Chapter 59

Fujiwara and Isumi were bowing at each other now, so the game was obviously finished. Waya sighed mentally as he glanced at them out of the corner of his eye; he'd really been hoping to watch the entire exchange, blow-by-blow, but some of the customers had waylaid him before the mid-game to ask him for his opinion on their game. It was flattering to be sought out for advice, but he'd been looking forward to watching Isumi play Fujiwara all week. Still, hearing the post-game discussion would be just as enlightening. Fujiwara was particularly good at explaining games, and Isumi had always been like a patient older brother, willing to elaborate on even his own mistakes if it would benefit someone else.

Waya managed to escape in time to hear Isumi deflecting praise. "No, I still have a lot to learn," Isumi said, his cheeks tinted red.

"You seemed to have reached a decision around the mid-game," Fujiwara said, gesturing with his fan. "Before that, your hands were sometimes stiff, but afterwards your responses became much more intuitive."

"I was feeling a little worried at that point, but I managed to regain my focus. You're a very strong player."

Waya stared at the black and white patterns curling across the goban in astonishment. He'd played Fujiwara many times, but never in a game like this. "You really went all out on Isumi-san, didn't you?" Waya demanded, his voice rising in pitch.

"It's Waya-sensei's fault!" Fujiwara said, raising his floppy jacket sleeve to his mouth to conceal a laugh. "You've been telling me that 'Isumi-san is really strong!' so I couldn't help getting excited. Besides, it was really fun, wasn't it, Isumi-san?"

"Except for the part where I lost," Isumi said with a grin.

"You never play me like that," Waya muttered under his breath as he continued to admire the patterns. He couldn't help feeling jealous – of both of them. He wanted to play games of that quality with both Fujiwara and Isumi. But Waya knew his depth of reading just wasn't strong enough to play an entire game at that level yet. Waya grumpily wondered when it would be - he'd asked Morishita-sensei that very question, and the older man had counseled patience and practice (before smacking him with a fan for being petulant.)

"Is there a way I could have turned the game in my favor after the midpoint?" Isumi asked Fujiwara. "It seems obvious that the gap had already become too wide by that stage, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something I'm overlooking."

Fujiwara tapped his fan against his lips. "What is your intuition telling you?"

Fujiwara, Waya had found, often preferred to answer questions with questions. It could be annoying when Waya just wanted the answer right away, but on the other hand, Waya had occasionally managed to produce a few surprisingly good solutions while being questioned. Waya supposed it was more or less like shidougo, except nudging the errant student onto the correct path with words instead of stones.

"Here, at 9-12. I feel that there's a way to strengthen my position with a connection," said Isumi with a frown.

Fujiwara acknowledged Isumi's speculation with a nod. "A kirikomi at 9-15 would have allowed a connection in about six hands, after you had played at 10-16. It's unusual enough play that your opponent likely wouldn't realize in time to cut you off. Unusual - but strong."

Isumi's eyebrows shot up. "If White makes no other mistakes after this move, then it is possible for White to make up the difference in moku," he said quickly. "And if White plays Shuusaku's kosumi over here, it can even benefit from the influence of the connection."

"Exactly!" Fujiwara beamed. "If you keep studying the board, you'll probably discover a few other possibilities. Perhaps the next time we play, you'll tell me what they are?"

"I would be honored to play you again. Please continue to instruct me," Isumi said, bowing, and Waya rolled his eyes. Isumi was so damned formal, but it was part of his very convenient charm.

"I would enjoy that very much," Fujiwara said. "I wish I had time to play you again today, and Waya-sensei too, but I'm afraid I should leave soon. I'm meeting a friend."

"Oh, I hope I didn't detain you too long," Isumi said, reaching for stones to sort. "If you'd like, Waya and I can clean up here."

"That's alright," said Fujiwara, beginning to clear the stones as well. "We're meeting in Shinjuku, so I don't have far to travel. And where are you travelling to from here?"

"I'm going back to Ichigaya since I don't have any games today. It's convenient because it's close to the Go Association, but it's a bit boring."

"By boring, Isumi-san means he still lives with his parents," Waya informed Fujiwara with an impish smirk as he made a show of patting Isumi on the shoulder consolingly. "I've been living in my own place for two years." Waya knew it was childish to tease Isumi in front of Fujiwara, but somehow he couldn't resist... maybe, Waya admitted to himself, he was just a little resentful of always feeling like he was standing in Isumi's shadow.

"Waya! It's not that I don't want to move out, but you know I don't have any siblings."

Fujiwara nodded quickly. "Ah, it's natural for a mother to keep her only child close. Now if you want to move to an exciting place, Shinjuku is certainly busy, although sometimes it's too crowded. But I usually enjoying walking around and looking at all the buildings and the interesting people. There are many people from other countries; it's quite exciting, especially when they're speaking other languages."

Isumi smiled at the other man's exuberance. "Oh, so you must have moved to Shinjuku recently, then."

"Yes, that's right. It seems I see something new every day!"

"Was the place you lived before so busy?"

Fujiwara's expression clouded. "I don't remember the last place I lived so well. I'm sorry."

Isumi bowed again. "No, I should be the one to apologize. I didn't mean to pry when we've just been introduced."

"Oh no, don't apologize!" Fujiwara exclaimed, waving his hands about, looking flustered. "You didn't do anything wrong. I've just had some... memory issues. It seems I suffered a head injury, although I don't recall it exactly."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. I wish you the best in your recovery," Isumi said in a low, sincere voice, then when Waya didn't say anything, he nudged Waya urgently with his foot from under the table.

"Uh, me too! Get better soon," Waya said hastily, and Fujiwara thanked them for their kind wishes.

So he'd been right after all, Waya thought, vindicated: Isumi was the magic key to getting Fujiwara to open up. But Waya wasn't certain how much of it he believed. Certainly not the memory part; that just seemed like an incredibly convenient excuse to get out of answering just about any question. If Fujiwara had really been whacked on the head or hit by a car or something crazy like that, wouldn't he have problems speaking or walking too?

The stones were returned to their goke, and then Isumi and Fujiwara exchanged cell phone information, discussing plans to meet again.

"I look forward to seeing you both!" Fujiwara called cheerfully as he exited the salon with a wave, all traces of his earlier agitation gone.

###

"What a nice man. I hope he's able to regain his memories," Isumi said as they picked up their belongings.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" Waya asked, incredulous. "You're too trusting. It's just a part of his plan to keep people from finding out he's Sai and that he's also like, a chainsaw murderer or something."

"Waya!"

"Okay, maybe income tax evasion, or embezzling. He's probably smart enough to pull it off," Waya said, angling his head in consideration. "So of course, he knows the minute his picture starts getting printed inGo Weekly, he's going straight to jail."

Isumi sighed. "Perhaps you should stop watching so many yakuza movies. It's corrupting your imagination." Then his voice softened. "Maybe you should just enjoy playing with Fujiwara-san and not worry about his personal life. People all have different motivations for playing go. You can't just make assumptions about why he's not a pro."

Isumi's quiet rebuke stung Waya more than he wanted to admit. It made Waya feel like he was still a brash, clueless kid who had disappointed his senpai again. "Yeah, okay. It's not like I'm going to do anything to him. I'm just curious. Why are you worried, anyway? You just met him."

"He seems sensitive," was all Isumi would say in answer. The older pro fixed his eyes firmly ahead then, as if maneuvering down the busy sidewalk required his full attention.

Waya knew Isumi well enough not to press the issue. By the time they reached the station, Isumi would probably bring up some completely unrelated subject and they'd chat about it lightly as if they hadn't had a disagreement. Isumi enjoyed teasing, but anything remotely resembling arguing made him anxious. Waya, on the other hand, personally relished a good argument, but he could respect Isumi's wishes. He decided not to bring up the subject of Fujiwara's hypothetical secret life to Isumi again.

That didn't mean Waya was going to stop trying to figure out a way to crack the mystery of Sai, though. Not in a million years. The desire to know – the need to know - had gripped him before he'd even made pro, and the desire had only grown stronger since meeting Fujiwara. He had to know, and he was going to figure out a way to get his answers.

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Credits to: Ontogenesis (Desynchronization)