Much thanks to Ritz and Yami no Tenshi and other people who reviewed for
pointing out my silly mistakes - hehe, I haven't tried writing a story like
this before, where even I don't know what will happen in the next chapter!
(It's really a surprise. -_-;;) So if I screw something up, feel free to
throw Go stones in my general direction!
So thank you very much! I appreciate all the kind reviews!
Chapter Five: Kagerou - Mayfly
"Welcome home, Hikaru..." If Hikaru heard his mother's voice, he gave no sign of it. Mrs. Shindou frowned as Hikaru practically bounced up to his bedroom. It was the most cheerful she'd seen him in weeks, but... if he wanted dinner he would have to eat it in the dining room, and no exceptions! Even so, her mouth slowly transformed into a small smile. It was good for him to spend time with friends, instead of a bunch of moldy old men at Go salons.
It worried her, though, that he had suddenly given up what had for two years been a hobby that swallowed up everything else. She had almost gotten used to the idea of having a professional Go player for a son, no matter how weird it often felt. But lately... Hikaru had been merely studying halfheartedly for high school entrance exams, as if he didn't really care where he ended up. For whatever reasons, a smile on her son's face was a welcome sight.
And at least he had stopped sitting in his room and talking to himself - he was a little old for imaginary friends, right? And too young to be senile! Mrs. Shindou put Hikaru's dinner in the refrigerator.
Hikaru, one floor up, flopped on his bed and kicked the rumpled sheets on the floor. He had never, ever expected Touya Akira to show up. And he had absolutely never imagined himself to be so damn happy about it. They were rivals, after all, right? They were supposed to hate each other! Instead, Waya had taken over most of the demonstrations at the festival, allowing Hikaru and Akira to walk around. Akira was from another district, so even the most boring details of the shrine grounds were new to him.
"So... uh... how's your dad?" Hikaru had asked, holding up the elaborate costume while tiptoeing on rocks. A small stream crossed one corner of the shrine grounds, terminating at a big metal pipe. But as far as the borders of the shrine, it almost seemed like nature. Hikaru leapt from one precarious rock to another, while Akira stirred the water with a stick, watching fish swim in frenzied circles.
"He's okay. He says it's a lot less stressful, being retired... even his doctor says it's good."
"Oh. Well... uhhh..." Hikaru had reached a point where he could jump no further, balancing on a small rock a few feet from shore. In the costume, it was ridiculous and striking all at once, like something out of an old painting. "Damn, I'm stuck..."
"Turn around and come back the way you got there!"
"Can't - the rocks shifted."
"Then jump, and I can probably catch you." Hikaru's face flushed momentarily, so he looked away. Akira was as unshakably cool as ever.
"What do you mean by 'probably'!" It wasn't as if he had any other choice... He had jumped, and landed more or less on top of Akira, sending them both into the grass. Luckily it had been a dry summer and there was no mud. "Sorry!" exclaimed Hikaru as he rolled away, looking even redder.
Why wasn't Akira angry? Hikaru almost wanted him to be - at least it was easy to think of Touya Akira as just a rival, someone to hate. He pursued Akira simply to beat him. That was all.
The rationalizations sounded stupid, even to him. Without the neutral ground of Go, it was difficult to talk to the other boy. There was no basis for a rivalry, so there was no clean-cut relationship between the two. It was... almost like meeting a different Touya. They had walked back to the Haze Junior High tables, making idle chitchat and brushing grass off their clothing. And that was it. Outwardly simple, but so confusing...
Hikaru fitfully threw a stuffed animal onto the floor. He was still a kid, what did he know about this kind of stuff? There was an adult inside him, too, though. The same grown-up, serious person that seemed to take over when he played was now analyzing as if this were a title match.
The best move, thought Hikaru to himself. It was like Go between pros where both sides concealed their true motives, relying only on an ability to read far into the future of the game to make careful moves that betrayed nothing. Hikaru could not see the conclusion of this game, but... in a good match, the stones surrounded each other. Without that element of contact, there was no game.
He wondered if Akira was busy after school...
Useful Japanese Section!
Kagerou: Mayfly, the title of chapter 52 in "The Tale of Genji." Notice a pattern? I'm just bad at making up titles so I'll borrow Lady Murasaki's!
And as for the stream/storm drain... well, there are things like that where I live and I spent much of my childhood in them. ^^;;
So thank you very much! I appreciate all the kind reviews!
Chapter Five: Kagerou - Mayfly
"Welcome home, Hikaru..." If Hikaru heard his mother's voice, he gave no sign of it. Mrs. Shindou frowned as Hikaru practically bounced up to his bedroom. It was the most cheerful she'd seen him in weeks, but... if he wanted dinner he would have to eat it in the dining room, and no exceptions! Even so, her mouth slowly transformed into a small smile. It was good for him to spend time with friends, instead of a bunch of moldy old men at Go salons.
It worried her, though, that he had suddenly given up what had for two years been a hobby that swallowed up everything else. She had almost gotten used to the idea of having a professional Go player for a son, no matter how weird it often felt. But lately... Hikaru had been merely studying halfheartedly for high school entrance exams, as if he didn't really care where he ended up. For whatever reasons, a smile on her son's face was a welcome sight.
And at least he had stopped sitting in his room and talking to himself - he was a little old for imaginary friends, right? And too young to be senile! Mrs. Shindou put Hikaru's dinner in the refrigerator.
Hikaru, one floor up, flopped on his bed and kicked the rumpled sheets on the floor. He had never, ever expected Touya Akira to show up. And he had absolutely never imagined himself to be so damn happy about it. They were rivals, after all, right? They were supposed to hate each other! Instead, Waya had taken over most of the demonstrations at the festival, allowing Hikaru and Akira to walk around. Akira was from another district, so even the most boring details of the shrine grounds were new to him.
"So... uh... how's your dad?" Hikaru had asked, holding up the elaborate costume while tiptoeing on rocks. A small stream crossed one corner of the shrine grounds, terminating at a big metal pipe. But as far as the borders of the shrine, it almost seemed like nature. Hikaru leapt from one precarious rock to another, while Akira stirred the water with a stick, watching fish swim in frenzied circles.
"He's okay. He says it's a lot less stressful, being retired... even his doctor says it's good."
"Oh. Well... uhhh..." Hikaru had reached a point where he could jump no further, balancing on a small rock a few feet from shore. In the costume, it was ridiculous and striking all at once, like something out of an old painting. "Damn, I'm stuck..."
"Turn around and come back the way you got there!"
"Can't - the rocks shifted."
"Then jump, and I can probably catch you." Hikaru's face flushed momentarily, so he looked away. Akira was as unshakably cool as ever.
"What do you mean by 'probably'!" It wasn't as if he had any other choice... He had jumped, and landed more or less on top of Akira, sending them both into the grass. Luckily it had been a dry summer and there was no mud. "Sorry!" exclaimed Hikaru as he rolled away, looking even redder.
Why wasn't Akira angry? Hikaru almost wanted him to be - at least it was easy to think of Touya Akira as just a rival, someone to hate. He pursued Akira simply to beat him. That was all.
The rationalizations sounded stupid, even to him. Without the neutral ground of Go, it was difficult to talk to the other boy. There was no basis for a rivalry, so there was no clean-cut relationship between the two. It was... almost like meeting a different Touya. They had walked back to the Haze Junior High tables, making idle chitchat and brushing grass off their clothing. And that was it. Outwardly simple, but so confusing...
Hikaru fitfully threw a stuffed animal onto the floor. He was still a kid, what did he know about this kind of stuff? There was an adult inside him, too, though. The same grown-up, serious person that seemed to take over when he played was now analyzing as if this were a title match.
The best move, thought Hikaru to himself. It was like Go between pros where both sides concealed their true motives, relying only on an ability to read far into the future of the game to make careful moves that betrayed nothing. Hikaru could not see the conclusion of this game, but... in a good match, the stones surrounded each other. Without that element of contact, there was no game.
He wondered if Akira was busy after school...
Useful Japanese Section!
Kagerou: Mayfly, the title of chapter 52 in "The Tale of Genji." Notice a pattern? I'm just bad at making up titles so I'll borrow Lady Murasaki's!
And as for the stream/storm drain... well, there are things like that where I live and I spent much of my childhood in them. ^^;;