A/n: whoops! Apparently Akari's friend's name is Tsuda Kumiko, not Kumoko, which is what I wrote in previous chapters. Sorry!
Also I might change how some characters call other characters from canon because, well, it's a fanfic. xD
This chapter introduces an OC, Hayakawa Testsuo. He's that smiley-type of character that likes to mess with people. Oh, and he's friends with the stoic Kishimoto. Yup. It came to me on a whim, and it seemed like he would be a fun addition.
I hope you all are having a great day.
Happy Reading!
Akari no Go
Chapter 7: "Haze Jr. Go Club"
Spring finally came around when Akari and Hikaru entered Haze Jr. High. Akari was a little anxious about the transition to junior high but found settling in easier with her friends around. Hikaru was more relaxed and went to school like he usually did. The feeling in the air changed a little; not only because there were older students, but also because their same grade-level classmates seemed to become a little foreign to them. Couples starting forming, girls started wearing make-up, and some friendships in primary school did not carry over. During this time, both Hikaru and Akari's minds became filled with Go, consciously or not.
They were helping Tsutsui with recruiting members for the Go club by putting up posters around the school. Akari was holding the paper up while Hikaru pinned it on the bulletin board.
"Maybe we should hand out flyers as well?" She asked.
"Well, I don't think anyone would take one." Hikaru said.
"You could be right on that..." Akari suddenly had an idea. "I'm gonna go recruit members! You keep on putting posters up, 'kay?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Wait...oi! Why am I left to put up the posters?" Hikaru grumbled. Sai patted him on the shoulder.
"This is for the club's sake." Sai said.
"Lately, it seems that I've been seeing Akari constantly." Hikaru sighed. "I don't think that's a good thing. Why did she take up Go too?"
"Now, now, don't be like that, Hikaru. You should be happy that you inspired one of your peers to play Go." Sai scolded him.
"I've grown up with her! She's practically my second mother, nagging so much..." The boy complained.
Sai hid a mischievous smirk under his fan. "I wonder."
Hikaru gave him a questioning gaze.
"Kumiko-chan!"
Kumiko turned her head from the window to see her friend in pigtails rush over to her.
"How about joining the Go Club, Kumiko-chan?" Akari asked.
"Eh, what's this about all of sudden?" The short-haired girl replied. "But...I don't know how to play Go."
"Tsutsui-san and I'll teach you! If Hikaru can play, then you definitely can play too!" Akari realized she was being too pushy and backed off a bit. "Ah, but only if you want to. I don't want to force you to join."
Kumiko looked thoughtful for a moment and looked at her friend who was looking at the ground. She smiled. "All I have to do is join, right? You're lacking in members, aren't you?"
"Yeah, pretty much. But..." She looked a bit shy. "I-if we get enough female players, we could participate in the tournament too..."
Her friend widened her eyes. "Ehh?! Akari-chan, there's no way I'm going to get good enough to go to a tournament."
Akari put her hands on Kumiko's shoulders and giggled. "I'm talking about maybe next year. That will give us some time to improve. Don't worry about it!" She winked. "So what is your answer?"
Kumiko scratched her chin uncertainly. "Uhh, I guess I'll try going to the club meeting first.
"There's something called atari in Go and it is when a stone or group of stones is threatened to be captured or when it only has one liberty left." Tsutsui placed a black stone and three white stones surrounding it on the board. "After white puts its stone here," he put another white stone on the board, "the black stone is completely surrounded and thus is captured. Whoever captures the stone takes it off the board and drops it in the cap of the go bowl. Do you understand so far?" Kumiko nodded her head.
Tsutsui removed the fourth white stone from the board. "Now, back to atari. What would you do to avoid capture in this case if you were playing as black?"
She looked contemplative at the board. Then her line of sight drew to the go bowls. Why would they have so many stones?
"Ah!" Kumiko picked up a black stone from the go bowl and placed it beside the black stone, allowing it to have more liberties and escape capture. "I play here, don't I?"
"Nice, Kumiko-san." Tsutsui smiled in approval.
"Anybody could've solved that." Hikaru commented, prompting a smack to his head by Akari. "OW! What the heck, Akari?!"
"Shut up, not everyone is a genius like you." She turned to Kumiko. "You definitely have potential, Kumiko-chan!" Akari encouraged.
Kumiko blushed. "T-that's...I was only doing what I thought made sense."
"And you were right!" Akari said. She noticed something behind Hikaru and gasped. Hikaru didn't seem to register her reaction until Sai was shaking him and pointing.
"Hikaru! Look, that boy is here!" Sai said.
"Huh, who are you-" Hikaru turned around and the words instantly caught in his throat. "Touya!"
Akira was standing by the open window, looking slightly bemused. "Shindou, why is someone of your level in a Go club?"
"None of your business." He mumbled. "What are you doing here, Touya?"
"Will you ever come back to the Go salon we played at before?" Akira asked. "No matter who I'm playing there, I always think of your moves and how you would respond...I am working hard to catch up to you. And I will wait for you to face me again." His eyes were filled with a fiery resolve. "I came here to tell you that."
Well, after being beat...it's no surprise he wants a rematch. Akari thought. Kumiko glanced at her questioningly. She waved her hand, signaling that she would explain later.
Tsutsui, on the other hand, was surprised. To get that much attention from Touya Akira...Shindou is really something.
"I can't play you." Hikaru deadpanned. That statement both hurt and confused Akira. He can't play me?! Why? He thought in agony.
"W-wait, what do you mean by that?!" He exclaimed.
"I'm going to do my best here at the Go Club. We're going to enter the next tournament." Hikaru looked at Tsutsui and smiled. "Right, Tsutsui-san?"
Tsutsui was flabbergasted. "Uh...yeah..."
"You won't play me, hey-" Hikaru closed the window and drew the curtains close.
"Hikaru..." Akari was concerned. It seemed like something deeper was going on between the two boys. It's just a game, right? Why couldn't he have agreed to play another one? Touya-san looked so...
Kumiko pulled on her sleeve. "Hey, Akari," she whispered, "who was that boy? That uniform..."
"Ah, he's from Kaiou. He's Touya Akira; the son of a really famous Go player." Akari explained, still looking at Hikaru.
"Really? And someone like that just challenged Shindou-kun to a match?" The short-haired girl raised her eyebrows in amazement.
"Haha, well, Hikaru is kind of an odd case."
"Definitely." Tsutsui agreed.
When Akari went into her homeroom class, a few students asked about her club activities.
"We saw you putting up posters around the school-the Go Club, was it?" One female student asked.
"I thought Hikaru was into that thing! Now you too, Akari?" Another one said.
Akari nervously laughed. "Go's actually pretty interesting. You should try it out sometime. Wanna come to our club after school? We meet every afternoon but you don't have to come to every single meeting."
The students exchanged glances. "Nah, it seems like an old person's game. Too long, too boring. Good luck recruiting people for your club."
Akari watched them walk away and sit in their respective seats. She didn't expect a different reaction from her peers but it hurt to actually hear it. Sighing, she walked to her seat.
I guess I can understand. Go is a game that requires patience and concentration. It doesn't go well with active kids going through puberty. She looked out her window. I wished they would just give it a chance. Without Hikaru, I would have never thought about playing Go.
The homeroom teacher walked in and class was about to begin. Akari sat up straight. Wait, the reason I'm even playing Go is because of Hikaru. If he loses interest in it, will I...automatically give up?
"Rise," the class president said. Akari realized her inner motives and shot up from her seat, irritated. Whoa, whoa, wait, since when were you this wishy-washy, Fujisaki Akari?
"Bow." She bowed with the class. Who cares about that idiot?! Not me! Hmph!
"Sit." Akari fell into her seat with a thump. A few of her classmates glanced at her. The pigtailed girl blushed and looked toward the windows like she didn't just have an inner tantrum.
"Akari," a girl beside her whispered, "you seem bothered by something." She had a small smile on her face.
"I-it's nothing. Just..." Akari started. "Boys." Her classmate nodded in understanding.
"Who is it?" She asked. "Ahh...let me guess, Shindou-kun?"
Akari's eyes bulged. "ACK, what, NO!" She shouted. Then she quickly covered her mouth. Oh, great. The entire class and the teacher looked over at her. There was a split second of silence before several students broke out into laughter. The homeroom teacher frowned but sighed and smiled. Akari returned her smile with a wary one of her own.
Meanwhile, over at Kaiou Intermediate Academy, a boy with a pageboy haircut could be seen approaching the Go Club.
"Hey, I heard Touya Akira is joining." One student said. Sounds of go stones clacking on the wooden boards, shuffling through the stones, and quiet chatter suffocated the room.
"What? Are you serious?" Another student replied. "That's funny."
"What's an 'almost pro' like him doing in a school club?" One boy snickered.
"Ahhh, he's automatically going to get first chair in the tournament." A complaint.
"What are you saying? There's still president Kishimoto-san."
"Yeah, yeah. And us third years aren't going to sit around and do nothing."
A light brown-haired boy looked over at his dark-haired friend. He had a teasing smile on his face. "You hear that, Kaoru-chan? There's a new Go player in town. What are you gonna do?" A few of the members turned towards him.
Kishimoto adjusted his glasses and picked up his can of black coffee. "I'm envious. He still has the time to spare playing in a school club." With his other hand, he picked up a Go stone. "As expected of someone who is qualified. But all this whining is irritating me." He placed the stone on the board, effortlessly taking advantage of his opponent. "Your move, Hayakawa."
The light brown-haired boy stared at Kishimoto's move, his face unchanged. "Kaoru-chan, you really..."
"What?" He glared at Hayakawa. Suddenly, the boy burst out laughing. Although Kishimoto had know Hayakawa Tetsuo for many years, he still had yet to get used to his quirks.
"I-I thought you would be more down, but you're as sassy as ever!" Hayakawa regained his composure and smirked.
Kishimoto just shifted his glasses, and kept silent.
Hikaru slammed open the door to the the Go Clubroom, dragging a fuller-figured girl in tow.
"Tsutsui-san, I found a new member!" He exclaimed.
Tsutsui and Akari looked over, surprised. Her eyes drifted to Hikaru's grip on the girl's wrist. She found herself feeling slightly uncomfortable.
"Uhm, can you play Go?" Akari asked.
"Ah, yes I can." Kaneko replied.
Hikaru was smiling with glee. He was so excited and focused on the upcoming tournament that he didn't take the chance to make a snark comment towards Akari about not being able to play or something else of the sort.
"Oh...cool. You're...Kaneko Masako, right? I've seen you around." Akari said. "I'm Akari by the way."
"That's right. You can call me Masako if you want. Nice to meet ya, Akari-chan." Kaneko grinned. Waaa~ she seems so polite; unlike her demeanor, ahaha.
Akari noticed her attire. "Ah, did Hikaru drag you away from volleyball practice? I'm so sorry, this impulsive idiot..."
"No, it's alright; I agreed that I would play in the tournament." Kaneko said. "Heh, you sound like you're apologizing for your son." Akari nervously laughed. I'm a mother now, huh?
Tsutsui smiled warily. "Shindou-kun, there are separate divisions for boys and girls in the tournament. So even if Kaneko-san was to enter, she couldn't play for the boys side."
"Then let's just dress her as a boy." Hikaru suggested. "It's not like anyone would know the diff-"At the same time, both Kaneko and Akari slapped him on the head.
"Just ignore him, we aren't going to do that." Akari followed Kaneko to the door.
"Well, I just said I would only play for the tournament so if you don't need me, I'll be leaving now. I'm busy with the volleyball club." She said.
"Thanks for stopping by anyway, Maseko-chan." Kaneko smiled at her. Then, as she was walking off, Akari stuck her head out the door and called, "Please stop by the Go club when you have time!"
Rejoining with the group, Akari saw the solemn faces of Hikaru and Tsutsui. They were currently playing a game, looking rather defeated.
"Hey, hey, what's with this depressing cloud hanging over you guys? I know we have some trouble finding members but someone is bound to appear in no time!" She tried to cheer them up.
"They have to be a boy, and they have to be strong. Well, the stronger, the better." Hikaru mumbled to himself. He frowned a bit and chuckled warily, shaking his head.
Hikaru's acting weird again...Akari sweat-dropped.
"Ah, right, Kumiko won't be coming at all this week. Seems like she's cramming for a piano recital that's coming up this weekend." She said.
"I see, tell her I wish her good luck." Tsutsui said, making his move on the board. Akari absently nodded as she watched the game between them go on. Now, she was more attentive and could recognize the movements throughout the game. She could sometimes even predict what a player's next move would be!
Tsutsui's moves look solid. It would be hard to try to escape from his walls. Hikaru's moves on the other hand...looks rambuctious and random...but at the same time, they seem to have a meaning. Akari made a small fist bump in the air; she was proud of herself for making this achievement. She could now analyze junior high level games.
"I know!" Hikaru piped up suddenly. "What if we put a hard Go problem on the poster? To make it more interesting? That way, we can find a strong player easily!"
"They don't have to be strong...just anybody." Tsutsui replied.
"Ahhh...Kaiou has a lot of members, don't they?" Akari sighed and leaned back on top of the counter.
"Yeah, they have literally everything. I'm so jealous of them." Hikaru said.
"Shindou-kun, it's your turn to move. Kaio is Kaio, and we are we." Tsutsui said.
Akari was walking down the hall when she saw an orange-haired boy stop in front of the bulletin board. Ah, that's our Go poster with that difficult problem! She thought.
The boy took out a pencil and scratched something onto the poster. When he walked away, Akari rushed to the poster to see what he wrote. It's the right answer! She looked at the back of the retreating boy. I'm pretty sure that's...Mitani Yuuki. He's from Kumiko's class, class 3!
A/EN: I don't really have anything more to say...so sorry for the long wait though!