DIFFERENT ROADS, SAME DESTINATION

By Lady Addiction

Thanks to all the reviewers who commented and thanks especially to suvius (aka melar) who was so informative and helpful regarding MS. As always, I couldn't have written this without the help and support of harumi, who patiently helps me with ideas and all my angsts regarding this story, and the Lord, who constantly gives me time and energy and inspiration.

Please check www . livejournal . com / community / inkyplumes / 3398 . html for replies to your reviews! I'll be updating that post as I go along.

NOTE: This is a GEN fic! There will be NO PAIRINGS, het or yaoi, in this fic at all! Please do not ask for pairings because such requests are not appreciated.

WWWW

II.

Ishida Hiroshi was a man well-known for his great heart and his ability to deal with problems as they come. He was also hardworking and patient, which was how he managed to make an antique shop boom. It had nearly broken his heart when he was forced to pass it onto a distant cousin because Mitsuko, his only child, was not interested in antiques and her husband, Masao, was determined to make it in the corporate world.

Hiroshi hid it well, but he didn't like Masao. Hiroshi, who had grown up in rural Hokkaido before he had moved with his wife and two-year-old daughter to Tokyo, couldn't understand why so many young people felt the need to work for big firms which forced them to commute long distances and stay long hours. When he visited his daughter, he hated hearing about how Masao had returned home late yet again or how he seemed to spend so little time with his wife and child. Hiroshi even suspected that Masao was unfaithful to Mitsuko but since his daughter was happy and content, he said nothing and only shared his anger and dislike with his own loving wife, Yumi. Yumi often counselled him to trust in Masao and Mitsuko and to let them live their own lives, mistakes and all. He chafed under this advice but followed it nonetheless.

However, in the aftermath of Hikaru's diagnosis, Hiroshi disliked Masao even more intensely. Ever since Masao had learned that his son had a lifelong deteriorating condition, he acted as if the rest of Hikaru's life was already beyond salvation. Even the child's attempted suicide hadn't shaken off the man's apathy. Instead, to Hiroshi's disgust, he only heard Masao lecturing Mitsuko on how Hikaru didn't need to be coddled by letting his sulking go on, that specialists or physiotherapy were too expensive and unnecessary for a patient who had a terminal illness anyway.

It was only Yumi's tight clasp on his hands that kept him from starting a fight with his son-in-law after hearing that ridiculous reasoning. Masao had even said it with Hikaru's door open, uncaring what his son might think upon hearing words like that. Hiroshi had ordered Masao to leave and to never come back. The younger man had flushed angrily and strode off, telling his wife that he would see her at home. Mitsuko had followed after her husband, a distraught expression on her face. Hiroshi had gathered his wife in his arms and led her to their grandson's bedside.

Maybe to Masao, the boy had become worthless trash. To Hiroshi, however, Hikaru was still a most precious person and he was determined to prove it to the boy.

Every day, he would come at the start of visiting hours and spend all day with Hikaru, who after some time in the isolated ward had been returned back to the children's wards. He read articles and novels aloud, at first in a soft, embarrassed tone. As time passed, Hikaru's favourite weekly manga became his favourites as well, and Hiroshi began to enjoy dramatizing his daily readings. He had even gathered a small audience of child-patients who would listen to him with excitement. His grandson would remain inert, though his dull eyes would flicker to Hiroshi's face and away from time to time.

He also began to badger the doctors and nurses to allow him to take Hikaru outside. Carefully, muscular interns would move the boy's limp body from the bed to the wheelchair and Hiroshi would push his grandson around the hospital grounds. His favourite spot was by the beautiful ginkgo tree next to a koi pond. There he would compose haiku for Hikaru to listen to or they would turn on the radio. A normally shy and reserved man, Hiroshi found he didn't mind people staring as he danced to pop music or belted out Enka songs out of tune. Through all this, he would often find Hikaru watching him, though the boy didn't say a word. Constant exposure to the sun had given a healthier flush to the boy's skin, and Hiroshi was gratified when Yamaoka-sensei praised him for his diligent and loving care.

Seven weeks after Hikaru's suicide attempt, Hiroshi decided to look into his shed. This was where he kept all the family heirlooms or the special antiques people gave him. He had a vague idea of bringing his grandson something from the shed, remembering how the boy and his friend Akari-chan delighted in hunting for 'treasures' in that dusty storage building.

There he saw the mysterious goban that had sat there untouched for years.

A friend had passed it onto him when he was still running the antique store and had warned him about a rumour that a ghost possessed it. Hiroshi had kept the goban aside, a little wary of the tale. There were many ghost stories attached to the antiques that had come his way, but he had never felt the same chill with them as he did with this particular antique.

Now, he knelt down before it and brushed away the accumulated dirt and dust. Absentmindedly, he ran his hands gently all around the edges.

Two years ago, he had tried to entice eight-year-old Hikaru into playing this one game that Hiroshi loved. However, his grandson took one glance at the plain-looking board and its two sets of stones and persuaded his Jii-chan to take him to go to the zoo instead. For one reason or another, Hiroshi was never able to teach Hikaru the game.

If the doctor was right, his grandson was going to have long, difficult life. Though there were MS patients who rarely used wheelchairs even after years of living with the disease, Yamaoka-sensei had said that there might come a time when the boy may need to use such a device for long periods of time. Hiroshi was well-aware of how expensive medical treatments were if a family needed to pay for it privately, and he knew from an old friend who had lost his leg in the Second World War how hard it was to live a life as a disabled man in a society that looked down upon such unfortunates. Hiroshi was afraid that Hikaru may have an even harder time finding work if it was found out that he had a lifetime condition and one that sounded so mysterious and strange. Ignorant people may think MS was contagious and cause even more problems for his grandsons.

Hikaru needed a profession that would challenge him yet not be too gruelling physically. He needed a job where physical disabilities would not necessarily inhibit him. His grandson needed a position where he can start young, when his body was still strong and active, able to weather the effects of his condition.

Hiroshi smiled as he realized that right there before him could be the answer to Hikaru's problem. Go was the supreme intellectual challenge. Go was probably the only field in the world that allowed children to become professionals and earn a money before they even graduate from junior high. Go would not prohibit a person from a wheelchair from playing, and many Go players were eccentric but well-respected. If Hikaru can somehow become a professional Go player, he would be able to attain respect and status, regardless of his disease.

And, Hiroshi thought, smoothing his hands on the surface, if there was a spirit that lodged in the goban, then it may be able to provide Hikaru with the guidance and companionship he would need for his life.

The very next day, he took his grandson to the recreation area where he and an intern had set up the goban and two new go-kes at one of the low tables.

"So, Hikaru, I think it's time for you to learn Go," Hiroshi began sternly. "It's a good game for bright boys like you."

He began to lay out an elementary problem, explaining carefully the rules of the game. Then he paused, waiting to see if Hikaru would respond.

It took several minutes before the boy's dull eyes fell onto the board. Then, to Hiroshi's delight, his grandson leaned forward and reached out. He eagerly pushed the goban towards Hikaru, waiting to see what he would do. The tiny, emaciated hand passed the stones, scattering them, and instead touched a corner of the board.

"Hikaru? What are you doing?" he asked, confused and bewildered. He looked at where Hikaru was touching the board but he could see nothing. He turned back to his grandson just in time to see the boy mouth something before slumping forward in a faint. The boy fell onto the board and Hiroshi scrambled to his feet, yelling for a nurse, a doctor, somebody.

WWWW

"Otou-san, what happened!" Mitsuko had come running into the waiting room. These days she only visited once a week, hard at work at her new job as a saleslady at a department store. She had brushed him off when he tried to talk to her about it, but Hiroshi knew that she was trying to save money for Hikaru's further treatments, which may involve a cocktail of expensive prescription drugs. It appeared that Masao's company didn't include Multiple Sclerosis in its coverage, and all the recurring tests and treatments the boy may need in the future were costly.

"Hikaru suddenly fainted," Hiroshi explained, pacing up and down the corridor. Yumi led her daughter to a chair and held her hand as they waited for the doctors.

It was two hours later before Yamaoka-sensei came out. He was looking slightly rumpled and haggard. Hiroshi stared at the man, seeing the tightness around his mouth and the weariness in his eyes. "I'm afraid I have some good and bad news for you," the doctor finally stated softly. Hiroshi couldn't look away even as he began to hear his family starting to cry. "The good news is that Hikaru is fine and that his fainting is not the sign of aggravated symptoms. The bad news is that I'm afraid Hikaru is in a state of coma at the moment."

"A coma? My son is in a coma?" Mitsuko said in a hysterical voice.

"Shhh," Yumi replied. "Hush, Mitsuko, Hikaru is still alive and well. I believe he will pull true." Mother and daughter held each other tight.

Hiroshi closed his eyes. There was nothing left for any of them to do but simply believe.

- End Chapter -

School's extremely and unexpectedly hectic. There may be delays with regards to the next chapter.