Vanishing Point
A Brightly Burning Sidestory
By: aishuu
Written for 31days's Oct. 12 Challenge: Into the valley of dying stars
Mitani dreamt in black and white, though the floor of his dreamscape was the smooth light brown of well-tended kaya. In those dreams he would often take the narrow paths toward an ultimate goal he'd never seen, but longed to possess. Somewhere along the way he's missed a crucial move, and now he was forced to play under a handicap he didn't deserve. His territory was invaded again and again, and he'd wonder what was going on. This was not the way it was supposed to be.
He woke from those nightmares in a cold sweat, often with his sister Sanae by his side. She would give him a tired look, pointing out that he'd been screaming in his sleep and couldn't he try to keep it down a little, since there were other people in the house? Her somewhat unsympathetic words were always tempered by the mug of green tea she would press into his hands, and the way she'd sit up with him, even if it was three a.m. She didn't complain about the loss of sleep, and he was thankful for her company. Although he was a loner by nature he'd come to hate solitude after those dreams.
Whenever she asked him what he'd been dreaming about, he would shrug and remain quiet. He had never been the communicative type, and as he got older, he found the silence more and more appealing. Talking only got him in trouble.
They learned to share those peaceful times together, Sanae talking about college and her latest boyfriend while he listened without comment or criticism. Her voice would help sooth him, and he'd soon settle back into a sleep untouched by dreams.
He'd have been a fool not to recognize where his dreams were spinning from. He remembered that he'd once been fond of Go, but that time seemed far away from the present. Nowadays he spent his time wondering about more practical things, and on the occasions he passed the Go Salons, he would turn his head away. He wouldn't have been welcome there, anyway, so there was no reason to even think about the old game.
Although sometimes late at night he would have to fight the urge to go out to those seedy adult playgrounds he used to frequent. While in school, he'd look out the window and wonder if anyone would notice if he played hooky. Then he'd look down at his hands and note the way the middle finger of his right hand was slightly crooked, healed poorly after a bad break. Rumors of him had carried between the salons, and most of the places he'd played had politely - and occasionally not-so-politely - requested that he'd take his business elsewhere.
He didn't speak on it since he had no one to talk to. For a while, there had been one geek in Haze desperately trying to form a Go Club, but he had graduated before Mitani had been thrown out of the salons. It wasn't like Mitani would have been desperate enough to seek him out or anything, but it would have been nice to have the option. He didn't miss Go, since for him it had just been an amusing past time. He had no hobbies and belonged to no clubs, but that was because he'd made that decision. He had more important things to do, really.
He didn't recognize how time was passing until his parents began to ask him about his plans for high school. Mitani didn't think of the future often, but their well-meant questions made him realize that it would be time for him soon to make some life-charting decisions. He needed to select what course he'd take, whether he'd drop out and get a job or continue with his education. It was hard to bring himself to care either way, no matter how much they lectured him.
On his first day as a third year student, he turned a corner and crashed into a solid, surprisingly warm object. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself on the floor with items from his bag scattered around like stray snowflakes. Blinking once, he stared into the person who'd ran into him.
Bright blond hair framed a startled face. Mitani shook his head a bit, trying to get rid of the ringing in his head, since the other boy had crashed into him hard enough to rattle his teeth. He glared wordlessly, trying to think of the appropriate way to verbally attack. Another voice broke through before he could say anything.
"Hikaru! You should apologize!" a girl said, her hands on her hips in the same fashion Sanae used when she was being motherly. Then she turned a soft smile on him, looking a bit embarrassed. "Do you need any help?" she asked.
"Sheesh, Akari!" the boy said. "It was an accident!"
Though the boy was the one who'd struck him, it was the girl who took his breath away. He'd seen her around school, and knew she was both popular and kind. Fujisaki Akari, member of the cheerleading team. She was pretty, he thought with a bit of male appreciation, and it was nice to have her paying attention to him.
He could not say the same for the boy who'd run into him. It only took one more second to recognize him as Shindou Hikaru, the star of last year's soccer team. They had never spoken since Shindou was one of the school's idols and Mitani was one of the outcasts. Shindou muttered something under his breath that was hardly complementary, and Mitani felt his quicksilver temper start to rise.
"I don't need anything from him," Mitani said in his usual hostile tone.
A series of expressions flickered across Fujisaki's face - surprise, concern, worry and finally annoyance, which she turned full-force on Shindou. "Accidents happen, but that doesn't excuse you from proper manners!" she insisted, and there was something in her voice that was subtly threatening.
Shindou looked at her, and fear lit his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, well... I'm sorry," he said, leading to an awkward pause. He smiled tentatively at Mitani. "Can I help you pick up?"
"I can do it myself," Mitani said in a frosty voice. He shoved the items into his bag, hating how exposed he felt as he crawled after his scattered belongings.
"Well, um... we've got to get to class," Shindou said as he pushed himself to his feet. His hands swept his clothing once in a somewhat distracted fashion. "Look, I'm really sorry."
This time Mitani could tell the apology was genuine. He snorted a bit in acknowledgment, but then Fujisaki and Shindou moved by him. He could hear her nagging him about soccer and demanding to know why he wasn't signing up for this year's team. Shindou said something playful in reply, neatly diverting the question. Mitani could hear them arguing as they continued down the hall, and for a second he wondered what it'd be like to have a friend like that.
The thought quickly faded from his mind as unnecessary, and he rose to his feet, setting off in the opposite direction for his own class. He had more important things to do than think such silly thoughts - he had problems of his own.