The Go Within
Chapter 2 – Fujiwara no Sai
.:go-go-go:.
It was mid-afternoon and he was thankful that he finally made it home. The travel had been long and tiring and he was aching for a good rest. It was not that the hotel accommodation was bad, but it wasn't as comfortable as his own bed.
Reaching for the door, he slid it open and stepped inside, aware of how quiet the interior seemed to be.
"Tadaima!" he called out, but no response came. Probably, his mother went to buy grocery. But then, his father should be in the tatami room. It was Saturday, so probably some members of the study group had already arrived and must be currently too concentrated on a game that they failed to notice his arrival.
He took off his shoes and placed them neatly by the wall and wore his slippers. Dropping his travel bag by the floor, he slumped himself on the sofa to take a short rest. He couldn't help but think how hectic his life had become. He had to juggle both high school and work as a professional go player. It had been okay the first year, but as he rose up to the ranks, his schedule of matches increased, thus forcing his frequent absence from school.
But he never regretted his choice. He loved go ever since he was small and he had worked so hard to reach where he was now. True, he was already popular even before he had stepped into the professional world because of his name – Touya Akira. Being the son of the current Meijin, lots were expected from him. He was the subject of both admiration and hatred from different professional go players. But he had never succumbed to the pressure. His mind had always been fixed to his goal, and that was to surpass his father in go – to reach the hand of god. He had quickly risen from the ranks, and after four years since he had stepped into the professional world, he's already a four-dan.
Akira was about to proceed to his room to take rest when he heard a light noise inside the tatami room his father frequently used for playing go. He could hear their quiet discussion and he couldn't help but long to be there too. Forgetting his long-awaited sleep, he walked towards the room and opened it. Five pairs of eyes glanced his way.
"Ah, Akira-kun. You're back from Kansai?" a man in his late forties greeted him.
"Otou-san. Tadaima," Akira greeted to which his father responded with a nod. He turned to the other occupants of the room to greet them but was surprised to see someone not part of the study group.
"Amano-san," Akira said as he settled beside his father. "You're here too?"
The Weekly Go journalist smiled in response. "I was actually dragged here," he said in a joking manner.
"I invited him," Ogata Seiji corrected. The pro always wearing a white suit had been his father's student for as long as he can remember. He's currently one of the top pro players and even managed to win the Judan title from his father. "I wanted to show a game to Touya-sensei that I'm sure he would be interested in. It will be published in the next issue of the Weekly Go but I rather want to press Amano-san for details before the information comes out."
"Huh?" Akira only turned a confused look at him. Then his eyes managed to catch a game on the goban. 'Impressive,' he thought at the complicated battle that had taken place. 'How did the game get this complicated?' he wondered. It was a finished game but he couldn't seem to analyze how the stones got to their positions.
"Father, whose game is this?" Akira asked as he stared at the board, no longer able to keep his curiosity.
Ogata chuckled. "Fujiwara no Sai's"
"Fujiwara no Sai?" Akira repeated trying to remember where he had heard that name. Then his eyes widened. "You don't mean…?"
"It's been more than twenty years since he disappeared, right Touya-Sensei?" Ogata turned to the Meijin.
Amano gave a sad sigh as memories of the past came back to him. "Fujiwara no Sai… actually, his name was Fujiwara Sai but because he was known to use old joseki, many would refer him as Fujiwara no Sai." He turned to Akira. "You probably know him better as Fujiwara Honinbo."
"Ah, I've heard of him," Ashiwara added. "I heard he was very popular during his time. He held the Honinbo title more than a decade and had never lost it to anyone before he disappeared. And he was also the only player who managed to hold all 7 titles."
Sasaki nodded. "He was a mysterious guy, eccentric even, someone who was really obsessed with the game. He was also known as the modern Shusaku Honinbo during his time. He was that strong. He became a pro at 12, then entered the leagues at 14. He won the Honinbo title at 18 and held for 14 years."
Ogata chuckled. "He was the only person your father had ever considered to be his rival but he disappeared even before Touya-sensei managed to grab a win against him. I bet that was one of your father's greatest frustrations. Right, sensei?" But the Meijin kept his silence and continued to gaze at the board. Ogata continued.
"The last game they played was the finals for the Meijin title and your father was the challenger. But Fujiwara-sensei went above him. Hell, no one could compare against Fujiwara no Sai during those times. He was almost unbeatable. In fact, he holds the most number of consecutive wins in professional go's history – 53 consecutive wins, Kuwabara's 28 only comes second. Go professionals fear him, including those from the other countries."
Akira was amazed as he listened to the feats of Fujiwara Honinbo. He had heard a lot about him and he had seen many of his kifus. He knew he was an amazing player but to hear such praises from high-ranked players was something. He leaned forward, eager to know about the legendary go player. "Where is he now?" he asked.
The five men in front of him were suddenly silenced. Amano gave a sigh and handed Akira a piece of paper. "It's still a draft article but I'm sure it will be major news once released in the next issue."
Akira took the paper and read it.
One of Japan's Greatest Go Players Dies at 56
After he had read it, Akira couldn't help but shake his head. "I can't believe a person can have all these accomplishments," he commented as the article had listed the history of Fujiwara Sai's records. "B-but why did he disappear? What could have caused him to turn his back to the game he obviously loves?"
Ashiwara had a blank look on him, but the other older players looked at each other, knowing full well the tragedy that had befell the legendary player.
Touya Kouyo sighed. "There was a huge scandal about it. During the finals for the Kisei match, Fujiwara lost the title. Even before the end of the match, rumors had been escalating that Fujiwara received money in return for losing the match. Fujiwara Honinbo refused to comment. People began to think badly about him. Two days after the match, we heard in the news that Fujiwara was hospitalized. We later learned that he really lost the match in purpose in exchange for the release of his adopted daughter who was kidnapped. The girl was actually the daughter of his deceased sister, and since he was not married, he brought up the girl like his own. But when Fujiwara went to fetch his daughter, he went berserk when he saw her abused state. It seemed that the kidnappers had no plan to let them live, they tried to kill them but the girl covered for him."
"When the authorities arrived, the girl was already dead and Fujiwara was severely injured. The kidnappers were caught and sentenced for life. It seemed that there was a huge bet on the outcome of the game and involved was a large yakuza group. Fujiwara survived but his injuries in the lower part of his body caused him disability to ever walk again. After that, Fujiwara Honinbo retired from the Go world. The Go Institute tried to stop him and convinced him to reconsider since he could still play despite his disability but the hurt caused by the tragedy was just too much for him to handle. He disappeared after that and nothing was heard about him. The Go world was in a sorry state after that since he still held 6 titles after losing the Kisei title," Kouyo finished.
"But how did the Go Weekly found him?" Ashiwara asked.
"It was actually more of a coincidence," Amano explained. "One of our reporters went to Kyoten with a friend to attend a family reunion. That friend visited the grave of his grandmother and he tagged along. While he was in the cemetery, he noticed a teenager sitting in front of a grave. The boy left something that looked like a mini go board then entered a black car and took off. He was curious, so he went to the grave and saw that it was indeed a foldable goban and stones were arranged in a pattern that looks like a game had took place. And it was such a great game that the reporter took a picture of it. Then he looked at the grave and was surprised when he saw the name of Fujiwara Sai. Of course, he's familiar with the name so he tried to investigate."
"I was with Amano-san when the reporter called and told him the news," Ogata added. "We asked him to investigate further but it turned out that there was nothing much that happened to him after he left the professional world. He lived in reclusion and his neighbors didn't know much about him. The old lady who took care of his house said that there were only 2 people who were in contact with him. Fujiwara Sai's old friend already died but the grandson had stayed with Fujiwara until the end. Unfortunately, the old lady was senile enough to remember their names. All of Fujiwara Sai's properties were donated to charity since he doesn't have any remaining relatives."
Akira turned his gaze back to the goban. "Is this…?"
"The game that was seen in front of Fujiwara Sai's grave," Kouyo finished for him, his gaze unwavering as he continued to stare at the board.
Ogata chuckled to lighten up the mood. "But Fujiwara-sensei was really something, don't you think?" He turned to the persons surrounding the goban. "After so many years, he still came back and presented us another amazing kifu before he died." He turned his gaze back to the game. "But you know what's more amazing…? It's Fujiwara sai's opponent."
That caught the attention of everyone. "In this game, black won. It's most probable that Fujiwara Sai was black, since his style was definitely obvious on this game. But the style of the one holding the whites was also identical to Sai's. But then, it's impossible to play a game like this by yourself."
"I think you already have an idea what I'm getting at," Ogata said as he looked at them. "There's someone out there whose ability is on par with Fujiwara Sai's…"
.:go-go-go:.
"Ah, Touya-kun," the Koshino-sensei greeted Akira when they happened to walk together towards class. "You finally went to school. How was your game?"
"It was okay, sensei," he smiled in response.
His teacher chuckled. "Obviously, you won. I've been following your career and I'm impressed with your success. The Weekly Go just described you as the future of Japanese Go."
"Arigatou, sensei," Akira responded, slightly embarrassed at the praise, not knowing what to say anymore.
The teacher sighed as they neared the door. "Your classmates seemed to have become even noisier since that new boy arrived."
"Huh?" Akira gave him a confused look.
When they opened the door, Akira was quite surprised to see most of his classmates gathered in one area and were laughing out loud.
"Shindo, you idiot! I did not say that!"
The other students laughed even more when the usually quiet Taki was grabbing the bleached banged boy in a headlock.
"Yeow! Taki-chan! My head's gonna fall!" the boy cried out mimicking a girl's voice.
Koshino-sensei got a little annoyed and began clapping his hands to get their attention. "Class, that's enough! We're going to start homeroom now," he announced loudly.
The students groaned but followed the teacher and then returned to their seats.
"Hey, Shindo. How about a game in the arcade later?" one of boys asked.
"Sorry, buster. Shindo already agreed to play soccer with us after class."
"Yeah, sorry Hino. How about tomorrow?" the boy named Shindo asked.
"That's great."
Akira placed his bag under his seat when he noticed the boy with blond bangs sat on the seat at his right. Then the boy turned towards him and was quite surprised when he noticed him. A bright smile formed on his face.
"So, you finally went to school, eh? I'm Shindo Hikaru. I just started going to this school last week."
Akira returned a small smile. "Touya Akira. Pleased to meet you."
The boy leaned towards him. "I heard that you were absent because of some games. Lucky you. Are you an athlete?" Shindo asked curiously.
"He's a go professional," the boy in front of Shindo interjected, obviously listening to their conversation.
"Really? As in the boardgame go?" Shindo said in amazement, then his brows furrowed. "Ano… what does a go professional do?"
The other boy snickered at that, which annoyed Shindo and he poked the student using his pencil. "Hey, sorry for being ignorant," Shindo muttered, then he turned to Akira. "But honestly, what does a go professional do?"
Akira sighed. "We play in tournaments, just like professionals in other sports. And we also hold seminars and tutoring lessons."
"Oh… so that means you're good?" Shindo asked curiously.
"Hikaru, don't tell me you're going to challenge Touya-kun?" Akari asked jokingly. Akari was actually the first friend Shindo Hikaru was able to make in that school. So she got the privilege to call him by his first name.
"I was just asking," Shindo snapped.
"Oi Shindo, do you even know how to play go?" another classmate asked.
"A little," Shindo admitted. "But I've only played against my grandpa and a friend."
His classmate laughed. "If that's so, don't bother playing against Touya. He'll crush you for sure. I heard from my gramps that Touya can even outplay some of the older pros."
"Sou ka…?"
The conversations continued and the teacher finally got annoyed and called their attentions.
Akira sighed. They were talking about go but he felt kind of left out of the conversation although it started with him. He had always been quiet and serious since he was a child. His goals had been focused on go and he was more used being with older people rather than children his age. He had never been that close even to his classmates, many of whom he had known since junior high. That's why it kind of amazed him that Shindo Hikaru, being a new student, was able to talk, communicate, and joke around with his classmates like they had known him for a long time.
He lightly turned his head and noticed the transfer student suppressing his laughter over what the kid in front of him whispered. Akira sighed and ignored them, trying to focus his attention on the lesson. But his mind was still full of what they had discussed last Friday.
There's someone out there whose ability is on par with Fujiwara Sai's…
Akira rubbed his forehead as he continued to think on the matter. 'Who could he be…?'
.:to be continued:.
Hello! Second chapter finally up… sorry for the wait. Anywayz, I'm really surprised at the number of reviews for this first chapter. Thanks everyone! Hope you like this chapter. Please read & review... :-)
