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taotrooper) wrote2009-06-20 12:10 am
taotrooper) wrote2009-06-20 12:10 am
Entry tags:
[FMA] A game of strategy
Theme: 2. The cruelest month
Character/s or Pairing: Ling Yao x Lan Fan
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist
Rating: G
Genre: Gen
Ling hated the last month of the year because of the extreme cold. Temperatures happened to drop the most some weeks before New Year, and snow blizzards were frequent. He was a heat person, a summer person. It was the worst time of the year for him. The boy would stay indoors, wrapped in blankets, wearing his thickest pajamas, and longing for winter to be finally over so he’d be wandering off outside. Fencing practices under the roof weren’t the same, with no sun in the sky.
He had finished his chicken broth, and he’d stare at the ceiling. He was done with the homework the tutor had assigned him; next practice would the next day. Ling had nothing else to do.
Unless… but it was something he couldn’t do alone.
He stood up and went to the bedroom door, to find a small black figure sitting on the hall’s floor. It was wearing a mask, like always.
“Lan Fan.”
The person turned its head, and a female voice came from behind the aggressive pattern.
“Young master?”
“Can you please come in?”
“Ah… did I do something wrong, young master?”
“Gee, no. I just need your assistance with something, and maybe you can help me. And if you can’t, we can still have a casual chat.” He smiled at her.
“I’m not allowed, young master. I’m doing guard, and while you attempt to be ‘casual’ with me, an assassin from any other clan can come in and kill you.”
“That’s… melodramatic. Hey, listen. You’re bored outside, yes?”
“Jobs aren’t supposed to be fun,” she muttered.
“Good, because I’m bored inside. And lonely, too. We can bore each other. Uh uh uh!” He made her shut up with a hand gesture, as she was about to argue back. “You’re trained to feel chi. If an evil killer was about to make a move, you’d feel his chi the same here or there. So there’s no point. Come in.”
The girl stood up, annoyed. Ling knew she was easy to convinced and vulnerable to his stubbornness. They both crossed the door.
“Do you know how to play Go, Lan Fan?”
“Yes. I’ve been taught when I was a little child.”
“Perfect!” He grinned. “I want to practice, but everybody at this hour is taking a nap. I’m sick of sleeping. So, be my partner.”
“I… I’m not good at it, young master.”
“Neither am I. That’s why I need some practice, right?”
He opened a closet, and took a heavy, lacquered, wooden box from it. Actually, it was a game board, and the upward face had several adjacent squares painted on its surface. Ling put it on the table, and then he went and looked for two small recipients. They were rounded and black. Lan Fan stared.
“Well, have a seat,” he invited. “It must be uncomfortable to play on your feet.” She obeyed, and he sat on the chair in front of her. “So, what do you want to be, black or white?”
“White, so young master will go first.”
“Meh, but black suits you better… oh well, I’ll be black.” Ling passed her one of the little bowls. She opened it; there were some white stones inside it. He also had stones in his, but they were dark. He proceeded to start the game by putting one of his stones on the board, just where two perpendicular lines met each other. She followed his lead and placed a white stone next to the other one.
The minutes passed by; snow kept falling. Stones stopped by the wooden surface, some of them leaving their position after some moves. Absolute silence was broken only by their own thoughts. It was hard to read her expressions with the mask on her face.
Ling realized the pile of white stones outside was growing faster than the other one.
“Lan Fan, you’re cheating.”
“I do not understand, young master.”
“You’re not playing. You’re letting me win. How am I supposed to learn to play Go if you go easy on me?”
“Uh…that’s… I’m just bad at this, you are really good.”
“Bullshit; I know you’re lying. You know, they say Go is all about strategy and concentration. More than a game, it’s a small war. That’s why I was taught to play it… since if I ever become the Emperor, I’ll have to know how to use my mind and take decisions. I want to be stronger. I want to be wiser. And I can’t improve without a worthy opponent. Please, help me out, Lan Fan!”
Silence.
“Do you want me to be your opponent, then?”
“Just in Go!” Ling smiled. “I want you in my side for other things, but do your best now and play fair. Think I’m not the twelfth prince of the Empire, but just a random brat who challenged you to Go.”
“Ah. Understood,” she murmured.
“Your turn, then.”
Lan Fan placed a token, which closed a considerably large polygon made of white. She carefully picked up the chain of black stones inside of it, and they were quite a few. Ling’s jaw opened.
“You said not to go easy on you…” she excused herself.
“Ahahahahaha, yeah, I know!” To Lan Fan’s surprised, Ling was clearly amused. “But know this: I won’t go easy on you, either. We’re both warriors, so let’s behave as such.”
“Yes.” Behind the mask, she slightly smirked.
During that afternoon, Ling Yao forgot about the cold and the snow. During that afternoon, Lan Fan forgot she was giving her superior a challenge. The room was so heated in competition they couldn’t even feel the cold weather.
But most of all, they had fun. And Ling told to himself he should play Go with his bodyguard more often.
Character/s or Pairing: Ling Yao x Lan Fan
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist
Rating: G
Genre: Gen
Ling hated the last month of the year because of the extreme cold. Temperatures happened to drop the most some weeks before New Year, and snow blizzards were frequent. He was a heat person, a summer person. It was the worst time of the year for him. The boy would stay indoors, wrapped in blankets, wearing his thickest pajamas, and longing for winter to be finally over so he’d be wandering off outside. Fencing practices under the roof weren’t the same, with no sun in the sky.
He had finished his chicken broth, and he’d stare at the ceiling. He was done with the homework the tutor had assigned him; next practice would the next day. Ling had nothing else to do.
Unless… but it was something he couldn’t do alone.
He stood up and went to the bedroom door, to find a small black figure sitting on the hall’s floor. It was wearing a mask, like always.
“Lan Fan.”
The person turned its head, and a female voice came from behind the aggressive pattern.
“Young master?”
“Can you please come in?”
“Ah… did I do something wrong, young master?”
“Gee, no. I just need your assistance with something, and maybe you can help me. And if you can’t, we can still have a casual chat.” He smiled at her.
“I’m not allowed, young master. I’m doing guard, and while you attempt to be ‘casual’ with me, an assassin from any other clan can come in and kill you.”
“That’s… melodramatic. Hey, listen. You’re bored outside, yes?”
“Jobs aren’t supposed to be fun,” she muttered.
“Good, because I’m bored inside. And lonely, too. We can bore each other. Uh uh uh!” He made her shut up with a hand gesture, as she was about to argue back. “You’re trained to feel chi. If an evil killer was about to make a move, you’d feel his chi the same here or there. So there’s no point. Come in.”
The girl stood up, annoyed. Ling knew she was easy to convinced and vulnerable to his stubbornness. They both crossed the door.
“Do you know how to play Go, Lan Fan?”
“Yes. I’ve been taught when I was a little child.”
“Perfect!” He grinned. “I want to practice, but everybody at this hour is taking a nap. I’m sick of sleeping. So, be my partner.”
“I… I’m not good at it, young master.”
“Neither am I. That’s why I need some practice, right?”
He opened a closet, and took a heavy, lacquered, wooden box from it. Actually, it was a game board, and the upward face had several adjacent squares painted on its surface. Ling put it on the table, and then he went and looked for two small recipients. They were rounded and black. Lan Fan stared.
“Well, have a seat,” he invited. “It must be uncomfortable to play on your feet.” She obeyed, and he sat on the chair in front of her. “So, what do you want to be, black or white?”
“White, so young master will go first.”
“Meh, but black suits you better… oh well, I’ll be black.” Ling passed her one of the little bowls. She opened it; there were some white stones inside it. He also had stones in his, but they were dark. He proceeded to start the game by putting one of his stones on the board, just where two perpendicular lines met each other. She followed his lead and placed a white stone next to the other one.
The minutes passed by; snow kept falling. Stones stopped by the wooden surface, some of them leaving their position after some moves. Absolute silence was broken only by their own thoughts. It was hard to read her expressions with the mask on her face.
Ling realized the pile of white stones outside was growing faster than the other one.
“Lan Fan, you’re cheating.”
“I do not understand, young master.”
“You’re not playing. You’re letting me win. How am I supposed to learn to play Go if you go easy on me?”
“Uh…that’s… I’m just bad at this, you are really good.”
“Bullshit; I know you’re lying. You know, they say Go is all about strategy and concentration. More than a game, it’s a small war. That’s why I was taught to play it… since if I ever become the Emperor, I’ll have to know how to use my mind and take decisions. I want to be stronger. I want to be wiser. And I can’t improve without a worthy opponent. Please, help me out, Lan Fan!”
Silence.
“Do you want me to be your opponent, then?”
“Just in Go!” Ling smiled. “I want you in my side for other things, but do your best now and play fair. Think I’m not the twelfth prince of the Empire, but just a random brat who challenged you to Go.”
“Ah. Understood,” she murmured.
“Your turn, then.”
Lan Fan placed a token, which closed a considerably large polygon made of white. She carefully picked up the chain of black stones inside of it, and they were quite a few. Ling’s jaw opened.
“You said not to go easy on you…” she excused herself.
“Ahahahahaha, yeah, I know!” To Lan Fan’s surprised, Ling was clearly amused. “But know this: I won’t go easy on you, either. We’re both warriors, so let’s behave as such.”
“Yes.” Behind the mask, she slightly smirked.
During that afternoon, Ling Yao forgot about the cold and the snow. During that afternoon, Lan Fan forgot she was giving her superior a challenge. The room was so heated in competition they couldn’t even feel the cold weather.
But most of all, they had fun. And Ling told to himself he should play Go with his bodyguard more often.