The Lagoon were sitting outside Balalaika's office, almost shitting themselves, liking or not they took Balalaika's nephew as hostage, punched him in the face and shoot at him, he got even when he knocked out Revy but still this is the first time they heard of any family member from the head of Hotel Moscow and by the looks one who was very loved, this fact alone was enough to make Dutch realize that the debt Balalaika have with him was meaningless and that she could end his life and the lives of his crew right there and not lose a mere second of sleep over that, but to his Luck, said nephew looked like a cool dude and sounded like he had bonded with him and his crew, if not he wouldn't helped the with the copter situation.
"damn it!", Revy said screeching her temple with the tip of her fingers, feeling as the spot where she was1 punched slowly started to get swollen, "that guy hit like a hammer, I still felling my fucking brain shaking on my skull".
"he's also one hell of a shooter", Dutch chimed in smoking the last cigarette of his sixth pack after throwing the butt of his predecessor together with his fallen brothers, "I only saw someone shoot down a copter like that once before".
"yeah, shit if we get out this alive we should hire him", completed Benny trying to light up the mood while mentally making his will, the prognostics of the situation were bad to say the least and the fact they got dragged to the headquarters of the syndicate made very clear that there's a high chance that their next stop would be the meat processing plant of the cleaners.
Meanwhile inside the office Balalaika was finishing takin Rokuro's statement about everything that happened that day, he was happy he was able to see his aunt Sofiya again, she was as beautiful and powerful as he remembered, he also was more than happy to know her right arm and second in command, a bear of a man with a stoic expression and a cool as fuck battle scar in the face, he was feeling like a little kid who managed to meet his heroes in person, but he also had already figured out what was his aunt occupation and her position so he was nervous about what could be his next step, since, well, he stepped on her world per say and he decided to stay, it wasn't like he could simply return with his boss back to japan, although it was fun to see him shitting himself after learning that the employer he sent as a disposable middle man not only was the nephew of the woman blackmailing him, but also that he was a sniper who shoot down a copter with a anti thank riffle.
Balalaika on the other hand was happy as can be, he always saw Rokuro as the son she never had and never would be able to have due previous injuries, she knew he was especial since they first met when he was nothing more than a toddler and was curious about the shiny things on her jacket and his eyes gloomed with true curiosity about what they were, she saw on him so much potential and he didn't disappointed her in any aspect, he was dedicated, focused, with sharp eyes and a sharp mind, at the age of ten she tough him how to shoot, just like her grandpa had taugh her and to her delightful surprise he picked up pretty quickly and was already a marksman in less than a year, at the age on twelve, after she heard about him being bullied she tough him how to fight to hold his ground and again to her surprise he had a natural talent to fight, nothing like a professional, but sure better than most of a lot of older kids, goddamn it, one of the happiest memories she had was when her foolish older sister scolded her after Rokuro had broken the nose and three teeth of a fourteen years old bully who tried to humiliate him at school, she was smiling ear to ear while her sister explained in gruesome details how bad the other kid was and how is a miracle the her nephew wasn't expelled she didn't care, she was overjoyed and overflowing with proud, so was his older brother Ryuji, if at least her foolish older sister could see all the potential Rokuro have, just like she and his brother saw. The last time she saw Rokuro was almost a decade ago, not too long after her wounds had healed and just a feel months after her discharge, she was in Japan by recommendation of her own man, since her mind always were at easy in that island, especially when she was with her family, but was hard to her to find peace after hitting the rock bottom, her sister was scoffing and rolling her eyes at her, probably that asshole she married was having way too much influence on her, Ryuji was trying desperately to chear her up, but it was hard to him to look at her, she couldn't blame him, her scars had taken a toll on her appearance, but Rokuro, he was the one who was trying the hardest, he was the one who dragged her out of her room, made her shower, made her eat, every time she tried to refuse to do anything he was there, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her out of her cesspit of self-pity and sadness, every single day he was there as soon as he was out of school, talking to her, listening her and trying as hard as he could to make her a little less miserable, heck, he even slept on the floor besides her and hold her hand when she started to have nightmares about the war, Ryuji was proud as fuck of his little bro, his parents on the other hand were disappointed in him for being such a "aunt's little boy", seriously, in that dark times the only moment when Balalaika's heart wasn't filled with sadness, where either when Rokuro was at her side telling her about school and the fell friends he had or with rage against her sister and her asshole husband, they were crushing the soul of a truly talented and kind boy just so he could be something he never was, and yet Rokuro always put up with that bullshit without even flinching, maybe because he didn't wanted to show weakness in front of her or maybe he was just too tired and his tears had already dried, but one thing was sure, during those weeks she spent in Japan Rokuro was the hero she needed to keep herself from doing anything too stupid, but life is unpredictable, from across the sea she received the news of one of her man being murdered by a thug in the streets, that filled her with rage, she bought a ticket back to Russia and was determined to do something, but before she returned home she gave Rokuro a gift, an e-mail address with a password, a mean to then to continue to speak with each other, sure the frequency they spoke during the next decade had his ups and downs since both of them were busy with their lives, but they never stopped talking with each other and at times their e-mails were what kept both of them going on.
All the time they stayed inside that room they spoke in Russian, since they couldn't risk let the Lagoon crew heard their conversation through the door.
"so Rokuro, how is my sister going?", Balalaika asks while opening a bottle of a very expensive looking vodka, filling up three cups and giving one of the to Rokuro.
He thanked and grabs one of the cups, takes a sip and then answer the question, "I don't know, it's been eight years since the last time I spoke with her"
"wait, what?!", Balalaika's almost spit her drink when she heard this, sure, she knew that at some point he would cut contact with his parents, but she didn't expect it to be so soon, "how that happened?".
"well Miss Balalaika…", he was rapidly cut Balalaika, "please Rokuro, if you are worried about your identity you can relax, I have no secrets with my man, they all know you are my nephew"
"well aunt Sofiya, I was kicked out of the house after failing the entrance exam from the local college, after that I was disowned and if wasn't for Ryuji I would had been homeless too"
"let-me guess, your father's idea?", Balalaika had never liked the man her sister married, to her him was a wannabe tough guy and a coward, "I should had killed him when I had the chance", she tough to herself.
"truth be told I broke his jaw after he called me a failure, so I believe we are even", said Rokuro taking another sip of his vodka and seeing the Sargent choking on his drink, "are you okay Sargent…"
"Boris, nice to meet you boy", answered the bear while standing a hand to Rokuro, "the honor is mine", said Rokuro shaking the Sargent's hand.
"so my sister still married to that idiot, well can't say I'm surprised, she always was too weak and foolish, in any case how's Ryuji's going? Last time I heard he had move out of Japan".
"oh yeah, he is Berlin now, working at the Japanese Embassy, he also got married two years ago and is about to be a father, if i remember correctly his wife is due to give birth this winter, and it's a boy".
"seriously?!", Balalaika was proud of him, she felt like a proud mom hearing about his kids' success, "seriously, he is also due to a promotion and will be moving to Montreal next year, I couldn't be more proud of that dude".
Boris was watching the scene like a hawk while the minutes became hours and the two of them were catching up, he was happy to see his Captain happy, clearly that boy had good effect on her and the fact that he was seeing Balalaika genuinely smiling for the first time in decades was making him wish that boy could stay forever there, but he knew that this decision wasn't up to him and after both Rokuro and Balalaika had enough time to catch up, she makes him an offer.
"Rokuro, at the moment I have a free spot here at Hotel Moscow, most specifically, a position as the internal manager, just say a word and the job is yours", that was a dream turning into reality, having her nephew there she could polish his talents till perfection and the position of internal manager was perfect for him, all that Rokuro needed to do was to say yes.
Rokuro didn't gave an answer right away, he took his time to weigh the pros and cons about this proposition and after what looked like an eternity to his aunt he finally gave his answer.
"aunt, I am honored that you are offering me such opportunity…", he was saying the smile on Balalaika's face was growing larger but soon said smile disappears when he puts his cup on the table and bowls in front of her, "…but I can't accept".
Boris had frozen mid act when he heard that, his vodkas was flowing all the way through his lips to his sweater for half a second the room went dead silent, till the sound of shattering glass echoed in the air, scaring Rokuro who rapidly raised his head to see his aunt with her left hand bleeding while the sorry remains of the cup rested scattered on the table.
"aunt, your hand!", he didn't even hesitate in jumping out of his chair and flaying across the table with a handkerchief in hands to treat his aunt's hand.
After cleaning the wound with the vodka and improvising a bandage with the handkerchief Rokuro sat back at the chair waiting for what he knew was coming.
"Rokuro, please explain why you are turning down my offer", Balalaika at the moment was really confused about what her nephew said, because as far as she knew nobody in his sane mind would refuse an offer to a high position without a good reason.
"aunt Sofiya, I am really, really grateful that you are offering me such a high position in your organization, but I can't accept it, not the way I am now", Rokuro said with a serious look in his eyes, Balalaika knew that look, was the same look he gave her when she taught him how to shoot and fight, the same look he gave when she was at her worse and he had sworn to the heavens to help her, that look meant that he was dead serious and that didn't came out of nowhere.
"Rokuro, what do you by 'not the way I am now'?"
"I am still too green when it comes to this city, I don't know how the things work here, if I am to assume a high position out of the blue the chances are that I gonna screw up pretty badly and pretty fast, besides if I don't show my value and gain the trust of your man I will be always 'the dude who is where is because he has a powerful aunt' I honestly don't care, I had been called worse at home, but this also reflects on your reputation as well since, not if, but when I screw up the backlash will be entirely diverted against you"
As much as she hated it, Rokuro was right, she more than anyone else hated people who came into power by having connections and money instead of abilities and more often than not she was the one responsible for whipping the mess of her useless superiors, Rokuro Knew that so he probably felt that it would be wrong to accept such offer, even if it was made by the one and only aunt Sofiya.
"fine, you have a point", Balalaika said bitterly, knowing she got caught on her own beliefs, but she wasn't where she was by no being able to bend other to her will, "let's make it this way, you will attend the morning training routines with the rest of the men for twelve weeks, during this time you also had to find a half-period job outside the syndicate, you will not receive special treatment, you will not reveal yourself as my nephew and you will keep a low profile outside the syndicate this will be your training and also your probation, if you fail I will arrange new documents and send you back to Japan, did you understand?"
Balalaika was waiting for to try and negotiate her conditions, but what happened had her almost having a heart attack.
"that's great, I even had a job already lined up with the Lagoon company, so what time the morning training begins?", this time was Boris who couldn't keep himself together and spat his drink all over the place, meanwhile Balalaikas was seriously thinking that she taught him too well, fuck, not even a day in the city and he's already have a job, she was proud of him, but at the same time she hoping he would struggle a little so she could pull some strings under the table and have him on her watch.
"the training start's at 4:00 in the morning, be here at 3:40", said Boris after recovering from the shock and after receiving the signal from his captain he escorted Rokuro to the door and also bring in the Lagoon crew. Boris was a hardened soldier who alongside with Balalaika and his men walked through hell, kicked Satan's balls and came back alive, so he had tough he had seen basically everything, but after he sent Rokuro off e brought in Dutch, Benny and Revy inside the office he almost wished he could go back to hell, because now his captain was scary as all hell, her mood had gone south pretty quickly, "Dutch, I believe that I don't need to tell you why you are here, the same goes to you two, so I will be blunt, Rokuro will be working with you temporarily, don't worry he doesn't need special treatment and he is aware of the risks of the job, you will provide me with reports about his performance, do you understand?"
"yes ma'am", the three of them said in chorus, thanking the universe for her not putting a bullet through their asses, bur almost like if Balalaika was reading their minds she said, "and don't forget to thank him for putting a good word for you, or else you three would be at the cleaner's meat processing plant".They rapidly left the office and the building after that, Balalaika was watching her nephew entering the Pontiac and going with them through the night while she lightened another cigar, smoking and thinking on how Rokuro, or better saying Rock as now he was called by his new coworkers, was now in her world and above all was on her side once again, although she didn't liked the idea of him working with a gunman very well known for having a short temper but that was a good day after all and as much as she disliked Revy's short temper, she knew he was in good hands.
They rapidly left the office and the building after that, Balalaika was watching her nephew entering the Pontiac and going with them through the night while she lightened another cigar, smoking and thinking on how Rokuro, or better saying Rock as now he was called by his new coworkers, was now in her world and above all was on her side once again, although she didn't liked the idea of him working with a gunman very well known for having a short temper but that was a good day after all and as much as she disliked Revy's short temper, she knew he was in good hands.