Summary: During the annual Castle Games in 1859, Sai and Torajirou meet a strange boy. Crossover HnG / Rurouni Kenshin
Disclaimer: I don't own HikaGo, nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin
Castle Games
"Torajirou-kun, there is a boy hiding in the rafters."
Really? Thirty year old Kuwabara Torajirou, better known as Honinbou Shuusaku to the Go world, carefully didn't look away from studying the game he had just played with Fujiwarano Sai. If there was someone watching him, he couldn't be seen talking to ghosts. And, also, he didn't want to give away that he had become aware of the second presence in the room. How long has he been here?
From the corner of his eyes he saw Sai move back and forth, trying to catch a better glimpse of that boy. "I don't know. I never heard him come in; I was too focused on our game. I think I only discovered him because he cannot see me, and so he doesn't think to hide from me."
Hm. What is he doing?
"I don't know," Sai fretted, "he's not doing anything. He's just watching you. Torajirou-kun, do you think he is a thief? Or an assassin?"
Idly, Torajirou began clearing the kaya board of Go stones. I don't think so. If he had any intention of harming me, he surely would have done so earlier. We have been playing since the hour of the dragon, after all. And, you say he is naught but a child. How many summers has he seen?
"I cannot see him properly because he is wearing a cloak. He might be ten summers old, but he could be older or younger."
A cloak? That was unusual. It was early May, but it was already uncomfortably hot in Edo. The boy had to be sweating a lot. Sai, do you think he is one of the children in the castle?
Honinbou Shuusaku had been invited to participate in the annual castle games (1) in Edo for the seventeenth time in a row. Torajirou had arrived two days early to ease some of the strain of travel, and he had been given a room in one of the guest houses.
Sai, as the representative of Honinbou house, was going to play next week's games against the representatives of Yasui, Inoue, and Hayashi Go houses, just like Sai had played all of Honinbou Shuusaku's games. Even more than twenty years after meeting the Go ghost, Torajirou was still awed by his skill and his boundless ability to just keep improving. Torajirou never would have been able to think of what was now known as the ear-reddening move, the hand Honinbou Shuusaku had become famous for.
Throughout years of observing Sai's Go and placing the stones for him, Torajirou had learned incredibly much; but when matched against Sai, he still fell far short. Today's game had proved that as he had barely managed to keep up with the ghost although he'd had a two-stone handicap. Nonetheless it had been a good game, and it was even more breathtaking to play against such a godly opponent than to merely observe his moves.
And just how long had that boy been observing their game?
Due to the thin paper shouji separating the rooms, Torajirou had taken great care to only communicate with Sai on a mental level, but he hadn't thought to keep his actions in check as well. What purpose did that boy have? Had he been sent by one of the other three Go houses to spy on him?
"I am not sure," the ghost frowned, "I haven't seen him during our last invitations to Edo castle, but the grounds are vast."
Torajirou nodded slightly to himself, having finally finished placing all Go stones in their proper container. Alright. Keep an eye on him, Sai, I am going to try something.
Despite the ghost's protests, he took the goke with the black stones and placed it on the opposite side of the board, just like he might in preparation for another player. Then he took the lid off his own goke and briefly marveled over the gleaming surface of the white clamshell stones.
He knelt on his side of the goban in the position he had perfected so long ago that he didn't even think about it anymore. He could stay unmoving in seiza for hours upon hours, and most Go games demanded such endurance. Once he was settled, he gave the final push to his plan.
"Would you like to play a game?" He asked into thin air, staring straight ahead towards an imaginary opponent on the other side of the board.
Since he couldn't see the boy, he strained his ears to catch the slightest sound that would give him a hint of the boy's location. Sai, who now was in his field of vision inhaled sharply, but didn't move his gaze away from where he was staring at something behind and above Torajirou. Sai probably was his best indicator of what the boy was doing, and whether he was any danger.
Several long moments passed, and nothing happened. Torajirou kept staring ahead, not repeating his invitation. It was the boy's turn to make a move now.
"He has frozen," Sai whispered, the tension in his voice audible. "I don't think he is breathing anymore. He is watching you very intently."
For the sake of his observer, Torajirou didn't give any outward sign of having heard Sai. Alright. I will wait as long as I have to.
Seconds turned into minutes, and Torajirou was beginning to wonder whether he had made a mistake. Judging by Sai's intent stare and occasional comments, the boy merely kept sitting there, utterly still. It was hard to keep up any level of tension through long periods of inaction, and Torajirou had to remind himself that, if he made a move now, he more or less forfeited their game of outwaiting each other.
After nearly a joukoku (2) of the hour of the ram (3) had passed, he was rewarded for his patience.
"I have never played games before."
Torajirou did his best to suppress his flinch at the boy's sudden interruption of their silence. Although the boy's voice was clear and high, not yet having begun the growth into an adult's, it was curiously flat and emotionless. But the Go player thought he had detected a hint of interest.
"Do you want to learn?" He offered, still not turning to search out the boy with his eyes.
What kind of childhood had that boy had to be able to claim never having played any games before? Even at the daimyou's court, Torajirou had had playmates.
Lord Asano had been the one to discover Torajirou's, or rather Sai's, Go skills and had sponsored him. At the age of eight, Torajirou had moved to Lord Asano's castle, where the daimyou's personal Go tutor had seen to Torajirou's education. He'd had long days of study, and he had been alone for most of them. But he had quickly made friends with a few children from other non-samurai families. And, yes, they had played together. Not Go, but other children's games.
So, who was that boy who had never played before?
He was quite sure by now that the boy hadn't been sent to spy on him; at least not on his Go. But what about gathering information that would damage his reputation? He was Honinbou Shuuwa's heir after all. There were a few people who would profit from him being removed from the line of succession, be it through a scandal or through more permanent means.
He kept a tight watch on Sai as the ghost's face was easy to read and would give an immediate reflection of the boy's actions, even if Torajirou couldn't see or hear them.
This time, he didn't have to wait that long for an answer.
"Games are for children."
The boy's dismissive attitude set Sai off, and the ghost began lecturing him about how Go was so much more than a mere game. A pity the boy couldn't hear it, so he repeated Sai's most important points out loud. "Go is not only a game for children. It teaches patience and strategy, and it hones the mind so that one may see sharper and clearer."
Something in the boy's reaction seemed to calm Sai down. The ghost stopped his rant and kept on watching the boy. Torajirou tried to discern what was going on, but for the moment, the boy seemed to be content continuing their strange conversation.
"You play Go very often." The hint of curiosity he had distinguished earlier was now tinted with a bit of confusion.
"Yes. Go is my life. When I don't play, I either study or teach it. Should I explain the basics to you?"
What did the boy make of him now? He seemed puzzled that Torajirou, an adult, could play a simple game all day long. Torajirou probably didn't fit into the picture of proper behavior that had to have been drilled into the boy's mind very early on.
When no answer came, Torajirou threw Sai an asking look.
The ghost shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead. He seems to be listening."
So Torajirou grabbed the goke with the black slate stones and placed it besides the one with the white stones so that he had better access to both of them. Then he started on the very basics, of how to place stones, what the goal of the game was, and what its rules were. The boy never said a word.
More than once, Torajirou had to ask Sai whether the boy was still there because the child was eerily quiet. Torajirou had never met a child before that could stay so absolutely still that he never heard a single rustle of cloth for such a long period of time.
But the boy was still there, and apparently listening attentively.
Slowly, Torajirou's explanation continued on to eyes, how to make them, how to distinguish true ones from false ones, and why they were so important. He was in the middle of explaining a very simple life and death problem when Sai suddenly startled.
"Torajirou-kun! He's going to – "
Torajirou looked up just in time to get a brief glimpse of a short, slender figure shrouded in a dark cloak jumping elegantly through the rafters. The boy noiselessly dropped to the ground near the wall, and he was out the door before Torajirou could do so much as blink.
"- leave," Sai finished weakly.
The two of them looked at each other, too astonished to find proper words. In the background, the hour bell started ringing. The hour of the Ram was over, and the Hour of the Monkey began. Sai? Why do you think he left so suddenly?
Slowly, the ghost shook himself out of his stupor. "It cannot have been coincidence that he left just as the hour bell was about to ring. I think he has to be somewhere during the hour of the monkey. He must have a great sense of time."
Did you get a better look at him?
"No." Sai hung his head. "He was too quick for me to catch more than that he was wearing dark clothing beneath his cloak. I am sorry."
Don't worry, Sai, he reassured the ghost, I didn't see anything either. If I hadn't watched it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed a human was capable of such speed.
"That is right. Do you think he will be back?" Sai looked at him anxiously
Staring at the door the boy had opened and closed so soundlessly, Torajirou had a feeling. Yes, I think so. I am not sure whether it is to spy on me some more, or because he simply is curious. But I think he will return until he has achieved what he came for.
And then, maybe, he would be able to lift some of the boy's mysteries.
When he saw Sai stiffen and look up into the rafters, he knew that the boy he had met yesterday was back.
It had rung the hour of the rat a long time ago, and it was pitch black outside. Sai's game with Inoue Matsuake had lasted from dawn to dusk, and afterwards, Torajirou had been required to sit through a grand dinner at the shogun's court.
He had returned to his quarters completely exhausted, knowing that the Hour of the Ox couldn't be far away anymore. He had already unrolled his futon and dressed in a thin yukata that was proper for the hot nights in Edo, when Sai reacted to something.
Torajirou had hoped for a good night's sleep, but apparently someone thought otherwise.
Is it the boy? he asked Sai through their connection.
"Yes. He is watching you again."
How long had the boy been there? Had he hidden out before their return, or had the boy managed to enter while they had been there? What was the boy doing awake at such an hour anyway? Shouldn't he be fast asleep in his own bed?
Torajirou looked around, trying to spot the boy's hiding place by following Sai's gaze. But he couldn't see anything, whether it be because of his angle or due to the dim light of a single oil lamp. The boy clearly was very adept at evading notice.
Finally, he sighed out loud. "I am sorry, but I am very tired today. If you want me to show you more Go, please come back tomorrow."
As usual, he didn't receive an answer, but one look at Sai was enough to know the boy was still there.
He had long ago abandoned the thought of the boy being a thief or an assassin, and he had a feeling that the boy wasn't spying on him, either. Was the boy hiding from someone?
He placed the oil lamp that was the only source of illumination in the otherwise dark room on the table and extinguished its flame. By memory alone, he felt his way back to his futon.
"If you need a place to spend the night, you can stay here," he offered the boy in a soft whisper as to not disturb his neighbors through the thin paper walls.
There was no doubt in his mind that the boy had heard him, but as usual there was no reaction at all. And with all light gone on this moonless night, not even Sai had a chance at spotting the boy's presence.
If it hadn't been for Sai, Torajirou never would have known he wasn't alone. Even now, when he was certain the boy had to be there, he didn't hear a thing. Not even breathing.
Torajirou didn't know how long it took until he fell asleep listening for any sign of the boy's presence. He thought he had heard the hour of the ox, but by then, his exhaustion had already dragged him into dreamland.
When he woke the next morning, the boy was gone. Neither Sai nor he had heard him leave.
"He is here."
Once again, Sai's warning was the only reason he knew of the boy's presence. Hiding out in the rafters again?
"Yes."
Despite Torajirou's invitation, the boy hadn't sought him out the day before. The day before, Hayashi and Yasui house had fought their game, and Torajirou had used that time to study more Go in his room. Well, he had played Sai, but that was about the same.
If the boy had shown up, he had hidden so well that not even Sai had noticed him.
This day, they had played their second game of the Castle Games, this time against Hayashi Kenjirou. The Castle Games were based on a round robin system, with everybody having to fight everybody. Afterwards, if there was a tie, a last match was played to determine the winner. So far, Sai had won both of his games, and Hayashi had won his yesterday. If Sai lost his game against Yasui Mashimoto the next day and Hayashi won against Inoue the day after, they'd both have two wins each and they'd have to play each other one final time.
But Torajirou was quite sure that Sai was going to defeat Yasui tomorrow.
Today's game had only lasted until the hour of the monkey, and Torajirou had taken a walk through the palace gardens. Dinner had once again been a very elaborate affair with lots of polite conversation and court politics that had lasted well into the night. Afterwards, Torajirou had retreated to his room to discuss the game with Sai.
They had been in the middle of their discussion when Sai had suddenly discovered the boy.
Without missing a beat, Torajirou switched to a solitary monologue that commented on the game in a broad and general enough manner that the boy could understand, placing stones as needed. "At this point, Black and White are almost equal. Then Black begins setting a trap. He uses these stones on the bottom to give it a solid foundation, but it is these stones that seem dead that are going to make up its main body.
"While Black is building his trap, White becomes suspicious. White can see that Black is up to something, but White cannot see yet what Black intends. So White decides to disturb Black's work by attacking that cluster over there, feeling that it probably will get Black's attention. Black, on the other hand, has just set up that cluster as the bait of his trap and without knowing, White springs it.
"Black uses the next moves to wrap the net more tightly around White, but it is only when Black finally connects those seemingly dead stones to the fray that White sees the whole extent of Black's plan. By then, it is too late to escape the trap, and Black gains so much territory that there is no chance anymore for White to win.
"White resigns."
Torajirou continued staring at the final shape of the game, idly wondering how much more… mundane it sounded when he tried to explain it in such simple terms. Those words didn't even come close to describing the pure genius Sai had used to set up the trap. They didn't even touch on how Sai had cleverly used his opponent's expectation of Sai's intentions against him to bait him into that trap.
But although he doubted the boy could see all layers of disguise and deception that had gone into the game, he was quite certain that the boy understood the strategy behind it.
The single oil lamp flickered a bit, dipping the goban in moving shadows. The hour of the rat was nearing fast, and the lack of a moon in the sky only intensified the darkness.
What is he doing? he asked Sai, hoping that the ghost could see something in the low light.
The ghost squinted his eyes. "I think… I think he is listening. I cannot tell more with the way he has wrapped his cloak around himself. He is a very strange boy, isn't he?"
Yes, that he is.
Sai and Torajirou had been talking about who that boy might be, but they hadn't come to a conclusion. Sai had even proposed that the boy was a ghost because he was so quiet and came and went whenever nobody watched. Torajirou had argued that, if he was a ghost, he should be able to see Sai, and he shouldn't have been able to open the door when he left the first day.
But, whatever the boy was, he was not much of a child. The boy waited with a patience and a calmness that had taken Torajirou years to achieve, and which was quite rare to see even amongst professional Go players.
What do you think I should do? he asked Sai. Do you think it is a good idea if I try to explain more Go to him?
The ghost frowned. "I am not sure. He listens intently to every word you say, but he might not be able to follow what you are talking about."
Torajirou nodded almost imperceptibly. I thought so. Maybe I should give him a problem, to test how much he has understood.
"Do you think he will answer you?" Sai sounded about as skeptic as Torajirou felt.
Nonetheless, he thought it was the only move that would gain some results. I hope so. I will give him time and a way to answer without words.
"A good idea. He seems loath to talk." Sai frowned up into the rafters, "and loath to show himself."
As I thought.
With a sigh, he cleared the game off the board and sorted the stones into their respective containers. Afterwards, he quickly reconstructed the life and death problem he had been about to explain three days ago when the boy had suddenly run out on him.
"It is late already," he commented, "and I have another game tomorrow. With what I have explained to you, you should be able to solve this problem. I am going to bed now, and you can think over it. Seek me out again when you know the answer."
Sai watched as he got up and set the goban aside, taking care not to disturb the stones. He placed the open goke right next to the board and unrolled his futon on the other side of the room.
His room was small enough that there was not much space left with his futon spread out. The goban was almost at the wall, right next to a low table that could be used to eat his meals as well as write his correspondence. The table faced a small alcove with an elegant wall scroll and an ikebana arrangement that was renewed every day.
On the other side of the room, there was a knee-height chest for his clothes, and atop it a bowl of water for him to wash his face in the morning. Several pillows were stacked next to it, used to make it easier to kneel on the tatami mats. The rest of the floor was taken up by the futon and the chest it was stored in during the day.
"Do you think this is a good idea?" Sai asked worriedly.
Torajirou disguised his shrug beneath a motion to slip into his night yukata. The boy was still watching after all. It is the best I can think of. I will see his reaction in the morning.
That day, Torajirou didn't worry much about going to sleep while the boy was still in the room. Two days ago, the boy hadn't done anything to him, and even after checking all of his possessions twice the next day, nothing had gone missing.
Whatever reasons the boy was there for, he was no thief.
Torajirou blew out the oil lantern on the table and slipped under the covers. He was looking forward to seeing what the boy was going to do with the challenge he had left him.
Good night, Sai.
"Good night, Torajirou."
It went unspoken that, just like two days ago, Sai would keep an eye out for him while he slept.
The next morning, the Go problem had miraculously gained another stone in exactly the right position to solve it. Sai thought he'd heard the boy during the hour of the ox, but he wasn't sure. Just how stealthily could the boy move?
"Torajirou."
Yes? Torajirou looked up from the board.
Sai had just shown him a way for Inoue to win in yesterday's game, and Torajirou had been about to point out that Yasui could have easily circumvented it by playing an unexpected knight's move in the lefthand corner.
"He's here."
The ghost's look into the rafters was more than enough to tell Torajirou who he was talking about.
Hm. Why do you think he has shown up again? Torajirou actually was a bit surprised.
The past three days, he had seen neither hide nor hair of the boy – well, Sai hadn't – but he had known the boy still was around. The Go problems he had taken to arranging on his board before he left his room for a longer period of time always got solved miraculously. The boy actually seemed to have a talent for Go.
But why had the boy chosen this day to show himself again?
The six matches of the Castle Games had been finished yesterday, and Honinbou Shuusaku had gained first place with straight wins. The truly exciting part of the tournament was over now, the game in front of the shogun and his court the next day being the only one left.
Tradition demanded that the shogun decide the winner of the castle games, but the man was too busy to dedicate six consecutive days to watching Go. As a solution, the tournament was played without the shogun, and after a winner had been determined, the winner and the runner-up were invited to replay their game in front of the shogun, who would then officially declare the winner.
Additionally, Tokugawa Iemochi, who had just become shogun last year, had little interest in the game and even less time with the increasingly dire political situation. Just like Tokugawa Iesada and Tokugawa Ieyoshi and almost every other shogun since the inception of the Castle Games, he was going to be represented by an official instead of attending himself.
The day after the game for the shogun, Torajirou was going to return to Honinbou house. So maybe the boy had chosen the right time to show up again after all. The question was – did the boy want to learn more about Go, or did he have another reason?
Torajirou tended towards the latter because during the past three days, the boy had seemed in no hurry to discontinue their strange practice of setting and solving problems whenever the other wasn't there. So, what was the boy still curious about that he had to seek Torajirou out personally?
Torajirou had his own curiosity to deal with. He wanted to coax the child out of the rafters so that he might see who he had been conversing with all that time. But he also knew that he couldn't pressure the boy. With the boy's skills, he would be gone long before Torajirou could catch up to him if the boy felt threatened.
With practiced ease, Torajirou cleaned the stones off the board, sorting them into their respective gokes. Inoue-san and Yasui-san had played well the day before, but their game didn't have that spark that Sai managed to impart to Honinbou Shuusaku's games. Sai had found plenty of opportunities to criticize them, and Torajirou had eagerly discussed them with the ghost. He had communicated mentally, but he hadn't watched his body language. What did the boy think of his strange, one-sided performance?
"You know, Go is a game that cannot simply be taught through a few explanations and problems," he commented offhandedly. "I can explain the rules to you, and I can give you more problems to solve, but to really understand Go you have to play it yourself." Almost on automatic, he placed four handicap stones on the board and played his first hand as white. "It is your move now."
No answer. He settled himself for a long wait, determined not to give up before he had the boy's participation. He was curious as to what the child was going to do – Torajirou's invitation was very clear. On the other hand, he wasn't sure the child was ready to come out of hiding yet.
But no matter how long it took, Torajirou was going to wait until he got some response from the boy, be it in word or deed.
This time, it took the boy almost as long to respond as it had during their first conversation. The second third of the hour of the horse had to pass until he answered. And when the boy suddenly decided to talk after all, Torajirou startled.
"Your ki is strong and disciplined, yet you are no swordsman." There was puzzlement in the boy's voice.
Tilting his head to the side, Torajirou knew that the boy could probably see the gesture. He hadn't expected the boy to start his own conversation on a completely different topic. "Ki?"
He was almost certain by now that the child belonged to some noble family, and that he was important. The boy never having been allowed to play games hinted at him having tutors all day round. His vocabulary was very elaborate, and his pronunciation impeccable. There was no hint of dialect that could give away the boy's area of origin, and he seemed to be very educated in other matters, too.
"Your energy."
"You can sense my energy?" Torajirou was surprised. Sure, he had heard stories of people who were able to see or even manipulate ki, but he never would have thought he'd find a boy capable of it. Not even for a moment did he doubt the truth of the boy's statement. The boy's whole demeanor was too serious for that.
Was the boy apprentice to a healer or an onmyojou, one of the legendary demon exterminators?
But then he recalled that the boy had been confused that Torajirou wasn't a swordsman. That probably was where the child had learned about ki, which in turn meant that he probably was studying the art of the sword. And it was only samurai who were allowed to wield a blade.
What was the son of a samurai doing here, hiding out in the rafters of a guest house in Edo castle?
"You truly do not know? Your ki soars like a beacon when you concentrate on a game. Even those not adept at sensing ki can feel some of the pressure."
The boy was talking with such conviction that Torajirou couldn't help but believe him. Sai looked taken aback, too, but he could see the gears turning in Sai's head. Usually that meant that Sai was reevaluating the board to find the path to victory. Off the goban, it probably meant that Sai was looking at pieces of information in a new light to gain a better understanding.
Torajirou decided to go along with the flow of the increasingly surreal conversation that nonetheless reminded him of a game of Go in its complexity. "But you are adept."
Both of them were trying to gain information on the other without giving away too much of themselves. The boy's question on ki had come out of the blue and surprised him, but Torajirou thought he had weathered the attack well enough and turned it to his advantage instead. After all, he was pretty sure by now that it had been this strange sense of ki that had led the boy to him. The boy simply was curious.
"You choose strange moments to fight." came the cryptic reply.
What was the boy trying to hint at? Had Torajirou's enjoyment of their verbal spar shown in his ki? "I cannot help but compare our conversation to a skillful game."
By now, he was concentrating all his senses on the boy, just like he would have concentrated on an opponent across the goban. And, just like in a game of Go, he very much anticipated his opponent's next move.
And the boy didn't disappoint. "Your ki soars higher when you play alone than when you play against a difficult opponent."
Which was no wonder because, involved as he got placing stones for Sai, it was different from having to think up a winning strategy himself. "It does?"
There was no way though that he was going to tell anyone about Sai. The boy didn't seem to be able to sense the ghost, so Torajirou went with the easiest solution: denial. That kind of response might seem weak at the first glance, but it gave Torajirou the advantage because he had made it next to impossible for the boy to continue that line of questioning, and it was the boy's turn to make the next move again. Questions always gave away more information about the questioner than they obtained as an answer.
"With skills like yours, you could easily obtain a place in the shogun's court."
A cleverly disguised trap. On the most superficial level, the boy might be talking about his Go reputation, but it was more likely that it was a compliment to his conversational abilities. And it also was a subtle question of whether Torajirou was aiming for a more permanent residence in Edo castle.
Such a clever question deserved no less than an answer on the same level. "Ah. But there is no place for a merchant's son who only plays Go all day long."
He had parried the underlying question in a way that didn't give a yes or no answer. He hadn't even given any hint as to whether he had caught the layers beneath the most literal interpretation of the boy's words at all.
Torajirou liked moves that served multiple purposes at once. They were elegant, efficient, and very effective, on the goban as well as in conversation. The fact alone that the boy could keep up in a complicated game like that cemented Torajirou's impression of the boy being a samurai's son, probably a high courtier's at that. Not many children were so well-schooled in the art of conversation.
The only thing that didn't fit into that image was the boy's impeccable physical abilities. While most samurai sent their sons to train in the art of the sword and the way of the warrior, this didn't explain the boy's uncanny skill in hiding and ghosting around unseen and unheard.
Being sneaky on the battlefield was not an ability that samurai coveted.
Without changing his inflection, the boy started listing reasons for his comment about the shogun's court. "A merchant's son who is the heir of Honinbou Shuwa, has the favor of a daimyou, and is said to be the strongest Go player of this time."
Ah, yes. All of that was information that could be gained through listening to gossip, but it would take time and dedication to find it amongst all the overexaggerated rumors. Was the boy fishing for a clearer statement on whether he was planning to join the Shogun's court, or did the boy simply want to show off his information gathering skills?
Or was it a subliminal threat that this was merely the tip of an ice-burg of information the boy had on him? The boy had parted suspiciously freely with it, after all.
Maybe it was time to go on the counter offensive. "You know, with skills like yours, you might make an excellent Go player yourself one day."
It was a pity he couldn't see the boy. Visual clues were an important part of a conversation like this. As it was, he had to make do with the tiny nuances he heard in the boy's voice, and what the boy said – or if he said anything at all. No answer was an answer, too.
Sai wasn't much of a help because he couldn't give Torajirou the information he was looking for. And, anyway, the ghost had a strange smile on his lips as he followed their exchange. Was it because Torajirou was talking to a child like he would to an equal? Or was it because their conversation closely resembled an intricate game of Go?
It took a long time for the boy to find an answer. More than once, Torajirou had to look at Sai to know that the boy hadn't left yet.
What was the boy thinking about so hard? Torajirou hadn't intended his compliment to be such a deep strike, merely a change of subject. But apparently, he had unconsciously found a vital point that meant a lot to the boy.
The question was – what was that point?
Was it the idea that the boy could have a future in Go? Was the boy trying to figure out which skills exactly Torajirou was referring to? Or was it the idea that he could be good at a game?
Whatever it was, it seemed to require deep thought and Torajirou was not going to disturb the silence.
"But in the end, Go is only a game." The boy sounded almost disappointed. And before Torajirou could react, the boy was out the window.
Stunned, Sai and Torajirou stared after him. Within two seconds, the boy was on the ground outside, and within two more seconds, he vanished around the corner of the guest house.
Gradually, Torajirou realized that that he had jumped up halfway from his kneeling position, hand reaching out in a futile attempt to grasp the boy. A bit embarrassed, he settled back into his position in front of the goban and returned the stones that he had accidentally jostled in his haste to their original position.
Only after he was done did he dare look up at Sai. Do you think we will see him again?
Sai was still staring out of the window, probably hoping to catch another glimpse of the boy. "No," he said slowly, "I don't think so. His words sounded very… final. Torajirou, he called Go only a game."
Strangely Sai hadn't erupted into an inspired lecture about the qualities of Go. Torajirou had a feeling that, in any other situation Sai would have ranted about whoever dared to belittle Go. But the boy hadn't sounded dismissive of Go. Instead, he had sounded… old.
No. That wasn't the right expression. Somehow Torajirou had the impression that the boy had truly seen what Go could offer but had found it lacking nonetheless. And there was nothing that could change such a personal conclusion.
Yes, he called Go a game. And to him it probably is. He sounds like he is looking for more practical applications for the way of thinking Go teaches.
"That he is. That he is…" Sai trailed off. After several moments, he began anew. "Torajirou, have you ever heard of those who practice the skill of going unperceived?"
The skill of going unperceived? Torajirou was surprised. Well, I have heard the tales of Iga and Kouga, but… Sai, do you really mean…?
The ghost nodded slowly, finally turning away from the window. "Yes, Torajirou. I think that boy is a ninja."
As unbelievable as it sounded at first, the more Torajirou thought about it, the more he had to agree with Sai. It certainly would explain a lot. The boy's skill in hiding. His training to sense ki. His ability to come and go unseen and unheard. And his education. After all, ninja had to be able to blend in in every environment.
And last but not least, it explained his attitude towards Go. Torajirou had no doubt that the boy could become a very tricky player. But all those skills Go taught and demanded – patience, cunning, focus, awareness, stealth, foresight, decisiveness, subtlety – those were already part of the boy's daily life. Those were skills he needed simply to survive.
And when viewed against such a background, Go was indeed nothing more than a game.
A ninja, he repeated softly to himself. And now that he has satisfied his curiosity about Go and my ki, he disappears again as silently as he came.
"Yes."
And indeed, the boy did not search him out during Torajirou's last two days in Edo castle and the problems Torajirou had set up despite his better knowledge remained unanswered.
Until his death three years later, Kuwabara Torajirou never saw the boy again.
"What have you learned, Aoshi?"
The boy kneeling on the ground hesitated a bit. "… That ki is not necessarily an indication of physical fighting ability, Makimachi-sensei (4)."
The old man nodded. "What else?"
"That the rumors of Honinbou Shuusaku having silent conversations with something only he can see are true."
"And what do you think of that?"
The boy's hesitation grew stronger. "The man. He… He seems to be surrounded by a cloud of ki. Ki that doesn't belong to him. But it is mixed into his ki and yet it is separate… The distinction is strongest when he plays Go. When he plays someone, the two ki almost meld into one, and when he plays alone, it feels like two separate ki on each side of the board."
The man nodded. "Well done. What do you think of the second ki?"
"It is as focused on Go as Honinbou Shuusaku's. Honinbou Shuusaku seems to be able to communicate with it; yet he cannot sense ki ."
"Excellent observational skills." The old man clapped his hands briefly. "You may rise, Aoshi."
The boy bowed deeply, got up, and bowed once again. "Yes, Makimachi-sensei. May I ask a question, Makimachi-sensei?"
"Ask."
"What is that ki?"
The old man barked a laugh. "Ah, that is the question, isn't it? When Honinbou Shuusaku first came to Edo castle 17 years ago, he already had that peculiar ki surrounding him. I observed him for more than two weeks, and I came to the same conclusion you did: I do not know. There are things in this world that will always remain a mystery, Aoshi. Accept them, and as long as they are no threat, do not waste your time trying to figure them out."
The boy bowed again. "Yes, Makimachi-sensei. Thank you for the lesson, Makimachi-sensei."
With a straight back and a blank face, nine-year-old Shinomori Aoshi went back to his kenpou training.
(1) Castle Games: A competition of the four great Go houses Honinbou, Yasui, Inoue, and Hayashi during the Tokugawa era. The title match was played in front of the shogun, who resided in Edo castle. Honinbou Shuusaku became famous for winning 19 Castle Games in a row before he died in 1862 (coincidentally the very same year the Castle Games had been abolished due to political unrest of the Bakumatsu). I couldn't find much about the organization of the castle games, so I made up most of it. For those of you interested in more detail, enter 'castle games' in wikipedia or have a look at this link:
pokspace. goverband. at/ essays/ masukawa. htm
(2) joukoku: first third of a two-hour period. 40 minutes
(3) hour of…: Historically, Japanese divided their day into 12 2-hour periods named after the Chinese zodiac signs. 23-1: rat; 1-3: ox; 3-5: tiger; 5-7: rabbit; 7-9: dragon; 9-11: snake; 11-13: horse; 13-15: ram; 15-17: monkey; 17-19: rooster; 19-21: dog; 21-23: boar
(4) Makimachi-sensei: Aoshi refers to Misao's grandfather, the leader of the Oniwabanshu before Aoshi received the position of okashira.
Tournament schedule:
Day 1: Honinbou vs. Inoue 1:0
Day 2: Hayashi vs. Yasui 1:0
Day 3: Honinbou vs. Hayashi 1:0
Day 4: Honinbou vs. Yasui 1:0
Day 5: Hayashi vs. Inoue 1:0
Day 6: Yasuo vs. Inoue 1:0
A/N: This crossover was an idea that popped into my head after seeing that Shuusaku died in 1862. Originally, I wanted him to meet Kenshin, but since Kenshin was in Kyoto and Shuusaku in Edo at that time, that plan went out the window. But then I remembered that the Oniwabanshu were stationed in Edo during the Bakumatsu, and that Aoshi would probably be there, too. And thus the Castle Games were born. I hope it wasn't too confusing skipping several days from scene to scene - if people wish, I'll add some kind of timeline to the beginning of each scene.
Sakiku