Yeah, sorry it took me so long to put this up. However, in my defense I
tried to post this stupid freaking chapter for close to 3 days before
ff.net would LET me. *shakes fist at the sadistic ff.net gods*
Oh well. *sigh* Here it is:
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
SOMEWHERE IN THE HIMALAYAS, ABOVE THE CLOUDS 749 DAYS LATER... (2 years, two weeks and 5 days ^_^)
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Shiva sat, his legs crossed, in much the same position he had been assuming for
well over seven hundred days. During that time the stone-faced deity had been thinking,
planning, calculating as he watched over the humans he knew would one day realize his
dream. The snake around his neck stirred slightly as a smile touched the impassive god's
lips.
Today was the day.
The smile grew wider as he allowed his thoughts to drift.
It was so obvious! Why, he wondered idly, hadn't it occurred to him before? After
all, it was only natural that the Meijin's son be the one to lead Hikaru down his destined
path. Meeting his fated rival was sure to draw the obstinate boy into the game of go.
Their souls were linked irrevocably by destiny, after all.
Shiva felt a swell of excitement and he allowed a wave of relief to wash over him.
For too long now he had been worried that perhaps Parvati had been right. And the fact
that he was certain she had been watching day after day as Hikaru ignored the game and
denied Shiva his peace of mind had only served to greaten the god's anxiety.
If it were not for the elation instilled in him by the knowledge that the realization
of his plan was close at hand, Shiva would have frowned as his thoughts wandered to his
wife.
He knew, of course, that his lover had been watching the humans' progress just as
he had been. And while he also knew that she only did it out of her concern for him, it
irritated the god to no end.
Why was she so sure that he was wrong? Did she not trust his judgment?
Shiva's eyes flickered slightly as he fought to regain control of his thoughts. She
had been correct so far, he reminded himself irritably. And though he knew his wife got
no pleasure from his miscalculations and errors, at times it felt as though she MUST.
Why else would she always be there whenever he happened to fail?
The god sighed. He knew the answer.
But Parvati would not come today, he vowed as he redirected his attention back to
the situation at hand. No. She would not need to. Today he would not fail. Shiva smiled
in anticipation as he cast his eternal gaze onto the mortal world below.
Today Shindo Hikaru would finally accept his destiny.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
TOKYO, JAPAN ...
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Hi-ka-ru!" the young girl cried as she ran hastily to catch up to the friend who
had left her behind. The boy turned around, scowling slightly as he stood waiting for her
to reach him.
"Geeze, Akari!" He said not bothering to hide the irritation in his childish voice.
"You're so slow!"
She cast him an apologetic smile as she came to his side. The boy frowned again.
"We have to find the ball before Eikichi finds out and gets mad," he said as he
started to walk on, looking from side to side as he went. Akari brushed the dark shoulder
length hair that framed her small face out of her eyes.
"You're the one who lost it," she reminded him, looking slightly down at him.
"I think it landed somewhere around here," he said absently, choosing to ignore
the comment. "I'll go to the left, you go to the right. If you find it, just shout." He said,
pointing off the trail and into the trees that lined it.
Akari frowned. She didn't like being in the park by herself. Even in the daytime it
was scary, especially if you went off the path. That was one of the reasons why she had
volunteered to help Hikaru look for the baseball in the first place. She didn't want him to
leave her alone.
"Let's both look together," she suggested instead, smiling hopefully.
"Why?" he asked "We'll find it quicker this way." Akira looked down at her
shoes, nervously tugging at her powder pink shirt.
"I don't wanna go by myself," she admitted reluctantly, scratching her arm self-
consciously. "It's... it's scary." The boy made a face. Sometimes Akari could be
such a.... such a GIRL.
"Don't be a baby," he said meanly after a moment.
"I'm not being a baby!" came the indignant squeak.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are TOO!!"
"Am NOT!!"
And to prove her point Akari stomped her foot, turned around and headed into the
brush to her left (but not before stopping to stick her tongue out at her friend before she
disappeared into the shrubs). Hikaru stuck his tongue out in return, but as there was no
one there to see it, it was slightly pointless. After staring into the woods for a
moment to make sure Akari had actually gone to look, the boy shrugged to himself and
went off the trail to his right.
Fifteen minutes later Shindo emerged from the shrubs empty handed.
"Akari, did you find the ba-" the little boy began, but he shut his mouth quickly
as he looked up into an empty path. Where was Akari? He looked around curiously, but
his friend was nowhere to be seen. Hikaru frowned.
"Akari?" he asked, hopefully. "Akari, come on out! Did you find the ball?"
No reply.
"Akari?"
Silence.
"Akari, this isn't funny!!"
More silence.
"Uh-oh," he said to himself. This was not good. Nope. First he lost Eikichi's ball
and now he'd lost Akari. And he'd told his mom he'd be careful too. He was going
to be in sooooo much trouble when she found out. Hikaru swallowed.
He had to find Akari, that was all. And with any luck she'd found the ball.
Shindo nodded to himself. She was probably just trying to make him nervous anyway.
//I'm gonna hit her so hard if she's hiding! // he thought angrily to himself as he
pushed aside the bushes to follow after his friend. He walked for at least ten minutes
before he came into a clearing on the other side of the park. //Where did she go?!?!//
Hikaru asked himself anxiously. He was really starting to get nervous now. Suddenly
he spotted a head with dark shoulder length hair hiding behind a shrub. And it was
attached to a body wearing a light powder pink shirt just like Akari's. Shindo let out a
sigh of relief. She HAD been hiding. An evil grin spread across the boy's face. Akari had
her back turned to the bushes; she hadn't seen him yet. Slowly he crept up behind
the unsuspecting girl.
"Gottcha!" Hikaru shouted triumphantly as he grabbed on to the familiar shirt,
tugging hard on his friend's arm as he punched her (hard). Stupid girl. She got what she
deserved.
"Ooowww!"
The smile faded off Hikaru's lips as the person he punched turned to face him.
"Why did you do that?!?!" the child yelled standing up to look at his attacker,
confusion and pain mingled on his face.
It wasn't Akari. It wasn't even a GIRL.
"Whaa- --?" Shindo replied, shocked by this development. Before him stood a
little boy, tears stinging his eyes, with dark shoulder length hair just like his friend.
"Why did you do that?!?!" he asked again, more angry than hurt now.
"Sorry," Shindo replied automatically. This seemed to placate the injured child
and he sat down again after casting his attacker a searching yet weary look. Hikaru stared
stupidly at the other boy for a long moment, trying to process this new development.
After he had recovered from the initial shock, Shindo finally regained the ability to form
sentences again.
"You're not Akari," he accused in a voice of mild irritation, glaring at the other
boy as if it were his fault.
"No," the child replied, shaking his head innocently "I'm Akira." Shindo looked
at the other boy carefully for a long moment before answering.
"Where's Akari?" he demanded.
"I don't know," the long haired child replied, looking behind his shoulder
nervously. Why did this weird boy have to be so LOUD? Noticing Akira's odd behavior,
the Hikaru wrinkled his brow in mild confusion.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously. The long haired boy looked up at
him hesitantly, studying him for a moment.
"Hiding," came the reply after a brief pause.
"Why?" Hikaru wanted to know.
"Do you have to be so loud?" the boy in the pink shirt asked irritably, looking
quickly from side to side again. The other boy frowned.
"Why?" he repeated, trying his best to whisper. He wasn't quiet by nature and
this was especially difficult for the five year old.
The long haired boy sighed. This kid wasn't going to leave unless he told him
something. Since he was never a very good liar (he could never fool his mother anyway)
Akira opted for telling the truth.
"Because the other boys'll make fun of me," he answered grudgingly. He
realized that this child would probably do the same, but for some reason he didn't
actually believe it.
Shindo knit his eyebrows in confusion; he didn't understand.
"Why would they make fun of you?" he asked. Akira was mildly surprised by the
question. He just assumed it was obvious.
"They say I look like a girl," he admitted reluctantly. The long haired boy fought
the tears he felt rising to his eyes. Hikaru stood there thinking for a moment. Then he
burst into a fit of high pitched giggles.
"It's not funny!" Akira yelled, pounding the grass indignantly with his tiny fists.
"Yeah it is!" Shindo said merrily "I thought you were a girl too!"
Akira pouted. He couldn't help it, he felt betrayed.
"Shut up, baka!" he shouted angrily, tears rolling down his cheeks. Angry, Hikaru
opened his mouth wide to defend himself but stopped half way as he noticed his
companion was crying.
He shut his mouth, feeling a twinge of guilt building in his stomach. Rubbing the
back of his head, Shindo bent down to look at the other boy.
"I'm sorry," he said softly as he put a pudgy hand awkwardly on Akira's back,
trying to console him. The other child looked up, briefly startled out of his misery. The
long haired boy bit his lip trying to stop his tears. Hikaru made a pained expression. He
really hadn't meant to make him cry. "Let's play together!" he said brightly, hoping to
distract the other boy.
Akira's sobs lessened.
"Play what?" he asked hesitantly rubbing his eyes with the back of his small hand.
"Anything you want!" came the reply.
"Anything?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?" Hikaru answered, slightly annoyed. He was being
nice here.
"Let's play go!" the other boy replied excitedly after a pause.
"Go?"
"Uh-huh!" Akira answered brightly. His mother made him come to the park so
he could get away from the game and get some fresh air with children his own age.
But if he was playing with a boy his age then his mother couldn't complain, right?
"Ogata-san has a board!" he went on happily.
"Who?" Shindo asked, still in shock by the words that had come out of the
long haired boy's mouth.
"Ogata-san! He brought me here today!" Akira explained casually, missing his
companion's confused yet horrified expression.
"I don't wanna play go!" Hikaru shouted forcefully as he recovered his wits.
"Why not?" the other boy asked, genuinely puzzled. Shindo felt his jaw drop.
Wasn't that OBVIOUS?!?!
"Go is for old people!" he answered as if that explained everything.
"But it's fun," the long haired boy replied innocently.
"It's boring!" came the vehement reply. Akira couldn't believe what he was
hearing.
"Have you ever played?" he asked.
"I don't need to!" the other boy shot back. "Only old people play go!"
"I like go!" Akira shouted defensively.
"Ok, only old people and girls play go!" Hikaru replied harshly.
Oops.
// I should NOT have said that // he thought to himself as he smacked a
pudgy hand against his forehead. But he was relieved to see that Akira wasn't crying
again. Nope. Instead he had his tiny hands balled up into fists and he was glaring at
Hikaru hatefully.
"How can you say that if you've never even played, BAKA?!?!" the long haired
boy yelled angrily. Shindo felt the blood rush to his face.
"BAKA???!!!" he asked loudly, flabbergasted by his anger.
"Baka!" Akira confirmed, eyeing the other boy defiantly. Both boys were now
standing up glaring at each other, their heads only inches apart.
"Fine!" Hikaru shouted, backing away first. "I'm leaving, you stupid girl!" he
cried harshly. He didn't care if he was mean. The other boy had really made him mad.
"Fine!" Akira shouted in return, spinning around on his heals to face the other
direction. Hikaru stuck out his tongue, once again at someone who couldn't see him.
Stomping angrily he went back the way he came. He was surprised, however, to see
Akari running towards him across the clearing.
Shindo felt a pang of guilt. He had forgotten all about Akari.
"Hi-ka-ru!" she screamed happily as she reached his side, the relief clear on her
face.
"Hi, Akari" he said in a childish voice.
"Where have you been?" she asked irritably, "I've been looking all over for you!"
"I was looking for YOU, baka!" he said indignantly. The girl gave him a look of
disbelief and Hikaru felt his cheeks begin to flush. He'd never been a good a liar.
"Mostly," he corrected, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Here," the girl said, choosing to ignore the earlier insult as she extended her arm
to reveal a slightly dirty baseball. "I found it!" she declared proudly. Hikaru's face lit up
into a bright smile.
"Great!" he beamed happily, snatching the ball from his friend's hand. "Let's put
this before Eikichi finds out I took it!"
"You mean you didn't ASK if you could borrow it?!?" Akari nearly shouted in
surprise.
"Geeze, Akari! You don't have to be so loud about it!" came the even noisier
reply. Akari rolled her eyes, unable or unwilling to believe just how stupid Hikaru could
BE sometimes. He was such a... such a BOY!
"Alright," she agreed in exasperation. "Let's go."
Hikaru smiled happily as he ran off towards his house.
"Hi-ka-ru!" Akari cried as she ran hastily to catch up to the friend who had left
her behind. Again. The boy turned around, scowling slightly as he stood waiting for her
to reach him.
"Geeze, Akari!" He said not bothering to hide the irritation in his childish voice.
"You're so slow!"
She cast him an apologetic smile as she reached him. And they walked
together side by side as they left the park.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
SOMEWHERE IN THE HIMALAYAS, ABOVE THE CLOUDS LATER THAT DAY...
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Parvati eyed her lover anxiously and sighed. It had been over a seven hundred
days since she had left him to meditate on his mountain top in solitude. The daughter of
the mountains had sworn to herself then that she would not disturb her husband again, not
until the issue with his pets had resolved itself at least. He was becoming irritable with
her intrusions and even she didn't want to make him angry. Shiva was ...
unpleasant when he was angry. But she had kept an eye on his pets nonetheless. Not that
Parvati actually cared one way or another about Igo. She knew that a simple mortal could
never obtain the hand of God. But it pained her to see Shiva suffer so. And despite his
stoic mask she knew that he was suffering. For as long as she had watched him, observed
him, loved him how could she NOT know? For some unknown reason her lover seemed
to care a great deal about the progress of these children and she knew it pained him to see
such potential wasted. So for his sake she had watched his humans, his 'gifted' ones. And
she hoped against hope that maybe she was wrong, that perhaps a human COULD find
the hand of God. For Shiva's sake at least.
She sighed again. Today must have been a harsh blow for him, she knew. He
had put a great deal of effort into orchestrating the day's events only to have them come
to no avail. She silently cursed the humans who had caused her lover so much distress.
She was sure that after these earlier events he would be in need of some company, though
he would pretend to resent it no doubt.
"I should have known you would come," the impassive god said without opening
his eyes, startling her out of her reverie. He didn't bother to hide the irritation in his voice.
"Yes," she replied flatly "You should have," and she couldn't help but smile
slightly at the creasing of her husband's brow as he silently acknowledged her point. He
had known she would come. Of course she would. He needed her by his side now. How
could she do anything else but go to him?
"You've been watching them too," he said after a moment. Parvati didn't make a
response. None was required. It hadn't been a question. "You saw what happened
today," he continued, looking up to meet her eyes for the first time since she had
appeared before him. She felt her chest tighten as she stared into the brown pools; he
seemed so disappointed. Briefly she felt the urge to embrace him, to beg him to forget
those stupid humans and come with her. But she pushed the thought aside. Her impulse
was more the product of her longing to be with him than any desire to help solve his
problem. And besides, Shiva would refuse her anyway.
"Yes, I did" she confirmed after a moment, more to fill the silence that had
followed her husband's statement than anything else. He looked at her again, straining to
keep his composure but she knew that he was struggling. She knew him far too well for
him to be able to hide his emotions with any real success.
"Perhaps he needs more time to mature," she said as she looked into his eyes.
"Give him a few years more. And if he still doesn't play, you always have the other one,
don't you?"
"But there must be two," her husband answered, his voice so calm and
emotionless that it was impossible for anyone to detect the frustration there. Impossible
for anyone except Parvati, of course.
"But either way the first one will advance the game," she countered. And
she gave a soft sigh of relief as she saw her husband's eyes soften, knowing that her
words had provided him with at least some small amount of comfort. "Wait a few years
more," she said again, bending down to look at him.
"A few years more," he agreed.
The goddess smiled wanly as she noticed Shiva's pale complexion despite the ash
that covered his skin. She frowned inwardly as she made a vow to herself. If Shindo
Hikaru made her lover worry much longer Parvati would personally see to it that the boy
was reincarnated as a dung beetle.
"Just a few more," she said and casting one last worried look at her husband
she left him alone on his mountain top to meditate in peace.
************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I'd just like to make a few statements:
*Ahem*
1) I realize that simply because a religion is founded primarily in Asia that it doesn't necessarily have any connection to Igo (as far as I know Go has no religious affiliation, but I'm pretty ignorant about this so I might be wrong.) Anyway I'm a fairly lazy individual who will shamelessly exploit / manipulate mythological entities if it suits my purposes (exhibit A *points to story*). Shiva and Parvati worked with my idea... so I used them. I might have used Zeus and Herra (sp?) if I thought I could pull it off.
2) Touya, Hikaru, Sai, and Honinbo are all (I think) Japanese so I thought maybe Shiva would have a soft spot for Japan. It's fiction. Don't blame me. Blame Hotta Yumi. ^_^.
3) This fic is just for fun, and like I said: it's an experiment. I wanted to try something kind of weird so I wrote this. *scratches head* I'm not sure how it turned out over all but at least I'm not too embarrassed to post it, neh? Thanks for reading! Again, if I made any glaring errors, just tell me and I'll try to fix it. If you have any questions, ask and I'll try to answer them (as long as I understand what the question is... I have problems with that sometimes). Ok! That's it! Thanks!
^_^
Oh well. *sigh* Here it is:
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SOMEWHERE IN THE HIMALAYAS, ABOVE THE CLOUDS 749 DAYS LATER... (2 years, two weeks and 5 days ^_^)
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Shiva sat, his legs crossed, in much the same position he had been assuming for
well over seven hundred days. During that time the stone-faced deity had been thinking,
planning, calculating as he watched over the humans he knew would one day realize his
dream. The snake around his neck stirred slightly as a smile touched the impassive god's
lips.
Today was the day.
The smile grew wider as he allowed his thoughts to drift.
It was so obvious! Why, he wondered idly, hadn't it occurred to him before? After
all, it was only natural that the Meijin's son be the one to lead Hikaru down his destined
path. Meeting his fated rival was sure to draw the obstinate boy into the game of go.
Their souls were linked irrevocably by destiny, after all.
Shiva felt a swell of excitement and he allowed a wave of relief to wash over him.
For too long now he had been worried that perhaps Parvati had been right. And the fact
that he was certain she had been watching day after day as Hikaru ignored the game and
denied Shiva his peace of mind had only served to greaten the god's anxiety.
If it were not for the elation instilled in him by the knowledge that the realization
of his plan was close at hand, Shiva would have frowned as his thoughts wandered to his
wife.
He knew, of course, that his lover had been watching the humans' progress just as
he had been. And while he also knew that she only did it out of her concern for him, it
irritated the god to no end.
Why was she so sure that he was wrong? Did she not trust his judgment?
Shiva's eyes flickered slightly as he fought to regain control of his thoughts. She
had been correct so far, he reminded himself irritably. And though he knew his wife got
no pleasure from his miscalculations and errors, at times it felt as though she MUST.
Why else would she always be there whenever he happened to fail?
The god sighed. He knew the answer.
But Parvati would not come today, he vowed as he redirected his attention back to
the situation at hand. No. She would not need to. Today he would not fail. Shiva smiled
in anticipation as he cast his eternal gaze onto the mortal world below.
Today Shindo Hikaru would finally accept his destiny.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
TOKYO, JAPAN ...
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Hi-ka-ru!" the young girl cried as she ran hastily to catch up to the friend who
had left her behind. The boy turned around, scowling slightly as he stood waiting for her
to reach him.
"Geeze, Akari!" He said not bothering to hide the irritation in his childish voice.
"You're so slow!"
She cast him an apologetic smile as she came to his side. The boy frowned again.
"We have to find the ball before Eikichi finds out and gets mad," he said as he
started to walk on, looking from side to side as he went. Akari brushed the dark shoulder
length hair that framed her small face out of her eyes.
"You're the one who lost it," she reminded him, looking slightly down at him.
"I think it landed somewhere around here," he said absently, choosing to ignore
the comment. "I'll go to the left, you go to the right. If you find it, just shout." He said,
pointing off the trail and into the trees that lined it.
Akari frowned. She didn't like being in the park by herself. Even in the daytime it
was scary, especially if you went off the path. That was one of the reasons why she had
volunteered to help Hikaru look for the baseball in the first place. She didn't want him to
leave her alone.
"Let's both look together," she suggested instead, smiling hopefully.
"Why?" he asked "We'll find it quicker this way." Akira looked down at her
shoes, nervously tugging at her powder pink shirt.
"I don't wanna go by myself," she admitted reluctantly, scratching her arm self-
consciously. "It's... it's scary." The boy made a face. Sometimes Akari could be
such a.... such a GIRL.
"Don't be a baby," he said meanly after a moment.
"I'm not being a baby!" came the indignant squeak.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are TOO!!"
"Am NOT!!"
And to prove her point Akari stomped her foot, turned around and headed into the
brush to her left (but not before stopping to stick her tongue out at her friend before she
disappeared into the shrubs). Hikaru stuck his tongue out in return, but as there was no
one there to see it, it was slightly pointless. After staring into the woods for a
moment to make sure Akari had actually gone to look, the boy shrugged to himself and
went off the trail to his right.
Fifteen minutes later Shindo emerged from the shrubs empty handed.
"Akari, did you find the ba-" the little boy began, but he shut his mouth quickly
as he looked up into an empty path. Where was Akari? He looked around curiously, but
his friend was nowhere to be seen. Hikaru frowned.
"Akari?" he asked, hopefully. "Akari, come on out! Did you find the ball?"
No reply.
"Akari?"
Silence.
"Akari, this isn't funny!!"
More silence.
"Uh-oh," he said to himself. This was not good. Nope. First he lost Eikichi's ball
and now he'd lost Akari. And he'd told his mom he'd be careful too. He was going
to be in sooooo much trouble when she found out. Hikaru swallowed.
He had to find Akari, that was all. And with any luck she'd found the ball.
Shindo nodded to himself. She was probably just trying to make him nervous anyway.
//I'm gonna hit her so hard if she's hiding! // he thought angrily to himself as he
pushed aside the bushes to follow after his friend. He walked for at least ten minutes
before he came into a clearing on the other side of the park. //Where did she go?!?!//
Hikaru asked himself anxiously. He was really starting to get nervous now. Suddenly
he spotted a head with dark shoulder length hair hiding behind a shrub. And it was
attached to a body wearing a light powder pink shirt just like Akari's. Shindo let out a
sigh of relief. She HAD been hiding. An evil grin spread across the boy's face. Akari had
her back turned to the bushes; she hadn't seen him yet. Slowly he crept up behind
the unsuspecting girl.
"Gottcha!" Hikaru shouted triumphantly as he grabbed on to the familiar shirt,
tugging hard on his friend's arm as he punched her (hard). Stupid girl. She got what she
deserved.
"Ooowww!"
The smile faded off Hikaru's lips as the person he punched turned to face him.
"Why did you do that?!?!" the child yelled standing up to look at his attacker,
confusion and pain mingled on his face.
It wasn't Akari. It wasn't even a GIRL.
"Whaa- --?" Shindo replied, shocked by this development. Before him stood a
little boy, tears stinging his eyes, with dark shoulder length hair just like his friend.
"Why did you do that?!?!" he asked again, more angry than hurt now.
"Sorry," Shindo replied automatically. This seemed to placate the injured child
and he sat down again after casting his attacker a searching yet weary look. Hikaru stared
stupidly at the other boy for a long moment, trying to process this new development.
After he had recovered from the initial shock, Shindo finally regained the ability to form
sentences again.
"You're not Akari," he accused in a voice of mild irritation, glaring at the other
boy as if it were his fault.
"No," the child replied, shaking his head innocently "I'm Akira." Shindo looked
at the other boy carefully for a long moment before answering.
"Where's Akari?" he demanded.
"I don't know," the long haired child replied, looking behind his shoulder
nervously. Why did this weird boy have to be so LOUD? Noticing Akira's odd behavior,
the Hikaru wrinkled his brow in mild confusion.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously. The long haired boy looked up at
him hesitantly, studying him for a moment.
"Hiding," came the reply after a brief pause.
"Why?" Hikaru wanted to know.
"Do you have to be so loud?" the boy in the pink shirt asked irritably, looking
quickly from side to side again. The other boy frowned.
"Why?" he repeated, trying his best to whisper. He wasn't quiet by nature and
this was especially difficult for the five year old.
The long haired boy sighed. This kid wasn't going to leave unless he told him
something. Since he was never a very good liar (he could never fool his mother anyway)
Akira opted for telling the truth.
"Because the other boys'll make fun of me," he answered grudgingly. He
realized that this child would probably do the same, but for some reason he didn't
actually believe it.
Shindo knit his eyebrows in confusion; he didn't understand.
"Why would they make fun of you?" he asked. Akira was mildly surprised by the
question. He just assumed it was obvious.
"They say I look like a girl," he admitted reluctantly. The long haired boy fought
the tears he felt rising to his eyes. Hikaru stood there thinking for a moment. Then he
burst into a fit of high pitched giggles.
"It's not funny!" Akira yelled, pounding the grass indignantly with his tiny fists.
"Yeah it is!" Shindo said merrily "I thought you were a girl too!"
Akira pouted. He couldn't help it, he felt betrayed.
"Shut up, baka!" he shouted angrily, tears rolling down his cheeks. Angry, Hikaru
opened his mouth wide to defend himself but stopped half way as he noticed his
companion was crying.
He shut his mouth, feeling a twinge of guilt building in his stomach. Rubbing the
back of his head, Shindo bent down to look at the other boy.
"I'm sorry," he said softly as he put a pudgy hand awkwardly on Akira's back,
trying to console him. The other child looked up, briefly startled out of his misery. The
long haired boy bit his lip trying to stop his tears. Hikaru made a pained expression. He
really hadn't meant to make him cry. "Let's play together!" he said brightly, hoping to
distract the other boy.
Akira's sobs lessened.
"Play what?" he asked hesitantly rubbing his eyes with the back of his small hand.
"Anything you want!" came the reply.
"Anything?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?" Hikaru answered, slightly annoyed. He was being
nice here.
"Let's play go!" the other boy replied excitedly after a pause.
"Go?"
"Uh-huh!" Akira answered brightly. His mother made him come to the park so
he could get away from the game and get some fresh air with children his own age.
But if he was playing with a boy his age then his mother couldn't complain, right?
"Ogata-san has a board!" he went on happily.
"Who?" Shindo asked, still in shock by the words that had come out of the
long haired boy's mouth.
"Ogata-san! He brought me here today!" Akira explained casually, missing his
companion's confused yet horrified expression.
"I don't wanna play go!" Hikaru shouted forcefully as he recovered his wits.
"Why not?" the other boy asked, genuinely puzzled. Shindo felt his jaw drop.
Wasn't that OBVIOUS?!?!
"Go is for old people!" he answered as if that explained everything.
"But it's fun," the long haired boy replied innocently.
"It's boring!" came the vehement reply. Akira couldn't believe what he was
hearing.
"Have you ever played?" he asked.
"I don't need to!" the other boy shot back. "Only old people play go!"
"I like go!" Akira shouted defensively.
"Ok, only old people and girls play go!" Hikaru replied harshly.
Oops.
// I should NOT have said that // he thought to himself as he smacked a
pudgy hand against his forehead. But he was relieved to see that Akira wasn't crying
again. Nope. Instead he had his tiny hands balled up into fists and he was glaring at
Hikaru hatefully.
"How can you say that if you've never even played, BAKA?!?!" the long haired
boy yelled angrily. Shindo felt the blood rush to his face.
"BAKA???!!!" he asked loudly, flabbergasted by his anger.
"Baka!" Akira confirmed, eyeing the other boy defiantly. Both boys were now
standing up glaring at each other, their heads only inches apart.
"Fine!" Hikaru shouted, backing away first. "I'm leaving, you stupid girl!" he
cried harshly. He didn't care if he was mean. The other boy had really made him mad.
"Fine!" Akira shouted in return, spinning around on his heals to face the other
direction. Hikaru stuck out his tongue, once again at someone who couldn't see him.
Stomping angrily he went back the way he came. He was surprised, however, to see
Akari running towards him across the clearing.
Shindo felt a pang of guilt. He had forgotten all about Akari.
"Hi-ka-ru!" she screamed happily as she reached his side, the relief clear on her
face.
"Hi, Akari" he said in a childish voice.
"Where have you been?" she asked irritably, "I've been looking all over for you!"
"I was looking for YOU, baka!" he said indignantly. The girl gave him a look of
disbelief and Hikaru felt his cheeks begin to flush. He'd never been a good a liar.
"Mostly," he corrected, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Here," the girl said, choosing to ignore the earlier insult as she extended her arm
to reveal a slightly dirty baseball. "I found it!" she declared proudly. Hikaru's face lit up
into a bright smile.
"Great!" he beamed happily, snatching the ball from his friend's hand. "Let's put
this before Eikichi finds out I took it!"
"You mean you didn't ASK if you could borrow it?!?" Akari nearly shouted in
surprise.
"Geeze, Akari! You don't have to be so loud about it!" came the even noisier
reply. Akari rolled her eyes, unable or unwilling to believe just how stupid Hikaru could
BE sometimes. He was such a... such a BOY!
"Alright," she agreed in exasperation. "Let's go."
Hikaru smiled happily as he ran off towards his house.
"Hi-ka-ru!" Akari cried as she ran hastily to catch up to the friend who had left
her behind. Again. The boy turned around, scowling slightly as he stood waiting for her
to reach him.
"Geeze, Akari!" He said not bothering to hide the irritation in his childish voice.
"You're so slow!"
She cast him an apologetic smile as she reached him. And they walked
together side by side as they left the park.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
SOMEWHERE IN THE HIMALAYAS, ABOVE THE CLOUDS LATER THAT DAY...
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ .~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Parvati eyed her lover anxiously and sighed. It had been over a seven hundred
days since she had left him to meditate on his mountain top in solitude. The daughter of
the mountains had sworn to herself then that she would not disturb her husband again, not
until the issue with his pets had resolved itself at least. He was becoming irritable with
her intrusions and even she didn't want to make him angry. Shiva was ...
unpleasant when he was angry. But she had kept an eye on his pets nonetheless. Not that
Parvati actually cared one way or another about Igo. She knew that a simple mortal could
never obtain the hand of God. But it pained her to see Shiva suffer so. And despite his
stoic mask she knew that he was suffering. For as long as she had watched him, observed
him, loved him how could she NOT know? For some unknown reason her lover seemed
to care a great deal about the progress of these children and she knew it pained him to see
such potential wasted. So for his sake she had watched his humans, his 'gifted' ones. And
she hoped against hope that maybe she was wrong, that perhaps a human COULD find
the hand of God. For Shiva's sake at least.
She sighed again. Today must have been a harsh blow for him, she knew. He
had put a great deal of effort into orchestrating the day's events only to have them come
to no avail. She silently cursed the humans who had caused her lover so much distress.
She was sure that after these earlier events he would be in need of some company, though
he would pretend to resent it no doubt.
"I should have known you would come," the impassive god said without opening
his eyes, startling her out of her reverie. He didn't bother to hide the irritation in his voice.
"Yes," she replied flatly "You should have," and she couldn't help but smile
slightly at the creasing of her husband's brow as he silently acknowledged her point. He
had known she would come. Of course she would. He needed her by his side now. How
could she do anything else but go to him?
"You've been watching them too," he said after a moment. Parvati didn't make a
response. None was required. It hadn't been a question. "You saw what happened
today," he continued, looking up to meet her eyes for the first time since she had
appeared before him. She felt her chest tighten as she stared into the brown pools; he
seemed so disappointed. Briefly she felt the urge to embrace him, to beg him to forget
those stupid humans and come with her. But she pushed the thought aside. Her impulse
was more the product of her longing to be with him than any desire to help solve his
problem. And besides, Shiva would refuse her anyway.
"Yes, I did" she confirmed after a moment, more to fill the silence that had
followed her husband's statement than anything else. He looked at her again, straining to
keep his composure but she knew that he was struggling. She knew him far too well for
him to be able to hide his emotions with any real success.
"Perhaps he needs more time to mature," she said as she looked into his eyes.
"Give him a few years more. And if he still doesn't play, you always have the other one,
don't you?"
"But there must be two," her husband answered, his voice so calm and
emotionless that it was impossible for anyone to detect the frustration there. Impossible
for anyone except Parvati, of course.
"But either way the first one will advance the game," she countered. And
she gave a soft sigh of relief as she saw her husband's eyes soften, knowing that her
words had provided him with at least some small amount of comfort. "Wait a few years
more," she said again, bending down to look at him.
"A few years more," he agreed.
The goddess smiled wanly as she noticed Shiva's pale complexion despite the ash
that covered his skin. She frowned inwardly as she made a vow to herself. If Shindo
Hikaru made her lover worry much longer Parvati would personally see to it that the boy
was reincarnated as a dung beetle.
"Just a few more," she said and casting one last worried look at her husband
she left him alone on his mountain top to meditate in peace.
************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I'd just like to make a few statements:
*Ahem*
1) I realize that simply because a religion is founded primarily in Asia that it doesn't necessarily have any connection to Igo (as far as I know Go has no religious affiliation, but I'm pretty ignorant about this so I might be wrong.) Anyway I'm a fairly lazy individual who will shamelessly exploit / manipulate mythological entities if it suits my purposes (exhibit A *points to story*). Shiva and Parvati worked with my idea... so I used them. I might have used Zeus and Herra (sp?) if I thought I could pull it off.
2) Touya, Hikaru, Sai, and Honinbo are all (I think) Japanese so I thought maybe Shiva would have a soft spot for Japan. It's fiction. Don't blame me. Blame Hotta Yumi. ^_^.
3) This fic is just for fun, and like I said: it's an experiment. I wanted to try something kind of weird so I wrote this. *scratches head* I'm not sure how it turned out over all but at least I'm not too embarrassed to post it, neh? Thanks for reading! Again, if I made any glaring errors, just tell me and I'll try to fix it. If you have any questions, ask and I'll try to answer them (as long as I understand what the question is... I have problems with that sometimes). Ok! That's it! Thanks!
^_^
