Aishuu Offers:
Brightly Burning
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
~ A Hikaru no Go Alternate Universe ~
Disclaimers: Hotta and Obata. Shonen Jump. Not Mine.
NOTES: Shonen ai eventually (AkiHika), but that's WAY
off. This actually starts a few months after Sai
disappears, but the time line is VERY screwed up.
 
Prologue: Who Can Say
 
Anyone could come to take an insei test. That was the
beauty of it, because no one was turned away, but it
also led to many hopefuls who had no talent having
their hopes crushed. 

When the fifteen-year-old walked in with his confused
mother beside him, Shinoda, the insei master, sighed a
bit to himself, preparing to let the boy down gently.
The bleached bangs and casual yellow shirt warned him
that this boy probably had no clue what he was asking
for; knew nothing about the world of Go.

He smiled at the boy, checked the name on his list,
and motioned for the teenager to take the seat across
from him. "Shindou Hikaru?" he asked.
 
The boy nodded, falling into a comfortable
cross-legged position, rather than the traditional
kneeling pose. "Yes." He handed over three kifu, which
looked like they had been printed out from the
Internet.

This wasn't the first time Shinoda had seen NetGo
kifu, but it was the first time anyone had submitted
them at the insei test. Each of the moves had been
numbered neatly with a computer, and his eyes widened
as he examined the skill level displayed by both
players. "These are yours?" he asked, trying to make
sure. The moves were beautifully rendered, and he
started to take the applicant a bit more seriously as
he studied them. Shindou's kifu showed a strong player
who had the ability to cut off opponents at every turn
and plan deeply.

Shindou nodded. "I used my real name so you could be
sure," he said softly. He seemed slightly distracted
as his mother shifted beside him.

"Ano... how long will this take?" the woman said,
shifting forward uneasily. 

Shinoda hid his surprise well; usually parents were
more eager than their child, but Shindou's mother
seemed utterly baffled by what was going on.
Apparently, this was all Shindou's idea. He made a
mental note of that, and turned to the woman. "The
test takes about an hour. Parents are allowed to wait
outside," he told her, knowing she was going to bolt.

He saw her lean close to Shindou, who waved her off as
she said something. Smiling nervously, she bowed to
him and left the room.

"Place three stones," Shinoda said to Shindou,
deciding to sort it all out later. This was a most
unusual testing.

Shindou blinked a bit in surprise. "We don't play
evenly?" he asked. He looked a bit disappointed.

Shinoda had to keep from chuckling. Most would-be
insei were relieved at the break, but Shindou seemed
insulted. "No. I'm a pro. It'd be very unfair for us
to play an even match, and this is to judge your skill
level."

Shindou's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fists
before relaxing. "Okay," he said, digging into thego
ke and placing three shale stones. 

Shinoda played his first stone where he always did
against would-be insei, and waited to see Shindou's
response. This would be the deciding factor - how
Shindou actually played. Any oddities about him could
be dismissed; it was his game that mattered.

The boy seemed to calm down as he placed a reply,
beginning the game in earnest...

It was a slaughter, but one the insei master hadn't
been expecting. Less than twenty moves in, he stared
down, realizing that giving this boy a three stone
handicap had been ridiculous and Shindou had been
right to be insulted. There was no way he could save
the white stones on the left, and the boy was quickly
claiming enough territory on the bottom to win by over
10 moku.
 
This was like playing a pro.

He bowed to resign, and the boy stared at him. "Do I
pass?"

Something about the way Shindou asked that drew
Shinoda up short. There seemed to be a deep sorrow in
his eyes, as though he really wasn't focusing. His
blood chilled when he realized that Shindou wasn't
even trying.

"Who taught you to play?" he asked. Surely if he had
been trained by a pro, rumors of Shindou would have
come to them. There shouldn't be a teenager this
strong, not unless he was in the pro world.

Shindou's eyes lowered. "A friend," he said softly.
"We'd play every night, and on the net..." 

Past tense, the insei master noted. "Do you two still
play? He's surely a professional." If the student is
this good, what is the teacher like? he wondered,
feeling his heart begin to race. The Japanese Go world
could use talent like this, he thought eagerly. If
Shindou and his mentor entered....

Shindou shifted uncomfortable. "He's gone," he said
softly. Then his eyes hardened again. "Do I pass?"

A part of him almost said no, for despite Shindou's
astounding skills, there was something amazingly...
off about him. With his talent, he would quickly crush
the other insei, and that wasn't necessarily a good
thing. They were trying to mold the players of the
future, not destroy their confidence by putting them
up against someone who would easily pass the pro exam.
His eyes widened as he realized exactly what sat in
front of him, in the shape of this casual boy. NetGo
and a friend... what would he be like with real
guidance? His heart raced at the thought. Maybe Touya
Akira wasn't the player of his generation. Maybe there
would indeed be a rival for the rapidly rising
2-dan... 

It took Shinoda a moment longer to make his decision,
but it was inevitable. The Go world needed to be
shaken up, and Shindou would be the one to do it. He
nodded slowly, feeling like he was being swept away by
a current he couldn't control. "Come in starting next
month," he said. "Get your mother, and I'll let you
know about the details."

END PROLOGUE


Credit: Thanks to those who said "go ahead and do
this" and a special thanks to tenshihanafubuki, who's
signed on as beta for this ride. This is the first of
a few length HnG AUs I have planned, but part one
should be out later this week. With Alter Egos out of
the way, it's time for a new project!

=====
i won't search beyond the sea from now
the shining thing is always here
it can be found within myself
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
Fanfiction: http://www.midnightrevolution.org/quicksilver/
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/aishuu/

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