" Rock asked. After a moment of thought he asked, "You mean the maid?"

Hermes snorted. "Trust me, despite her preferred dress and mild manner, Rosarita is a daughter of Ares through and through. Of course that daughter of Athena leading the Russians is also fairly attractive, and much more stable that the mortal you work with, relatively speaking anyways."

"Hold up, you mean Balalaika's a daughter of Athena?!" he asked.

Hermes nodded. "Athena actually favors her, even if she is more inclined to warlike pursuits than most of her children. Actually I think that's why Athena favors her, the fact that she's unique, even amongst her children. But I'm not here to talk about other gods children, I have a gift for you."

The former businessman sighed. "Can you at least tell me if there are any other demi-gods in Roanapur?"

"One other," Hermes said, as he began patting his pockets, looking for something. "A daughter of Aphrodite called Sawyer, I'll admit I don't know much about her, Aphrodite's rather protective of that one. Went on a rampage a few years ago after something happened to her, never did get the details. Demeter was in the middle of another fall freak-out, the worst in centuries, kept me running between Olympus and the Underworld on top of my regular duties. Zeus even told me to give her priority she was so annoying. Ah ha," he pulled a package out of his pocket. Handing the box to Rock, he said, "There you go, a gift to go with your new job."

Rock opened the box, and bulled out a balisong knife, also known as a butterfly knife.

"I heard about your avoidance of guns," Hermes explained. "And to be frank, it makes sense in your particular role. That and I know you can use a knife."

As Rock was examining the blade, he commented, "This is mortal steel, not celestial bronze."

"Hephaestus still made it," Hermes commented. "Besides, not many monsters running about in these parts of the world. I figured mortal steel would be more useful than celestial bronze." He looked down at his watch, "And I'm afraid I'm out of time. I've got a council meeting to get to, then a list of deliveries to make that'll take me who knows how long." With a smile he said, "Find a girl," before he vanished, using his godly speed to disappear rather than flash out, leaving his son alone.

Looking down at the gift from his father, Rock smiled and pocketed the knife, before returning to his work. Like his father, he had a lot to get through. Luckily, it wouldn't take near as long as his father's job would.

As he resumed his task, he wondered if Balalaika and Sawyer knew he was a demi-god. It was a bit of a shock to him that both of them were demigods as well after all.

Maybe he'd bring it up next time he saw either one.

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I hope you enjoyed. Please Review, Check Out the Challenges in My Forums (Link on Profile), and the Stories I have Up for Adoption Under the Title: Please Adopt Me!

I have no plans to continue this story, it is a One-Shot. That said, there's a list of my profile matching the Olympians with Characters of Black Lagoon. If you like this story, you should check it out. Also, Demeter's Fall Freak-Out refers to when Persephone, Demeter's daughter, goes to the underworld to spend half-a-year with her husband. Hades.