One Liberty Left

Chapter 1: The Intricacies of Black and White

"Go uses the most elemental materials and concepts- line and circle, wood and stone, black and white- combining them with simple rules to generate subtle strategies and complex tactics that stagger the imagination" (Iwamoto Kaoru)

The scene would appear gruesome and unorganized to the inexperienced. The experienced would understand that something terrible but grand had taken place. Those with the eyes of life would understand the tight battle that had been played and appreciate it for all it was worth. Outsiders would never understand their world displayed here.

The heavenly bodies dispersed across the board into the corner marked only with death. The mockery that began the match was a grisly testament. There was no doubt that the passion and respect for the game had not waned. What was lost was the respect for the opponent and self and the rigid rules that commanded them all. They had forgotten their mortality and lost sight of their true goals, and of the lonely road that everyone followed into eternity.

The other players had no need of such an immense distraction. Their futures and honor and pride rested within the coming week. The single sacrifice that amateurs did not recognize would need to be executed with grace so that the others might live.

The divine had no rightful place in this troublesome quarrel of mortals. Mortals that lost themselves to the darkness had no right to search for the divine. Such heavenly beings that commanded them and granted them life needn't see such sadness. With the curtains drawn and doors secured, he accepted his fate with a quiet resignation and understanding. The honorable act was to admit defeat before humiliation. That final thought in his head, he departed.

Spencer Reid was reminded of an afternoon almost one year ago that he had all but dismissed. The detour he took and the child he played against became clear again. He remembered that bright smile and promising future he had seen, accompanied by the hard demeanor of someone far beyond their years. The loss didn't matter as much as the opportunity to see that innocence and passion. There was much to learn about the world, things that even Reid had yet to experience, and that afternoon had been one of them. This time, the situation would be a grim lesson.

"The US Go Congress is an annual event held for competitions for the board game called go. The tournaments started yesterday at Colorado University and already two players have been murdered. The American Go Association is keeping this quiet, so we have to work undercover. They were kind enough to make room to accommodate us at the site," JJ explained as she shuffled files around and displayed photographs on the laptop. The high priority and short time limit meant that the team had to do the briefing on the plane to Colorado.

"These are the two victims- Wen Mah, twenty-four years old, and Ken Hamasaki, twenty-six years old. They're both American citizens with Asian descent. That's one reason why the AGA wants us to solve this, and fast. Players from South Korea, China, and Japan as well as Canada and some European countries came here for the tournaments. There could be an international disaster if one of the representatives is murdered." The severity of the case had just grown tenfold and Reid had already suspected such in his mind. When the plane landed, they would have to get straight to work.

The two manila folders JJ presented pictured two men, definitely of Asian descent. They lived in completely different parts of the country and besides the game, the only other connection they had was that they attended the same tournament. Of course, that was only the surface of it all. "Garcia is doing background checks on them. There are roughly three hundred people at the convention, so we're going to need to narrow it down a lot. We're sure that it's the same killer, if you would take a look at the crime scene photos. Here are the pictures taken of the bodies." Two photographs, eerily similar were beyond the first pages of the folders. The crime scenes were almost identical.

"The cause of death is probably from bleeding out," JJ told them, a little grim about the sight. Reid couldn't blame her; even after all the cases that passed through her desk on a daily basis, she still felt sympathy. The victims both had a single, large horizontal cut across the abdomen that wasn't actually too deep- just enough to keep them alive until they bled to death. There were signs of a struggle, but no other injuries. "Both bodies were found by other attendees, who have been asked to keep quiet about the incidents. They will both assist everyone in the investigation as they're some of the few who have access to the entire place. The organizers of the events can't afford to break routine."

"Understandable given the circumstances, but they will be meeting us there?" Hotch said in the cold composure that was characteristic of him. Instructions on their plan of action were on the tip of his tongue. JJ answered in the affirmative and took her seat, the signal for Hotch to start his orders. "JJ and I will talk with the officials of the tournament and get as much from them as possible, and we'll contact the families. After that, we'll meet the rest of you at the rooms in the University. Prentiss and Rossi work on victimology and start the profile. Morgan and Reid go directly to the two crime scenes. Reid, you know more about this game than we do…?"

"Oh, yeah, I do," Reid said in his usual stutter after a moment of realization that he was supposed to talk. "Go is an ancient board game that originated in China and later spread to Korea and Japan, but it was Japan that introduced it to the West. Ironically, Korea has had better success in recent years than the other two countries. It's disputably considered the oldest and most difficult games in history, but its rules are surprisingly simple. The world of the professionals is highly competitive, especially among East Asian players."

"Competitive enough to kill, apparently…" Prentiss muttered, flipping through the victims' files. Reid nodded and again recalled the expressions of that boy from a year ago. Even at such young ages people took a serious interest in the game. The pressure that society placed on those children was immense and it followed them through adulthood and through their entire careers. What the team needed to understand was what happened to their unsub to change his competitive edge into the desire to murder. "Then we need to find the person who is overly competitive among the three hundred or so people there."

"Actually, that's not exactly right," Reid interrupted. If they weren't careful about this, they could be stuck chasing down suspects that had nothing to do with the case. "Everyone that plays this game is likely to be extremely competitive to the point that everyone would fit that profile. We need to narrow it down more, to the specifics. This game is like…football or basketball. Everyone involved takes it seriously to the extreme. Even children learn the game when they're still toddlers…"

"Alright then, the plane is landing soon. We all know what we're doing and looking for? Remember, work as fast as possible and miss nothing," Hotch said, glancing about the plane. The clouds outside were dispersing fast and the team fastened their seatbelts as the metal contraption descended. Despite the long distance between Virginia and their various crime scenes, Reid felt that each ride was shorter and shorter these days. The anxiety in his stomach only ever seemed to increase. He swallowed the remaining water in his cup before turbulence hit, but if anything he felt worse afterwards.

There wasn't much time to sightsee, which was a shame since the landscape was so pleasant. Reid wound up recalling everything he could about go while Morgan drove down the traffic filled roads to the University. The excess information that didn't pertain to the case must have driven Morgan insane because he interrupted Reid a few times. The genius didn't mind the routine; he admitted to getting carried away often. There were just so many statistics that he remembered which probably didn't help any.

"Okay, that's nice and all, but do you know a faster way to the campus?" Morgan said after Reid had gone on another tangent, his voice teasing and serious as it always was. Today they had to drive an undercover car, meaning that they didn't get any special pardon on the road for being FBI. Even the FBI car wouldn't have helped much with the traffic though. The drive would normally take about thirty minutes, but if they were lucky they would arrive before an hour had passed.

"Austin Bluffs Parkway is a straight road and we're already on it, so no, there's no quicker way," Reid said with a helpless shrug. Morgan grumbled and blared the horn, not that it moved the cars in front of them any. The digital clock showed a bright green ten and for the moment, Reid pulled out the files again. "The unsub is definitely organized. He planned everything to work the way he wanted it. The placement of the objects around the room doesn't seem to be random either. We'll get a better feel for it once we're there, though."

Forty-five minutes later found Reid and Morgan scanning the parking lot for a space and out into the Colorado heat. After a search through the files for a map and a few wrong turns, they wound up standing in the foyer of the apartments. There was hardly anyone here at this time of day. The participants were in other parts of the campus in the tournaments. For the moment, they had the place to themselves.

Before the team spilt at the airport, JJ had informed them that two participants that discovered the bodies had dropped out of the competitions to assist them with the investigation. Only Reid really understood to some extent how much of a sacrifice that was to them. They studied their entire lives to compete and that chance was ruined this year. There were other competitions, but the US Open was a large tournament, especially for Americans. The two people were Shiro Minami, a fifteen year old Japanese boy, and Shui Liu, a twenty-one year old American born Chinese. JJ was informed that they would meet the agents in the apartments.

There was some surprise among the team that the Congress was allowing a fifteen year old to assist them in their investigation. Reid's best guess was that he was extremely mature for his age and somehow, his parents were okay with the arrangement. Neither of his parents had attended, which Reid found strange considering Shiro Minami was from Japan. They sent their child all the way to America with his peers and other go players and still they would allow him to get involved in an FBI investigation. The young man had come to the convention with his friends and gladly extended his help, on the other hand.

True to their words, Reid and Morgan spotted two boys ahead, near the stairwell. They weren't talking to each other, although that might have been due to the language barrier. Reid really hoped that Shiro Minami could speak passable English. Languages were the only things that Reid wasn't very good with speaking, as Prentiss had proven before. He knew less about Japanese than Spanish. There could be a slight problem if they couldn't understand the boy.

"Oh, there they are- you're the FBI agents, right?" said the older boy, Shui Liu. Notably, he kept his voice low enough so that anyone that happened to pass them couldn't overhear. Reid couldn't detect any irritation or anger from his voice, which was a good sign. It wouldn't bode well for them if their 'helpers' were angry at them for ruining their chances to play in the tournament. Shui seemed okay with the situation- he was calm and attentive. Shiro Minami was less outgoing, if a little sulky. He didn't meet them in the eyes immediately.

"Yeah, I'm agent Derek Morgan and this is Doctor Spencer Reid. You two are Shui Liu and Shiro Minami?" Morgan said with a nod as he moved to shake hands with Shui. There was a pause when he stopped before Shiro, who stared at the offered hand in confusion. Reid moved forward to explain to Morgan the difference in customs and saw that Shui was trying to tell the same to the younger boy beside him. He watched them carefully, thinking that he had better find out whether or not he could speak English sooner rather than later.

"He means nice to meet you; the handshake is the…American form of a bow," Shui said as he went through the motion of a polite bow. Shiro nodded his head slowly and muttered, 'nice to meet you' as he stretched his hand. Reid only recognized the words because he recalled some of the brochures he'd read over the years. Beyond simple phrases, he would be rather lost. Even though he hadn't gotten to that point yet, he was gracious when Shui addressed them about it. "Sorry about that. Shiro sorta knows English, but he's a little dense to our customs. Don't let him fool you though, because he can speak English."

Shiro shot the older boy a glare that wasn't done so much out of malice as it was of friendliness. "It's fine. Now, the crime scenes…?" Reid said. His mind was back on track after the little exchange. They needed to act fast, after all. There was no time for dawdling about customs and languages, as interesting as the conversations often grew. Shui seemed to realize that they were in a hurry too, because he nodded and without another word, took the lead upstairs. They were probably about halfway there when he started talking.

"They had to clean the rooms and they took away Mah's body already. The detectives are stopping by for Hamasaki's body soon, but we took pictures so it should be okay. That is okay, right? We couldn't afford to let everyone else know, so they just think that they felt like ditching the tournament," Shui explained. Judging by the change of his tone of voice, Shui was a little nervous and insecure about the ordeal. Being older than Shiro, he probably felt that he should be the responsible one. Besides his voice, there was no other indicator that he was upset, which Reid had already anticipated.

"That's just fine; you two did a good job. There could be mass panic if the public knew. You'll just have to keep quiet for a little longer," Morgan said in a reassuring tone. Shui offered a small, thin smile and nodded, but he obviously wanted to say something else. Reid caught the signs of him physically biting his tongue and subtly pointed it out to Morgan. With a nod, Morgan addressed the young man. "Still worried?"

"What- oh, no, it's not that. I'm sure that you'll do your jobs well. I was just…oh, never mind; it's silly," Shui said lightly as he came to a stop before a locked door. He withdrew the key and with baited breath, drew the door open. The sickly sweet smell of floral aerosol spray and an under layer of bleach assaulted their noses. Overall, it wasn't one of the worst smells they had faced, so they stepped inside the doorway swiftly.

"Well, it might seem silly, but it might actually be really helpful to the investigation, even if you don't think so now…" Reid said as he observed the room. The papers that were strewn across the floor were in heaps, but the go board that he'd seen in the photograph was untouched. The stones also seemed to be in the same order. On instinct, he moved forward and knelt beside the piles and started to skim through the papers. The numbers on the grid confused him for a moment before he realized that it was a game record. The languages varied from English to Korean to Chinese to Japanese.

"Always continue the games, no matter what," Shiro said quietly as he stepped into the room. Concerned for a moment about his emotional state, Reid focused on him. There was a certain, fixed tone in his voice that was stubborn and at the same time certain that it was right. "Once, bullets hit the rooftops and they continued playing go in a title match for the Honinbo during World War Two. Later, kilometers outside the city, the payers were blasted off their feet when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. They continued to play and picked up the go-ban and stones.

"The murders will upset everyone's friendliness with each other, we are more concerned about. We go players trust each other in the game- what would happen when we cannot do that?" Shiro finished as quietly as he started. The information was startling- yet not at all too surprising when Reid thought about it. A silent message was passed between Shiro and Shui, who moved towards Morgan and the corpse of Ken Hamasaki. The two started to discuss the wounds and the area of blood splatters that the photographs depicted. "Should we start?" the Japanese boy asked, pointing to the game records.

"You have a very deep insight to the game and life in general," Reid said as he motioned for the boy to start sorting the papers. For the moment, he made four piles, one for each language featured. He recognized some of the English matches from years ago and stored the information away for future reference. "Most people wouldn't think what you thought first. Many people would freak out, finding this…and there would be panic from the start. You don't seem panicked. You seem rather calm about this all."

"Go takes different meanings for the players. We understand that to panic is to lose the game- it makes all the difference. We walk the same path and aim for the same goals. It is not something that other people really understand. People look at us and say, 'they waste their lives on a game', but go is not just a game." Shiro glanced up from the papers with a perplexed look on his face. Without giving time for a response, he continued, "These kifu, this way- why do you organize them? These are professional games, amateur games, famous games, shameful games…They should be organized like this." Shiro sorted the papers again, disregarding language.

"I know that each player's style is different, but how can you tell if an amateur played against another amateur or a pro? How do you know it's not a new pro against an amateur?" Reid asked. He was more curious than anything else and it must have taken the boy by surprise, because he stopped and blinked, perplexed for a moment. When he was composed again, Shiro picked a select few game records from the piles and laid them out.

"Hey, Reid, I know that you think that stuff's all very interesting, but we're on a time restraint here," Morgan called from across the room. Reid frowned and broke into a grin at the teasing. There must have been significance as to why the unsub chose these game records to display and if this fifteen year old could understand that right off the bat, Reid was willing to listen. He planned on analyzing them later, but that might actually take more time than this. He waved a free hand at Morgan and shuffled over to see the records. Some were printed from the computer, some torn from books.

"It was written that 'Amateurs' go comes from pleasure, professionals' go comes from suffering'. It shows in the play of the moves- even in the game of a shodan. We work very hard to reach professional status and we follow a road that never ends. To strive for that, the way we play is very different, but I do not have words for it," Shiro said, contemplative as he fingered the papers. Reid didn't follow completely, but he caught the marks of sorrows and hardships in the young boy's eyes. "This game- both players are desperate to win. Time spent on moves is great, especially here. They are looking for a way to live and they cannot lose at any cost. It is this move that tells me they are worthy of pro status.

"Even the time of resignation is important. Weak players continue the game when they have no hope left. These kifu were over the room in three quadrants. That is important to you, I think," Shiro said as he finished the sorting. Reid was impressed by the adult knowledge and maturity he showed. He wasn't forgetting the conversation any time soon. The quadrants that Shiro mentioned were his main concern now. There were four quadrants on the go board, so it was possible that the crime scene mirrored the board.

"Then this…quadrant where the go board is- nothing was here?" Reid walked over to the four-footed board and examined the stones on its surface. They were centered on the middle point- the point of heaven- in a star design. Heavenly deities played a heavy role in Asian culture and the go board was thought to mirror heaven and earth. "This mark of heaven- do you know why the stones are in a star shape? They're trying to capture each other."

"Yes, if the white stone on the tengen dies, the game is over. This corner of the room- when I entered, there was nothing but the go-ban here. There was no blood, no kifu. But you're here to catch this man, not examine go," Shiro said with a suddenly harsh and serious tone. His plain eyes reminded Reid of a pair of blue orbs that had taken him by surprise only a year ago. "You know go, but you do not really know it. You- Chen-sensei said that you are a genius- you do not know how hard we have all worked to reach this point. Even go would come easy to you, but you cannot understand this room like we do."

"Shiro, it's not your place to judge! These guys are here to do their jobs and we're supposed to help them, not make it harder," Shui said when he had heard the conversation. Even as he spoke though, Reid could see that his heart was not into his chastisement. For diplomacy's sake, he stopped Shiro and refused to join him. "I'm sorry about him. He's studied go and has been pressured into coming a pro since he was five. We've all suffered to get here."

"It's alright," Reid said as he watched Shiro leave in an angry and rather upset mood. When the case was finished, he promised himself that he was check up on the boy and talk it over- maybe apologize when his mind was clearer. Right now there was too little time on their hands. "I think I get where he's coming from. Anyways, do you know what he was talking about- about not understanding this room? What's so significant here that we can't understand? I mean, I see that this position on the board is important to the unsub, which is why he didn't dirty it. These game records also have some significance to him."

"That's right, but we see…it's hard to explain what we see, how we see it," Shui said. Suddenly he was nervous and uncomfortable again, nibbling his lower lip and wringing his hands. "This is how I think of this: Unlike chess, the stones in go are all equal, worth an equal amount. They all have the potential to be earth shattering moves or useless sacrifices. Yasunari Kawabata said, 'A masterpiece of a game can be ruined by insensitivity to the feelings of an adversary'. What I see here, beyond the murder, is a man who has lost sight of his goals and the path we all walk.

"Since that path has no end, he has lost hope in it and is trying to make his own path when he can only follow that one. Instead of trying to improve with those stronger and weaker than him, he wants to deviate and has lost respect for his opponents. This loss of respect is what drove him to this. Just as any pro can pick up a game record and see where black and white grew tired, stupid, and greedy, we go players see this in the room. This is a game for the criminal- a game to reach the end of that illustrious, evasive path."

Reid did not live in their world, but he instantly understood what it meant to them when he focused on Shui and his blazing eyes, his clenched fists. For a moment he could completely understand where he was coming from and he could get to know the unsub and his motives. He nodded and both he and Morgan agreed that it was about time that they regrouped with the rest of the team. Just as they were leaving, the detectives passed by with a body bag.

"There might not be shades of grey in go," Shui observed pensively, "but the possibilities of strategy and tactics compensate for it. As simple as the game is, it is one that will be played for years to come- all in search of that perfect game. I think that all go players yearn for that move at least once in their careers. This man- he has forgotten that the divine move must be played by two people and that go is played with two people."

Notes/References:

• This story makes references to one of my one-shots, A Moment, a Lifetime, both of which are inspired by go. The 2010 US Go Congress is actually taking place in Colorado Springs now, until August 8th, so that was also a source of inspiration. Basically, anything go-related inspired me to write this. XD That includes Hikaru no Go. I got most of my information from the Go Congress' website and Sensei's Library.

• I don't own the quotes or the characters and situations influenced by real life or fictional events. Or Criminal Minds, for that matter.

• Iwamoto Kaoru is a 9-dan pro go player and former Honinbo holder. The "amateurs' go comes...from suffering" quote is said by Kageyama Toshiro, who wrote Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go. The sentence, "just as any pro...this in the room" is a paraphrase of a quote I found on Sensei's Library. The story about the go match during the atomic bomb was also found there. The quote, "a masterpeice of...feelings of an adversary" by Yasunari Kawabata who wrote The Master of Go, was found on 's site.

• The italicized sentences are the characters speaking Japanese. These are the words that Shiro uses: kifu=game record; go-ban=go board; shodan=first dan; sensei=teacher; tengen="origin of heaven", the 10-10 point on the board. I didn't explain it in this chapter, but in go players are ranked according to the kyu and dan system. When Shiro says shodan, he is talking about a new pro whose current rank is 1-dan, not a player whose strength is 1-dan. More about this in later chapters.

• Some of these games I talk about here reference Hikaru no Go, but the games in there are real ones played by various pros. I don't know them. (I just started go, so my ranking is probably off the chart... :p) The tengen star is definitely a reference to the Shindou-Yashiro game, if anyone remembers. The 'path with no end' is also a reference to Hikaru no Go. There are also many other references in this chapter. Can you find them all? XD

• The title, 'One Liberty Left' is a reference to atari, the state in which your stone is in danger of being cpatured. I am a complete newbie at go, so I do the game no justice. D: