Summary: In an alternate universe, a different person walked the path of Shindo Hikaru. How will Nara Shikamaru deal with a go-playing spirit, tournaments, opponents and Toya Akira? This lazy genius didn't realise how playing Go could be so troublesome…
Disclaimer: Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata would kill me if I tried to pass myself off as a manga artist or the writer of Hikago. If I write my own series, maybe I can hunt down a mangaka and thrust the book in their face, see if anything comes out of it…
Shikamaru no Go
Chapter 3
"Happy birthday Shikamaru!"
An awkwardly heavy package was thrust into his arms. The now eleven year old Shikamaru blinked and looked up at Asuma's pleased face. "Asuma-sensei, you didn't have to-"
"I wanted to," the teacher butted in, as he nudged the wrapped gift towards his student, in a way reminiscent of Shikamaru nudging the shougi board towards him when they first met.
Shikamaru thanked him as he set about carefully unwrapping the weighty object. Asuma noticed the small, pleased smile on his face, which soon morphed into a look of confusion.
"It's a goban," Asuma stated the obvious as he placed the paper to one side. 'I though it's high time you had one of your own.'
Shikamaru glanced down at the object in his hands. "I know it's a goban, but aren't they really expensive?"
Asuma shrugged. "It's somewhat of a family heirloom - I believe my grandfather bought this – apparently there were some creepy rumours about a spirit wearing robes and a tall hat that appeared or something. I don't really believe in that kind of stuff – I've never seen any ghost."
He patted the goban almost affectionately. "Usually I wouldn't have given it to you because of the history of it, but…it's a proper goban made from Kaya wood, and in good condition. I have my own goban – won it in a tournament a while back, and I hated the idea of this one sitting in the attic covered in dust – so I thought you could put it to good use."
Shikamaru laid a hand his gift, fingers tracing some red stains on the board. It wasn't blood, was it? Sweatdropping, his imagination conjured up a faceless Go player who proceeded to grab his opponent and bash his head onto the board in a fit of fury. There were truly serious players in this world obsessed with the board game, if some of Asuma's stories could be taken for truth.
His attention was drawn away from the vision when Asuma produced the two containers, filled with black and white stones.
"Go is a game that has survived for thousands of years," Asuma fell back into lecturing mode. "Black and white battle for territory, and the main objection of the game is to control a larger portion of the board than the opponent. Placing stones close together helps them support each other, as well as avoid capture. On the other hand, placing stones farther apart creates influence across more of the board. The strategic difficulty of the game is finding the balance between the conflicting interests. As a player, you have to balance between defensive and offensive purposes; choosing between strategic plans and tactical urgency."
Shikamaru listened attentively as Asuma explained a bit more, and took the book handed to him.
"I've already taught you those basic problems and territory games for the last few weeks," Asuma continued. "This book goes into more detail. Feel free to study it a little and then maybe we can play a game or two."
The boy frowned. "You mean we're not playing a game now?"
"It's not like I expect you to be able to play right off the bat,' Asuma smiled. "I thought I'd let absorb everything first. You've done pretty well on the problems before, and you've picked it up fairly quickly. But if you're so eager, we could squeeze in a game before we go to the restaurant."
Shikamaru nodded. "Just give me ten minutes," he said as he flicked through pages of the introduction, tutorials and famous Go personalities. He knew that Asuma had taught him the Go basics, but so much as to give him a Goban…he better brush up just in case.
When Shikamaru closed the book and set it aside ten minutes later, Asuma still looked slightly bemused.
"Alright then," he said. "Black always goes first, but we have to nigiri, which decides which colour we get. One person grabs a handful of white stones," he gestured by rummaging into one of the containers and grabbing a bunch, "while the other guesses whether the number is even or odd by placing down one or two stones. If they guess correctly, they get black and start the game."
Shikamaru had already known this from the book's introduction, but he said nothing as he placed one stone on the board. Asuma's explanations were clear and easy to remember anyway he thought, as they counted seven stones. It looked like Shikamaru would be black.
"Seeing as how it's your first game, I would normally give you a handicap," Asuma murmured, "but considering your aptitude in shougi, and all the other things we've covered, let's try an even game."
"Do we use the komi rule? You mentioned it."
"Oh, yes. Because of the advantage black always has over white the komi rule was made to balance it out. I believe the standard komi rule is five and a half moku. So, to win, you need to have five and a half moku more than me at the end of the game. The half point is to avoid equalities."
Asuma obviously thought that was enough of an explanation, as he bowed and said "Please," with Shikamaru following suit. He placed a stone down, and saw his teacher cough suspiciously.
"What now?" Shikamaru groaned.
"It's the way you hold your stones," Asuma pointed out. "Most beginners hold the stone between their index and thumb, rather awkwardly I might add, which makes it harder to place down stones as the board gets crowded. You hold yours a bit like the way you hold shougi pieces." Shikamaru observed the proper position, which was holding the stone between his index and middle finger.
"You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you," Shikamaru deadpanned.
The teacher grinned. "Yep."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"It doesn't matter in the long run I guess, so long as you take care where you place your piece down."
The only sounds after that were the pachi of the stones. The game steadily grew and changed shape, with Shikamaru trying to experiment with some moves he had seen in the book. There could be an infinite amount of possibilities – he didn't think anyone could predict all the possible moves, but it was an appealing game, and he found himself interested.
"Are Asuma and Shikamaru playing on that goban?" Kurenai asked, sipping her tea.
"Probably," Yoshino agreed, as she drank her own. "I think Asuma has been a good influence. Who knows what will happen next - Shikamaru could be competing or something for all I know."
Kurenai smiled. "Well, sometimes Asuma rants about how he's never beaten Shikamaru once. It's amusing actually, because he's quite proud of that too. He was telling me how he plans to drag Shikamaru into some tournament, kicking and screaming if he had to, later in the year."
Yoshino laughed sharply. "Perhaps Asuma will have a better chance to win in Go then. My father used to play that game, and Shikamaru learns quickly, so maybe he'll be even better at it than shougi. I'll blackmail him into entering a competition or two if Asuma fails." She glanced down at her cup, which was now empty. "Shikaku, more tea!" she ordered, holding out her cup for a refill.
The man in question sighed. "How troublesome," he muttered, in a very Shikamaru-like manner.
Shikamaru sneezed.
It had been a great deal later when the game had entered what was called Yose that Asuma spoke up.
"Well, what do you know? Shikamaru, looks like you've won by eight moku."
Shikamaru mentally tried his hand at counting the territories. Indeed he had, but it was only two and a half moku when you included the komi rule. "Huh, I guess you're right." He stretched his arms, working out a few kinks from hovering over the board. "Thanks for the game, Asuma-sensei." He wondered what would have happened if he put a stone down there instead…
Asuma's tone was a bit odd. "Shikamaru. Is this the first actual game you've played Go?"
Shikamaru frowned, but replied, "Yes. I mean, I've heard of the game and you've been teaching me, but I never properly played." He looked up. "It was fun. Different from shougi of course – I can't convert the stones to my side, but I liked it."
Asuma mouth, pursed in concentration, relaxed into a smile at that. "Yeah? I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Come on you two, we'll be leaving soon!" Yoshino's voice drifted from inside the house, alerting them to the time that had passed.
"Who else is coming?" Asuma questioned as they packed away the stones. (Both knew better than to incur the wrath of Nara Yoshino – though her son maybe had a bit of leeway on this day).
"Aside from you and Kurenai-sensei, Chouji and Ino's families. Our dads went to school together so we kinda grew up around each other as well."
"None of them play shougi or Go though," Shikaku's voice entered the conversation as he opened one of the sliding doors. "Are you done?"
"Yeah," Shikamaru said, standing up and carefully carrying the goban in his hands.
Shikaku nodded to Asuma. "I'll take the stones, Asuma – better see if Kurenai needs anything, eh?"
Asuma thanked him, and the two Naras deposited the goban and stones in Shikamaru's bedroom, before they joined the others in the hallway. Shikamaru thought he saw a flash of white as he walked out of the room, but put it down to his imagination.
The group of eleven was soon happily dining at a good restaurant – Chouji's parents were in the cooking business, and they knew all the best eateries.
"How's your apprenticeship by the way?" Shikamaru questioned Chouji, as they all dug in to the food. Chouji was planning on working in the family business, and had started basic chef training this year.
"Umh, it's good," Chouji said after a mouthful of pork. "Naruto keeps on bugging me to learn how to make ramen. I'm doing well though, Mum says I have a natural sense of taste, and that counts for a lot." Chouji swelled with pride at that last statement.
Ino grinned as she daintily placed down her cup. "Tell me about it! I still remember the last time we went out for lunch – you were spontaneously reviewing the restaurant, and the owner was amazed a ten year old could tell that the consistency of the soup meant it needed more spices to bring out the hidden flavour. He thought he was going to lose his credibility when he realised you were the son of the Akimichi family!" she burst out laughing.
Chouji chuckled too, abashed, and Shikamaru smirked. He knew when he and his friends grew up, there would be adult things to worry about – work, relationships, different lifestyles. With Chouji following his dream, it had meant less spare time to hang out outside of school, but with Asuma dragging around Shikamaru to salons and playing games, he was getting busier too. Shikamaru had also started brainstorming ideas and drafts on stories, but his mother said it wasn't a very stable job. His other friends had their own plans – take Ino, who worked and helped out part-time in her mother's flower shop, but was hoping to do something with her dream to work in fashion and design.
He was only eleven, and most eleven year old weren't too concerned about the future, but he hoped to be able to keep in touch with the friends he had made in school.
All this thinking was such a drag. He blushed slightly at the birthday toast the others made for him, and shared grins with Chouji and Ino as the desserts came by. He could practically hear Ino lamenting on how she was going to get fat after eating so much, and that she wouldn't be able to get Sasuke-kun's attention, but truthfully, she loved desserts as much as Chouji did. The other boy in question was already attacking the ice cream, and Shikamaru smiled as he picked up his spoon.
There would be time to dwell on the future later.
Shikamaru yawned as he stared at the alarm clock next to his bed. After the celebratory birthday dinner, the Nara family had said their goodbyes to everyone and travelled home. It was late, and Shikamaru was too lazy to get changed, so he lay back in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His bedroom comprised of a wardrobe and cabinet, his bookshelf and desk, along with the laptop his parents had gotten him for his birthday last year. (He was surprised as he had only been ten at the time, but he wasn't complaining. His mother found double digits to be a milestone, and it had helped with schoolwork). Normally he'd use the family computer, but it had been for his dad's research or mum's papers.
His eyes drifted from the laptop to the goban, which he had placed on his desk next to the clock. He went up on one elbow and looked intently at the dark stains that were visible to his eyes, now that they had adjusted to the dark.
"I never did ask Asuma-sensei about the mark on the goban," he murmured aloud. "They looked like blood, but the pattern of the stains reminds me of tears…"
"…You can see it? You can see the stains?" a quiet, hopeful voice asked.
Shikamaru's breath hitched slightly. Okay, his mind was tired – it had been a long day, and he was practically half-asleep. Ino's dad was a psychiatrist, and hearing voices in your head was definitely not a good sign. Still.
"You can hear my voice, can't you?" the voice was even softer. "…Can you hear me?"
Shikamaru was good at thinking – something he did frequently. It was also a good reason why watching clouds was so peaceful; he could focus on floating water masses instead of listening to the buzzing ideas in his brain like he normally was.
Now, a part of his mind was rationalising the unexpected appearance of a disembodied voice, while another was wondering on the implications of the goban really being possessed by some sort of spirit. Of course, what Shikamaru found he was mostly focused on was the heartbroken, melancholic tone of the speaker.
Shikamaru slowly sat up in bed. "I can hear you." His voice was also soft, and hesitantly spoken, but it steadied. "I…I can hear your voice."
There was a tense silence. For a minute, he thought he really was going insane (Freud would have a field day), until, disbelievingly clear, the voice came again.
"You can? You can… All powerful God, I thank you." The voice was full of emotion and relief.
Shikamaru's eyes widened, and his breath hitched as the goban started to glow. Rising from it was a man covered in a white cloth, with long black hair and clutching a fan in his hand. He was surrounded by an ethereal glow.
Shikamaru's mind raced to conclusions. The rumours of the man dressed in white with a tall hat that appeared around the goban. Heian period clothes? A spirit appearing in his room? An Ogi-fan?
"I will now return…" The cloth had extended and covered Shikamaru as well, who was frozen in place. A slight pressure was building up in his mind. "…Return to the living world."
Well, he certainly hadn't expected this on his birthday! Shikamaru felt the breath leave his body as the pressure increased, and the next thing he knew he was welcoming the black of unconsciousness, his eyelids heavy.
And so Shikamaru finally meets Sai. Go will now be featured more prominently (after all, it's called Shikamaru no Go for a reason, not Shikamaru no Shougi – it doesn't have that ring to it).
I'm actually a bit tentative about Sai – how will I capture his personality, as well as other characters, into written words? I've been reading a bit of Hikago again; it's all kind of nostalgic, and I'm reminded why it appealed to me in the first place. I've also been reading up on Go and shougi – I can't play, but I'll at least try to understand the game, make everything more believable.
This chapter is probably fraught with plotholes and errors. Sigh.
Thank you to all those who reviewed and put this on StoryAlert, as well as all the help I had with the chapters (you know who you are!).
(Random bit of trivia: Shikamaru's birthday is the 22nd of November.)