Chapter 15

On the day of their game, when Sai arrived at the study center, he saw saw Isumi waiting for the start apart from all others. He nodded at the boy who just stared at him and looked then away. Sai sighed. He hoped Isumi wouldn't be so nervous, lest it would affect his game. Of course, he had already lost to Akira, quite clearly, and Sai on the other hand won against Akira… maybe it was to be expected for him to be a bit on the edge.

He wondered if he should or should not say something. In the end he walked to the boy who was standing alone by the window, watching out.

"Good morning, Isumi-san," he said, and the older boy gave a start, looking behind. It seemed like he just wanted to walk away, but was in the end too polite to do so.

"Good morning," he said, and turned to look out again.

Sai paused, uncertain of what he was going to say. That usual I've been looking forward to this, let's play a great game somehow didn't sound right, although that was how he felt. Suddenly he remembered Waya's weird question, if anything had happened between them. Shortly he wondered if he should ask what that had been about, but figured then it most likely would not help Isumi to relax.

"I wish you could have joined us when we went to that Korean go salon," he said instead. "Me and Waya-kun and a friend of mine. I'd have liked you to meet Shindou too. Actually, we were talking about doing it again some day, do you think you could come then?

Isumi cleared his throat. "Maybe…"

Sai gave him a beaming smile. "Great!"

Isumi remained quiet, staring out, and Sai switched from leg to let. He turned to go but stopped yet to look back. "It's just a game," he said quietly. "One among all others. I've seen your games, and I know you're good enough. You should know it too."

He went his way, suddenly annoyed, leaving the older boy look after him in surprise. Heading to the game room Sai told himself that it wasn't his problem if his opponent was nervous. He settled down by the board to wait for the games to start.

Isumi seemed to have gathered himself for the first half of the game. He played slowly and extremely carefully, and when the break started, Sai was in fact wondering if he might yet get his first loss. If he wasn't careful, that might happen… but he was still pretty sure he could see a way to the win. It was quite tricky, and Isumi surely wouldn't make it any simpler, but that path did exist. He couldn't afford a single mistake, though.

After the break they went on playing, and the farther the game progressed, the clearer the way he should play became in Sai's mind. There was one obstacle on the path though, and he could only hope Isumi would not realize it. He looked at the board through narrowed eyes, calculating the game as far as he could as they played their moves. The critical point was approaching. The way Isumi had played made him suspect he was on the track… that would make the game very tight. He smiled a little. He had worried Isumi might not be able to give him a good game, but apparently he had been wrong.

He looked up, sharply, that small, tight smile still on his lips, and saw his opponent watching him instead of the board. For a moment their eyes locked, then Isumi looked away, startled, slight blush creeping on his cheeks. He grasped a stone and played it hastily, barely even looking at the board. Sai did look, and blinked. He looked up again and saw Isumi as well giving a look at the board, freezing to stare at it as if not believing his eyes.

Sai shook his head sadly but said nothing. He took a stone and played on. Isumi sat still for a long while, and Sai stared at the board, embarrassed in his stead. Such a stupid, simple mistake to do. Then the other boy's hand twitched a little, as if to grasp a stone, but instead it fell back on his side.

"I have lost," Isumi muttered so quietly that Sai barely heard him – and couldn't believe he had heard correctly before Isumi stood up and walked away without another word.

...

"Did something happen in your game?" Waya asked. "I asked Isumi how it went, but he said nothing, just left."

"He was nervous and made a stupid mistake," Sai said quietly. "And gave up after that, even though he could have still tried to fix it."

Waya gave an exasperated breath. "Damn. Maybe I shouldn't have shown him those games."

"What games?"

"The ones you played with me, and with Suyoung. I thought it'd help him to see how you play, but maybe it just made him more nervous." He shook his head. "Isumi-san's such a great player, he should have more self-confidence."

Sai couldn't have agreed more. "Exactly."

"Now he's down to three losses." Waya was shaking his head again. "Damn. If I win against him tomorrow, that just might settle it."

"Maybe," Sai said. "There are still games left." He knew he had said that before, and right now the words felt empty.

"Well, after all, there's just one place as a leftover from you and Akira, and I'm going to take it," Waya said a little grimly. "I'm sorry for Isumi, but if it's me or him…"

Sai nodded. "I know." Briefly he wondered what it would be like if, somehow, he and Akira were fighting for the last spot. He was immensely relieved that such a thing could not happen. Yes, he'd better win the rest of his games, without fail. And Akira too. His remaining games didn't seem that interesting, apart from the one he would play against Ochi near at the end of the exam, but he told himself he would still have to do his very best in each and every one of them. It would be just stupid to defeat the best opponents and then lose against someone mediocre.

Sai had no trouble with his opponent on the next day. When his game ended, once again in a win by resignation, he had a problem: would he go to watch Waya's game with Isumi, or the one between Akira and Ochi? He was curious about the first one, but in the end, he figured, as he hadn't played against Ochi yet, perhaps it would be best to take a look on how he would do against Akira.

He paused to take a look on Waya and Isumi's board on the way. Waya had a lead, a clear lead. Sai shook his head. Unless something miraculous happened, Isumi's chances to pass would soon evaporate.

As he quietly settled down by Akira's board, he saw to his surprise that his friend didn't seem to be having too much trouble with Ochi. That wasn't to say that Ochi hadn't clearly played a good game. It simply wasn't enough against Akira, who was having a good day.

After a while he noticed that Waya and Isumi's game ended, and Waya was the one who headed to record the game. Isumi left the room quietly, but Waya came to sit beside Sai. They nodded shortly at each other before turning to watch the game.

When endgame started Sai knew Ochi wouldn't catch up, and he didn't. Akira played calmly the last stone on the board, and it was over. "Thank you for the game," he said. Ochi's reply was so smothered they barely heard it. A moment the boy sat there, completely still. Then he jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room.

"Straight to the toilet," Waya said with a dry smile, as Sai helped Akira to clear the board.

He gave Waya a confused look. "What?"

"Ochi always locks himself in a toilet after a loss. Don't know what he does there – just this quiet tapping noise comes out. Tap tap tap, evenly and rhythmically. It's kind of freaky, really."

Sai and Akira glanced at each other. "He takes losing a bit too seriously," Sai stated flatly.

...

The next games passed quite uneventfully. Nothing changed among the top four, with Sai still without a loss, Akira and Ochi with one loss, and Waya with two. After him there were Isumi and Kadowaki with four losses.

On the day when Sai was to play against Ochi, Akira had a game against Nase. Sai saw her waiting outside the test room as he arrived. They exchanged a quiet good morning.

"I guess it's good that I'm playing against Touya Akira so late in the test," she said. "I mean, one loss more doesn't matter at all at this point, anymore." She had twelve so far.

Sai smiled. "In that case you can just enjoy the game, right?" She gave him a strange look, and he went on, "You know, playing against strong opponents is good for you! You can learn much. And now you can play without any stress. Just have fun!"

"You're right," she said with a little laugh. "I'll just think of this as a learning experience. Well, good luck to you. It's quite an important game today, isn't it?"

Sai nodded, though he was a little confused. In this exam, one game might be more interesting than the other, but there hardly was one that would be more important. Besides, even if he did get one loss, that would hardly matter one way or the other.

The speakers crackled and the announcement came for them to enter the test room. To Sai's surprise Shinoda-sensei nodded at him as he entered a room.

"It's an important game today, Fujiwara-kun," he said, echoing Nase's words. "I hope you're not nervous."

"…no," Sai said, a little confused. As he didn't go on, Shinoda just nodded at him, smiling, and Sai headed to his place, wondering what was up with everyone. Ochi's game against Akira, while still very good, hadn't been so exceptional he would have felt any need to be nervous. If anything, he hoped he could be a bit more excited about the game, the way he had been looking forward to it through the whole pro test.

Sai settled down by his board, and very soon Ochi arrived and sat down opposite to him. Sai nodded to him, and the boy gave him a stiff nod back. He looked, if possible, even more stern as usual, his lips in a tight line and his eyes behind the glasses sharp and unblinking. They spoke nothing, except for the customary onegaishimasu, and started the game.

Ochi, playing black, started the game strongly, though that wasn't a surprise to Sai. Interesting moves, he thought to himself. Confident. But that was hardly news. Quite soon, when they had played only dozen moves or so, Ochi placed a stone in the bottom part, apart from the other stones.

Oh? Sai thought. Confident indeed. Are you sure you're surviving in the upper left? Well, then! Perhaps it is time to shake things up a bit!

He started building his attack in the top, for now ignoring that lone bottom stone. Ochi's responses were fast and by the book, and in his thoughts Sai nodded approvingly.

He 's playing better than against Akira. Yes, he's still confident, but not over-confident.

He couldn't help smiling a little as they played on, and the pattern of the stones started evolving. This might yet turn into one of the best games in the whole exam. So far, it was quite even. Still, Sai had a plan. A few more moves for preparation, and then…

He blinked. Ochi had placed a stone on the board in a place that… Sai's eyes jumped to the last stone he had played. He had not thought of that move completely through. How could he be so careless? In a game on this level, every single move needed to be considered carefully.

Well. Crap that plan, build up a new one from scratch.

At the start of the lunch break, Ochi was in a clear lead. They didn't talk much during the break, for once again Akira noticed that Sai was too deep in his thoughts for idle chitchat.

When they returned to their games, Sai was thinking of Hikaru. He remembered that one time the boy had turned a bad move into a good one, and managed to pull a win against his opponent. At the moment, Sai couldn't see a way do the same with his bad move, but… that didn't mean he would give up. Briefly he thought of his game with Isumi. He knew he would have most likely won it in any case, but that wasn't written in stone.

He hadn't spoken with Isumi since the game. The older boy seemed to be avoiding him, and he… to be honest, he was a little fed up with it, and decided to ignore the situation.

…which was what he should be doing now, too. One bad move really could change everything. Ochi was now winning because of that single move. But Sai would not be giving up, just like that. He wasn't going to let it end like this.

The plan he had been formulating during the break reached its final form in his mind. He set his trap.

Ochi was good enough to realize he was up to something, but would he be good enough to dodge the attacks? Perhaps, perhaps not, but Sai had to take into account every possibility, every single way the game could evolve, and he needed to make them go in his favor.

He felt an utter calmness come over him as he played, stone after stone, the constantly shifting image of the game the only thing in his mind. One stone brought live to a cluster in the lower left, and the stones shone brighter in his eyes. Black stones appeared on the board, attempting to cut him off, but he had seen that, too, and he blocked them, calmly and systematically building up his own strategy.

And it was working. It was very slow, but gradually the white stones spread across the board, claiming more and more of it for themselves. They really are like stars, he thought idly, something Hikaru had once said. He placed down a stone, and paused. Yes. The constellation was finally complete, and the white stones shone brightly in the dark universe, full of live.

He looked up, and saw a spectacled boy sitting on the other side of the board, fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white, eyes staring at the board. Oh, yes, this was his game against Ochi, wasn't it?

"Thank you for the game," Sai's mouth said on autopilot. Ochi didn't reply or even move.

Akira was among all those who were watching their game when it ended.

"Let me be the first to say it," he said with a wide smile. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Sai said, feeling a little weird, still returning from the trance of the game. He found Akira's congratulations a little strange. It had been a long, complicated game, but still. Akira didn't usually compliment him like that, right when the game had ended, when his opponent was still there.

Someone patted his back. He turned to look at Waya, who was grinning at him. "We all said you'd do it, didn't we?"

At that point Ochi stood up and left. Sai watched a moment after him and turned then to look at Waya, still confused. "…beat Ochi?"

"No!" That was Nase. "You just passed the pro exam!"

Akira was laughing. "Didn't you realize? You didn't say anything about it, and I just thought you were nervous and didn't want to talk about it. You're the first to pass."

Sai stared at him, confused. "But… there are still two games left…"

"And even if you lose them, you'll still pass."

At that point Shinoda quietly asked to go to talk outside the room, as there were still games going on. "Congratulations, though," he said yet to Sai with a smile.

Sai nodded, and followed the others out, still not quite grasping it.

"You mean… I'm… I did… is it really…" He just couldn't formulate a question.

"Yes, yes and yes!" Akira exclaimed, laughing aloud as he placed his hands on Sai's shoulders, spinning him around in a fit of uncharacteristic joy. "You're a pro now!"

"There's Touya with one loss," Waya explained, seeing that Sai still didn't seem to comprehend it. "And then there's me and Ochi with two losses, but we're yet to play against each other. So one of us will have three losses, so even if you lose your two remaining games, you'd still pass."

Sai felt like his brain had stopped functioning. "I… passed?" he whispered. Something inside him was about to burst. "For real?"

"Yeah." Akira, who had been keeping his hands on his shoulders, pulled him to a hug. "You did. For real."

He took a deep breath. Another. And suddenly he was sobbing against Akira's shoulder.

"Hey…" Waya sounded thoroughly confused. "What's with him?"

"Just being himself," Akira said quietly and started leading Sai away from the crowd.

"Come now," he said quietly to Sai as they walked toward the lockers where their things were. "You knew you would pass, sooner or later, right? It couldn't have been a surprise."

"Ye-yeah," Sai hiccupped. "But, I just… somehow it's… I don't know. It's just, now that it's real, and not just a dream… I just can't believe it. Am I dreaming or something?"

Akira patted his shoulder. "You're wide awake. You passed the pro exam today, and I'll pass it after the next game. And then on the last day we see who will join us, Waya or Ochi."

"I hope it'll be Waya," Sai muttered. "I don't… I don't like Ochi," he added very, very quietly, glancing over his shoulder as if feeling somehow guilty, saying something like that aloud.

"I've a feeling a lot of people don't like him," Akira muttered. "At least I'm not the only one who's disliked here."

"It's just because they don't know you! You should talk more with people. I'm sure everyone would like you."

Akira took off his slippers and put his shoes on. "I bet," he muttered. He looked up at Sai who was wiping his nose. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah." He sniffed. "Sure."

They walked together out, and Akira followed him to the car where his mother was waiting for him. She took one look at Sai as he got into the car, and a worried look spread on her face.

"Are you alright, darling? What happened, did you lose?"

Sai shook his head. Akira peeked in through the still open door. "Congratulations, Fujiwara-san," he said. "He just passed the pro exam." He nodded at Sai, still smiling, and closed the car door.

Sai mother stared a while after him, and turned then to his son. "What? Really?"

Sai was nodding. "Yeah. I… even if I lose the last two games, I'll still pass."

"Oh my." She turned to look ahead, absentmindedly nodding to the driver to take them home. "I wonder what your father will say…" She glanced at Sai. "Why didn't you tell me today was so important?"

"I didn't come to think of it! I didn't realize it myself, before they told me after the game. I… I passed. I'm pro now." He started laughing, though tears were again flowing down his face. "I passed, mother! I passed!"

She watched him laughing and crying at the same time. "Congratulations, dear," she said finally. They drove home once again in silence.

...

His father wasn't yet at home. Sai didn't waste time thinking about him, though, and what he might or might not say. He went to his room and closed the door behind himself. He dropped to lie on his bed with his phone and took a few deep breaths. Then he chose Hikaru's number.

It was Hikaru's mother who answered the phone. "Oh, Sai-kun! Hikaru's not home right now. Shall I ask him to call you when he comes? He should return within half an hour."

"Please do," Sai said. He considered a moment, and in the end couldn't contain himself. "I passed the pro exam today!" he exclaimed, grinning at the ceiling.

"Oh? Umm, congratulations. So, you will be a go pro now? That's, um, great."

"Yeah." He told himself to calm down a bit, this wasn't the right person to share his joy. "But, if you'd just ask Hikaru to call when he comes. Thank you, bye."

He lay on his bed a moment, wondering what to do. Replay his game against Ochi? Or some other game, like the one he had played with Waya? No. He needed to talk to someone. He chose another number. It rang quite a many times and he just thought no one was home when an out of breath voice finally answered.

"Hi, Akari!" he exclaimed.

"Sai?" The girl sounded happy, though clearly she was still trying to catch her breath. "Hi! How are you?"

"Fine. Couldn't be better." He paused, grinning again, to savor the words. "I passed the pro exam."

"What? For real? That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. You know what's funny, I hadn't even realized I'd pass it today cause there are still games left. It took me totally by surprise. But I've won all my games, so it doesn't matter anymore if I lose the last two. Which I'm not going to do," he added, as an afterthought.

"You won all your games? Wow. That's amazing! How's Akira-kun doing?"

"He has only one loss, so he should have no trouble passing. Umm… I didn't call at a bad time, did I?"

"Oh, no. There's no one home, and I was just coming in when I heard the phone ringing. Wow. So you're both going to pass. Are you going to have a party or something?"

"I… I hadn't even thought about something like that," Sai admitted. "Maybe we should?" They could have a party, him and Akira together, and invite Hikaru and Akari and people from the go club, and maybe if Akira had some people he'd like to invite… Ashiwara would probably want to come, at least. And if Waya was the third one to pass, maybe he'd come too – if it was okay for him to party with the enemy.

"I totally think you should," Akari was saying.

"I think we will," Sai said. "Do you want to come? I guess we could have it next week, on Saturday, if it works out for everyone."

"I'll definitely come! I have my dance class on Saturday, but after that I'm free."

"Great! I'll let you know the time and place later."

They ended the call and he chose Akira's number.

"Should we have a party?" he asked as soon as the boy answered.

"We could, I guess," Akira said. "I wasn't going to, but if you want."

"Yes! Wouldn't it be fun! Do you think Saturday next week would be ok? But… where should we have it? Hey, could we use the go salon? I'm not sure if my parents are too happy about me passing, so it might be better not to have it here…"

"At the salon, then, or at my home," Akira said. "I'll ask father after I too have passed. I don't want him to think I'm arrogant or something, starting to arrange parties before even passing the exam."

"Alright! Let's talk more about it later."

He'd barely ended the call when his phone rang. It was Hikaru.

"Sai! Don't talk with others when you're waiting for my call! Did you really pass?"

Sai laughed aloud. "Yeah, I'm sorry Hikaru, yes I did!"

"You're the best! You passed before Touya, didn't you? Way to go!"

"Akira's going to pass after the next game. It should be an easy game for him, all things considered. And I was thinking we could have party next week, maybe on Saturday."

"Hey, that's a great idea! When… uh, we? Do you mean you and Touya together?"

"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it? And I thought we could have it at his place, as… well, I don't want to rub it into my parents' face like that, that I passed. Will you come too?"

"Sure I will, it's your party too! Who else is coming?"

"Akari, at least," Sai said, and Hikaru groaned.

"Akari? Why did you have to go and invite her?"

"What do you mean, why? Because she's my friend! And yours too, isn't she? And then I'm going to ask people from the go club, and I guess Akira too might have some people he wants to invite." He didn't really know Akira's friends, though.

"Hmm… well, I guess his friends would play go, so maybe it's fine," Hikaru said. "But hey, how was your game today? A good one? If you'd told me you're passing today I would have come to see you after school!"

"I didn't myself realize it before after the game. And the game was… it was really great, actually. Even though I almost messed up! Against an insei called Ochi."

"Isn't he the one who had who'd been talking about passing with all wins? So he's got two losses now, against you and Touya?"

"Yes."

"You two rock. Damn I wish I could be there too…"

"Next year," Sai said with a smile. "So," he couldn't help adding, "we two rock, huh? Are you glad for Akira too?"

There came a short silence from the other end. "Well, rather him than someone else, I guess? I mean, as long as he's not beating you. Which he won't be doing anymore! The first to pass, yeah!"

"Thanks. I'll let you know the exact time and place later, okay?"

"Okay. Hey, I think I could come to see you after the next game, after school. Will you still be at the study center after four?"

"I don't know… maybe not. Hey, how about you come to Akira's go salon? I think he wants to go there after the game, there are surely many who want to congratulate him. How about we meet there?"

"Okay, fine. Let's have a Touya-party."

Sai rolled his eyes amusedly at the ceiling at Hikaru's tone. "See you, then."

After all the phone calls he lay long on his bed, doing nothing, just breathing. Pro. He was a pro, a professional go player now. Even if his parents regretted letting him to take the exam, there was nothing they could do about it. It would be too embarrassing for them to try to get him out of it at this stage.

Pro. Emotion swelled up within him again, and he could feel the laughter and crying swirl inside him trying to get to the surface. Laughter won, and it gushed out of him so strongly he had to curl up on the bed, holding his stomach. He grasped his pillow to scream into it nothing but wordless joy.

...

His father was less happy, he could see that right away when the man finally came home.

"You didn't tell us you might pass today," was the first thing he said to Sai, and biting back a sigh he explained once again how he just hadn't come to think of it. Something in the look his father gave him told him the man didn't believe him, but he didn't care.

"So," his father said. "I guess congratulations are in order. What will happen next?"

"Well… there are still two games in the exam I need to play," Sai said. "And then… I don't know all the details yet. I'm sure that the Go Association will give us more information once the exam's fully over. But… technically, I have a job now. They're going to pay me a salary. I won't start officially as a pro before next year, though. First there is the shin shodan game in January, the game where a new 1-dan player plays against some older pro. And the pro games where I'll be playing won't start before April, so I'll have time to concentrate fully on school from now on."

He added that last part mainly because he guessed it would please his parents. All things considered, it was a good thing the pro games wouldn't start before April. He had time to study hard and get into a good high school. How he'd manage the high school studies and starting his career at the same time he didn't know, but surely it would work out one way or another. It wasn't like there had before been any high school students who were go pros. If they had managed, so would he.

His father still didn't look too happy, though. The man sat back on his chair, watching him through narrow eyes, his expression stern. "Well. Perhaps we should wait and see what will come out of this. Forward to me all information you'll get. I'll see to the practical things. For one thing, we need to change your bank account once you start getting… salary." There seemed to be something bad-tasting about that word. "But, for now," he went on, "congratulations on your accomplishment. You have been quite impressive in this test."

"Thank you father," Sai said with a tiny bow. Wait and see indeed, he thought to himself, but said nothing more.

...

As he returned to his room his mother followed him. "I just want to have a word with you," she said when he looked at her questioningly as she was sitting down by his desk.

"Of course, mother," he said and sat down too.

She said nothing for a while, just watched him, her eyes quiet and expression thoughtful. Sai resisted the urge to fidget. He was pretty sure there was nothing she could be reprimanding him for, but there was something serious in the air. She wasn't going to try to talk him out of this or something, was she?

"Sadao," she said finally, and his straightened his back a little, waiting with full attention. "I didn't want to ask you in the middle of the exam, as I didn't want to disturb your concentration, but now that you have passed… do you know what gynecomastia is?"

He felt his face flush red, and nodded his head just a tiny little bit. Maybe she did see that, as she went on, "Good. Or, well, I'm not sure if it is good really… Do you have… it?"

Sai nodded again, if possibly even more slightly than before. His mother sighed.

"I knew it," she muttered. "How long have—why didn't you tell me?" she suddenly asked, annoyance in her voice.

He shrugged a bit, avoiding looking at her, face still burning, and didn't manage to come up with a reply. "How did you guess?" he mumbled instead.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" she shook her head, perhaps a bit amusedly. "For so long you've behaved so, so weirdly. And when all this started, I asked doctor Akimoto about all possible problems you might be facing, and gynecomastia was one thing he mentioned. I just thought you'd tell me! Is it bad?" Sai said nothing, and she went on, "there are many ways to deal with it, you know? You don't have to just suffer quietly. Different medications might work – other than androgens, too. We could go to see the doctor and get a prescription right away."

Sai nodded his head again, very little. "I… I guess."

"Well then." She seemed a little relieved. "I'll reserve an appointment for us, alright?"

"Okay," Sai mumbled.

His mother left. He sat there for long, staring after the half open door through which she had gone.

Maybe it was for the best. Even if he was fine to stay the way he was, in-between, would the world accept that? It was sure to just cause problems in the future. He wanted to swim next summer, for one thing, and how could he go to the beach like this? And if there were other options than the androgen therapy… maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

He walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind himself before lying down on his bed. Curled up into a ball he lay there on his side, staring at the wall. It was for the best. Though he should have suggested visiting doctor Adachi instead. He just had been simply too embarrassed to think clearly. But maybe that didn't ultimately matter.

It would certainly make life easier in high school, too. He took a deep breath. Yes. This was something that simply had to get done.

A/N: As you see, this was again just 'half a chapter'. We've reached the part where I have more editing to do missing parts to write, and rather unsurprisingly, I haven't edited ahead as much I would have wanted to. ^^;

I sort of wish I'd been writing other povs than Sai and Hikaru here too, to give you a view on what's going on in Isumi's head, but... we'll get to that later.

But anyway! Sai's passed the exam now. And of course reality has to immediately hit and dampen the mood. Personally I think his mother wouldn't have needed to bring this matter up right away, on Sai's great day, but maybe she thought that it's better to talk about it when he's in good mood or something. Or then she just didn't think. (yeah, I know I'm the author, I should know why my characters do things but whatever...)

Thank you for reading!