Back to fanfiction, at long last
Apr. 25th, 2006 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirLowell House on the Feast of St. Mark
No, I haven't forgotten about this fic, although I hadn't realized that people were actually waiting for the next part until I received a comment asking about it yesterday. The problem was that I had the fic all planned out way back in late December/early January but in the intervening months I forgot what I had intended to write. And then of course, what with all the stress from schoolwork and kendo, I didn't have the energy to work on fic.
Anyway, better late than never, neh? I went back to reread part 1 and finally remembered where the plot was going. In any case, it's at the top of my writing to-do list, so never fear, it shall be finished. (Eventually.)
An Exorcism, part 2
[part 1 | part 3]
"Here, catch!" Waya tossed a soda over to a startled Shindou, who fumbled for it and missed. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the other boy scramble after the rolling can.
"Thank you," Shindou said, rather breathless as he came back with the drink. He fiddled clumsily at the tab and looked bewildered when it snapped off in his hands. "Oh dear," he sighed, raising a hand to half-cover his open mouth.
Waya frowned and snatched the can away from him. "Idiot. One would think that you've never opened a soda can before."
"Ah, well–-"
"Huh, looks like it's a lost cause. You can have some of mine, if you want."
"It's fine, Waya-kun. I'll do without."
Waya glanced at him sharply. "You've been hanging around that Touya too much. You're beginning to sound like him."
"Eh? But we only play a game every other day--"
"Every other /day/?!" Waya exclaimed. "I'm surprised your schedules even allow it. I suppose you're not interested in spending time with us ordinary mortals anymore."
"Oh, not at all! I'm always willing to play a game. You only have to ask, you know that."
Waya gave him a withering look. "Never mind, Shindou. See you Saturday."
Shindou smiled, his voice light and pleasant. "Bye Waya-kun!"
Waya shook his head as he walked away. "'Waya-kun'? Has he turned into a girl?" There was something off about Shindou lately, although he couldn't quite place his finger on it. It couldn't just be Touya's influence, could it? He shrugged, then brightened as he caught sight of Isumi getting into the elevator. He promptly forgot all about Shindou and his strange behavior as he began running toward the closing doors.
"Isumi! Wait up!"
---
Mitani-kun was walking her home from an afternoon movie when she saw him, standing in the park across the street, with an unfamiliar expression on his face. She called out, her tone uncertain, "Is that you, Hikaru?"
He looked up. She squinted. It /was/ Hikaru. She dragged her reluctant escort by the elbow as she ran over to him. "It's been a while, ne? I nearly didn't recognize you! What are you doing here?"
Hikaru smiled at her but turned to Mitani instead, who was scuffing his shoes against the pavement. "Hello, Mitani-kun."
Mitani scowled but gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Akari asked again, "What were you looking at, Hikaru? Such a serious look on your face--I thought it was someone else for a moment."
Hikaru clasped his hands together and turned his head. It was twilight; the shadows on his face made him seem older, sadder. But why would Shindou Hikaru be sad? Akari chewed on her lip, waiting for him to speak.
"I remembered something. While watching the fireflies." He gestured at the tall grass beside him, where indeed a few spiraling flashes of light could be seen.
She tilted her head. "Are you all right, Hikaru?"
"Of course," he replied, smiling at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Mitani cleared his throat and said gruffly, "We should be going, Akari. I promised your mother I'd have you home by six." He placed an arm around her shoulders, stiff but possessive. "Nice seeing you, Shindou."
Shindou nodded and turned back to the fireflies.
"He's...changed somehow," she remarked to Mitani as they walked back across the road. "Don't you agree?"
"Eh, Shindou's always been weird," Mitani said dismissively, and that was the end of the subject.
---
Again, the same nightmare. He had not known that a game of /go/ could become a nightmare. He was surrounded by huge stones, both black and white, which would appear out of nowhere as soon as a hand was played. He often had to run in order to escape being crushed by a gently descending stone.
At the moment, he was crouched on the enormous /goban/, trying not to think. He still did not understand how the dreamscape knew when he had decided on a move, but whenever he reached a decision, a new white stone would be placed. He never saw his opponent, but he knew the style almost as intimately as he knew his own. After all, they had played countless games together.
When he closed his eyes, he could see the layout of the game in his mind, as clearly as if he was looking down on it from above. White was ahead by about ten /moku/. If he placed a stone /there/, he would seize the upper left and finish the game. As soon as he had the thought, he knew that another stone had appeared on the board. There was a sudden wind that forced him to cover his eyes, and when stillness returned, he found the /goban/ empty once more. So the game had ended. He had won again.
"Hikaru!" he shouted, his eyes filling with tears. He sat down on a star point, feeling exhausted. He had won a game every night ever since he had first dreamed himself in this room. All that changed was the game itself and the pattern of the stars in the sky above. He never saw his invisible opponent.
"I know you're here. You must be here. This is your /go/," he said to the empty board. The next game would not start until the next night, when the dream began again.
"Hikaru," he said again and hid his face against his sleeve. "I'm sorry. Come back. Please come back."
---
The phone rang early in the morning. He picked it up gingerly--he was still unused to the strange device--and spoke hesitantly into the receiver, "Hello?"
"Shindou, it's Touya."
"Ah, hello, Touya-kun. How are you?"
"Fine. Listen, can you come visit tomorrow evening?"
"Tomorrow evening?" he echoed dumbly.
"Yes. I told Father that you had requested a game, and he suggested that I invite you over. I meant to call you before, but my tutoring session ran late last night."
For a moment he could not breathe. Touya Meijin...a game...tomorrow evening. He gasped, "Yes, of course I'll come."
"I'll meet you at the salon at our usual hour, and then we can go to my house for dinner afterwards. Father and Mother are looking forward to seeing you again."
"Thank you, Touya-kun. Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Touya said, a bit bemused as he hung up.
TBC
Oh, and a meme from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zauberer_sirin and memlu, in hopes of getting back into the writing mood again:
Choose a letter of the alphabet and name a word that begins with that letter. (Once a letter is taken, future posters have to choose another letter.) Name a fandom. I will write you a drabble for that fandom based around the theme of that word.
A - allowance, Hikaru no Go,sub_divided - How to Ask For Money
B
C - cacophony, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles,card_mistress - No matter what
D - destined, My Girl (Jeongwoo),rinslet - No more what-ifs
E - exasperation, Howl's Moving Castle,harumi - Late
F - forever, Diaspora,aetherangelette - Hyodo
G
H - habeas corpus, Princess Mononoke (San/Ashitaka),ashirabe - Separation
I - ice cream, Shaman King,faeryetale - An All Too Temporary Reprieve
J - Janus, The Sandman, AKung - Hospitality
K
L
M - money, Eyeshield 21,lucathia_rykatu - Fundraising
N - nightsongs, Bleach (Ichigo/Rukia),lacewood - Jealousy
O
P - poetry, Full Metal Alchemist (Roy),zauberer_sirin - Magnum Opus
Q - quaint, Howl's Moving Castle,memlu - Self-esteem
R
S
T
U
V - variance, Hikaru no Go,shinra_lackey - A Change of Pace
W - water, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi,team7 - Memory
X
Y
Z - zero, Death Note (Misa),lawnmower_elf - On dining alone
Will update the list with claims. Drabbles will be posted separately.
Yours &c.
No, I haven't forgotten about this fic, although I hadn't realized that people were actually waiting for the next part until I received a comment asking about it yesterday. The problem was that I had the fic all planned out way back in late December/early January but in the intervening months I forgot what I had intended to write. And then of course, what with all the stress from schoolwork and kendo, I didn't have the energy to work on fic.
Anyway, better late than never, neh? I went back to reread part 1 and finally remembered where the plot was going. In any case, it's at the top of my writing to-do list, so never fear, it shall be finished. (Eventually.)
An Exorcism, part 2
[part 1 | part 3]
"Here, catch!" Waya tossed a soda over to a startled Shindou, who fumbled for it and missed. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the other boy scramble after the rolling can.
"Thank you," Shindou said, rather breathless as he came back with the drink. He fiddled clumsily at the tab and looked bewildered when it snapped off in his hands. "Oh dear," he sighed, raising a hand to half-cover his open mouth.
Waya frowned and snatched the can away from him. "Idiot. One would think that you've never opened a soda can before."
"Ah, well–-"
"Huh, looks like it's a lost cause. You can have some of mine, if you want."
"It's fine, Waya-kun. I'll do without."
Waya glanced at him sharply. "You've been hanging around that Touya too much. You're beginning to sound like him."
"Eh? But we only play a game every other day--"
"Every other /day/?!" Waya exclaimed. "I'm surprised your schedules even allow it. I suppose you're not interested in spending time with us ordinary mortals anymore."
"Oh, not at all! I'm always willing to play a game. You only have to ask, you know that."
Waya gave him a withering look. "Never mind, Shindou. See you Saturday."
Shindou smiled, his voice light and pleasant. "Bye Waya-kun!"
Waya shook his head as he walked away. "'Waya-kun'? Has he turned into a girl?" There was something off about Shindou lately, although he couldn't quite place his finger on it. It couldn't just be Touya's influence, could it? He shrugged, then brightened as he caught sight of Isumi getting into the elevator. He promptly forgot all about Shindou and his strange behavior as he began running toward the closing doors.
"Isumi! Wait up!"
---
Mitani-kun was walking her home from an afternoon movie when she saw him, standing in the park across the street, with an unfamiliar expression on his face. She called out, her tone uncertain, "Is that you, Hikaru?"
He looked up. She squinted. It /was/ Hikaru. She dragged her reluctant escort by the elbow as she ran over to him. "It's been a while, ne? I nearly didn't recognize you! What are you doing here?"
Hikaru smiled at her but turned to Mitani instead, who was scuffing his shoes against the pavement. "Hello, Mitani-kun."
Mitani scowled but gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Akari asked again, "What were you looking at, Hikaru? Such a serious look on your face--I thought it was someone else for a moment."
Hikaru clasped his hands together and turned his head. It was twilight; the shadows on his face made him seem older, sadder. But why would Shindou Hikaru be sad? Akari chewed on her lip, waiting for him to speak.
"I remembered something. While watching the fireflies." He gestured at the tall grass beside him, where indeed a few spiraling flashes of light could be seen.
She tilted her head. "Are you all right, Hikaru?"
"Of course," he replied, smiling at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Mitani cleared his throat and said gruffly, "We should be going, Akari. I promised your mother I'd have you home by six." He placed an arm around her shoulders, stiff but possessive. "Nice seeing you, Shindou."
Shindou nodded and turned back to the fireflies.
"He's...changed somehow," she remarked to Mitani as they walked back across the road. "Don't you agree?"
"Eh, Shindou's always been weird," Mitani said dismissively, and that was the end of the subject.
---
Again, the same nightmare. He had not known that a game of /go/ could become a nightmare. He was surrounded by huge stones, both black and white, which would appear out of nowhere as soon as a hand was played. He often had to run in order to escape being crushed by a gently descending stone.
At the moment, he was crouched on the enormous /goban/, trying not to think. He still did not understand how the dreamscape knew when he had decided on a move, but whenever he reached a decision, a new white stone would be placed. He never saw his opponent, but he knew the style almost as intimately as he knew his own. After all, they had played countless games together.
When he closed his eyes, he could see the layout of the game in his mind, as clearly as if he was looking down on it from above. White was ahead by about ten /moku/. If he placed a stone /there/, he would seize the upper left and finish the game. As soon as he had the thought, he knew that another stone had appeared on the board. There was a sudden wind that forced him to cover his eyes, and when stillness returned, he found the /goban/ empty once more. So the game had ended. He had won again.
"Hikaru!" he shouted, his eyes filling with tears. He sat down on a star point, feeling exhausted. He had won a game every night ever since he had first dreamed himself in this room. All that changed was the game itself and the pattern of the stars in the sky above. He never saw his invisible opponent.
"I know you're here. You must be here. This is your /go/," he said to the empty board. The next game would not start until the next night, when the dream began again.
"Hikaru," he said again and hid his face against his sleeve. "I'm sorry. Come back. Please come back."
---
The phone rang early in the morning. He picked it up gingerly--he was still unused to the strange device--and spoke hesitantly into the receiver, "Hello?"
"Shindou, it's Touya."
"Ah, hello, Touya-kun. How are you?"
"Fine. Listen, can you come visit tomorrow evening?"
"Tomorrow evening?" he echoed dumbly.
"Yes. I told Father that you had requested a game, and he suggested that I invite you over. I meant to call you before, but my tutoring session ran late last night."
For a moment he could not breathe. Touya Meijin...a game...tomorrow evening. He gasped, "Yes, of course I'll come."
"I'll meet you at the salon at our usual hour, and then we can go to my house for dinner afterwards. Father and Mother are looking forward to seeing you again."
"Thank you, Touya-kun. Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Touya said, a bit bemused as he hung up.
TBC
Oh, and a meme from
zauberer_sirin and memlu, in hopes of getting back into the writing mood again:Choose a letter of the alphabet and name a word that begins with that letter. (Once a letter is taken, future posters have to choose another letter.) Name a fandom. I will write you a drabble for that fandom based around the theme of that word.
A - allowance, Hikaru no Go,
sub_divided - How to Ask For MoneyB
C - cacophony, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles,
card_mistress - No matter whatD - destined, My Girl (Jeongwoo),
rinslet - No more what-ifsE - exasperation, Howl's Moving Castle,
harumi - LateF - forever, Diaspora,
aetherangelette - HyodoG
H - habeas corpus, Princess Mononoke (San/Ashitaka),
ashirabe - SeparationI - ice cream, Shaman King,
faeryetale - An All Too Temporary ReprieveJ - Janus, The Sandman, AKung - Hospitality
K
L
M - money, Eyeshield 21,
lucathia_rykatu - FundraisingN - nightsongs, Bleach (Ichigo/Rukia),
lacewood - JealousyO
P - poetry, Full Metal Alchemist (Roy),
zauberer_sirin - Magnum OpusQ - quaint, Howl's Moving Castle,
memlu - Self-esteemR
S
T
U
V - variance, Hikaru no Go,
shinra_lackey - A Change of PaceW - water, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi,
team7 - MemoryX
Y
Z - zero, Death Note (Misa),
lawnmower_elf - On dining aloneWill update the list with claims. Drabbles will be posted separately.
Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 02:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 02:50 am (UTC)Um! Quaint, Howl's Moving Castle. Book or movie, either one. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:02 am (UTC)Hikaruuu, where are youuuI was afraid of what Sai was going to do and how he would cope. I like the way you showed that Sai was instantly occupied at the idea of playing with Touya Meijin--sets up the worry that he might forget about Hikaru.Looking forward to chapter 3 and the rest of it!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:09 am (UTC)Hehe, Sai only thinks about 'go.' Waya's intent didn't get across to him at all.
Hm, the match with Touya Meijin...will Sai and Hikaru switch places once Sai plays that game with him?
For the meme. Um...
M. Money. Eyeshield 21.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:31 am (UTC)This fic gave me the chills the first time I read it, and it certainly hasn't stopped. Exorcism indeed. I'm almost becoming resentful of Sai for pushing Hikaru out of his own body. Your words as always, are carefully weaved and the world you create is vivid and beautiful.
I'd like a Howl's Moving Castle fic. I've been scouring through FF.net and was (expectedly) disappointed. If you know any place that has GOOD Howl's Moving Castle fics, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Please keep writing. I look forward to the third installment.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:37 am (UTC)Hm, I've seen some good Howl's Moving Castle fics here and there on LJ. I'll try to find a few links for you. Off the top of my head, I know that
Could you add a word to go with your request? Being the nature of the meme and all...so far only the letters M, P and Q have been taken.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:46 am (UTC)As for Howl's Moving Castle request...I'll say... E for exasperation.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 04:01 am (UTC)I really need to get back to that AU. Reality is being mean and cruel and not letting me do what I want to do (which, I uh...do anyway, but it's different when you really can get away with it, as opposed to having finals hanging over your head...am I making any sense?).
Read my fic and tell me what you think of it. Warning: I'm incapable of writing anything but massive long-winded novels.
New friends are so nice. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 04:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 04:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 05:07 am (UTC)Dance
fandom:
Eyeshield 21 (Hiruma/Mamori)
Goong (Shin/Chae Gyeong)
orrrrrrrrrrr
My Girl (Jeong Woo) <-- if you pick My Girl then...... I'll change the theme to "destined"
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 05:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 05:54 am (UTC)How about...
C - Cacophony, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 09:06 am (UTC)Kookie is a fandom I'd say. Of myself. But anyway.
F - Fate (I'll be easy on you)
But that might be too similar to the prior one... so...
Mmm, let's think
F - Forever (Eternity was nicer, but E's taken already T_T)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 02:34 pm (UTC)Please change fandom to animanga. Or books. I already wrote you one KJK fanfic. T_T I'll write anything else.
(Oh yeah, can I get Buzz again from you? Please?)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 04:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 11:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 12:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 02:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 01:57 am (UTC)I'll be back with a fuller commentary, later, when the computer decides not to eat my posts!
-AKung
AECKung@gmail.com
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-29 09:30 pm (UTC)I am glad for a post. I didn't realize "ask, and you shall receive" could be so directly applied :p. Thank you for the update.
I especially like the fact that Sai's playing games with Hikaru in his nightmares. Even though he's running around the board, his moves are still being played by someone else (whether it's still Hikaru placing his stones for him or not remains to be seen!). I wonder if Hikaru is also running around the go board too? (Even if Sai and Hikaru can't see each other...) I wonder if Sai is stuck on an empty goban all night. It must be very lonely. He hasn't been completely alone since he drowned.
I find it amusing that even though Sai-Hikaru is acting all weird, no one really suspects something's off, except Akari and Akira, who are the closest to Hikaru non-go-wise and go-wise, respectively, but even they don't really see it.
As for the meme, do you by any chance know the fandom Mai-HiME? I'd be looking for a fic about Reito (non-possessed)... since I think he's an interesting character that most people dismiss.
-AKung
AECKung@gmail.com
PS: I should remember it's not a good idea to try to post from a library terminal using IE. (Stupid connection cut out, and then IE didn't save any of the previous page's post info...)
PPS: Good luck with your exams (if you have any, or will have any!)
PPPS: If you're feeling lethargic/tired, try taking a break every now and then (especially if you've been studying a lot!) and enjoy the clouds (or the lightning) ... or just a single scoop of ice-cream. Or something like that. It probably depends on your mood at the time, but that's what I try to do. Not that it always works, but...
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-01 04:58 am (UTC)I'm afraid I haven't watched Mai-HiME, although I've heard of it. Do feel free to make another request for the meme though. ^_^
Coincidentally enough, I had an ice cream cone the other day, and it did make me feel better. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-01 06:01 am (UTC)I'm glad to provide feedback--even though I used to have a policy of not commenting till the end, but I don't think it's gonna hold much longer :p. But speculations I guess aren't exactly commentary in the review sense. They're also lots more fun since they could be completely on point, somewhat on point, or completely off in another direction. :p I see you haven't provided any answers on what might be coming next... :) I'm looking forward to it all.
Meme... hrm... Yu Yu Hakusho or Slayers or... Hey, do you know Codename: Kids Next Door?
-AKung :) :) :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-02 04:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-02 06:40 am (UTC)If you've never watched Slayers... Well, it's a classic. Just don't watch it in dub--it's awful in dub (I can't believe that some people actually like it in dub; I mean, they actually had to go and change a main character's voice actor halfway through the first season!). If you've got an anime club, someone will probably have it.
How about Sandman? More broadly, the Endless (you don't need to be limited to Dream) and the word: Janus.
-AKung
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-02 06:44 am (UTC)-AKung
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-03 08:51 am (UTC)-AKung
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 10:43 am (UTC)Can't wait for the next chappie, Hikaru(Sai) vs Meijin... it going to be fun :P
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-28 11:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-28 01:55 pm (UTC)Oh, and I hope you don't mind if I play oyur meme game. How about variance in Hikaru no Go?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-29 12:09 am (UTC)I'm surprised and glad to see that people are getting intrigued by this fic. ^_^ I don't know if I ever thanked you for rec'ing it, by the way, but if I haven't, thank you so much! I really appreciated it. And of course, thank you for all your feedback too. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-29 03:54 am (UTC)...May I request?
Zero, Deathnote (Misa).
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-29 02:04 pm (UTC)Request added! Finally got around to friending you too, to keep up with your kendo posts. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-30 02:32 am (UTC)**waves white flag** Okay. I am converted.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-01 05:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-30 05:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-01 05:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-03 09:27 am (UTC)I love how you show people wondering about the differences of this "new" Hikaru, but put it down to Shindou's always been wierd.
The dream seems so intriguing, I look forward to seeing whast happens next.