fic post
Oh man here we go i am posting the unnamed crossover first. I am tempted to put warnings on it of doom. This thing has been slightly beta-ed by the kind Treneka as in "Rhoda that doesn't make sense" when she read it on IM. So any crit is appreciated. As always i think the dialog is the best part.
untitled-
The third music room was unusually quiet given the presence of the Hitachiin brothers. The two red heads seem to be fiddling with something in their hands as Kaoru occasionally looks over at their lap top's screen.
"I think we should get Touya 5-dan."
"No we should get Shindo 3-dan."
A lot of mutual stares and raised eye brows conducts a whole conversational argument in total silence. Till finally one says, "Here look at their pictures," pulling up the respective Go Association web page on the computer. Showing the serious face of Touya 5-dan and the more more comic side picture with the title Shindo 3-dan under it.
A sigh then, "You're right lets go with Shindo." The answer is a concession and a vote all in one.
In an apartment building near the Tokyo Go Association building a phone rings. “Moshi moshi, I am busy, really two brothers. They asked for me? I don't know my schedule... They offered that? For how long... In a month? Really... give me the contact info at least I will call them. Yes. Yes, I will call them, geeze forget one time to call a client... okay so maybe it was a few times but I am getting better. What do you mean just not taking clients doesn't count as better? Just give me the information please.” A hasty scribbling sound can be heard as the man writes on a grocery receipt. “Thank you so much for calling.”
Standing next to his phone Shindo Hikaru's yellow bangs swing back and forth as he shakes his head. 'What could these,' looking down at his notes 'Hitachiin brothers want with me?' Before he turns and starts punching in the numbers for these his newest clients.
Shindo's first visit to the Hitachiin estate starts off not quite perfect. Shindo looks down at his watch, 'Crap I'm late.' As he runs down the street of what is supposed to be the neighborhood of his destination. There are no houses visible from the road just gates with numbers and the occasional monogrammed iron lettering. '51, 53.' Looking down at the receipt in his hand with its address scrawled on it. '55, this should be it.' He takes a deep breath before walking up to the gate and pressing the intercom button.
“Hitachiin residence, may I help you.”
“Shindo 3-dan, I have a tutoring session scheduled.”
“Yes Shindo-sensei you are expected, you will be met and brought up to the house. The young masters are very excited to meet you. Please enter the gate to you left.” A small metal gate to seem to appear in the wall as it opens invitingly.
Stepping through the discretely marked gate Hikaru is met with a lush green landscape. A drive seems to circle up towards where the house must stand but nothing of it is visible. A silver car is purrs down the drive to stop in front of Hikaru. A man in a gray drivers cap gets out and with minimum fuss settles Hikaru into the back seat. Whisking him up the drive to what seems to be an immense building.
Getting out of the car Hikaru is shown into surroundings that seem to echo with wealth and taste. The efficient staff briskly escorts him into a room with rows and rows of books. In the middle of the room is a classic goban set up with places for people to sit two on one side and one on the other. Hikaru is still looking around the room when the door opens again to admit two red haired mirror images.
They look at him carefully before looking at each other. Hikaru sees an unspoken conversation going on before him.
“Hello Shindo-sensei we're Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin” is said in unison greek chorus.
“Um hello.” Looking at the teens who have to be his own age. “Which of you is which?”
Another quick eye brow conversation then they step apart. The one on the left
chimes, “I am Kaoru, sensei.”
The right one then continues seamlessly, “and I am Hikaru.”
Shindo looks between the two, “So what may I help you with?”
“We need to learn how to play Go.”
“You mean improve don't you?”
The twins smiles seem to widen and glow a little, “No we need to learn it.”
“In a month!” comes flying out of Shindo's mouth before he can stop it.
“Yep we have a bet.”
“That we can beat the sneakiest person we know at a game none of us had played till this month.”
"We think that the two of us have a chance. As our sensei we need you to explain it to us the basics then we will work from there. Our advantage is there are two of us to one of him."
“Only one of you can play at a time, how will there being two of you be an advantage?” Shindo questions.
The twins seem to entwine around each other and they start to talk, “Well one of us will be playing true,” “But the other will be watching,” “the player will take direction if it is necessary from the watcher.”
“How? There is no talking in a go game.” Shindo questions almost instinctively.
Instead of answering him verbally the twins just look at him then turn to each other the fleeting amusement that are getting out of this is loud and clear to Shindo at least without them ever saying a word.
Shindo thinks to himself, 'Well they are paying me about six months worth of bills for one month work. With this I not only get the association off my back for tutoring but I can get that new goban i wanted to the apartment.'
“This might work if you two really can learn Go. I am willing to tutor you, if you are willing to learn.”
The chorus again of “Thank you Shindo-sensei,” seem to be some sort of cosmic joke that Shindo is sure he is missing.
Three weeks after entering the Hitachiin residence for the first time Shindo yet again gets into the silver car to be driven to his destination. Although the twins have long since stopped depending on him to arrive on time with out a personal pick up. The sight of the silver Mercedes outside his apartment as he arrives home is starting to become routine.
Going straight into the library that has become an intense go study over his repeated visits. Inside playing a round of speed go our his students, if that is what you can call them. Shindo's silent approach is unnoticed as he observes what they are doing with out him.
“Hikaru you can't go there!”
“Why not it blocks you from taking this part of the board.”
“Yes but it leaves me the ability to do this.” Kaoru says as he places a stone on the board.
“And?” his brother questions.
“That stone will let him split your formation in three turns,” Shindo says from the side lines.
Both brothers heads whip around, “Shindo!”
“Yeah, who were you expecting?” Walking closer to the board so he can see the board easier. Shindo is again struck at how different the two boys styles are. Kaoru sees deeply into the stones with a mature outlook on how it should be. While Hikaru is just as quick but has a lighter grasp of the stones with a more original idea of when to attack. On the whole that meant that Kaoru won most of the time. When Hikaru did win it was normally because he had thought of some trap that Kaoru fell into and couldn't recover from. In the whole of it these two monsters had learned the game and were quickly become almost as strong as some on the insei.
“Kaoru, this is a very solid game.” the blush from Kaoru is only as bad as the scowl from Hikaru. Shindo proceeds to pick the game apart from the beginning. Neither boy took criticism well and they seemed to react even worse to the other being criticized. It had taken them the first week to work out the method where he could teach them with out one or the other leaving in a huff half way through the lesson.
The key he had found was to treat them as one unit, you don't say “Kaoru did this and Hikaru did that wrong.” Instead you have to say, “see this stone it is wrong,” or “you can't place this formation like this it will shatter.” After that milestone was passed they seemed to soak up the kifu he left with them to study, their intensity was beginning to scare Shindo a little.
Shindo wasn't sure what drove his pupils to such lengths but he was sure they were unpredictable and smart. He also wasn't sure some days if he was their teacher or a kifu research assistant. His mental rummaging is interrupted by a question.
“Shindo-sensei who do you think the greatest go player of all time is?”
Shindo's brain freezes for a second, he can't think his brain cries out 'Sai' but he knows no one knows that name. He rallies with, “Shuusuke Honninbo.”
The double stare he receives has become common place in the last three weeks so he then continues. “I brought you that collection of his kifu the second week I thought you to had devoured it by now.”
We did, but he is so old how can he be the best?”
'Because he was a eight hundred year old ghost, who only cared about go thats how.' Shindo thinks snidely. Then says out loud, “because he has never been surpassed in his artistry. If you learn nothing else from me you had better learn to respect this game and to do that you need to respect Shuusuke as the master he was.”
The look in Shindo's eyes is so hot the twins both hold out their hands in a surrender motion. Looking at each other then back to Shindo. “We weren't meaning any disrespect Sensei.”
Shindo's head shakes like a wet dog coming out of the water, before he comes back with, “Look Shuusuke is a sensitive subject for me. You couldn't know. Just don't disrespect him and we will get along fine for the rest of the month.”
The eyebrow discussion the twins have after that is quick but their looks seem to turn wolfish. “Okay Sensei if you say so, we won't touch Shuusuke. How about we discuss Touya Akira instead?”
“Touya? What about him? I have bought you a few of his games.” 'Like the one where he got into the Honninbo league.' Shindo questions, “what do you need about him?”
“Is he the greatest go player alive?”
“What? How in the hell do you get that?”
Hikaru pulls out an issue of Go Weekly, “well this week they have been saying that he will be the youngest Honninbo in history if he wins it from the title holder next year.” Looking up as if this would be breaking news to Shindo.
“He won't win, that old troll will chew him up and spit him out.” Shindo answers vehemently.
This causes a wondrous look between the brothers. The veritable 'Got him' is said to themselves. The following hour is much to Shindo's distress a barbecue for his ego, man hood and anything else he may hold sacred. The mental chant of 'six more days' holds him together. Till one goes a little to far.
“We should have gotten Touya as a tutor, I am sure he would be able to handle us.”
“What did you say?” growls Shindo.
The return of the more mature tone to their victims voice brings the attention of both Hitachiins right to Shindo. Eyebrow cocked up to inquire Kaoru take up the line, “that we should have got Touya.”
“Sit down.” Shindo orders. “I think it's time we play.” The tone brooks no denial from the twins. Kaoru sits down at the board.
“Kaoru right?” Hikaru questions.
“Maybe.”
“If your Kaoru put down your five stones if your Hikaru put down six.”
Hikaru to the side pouts, “Why does he get five?”
Shindo's answer is the most diplomatic, “Cause he's a better player.”
The twins don't like that answer at all. Having admitted to who he is Kaoru puts down his five stones.
“Lets play.” Shindo says with that certain tone. “Onegaishimasu.” Shindo looks down at the board then his eye snap up to meet Kaoru's. What follows is not a particularly professional game of Go. “Does that answer your questions?”
Kaoru looks over to his brother then back, ”yes sensei,” so cheeky that Shindo cracks up.
“Man does anyone stay angry at you two?”
Two smiles of mischief are his only answer.
“Well we have three more days of me here would you like to discuss where you went wrong?” Shindo offers cheerfully.
There is more but i don't think it will fit.