Onward to the next chapter! The Touya-chapter, so to say. :D
Chapter 2
One day in the early April, soon after the start of middle school, Hikaru found himself shuffling after Sai and Akari through the school's corridors toward the chemistry lab.
"It's a bit pathetic, isn't it," he muttered at the backs of his friends. "I mean, what kind of a club doesn't even have a proper club room? Using a chemistry lab! That sucks. It's not any real club anyway, you know."
Neither of the two bothered to reply anything to his mutterings. They reached the chemistry lab, and Sai knocked on the half-open door, peeking in.
A spectacled boy was sitting by a desk, staring forlornly at an empty foldable go board. He looked up with a start, and seeing Sai his eyes widened a little.
"Excuse us," Sai said, stepping in. "You are Tsutsui-senpai, aren't you? Is this where one can sign up for the go club?"
"Yuh-you…" the boy stuttered. "Aren't you… I mean you're the one who… weren't you going to Kaio?!"
"I talked my parents around," Sai explained with a smile. "Though it wasn't easy, father was quite set to put me into the best school. Luckily mother took my side."
"And you… you all want to join the go club?" the boy pushed slowly his falling spectacles back up his nose, watching them as if he didn't quite dare to believe it.
"Not me!" Hikaru put in hurriedly. "They're the weirdoes."
Akari gave him a glare. "Never mind him," she said turning back to Tsutsui with a smile. "We'd be happy to join, if we may."
"If you may!" Tsutsui bounced to his feet. "Of course! Welcome! Would you… would you like a game?"
"With pleasure!" Sai sat eagerly down with him but glanced then at Akari. "Hikaru, couldn't you…"
"No way! I'm not playing."
"Then why are you here?" Akari snapped at him. "It's alright," she said to Sai. "I can watch you two playing."
"Great! So how many stones would you like?" Sai asked, turning to Tsutsui.
"I don't know… would three be alright?"
Hikaru watched them a moment as the game started. Sai and Tsutsui were soon completely immersed in it, and Akari too was following the game keenly.
"I guess I'll be going then," he said, but no one seemed to hear him, and he left without another word.
.
"Are you sure you wouldn't join the go club?" Akari asked Hikaru one day when school was over and they were about to go their separate ways, Akari to the go club and Hikaru home. "You see, we're the only members," she went on before Hikaru could say anything, "and they'd need one more guy to be able to take part in the team tournament. It takes three players."
"So why don't you play?" Hikaru asked gruffly. Sai and Akari seemed to be day after day more and more absorbed in the go club. He barely saw them outside class anymore, and they weren't playing soccer but occasionally these days. Then again, he had joined the soccer club, so it wasn't like he had that much extra time to fool around with them. But still, it would have been great to play every now and then just for fun.
"I can't. They've got girls' and boys' competitions separately. If you ask me, that's just stupid, but that's the way it is." She sighed. "I should find two new members to be able to take part."
"You could always dress up as a boy," Hikaru offered, and Akari glared at him.
"Don't joke, I'm serious."
"I wasn't joking!"
"Hikaru!" Akari gave him a whack, but the boy just shrugged her off and went his way. Akari glared a while after him but headed then to the little go club's meeting.
"I'm afraid Hikaru isn't an option," she told them a bit gruffly.
Sai sighed. "What about Kaga?" he asked. "He's a good player."
"Better than I am," Tsutsui admitted. "But I'm not sure if he wants to help us. He doesn't like go."
Sai frowned. "It's weird. How can he be such a good player if he doesn't like go?"
"I've no clue. I tried to ask him once, and it doesn't seem to be something he wants to talk about. He seems to have some go-related… issues."
Sai thought about how Kaga had acted that time at the festival, and nodded. "Definitely."
But still, he figured, it was worth trying, and so he went to talk to Kaga the next day. The older boy didn't seem to warm up to his suggestion.
"Why not?" Sai asked, beginning to grow annoyed. "Last winter you wanted me to dress up as a middle school student to play with you in the tournament, and now that I am a middle school student you suddenly don't want to play! You make no sense, if you pardon me for saying so, senpai."
Kaga gave him a long look. "You're a funny one," he muttered. "But anyway, last winter was last winter. I've other things to do now. I'm busy with the shougi club. I don't have time for go."
"It's just one day! And you know how important it is to Tsutsui-san. Can't you reconsider?"
"Sure I can," Kaga said lightly. "But the outcome won't change. Sorry, but no. You've got to do without me."
As Sai watched after his retreating back, he decided that it was time to take other means into use. Which, in this case, meant bribery. "How about you get to be the captain?"
Kaga glanced behind with a tiny smile. "You think I'm vain enough for something like that to work?"
Sai shrugged. "It was worth a try. But, you know, it's just a couple of weeks until the tournament. It's highly unlikely we'll find anyone else. And there aren't that many tournaments left for Tsutsui-san – next year is his last, and he might not have time for them anymore. So… please." He bowed. "For this once. I promise I won't ask you again."
Kaga stood quietly a moment. "Fine. But you'll owe me a favor."
Sai's face lit up. "You'll do it! Thank you!"
"Did you hear what I said? When I talk about favors, I mean favors."
Sai paused. "So… what do you want?" he asked carefully.
"I don't know yet." Kaga shrugged. "I'll tell you when I know. And I get to be the captain."
"Alright." Sai nodded seriously. "But it'll have to be something reasonable."
Kaga grinned at him. "I'm always reasonable," he said and strolled away.
Tsutsui looked a little uncertain when Sai happily told him the news. "So I'll play third board?"
"No!" Sai's eyes widened. "Of course I…"
"Don't be silly, you're the best player of us! We can't place you third. But it's okay." Tsutsui gave him an excited grin. "We can take part in the tournament!"
.
A couple of weeks passed, and the excitement in the little go club rose higher and higher as the tournament approached.
"And there'll be so many schools competing and it's going to be great!" Akari explained to Hikaru the gazillionth time one morning when they arrived to school. Hikaru didn't anymore bother even to fake being interested.
"So, will you come to watch?"
"What? Why would I come?"
"To cheer them on, of course! You'll come, won't you?"
Hikaru grimaced. "I…"
"Morning!"
"Morning, Sai!" Akari exclaimed. "Hikaru will come to watch you play in the tournament!"
"Morn… what?" Hikaru glared at Akari. "I didn't…"
"You will?" Sai said, a bright smile on his face. "That's wonderful, Hikaru!"
"But I..." Hikaru started, but the words died on his lips as he turned to face Sai's delighted expression.
"Yes?"
"Nothing," Hikaru muttered and shot another glare at Akari, who stuck out her tongue at him behind Sai's back. "On Saturday, right? Where is it?"
"At Kaio. They usually organize these events. They've the best rooms for it. And the best club." He paused. "And Touya Akira…" Would he be there?
"You're such a fanboy," Hikaru snorted at the dreamy expression that spread on Sai's face.
.
On the day of the tournament Hikaru did go to Kaio. He was a little late, and the games had most likely started a while ago, but he didn't feel the need to hurry. He took his time sightseeing Kaio. It wasn't the kind of place mediocre students like he normally had any business entering – the huge modern building with long rows of window-walled corridors and carefully arranged plantations clearly stated it was meant for the best. No wonder Sai's parents had wanted their son to go there.
Slowly he made his way toward the direction pointed out with arrows with the text "Middle School Go Tournament." He paused at the door, in truth a little surprised at how many people there were. And not just playing – apparently there were many who wanted to watch these games. Hikaru really couldn't fathom why. He started wandering through the room, trying to spot his school's team. It was Akari who spotted him first.
"Hikaru!" She ran to him. "You're late! They've already played the first game!"
"Oh? So how did it go?"
"They all won their games!" Akari was practically bouncing with excitement. "The second round is on now, and I think they're doing pretty well!"
"Nice, I guess," Hikaru muttered and followed her to a table where the three of them, Sai, Kaga and Tsutsui, were playing their games.
He took a look at the boards and wondered why Akari thought they were doing fine. How could anyone see anything in that chaos of black and white spots? Kaga's game seemed to have progressed farthest – at least his board had more stones than the others'. His opponent seemed to be struggling, too. Maybe that was why Akari knew he was winning. Hikaru found it very hard to believe that she would be able to see something on these boards he didn't.
Tsutsui then… based on the expression, his game probably was pretty tight. Tsutsui took a long time to consider each of his moves. The players had clocks on the table, apparently measuring the time they had, and Hikaru noted that Tsutsui's clock had much less time left than his opponent's. He wondered if that was bad.
And Sai… Deliberately he had put off looking at his friend yet. Now he turned to take a look at Sai's face, and saw his expression was just as focused as it had been during that game with Kaga. Sai played his moves with an unhurried air, snapping stone after stone on the board. His opponent, then… the poor boy was nearly sweating.
Okay. So, Sai would win. Kaga would win, and Tsutsui… remained to be seen.
Hikaru took yet one look at Sai's face, and turned away a little disturbed. "I'll take a look around," he whispered to Akari. Why he whispered, he didn't know, but somehow the air was so full of tension that it didn't feel right to talk aloud. The girl nodded, her eyes fixed on the games. The uncomfortable feeling growing Hikaru noted that her expression was nearly as intent and focused as the players'. He turned away with a shudder. Were all go-players like that?
Apparently, he decided soon after he'd spent a while walking around in the room. These people sure took go seriously. One boy seemed to be ready to burst into tears when he lost. Hikaru shook his head. It was just a board game, for god's sake! He paused by yet another table where one game was just finished.
"It's going to be easy pickings for Kaio again," he heard someone mutter in the audience. So, this was Kaio's famous team. They didn't look that formidable to him.
He returned to Sai's table, and saw that Sai and Kaga had already won their games. Tsutsui's game was still on, but he thought it couldn't take for long – there were so many stones on the board. After a while the two stopped laying more stones and started rearranging them.
"40, 41, 42…" he heard Tsutsui muttering. "45. Damn!"
"One and a half moku short," Sai stated sadly. "But it was a good game, Tsutsui-senpai."
"At least you two won," Tsutsui said with a sigh as they started cleaning the board.
"Yeah." Sai grinned. "On our way to the finals!"
"Yes!" Tsutsui's face lit up with that. "I can't believe it, maybe my dream… really could come true…"
"You people are so obsessed," Hikaru remarked, shaking his head.
And after one more win, the three players were taking their seats against Kaio's team. Sai shot yet one more hopeful look around, but didn't see Touya anywhere. He hesitated, but decided then to ask.
"I heard Touya Akira goes to Kaio…"
The players on the other side of the table gave him three unreadable looks. "What about him?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing, I… I thought he'd probably be in your club, and I was just hoping he'd be here, but apparently he's not…"
His opponent snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you'll have to be content with us."
"He was shortly in the club," the captain said. "But it isn't really a right place for a player of his caliber."
"And it wouldn't have been fair to have him in our team," the boy playing the third board said.
"I guess," Sai sighed. "And even if he was here, he would hardly be playing the second board."
His opponent gave him a scornful look. "What, you're one of those who dream about beating him too?"
"I don't dream about beating him!" Sai exclaimed. "Just about playing with him. That would be so wonderful."
"I think that's just about enough of Touya," Kaga stated in a strained voice. "We're about to get started so let's concentrate on our games."
"Wise words," Kaio's captain said, adjusting his glasses. "Good luck to you."
"You'll be needing it," Sai's opponent muttered to himself. Hikaru gave him a narrow-eyed look.
"Sai," he bent to whisper into Sai's ear. "Kick that guy's ass, will you?"
"Hush," Sai said to him, blushing a little and hoping no one else had heard. His opponent looked like he was about to say something, but then the judges ordered them to begin.
This time Hikaru too remained standing by, watching the games develop even though he didn't understand anything about them. He took a look at Kaio's players. On a closer look, Kaga's opponent, the captain, seemed a bit too old to be a middle school student, and a moment Hikaru wondered if they'd pulled a similar trick Kaga had suggested earlier. But surely Kaio wouldn't lack players, from what he had heard… The boy played with such an expressionless face he could have been wearing a mask, and Hikaru figured that – if that was anything to go by – this might prove a tough match for Kaga.
Sai's opponent Hikaru almost jumped over. The boy held a haughty air, but there wasn't really anything special about him. You're the one who'll need luck here, Hikaru thought to him with a smirk. Though he was sure that even the greatest luck wouldn't be enough to help the boy. Tsutsui's opponent was a large boy, not fat but sturdy, with small eyes and very short hair. Somehow he seemed nice, though. Much nicer than the second board, anyway. In that sense Hikaru was glad Sai's opponent was who it was. C'mon Sai, crush him!
The games went on and on. At first Hikaru did attempt to follow them, but he couldn't understand at all what was happening. At some point he started to watch the audience. Akari was as invested as before, her lips moving a little as she followed the moves. The rest of the audience were quiet as well, and – he noted – all watching Sai's game. He glanced at the board, wondering. It didn't seem to him that different from the other games going on. But, he noticed to his satisfaction, Sai's opponent had lost his haughty look and was clearly putting all he had into the game.
"Way to go, Sai," he whispered.
He kept on watching the audience, finding them more interesting than the game. He noted a man standing behind Kaio's team, watching the games thoughtfully, a hand touching his chin. There was something foreign about him – Hikaru wasn't sure what, for he clearly wasn't a westerner, but somehow he didn't seem quite Japanese either. Then his eyes fell on the boy next to the man, and he blinked.
The boy, dressed in Kaio's school uniform, had a silly page-boy cut that made his face look really girly, but what really caught Hikaru's attention was the way he was staring at Sai. The look was so intent it almost made him want to step between this boy and his friend. He kept on watching the boy, and couldn't help shaking his head at the way he stood completely frozen, eyes following every move Sai made.
Yeah. These go freaks really could be obsessed.
Kaga sighed. "I've lost," he admitted, leaning back in his chair. Kaio's captain bowed, and they started clearing the board. Hikaru looked at them, a little startled. That was pretty fast – and Kaga was a good player, he did understand that much.
He dragged himself slowly to Akari. "How's it going?" he whispered to her.
"Sai is winning," she replied. "Beyond any doubt. And Hikaru, that is simply a beautiful game!"
"Beautiful?" Hikaru frowned. "How can go be beautiful?" he asked a little too loud, and got some glares from the audience. "And Tsutsui?" he asked, whispering again.
"I'm not sure. I think he's behind. He might not make it…"
Hikaru looked at Tsutsui's game with a frown. So they wouldn't win? Too bad. But at least Tsutsui got to play in his beloved tournament, and they'd reached the finals. That had to be pretty good. But right then he noticed Tsutsui give a start. The boy grasped a stone and snapped it on the board, and looking up at his opponent pushed his glasses up his nose. The opponent looked confused for a moment, then startled.
"What happened?" Hikaru whispered to Akari. "In Tsutsui's game!" he hissed when the girl gave him a blank look.
Akari glanced at Tsutsui's board and frowned. "I'm not sure," she whispered back.
"Much help you are," Hikaru muttered, but Akari turned back to Sai's game. Hikaru kept on watching Tsutsui. He still didn't know what was going on, but he noticed the game picked up speed. Tsutsui stopped considering each move so long. In the end his opponent swallowed. "I've lost," he muttered, and the joy on Tsutsui's face was so overwhelmingly ridiculous Hikaru couldn't help laughing out loud.
He looked at Sai with a grin. Sai kept on playing one move after another, still as calm as in the beginning, and his opponent was breathing harder after each move. Finally the boy started reaching for a new stone, but his hand fell back to his lap without grasping one. He shook his head. "I've nothing," he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. The man behind him placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You played a good game," he said quietly. "You can be proud of it."
"True," Sai said, smiling at the boy. "Thank you for the game, I enjoyed it greatly."
Hikaru rolled his eyes at him behind his back. What are you thanking him for, Sai? he thought angrily. The guy's a jerk.
"And so Haze has won," the judges declared. "Well done on your first tournament!"
"Talk about a black horse," someone commented, and there was laughter among the audience.
Hikaru looked at Tsutsui and grinned. "Don't faint now, senpai," he said to the boy who truly looked like he didn't anymore know how to sit on his chair.
They had a short prize ceremony, and Tsutsui grasped the cup with tears in his eyes, unable to say anything.
"Now we're a real club," he whispered to the others as they gathered up around him. "A real club!"
"Yes," Sai said with a smile. "I'm quite sure we can ask for some support after this, to get proper boards and stones."
"Good for you," Hikaru stated. "And congrats," he added as Akari shot him a look. "So, can I go now?"
"Of course you can go when ever you want," Sai said. "Thank you for co…" His eyes stopped on someone behind Hikaru's back and he didn't finish the sentence, standing there with his mouth open. "Touya!" he breathed then.
Hikaru looked back and saw the guy with the page-boy cut. He looked a little ill at ease – possibly because of the way Sai was staring at him. Then again, Hikaru remembered the intense look in his eyes as he watched Sai's game, and now he nearly did take a step to stand between the two.
"That was a beautiful game," the boy, apparently this famous Touya Akira said quietly. "I'm happy I could see it."
"I… ah, thank you," Sai stammered.
"Do you think we could play a game some day? I would very much like to…"
"A game!" Sai exclaimed. Hikaru had never seen him so overjoyed, and that was saying something. "Of course! Now? Can we play now? Could we use one of these boards?"
Touya seemed to be taken a little aback by Sai's reaction, but even so he gave the go boards a hesitant glance. Then he shook his head sadly. "I… I'm afraid I don't have time right now. I just stopped by to see the finals. But… tomorrow? We could meet at my father's go salon, if it's alright for you. It's in front of the subway station in…"
"Oh, I know it! Of course it's alright!" Hikaru half expected Sai to start floating, so delighted he was. "When?"
"In the afternoon? Say, around three o'clock?"
"Yes!"
"I'll be waiting for you then! Eh, your name was…"
Sai's eyes widened in horror at his lapse in good manners. "Oh, I'm sorry!" He bowed. "Fujiwara Sai, happy to meet you!"
"If that remained unclear to someone," Kaga said dryly, but Sai didn't even hear him.
"Tomorrow, then. Three o'clock." He smiled brightly at Touya. "I'm really looking forward to this."
A smile touched Touya's lips, too. "Me too. See you then."
He walked away, and once he was gone Sai whirled around a few times and grasped then Hikaru's shoulders. "Hikaruuu~! I'm going to play against Touya Akira tomorrow!"
"So I figured," Hikaru muttered. "Calm down, people are staring."
Sai stopped his attempt to drag Hikaru into his whirling, but still he seemed to find it hard to stand in one place. "I need to go home and review some of the Meijin's games," he said, eyes focusing somewhere into the distance. "Maybe I can discuss them with Touya-kun! Or should I call him Touya-sensei?"
Kaga snorted. "Hardly. He's not a pro yet. And you just might be a better player."
"You think so?" Sai stared at him, wide-eyed. "That can't be true!"
Kaga shook his head. "It's going to be an interesting game tomorrow," he muttered. "But I'm off now." He gave a lopsided smile at the other two members of their team. It was hard to say who was beaming more, Tsutsui with his prize or Sai with his promised game.
"Weirdoes," Hikaru muttered, watching the two. Akari laughed.
"Maybe, but in a good way!"
…
The next day Sai arrived too early at Touya's go salon for the promised game. He had been afraid he'd be late, having spent ages (or so it felt to him) trying to decide what to wear and how to have his hair, in the end deciding on a simple lilac shirt and pale cream pants, and just tying his hair on a ponytail in the neck. Watching himself in the mirror he couldn't help thinking that some jewelry would look nice – but the only way to get any would be to raid his mother's jewelry box… and even if he had been brave enough to do that, there wasn't time.
Or so he had thought. In the end he found himself walking in circles outside the building, wondering if he should go in already or not. It was still nineteen to three. He didn't want to appear pushy, and he didn't want to interrupt anything. They'd agreed on three o'clock – maybe Touya was still playing some other people.
He spun around yet once, wondering what to do, when someone stopped next to him. He didn't notice the man who stood there watching him before he spoke up.
"Fujiwara Sai?" the man said, and Sai turned around with a great start.
"What? Yes? I…" he paused. It took just a short moment for the blond hair and the trademark white suit to register in his mind. "Ogata-sensei!" he breathed then, recognizing the pro player.
The man was watching him with a cigarette in one hand, sun reflecting from his glasses so that Sai could barely see his eyes. "Coming for your game with Akira-kun?" he asked.
"Yes, well, yes…" Sai stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"I heard from Akira-kun yesterday that he had met a pretty good player of his age," Ogata said, perhaps feeling the need to explain, "and they were going to play a game today. He seemed rather excited about it, so I figured I'd come to take a look as I've got a moment to spare."
"Oh," was all Sai could say.
"So," Ogata said, dropped the cigarette and stepped on it, "what are you waiting for?"
"I… I'm a little early," Sai said, glancing at his clock. Sixteen to three. "We agreed on three o'clock…"
Ogata waved his excuses away. "Do get in already. I'm sure he's just as impatient as you are."
Sai followed him in and up to the fifth floor of the building. Ogata led him right into the salon. There was a young woman behind the counter, who greeted them happily as they came in. Her eyes stopped on Sai, and then he glanced hesitantly at Ogata.
"Um, is he with you, Ogata-sensei, or…?" she asked hesitantly.
"He's Akira-kun's date," Ogata said, and the woman gave Sai a confused look. "Ah, there he is," Ogata went on. "Come on."
He started walking into the salon and Sai followed him, bowing his head in passing to the woman. "Umm, should I pay…?" he asked, hurrying after Ogata. The man waved his hand.
"You're Akira-kun's guest here, of course not."
Touya had noticed them and his eyes brightened, though a frown passed over his face when he saw Ogata.
"Hello," he said to Sai who returned the greeting a little shyly. "Good day, Ogata-sensei." Why are you here, his eyes clearly asked, perhaps a little annoyed. Ogata either didn't notice or chose to ignore it.
"Don't let me bother you kids," he said sitting down. "And sorry, no, no teaching games today," he added to the hopeful customers who were gathering around them. "I'm just here to watch this game."
"Oh?" A middle-aged man gave Sai a curious look. "So, who is this? An insei? Someone to rival our Touya-kun?" His tone was joking.
Sai blushed. "Just a friend," Touya said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
"Well, that's nice!" another man said. "It's good to see you've got friends of your age, Akira-sensei."
"Give the boys some room, why don't you," Ogata said, taking a more comfortable position. "Don't make them nervous."
You're quite enough to make me nervous, Sai thought with a glance at the pro. Then he turned to Touya, deciding to ignore the man.
"I've really been looking forward to this game," he said with a smile as he sat down. "I barely slept last night!"
Touya returned his smile. "I was replaying your game last night," he said. "It's truly an amazing one. Maybe we could discuss it at some point, once we've played a little?"
"Of course!"
Sai ended up playing white. A tinge of excitement tickled in his stomach as Touya placed the first stone on the board. He had been hoping he'd get to play this game some day and had feared he'd lost his chance when he convinced his parents to put him into Haze. Luckily there seemed to be at least some fairness left in the world.
They started the game carefully, trying to get the feel of each other. Sai didn't know much of Touya's style – how could he, there were no records available of his games as he never took part into competitions – but he had studied the Meijin's games diligently for long, and figured the son had to have at least something of his father in him.
A short moment he thought of the Meijin, and what a wonderful thing it would be to get to play him some day, but he pushed that thought aside and concentrated on the game in front of him.
Touya was the one to start the offensive, attacking his upper left group. Sai smiled, anticipating the battle. The sharp look Touya gave him across the board was completely different from what he had looked like before they started the game, and he grasped a stone, ready to return the challenge.
It was a long game, a complicated one, and a few times Sai already believed he would lose it. Touya made no mistakes, but neither did he, and in the endgame he was able to keep his thin lead. When the game was over he had won by one and a half moku.
A long moment they just sat staring at the board.
"I'll be damned," Ogata muttered then. "So, kid," he said when Sai looked up at him, slowly waking from the stupor of the game, "when are you going to turn pro? Akira-kun here has been putting it off for long enough. And so have you, I'd say."
Sai stared at him with wide eyes. "Pro? Me? I… I…"
"Aren't you going to become pro?" Touya asked. "With this game…" his eyes fell to the board. Sai followed his gaze. He shook his head, not so much to answer the question but out of sheer disbelief.
"I can't believe I won," he said. "That's hands down the best game I have ever played."
"It just might be the best game I have played, too," Touya said in a tight voice, as if holding back a scream. "Please tell me you're going to be pro!"
Sai looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Touya's eyes locked into his, and their intent look startled him, made it impossible to say no. And honestly, I want to would have been perfectly true, but he didn't want to lead Touya on, make him wait for something that might never happen. "Maybe," he finally said, looking away.
"It's a damn waste if you don't, kid," Ogata said. The young woman from the counter was just bringing them drinks, and she shot a disapproving glance at him.
"Language, Ogata-sensei. There are children present."
The man didn't pay her any attention. He declined the drink, glancing at his clock. "Well, I can't stay any longer. I'm late, as it is. Have fun with your new rival," he said to Touya and left, leaving the two boys blinking at each other.
"Rival?" Sai said, watching after him.
Touya was staring at the stones. "Not a bad thing to have, I guess," he muttered, not looking up at Sai. A long while he just sat there, very still, as if struggling to keep something in, and Sai didn't know what to say or do. Then he suddenly took a deep breath and looked up, smile lightening up his face. "So, shall we discuss the game?"
.
Once Sai came home that day, still feeling quite bubbly and excited, he headed straight to his room and spent a long time writing in his diary. After having called him for dinner twice, his mother came to see what was keeping him, and gave him an amused look as she saw him bent over his desk, writing hard.
"Sadao, darling? Didn't you hear me? Dinner's waiting."
He paused in his writing with a start. "Oh? Oh! Sorry, mother." He put the diary hurriedly away.
"What got you so excited?" she asked him with a smile as they went downstairs to eat.
"I played an incredible game today!" Sai all but bounced down the last few steps. "It was so great I can't believe it! It was, it was…"
"Was it against that boy you talked about yesterday?" his mother asked as he paused, trying to find the right words.
"Yes! Touya Akira! And he was just as great as I knew he'd be! No, greater! It was wonderful, mother!"
She laughed out loud. "Well, I'm happy to hear you had fun. And got a new friend. That is wonderful. But now, dinner time."
After dinner Sai returned to his diary to finish his overexcited analysis of the game. He kept on replaying it on his go board before his mother came to tell him it was time to go to bed. Even then he did not stop thinking about it; while brushing his teeth he went through the endgame in his head, and gave his mirror image a wide, foam-mouthed grin. Sometimes life could be great.
Once he finished his business in the toilet, though, his good mood was quite dampened. Happening to notice the frown on his face when he came out of the toilet, his mother asked him if something was wrong.
"I just… had that burning feeling… again," he muttered, after a short hesitation.
"Oh?" She touched his forehead and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You do feel maybe a bit hot. I don't think we have any antibiotics left… do you think you'll manage until tomorrow?"
"Sure," Sai muttered. "It's not that bad this time." It's still annoying.
"Good night, dear," his mother said and gave him a kiss. "Come wake me if things get worse during the night."
Sai nodded. "Good night, mother."
"It seems Sadao might have urinary tract infection again," he heard her saying to his father as he closed the door of his room behind himself. He sighed. It had been a while; he'd hoped he was now rid of those. But. He dove underneath his sheets, closed his eyes tightly and, ignoring the feeling that he should soon go to the toilet again, thought of that game. Sometimes, he repeated to himself, life could be great… and soon he fell into sleep full of dreams of go.
…
From then on Sai met with Touya practically every day. He still stopped by at the go club, at least for a short while every now and then, but it was clear he was doing it out of a sense duty. He did like playing teaching games with Tsutsui and Akari, and the two new members their victory had gained the club, boys called Natsume and Koike, but clearly he was all the time impatiently waiting for the next time he'd meet Touya.
Hikaru was following it all with strange feelings. One day during a break when Sai was again excitedly telling him about the games he played with Touya – as if I were interested! Hikaru tried to put in, but was ignored – he finally had enough.
"I barely see you these days!" he burst out. "And when I do it's just Touya Touya Touya! Seriously, one could think you two are in love or something!"
"What? No! You don't understand, Hikaru, it's just that we're each other's equals in go, and…"
"And so you don't have time for your old friends anymore, I get that! I bet you wouldn't even hit the ball anymore! When was the last time we played?"
Sai paused, startled. "I'm sure we… that is, didn't we…" He stopped to think, and apparently couldn't remember. "I'm sorry, Hikaru," he said, looking so miserable Hikaru couldn't help feeling bad having yelled at him. "I… I'm meeting Touya today, but maybe tomorrow? We could go to the park again, how about that?"
Hikaru really wanted to say that tomorrow wasn't good for him, but in the end he just shrugged. "Fine," he said, still grumpy, and Sai smiled.
"Great! I'll ask if Akari can come too!"
"Whatever."
.
That evening, after his meeting with Touya, Sai returned home very thoughtful. In the end they had played just one game, and spent the rest of the time talking. About go, and their dreams, and their future – which were, basically, all three one and the same. Or so he hoped. Touya had made him promise that he would speak with his parents soon, but the thought made him nervous.
After supper, when his father, for once home, settled down by the television and his mother picked a book to read, he cleared his throat, deciding he'd have to get started before they'd get too immersed in their chosen entertainment.
"Touya asked me to join his father's study group," he said. His mother looked up from her book.
"That's nice, darling. What study group?"
"For go!" What else, he almost added, but managed to swallow it. "You know, his father is the Meijin, the…"
"The best player in the world, yes, we know – you've told us before," she cut him off with a little smile. "So when would it be?"
"On Thursday evenings, at their home."
"Well…" She glanced at her husband who gave a little tilt of his head – it couldn't quite be called a nod. "I guess it's alright. But you are really spending so much time with go these days! Don't let it affect your grades."
"I won't, mother. Thank you." He paused, licked his lips nervously, and decided to go on. "Umm… Touya… he is planning to take the pro exam this year."
"The pro exam?" His mother, who had already opened her book again, lowered it to her lap. "Do you mean, to become a professional? But isn't he still a child?"
"Well, yes, but… that doesn't matter. There is no lower age limit, all the best players turn pro when they're teenagers. And Touya… is one of the best. And I…" he took a deep breath, "I'm as good as he is, if not a little better."
His mother was watching him keenly. "So?"
"So I would like to become a professional go player, too," he said very quickly. There. Now it was out in the open.
His mother sighed. "Sadao, darling, just because your friend—"
"It's not just because of him, mother!" he cut her off, something he normally never did. "I've always dreamed of becoming a pro, and now that I've been playing with Touya I know I can do it!"
"What kind of an occupation is that, anyway?" His father frowned at him from the couch. "And for a child, too. You're still just thirteen – that is much too young to become a professional in anything. No, you need to concentrate on your studies, son, so that you can have a proper occupation some day. You're capable of getting into the best schools. You can be whatever you want to."
"It's a go player I want to be, father," Sai said.
"You can be that on the side. Go is certainly a good hobby, but as a real job – no."
"But…"
"You heard your father, dear," his mother said softly. "But you can go to the study group, if you want to. I guess this is good timing for it too, what with the summer break starting. You can check what it's like, and see if you want to continue attending it once school again starts."
He gave a deep sigh. You think I'd grow tired of the Meijin's study group? "Thank you," he still muttered. "I… I think I'll retire for today. I'll still read a little in my room."
…
The next day dawned rainy, but by the time Hikaru, Akari and Sai met in the park, the sun was shining from a nearly cloudless sky, blazing so hot they were already sweating even without any exercise. Sai was chatting happily as usual, complaining about the heat with a smile, but even Hikaru couldn't help noticing that smile didn't seem genuine. He decided to ignore it for now, though, and they started their game. Sure enough, just as he had assumed, Sai was as bad as before, if not worse.
"Concentrate!" Hikaru shouted as he kicked the ball toward Sai and the boy didn't get it – the easiest pass Hikaru could give. "Come on, Sai, you're better than this!"
"Maybe I really am out of practice," Sai panted as he returned with the ball. "And it's so hot, too! Can we have a break?"
"Okay, whatever." Hikaru dropped down to sit on the grass. Akari stretched down by him and Sai, he noted in astonishment, sat in seiza. "You're so weird," he muttered, and for a moment stopped to wonder how many times he had said this to Sai.
Sai didn't seem to notice his stare. The boy was watching the little pond in the middle of the park, eyes shadowy. "It's so lovely here," Sai muttered aloud, as if to himself, and as Hikaru didn't know what to say to that, he remained quiet. Akari too sat in silence, watching them.
"So, how's it going with go?" Hikaru asked after a while, unable to think of anything else to say. "Is it really that much fun to play with that guy?"
"With Akira?" Sai smiled absentmindedly, and Hikaru frowned at his use of the first name. Then again, there was nothing peculiar in that: Sai seemed to prefer first names over family names. Still, he didn't have to like it. "Yes!" Sai went on, happily ignorant of his thoughts. "He really is a great player, and I can feel my go improving each time I play with him."
"So what's the matter?" Hikaru asked, and Sai gave him a hesitant look.
"What do you mean?"
"Something's troubling you. Now, don't lie to me," he snapped as Sai seemed to be about to deny that anything was wrong. "I can see it."
"Hikaru's right," Akari said quietly. "I've noticed it too."
Sai gave them a look. "I thought I hid it well," he said then, looking down.
"You," Hikaru stated, "are an open book. You can't hide anything. So what is it?"
"It's not… it's just that… that Touya, and Ogata-sensei too, they think I should become professional."
Hikaru blinked. "Professional what?"
"A go player of course! What else? But…"
"But what?" Akari asked when he paused.
"My parents want me to become a doctor or a lawyer or something like that. I don't think they consider playing go a proper occupation."
"Is it an occupation?" Hikaru asked, staring at him. "Playing go? How can that be an occupation?"
"Of course there are professional go players, Hikaru!" Akari snapped. "Don't you know anything?"
"But what do they do?" The boy was genuinely confused. "Just get paid for playing go?"
"They can teach go, for example," Sai replied. "And they've got tournaments of their own. You know, there are professional soccer players, too," he added, more sharply than he intended.
"Okay… so why wouldn't teaching be a proper job?"
Sai sighed. "It's not fine enough, I guess that's the problem."
Hikaru considered it a moment. Then he shrugged. "Well, maybe they'll change their minds with time? Anyway, what's the hurry – we're still in middle school. You've got time to talk them over."
Sai gave him a long look but said nothing.
He did have a bit bad conscience of how he had been neglecting Hikaru and Akari, and he decided he should do something about that. From then on he would meet them more often again. They could play soccer or just hang out together, maybe go to the beach if the day was hot. Hikaru didn't seem to be any more inclined to start go than before, so he decided to finally drop the subject, and just have fun with the boy. Maybe, he reasoned, it was good to have also other things than go in your life.
His mother was happy. "I was wondering why you didn't talk about Shindou-kun anymore," she said. "Did you two have a fight or something? Well, it doesn't matter. Bring him over again some day." Of Touya she never said anything.
…
"So you think your parents are firm in their decision?" Akira asked when they were done discussing their latest game the next day.
Sai nodded sadly. "Yes. I don't know what I could try. Father has made his mind about it, and mother agrees with him on this. At least they're letting me to come to the study group."
Akira started picking the stones from the board, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Should I ask my parents to talk with them?"
Sai looked doubtful. "I'm not sure if even that would help. But if we could arrange it, maybe it'd be worth trying…"
"I could ask father to invite them over. He should be enough to show them that one can get a good life with go."
"If he's not enough, I don't know what is," Sai replied with a little smile that soon died away. "If it doesn't work, I don't think I can do it…"
"If not this year, maybe next," Akira said stoically. "I'm in no hurry."
"That's… you're in no hurry?" Sai gave him a look. "You don't mean…"
Akira nodded. "If you're not taking the pro exam this year, I'm not doing it either. I want to become pro at the same time with you. Then we can start off together!"
"That would be great," Sai agreed. "But… still. You shouldn't wait for me, maybe I'll never…"
"Don't say that! Of course you will turn pro some day! If you have to become a doctor first, then just do that. You know there are people like that, who have a PhD and are professionals."
Sai gave him a grateful, if a little weak smile. "Thanks. But I do hope it won't take that long. I don't think the go world would forgive me if I kept you away for years…"
"Will you come over tomorrow too?" Akira asked after a moment's silence, placing the last stones into their bowl.
Sai shook his head. "I can't. I'm meeting Hikaru and Akari again."
"Maybe the day after that, then?"
"Sure!" Sai nodded. Then he hesitated, considering something. "Say… how about…"
"Yes?" Akira gave him a questioning look.
"Would you like to join us tomorrow?"
Akira froze, stared at him. "Join you?"
"Yeah! We're just hanging around in the park."
"Hanging… around?" Akira blinked, and Sai paused, wondering what he found so peculiar about that.
"Hikaru will probably bring his ball," he said, a little uncertain – he didn't think Akira was into soccer. "But it's not like we'd have to play if you don't want to. I'd just like you to meet, as you're all my best friends."
"It would be nice," Akira said, having regained his calm exterior. "Do they… do they play go?"
"Akari does," Sai replied. "She's in my school's go club. She isn't very good, though… but all the more enthusiastic. Hikaru then…" Sai gave a little laugh. "I don't think it's possible to make him sit in one place long enough for a game."
Akira smiled. "Well, they do sound fun. It will be a pleasure to meet them."
.
Next day the four of them met in the park. Akari gave Sai and Akira a cheerful greeting as they approached, but Hikaru eyed them warily, and his look turned Akira's expression quite guarded as well.
"This is Touya Akira," Sai said, decidedly ignoring their uneasiness. "And my schoolmates, Shindou Hikaru and Fujisaki Akari."
"Hi," Akari said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Akira replied, bowing his head.
Hikaru was still watching him suspiciously, clutching his ball in his arm. He glanced at Sai. "So, are we going to play?"
"I was thinking that… maybe we could go somewhere, have tea or something?" As Hikaru just stared at him, he went on, "I can pay if you don't have money with you…"
"Tea?" Hikaru said in an incredulous tone. "Nah, I want ice cream!" He grinned. "How bout that new ice cream bar down the street?"
"You're suggesting that just because Sai promised to pay," Akari put in. Sai assured them hurriedly that it was perfectly fine for him, and they started walking toward the ice cream bar. "Just don't let him get the most expensive portion," Akari told Sai on the way. Hikaru gave her a look, and at the bar made a point of ordering the second most expensive one.
"So do you do something else than play go?" Hikaru asked as they were sitting down with their ice creams, apparently having decided to humor Sai and at least try.
Akira paused, spoon half-way to his mouth. "I… not really," he said.
Hikaru paused as well; he clearly hadn't been expecting that answer. "For real?"
Akira lowered his spoon back down and thought. "Well… I do practice calligraphy, sometimes."
"Calligraphy." The word was quite flat. "You…" Hikaru's eyes shot to Sai. "You two deserve each other," he muttered and dug again into his ice cream.
"I think that's really cool," Akari said. "I've tried calligraphy a few times, but it's really hard. The results were pretty awful."
"It takes practice, that's all," Akira said, starting to eat his ice cream. "Just like go."
Akari sighed. "I don't know, I think it takes skill too," she said a little ruefully. "I'm never going to be a good player, am I?"
"But you're improving all the time!" Sai put in. "It is always so much fun to play with you."
Akari smiled at him. "I think you're just being nice," she said.
"Definitely," Hikaru muttered into his ice cream. "What?" he said when he got glares from both Sai and Akari. "How much fun can it be to play against a bad player? I mean, I don't get how it can be fun, no matter who you're playing with, so…"
"Hikaru," Sai cut him off, sounding a little exasperated. "You just don't understand."
"That's what I said," Hikaru said, mouth half-full of ice cream, waving his spoon at Sai. "I don't get it. And I was thinking about what you were saying about becoming a go pro – it really does sound kinda shady. You're smart, you could get a really good job. Does teaching go even pay well?"
Sai sighed. "If one is good enough, one definitely can make quite a lot in go. There are the tournaments, for one thing…"
"Oh? They've got money prizes? How much?" That seemed to perk Hikaru's interest.
"28 million yen for the Meijin title," Akira said quietly. "And 21 for the Kisei, to give you a couple of examples."
Hikaru stared at him with wide eyes and let out a long whistle. "Wow! Maybe you should turn pro after all! You're gonna be rich! Well, you are rich already, but… anyways."
"It's not about the money," Sai said with a frown.
Hikaru tossed his head as if that weren't a valid point. "Hey, getting a lot of money sure doesn't hurt! Just think about it, over twenty million for winning one title! That's almost enough to make me interested in go." He grinned at Sai who did not return the look. "Actually, it sounds like you're just pulling my leg. I mean," he put some ice cream into his mouth and paused for a moment to swallow it. Sai noticed the blank look that had spread over Akira's face and frowned at Hikaru, but that had no effect. "…I mean it does sound kind of incredible, doesn't it? Getting paid that much for playing some stupid board game. It's just… ouch, Sai, what was that for?!" He bent to rub his aching calf that had just received a sharp kick underneath the table.
"The tournament was really fun to watch," Akari said, promptly changing the subject. "I wish I'll find enough players to be able to take part in the girls' tournament next time." And they went on talking – the three of them, while Hikaru sulked over his ice cream.
It wasn't, Sai concluded as they were parting, the air between Hikaru and Akira still somewhat chilly, the most successful meeting. Perhaps he should meet his best friends separately from then on. Hikaru and Akari went their way, and he said his goodbyes to Akira, promising to come to the go salon again the next day.
…
And so the days passed and suddenly it was Thursday, the day Sai had been waiting for with great excitement. Countless butterflies were flying around in his stomach when he headed toward Touya's home. As he rang the bell he peeked curiously in through the gate. Whereas his home was one of the most modern western style villas in Tokyo, this place, though certainly grand too, was a traditional Japanese house, with a garden that appeared to be equally traditional. That made sense, of course, thinking about the attire Touya Meijin usually wore. He didn't remember ever seeing the man without his hakama. The thought of the Meijin set the butterflies off again, and for a moment the idea of soon meeting the best go player in the world made Sai practically hyperventilate. When there came a reply on the gate phone, it took him a few false starts to manage to say who he was. The gate opened, and once he reached the main door Akira was there to receive him.
"Hi." He stepped in with a smile, relaxing as he saw a familiar face. "I'm not late, am I? Has everyone else arrived?"
Akira returned the smile. "Welcome. We're still waiting for Ashiwara-san, but others are here."
Sai followed him heart throbbing into a big room where a group of men were sitting on the floor, discussing something. He noticed Ogata among them, and right then the man raised his eyes and looked straight at him. A while they just stared at each other; then Ogata nodded, and Sai returned the greeting. He couldn't help it, but there was something about this man that made him nervous.
And so there was about the other man he recognized, though that nervousness was different, tingled with excitement. Touya Meijin. Sai swallowed. He had seen the Meijin many times on television, of course, but now in reality he found the man even more impressive than he had imagined. It wasn't just his appearance – and the Meijin definitely was a big man, with stony features and piercing gray eyes – but he had an overwhelming presence that, Sai could imagine, had to make him quite a frightening opponent.
The man turned to look at him, and with a start Sai realized he was staring. "Thank you very much for letting me come," he said, bowing very deep to hide his embarrassment.
"You're welcome," the Meijin replied in his deep voice. "I have heard quite much about you. It will be interesting to finally see you play."
"Yes," Ogata said, pushing his glasses up. "Actually, for your introduction to this study group, why don't you and me…"
There was noise from the front door and hurried steps, approaching the room. Soon a young man appeared in the doorway.
"I'm sorry, am I late?" he exclaimed with a quick bow. "You didn't get started yet?" His eyes fell on Sai, and he grinned. "Oh, this is Akira-kun's rival, huh? I'm Ashiwara Hiroyuki, nice to meet you!"
Sai bowed his head in reply as Ashiwara dropped to sit down next to him.
"So, Fujiwara-kun, can I have a game with you? I'm sure we're all curious about you."
"Well, I…" Sai glanced at Ogata who was glaring at Ashiwara – he was quite sure the other man had been about to ask him for a game. "That is, I'd be happy, but…"
"Great!" Ashiwara turned to pull a go board toward them, but glanced then at the Meijin. "Is it okay, sensei?"
"Certainly." The Meijin nodded his head. "Right, Ogata-kun?"
The man sat back with a sigh. "I reserve the next game," he muttered.
Sai was secretly quite relieved that his first game in this study group was against someone like Ashiwara and not Ogata. And he did enjoy his game with Ashiwara greatly, even though he did lose it. Then again, it was only by two and a half moku, which everyone found quite impressive.
They spent a while discussing that game, and moved then on to talk of the latest games in the Honinbou league. In the end there was no time for another game before Sai had to go home, and so Ogata had to wait until next week for his game.
The week passed awfully slowly, as Sai waited for the next meeting both with great eagerness and a tiny bit of dread. The summer break started, which didn't help. Hikaru thought Sai had to be downright mad, wishing they still had school so that the days would pass quicker. "Nothing makes time move slower than school!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Nothing!"
Finally it was time for the next meeting. As Sai had feared, Ogata wasn't going to let him slip away this time. As they settled down by the go board, a part of Sai couldn't help wishing the week had passed even slower. He started the game quite nervously, but after a while got into the rhythm of it and forgot who he was playing against. The evolving pattern of black and white stones captured him as thoroughly as ever before, and when the game ended he had a grin on his face. Unsurprisingly, he lost, and this time much more clearly than against Ashiwara, but it hardly mattered to him.
"What a fun game!" he exclaimed. "Thank you very much for it, Ogata-sensei! I thought you were a little creepy, but I was wrong! Your go is so exciting…!"
Ashiwara got a coughing attack while Ogata gave him a long look, but Sai noticed nothing in his excitement. "Say, Ogata-sensei, what did you think about this move?" he asked, bending over the board. "Was it too meek?"
Akira turned back to his own game, shaking his head with a tiny smile, as Ogata cleared his throat to start discussing the game.
.
As Sai later concluded, that summer was one of the best in his life. The days were filled with go and other games, and the weekly study group meetings were the highlight of that summer. Sai felt like his go progressed more during those summer weeks than it had in the past year. And when he wasn't playing go, he was hanging around with Hikaru and Akari, going to the park or movies or – which was his favorite – to the beach, for although he disliked sports, Sai had always loved swimming. He would have wished for that summer to never end.
Thank you for reading, everyone! All comments are always appreciated.
Third chapter will probably be up around the end of next week.