Work Text:
The smoke wafted through the control room and Shūzō snubbed the butt of the cigarette against the cold metal. He was often told not do that very thing due to the black marks it left on the walls. But this was his ship and he could do whatever he wanted- even if that was putting out cigarettes on the walls instead of using an ashtray. Momoi often scolded him for it, but he did it behind her back anyway.
“Nijimura-Senpai.”
He sighed, annoyed that his smoke time had been interrupted again by the brats aboard his vessel. “What is it now?”
Akashi Seijūrō with his obnoxious red hair and prim and proper suit stood in front of him. Who wore a suit when they were a bounty hunter anyway? Pretentious idiots, that was who. He drew another cigarette from the packet and stuffed his hand inside his pocket, looking for his lighter. Where had he put it? He had used it five minutes ago.
“Nijimura-Senpai.”
Shūzō eyed his yellow lighter resting on the control panel and snatched it up quickly. Why on earth had he put it there? The entire ship could have blown up. He concluded that spending time with the fools on board the ship had addled his brain.
“Nijimura-Senpai!”
“What?”
Akashi looked rather exasperated. Good, Shūzō thought, let him understand how it feels, dealing with a crew consisting of a bunch of idiots every day.
“You have entered the coordinates to our next location, is that correct?”
Shūzō lit his cigarette, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. “Of course, I did. Who do you think I am, Aomine?”
The other man eyed the smoke distastefully. “We have received the news of another bounty.”
Shūzō leaned forward in interest. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?”
“I tried to. But I was being interrupted.” He could sense Akashi’s growing irritation and grinned. “Patience, my young grasshopper.”
“Grasshopper?”
He ignored the redhead’s scandalized look.
“Brief me on the target.”
“The bounty is on a man named Hanamiya Makoto, a space pirate. He loots government cargo ships that carry weapons or important documents, which he then sells on the black market. The price on his head is two hundred million woolongs. But the bounty for the entire crew, if captured is three hundred million woolongs.”
Shūzō whistled. “Three hundred million. You could buy four new ships with that amount. Hanamiya Makoto, you say?”
“Yes.”
Shūzō had heard of him alright. He absentmindedly thumbed the puckered skin of the scar that ran down his face. It was time to say hi to an old friend.
*****
The Bluejay was his pride and joy. He had picked it up in an old junkyard that was about to take it apart and sell it for scrap metal. Shūzō had even gotten a good bargain for it. If there was one thing that he loved in the world, it was his ship. But if there was also one thing he despised; it was his ship’s habit of breaking down at the most inopportune moments.
“You stupid old hunk of junk!”
“Nijimura-Senpai,” Momoi placed a hand on his shoulder. “Please relax.”
He ignored her, opting to kick the stupid thing instead. He grunted at the sharp sting of pain that raced up his foot. “Damn it.”
Midorima narrowed his eyes at him. “You will be useless against Hanamiya if you break your toes. I suggest you calm down immediately and pay for the repairs as soon as possible.”
Shūzō shook his head. “We can’t afford to pay for repairs. We’re broke; Unless Kise and Aomine fork up their gambling cash, that is.”
His blond crew member gave him a blinding smile. “I don’t know what you mean, Nijimuracchi.”
Aomine yawned rudely, rubbing his neck. “Me neither.”
He rolled his eyes. “Sure, you don’t.”
This called for a cigarette. He patted down his pocket, grabbing the box and the lighter, lighting one absently.
“Excuse me.”
Shūzō prided himself on the fact that he only slightly jumped this time around.
“Yes, Kuroko?”
“I can take a look at it and see if I can get it to work again. I used to design ships and help build them.”
“Why didn’t you say so before?”
“No one asked.”
“You don’t keep things like this to yourself, you idiot!”
“I’m sorry.”
Shūzō could never tell whether Kuroko was being sincere or was mocking him, with those expressionless eyes. He shuddered. “Just get to it, will you?”
“Yes, Senpai.”
In four hours, they had taken off from Ganymede, where they had decided to make an emergency landing. Turns out, Kuroko wasn’t completely incompetent and soon, Shūzō was thumbing through the radio channels.
“Aida!”
The screen in front of him buzzed with static, but he ignored it, focusing on the face behind it instead. Aida Riko glared at him. Or maybe she was happy to see him. Who knew? He often wondered if a scowl was her permanent expression.
“Nijimura.” She greeted. “You want to know Hanamiya’s location, don’t you?”
“Ah, straight to the point as always. I like that.”
Her eyebrows twitched. “I heard he was last seen near Saturn. If I wasn’t on the other side of this bloody galaxy, I would have gone after him myself.”
Images of torn flesh, spurting blood and a cry akin to a wounded animal flashed through his head but he shook the memories away. Kiyoshi Teppei had lost his leg in an accident, at least that’s what the man himself had claimed. But Shūzō had been there and he was almost a hundred percent sure it had not been an accident.
He had seen Hanamiya’s horrible smile right before he had ripped Shūzō’s own face open, after all. Almost anything that had to do with Hanamiya Makoto could not be ruled out as an accident.
That was one thing he was sure of.
“Nijimura! Are you even listening to me?”
He blinked. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Aida rolled her eyes. “How on earth does Momoi deal with you lot on the daily? I said if you do catch him, rip his throat out.”
“I can’t. You need to hand him over alive to get the bounty, remember? Are you sure it’s not your brain that’s rotten?”
“Oh, shut up!”
The screen went black. Maybe he deserved that.
“Oi, Kise!”
“Yeah?”
“Set the coordinates to Saturn. We have a pirate to catch.”
“Sir, yes sir!”
Saturn happened to be a dry, desolate desert of gas that was so unstable, one wrong move could blow you sky high. Literally. Hanamiya always picked the loveliest places.
They hovered above Saturn’s atmosphere. “Where is he?”
Akashi stood next to him, looking out of the dirty glass window of their ship. “If I were trying to flee, I would set up base on Titan.”
Shūzō squinted at the moon that was slowly making its way around Saturn. “That bastard. Of course, he would choose Titan.”
“You fought in the war on Titan, didn’t you?”
He cursed Akashi’s annoying habit of trying to butt into everyone’s business. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago.”
He could almost feel the sting of the cold knife as it had sliced through his cheek. He turned away, aggressively snubbing the cigarette he was smoking, against the wall.
“Tell the rest of the crew to be ready. We’ll reach Titan in ten minutes.”
He left the control panel, walking to his bunk to grab his guns and knives. He’d be damned if he’d let Hanamiya escape again.
Titan was just as horrid as he remembered; an endless expanse of snow, hail and ice.
He kept his gun drawn and moved against the howling wind as best as he could.
“I think I know where he’d be!”
Aomine leaned towards him, cocking his head to the side. “What? I can’t hear you through this blasted wind!”
“I said, I think I know where he is!” He yelled.
“Where?”
“At the old base. He’ll try to psych me out as much as possible!”
“Wait, you know him?”
Shūzō grunted as a particularly strong gust of wind threatened to knock him over. “That doesn’t matter at the moment. Just follow me!”
The walk to the old base was nostalgic but it was definitely not the good kind of nostalgia; he could hear the gunshots, see the blood and the fallen bodies of both his enemies and his comrades. This was exactly what Hanamiya had wanted. And he would not give into that asshole’s psychological mind games.
Shūzō exhaled, clearing his mind of all the images that the war had to offer. It was over now. There was no use in dwelling on the past. He had a bounty to catch and three hundred million to pick up.
In no time, they were standing in front of the cliffs that had housed his war camp years ago. Just as he had predicted, Hanamiya’s ship was docked at the bottom of the mountain and the man himself sat on top of it, grinning as they trudged forward.
“Nijimura Shūzō, what a pleasant surprise. And this must be the rainbow crew I’ve heard so much about! You all look much more gorgeous in person. The stories really don’t do you justice.”
He slid down his ship, with no weapon in sight.
Shūzō narrowed his eyes.
Was this Hanamiya’s way of luring them into a false sense of security? If it was, he was doing a horrible job of it.
“Feels nice to be here again, doesn’t it Shūzō? Brings back memories.”
Hanamiya gave him a twisted grin.
“Shut up! You know very well that you betrayed all of us.”
His opponent looked at him with a raised brow. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean! You were a fucking spy in the war! And you sold us out.”
“No, I wasn’t. Even the court cleared me of all suspicions.”
Shūzō gripped his gun tightly. “I saw you blow Kiyoshi’s leg up and I was right there when you stabbed my fucking face!”
Hanamiya waved his hand dismissively. “You remember wrong then. Don’t you know that I patched whatever was left of Kiyoshi’s mangled stump up afterwards? And as for your face,” he leered, “it was an accident. I slipped.”
He could hear the amused lilt to Hanamiya’s tone and all he could see was red.
“You bastard!”
He pulled his gun out of his pocket and, without thinking, shot as fast as he could. But he wasn’t quick enough. Hanamiya rolled over to the right. “I don’t think you should shoot me.”
“Give me one good reason not to,” Shūzō snarled. He could see his fellow bounty hunters standing behind him, poised to draw their weapons.
“Alright boys, it’s time to bring out our guest of honor!”
One of Hanamiya’s men dragged a writhing figure down the slopes.
“I’m sure he looks familiar, doesn’t he?”
Shūzō squinted at the prisoner. He did look like someone he’d seen before. The man was swearing and flailing as he was being shoved forward. “Don’t touch me you piece of shit!”
He closed his eyes in horror. He could never forget that irritating voice.
“Haizaki? How the fuck did you get into this mess?”
Hanamiya sounded delighted. “See! I brought you your little lost lamb.”
Haizaki looked up at the sound of his voice. “Oh, Captain. I’d say it’s nice to see you, but that would be lying.”
Shūzō could already feel a headache starting. “Why did you bring the brat to me?”
“Well, Captain, I know how much of a softie you are for your precious little kouhais. If you want Haizaki to live, you’re going to stand here like a good boy while we loot your ship.”
“Like hell I will!”
Hanamiya sighed. “You disappoint me Shūzō. I guess it’s nighty night for Shōgo-Chan after all.”
The gun was placed against Haizaki’s head. To his credit, the idiot didn’t even flinch.
He could see the pressure being applied on the trigger, the finger squeezing it slightly. Just a little more and Haizaki’s brain would be blown apart. Even if he was annoying, no one deserved that. He threw his own gun down in frustration. “Fine! You win. Let him go.”
Maybe Hanamiya was right; maybe he was too soft for his own good.
His opponent grinned. “Thank you for your cooperation. Now throw your weapons onto the ground!”
He could see Aomine slowly drawing his knife from his jacket out of the corner of his eye. Shūzō gripped his wrist tightly. “Don’t. Just do as they say.”
Akashi was the first to chuck his gun down. Huh. Maybe the midget did have a brain. He was followed by Momoi, Midorima, Murasakibara, and Aomine. Kise was the last one. He could see the hesitance in his face and in the tightening of his mouth. “Kise,” he warned in a low tone.
The blond clenched his jaw but finally did as asked, throwing his gun and knives onto the snow.
“Excellent!” Hanamiya smiled widely. “Let’s get this party started!”
They ended up being tied together, limbs gathered in a mass. It was highly uncomfortable.
“Oi, Kise! Get your crotch out of my face!”
“It’s not like your face hasn’t been there before Aominecchi.”
“Shut up both of you!”
“You shut up Mido-Chin. You’re crushing me.”
“How does it feel to be the one crushed for once, Murasakibara?”
“Keep quiet Haizaki.”
Shūzō sputtered as someone’s shoe was thrust into his mouth. “Get your fucking foot out of my mouth!”
“Sorry Nijimura-Senpai! And Dai-Chan stop trying to feel me up!”
“I’m not!”
He closed his eyes in exasperation. Where was Kuroko when you needed him? Oh right. They had left him to look after the ship like the bumbling fools they were. And now with Hanamiya and his crew looting the Bluejay, he hoped that Kuroko either got the hell out of there or miraculously caught all of them. He highly doubted the second option was even an option to be considered at this point.
Hopefully Kuroko wasn’t beaten up too badly.
“Thank you for your time gentleman!” Hanamiya’s obnoxious voice floated down as the pirate poked his head out of the window of his ship. “It was nice doing business with you!”
And all Shūzō could do was grit his teeth in frustration as the pirate space crew vanished into the night sky.
Kuroko took around three hours to find them.
“What took you so long, you asshole? We’re fucking freezing our asses off here!”
The blue-haired man stared at them blankly. “I tried to get here as fast as possible, Aomine-Kun. Titan has a surface area that is almost one point five times more than that of the surface area of the Earth’s moon. As you can probably guess, it’s not that easy.”
Shūzō had a strong feeling that Kuroko knew exactly where they had been the whole time, but had left them to rot for his own amusement.
“Whatever, just untie us already.”
It took them another two hours to march back to the ship with their limping sore bodies.
It was just as he had expected; the ship was a complete mess. His crew wasn’t really helping matters.
“He stole my porn mags!”
“Finally. I was sick of those magazines!”
“Oi, Satsuki! They were expensive!”
“They took my condoms and lube!”
“Shut up, Kise. Stop whining! Who cares about your lewd items when my lucky items were looted!”
“My pocky is gone. I’ll crush those nasty pirates.”
Akashi held up a ring of keys triumphantly. “Thankfully, I had all my important items stored in the safe.”
Shūzō stared at the keys. “What safe?”
“Oh, I had it made and installed in my room in the case of emergencies.”
“You had something put into my ship without my permission?”
“Oh, don’t be such a grump Nijimura-Senpai.” Momoi fluttered her eyelashes at him. “You have to admit, it was a good idea.”
He rubbed his throbbing temples. “I need a smoke. Just-” he waved his hand around vaguely. “Just clean up in here.”
Shūzō made his way up to the deck or the observatory as Midorima had christened it. As soon as he reached the room, he whipped out a cigarette and lit it. It was only after he took the first drag that he could relax just a bit.
“Well, some things never change. You still smoke like your life depends on it.”
He sighed, closing his eyes in annoyance. Couldn’t he just have two bloody minutes to himself? Apparently not.
“What do you want, Haizaki?”
“A cigarette.”
Shūzō raised an eyebrow.
“What? I was held hostage remember? They took my cigarettes and my lighter.”
“Fine. Get over here.”
He tossed the other man a cigarette and when Haizaki held it out, lit it begrudgingly.
“How’d you get caught anyway?”
Haizaki exhaled slowly and the smoke rose, framing his face. “It was on Mars. I was selling used guns and hiding from the ISSP because I didn’t have the money to pay my debt. You know, the usual.”
Shūzō stood next to him as they looked out the window at Titan’s barren landscape. It was hailing, and ice shards rained down on them. He was sure the Bluejay would sport a few dents before the night was over.
“Then Hanamiya showed up out of nowhere. They caught me by surprise as I was leaving a brothel.”
He snorted; how predictable.
“What about you?”
Shūzō took another drag. “What about me?”
“Why’d you free me? You could have left me to die.”
He couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of his throat. “Believe it or not, Haizaki, I’m not a bad person. An asshole maybe, but not bad. I couldn’t live with myself if you had died when I had the chance to save you.”
“So, you’re selfish. You did it so you wouldn’t hate yourself.”
He shrugged. “Basically.”
Haizaki grinned. “You’re something else, you know that?”
Shūzō threw the butt of his cigarette onto the floor and dug the heel of his shoe into it, putting it out. “I know.”
*****
The next few days were spent on Earth- The Bluejay had broken down again.
“It was the cold.” Kuroko stated as he examined the engine. “The below freezing temperature caused it to go into temporary arrest.”
Shūzō restrained himself from kicking it again; his toe still hurt from last time. He decided to punch it instead. “Stupid piece of scrap metal!”
“Nijimura-Senpai!” Momoi grabbed his throbbing hand, examining his undoubtedly swollen knuckles. “Please calm down.”
“It will take about a week for me to thaw out the engine and get it to work again.” Kuroko wiped the grease off his hands.
“So, we’re stuck here?”
“Yes Aomine-Kun, we are.”
“This is great. We’re going to starve to death if we don’t die of boredom. Earth is as dull as you can get.”
Kise sighed dramatically. “Normally I wouldn’t agree with him, but even you guys have got to admit- the Earth is the most boring planet in this galaxy.”
Shūzō silently agreed; the planet was a massive dust bowl and after the Astral Gate Accident that destroyed the moon, everybody lived underground for the fear of moon rock showers anyway. It was almost as barren as Titan, except hotter. Way hotter.
He stood up, stretching. “Well, there’s nothing we can do. Aomine and Akashi can look for food. Haizaki will help me cook tonight.”
“What?”
“You didn’t think that I’d let you stay here for free, did you?”
“But I’m an ex-crew member!”
“All the more reason for you to pull your own weight, then.”
Haizaki grumbled and whined a few minutes more, but one stern look from Shūzō shut him up.
Dinner was brussels sprouts and watermelon.
Momoi eyed the items distastefully. “You didn’t find any meat?”
Aomine looked exhausted, covered in dust and sweat but Akashi looked like he could probably run for another ten miles and attend a business meeting at the same time. “Unfortunately, no. But the sprouts act as a decent protein supplement.”
Shūzō glanced at the pile of watermelons, feeling rather impressed. “Where did you get those? They’re expensive and we’re almost broke.”
Aomine paled at the question but Akashi just smiled. “I persuaded the vendor to give them to us.”
“You threatened the vendor to hand over his watermelons?”
The redhead shook his head. “Who said anything about threatening?”
And judging by Aomine’s horrified expression, it was probably something much worse.
The more and more he got to spend time with Akashi Seijūrō, the more convinced he was that the kid was connected to the mafia. Maybe an ex-member? He shuddered. He really didn’t want to know.
He suddenly caught sight of a figure trying to slip out of the room, unnoticed. Shūzō rolled his eyes. Did these idiots ever learn their lesson?
“Oi, Haizaki!”
The figure froze. “Carry those watermelons to the kitchen.”
Cooking dinner with Haizaki felt nostalgic as much as he hated to admit. The brat had been a part of the crew until around two years ago, when he had decided to run off on his own. It had just been the two of them then. Now, it felt like he had never left.
Haizaki was the same, yet he wasn’t. How did people change so much in two years, but stayed the same?
He still whistled when he cooked, an annoying shrill sound. Strangely, Shūzō didn’t feel like telling him to shut up.
But apparently Haizaki tied his hair into a fucking ponytail now when he was slaving away on the stove and he couldn’t help but stare at the new development.
He had gotten rid of those absurd looking cornrows and had brought back his natural hair. He was taller too. He was probably taller than Shūzō now.
“You’re drooling.” His companion gave him a smirk as he diced the sprouts.
To his horror, he could feel his cheeks heat up. “Don’t be an idiot.”
Haizaki, thankfully didn’t pursue his teasing and Shūzō tried his hardest to concentrate on slicing the watermelon after that.
“You still smoke when you cook.” Haizaki leaned on the counter, arms crossed. “I thought you stopped doing that. The ash flies everywhere; it’s disgusting.”
He shrugged. “It’s good for you.”
“Yeah, right. A good way to die, more like.”
Shūzō sighed, throwing the cigarette into the trash. “Well, no one was there to nag me like a fucking grandma when I cooked. So, excuse me, for picking the habit back up.”
Haizaki threw his head back, cackling. “Asshole. Just say you missed me.”
“Haizaki.”
“What?”
“The sprouts are burning.”
“Shit! Stop laughing at me, you dick!”
Dinner was a headache, as usual.
Kise, predictably, started to complain about everything. “Why do we have sprout salad, sprout stew and sprout rolls? Sprout rolls don't even exist!”
Shūzō glared at him. “They do now.”
Dinner was quiet after that.
The real problem popped up after dinner.
“Where do I sleep?”
Everyone froze.
“My room used to be the one across the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry Shōgo-Kun. That’s my room now.” Momoi twisted her hands together.
Haizaki sighed. “I don’t care where I sleep, as long as I have a bed.”
“I share my room with Aominecchi, Akashichhi and Midorimacchi share a room and Murasakibaracchi rooms with Kurokocchi.”
Kise fell silent giving way to an uncomfortable pause. Suddenly all eyes were on him.
Shūzō balked, unnerved by their piercing gazes. “Absolutely not!”
“Why not, Nijimura-Senpai? You have a big bed; you can easily share.”
He ignored Akashi’s logical little rant. “I’m not sharing my bed with an ungrateful brat! Haizaki, you can sleep on the couch.”
“But I need a damn bed!”
He sneered. “That’s too fucking bad. This is my ship and if I say you sleep on the couch, you sleep on the couch!”
“Fine!”
Shūzō huffed. “Whatever, I’m going to sleep.”
It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. It had been a long day and he felt like an over-worked mule. He did not think about Haizaki sleeping on the couch that was probably too small for him. Nope, absolutely not.
The next morning, he woke up to a face-full of hair.
“What the hell?”
He stared at the figure sprawled out next to him, hogging the blanket like a pig.
His face turned red. “Haizaki!”
“Hmm?”
Shūzō grabbed his pillow, smacking the other man with it harshly. “Ow, what the fuck was that for?”
Haizaki’s words were still slurred with sleep.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Sleeping. Or trying to until someone decided to hit me with a goddamn pillow.”
“Oi, show some respect! I’m your Senpai.”
“Ok Senpai, leave me the fuck alone and let me sleep.”
He sighed. It was too early for this. “Ugh, fine. Just scoot over, I can feel your hand on my ass.”
Haizaki wiggled his eyebrows and Shūzō glared at him. It was way too early for this.
“Go back to sleep, dumbass.”
*****
The next few days on Earth consisted of gathering endless supplies for Kuroko. It took him eight days to fix the stupid engine. He almost considered selling the hunk of junk. Almost.
“We have a new bounty!” Momoi announced after breakfast.
“Who?”
“Haizaki Shōgo. Wanted for thievery and various acts of robbery. The reward is one million woolongs.”
There was an unnaturally still silence. Haizaki stood up, stretching. “Well, that’s my cue to leave.”
Kise blocked his path, pulling his gun out. “Don’t move.”
“Or what, Ryōta? You’re going to shoot me? You need me alive to get the bounty.”
The blond grinned, his lips splitting into a smile. “I don’t have to kill you.”
He aimed his gun a little lower. “I heard shooting one’s foot isn’t really fatal, but it does hurt like a bitch.”
Haizaki paled and Shūzō could see the blood drain from his face. “Wait. I have information.”
He hesitated. “But I’ll give it to you only if you guarantee my safety. You’re not going to hand me in.”
Kise rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Just start talking.”
“I got involved with a syndicate a year ago; The Crimson Dagger. It was stupid and I did it because I needed money. Stole a few things for them. But I found out a lot of things I shouldn’t have known about and they’ve been after me ever since. They’re the ones who probably placed the bounty on my head.”
Akashi stepped forward. “The Crimson Dagger?”
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
Shūzō narrowed his eyes at Akashi’s slightly uncomfortable stance. “Do you know this syndicate?”
“You could say so. I was a part of it.”
He jumped up pointing at the redhead triumphantly. “I knew it! I knew you were a gangster!”
Momoi looked at Akashi slightly hurt. “Why did you never tell us?”
Akashi shrugged. “You never asked.”
“What is it with this crew and everyone’s habit of never revealing things until asked?”
“Wait,” Haizaki sat down. “What about me?”
Shūzō sighed. “Looks like we’re stuck with you until this syndicate decides to withdraw its bounty.”
“That will never happen.” Akashi shook his head. “They will not rest until Haizaki is dead.”
“Great. What do we do now?”
“I shall implore them to cease this mindless pursuit immediately.”
“Akashi, no offense, but,” Aomine scratched at his scalp. “they’re not just going to listen to you whenever you want them to. Aren’t you an ex-member?”
“Are you doubting me, Aomine?”
“Um, yeah?”
Akashi nodded. “Understandable. But there is no need to worry. They will listen to me.”
And that was that.
True to Akashi’s word, the bounty was removed that very day.
*****
If there was one planet he absolutely loathed, it was Mars. He had been born there, but the bad memories outweighed the good and he preferred it that way. It kept him from feeling homesick, which was helpful when he was on the job. He supposed the Bluejay in all its broken glory was his home now.
But here they were, on Mars, on Akashi’s request (it was more of an order, really).
“I’m afraid I must part ways with the Bluejay and its crew.”
“What! Why?”
The redhead slung his satchel over his shoulder delicately. “There is some unfinished business I have with the Crimson Dagger.”
It sounded ominous and Shūzō refrained from questioning him further. “Alright. I guess I’ll see you around?”
The other man nodded. “Thank you Nijimura-Senpai. It was a pleasure working with you.”
And with one last bow, Akashi Seijūrō left the Bluejay.
The ship felt strangely empty without him.
The next day, Midorima walked up to him with a duffle bag in his hand. “Nijimura-Senpai, I have decided to leave as well.”
Shūzō rubbed his eyes tiredly. “What’s your reason?”
“The stars have aligned themselves in a different direction. No good will come out of the crew staying together. In fact, it will only lead to trouble.”
“So, you’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
He didn’t get it, not really. But he had long ago stopped trying to understand Midorima and his eccentric ways. It was better to just take his word for it. More often than not, the man was always correct.
“One by one, all of us shall leave the Bluejay.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes. Kise and Aomine are next.”
The green-haired man picked up the duffle bag. “Thank you, Nijimura-Senpai. You have been most accommodating in the past year. I hope our paths cross once more.”
“As do I.”
“Farewell.”
And just like that, Midorima was gone.
And like Midorima had said, Kise and Aomine took off without a word the next day apart from a hastily written note. Shūzō just skimmed through it, catching the sight a few words and phrases such as: thank you, see you soon and goodbye. To no one’s surprise, Momoi had left with them. She had left him a separate letter. He didn’t bother reading it. He wasn’t too good with goodbyes anyway.
Kuroko on the other hand, was a different case.
They had decided to meet with Aida Riko and her crew the next week to pair up for a little while in order to catch bounty, which unfortunately for them was scarce. Kuroko had taken one look at Kagami Taiga and had decided that he was in love. It was sickening. Shūzō was tired of the smoldering gazes and the not so discreet touches that the two of them engaged in. So, he, being the good and caring Senpai that he was, pulled Kuroko aside.
“Oi, Kuroko.”
“Yes, Nijimura-Senpai?”
“You have my blessing.”
“What?”
Shūzō sighed. “I think you should join Aida’s crew.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Look, there’s only so much lovey-dovey mushiness I can take. Go join Aida’s crew, grab Kagami Taiga and fuck him senseless.”
“Oh,” Kuroko blinked. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, now go get him.”
The blue-haired man left (probably to suck face with the love of his life) and Shūzō lit a cigarette.
“Who knew you had it in you?”
Aida Riko stood behind him, smoking a cigarette of her own.
“Shut up.”
She smirked. “Murasakibara-Kun was just telling us something. What was it? Oh yes, Nijimura Shūzō is like caramel chocolate; hard on the outside, gooey on the inside.”
He made a mental note to strangle Murasakibara when he got the chance. “Actually, Aida. I did you a favor. Now you have two crew members who’ll go at it like rabbits. I hope you have earplugs.”
She scowled. “Why do I tolerate you again?”
Shūzō shrugged. “I ask myself the same thing.”
Aida’s crew left in three days taking Kuroko along with them and soon it was just him, Muraskibara and Haizaki; not really the best combination. They fought constantly or rather he fought with them, mostly regarding their lazy tendencies. But one day, when they had made a pitstop on Ganymede, Murasakibara announced that he was leaving.
“I’m opening a bakery.”
“You don’t have any money!”
“I have my snack stash.”
“How much money is that?”
“One hundred million woolongs.”
“WHAT?”
Shūzō grasped his lighter tightly. He really needed a smoke. “You had a hundred million woolongs with you this whole entire time?”
Murasakibara nodded, absently chewing on a stick of pocky. “Mhm”
He slumped forward. “Fine. Just go.”
“Okay.”
And that was that.
*****
Now it was just the two of them like before. But something had changed. It was a new development, or maybe it wasn’t and he was too stupid to realize it until now. Either way, he came to the conclusion that he had a thing for Haizaki.
It was irritating. His hands would clam up, his heart would start beating loudly in his chest and he would stare at the man for way too long.
And he was sure the brat was doing this on purpose. He would walk around shirtless, showing off his unfairly glorious chest and would let his hair hang around his face in the most irresistible way.
There was only so much he could take.
“Haizaki!” He barked.
“Yes, Captain?”
“If you don’t put something on right now, you’ll have to leave the ship.”
Haizaki smirked and Shūzō knew he was in trouble. Nothing good ever came out of that smile.
“Why Senpai? Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“Yes, actually. Now go and put a shirt on.”
“Fine.”
He blinked, surprised. That had been easy. He had been expecting some more resistance and maybe a yelling match at the very least.
When Haizaki waltzed in wearing Shūzō’s own shirt two minutes later, he almost choked on his breakfast.
“What the fuck?”
The brat grinned like a demon straight out of hell. “You said to go put on a shirt. So, I did.”
“Why you little-”
“Don’t you like it Senpai?”
Shūzō was a size smaller, so the shirt stuck to him like glue, showing off whatever he had to offer below (read: abs).
“I-” He sputtered, “I give up.”
Haizaki let out a triumphant chuckle. “Ha!”
He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.
Until one day, Haizaki stomped up to him in a sour mood. He was in the observatory, having a smoke and minding his own business, when the silver-haired man barged in.
“Senpai!”
“What?”
“Are you blind or just dumb?”
He could feel his face turn red. “Oi!”
“I’ve been waiting for you to make a move for weeks!”
“What-”
“Oh my god, you are just dumb. Or blind. Or maybe both.”
“Hey!”
Haizaki scowled at him. “I’ll just do it myself.”
And with that he knocked the cigarette out of his hand, grabbed the collar of his shirt and kissed him. Shūzō stilled in surprise, but soon relaxed, wrapping his arms around the other man’s neck. Okay, so maybe the feelings were mutual after all.
Haizaki pulled away, looking pleased with himself.
“I wasn’t blind.” Shūzō grumbled. “I was just hoping you’d make a move on me.”
The taller man rolled his eyes. “Well, I did.”
He smiled. “You did.”
“Does this mean I can sleep on your bed all the time now?”
“Haizaki!”
“What?”
He sighed, “I guess so.”
“And I can wear your clothes now?”
Shūzō rubbed his head. He was getting the urge to reach for a cigarette. “Maybe.”
“Great. Can I kiss you again?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“Good point.”
Maybe Kuroko had the right idea. Being in love didn’t sound so bad after all.