A/N: This is my first try at a Hikaru No Go fanfic. It's been sometime
since I read the manga, so please forgive me if some things are not
accurate. This is later going to be a Akira/ Hikaru. It's also going to be
very AU. Something very dramatic happened to Akira when he was 16 that
caused him to walk down a completely different path. Akira's life no longer
revolves around go. There won't be much go, so sorry if that's what you
wanted. I'll try to focus more on the interaction between the people.
Please enjoy.
**************** Akira stared out the window at the stars and sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Then again, a lot had happened during that year. Three years had passed since then, and Akira was now 19. He was studying hard to become a doctor like his elder brother, Ichiro.
'Funny, that,' Akira mused. To think that he would ever be calling someone aniki. For all his life, he had thought he was an only child. Since he was a young one, he had been intensely focused upon go. Go was his life, what he lived for. However, from time to time, he had wondered what it would be like to have siblings, to be able to look up to an older brother, someone he could call onii-san.
'Fate must have a strange sense of humor. I pondered upon having siblings and even occasionally about how I could possibly live my life without go.'
Lady Fate had decided not only to grant him the role of younger brother and older brother, but also to lead him so far down a different road that go was now completely peripheral to the world he lived in. It sometimes puzzled Akira when he thought upon it. Once, he felt he couldn't live without go. Now, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to understand why he had devoted so much of his life to the board game.
'Still, I remember something of the old fire and passion that drove me on in those days, how I lived and breathed go. However, that was a lifetime ago. I'm not the same youth I was. I'm a different person now. I no longer have time for go. Where I would have once died to reach the kami no itte, now I no longer have time for go as I am busy studying for the medical examinations and just as importantly, supporting and loving my three brothers in any way I can. They're the only family I have left. I refuse to lose them.'
That reminded him. During the first days, he had still been trying to adjust to the idea that he was an elder in the family, seeing as he also had two younger brothers. They were twins, actually, and their names were Sanro and Shiro. While all four of the brothers had become very close, Sanro and Shiro had always shared a special bond as twins. Those two were much closer to each other in ways that not even Akira and Ichiro could share or completely fathom.
'Sanro and Shiro are almost total opposites in terms of personality, at least on the surface. Then again, I suppose that is why they're so close. They complete one another, repairing the cracks in the broken mirror and becoming whole.'
While Sanro was the older twin, he was the more passive. He excelled in playing the violin and piano. He possessed true talent, which was driven by his deep love and appreciation for classical music. He was a member of the local orchestra for Tokyo, often performing for visiting officials and dignitaries in addition to their own. Their orchestra was always very well received and had praises heaped upon them.
'Sanro has always best appreciated music among the four of us. He once told me that he feels music to be the greatest creation of mankind. It expunges sorrow, delivers happiness, and heals the weary psyche.'
Sanro pursued the music with the same drive and passion that Akira had once possessed for go. Sanro played for something deeper. When he played the music, he was channeling the thoughts and emotions of his soul, expressing them through the music. If there was sorrow, it only served to enrich his music. Music was the language of the soul, and Sanro truly understood that. After playing a particular passionate piece, the three of them would find him shedding tears of happiness. He always told them that by playing the music, he could learn what it meant to be human. The music brought him so close to the soul, to the raw and undiluted emotions. They made him feel the pure essence of everything about humans that was good and true. Eventually, he would truly comprehend and finally gain his humanity. Above all else, Sanro earned to be human.
'Sanro has always been one of the more philosophical among us. In his free time, he loves to read novels or take walks in the light rain. He enjoys the simple pleasure of life, smelling roses, admiring the morning dew, and even sitting inside and enjoying the quiet on a rainy day. His favorite hobby is to sit in a quiet place and ponder upon life. Still, he never does those things alone for long. Where Sanro is, I can bet my life that Shiro will be there shortly if he is not already there.'
Yes, his third and youngest brother, Shiro. Shiro was very hot-blooded to say the least. He was brash, direct, and never afraid to express his opinions. He was definitely the more physically active and energetic of the twins. He had an excellent physique, and he was the top member in one of the best kendo teams in Tokyo. He loved to play sports like soccer and basketball. All in all, Shiro was the most athletic. An interesting detail to note was that Shiro had a rather noticeable tendency of becoming very protective and emotional where Sanro was concerned.
'Shiro would never let any harm come to Sanro. I found out later that even as young ones, Shiro was always there to beat up the bullies that tried to hurt Sanro. Shiro is always with Sanro wherever he goes. More often than not, I've found Sanro resting his head on Shiro's shoulders, and Shiro is holding Sanro protectively in his arms. Only around us is Shiro quiet and tender, and he is fully so only with Sanro. I'm glad that my otouto share such a strong bond, and that I can partake of it.'
Akira then thought about Ichiro, his older brother and the person he admired and looked up to. He was following in his aniki's footsteps.
'After all, someone has to be there to catch him when he stumbles. I wish he wouldn't feel so guilty about what happened all those years ago. There's only so much even doctors can do to help people. Then again, he is the oldest among us, and that has made him especially aware of his responsibilities. That's why he's wracked with such painful guilt.'
Shaking his head, Akira went to help his brothers finish cleaning. One final thought ran through his head, though it was rather faint.
'Shindo Hikaru. I haven't seen him for three years now. Not since what happened. I wonder if he remembers me or if he wants to see me. Although we now walk completely different paths, I would like to see him again.'
**************** Akira stared out the window at the stars and sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Then again, a lot had happened during that year. Three years had passed since then, and Akira was now 19. He was studying hard to become a doctor like his elder brother, Ichiro.
'Funny, that,' Akira mused. To think that he would ever be calling someone aniki. For all his life, he had thought he was an only child. Since he was a young one, he had been intensely focused upon go. Go was his life, what he lived for. However, from time to time, he had wondered what it would be like to have siblings, to be able to look up to an older brother, someone he could call onii-san.
'Fate must have a strange sense of humor. I pondered upon having siblings and even occasionally about how I could possibly live my life without go.'
Lady Fate had decided not only to grant him the role of younger brother and older brother, but also to lead him so far down a different road that go was now completely peripheral to the world he lived in. It sometimes puzzled Akira when he thought upon it. Once, he felt he couldn't live without go. Now, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to understand why he had devoted so much of his life to the board game.
'Still, I remember something of the old fire and passion that drove me on in those days, how I lived and breathed go. However, that was a lifetime ago. I'm not the same youth I was. I'm a different person now. I no longer have time for go. Where I would have once died to reach the kami no itte, now I no longer have time for go as I am busy studying for the medical examinations and just as importantly, supporting and loving my three brothers in any way I can. They're the only family I have left. I refuse to lose them.'
That reminded him. During the first days, he had still been trying to adjust to the idea that he was an elder in the family, seeing as he also had two younger brothers. They were twins, actually, and their names were Sanro and Shiro. While all four of the brothers had become very close, Sanro and Shiro had always shared a special bond as twins. Those two were much closer to each other in ways that not even Akira and Ichiro could share or completely fathom.
'Sanro and Shiro are almost total opposites in terms of personality, at least on the surface. Then again, I suppose that is why they're so close. They complete one another, repairing the cracks in the broken mirror and becoming whole.'
While Sanro was the older twin, he was the more passive. He excelled in playing the violin and piano. He possessed true talent, which was driven by his deep love and appreciation for classical music. He was a member of the local orchestra for Tokyo, often performing for visiting officials and dignitaries in addition to their own. Their orchestra was always very well received and had praises heaped upon them.
'Sanro has always best appreciated music among the four of us. He once told me that he feels music to be the greatest creation of mankind. It expunges sorrow, delivers happiness, and heals the weary psyche.'
Sanro pursued the music with the same drive and passion that Akira had once possessed for go. Sanro played for something deeper. When he played the music, he was channeling the thoughts and emotions of his soul, expressing them through the music. If there was sorrow, it only served to enrich his music. Music was the language of the soul, and Sanro truly understood that. After playing a particular passionate piece, the three of them would find him shedding tears of happiness. He always told them that by playing the music, he could learn what it meant to be human. The music brought him so close to the soul, to the raw and undiluted emotions. They made him feel the pure essence of everything about humans that was good and true. Eventually, he would truly comprehend and finally gain his humanity. Above all else, Sanro earned to be human.
'Sanro has always been one of the more philosophical among us. In his free time, he loves to read novels or take walks in the light rain. He enjoys the simple pleasure of life, smelling roses, admiring the morning dew, and even sitting inside and enjoying the quiet on a rainy day. His favorite hobby is to sit in a quiet place and ponder upon life. Still, he never does those things alone for long. Where Sanro is, I can bet my life that Shiro will be there shortly if he is not already there.'
Yes, his third and youngest brother, Shiro. Shiro was very hot-blooded to say the least. He was brash, direct, and never afraid to express his opinions. He was definitely the more physically active and energetic of the twins. He had an excellent physique, and he was the top member in one of the best kendo teams in Tokyo. He loved to play sports like soccer and basketball. All in all, Shiro was the most athletic. An interesting detail to note was that Shiro had a rather noticeable tendency of becoming very protective and emotional where Sanro was concerned.
'Shiro would never let any harm come to Sanro. I found out later that even as young ones, Shiro was always there to beat up the bullies that tried to hurt Sanro. Shiro is always with Sanro wherever he goes. More often than not, I've found Sanro resting his head on Shiro's shoulders, and Shiro is holding Sanro protectively in his arms. Only around us is Shiro quiet and tender, and he is fully so only with Sanro. I'm glad that my otouto share such a strong bond, and that I can partake of it.'
Akira then thought about Ichiro, his older brother and the person he admired and looked up to. He was following in his aniki's footsteps.
'After all, someone has to be there to catch him when he stumbles. I wish he wouldn't feel so guilty about what happened all those years ago. There's only so much even doctors can do to help people. Then again, he is the oldest among us, and that has made him especially aware of his responsibilities. That's why he's wracked with such painful guilt.'
Shaking his head, Akira went to help his brothers finish cleaning. One final thought ran through his head, though it was rather faint.
'Shindo Hikaru. I haven't seen him for three years now. Not since what happened. I wonder if he remembers me or if he wants to see me. Although we now walk completely different paths, I would like to see him again.'
