HikaruNoGo x DOS (1/?)

...

She threw up her hands in frustration.

Actually, she tried to do a table flip with the go board, but she was immaterial, so it just looked like she was throwing up her hands.

Kyou was taking forever to count the moku because he wouldn't take her word for it. She understood, of course. This was going to be his first win against her, and he was going to make sure it was a win and he was going to revel in it.

"Four moku, and that's not even counting the komi," Kyou said, trying to hide his growing smile and failing.

Shikako pretended to sulk. "Proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"Maybe. Can you stop with the shidougo now? I think I've had enough teaching games."

She wasn't that obvious. Was she? She must be slipping. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her twin's reincarnation rolled his eyes. "I may not be a genius like your Shikamaru, but I'm not an idiot."

"You are as smart as him. You're just younger, less experienced. Now, go get the shogi board. I'm tired of go."

He glared at her stubbornly.

"C'mon. Let's play a game. Or we could recreate one of the matches I had with Shika and you can help me figure out how I could've won."

It was their deal. She'd teach him all she knew about go, and he would play shogi with her, because although Kyou wasn't really Shikamaru, and although he was still young, Shikako still took great satisfaction in beating him. Being a ghost was pretty boring sometimes.

Kyou sighed before reaching for the shogi board and the notebook filled with the games she'd lost to Shikamaru. It'd been busy for Kyou to transcribe. "Alright, but you will stop with the teaching games."

Shikako wanted to laugh, but that wouldn't do any good for the kid's self-confidence. She wasn't the greatest go player, but she was good enough to go toe to toe with Shikamaru when they played. Good enough that he had to work for his wins, but not enough to win many of their games. Her twin trumped her more often than not, but they were still good games.

And Shikamaru still preferred shogi to go.

Probably because both their father and Asuma had played it with him before their deaths, but not go. She and her brother had discovered the game in the middle of the war on the front lines, not leisurely in the quiet peace of their home with the scent of their father's sake, the sound of their mother's voice and the forest surrounding them.

Komatsu Kyou was as good at shogi and go as Shikamaru was, but he preferred go.

"They remind me of stars," he'd admitted bashfully, his ears going red at the admission.

Shikamaru liked watching clouds and playing shogi.

Kyou liked watching stars and playing go.

Shikako just smiled. Her big brother was a dork no matter who or wen he was reborn. A lazy dork who liked old man games. It was nice to know some things never changed.

"You remembered a couple months ago when I disappeared for a bit?"

He took her rook, just as she did when she played against Shikamaru a world and a lifetime ago. So far, no deviations from the original game, but if the determination in his eyes were any indication, he wasn't going to fall the script.

"Yeah. You got mad because I didn't want to play shogi."

"No, I left to look for something more interesting to do than watch you avoid studying for an exam." And because you didn't want to play shogi. "I found an interesting little place where people could play against each other for fun."

He hmm'd and considered his next move and the next two after it. He even made the same hand sign Shikamaru did to focus his thoughts.

"Are you listening?"

He nodded once absently. His eyes never left the board. "You went and spied on a bunch of old people playing shogi and go. Got it."

She rolled her eyes. "They weren't all old. There was a kid there."

"You spied on a bunch of old people and a kid," he amended.

Subtlety wasn't working. "It was just go, actually. And the kid was pretty good."

He grunted, sacrificing his last lance, and she pointed to where she wanted her gold general to go.

He raised an eyebrow. "Strong as you, or stronger?"

She shrugged. How would she know? She'd never played the boy she saw, so she couldn't be sure of his skill. But the boy was playing teaching games against men three or four times his age, so he must be good. And then there was the lady teasing him about his skill. "He's about your age, I think, and he's suppose to be as skilled as professional."

He looked up.

Hook...

"But, in comparison to you, how skilled is he?"

Line...

Because she had no reason to lie, she told him the truth. "Honestly, I have no idea. Back when we- Shikamaru and I- used to play, it was only for fun or to teach strategy. Mostly between each other and our father. Sometimes our friends. We never went to the capital to play against the professionals."

Ino had suggested it some years after the war ended, but shogi had never been her passion, and Shikamaru had said it was too troublesome. He preferred spending time with Temari and their son, not surrounded by a bunch of old geezers. He liked shogi, but liked his son a lot more. And with Naruto as the newly minted Hokage, someone had to be around to make sure he didn't make his Ramen Day Festival dream a reality, and make sure Shikako didn't go poking at things she really shouldn't.

"The ranking system for go and shogi players are different here than in the capital back then, so," she shrugged. "Go check it out. Tell me what you think."

He glared at her. "I know what you're doing."

And there went sinker.

"What am I doing?"

"It's the incentive thing you were talking about before. You want to give me a taste of how good others are so I would go chasing after them and become a pro. You're trying to motivate me."

"And is it working?"

"No. It's not working. And it's not going to."

Shikako sighed. Shikamaru at ten wasn't as petulant and pigheaded as Kyou was. Mostly just sluggish and lackadaisical. At this rate, Kyou was going to stubborn himself into doing nothing for the rest of his life except for trying to win more games against her.

The boy needed friends and needed to get out of this room.

This is for your won good, Shikamaru-Kyou. You will find yourself a rival and friend or I will have to resort to extreme measures, she all but said with her glare.

Kyou stared back, his expression carefully blank, but his eyes narrowed, undaunted.

Stubborn or no, Shikako was a motivated Nara and she was going to make Kyou one too.

The big shuriken was coming out.

...

A/N: Shikamaru was reborn into HikaruNoGo-verse, and Shikako follows, but as a ghost because... reasons.

None of this was suppose to be published, but then I asked myself why the heck I wrote this if no one was going to read it, said 'fuck it' and published it before my anxiety could get the better of me.

Edit 8/11/16: Words were missing. Fixed it. I hope.