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31_days2010-03-18 11:54 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2010-03-18 11:54 pm
18 March/Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover/Twice the River 17/?
Title: Twice the River 17/?
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 18 March/Language is the source of misunderstandings
Chihiro went first.
It took a certain amount of courage to jump down from the balcony, especially if one were aiming for a target about the size of a small table about two metres down. Combined with the awareness that a missing that could mean hurtling down a great distance (they didn't know how far, but they couldn't see the bottom) to the bottom of the cliff and to a grisly end, it was no wonder that it took a while before Shindou, Touya and Sai let themselves drop from the edge of the balcony.
Once on the stair landing with the others, Chihiro realised that the stair landing had once, via another flight of stairs, been connected to the balcony. But at some point in the past, it had broken away, if the jagged edges were any indication.
"Wow, this is exciting," Shindou said, his voice sounding a little shaky to Chihiro despite his obvious attempt to sound unconcerned. "I've always wanted to climb down a cliff."
"How can you still be making such remarks?" Touya asked.
"I was being sarcastic. You know what sarcasm is, right?"
That started a short but fervent argument about how everything Shindou said caused misunderstandings, and how that was because Touya lacked a sense of humour, until Sai said, "We should be going."
Then, Chihiro noted, Shindou swallowed and then tried to hide it from Touya. There was little light save what came from the stream of Go stones, but she noticed that the two of them were standing very close together.
"Is everyone ready?" Sai asked. "Hikaru? Touya-kun?"
"Yeah," Shindou said. It seemed he gave a shiver.
"Yes, I am. How about you, Fujiwara-san?"
"I'm fine too. Ogino-san?" Sai asked.
She nodded, not wanting to retort that if she weren't, she wouldn’t have been the first to come down here.
"Okay." Shindou dragged out the word, an unconvincing attempt to sound bored. "Now what?"
"Now we go down," Chihiro said, and led the way down the single flight of stairs connected to the landing. There was no railing, and while the stairs were built on the side of the cliff, the great emptiness beckoned on their right. Gusts of wind threatened to blow her skirt up, but she grabbed handfuls of it with her left hand, and walked on.
She could remember another instance when she ran down flights of stairs, filled with panic but determined, all the way to the basement of the bathhouse. Haku's palm on her forehead, cool and a little dry, had told her what she needed to know, what she would expect. But this time there was no such information. She only sensed that going down the side of the cliff would be the right move.
Behind her, she could hear the other three following, their feet shuffling now and then on the sandy steps. There were mutters between Shindou and Touya, and injunctions to be careful of their step from Sai, who now seemed to be a combined big brother/father/teacher figure to the two of them. It was a great contrast to what she knew of him: a formidable Go player, with a mind like a steel trap and a killer instinct that had been honed in tens of thousands of games.
Her legs were getting tired, and occasionally she had to feel her way through steps that were too steep, or simply had part of it worn away. There was the occasional landing, barely enough for them to take a breather, but there were no complaints from the Go players. They went on for nearly two hours.
The air became warmer as they travelled. The stream of flying Go stones was now further than ever, their light now longer reaching them. But the sky itself was lightening, as in the moments before sunrise. Chihiro looked upwards. They had gone so far that it was impossible to see the top of the cliff any more.
"Is it just me, or are these steps becoming smaller?" Shindou asked suddenly.
Chihiro paused briefly on a step. Yes, she had noticed that too. Now each step seemed only to be about half the size of a normal one, and when she was sure of her footing, Chihiro took two steps at once.
"It's not just you," Sai said. "The flights seem to be narrower too. Hikaru, Touya-kun, you shouldn't walk side by side now, both of you are too close to the edge."
There was a pause. "Yeah," Shindou said. "Touya, I’ll go first."
"No, I'll--" The protest died away as they reach another stair landing, and this time.
This time, even Chihiro couldn't ignore it. When they started the climb downwards, the steps had been more than wide enough for two to walk abreast, but it had gradually narrowed. Now, before them...
"It's like walking on chairs," Shindou said. "And I don't think you can take the steps one by one. My shoe covers at least three." He tilted his foot and demonstrated.
"We have to keep going." Chihiro said. She pointed, her heart beating as she realised what was ahead. "Look, we're reaching the bottom." And it did finally seem like the bottom of the cliff was not too far off. They could see brown earth and green--bushes, maybe, even if they still seemed to be a distance away.
"Oh good," Shindou said. "That means even if we fall, we won't have far to bounce, right?"
"You won't bounce. You'll just die, so pay attention to where you're going."
"I know. I'm just joking, all right?"
"Can you ever take anything seriously?"
"It's called sarcasm, Touya."
"Enough, you two." Sai said. "Let's go."
They walked in a single file now: Chihiro, Touya, Shindou and Sai, who insisted on bringing up the rear. The steps got smaller and narrower, and Chihiro had a vision that the path was just going to dwindle to nothing before they reached the bottom.
They had been climbing down the cliff for hours; she didn't think any of them would have the energy to go back up.
Then they walked into water.
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 18 March/Language is the source of misunderstandings
Chihiro went first.
It took a certain amount of courage to jump down from the balcony, especially if one were aiming for a target about the size of a small table about two metres down. Combined with the awareness that a missing that could mean hurtling down a great distance (they didn't know how far, but they couldn't see the bottom) to the bottom of the cliff and to a grisly end, it was no wonder that it took a while before Shindou, Touya and Sai let themselves drop from the edge of the balcony.
Once on the stair landing with the others, Chihiro realised that the stair landing had once, via another flight of stairs, been connected to the balcony. But at some point in the past, it had broken away, if the jagged edges were any indication.
"Wow, this is exciting," Shindou said, his voice sounding a little shaky to Chihiro despite his obvious attempt to sound unconcerned. "I've always wanted to climb down a cliff."
"How can you still be making such remarks?" Touya asked.
"I was being sarcastic. You know what sarcasm is, right?"
That started a short but fervent argument about how everything Shindou said caused misunderstandings, and how that was because Touya lacked a sense of humour, until Sai said, "We should be going."
Then, Chihiro noted, Shindou swallowed and then tried to hide it from Touya. There was little light save what came from the stream of Go stones, but she noticed that the two of them were standing very close together.
"Is everyone ready?" Sai asked. "Hikaru? Touya-kun?"
"Yeah," Shindou said. It seemed he gave a shiver.
"Yes, I am. How about you, Fujiwara-san?"
"I'm fine too. Ogino-san?" Sai asked.
She nodded, not wanting to retort that if she weren't, she wouldn’t have been the first to come down here.
"Okay." Shindou dragged out the word, an unconvincing attempt to sound bored. "Now what?"
"Now we go down," Chihiro said, and led the way down the single flight of stairs connected to the landing. There was no railing, and while the stairs were built on the side of the cliff, the great emptiness beckoned on their right. Gusts of wind threatened to blow her skirt up, but she grabbed handfuls of it with her left hand, and walked on.
She could remember another instance when she ran down flights of stairs, filled with panic but determined, all the way to the basement of the bathhouse. Haku's palm on her forehead, cool and a little dry, had told her what she needed to know, what she would expect. But this time there was no such information. She only sensed that going down the side of the cliff would be the right move.
Behind her, she could hear the other three following, their feet shuffling now and then on the sandy steps. There were mutters between Shindou and Touya, and injunctions to be careful of their step from Sai, who now seemed to be a combined big brother/father/teacher figure to the two of them. It was a great contrast to what she knew of him: a formidable Go player, with a mind like a steel trap and a killer instinct that had been honed in tens of thousands of games.
Her legs were getting tired, and occasionally she had to feel her way through steps that were too steep, or simply had part of it worn away. There was the occasional landing, barely enough for them to take a breather, but there were no complaints from the Go players. They went on for nearly two hours.
The air became warmer as they travelled. The stream of flying Go stones was now further than ever, their light now longer reaching them. But the sky itself was lightening, as in the moments before sunrise. Chihiro looked upwards. They had gone so far that it was impossible to see the top of the cliff any more.
"Is it just me, or are these steps becoming smaller?" Shindou asked suddenly.
Chihiro paused briefly on a step. Yes, she had noticed that too. Now each step seemed only to be about half the size of a normal one, and when she was sure of her footing, Chihiro took two steps at once.
"It's not just you," Sai said. "The flights seem to be narrower too. Hikaru, Touya-kun, you shouldn't walk side by side now, both of you are too close to the edge."
There was a pause. "Yeah," Shindou said. "Touya, I’ll go first."
"No, I'll--" The protest died away as they reach another stair landing, and this time.
This time, even Chihiro couldn't ignore it. When they started the climb downwards, the steps had been more than wide enough for two to walk abreast, but it had gradually narrowed. Now, before them...
"It's like walking on chairs," Shindou said. "And I don't think you can take the steps one by one. My shoe covers at least three." He tilted his foot and demonstrated.
"We have to keep going." Chihiro said. She pointed, her heart beating as she realised what was ahead. "Look, we're reaching the bottom." And it did finally seem like the bottom of the cliff was not too far off. They could see brown earth and green--bushes, maybe, even if they still seemed to be a distance away.
"Oh good," Shindou said. "That means even if we fall, we won't have far to bounce, right?"
"You won't bounce. You'll just die, so pay attention to where you're going."
"I know. I'm just joking, all right?"
"Can you ever take anything seriously?"
"It's called sarcasm, Touya."
"Enough, you two." Sai said. "Let's go."
They walked in a single file now: Chihiro, Touya, Shindou and Sai, who insisted on bringing up the rear. The steps got smaller and narrower, and Chihiro had a vision that the path was just going to dwindle to nothing before they reached the bottom.
They had been climbing down the cliff for hours; she didn't think any of them would have the energy to go back up.
Then they walked into water.