The Changeling Child
A Spirited Away / Hikaru no Go crossover
Sequel to Tears of the Dragon
By Quicksilver

Disclaimer: A stronger Miyazaki flavor this time, but still much more Hotta and Obata.

I�ve been a student of Touya Kouyo�s since I was sixteen and managed to earn my third dan ranking. I�m not quite sure what earned me his attention and an invitation to his study group, but I�m eternally grateful for it. He is the greatest Go player of our era, perhaps ever.

There is only one time I regret our acquaintance.

For quite a while, it appeared that Touya Akiko was barren and that there would be no child. This was not something that was discussed openly, but many considered it a great loss, for Touya Kouyo would train no heir.

Then there came the announcement that there would indeed be a child, and the Go world stirred. The man many believed would soon be Meijin or Kisei would have a child � hopefully a son! � to raise. A legacy was assured, and Go fans breathed a sigh of relief.

I would be less than human to not to have been a bit jealous. I was Touya-sensei�s favorite student, the one everyone considered the best. I was the one most likely to topple him or one of the other titleholders, the best young player. And now he was to have a son. Perhaps there were some secrets he was only going to share with his child, I thought.

It was ridiculous, for Touya Kouyo wasn�t like that, and I quickly lost that jealousy. If anything, Akira and I are extremely close, constantly pushing each other to higher levels. I know that someday soon, he will appear before me, ready to challenge me as a rival, and I will look into those icy eyes and be forced to reply with all the skill I can muster.

Touya Akira is perhaps my greatest rival, but I don�t fear him. He fascinates me, because everyday he grows stronger on an exponential scale. I wonder where he will stop; at fifteen, he�s in the Honinbou League� what will he be like at twenty? When he turns my age? His father�s?

The thought thrills me. I love Go. I love the game and will do whatever I can to advance it. And Akira will advance it on his own, simply by being himself. As he grows older, he performs more and more feats that are amazing for a person of any age, let along a young teenager.

But I know a secret.

Akira is not what he seems to be. I do not know all of his secrets, and I don�t think I want to, but I do know that Akira�s gifts are something I can never compete with when they come into full bloom.

Akira was born on a cold December day, but it wasn�t snowing. Instead it was raining, one of the worst storms I can remember. The rain pounded down so fiercely that there were advisories out to stay inside, to stay put and not to move unless there was some kind of emergency. The rain was mixed with gusts of winds, and it was just a dreadful day.

But on that day, I received a call that Touya Akiko had given birth. It was the hoped-for son, and everyone spoke his name.

Akira. Touya Akira.

I took the news calmly, and then I went to my liquor cabinet to get steadily drunk. It is a bad habit of mine, drinking to excess when I shouldn�t, because I don�t know how to cope. Drink blurs the mind and slackens the senses, but that night I wanted to forget what the future held. I had accepted the fact that my mentor would have a son now, but that didn�t mean I had to like it.

It was three days before Akira could be brought home, but I made plans to pay my respect as soon as possible. I wanted to see the new focus of Touya Kouyo�s life, to bring Akira into my world view and possibly learn to like him. If I couldn�t do it, I would possibly have to withdraw from the study group.

The day I met Akira, I learned that it would be impossible to hate him. He would not be seeking the same things I did; he was a cat among pigeons, and only a very stupid bird would be envious of him.

Touya-sensei was welcoming guests to his house, and I smiled as I left my shoes behind and stepped inside. The house felt warmer, more like a home. The look in Touya-sensei�s eyes was shining and proud, and I realized that his genuine pride in having a son seemed to have made him� expand, for lack of a better word. I couldn�t wait to watch his next game, for I was wagering it would be a wonderful one. Becoming a father had added a depth to him that would reflect in his Go.

He turned and smiled at me when he saw me. �Hello, Ogata,� he welcomed me. �Are you here to see Akira?� he asked, and I could see he was eager to show off his son.

I nodded, pushing my glasses up my nose. They were always sliding down and half the time I didn�t bother wearing them. The clear lenses and invisible frames were so mild that half the time I forgot I had them on, anyway; my vision wasn�t poor enough to require me to wear them full-time. �I want to see the future meijin," I told my mentor.

He laughed. "I need to win the title first," he told me. "I don't plan on letting anyone else have it, not even my son!"

'My son.' How proudly he said those words.

I followed him into the nursery, where Akiko was leaning over the crib. She was wearing a loose shift and her hair was loose around her face, but I had never seen her look more radiant. Motherhood agreed with her. "Hello, Ogata," she said. "Are you here to meet Akira?"

"And pay my respects," I said, bowing to her.

She gave me a gentle smile before reaching over to lift the child out of the crib. He was asleep, but his body curled trustingly against her chest. Even from across the room, I could see he had been born with a full head of hair. "Would you like to hold him?"

Not really, was my first thought, but I under the watchful eye of my master I stretched out my arms. "It would be an honor," I told her.

She beamed at me, handing over her treasure. "Make sure you keep his head stable," she warned me. I had sisters and they had trained me already in proper childcare, but I gave her an indulgent smile before taking the child.

Akira felt strangely cool in my hands. Most babies were like hot water bottles, but Akira seemed to feel like a part of my body. He sleepily melted against me, and I found myself staring down at him in a sense of wonder.

This child was different. I felt it at the core of my being.

Then baby opened his eyes, and it was all I could to keep from dropping him. His eyes were a color I had never seen before, an impermanent turquoise that reminded me of the flowing water. I gasped as his head tilted to meet my own directly, challenging me. From what I knew of children, it should have been weeks before he recognized faces.

Our eyes met and my hands trembled as I hurriedly handed him back to Akiko, managing to stutter out the correct social excuses. I needed to get away from that child, for I couldn�t believe what I saw there.

I went immediately to the nearest optometrist to get a new prescription. That was the day I bought my tinted glasses, just so I didn�t have to meet those eyes directly again. For when I looked into Akira�s eyes, I saw something inhuman staring back at me.

END

Note: In the anime, some scenes it appears that Ogata's glasses are tinted. I'm using my notorious color blindness and going with that. Just smile and nod on that plot point, okay? Other than that, comments are appreciated.

To members of my ML: I've just created a ML for serious HNG fans called "hikarusgo."

It's here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hikarusgo/