I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, Black Lagoon, or Hikaru no Go. Rated M for Black Lagoon.
Chapter Two: Convening of the Cousins
The next week saw Hikaru walking a bit more energetically through the Association. The cruise was going to take off late in the afternoon and he was eager to get started.
After managing to finally convince his mother that this trip would be perfectly trouble-free and that he'd behave himself (no promises), he received permission.
Waya and Isumi had been shocked to hear about his victory and then congratulated him on it.
"So you're actually going to bring your cousins along for the ride?" Waya asked.
Hikaru grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, no one else wanted to come along and – "
Isumi held up his hands. "We're not holding it against you, you know. So you invited your cousins, then?"
His grin became cheerful once more. "Yep! I'm meeting them in a few hours to start the trip so I've got to leave early."
Waya responded with his own grin. "Well, hopefully your skills won't dull by being baked on the waves by the sun!"
Hikaru shook his fist jokingly in reply.
Isumi was struck by something. "Wait, wasn't last week the day that – "
The younger teen sighed. "Yeah…"
Feeling somewhat awkward, the two friends shook themselves and pointed something out to their junior friend.
"Don't you have to get there early or something?"
Turning to look up at the clock, Hikaru jumped in surprise and sputtered "Oh damn, I'd better get moving!"
Waving to him as he hurried out, they wished him good luck and watched with some fondness as he made his way clumsily out of the building.
About ten minutes later, their own private informal game was interrupted when the striding and intensely focused form of Tōya Akira walked through the doors, heralded by the sight of one of his many ugly sweaters. Catching sight of two of his rival's friends, he made his way over to them not noticing Waya's sound of dismay. He stopped in front of them then talked with stiff politeness.
"Excuse me, but have either of you seen Shindō today? He missed one of our meetings last week and I haven't heard anything from him since."
Ever the diplomat, Isumi spoke up before Waya could. "He's currently on his way to a cruise that he won from the small tournament last week."
Shocked by this new info and the fact that Hikaru would participate in something that would distract from the game, Akira responded to the statement with some of his temper bleeding slightly through his polite speech.
"That doesn't explain why he's missed any of our meetings though."
Exchanging a look with each other, the other two pros turned back to the future Meijin with Waya getting in the first word.
"Well for one, this is a wedding present for one of his cousins," he said as Akira's expression became surprised "and the other part..." He paused for a moment. "You know how he took a few days off last year?"
Akira nodded with some confusion.
"That's the day another one of his cousins died. He invited another cousin along to lift up some of the depression."
Shocked by this statement, the prodigy stood silently and then started to move away when he left a parting sentence. "Well, when you talk to him, do give him my condolences."
As he left their sight, they met each other's eyes again.
"Well, it sucks to be him, then, doesn't it?"
Isumi simply sighed and then made his next move. "By the way, I just captured some of your stones."
"What?!"
The young adult smiled slightly as the atmosphere picked up once more.
:::Break:::
The teenager in question had made his way out of the building and made his way over to the bus stop. He stood fidgeting in hopes that the bus would arrive soon since he didn't want to piss off either of his cousins by being late.
"Oh ho ho! What are you doing out here, young Shindō?"
He turned to meet the wrinkly gaze of Kuwabara Honinbō who was standing next to a luxurious black car with a driver standing next to the door.
"Nothing Kuwabara-sensei, I'm just waiting for the bus to go join my cousins for a cruise trip."
The old man's eyebrows rose up slightly. "Ah, I did hear about that tournament. Well, the time over there says that the bus has already passed, I'm afraid."
Hikaru looked at the sign pointed out to him and noted with dismay that he had indeed missed the last bus for the day.
Watching the teen's face fall so abruptly sparked some seldom-used generosity in the title-holder and he decided to extend some of it.
"Where exactly are you meeting your family then, young man?"
Turning to him with some suspicion in his gaze, Hikaru nevertheless told him the location.
The Honinbō's face lit up.
"Oh ho; I happen to be passing that location myself. It would be no trouble for me to drop you off there. What do you say, boy?"
The "boy" became more suspicious but accepted the invitation because even though he knew that you shouldn't go anywhere with creepy old men alone, Kuwabara Honinbō just wasn't the type at all.
Not to mention that the car seats were rather comfortable.
The trip was rather awkward since it consisted of the Honinbō talking about anything that popped into his head and with Hikaru meekly nodding his head in agreement.
They finally reached a house on the outskirts where they were supposed to meet up. He got out of the car and thanked the title-holder for his kindness then turned to look at a rather tall red-haired man with a long face and brown eyes.
"You're Hikaru, right? Name's Kazuma; Urameshi (the jerk) told me to wait for you while they packed up the rest of their crap." He then muttered "Why did they choose to meet up at my house, dammit…"
Nodding, stunned at this abrupt exchange, he couldn't help but look through his memories since he was sure Yūsuke had mentioned this guy before. What was his family name? Ku – something or another…
"Oh ho ho ho ho! You've been put on watchdog duty, Kazuma? For shame!"
They turned to look at the old man's jovial tone when Hikaru saw the redhead's face suddenly match his hair color.
"Jijii?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Oh dear boy, can't an old man help out a fellow Go professional and just happen to come across his favorite grandson?"
"I'm your only grandson you old fart."
"Does my dear granddaughter know you talk like that little Kazuma?"
Oh, that's right; the name was Kuwabara Kazuma.
Shocked by the identity of the young man, and the fact that Kuwabara Honinbō actually had a family instead of being a mad old hermit like everyone thought he was, he simply scooted his way around the taller male while the exchange kept on going.
He missed the considering look the two spiritually-aware men sent to him as he left, nor the conversation that followed.
He made his way to the back of the house where they'd be ready to drive to the boat and met the sight of his cousins…doing their best to tolerate the other's presence.
Okajima Keiichi resembled his brother though his eyes were gray and not brown, along with longer hair and a slightly thinner face and slightly taller in height.
Hikaru walked up to them. "Hey, Keiichi! Are you ready for a nice, lazy cruise in sunny waters?"
The eldest cousin smiled slightly and spoke. "Yes, I am; provided, of course, that perfectly well-mannered young ladies manage to restrain their oafish husbands from starting fights left and right."
The only response he got from that was a short string of curse words and two middle-finger salutes. Keiko walked up to her husband and tugged on his ear for a reprimand while giving poor Keiichi a death glare for baiting him.
"Well, everything's packed up and ready, so we should head for the harbor before the boat takes off without us." Keiichi said.
They managed to squeeze in the last bag of clothing and themselves into the car before Keiichi (the only one licensed to drive) started it up and made their way to the harbor on the roads with, according to Yūsuke, all the grace and speed of an old lady.
When they'd finally managed to arrive at the harbor, they noted that the ship they were meant to hop on had a smaller crowd, signifying that boarding time was almost over. They grabbed their luggage and hurried their way to the ship where they presented their tickets to a baffled crew member and then finally set foot on the ship itself.
It was, indeed, a luxury cruise. Not as impressive as the most top-notch luxury cruises but still impressive enough to make them all feel real damn lucky. They worked their way down to their rooms, one of which was a king's bed obviously meant for the new couple and a room with two well-made double beds for the single cousins.
After that was done, they made their way down to the dining area where they were pleasantly surprised to see the variety of delicious foods waiting for them. There were plenty Japanese dishes as well as some Western delicacies. Fortunately Keiko and Keiichi managed to keep Yūsuke and Hikaru from making a beeline for the desserts and managed to set them up for some healthier foods first. Keiko and Keiichi went through their meals with perfect manners and minimal mess while Yūsuke and Hikaru had to work much harder at it.
Their meals over and the rush of the day finally setting on them, they made their way to the rooms, with the young couple making their way to their room with a suspicious blush on their cheeks. The other two cousins did not want to know.
Hikaru made his way to the room when he noticed that Keiichi was still standing outside looking out at the sea with a sorrowful expression on his face.
"Keiichi…"
His cousin's head turned and plastered a false smile on his face.
"Don't worry, I'm coming. I'm just enjoying the view for a while."
Nodding his head at the lame excuse, Hikaru went into the room and shut the door, taking out his portable goban to pass the time until his cousin finally came inside.
:::Break:::
Rock stood alone on the top of his building looking up at the stars while the sounds of the city's typical violence rang out through the night. The rest of the Lagoon Company was already snoozing while Rock was impervious to sleep and sound.
He reached to his left for a package that he kept hidden in his room, filled with the last reminders of his life in Japan. He shuffled through them all; credit card, ID, keys, wallet…
Pictures.
His gaze caught one picture containing four boys. One was a ten-year-old with a wide smile sitting at the center. Next to him was a thirteen-year-old punk with slicked-back hair looking disgruntled. Standing behind them were two young adults, aged nineteen and twenty-one looking sheepish and unsettled; so similar and yet so different.
He sighed in remembrance and stared back at the sky, homesickness visiting him once again, never to be shown to his comrades. At least he could hold on to these memories in the night. He went to sleep soon after, hiding the possessions once more, losing himself to blood-free dreams.
:::Break:::
The captain of the ship and his assistant sat in the staff room alone. They were finishing up a conversation for the night; a conversation that wasn't very legal.
"So we're just trading in the drugs once we get there? No muss, no fuss?"
The captain nodded. "It'll take a bit for the exchange to be finalized, but the money's good and the cruise will still run on time as it's expected to be."
His assistant snorted. "I can't believe you managed to include Thailand on the itinerary for this trip. Aren't you the least bit concerned that any of the passengers will get curious?"
Getting up slowly and puffing on a cigarette, the captain replied "You'd be surprised what smooth talking and some extra cash can accomplish. Besides, the passengers aren't going to question a 'mechanical malfunction' and they're not going to bother sneaking outside the boat just to figure out where exactly we are. You're not getting cold feet, are you?"
A chuckled resounded through the room. "No Captain Gumo, I'm not; I'm up for some easy cash just as much as you are."
"Good; don't forget what we're risking though Kozei or both of our heads will roll."
"I got it. What shithole city are we docking at again?"
"Roanapur."
Fin
This chapter is sort of broken, but I couldn't think of any other way to put these sequences of events together. Sorry about that. The Kuwabara grandfather-grandson crossover idea is property of Sakiku. I just included it for some extra entertainment and because the idea does kind of make sense. I'm not bashing Akira, by the way; I just think that regularly meeting up with someone to talk only about Go and then yell at each other routinely is not the basis for a healthy friendship. The corrupt-captain idea is farfetched, but people have done a lot worse for a lot less. As for the cousins' ages, this is where I've put them: Keiichi – 27; Rokuro – 25; Yūsuke – 19; Hikaru – 16. I hope that's alright with everyone. No flaming, please.
Please read and review!