A/N: This was originally written for the "Celebrating Sam Comment Fic Meme" on spngenlove, in response to the prompt: "Sam and John play chess (or some other strategy game) and surprise each other." You'll notice that I chose the "some other strategy game" option: go is an asian strategy game. The title means "Sam's go", and was inspired by the manga "Hikaru no Go." Thanks to Wave Obscura for the beta work!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Supernatural related.
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They say you never completely know someone, even someone close to you. When Sam finds something new in the truck, he supposes this is true.
"Dad, what is this doing in the car?"
"A guy gave it to me, said he didn't play anymore," Dad answers absently.
"Oh."
Dad pauses, raises his head to look at his younger son.
"Wait, you know what it is?"
"Of course," Sam says. Does his dad think he's ignorant or what? "It's a goban. A board to play go."
"And... do you know... how to play?"
Dad sounds... Sam doesn't quite know how to qualify what he can hear in his father's voice, but it's unusual enough to make him uncomfortable.
"Last year. When we were in Indiana, a guy at school taught me how to play. I like it. It's fun. Why, do you know how to play?"
"Learned in 'Nam." Dad scratches his head. He looks almost embarrassed. Weird. Who are you and what the hell have you done with my dad? "Wanna play, Sammy?" Dad finally asks.
"Uh, yeah." Sam shrugs. "Sure."
That's how Sam finds himself sitting in front of a goban, with John Winchester on the opposite side. The board looks old; the black painted lines are barely visible in some places. Sam feels this tingle of excitement he always feels before a game - one he should feel before a hunt, according to Dean, but he doesn't; hunting only makes him scared.
The board is so huge and empty, waiting for the black and white stones to build territories. It's a battlefield, one that's only exciting, not dangerous.
Dad gives him the black stones, so Sam is the one to start. He bites his lip, thinking about where to put the first stone, knowing how important it is for the rest of the game. He tries to remember the moves Josh taught him, the joseki. Joseki. One thing he likes about go is all the Japanese technical terms. Hoshi. Atari. Hane. How foreign they sound, how delicious they taste in his mouth. How exotic.
He puts the black stone on the right corner the closest to him. 3-4 stone. A classical move. He waits to see what his dad will do, impatient to know how good he is.
For a while, the only sound in the room is the click of the stones hitting the wooden board. Sam likes this sound, finds it soothing. He's so involved in the game that he has almost forgotten against who he's playing, until he raises his head, and sees Dad looking at the board, smiling a little, delighted by something only he can see.
It worries Sam. He has enough experience with the game to know that his Dad is not a weak player. And Sam... Sam doesn't want Dad to think he's weak.
Until now, Sam has played prudently, making sure all his groups of stones survived. Maybe he needs to be a little more aggressive, a little more daring. Go players say that you can learn a lot about someone just by watching the way they play. Sam will show his father exactly who he is.
His next move is an attack against one of Dad's weakest groups. Dad snorts.
"Careful, Sammy," he mutters.
Sam raises his chin mutinously. It's war. Bring it on, he almost says, but doesn't.
The game goes on forever, it seems. At one point, Dean comes home. He says something to them, and when neither of them answers, shrugs and goes to his room. For once, Sam couldn't care less about what his brother is doing. He's making a point, for god's sake.
"I give up," Dad says suddenly.
Sam stops frowning in concentration at the board.
"What?"
"I said I give up," Dad repeats, sounding a little irritated. "You win."
"You sure?"
"Don't make me say it again, boy."
Sam looks at the game, tries to roughly count the points they each have. He's not good at this. It takes some experience to know whether you're winning or losing, experience Sam doesn't have, but that apparently Dad has. Yet Sam is the one winning. He can't help but smile.
"Okay, uh, thanks for the game."
"Don't get too cocky," Dad says, but he's smiling too, like he's proud.
Sam feels the heat on his cheeks, this warm feeling he's not used to.
"You know," Dad says, "go strategy is a lot like military strategy. You should keep playing. It's good for you, it's useful."
He stands up, rests briefly a hand on Sam's shoulder, then he's gone.
Sam is left alone to gather the black and white stones and put them back into their boxes, but he can't bring himself to be annoyed by it. Hours later, he's still smiling, and when Dean asks what has happened to him, he just says "nothing."