"I'm so sorry to bother you, and all of a sudden as well."
"It's no problem at all. Give Masao my regards."
"Yes, of course. Hikaru, be a good boy with Ojii-san, okay?"
Hikaru's mother hurried off, leaving Hikaru himself staring at the old man before him. He'd only seen Jii-chan a couple of times and always with his parents. Usually he spent his days with Akari or one of his friends, playing soccer. Ooh, soccer...
"Saa, sa. Let's go inside, Hikaru."
Hikaru followed as fast as he could with his short, chubby legs, stumbling occasionally on the wooden floorboards.
"I'm going to go to a Go salon today. A friend recommended one beside a train station. Have you ever played Go, Hikaru? Hm, probably not, eh? I'll teach you. I was the City Go champion once, do you know?"
**ring ring**
"Ah, hang on a minute while I get that. Stay right there, okay?"
As Jii-chan's back retreated behind a door, Hikaru took this opportunity to look around. His curious eyes spied a dark, mysterious room across the courtyard. Totally ignoring his grandfather's commands, he tottered off.
"Uwa..." The dust got up his nose and he sneezed. "Ah, mou..."
He wiped his nose on his sleeve and glanced around him. There wasn't anything interesting here. How boring.
"Ah!"
He made his way to the wooden steps and began climbing them energetically, one at a time. Maybe there was something up there! Maybe there was food!
"Hah!"
Peeking triumphantly over the edge, he saw a large square table with two caskets on top. Food? Candy? Oh yes!
"Hikaru? Hikaru! Ah!! Hikaru!"
Aw, busted. He started climbing down but his feet somehow got muddled up and he felt himself going backwards...
"Ahh!!!"
His fall stopped abrubtly and he looked up.
"Jii-chan."
"Mou! Hikaru, what are you doing here?! Scared me half to death! What would I have said to your mother if you'd hurt yourself!"
"... Gomen nasai..."
Ojii-san put Hikaru down, still shaking from the shock. Were all grandsons this troublesome? Thank goodness he only had one!
"Listen Hikaru, you mustn't wander off by yourself like that."
"Un."
"I'm going to take you out now and it's very important that you stay with me, okay? You could get lost and you don't want that to happen to you?"
"Mm-mm."
"Good. So... No straying off by yourself?"
"No, Jii-chan."
Hikaru was rewarded by a pat on the head.
"Ok then, let's go."
Notes and message:
Mwahahaha! Chibi Hikaru! *gives Hikaru a huggle* Did I make him seem like a food fanatic or what? Well, he is a little kid here ^_______________^
Hehe, I almost made Hikaru meet Sai a little too early too. It's so fun trying to bring events that have already happened into the past. Can you guess which Go salon Hikaru's ojii-san is going to go to?
By the way... should I provide some kind of guide to the sounds like mou and saa and the word ojii-san? I have a feeling most of you know what they mean and how to pronounce it but correct me if I'm wrong.
This fic was originally going to be a one shot (eto, it sort of is...) but I think it's better if I split it into two (or three, I haven't really planned it yet). I'll try to hurry to the main point of the fic as some people have suggested in the past. It's coming up! Be patient!
Hm, now I want to draw a chibi Hikaru and tack it on my bedroom wall... ^^
** Thanks to toriyamaworld.com for the scanlation of the manga!
** Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my previous fics! Did I improve? Did I, did I??
** If I've been a baka and made mistakes, please point them out! I keep discovering typos in all my work (no, I don't have spell check on my cruddy computer, no I don't live in the US and I'm trying my best to change my spelling into american english).
** If you have any comments, please post them.