Blank no Go
I apologize for the lateness of updating. I've been gone for the past 2 weeks with no Internet access, so here is chapter two now. Also, the site is strangely not letting me put in any asterisks to separate one part of the story from another, so if the format is not quite right, please forgive me and overlook it. Please enjoy!
I'm getting kind of annoyed with disclaimers. My profile has a general one. But since I'm in the mood to "stick it to the man," here is my beautiful disclaimer:
Watashi wa "Hikaru no Go" to iu manga/anime wo motteimasen.
Hotta Yumi-san to Obata Takeshi-san ga sono shiriizu wo motteimasu.
Kokuso shinaide kudasai. Arigatou gozaimasu.
Please continue to stick with the story! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Two: Tsutsui Kimihiro
He vaguely wondered which of his friends was next; he had a feeling the dream was going to continue. He was right – it was an old friend from his first Go club….
(Invisible Asterisks)
Tsutsui Kimihiro loved Go. It was as plain and simple as that. He had Go books, Go magazines, a Go board, and a Go club.
In theory. The last part wasn't working out that well.
He had started the Go club because he had realized he wanted to play with some others his age, not just elderly men in Go salons. Tsutsui had admitted to himself many years ago that he just did not have the skill to go professional, but he still loved the game.
His booth at the festival did not go as well as he had hoped. Most of those who approached were grandparents of the students of Haze Middle School who played Go when they had the time. No one had known how to solve the advanced Go problem, so nobody had won the book by Touya Meijin.
No one except Kaga Tetsuo, of course – he who hated Touya Akira and any mention of Go. He had come over to poke fun at his "lame little club," solved the problem with disturbing ease, and promptly destroyed the book right in front of his eyes.
Well, there went the last of the club's budget (which was meager, as it only had one member).
He continued to play for a while, but he was unable to get anyone else to join his Go club. After he was forced not to submit an entry for the tournament due to lack of team members, a teacher informed him that, regretfully, the club would have to be disbanded.
He was rather embarrassed when he later cried over it. Thank God Kaga hadn't been anywhere near. The other boy never missed an opportunity to make fun of his passion for Go.
Unfortunately, they both applied to and where accepted at the same high school. Kaga made the shougi club triumph again, easily squashing what little interest anyone had for Go.
By college, he gave up. If trying to play Go would simply torment his existence, why play? It wasn't worth it to be miserable every day over a stupid game.
He still wept when he finally came to that conclusion.
The next year, however, he got a girlfriend and she got him into movies. Go became a childhood passion, not something he ever pursued as an adult. Even when he was an older man himself, he never went to a salon. It simply did not interest him anymore; it only held memories of his awkward middle-and-high-school self.
He eventually married a nice girl who loved him, had a child (who grew up to be a successful adult), got to see his grandkids – and none of them ever cared about Go again.
It was just a game, after all. It could be given up.
(Invisible Asterisks)
Yeah, Tsutsui made it all right. Yes, he gave up something he loved, but did he not have a fine life later? Again, he was not needed. Not really….
(More Invisible Asterisks - Is anyone else having this problem?)
Again, apologies for the long wait. (I would have posted if I could.) And a short chapter, too – I know, I know. I promise chapters 4 and 5 are long-ish, and chapter 6 is blatantly long. (All but chapter 5 and the epilogue are written at this point, so future updates should be no problem as I now have reliable Internet access.)
On an unrelated note, does anyone know how to get the song "Soran Para Para" on an iPod?
THANK YOU AGAIN, and PLEASE REVIEW:)