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31_days2010-03-22 11:06 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2010-03-22 11:06 pm
22 March/Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover/Twice the River 21/?
Title: Twice the River 21/?
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 22 March/All my life's sleeplessness has woven
"Who is Kuwabara?" Chihiro asked them.
Shindou, who was still goggling after the old river god had vanished into thin air after his message, looked up at her question. "What?" he asked.
"Who is Kuwabara?" Chihiro asked again. "You called him that."
Shindou looked a bit apprehensive as she continued to glare. "Uh, just a matter of mistaken identity," he said quickly.
That was no answer at all, and she frowned first at him, then at the other two men. Touya looked as though he was deciding how much to say, but before he could start, Sai offered, "The name sounds familiar, Hikaru, but I don't remember..."
"It's old man Kuwabara!" Shindou said. He was certainly eager to remind Sai about the past they shared, Chihiro thought. "We met him once, remember? At the lift lobby of the Go Institute. He turned around and looked at us."
"Oh." Sai still looked confused, but he nodded.
"It's Kuwabara Honinbou," Touya added. "You may have seen his games before, as his official games are always shown on Go Weekly."
Realisation spread all over Sai's face. "I remember!" he said.
"Suck-up," Shindou muttered in a low voice, though without heat, accidentally met Chihiro's eyes and then looked away, before he added in a louder voice, "He's a boastful old man who's fond of saying cryptic things," Shindou said, glancing at the river. "A bit similar to that old man just now," he said, referring to the river god, "not just in appearance either."
Touya shook his head. "Shindou, I do not think that Kuwabara-san, however skillful in Go, is the same as the old gentleman."
"Yeah, that's true," Shindou allowed. In an obvious bid to change the topic, he nodded at Chihiro. "Ogino-san, he said you can use the river, but how?"
Chihiro narrowed her eyes at the swift-running water, pondering the river god's words. "I'm not sure," she admitted.
"He said, 'The river here runs from every corner of the world and sky'," said Touya, "so that must mean that this river will show a clue."
"Huh." Shindou went to stand by the river bank again.
Chihiro went to join him, her anxiety making her impatient. "Well?" she asked, because she saw that he had thought of something.
"Something that Kuwabara once said when Go Weekly asked him what the secret of his success was," he said.
"What did he say?" Chihiro asked.
"He said--" Shindou frowned. "It was very similar to what..." he gestured at the river and presumably the river god. "He said, 'You place only one stone at a time, but the goban shows every past stone at once."
"That sounds..." Sai came to join them at the river bank, together with Touya.
"Yeah. One of his cryptic sayings," Shindou said. "I mean, of course the goban shows every past stones, because it's not chess. You can't move the stones once they are played!"
"I see," Chihiro said, catching what had been meant. "I know what to do now."
"Huh?"
"On the goban, the past is laid out. So it is with this river," she said. "To find Haku, I must go back to when I first met him."
The water was icy when she dived into it, so much so that she shivered violently, but she pushed on, keeping her eyes open. She had been thinking of Haku so much, that at night she would not sleep, and that was how she had forgotten so much.
She heard faintly, "Ogino-san!", but ignored that and continued to go as deeply as she can. I am four, she told herself, and cannot swim.
The water turned warmer as she swam, its iciness changing into the refreshing coolness of a river in summer. Lost a shoe, she thought. She had found a bit of that river, and like the stones on the goban, that piece of past could be found here.
There. Her lung close to bursting, Chihiro finally reached the bottom of this river--not any other river but Haku's river--and delicately picked up a small child's shoe.
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 22 March/All my life's sleeplessness has woven
"Who is Kuwabara?" Chihiro asked them.
Shindou, who was still goggling after the old river god had vanished into thin air after his message, looked up at her question. "What?" he asked.
"Who is Kuwabara?" Chihiro asked again. "You called him that."
Shindou looked a bit apprehensive as she continued to glare. "Uh, just a matter of mistaken identity," he said quickly.
That was no answer at all, and she frowned first at him, then at the other two men. Touya looked as though he was deciding how much to say, but before he could start, Sai offered, "The name sounds familiar, Hikaru, but I don't remember..."
"It's old man Kuwabara!" Shindou said. He was certainly eager to remind Sai about the past they shared, Chihiro thought. "We met him once, remember? At the lift lobby of the Go Institute. He turned around and looked at us."
"Oh." Sai still looked confused, but he nodded.
"It's Kuwabara Honinbou," Touya added. "You may have seen his games before, as his official games are always shown on Go Weekly."
Realisation spread all over Sai's face. "I remember!" he said.
"Suck-up," Shindou muttered in a low voice, though without heat, accidentally met Chihiro's eyes and then looked away, before he added in a louder voice, "He's a boastful old man who's fond of saying cryptic things," Shindou said, glancing at the river. "A bit similar to that old man just now," he said, referring to the river god, "not just in appearance either."
Touya shook his head. "Shindou, I do not think that Kuwabara-san, however skillful in Go, is the same as the old gentleman."
"Yeah, that's true," Shindou allowed. In an obvious bid to change the topic, he nodded at Chihiro. "Ogino-san, he said you can use the river, but how?"
Chihiro narrowed her eyes at the swift-running water, pondering the river god's words. "I'm not sure," she admitted.
"He said, 'The river here runs from every corner of the world and sky'," said Touya, "so that must mean that this river will show a clue."
"Huh." Shindou went to stand by the river bank again.
Chihiro went to join him, her anxiety making her impatient. "Well?" she asked, because she saw that he had thought of something.
"Something that Kuwabara once said when Go Weekly asked him what the secret of his success was," he said.
"What did he say?" Chihiro asked.
"He said--" Shindou frowned. "It was very similar to what..." he gestured at the river and presumably the river god. "He said, 'You place only one stone at a time, but the goban shows every past stone at once."
"That sounds..." Sai came to join them at the river bank, together with Touya.
"Yeah. One of his cryptic sayings," Shindou said. "I mean, of course the goban shows every past stones, because it's not chess. You can't move the stones once they are played!"
"I see," Chihiro said, catching what had been meant. "I know what to do now."
"Huh?"
"On the goban, the past is laid out. So it is with this river," she said. "To find Haku, I must go back to when I first met him."
The water was icy when she dived into it, so much so that she shivered violently, but she pushed on, keeping her eyes open. She had been thinking of Haku so much, that at night she would not sleep, and that was how she had forgotten so much.
She heard faintly, "Ogino-san!", but ignored that and continued to go as deeply as she can. I am four, she told herself, and cannot swim.
The water turned warmer as she swam, its iciness changing into the refreshing coolness of a river in summer. Lost a shoe, she thought. She had found a bit of that river, and like the stones on the goban, that piece of past could be found here.
There. Her lung close to bursting, Chihiro finally reached the bottom of this river--not any other river but Haku's river--and delicately picked up a small child's shoe.