Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ Facing the World Alone ❯ Forgiveness and Rebirth ( Chapter 7 )

Date posted: Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Edited: Nope.
Chapter Warnings: Nothing unusual.
Rated: You should already know by now. ((Sigh))
Disclaimer: I know this story is moving show, but please bear with me!! Facing the World Alone
By: Mira Watanabe :: Chapter Seven ::
Forgiveness and Rebirth   That night was like any other. There were marks to meet and an odd job or two to do before Shin grabbed Karasu to go work at The Club. They did their job, like any other night. Men and women swooned over their presence, like any other night. Yumi and Ayumi provided a list of potential new marks. There was nothing new that can be said for that day, besides the fact that Karasu had found Toji cheating on him.   “It’s fucking bullshit!” Karasu took a gulped his shot glass in one go, looking severely smashed and dishevel.   Shin sat next to him with a glass of whisky, enjoying the slow burn as he ignored his friend’s rambling.   “I mean, so we had one fight, big deal!” Karasu slopped down over his glass with a distant look in his eyes. “It was just one.”   Karasu held up his shot glass to Shin, his eyes squinting at him, “About you…” He sighs, “…but it’s always about you, so what the hell is different now?”   “He’s now sleeping with the chick, instead of you,” Shin took a drink of his alcohol.   Karasu moaned, “Yeah… that is right.” He slumped down in his set and stared at the amber liquid in his cup, “…That is right.”   “Come on Raven,” Shin paid for their drinks and picked up his friend, throwing his arm around the other’s back, “Come on. We’re going home.”   Karasu rested his head on his shoulder, “There is no home for street kids, Shin, and there is never a home for me.”   Shin looked at him, his black eyes unreadable, “Then you can stay at my home.”   Karasu smiled, the bitterness shinning in his blue eyes, “But it will still be your home, Shin, never mine… never mine…” With those words, darkness claimed him, a whispered “I know,” following it’s awake, but was ignored.   -()()()-   Shin woke up to a faint chill, knowing that that his sleep was disturbed by nightmares and not the alarm clock that was set to go off an hour from then. But for the life of him, he could not tell what the dream was about. Shaking the feeling off as paranoia, Shin got out of bed to face the a little earlier than what was expected.   Walking past the guestrooms, Shin went by the open door of a still sleeping Karasu. It was Sunday morning, so there was nothing to do. Yesterday was spent on a 20 hour work day at The Club, due to the fact that Niki called in sick, and considering it was closed Sundays, there was nothing else to do but catch up on sleep. But for some reason, Shin had a distinct feeling that he wouldn’t be able to do so that day.   Deciding to get some bills done, and considering he must be behind on quite a few, Shin gathered the mail out of the employee’s lounge. Taking it, his expensed book, and a calculator he went to the tables and laid everything out. The first thing he did was calculate that month’s earnings, adding in the amount Karasu pays for room and board. Then he calculated the monthly payment for Blood-Black Roses, the water bill, gas, electric, and finally found what was left over. Not much. Looks like they’ll be eating sparsely again.   He gathered the rest of the mail, knowing they were all junk anyway, and was about to throw them into the trash when something caught his eye.   One of the envelopes was black. Curious, he picked it out, letting the other’s fall into the bin. It was address to him personally with the name Yamada Keiri as the sender. He turned it around to find a silver lily and the name Yamada Ryuu underneath.   Shin grinned. It was obviously an invitation to Yamada-sensei’s funeral.   He opened the envelope and extracted a black card that stated there was a funeral opening that Sunday to view the body of Yamada Ryuu and wish is soul to rest. On the back of the card, with the whimsical writing of a woman, there were the words, “Please come.”   A personal letter from the wife of a man he was having an affair with. Interesting.   Seeing as he had nothing else to do that morning, Shin checked the card for the time and place, finding that it was a good 30 minute drive from his house and that it started two hours from now.   Shrugging, Shin went to get ready for the day.   -()()()-   The funeral was to be expected. Flowers and mourners littered the every available area. There wasn’t anything unusual. The funeral was held in a new church off of a street called Saisei, a place Shin very rarely visited for it reeked of perfume and salt. Disgusting.   Finding that there wasn’t much to do, Shin wondered around and watched the misery planted on everyone’s faces. It was almost comforting.   Shin walk through a valley of lilies, all of which were in perfect bloom, to a white alter full of roses.  Upon closer inspection, within the elaborate bouquet laid the body of Yamada Ryuu. The man was as pale as milk, his body laid out in the standard position, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed soothingly. The coroner had added the customary rouge to his cheeks, making the body look as if it were only sleeping. Sadly, it was a sleep that lasted for eternity.   Shin reached down and caressed his cheek, finding that the body was neither hot nor cold. Odd. But, Shin smiled bitterly knowing that Yamada-sensei would have wept for such a gentle touch. He had a brief thought of kissing those dead lips, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. It would be giving the man too much, and Shin wasn’t a giving person.   The wind – as cold as the death surrounding – blew past them, pushing the winter air around. Black hair was swept away from their face, dancing with the wind and rose petals. Red and white flowers mixed into the man’s death bed. They, too, would soon be lifeless and buried. Shin chuckled, now if only it would rain.   There was a tapping on a mike, the sound amplified to great annoyance. Shin turned to see Yamada’s wife, Keiri, standing at a podium. She was sickly pale and her eyes were puff, as were to be expected, but otherwise, she seemed fine, conserved even.   She cleared her throat, “Um… Hello everyone, friends and family…”   Shin snorted. What did that make him?   “I just wanted to thank you for coming to Ryuu’s funeral, I am sure h-h-he appreciates you being here…” Keiri chocked a little bit, fresh tears springing to her eyes, “It has all be fast few days for me… As time stopped for my husband, it speed up for me. Maybe to account for our lost…”   She looked down, watching her hands play with the gold wedding band. Fidgeting. Her eyes were both sad and wistful.   “At night, I prayed to Kami, asking him why he took my only love. Asking him, ‘Why did you take him?” over and over again… only to get no answer back.” Chrystal tears feel from her eyes unnoticed by her anguish. “I then asked him why he had abandoned me…”   “I grew angry then. Screaming to the heaves as they ignored me. Cussing my luck and cussing my husband for his foolishness.” She gave a bitter smile, “Cussing him for what he had done.”   It was then, that Shin understood she knew about his sin. His affair with a dead man. Her husband.   She looked up to Shin then, her eyes strong with a fierce resolve, “I hated him.”   Shin nodded to her.   “I hated him with all my might for what he had done,” Her right hand clenched over her left, holding tight to her ring, “I didn’t know I could hate someone that much.”   An older man, her father, touched her shoulder then. Holding it to comfort her. I am here, it said.   Her delicate hands loosened to pat his. Comforting him in return. “It was then -- with that thought -- that I knew… It was not him I hated, but I.”   A tear fell from her eyes. She looked down to try and hid it, “I hate myself for being so weak, for never saying anything when words were needed. For always living in the shadows. For not being able to change a thing.”    Someone in the crowd was sobbing loud. Big pitiful sounds falling from whomever’s lips. A voice whispering comfort, “It’s ok mom”   “I could not change a thing,” She look at Shin, “so I forgave him.”   She gave a small smile then, her first smile since her husband’s death, “They say when someone dies, someone else is born. When one life ends… another begins… Death and Rebirth. I would like to think that Ryuu died for a reason. That his death starts someone else’s life.”   She looked to her wedding band, “Ryuu was a good man… Kami has given us a great time together. Now he is gone. There is no changing that now. I don’t think I could have changed it then either… It was Ryuu’s time to go.”   “It was just his time to go,” She then broke down sobbing into her hands. Her dad held her in his arms, sharing her sorrow.   Shin stayed there by Ryuu’s casket as an ocean of people moved to go into the church. As people walked by, wallowing in too much grief to see clearly, Shin bent his lips next to his teacher’s ear, whispering, “Yamada no baka.”   He looked into the corpse’s closed eyes, kneeling over the side of the casket. “Those that leave, Ryuu, are real bastards. Did you know that?”   Shin gave a bitter chuckle, thinking about Keiri’s speech, “Tell me… Are you happy, Ryuu? … Can you smile when you leave those behind to cry, to mourn? … Can you smile at our pain?”   It rained then. Cristal tears of pain.   Shin pressed his forehead against Ryuu’s, his tears hitting everlasting closed eyes, as he lost himself to thought, “Are you smiling in heaven? …Are you smiling? …”   Borrowed tears fell from closed eyes. Shin choked, trying to bury his pain, “…I-I hope so… I really hope so--”   He gasped, looking up to see a ghost walk by.   “Sai?”   Chapter One End: To Be Continued Annoying Authors Notes:
(I am sorry I made this part so long, but it is important for you to read.)   HA HA HA! …. I am evil.   I am got tired of long introduction. I mapped out my story so that I am able to give you a more detailed listing of Shin’s new life, before re-introducing the original characters of the story. I now have 7 chapters of an introduction, 14000 words…. Can you understand his life yet? I sure hope so, because things are going to start moving fast once Sai comes back. ((winks)) (edit, to make the intro shorter, I went and deleted four of my already made chapters and fast-forward the story to this chapter. Like it?)   Basically, Shin’s life right now is at a standstill, everything is routine and order. To Dreamweaver (if you are still reading this story), yeah I know that it is taking on a “slice-of-life” style, and it really DOES have a storyline thank you very much (Grrrrr), but I haven’t got to it yet. I guess it doesn’t help matter much that I hadn’t given you any hint with my summery (I am just now thinking about changing that summery). I just ask that you keep reading. I have a lot planned for this story (Seeing as I have been working on the plotline since last February). I just haven’t shown what the plot is yet.   To those who read these little author’s notes, the “rising action” has not yet been introduced. Sadly, I am still on the beginning (and what a long beginning it is). Usually by now, with such a long and boorish introduction, I’ll give up on a story like this. But I wanted to lay all my peaces down and secure. Doesn’t a good foundation mean a better structure?   I estimated this story to be at least 40-70 chapters long, and seeing as I make every chapter 2000 plus words, it is going to be pretty damn long. So a 7 chapter introduction isn’t but a small piece of the pie. ((smiles)) And that is one big pie.   Another point I’d like to make is that the sex scenes really aren’t my fancy anymore. I am going to start making them rather short and to the point now. Plus, I’d hate to get kicked out of FF.net again, and the stupid warnings are getting on my nerves. So don’t be surprised if I start “censoring” out these next ones and the last ones. I think I made a point with Shin’s attitude that Hikaru is pretty much off his rocker. Ha ha… (God, I hate how OOC he is right now)   My last point, YES all of the “Hikaru no Go” characters will be back. I am not the type of author that likes to put nothing but personalizes characters as my main characters. Just Karasu will be my main squeeeeeze. That is only because he is import to my hidden plotline. ((hint hint; it is the reason why I’ve been focusing on him for the previous three chapters.)) Other than he, all the other characters’ will fade into the background as Akira, Akari, Isumi, Kaga, Kawai, Ochi, Ogata, Waya, and all the rest will come back into our favorite Go player’s life. AND YES! Go will be back, just wait for it.   With Love,
Michi   PS: I made a neat little poster to go with this story. I posted it on my DeviantART. The link, if you’re interested, is on my profile. Chapter Notes:   Yamada no Baka – Your an idiot Yamada.   Kami – God/gods   Saisei – Rebirth   P L E A S E
R E V I E W!