kingdoms_of_auradon | Shindou Hikaru Intro (OTA)

Open/locked?: Open
Who: Hikaru and anybody who wants to put up with him
What: Arrival (Auradon)
Warnings: Uh, nothing I can think of offhand, but I'll edit this if I need to?

Hikaru woke up in the snow.

Which was the first red flag, really. It wasn't like it didn't snow in Tokyo, it did, but usually not enough to do anything useful with. So this was... weird.

There were also a lot of meticulously trimmed hedges and things, which wasn't really a thing in Tokyo either. The middle of the city wasn't exactly the greenest of places, not like this, unless you were in a park or playground, but this didn't look like anyplace he'd ever seen. Red flag number two.

Three, and probably the most obvious, was the giant building in front of him. Was that a castle? Like, knights and dragons and stuff kind of castle? He'd only ever seen something like that in fairy tale stories (and Tokyo Disney, once when he was little), and even then, he hadn't seen a lot of it. Royal buildings in Japan were of a much different style, after all.

And four, was the fact that he was absolutely positive he'd been inside last he knew. He'd probably fallen asleep going over a game- it wouldn't be the first time.

Hikaru pinched himself in the arm as hard as he could. This had to be a dream. Never mind that he was freezing cold, it still had to be some figment of his imagination.

"Ouch!" he cried out at the sharp pain on his arm, and then looked back up. Nope, weird castle was still there.

"What the atari-" he murmured, then blinked. That wasn't what he'd said. "Joseki. Gote. Hane." No, no, and no. What was happening? How was he being censored in real time? And Go terms?

There was no way this was real. It couldn't possibly, this was all too weird, even for Hikaru, who had literally been haunted by a Go obsessed ghost. He had to be dreaming still, somehow. Or he'd hit his head on the goban when he crashed and now he was hallucinating? That was a sobering thought. Still, hallucination or not, he was getting cold just sitting here in the snow.

Time to figure out how to get warm, somehow, probably inside. He got up, dusted himself off- oh hey, he had his backpack, weird but cool, he wasn't going to complain- and started moving toward the castle. Maybe by the time he got there, he'd be awake and he wouldn't even have to worry about it.

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"Are you new here, perhaps?" she asked with a warm smile as she drew closer so they could speak more comfortably.

"Oh. Um. Yeah. Where's here, by the way?" he asked. He crossed his arms over his chest, subconsciously trying to hold in any warmth he still had.

"This is Auradon Prep, a school in a city known as Auradon. Come inside, we can get you warm while I answer your questions," she offered.

"A school?" Hikaru said. He couldn't help the whine that came into his voice. He hated school. "Why does it have to be a school?"

Still, it was better than freezing to death- probably. He shrugged his consent to be brought inside.

She chuckled. "And now you sound like one of my kids," she teased gently. She fought the urge to gently tousle his hair, but it was difficult.

Honestly, Hikaru wouldn't have minded all that much. He was pretty used to being manhandled by adults- not actually a good thing, but details.

"Kids? You have kids?" he asked, surprised. She was what, Isumi's age? He couldn't even begin to imagine Isumi having kids, not for a long time, if ever.

She chuckled. "I'm a teacher, my younger students are my kids," she clarified.

"Oh, okay," he nodded, accepting that more easily. "What do you teach?"

A moment later, the rest of his brain caught up with this. "Wait, you're a teacher here?"

She chuckled lightly. "I teach Mastery. Which includes a little bit of everything." She gave him a warm smile. "I'm a teacher, no matter where I go, that is what I am. So while I am not from here, I have held classes since arriving here."

"Mastery? Mastery of what?" he asked curiously. That was a weird name for a class.

He wanted to ask her about "here" again, but he figured it wasn't time yet. She'd wanted to get him inside first or something, after all.

"Mastery of ourselves," she said. "So that is everything from the physical body, to knowledge, to emotional control. Magic for those who have magic. Meditation and calming for those who need it. Philosophy. Defense. Ways to protect others. History if we are in a world where I am competent to teach it and there are students who wish to learn. Most things I teach while exercising. I've found that few students actually enjoy sitting in a classroom and just listening. So I pair everything with activity where feasible."

Hikaru looked thoughtful at this. "So, how to be Touya, basically," he mused. At least, what he'd heard about Touya from others. He tended to get the unmastered version, usually. He tended to be a little bit that way at the goban, too, though some more training on it couldn't hurt.

Maybe he'd look into meditation classes after he woke up?

"Might be useful for Go."

The activity thing wasn't a bad idea, either. He might not have hated school so much if he'd had teachers like that.

"I do not know Touya," she said, with a warm smile. "But if my lessons can help you with something you want to improve, I am happy to help."

"Yeah, maybe," he said thoughtfully. It might be worth a shot. Anything to help him beat Touya, right?

"Oh, he's intense. He's got these laser beam eyes that see into your soul, practically."

Although that was probably just a Hikaru thing.

"Laser beam eyes?" she asked, blinking, startled. "I wonder if he is related to Scott...."

Hikaru, you said that to someone who used to teach at Master Xavier's in upstate New York...

Shindou Hikaru Intro (OTA)

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(couldn't resist using the icon, lol)

Re: (couldn't resist using the icon, lol)

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