Love Hina – Where Silent Gods Stand Guard

Chapter 2 – In This River

"This storm that's broken me, my only friend..."

The funeral service was relatively short. Of course, any person who goes to a funeral, or a wedding, or anything inside a church, really, can feel as though the process is long and drawn out. Such was the case for the Urashima family, and the current residents of the Hinata House. They all, in their own way, cared for Grandma Hina, and there weren't too many dry eyes that day. And most of them, in some way, wanted very much for the service to be over, whether it be frantic schedules (Keitaro, Naru, Seta, and Kanako), school (Shinobu, Motoko, and Su), or the drastic need to leave a place they never felt quite at ease with. The latter statement was true for Valo Urashima. The young man of 24 never knew the place known as 'Hinata'. His father, Keitaro's uncle, had distanced himself from the family once he married and had a child. He chose to do business in more European countries. This made sense, in a way, seeing as his mother was originally from Austria. They never went to too many Urashima family gatherings, and only in recent years had Valo moved back to Japan to search his father's family roots.

Haruka had managed to keep Valo housed in her Tea Shop for three days without incident. Today, the day of the funeral, he came out of 'hiding'. See, Haruka had told the residents that a family member was staying at the Tea House on an important trip, and that they were to not interfere, which was partially true, since he did have to make some final decisions about the funeral, and this was not an easy task. Grandma Hina was very secretive about things, and her death was not to be publicized. She wanted this to be strictly a family and close friends affair. Naturally, Haruka realized the thin ice she was treading on. After three days, Valo finally decided to make his way to the Hinata House to meet everyone. This was during dinner, and Haruka had gone with him to ensure a pleasant trip, which had a 50/50 chance of going over well. In actuality, everything went fine. So many of the small personality glitches everyone was prone to had faded a bit since they had all grown up recently. Plus, Valo wasn't quite like Keitaro. He was much more confident, reserved, and knew how to present himself. And on that very evening, after the food was eaten, questions were asked, and answered, and the night was winding down, Valo broke the news.

Now he was standing outside, in his black suit, looking across the landscape of the graveyard. He stared for a second at Keitaro, the cousin he barely knew, and Naru, his beautiful wife. He caught a glimpse of Seta consoling Haruka. It seemed she had a few more tears to cry, after all. He saw Kanako, her usual reserved self. She, too, had taken time between cell phone calls from Hina's lawyers and overseers of her estate, to mourn her relative. He also saw the current residents of Hinata House. They, too, had lost a grandmother, and it showed. Valo heard the last words spoken for the old woman, and he turned to leave.

As everyone headed for Hinata House, Valo had decided to make a beeline for the Tea House, to pack his things and return...

'Home? Is that where I go now? I barely know these people, some of them relatives, and I feel the need to run back home?'

"Hey! Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?"

The voice came from the Bar. Valo turned around, caught mid-thought and by surprise. It was his cousin, Keitaro.

"Why not stay awhile? You haven't been back in ages!"

"Um, Keitaro, I haven't been back 'cause I've never BEEN...period."

"OH, well...that's, ah, strange. Really?"

"Yep. Never had a chance. Didn't really know about the place 'til about a year and a half ago."

"Wow, no wonder I didn't really know you. I knew our family wasn't real close, but GEEZ, this is odd. Still, you should stay for awhile. I'm not always around, and it would give everyone a change. And it may do you some good, since you haven't really gotten to know this side of the family real well."

"You do make a good point. This is a part of my history I didn't really know existed. And I guess living around mostly females CAN'T be too bad."

"Yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhhh...ahem."

"Kidding, kidding. What do you think I am, some pervert?"

"Yeah, heh, ya got me there. Hey, did you know we have a haunted building right across from the girls' dorm?"