5 March/Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover/Twice the River 5/?
Title: Twice the River 5/?
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 5 March/Fate could create you and I
Ogino-san had left as soon as Shindou jumped up to hug Sai. Touya, to his guilt, found that he simply could not leave to go after her when Shindou and Sai were delirious with happiness. It felt impossible to tear himself away from the joyful reunion he was witnessing.
Both of them took time to recover after that, and even then Shindou was smiling brightly enough to lit up the dullest night, and Sai was exclaiming over him again and again.
"Hikaru has grown taller in the years we've been separate!" Sai said, clasping his hands with pleasure. In contrast with the formal demeanor of before, Sai seemed to be constantly happy and enthusiastic about everything around him. He also seemed to be speaking modern Japanese now, too, though now and then he slipped into an archaic turn of phrase that Touya had only read about in old books.
Shindou preened at Sai's exclamation. "It's been eight years, Sai. I was only fifteen then. Of course I've grown since then. I'm taller by Touya, you know." He straightened up visibly, looking around the hospital room as though that would prove his physical stature.
"No, you're not," Touya retorted in pure instinct, before he remembered himself.
"You are both the same height, almost," Sai noted, before Shindou could protest. "And you two must still be rivals, right?"
Shindou's eyebrows went up. "H-how did you know?" he said.
Sai's lips curved up in a smile, looking almost indulgent, Touya thought. "Touya-kun and you marked each other as rivals from the moment you two played," he told Shindou. "It's not something that would disappear so easily, no matter how many years passed."
"Oh?" Shindou gave a mock huff, and crossed his arms in exaggerated disdain and he gave Touya an inspectorial once-over. "You mean I'm stuck with this boring person forever?"
Touya responded before he could think. "What do you mean, 'boring'?"
"Hikaru!"
To Touya's surprise, Sai had taken Shindou's fan and tapped him, none too lightly, over the head with it.
"Ow!" Hikaru rubbed the spot. "Sai!" he whined.
"Don't you know how difficult it is to find a real rival, especially in Go?" Sai said. "You should be more appreciative, Hikaru!"
"But--"
"To find someone who knows your Go, and can challenge you in that, every day of your life, don't you know that this is fate of the rarest sort?" Sai seemed properly annoyed at Shindou for once.
Shindou heaved a sigh as he studied Sai's expression, all signs of joking disappearing from his face to match Sai's seriousness. "I know," he said to Sai.
What? Touya thought.
"I know Touya is the most important opponent I could ever have," Shindou said, still looking at Sai. "We've played with each other so much that we know each other's Go, but in every game there's always something new. You're very important to me, Sai, but--" Shindou shrugged.
Sai's expression relaxed, and he smiled, a soft, knowing smile that somehow managed to convey pride, affection and wistfulness all at once. "I know, Hikaru." He put the fan back into Shindou's hands.
Shindou's fingers closed around it tightly, and he finally turned to meet Touya's eyes. "Want to play a game?"
Series: Hikaru no Go/Spirited Away crossover
Day/Theme: 5 March/Fate could create you and I
Ogino-san had left as soon as Shindou jumped up to hug Sai. Touya, to his guilt, found that he simply could not leave to go after her when Shindou and Sai were delirious with happiness. It felt impossible to tear himself away from the joyful reunion he was witnessing.
Both of them took time to recover after that, and even then Shindou was smiling brightly enough to lit up the dullest night, and Sai was exclaiming over him again and again.
"Hikaru has grown taller in the years we've been separate!" Sai said, clasping his hands with pleasure. In contrast with the formal demeanor of before, Sai seemed to be constantly happy and enthusiastic about everything around him. He also seemed to be speaking modern Japanese now, too, though now and then he slipped into an archaic turn of phrase that Touya had only read about in old books.
Shindou preened at Sai's exclamation. "It's been eight years, Sai. I was only fifteen then. Of course I've grown since then. I'm taller by Touya, you know." He straightened up visibly, looking around the hospital room as though that would prove his physical stature.
"No, you're not," Touya retorted in pure instinct, before he remembered himself.
"You are both the same height, almost," Sai noted, before Shindou could protest. "And you two must still be rivals, right?"
Shindou's eyebrows went up. "H-how did you know?" he said.
Sai's lips curved up in a smile, looking almost indulgent, Touya thought. "Touya-kun and you marked each other as rivals from the moment you two played," he told Shindou. "It's not something that would disappear so easily, no matter how many years passed."
"Oh?" Shindou gave a mock huff, and crossed his arms in exaggerated disdain and he gave Touya an inspectorial once-over. "You mean I'm stuck with this boring person forever?"
Touya responded before he could think. "What do you mean, 'boring'?"
"Hikaru!"
To Touya's surprise, Sai had taken Shindou's fan and tapped him, none too lightly, over the head with it.
"Ow!" Hikaru rubbed the spot. "Sai!" he whined.
"Don't you know how difficult it is to find a real rival, especially in Go?" Sai said. "You should be more appreciative, Hikaru!"
"But--"
"To find someone who knows your Go, and can challenge you in that, every day of your life, don't you know that this is fate of the rarest sort?" Sai seemed properly annoyed at Shindou for once.
Shindou heaved a sigh as he studied Sai's expression, all signs of joking disappearing from his face to match Sai's seriousness. "I know," he said to Sai.
What? Touya thought.
"I know Touya is the most important opponent I could ever have," Shindou said, still looking at Sai. "We've played with each other so much that we know each other's Go, but in every game there's always something new. You're very important to me, Sai, but--" Shindou shrugged.
Sai's expression relaxed, and he smiled, a soft, knowing smile that somehow managed to convey pride, affection and wistfulness all at once. "I know, Hikaru." He put the fan back into Shindou's hands.
Shindou's fingers closed around it tightly, and he finally turned to meet Touya's eyes. "Want to play a game?"