Round 2 - Ash Landers, "Benefictus", Fic (○)

[uchikomi]

Pseudonym: Ash Landers
Title: Benefictus
Characters/Pairings: Hikaru's mother, OCs
Rating: Gen
Warnings/Contains: No warnings

Hikaru had been acting very strangely lately, and Shindou Mitsuko was getting rather worried.

"It's nothing bad really," she said to her friends. She picked up some chingensai, checked the firmness of the stalks and deep green color of the leaves, and put it in her basket before continuing. "Little things. Strange things. He talks to himself. He gets distracted for no good reason. He stares at things that aren't there. I've caught him talking to thin air; carrying on a conversation. He's getting better grades, especially in history. He's playing go instead of going out all the time or playing video games. Hikaru is doing better in school than he ever has... but that's what scares me. This... this isn't the Hikaru I knew."

"He's just growing up." Takeda-san had a son two years older than Hikaru, and Mitsuko valued her advice. "He's finally becoming more mature. You should be happy! You won't have to worry about him so much now. I wish my Shin-chan had done that two years ago too." Takeda-san checked her basket, then picked up some chingensai as well.

"I wonder," Sakae-san gave Mitsuko a look. "Have you taken Hikaru-kun to see a priest lately, Shindou-san? Excuse me."

Both Mitsuko and Takeda-san shuffled away from the vegetable rack to let Sakae-san reach for some green onions. Sakae-san's family was of a religious and conservative bent, and Mitsuko hastened to reassure her. "Hikaru is very respectful of his elders and ancestors, Sakae-san. We visit our local temple often."

"When was the last time?" Sakae-san's eyes narrowed at Mitsuko. "Has he been to a temple since that time he fainted at your father's house?"

Mitsuko had to stop for a moment to think. Had they? Hikaru had exams, and she had brought him to the temple--no, he'd begged off at the last moment. She'd gone; she'd prayed for him; she'd bought him a charm. In fact, come to think of it... "No, Sakae-san," she admitted. "Not since then."

Takeda-san gasped. "Do you think...?" She trailed off, eyes wide, looking between Sakae-san and Mitsuko.

"I can't say. He did faint, and an unconscious mind is more receptive than when one is in full control of one's faculties." Sakae-san shrugged.

Mitsuko frowned as both her friends looked at her. "I don't understand, but both of you seem to."

"Evil possession, Shindou-san." Takeda-san gripped Mitsuko's free hand with her own. "Do you remember when you told us how you found Hikaru-kun in the attic that day you were visiting your father, but how Hikaru-kun was perfectly fine and no one could explain why he'd fainted?"

"The doctor said it was anemia," Mitsuko protested.

"Hikaru-kun, the boy who could play two soccer matches back to back and still have energy left for a bicycle ride immediately afterwards?" Sakae-san shook her head. "That doctor's a quack, if you'll excuse my plain speaking."

"Yamada-sensei has been our doctor since before Hikaru was born!" Mitsuko bit her lip. "He couldn't find anything wrong with Hikaru, and anemia doesn't have to be chronic. Just a one-time thing. That's all."

The three of them walked awkwardly towards the meat counters in silence for a while before Sakae-san said, "Do a small experiment. It can't hurt."

Mitsuko saw her own incomprehension mirrored in Takeda-san's eyes. "Experiment?"

Sakae-san pointed to the salt in Takeda-san's shopping basket. "Put a large cupful of that in your bathwater. It won't hurt Hikaru, and if there's an evil spirit or two possessing him, it'll cleanse them out of his system. If not, well, it's only a little salt in the water."

Immediately, Takeda-san took the salt out of her basket and dropped it into Mitsuko's before taking Mitsuko's free hand again and giving it another squeeze.

Mitsuko nodded. "Tonight, then."

~ * ~

When Sakae-san answered the phone, the first thing she said was, "Has Hikaru-kun improved?"

"No," Mitsuko said. "I put salt in the bathwater just now. Hikaru and his father both had a bath before bed. Nothing happened during Hikaru's bath, and I thought that perhaps it wasn't possession after all, but then Hikaru came out and started running through the house calling for someone named Sai." It was hard to keep the stress out of her voice, and anyway, this had been Sakae-san's idea. "Sakae-san, I thought this was supposed to return Hikaru to normal. What do I do now--Hikaru! Hikaru! Stop, Hikaru!"

Hikaru rushed past her out the door without a backwards glance, still calling for Sai.

"What happened? Shindou-san, answer me. Are you still there?" Sakae-san's voice finally cut through Mitsuko's shocked reverie.

"He's gone," Mitsuko said, her knees giving way beneath her. "Hikaru!" She ran to the door, but Hikaru had disappeared. "Hikaru! HIKARU!"

Faintly, from far away, she heard him. "Sai! Come back, Sai! SAI!"

"Hikaru..." Mitsuko dropped her phone, not registering the 'crack' as it hit the concrete floor. Her heart squeezed in sympathy for the pain in her son's voice. "What have I done?"

Go to opponent's entry: Round 2 - Kageyama, "Satellite", FST (●)
Go to vote: Ichigaya vs. The White Suit Society - Third Board Match

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Wow! Like a slap to the face!

(In a good way, of course!)

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you!

-- Ash Landers

[(Anonymous)]

Oh dear, it must be every parent's worst nightmare to inadvertently hurt their child so much. I hope Hikaru never finds out.

- kakari

[(Anonymous)]

So do I. Thank you.

-- Ash Landers

[(Anonymous)]

You do wonder why Shindou's parents don't seem to notice much up with him. Clueless about go, yes, butnot clueless about life, you'd hope. Interesting to see one of them doing something - and I liked the reason for Sai's disappearance (much less mysterious than the original but also much less teenage dramatic!). I wondered a little about the timeframe but rather liked this - particularly the little details like Hikaru being taken to the family doctor.

-cumulonimbus

[(Anonymous)]

I must admit that part of why I personally like this is because it could certainly fit into canon. I think the timeframe would work out; Sai as a very strong ghost would take a while to disappear.

-- Ash Landers

[(Anonymous)]

Another Mitsuko fic! I'm so happy! I love fics that include or are written about Hikaru's parents and grandfather.

This is a lovely fic, and perfectly in tune with the theme. Great job!

--akota

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, I'm very glad you liked this!

- Ash Landers

[(Anonymous)]

I thought this was fabulous.

-Thunder

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for your kind comment. It's much appreciated (especially the way voting is going.)

-- Ash Landers