Conversations over a Go Board - Chapter 2
A Comedy of Go Errors
by Kim Smuga-Otto
Hi all. When I showed the first part of this Hikaru no Go sketch to my husband, he said it was good, but that I should really write a second half, set during the festival, and write it as a comedy of errors. I replied, that's nice dear, but really, I'm not sure if the cast of Hikago is really set up for that, I mean, they're so serious about trying to solve their shortcomings. But then I thought about it, and certain situations started presenting themselves. Plus, I got so much positive feedback from the first half. So here goes, hope you like.
Disclaimer - these are not my characters, this is not my world or set up, all credit, thanks and apologies go to Hotta Yumi and Obata Takeshi.
* * *
Everything was going perfectly, thought Akari. The weather, sunny with only a hint of chill in the air, was as fine as the Haze Junior High winter festival could hope for. People had turned out in force and the Go club's location, right next to the home ec club's okonomiyaki stand, couldn't be better. There had been the ten long minutes before Hikaru and Touya had made their appearance in which Jiro, the club's captain had been in a near panic, but they were here now. Apparently, Hikaru had been showing Touya around; maybe they really were becoming friends.
"Fujisaki-sempai," Jiro's high pitched voice chirped in her ear, "is it true that Shindou-san qualified as a pro when he was my age?"
Jiro was the club's captain and in charge of the stand, but he seemed quite glad to hand things over to her. When Akari had been in junior high,Tsutsui had seemed almost an adult; Jiro seemed too young to even be in junior high, much less the eight grade.
"Technically yes, but pros don't start officially playing games until April. So he wasn't really a professional until ninth grade."
"Wow . . ." Jiro's eyes got even bigger.
"Any possible new members, Jiro-kun?" Akari asked.
"No, not yet." Jiro sighed, "It's mostly old men."
"Well, old men have kids and grandkids. And it looks like Hikaru and Touya-kun are all set up. I'm sure that will attract people." All they needed was one more boy and the club would have enough for the winter tournament.
""I hope you're right, Fujisaki-sempai." said Jiro, looking far from convinced.
The stand was rather nondescript, with only a black and white banner and no indication that the two teenagers sitting behind the folding go boards were the rising stars of the Japanese Go world. But Hikaru had thrown a fit at even wearing a name tag; Akari had decided to attribute it to modesty on his part, and not embarrassment at having to make an appearance for the club.
"Jiro-kun, did you put together that poster of tsumego? Let's put it up on the other side of Touya-kun. Maybe we can get some people to stop by to try out the go problems."
"They're probably not good problems." said Jiro.
He looked like he was being forced to eat natto. Akari decided it was time for a pep talk.
"You have to believe in your go team, Jiro-kun. When Tsutsui, my old sempai was the eight grade captain he had no members, none. But he loved go so much that he knew he could find more members. So you know what he did? He set up a stand at the festival, just like we're doing now. And who do you think wandered up to his stand and started playing go?"
Jiro, spellbound, shook his head .
"Shindouu Hikaru." said Akari, "And from there they roped in another player, went to the junior high winter tournament, and won first place that year. They even beat the unbeatable team from Kaio." It sounded like some Kurosawa samurai drama, but with go instead of swords.
"Wow . . ."
"Too bad we were disqualified because Shindou was a grade schooler back then." said a male voice, crashing the moment back to reality. "And you forgot to mention that Shindou's first game blew so badly that we'd never have made it to the second game if I hadn't been there."
"Kaga-sempai!" Said Akari, not believing her eyes.
The redheaded former Shougi captain gave her a devious grin, and turned back to Jiro. "That Tsutsui, he was a nerdy runt, just like you, kid. But he had balls, and he didn't stand around moping. You want a go team kid? Go out there and earn yourself one."
He gave the eighth grader a push on the back, and whether from inspiration, or fear of Kaga, Jiro took off like a shot to put up the go problem poster.
"So, Shindou's a pro now, is he?" said Kaga in a thoughtful manner as he started towards the table. Akari followed him, and heard him say even more softly. "What a waste."
"Hey Shindou, still spending all your time playing go?" Kaga said by way of greeting.
"Hey Kaga, still spending all your time playing shougi? They must have a university club." Hikaru replied, looking quite happy. He wasn't an easily intimidated kid anymore.
"Naw," said Kaga in an offhanded manner, "I've got an even worse habit these days."
"What's that?" asked Akari. Drag racing? Martial arts? Anime?
"Solid state physics, specifically low temperature stuff. Even got an internship lined up in MIT this summer." One would think, the way Kaga said the words, that he'd been inducted into the Yakuza. But then, Kaga could probably make opening a pension plan look like a form of government subversion.
"That would be . . . quarks and such?" ventured Touya, and Akari was glad that at least one of them knew something of what Kaga was talking about.
"Elementary Particle physicists," Kaga scoffed, "they're just a bunch of wankers. I'll be studying hydrogen entanglement. It's all theoretical, but it'll pave the way for the quantum computer, and then everything, cryptography, modeling systems, biological simulations, they're all going to change. And I'll finally wipe that smug look off his face."
No one spoke, even Touya seemed at a loss.
"Shindou," said Kaga, coming back to earth, somewhat, "Remember back when I told you I had beaten that Touya Akira kid? It wasn't exactly the truth, I'm pretty sure he let me win because he heard my father giving me a hard time, probably felt sorry for me. But if this whole quantum computer thing works out, we'll have the lookahead ability, coupled with all the known go heuristics, to allow us to Kasparov any go master. Touya won't stand a chance. I'm afraid you're going to get squashed too, Shindou, and you too," he turned to Touya, "sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Waya," Touya said promptly, "Waya Yoshitaka."
"Good to meet you. Don't lose too much sleep over it, guys. We're at least five years away from a working prototype. And it's not like anyone wants to put go players out of work. I'm sure there will be plenty of human-only tournaments and all." He stood and surveyed the crowds. "Well, I've still got my old shougi club to harass. And maybe look up an old teacher or two. God, I love reunions."
After he was gone, Touya said softly:
"I remember that game. I did lose on purpose."
"Out of pity?" asked Shindou.
"Out of sheer, unadulterated fear. There were these rumors about what he did to fifth and sixth graders, gave me nightmares for years."
"Fujisaki-san," said Jiro, he'd re-materialized only after Kaga had left. "This woman wants a lesson from Shindou-san."
Behind Jiro stood a formidable young woman. She was tall, almost six feet, and while not fat, there was a solidness to her body. Something about her short paige haircut seemed familiar.
"It's Kaneko-san." said Akari, recognizing the volleyball go player. Akari hadn't seen her since graduation.
"You're going to show me how to beat Mitani-kun." Kaneko was pointing at Hikaru in a menacing manner.
"Why me?" Hikaru asked. "You want Touya. He's a higher dan than me."
Kaneko looked at Touya, a frown on her face. She'd never quite lost the bulldog look. "No," she decided, "It has to be Shindou. You've played him, you know his style."
"I haven't played Mitani in years," Hikaru protested, but Kaneko had already set herself down in front of him.
"Last time he got me, the stones were like this," said Kaneko as she dug into the open bowls. "Hi Akari-san. Has Mitani-kun been by? He told me he'd be here. Bet he'll be as surprised as I was that Shindou's here, huh?"
"It's going to be a regular reunion, then." Said Hikaru, scowling. Touya looked on in a bemused manner.
"Mitani-kun?" said Akari. "That's right, you two go to the same high school. Do they have a go club?"
"Yeah, Mitani-kun shows up for practice, but refuses to compete in tournaments," said Kaneko. "Why did you move there, Shindou? Explain."
"Place your next stone. All right then I go here, and you have to move here, and I place a stone here, and now I take all of these."
"Oh, I see." To Akari she continued, "Mitani-kun's thinking of entering some of the amateur games. So, I have to get better, otherwise he might find another rival. Okay, Shindou, where should I play now?"
"You're this Mitani's rival?" asked Touya.
"Well, yeah, someone has to be. It used to be Shindou, but he quit the go club."
"I didn't quit! Or, yes I did, but there was a reason."
"Shindou-kun," Touya cried out in a hurt voice, "you had a rival before me?"
He even had the emotional eyes and pained expression to go with it. Shido's mouth dropped open enough to catch flies and Akari laughed. Touya had actually made a joke.
"So you're chasing after Mitani, Kaneko-san?" Akari ventured, Kaneko, intent on her next move had missed the exchange.
"Yup," Kaneko said solemnly. Pachi. "I'm even getting a private tutor this semester. Let's go back four moves, I want to try something else."
"It won't make a difference," said Hikaru, "see, I still have the advantage. You needed to be stronger when you placed the original stone, after that it was all over. Honestly, does Mitani even know you're chasing after him?"
Kaneko didn't say anything as she studied the spot, nodding slowly. Akari felt sorry for her. Hikaru still talked without thinking.
"He will. I can still beat him with a two stone handicap, sometimes. I just can't let him get any further ahead." she said, "That's good for a lesson." and she began clearing the stones off the board.
"What will you do if you catch him?" Touya asked as she stood.
Kaneko got a crafty smile on her face at that. "When I catch him, I'm making him my boyfriend."
"What? I didn't know you liked Mitani-kun." said Akari.
"We're rivals. We have a bond." said Kaneko with utmost seriousness, "it's deeper than liking." She turned to walk away.
"And if you never catch him?" Hikaru called after her.
"Oh, in that case," the girl said over her shoulder, "I have a back-up plan. I'm on the judo team too."
"Her determination reminds me of someone." Akari teased, not realizing her words' implications until they were out of her mouth.
* * *
"There's too many people around. I don't see them anywhere." said Waya. "It's not that big of a festival, do you think they might have left?"
"As we have no idea why they came in the first place, maybe," ventured Isumi. Good thing they were professional go players, he thought, they wouldn't have lasted a day as undercover detectives.
"Something seriously weird is going on." said Waya, for what must have been the twelfth time that day. "First Shindou asks for a rain check for our visit to the go parlor, the one that he set up. Then he won't tell us why, gets all mysterious about it when we press him."
"Forcing you to decide that we have to stake out his house and follow him."
"Well, duh. And I was right. He had a rendezvous with Touya Akira. What possible explanation could justify those two meeting up outside of a go salon?"
Isumi and Waya had lost sight of them shortly after that. And Waya had been speculating on the nature of the meeting ever since.
"I know, maybe there's a recluse master go player around here, and they're off to study under him. Damn Shindou, why didn't you invite me? You don't even like Touya."
"They have been getting along much better recently." said Isumi mildly, but he let the matter drop. There were certain topics that it was best not to speculate on. It was the same reason that Isumi hadn't dared joke that they check out the local love hotels.
He scanned the crowds once more. An amazon of a woman striding purposely through the crowds caught his attention, in her wake was an opening just large enough to see a familiar face sitting behind a go board.
"Hey, there they are!" Isumi sighted them, "Look they're tutoring at a go stand. See? Perfectly reasonable explanation."
"Yeah," said Waya, lightening noticeably, "He probably didn't tell us because he knew we'd come by and razz him. Know what?" A big smile spread across Waya's face, "he was right." And Waya took off for the booth.
"Here's a sight, Isumi," said Waya loud enough for everyone to hear, "Shindou Hikaru and Touya Akira, the new generation's most famous rivals, putting aside their differences to encourage tomorrow's future go players."
It was quite the reaction. Isumi looked from one face to the next. The girl, Isumi remembered her name was Akari, had a flustered smile on her face, Shindou was pointedly not making eye contact with anyone, and Touya . . . he'd almost say Touya was blushing.
"What," Isumi asked under his breath, "what did you say?"
"Just because that reporter's story - " Shindou began.
"Oh, come now, Shindou, what ever happened to I'm Touya's rival and he's mine.'?"
Waya looked to Isumi who nodded in confirmation. Not that any of them had believed the statement when Shindou had proclaimed it so many years ago.
Shindou rolled his eyes. "I was thirteen years old at the time! Geez."
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," said Isumi gently, trying to smooth over whatever buttons Waya had inadvertently pushed, "It was really impressive the way you chased after him, the way you kept improving in order to get him to acknowledge you. It must have impressed you,Touya, right?"
It didn't work, Isumi was certain that Touya was blushing. Waya, never one to let such an advantage slip by, pressed on.
"Hey, Touya, I once heard a rumor that you dorked around in a junior high go club, even took third board, just to get a shot at playing Shindou. It's not really true, is it?"
"I'm going for food." said Shindou, standing up. "Isumi and Waya can take over for me. They seem to have so much time on their hands."
He charged off, and Touya made a point of snagging a passing child to try out a go problem.
"Excuse me," Isumi turned to the girl, "Is something bothering Shindou?"
"Umm," Akari gulped, "I need to find an extra go board, be back in a minute."
"Something seriously weird is going on." said Waya.
* * *
"Yuuki," Yaeko said finally, "We've played for fish twice, entered the manga club's raffle, and eaten far more deep fried food thean is healthy. Either we visit that blasted go booth or we go home."
"Fine, lets head home. I didn't want to come anyway."
Yaeko rolled her eyes. Of all the bratty brothers, surely she was stuck with the brattiest. Didn't he know that she was doing this for him? Ever since last semester when she'd taken that intro psychology class and realized that her family was seriously dysfunctional, Yaeko had been doing her best to help, not that they recognized it. Yuuki was the worst. It was so obvious that he had unresolved issues with his old junior high go club, issues that until he worked out would haunt him for life. It was critical that he confront them. Otherwise how could Yaeko live with herself as a human being? And there was the matter of the Akari girl.
"Let's just stop over by the booth briefly, okay. It's that way, isn't it?"
"Sis . . ." said Yuuki menacingly.
"Or, you can go home and I can see if Fujisaki's there. I'd love to meet that girl, the one you keep a picture of, hidden in your sock drawer." There were benefits to being the person responsible for laundry.
"Just a few minutes, then we leave. Got it?" Yuuki growled.
But Yaeko wasn't listening. Her eyes were riveted at one of the three males seated behind the go table. He was slender, and tall, with such soft dark hair, such a aristocratic nose, such dreamy eyes. Yaeko sighed despite herself.
"Yuuki, who's that player on the end?"
"I don't know," said Yuuki in an absentminded voice, he'd spotted Akari.
"What do you mean, you don't know? It's your old go team."
"I don't know any of them. No, wait, the younger guy with the straight hair . . . Oh no, they're all Shindou's go friends."
"Shindou? That settles it. It's high time you confronted that guy. If his friends are here, he's bound to be around. I know, ask the cute older one for a lesson."
"And you're doing this all for my mental health?" Yuuki sighed.
"Well, of course, why else? Come on, he's open now. Move fast or someone will beat us to him."
"Mitani-kun." said Akari as they approached, not seeming the least bit surprised. Yuuki began overcompensating by attempting to be cool. Yaeko would have to explain to him later that did not make him attractive to the opposite sex.
"I was around and I thought I'd try for a quick lesson, with . . . " his eyes met the youngest player on the end, and Yaeko could almost feel the displacement activity. She gave Yuuki a light kick in the shin to re-focus him. It worked.
" - whoever you are," and he pointed at the appropriate dreamboat.
"Isumi Shinichiro." the man said, and lowered his eyelids demurely. Yaeko gave Yuuki a subtle, but sharp nudge.
"I'm Mitani, this is my sister, Mitani." Nudge. "Mitani Yaeko." He sat down. "Give me a hard problem, I'll see if I can solve it."
Yaeko watched as Isumi placed a row of black stones around a circle of whites. "Is there anyway for white to survive?" he asked and Yuuki leaned over to study the board.
"You're Mitani?" asked the straight haired boy, a curious look on his face. "Your rival was here earlier."
"My rival? From the way you acted at that one tournament, Touya-san, I'd have thought Shindou was your rival." Yuuki turned to the third boy and said in a conspiratorial manner, "Touya-san threw a major fit in the middle of the game because Shindou wasn't playing good enough. I could have told him Shindou sucked."
Yuuki placed a black stone just outside the whites circle. Isumi placed one nearby and they continued placing stones until Isumi took all the stones Yuuki had placed, plus a few more. It didn't make any sense to Yaeko, but she did note that Isumi's hands were both delicate and purposeful in their movements.
"You had the right idea." said Isumi, "Want to have another go at it?"
Yuuki nodded and they began to rearrange the stones.
"But I thought Shindou was a really strong player," said Yaeko, "I mean, he always seemed to win the games at the cafe."
"Shindou played go at a cafe?" asked Isumi.
"On the internet," Yaeko explained, "I used to let him play for free on the days I worked. He came in all the time one summer break. It must have been over four years ago."
"What?" the boy with the spiky hair was suddenly very alert, "Do you remember what handle he used to use?"
"Handle? Oh, you mean his online name." Yaeko thought out loud, "It was San or Sal or -"
"Sai?" he'd jumped out of his chair by this point, "was it Sai?"
"Sai, yes, I think that was it. I thought he was really good for such a little kid."
"Sai." the boy said again.
"What about Sai?"
Yaeko turned around to see Shindou. She hadn't seen him in years, but he still had that skater half bleached hair. She felt a pang of sadness for her brother. Shindou had been cute as a junior high schooler, but he'd gotten downright sexy, in that rugged action star sort of way. If Fujisaki indeed had a crush on Shindou, Yuuki wasn't going to be able to steal her away based on looks alone, and Yaeko didn't have much faith in her brother's personality.
"What about Sai?" Shindou repeated, he was holding two plates of skewered meat products.
"We need to talk," and the agitated boy practically dragged him away.
Yaeko leaned over her brother until her elbow was at his neck height. Nudge.
"Um, I need to talk to Shindou too." said Yuuki, "Thanks for the game, Isumi-san."
Yaeko took the seat her brother had just vacated and smiled.
"What's with your friend, Isumi-san?" she asked curiously, and hoped her lipstick hadn't faded.
"Waya's been trying to figure out Sai's real world identity for years." Isumi said. "And he just found out it was one of his closest friends. Big surprise, huh Touya? That means Shindou has one more win on you than you thought."
"I figured out who was behind Sai a long time back. Waya played Sai on the internet, he should have been able to solve the mystery simply through his matches with Shindou" Touya said in an offhanded manner.
"Don't be so smug," said Isumi evenly, clearly showing himself to be above such pettiness, "Waya doesn't have your unbreakable bond of rivalry."
Touya said nothing and went back to the problem his pupil was trying to solve. Yaeko's psychology Spider-sense was tingling, but really, she couldn't be expected to solve everyone's hidden conflicts, could she?
* * *
"There, that was the correct sequence of moves. Nicely done." Akira complimented the teenage girl he had been working with. "Have you ever considering trying a real game? Perhaps you could come by and attend the club's practices."
Through a fit of giggles, the girl shook her head and scurried away.
"Lost another one, sorry Fujisaki-san." Akira apologized.
"No, Touya-san. You've been doing wonderfully."
Better than the still absent Shindou, Akira was sure she'd want to say. But she just smiled.
Akira had met Fujisaki only a handful of times, but he had judged her to be one of those sweet girls, the type all good Japanese males wanted desperately for a wife. Bully for Shindou.
"That's utterly fascinating," Akira overheard Mitani's sister say to Isumi, "You don't suppose he's got some sort of split personality thing going on? I don't have abnormal psych until next semester, but I remember reading an article in Cosmo . . . Say, do you have any free time free after this? There's this marvelous coffee shop just down the street and you could show me more about this game. I've always wanted to learn how to play go."
"Haze Junior High certainly had a colorful student body," said Akira, hoping she didn't take it the wrong way.
"Kaio had its share of nonconformists too, I recall," said a college-aged man who slid into the vacant chair before Akira, "When you were around, they all came out of the woodwork."
He was terribly good looking, with a refined polish that gave him a dangerous air. Akira noted that he no longer wore glasses, but otherwise the ex-first board of Kaio's junior high go team hadn't changed much. Apparently, Shindou wasn't the only one cursed with confronting old classmates today.
"Kishimoto-sempai," Akira said by way of greeting.
"Sempai?" Kishimoto raised an eyebrow. "Meaning you're continuing with your education despite your pro status? Impressive, but then you were always impressive, weren't you?"
There was a faint red color to Kishimoto's cheeks and nose. Akira wondered if he'd been drinking. He was certainly old enough.
"What are you doing here?" asked Kishimoto, beating Akira to the question.
"I asked him to come," said Fujisaki, and Akira was grateful for the sincerity in her voice.
"And you?" Akira countered.
"Same. Girlfriend's a student teacher here." Kishimoto said in an offhand manner.
Touya was about to correct the man's implied assumption, but Kishimoto kept talking.
"This must bring back memories for you, surrounded by players of such marginal skill in comparison to your own. Bet you're bored silly, just like you were in our little go club."
"I wasn't bored." Akira insisted.
"Only because you weren't really in our club, you were just spending your afternoons in the far corner of our room, with all our games and matches no more to you than the buzzing of insects in the background. Sorry, sake always makes me wax poetic. Don't get me wrong, I think if you had interacted with us it would have been far more damaging."
There was truth in Kishimoto's recounting of Akira's days with the Kaio junior high club. Akira's memories of that time were a mix of anticipation and expectations for his coming match with Shindou. He had been aware that his goals put pressure on the team, upsetting the natural order of their world. But really, beyond his go ability, he was an insignificant seventh grader, although he knew better than to goad the man with that point.
"Does the great Touya-sensei ever play go with you? Not teaching games, I mean to win?" Kishimoto turned to Fujisaki, who silently shook her head. "Then you wouldn't know, its only when a person goes head to head with another, its only when you see your opponent effortlessly counter your every move, crush your every advancement that you can really see the gulf between yourself and them.
"That was the real reason why our vice-president quit. Not because of humiliation at having lost a blind go game with you, or because he got caught at his unsavory tactics. He just came face to face with the reality that after three years of training and devotion to the game, he was nowhere near, and never would be at your level. Discouraging, isn't it?"
"That's not fair," said Fujisaki, coming to his defense, "Just because he's really good -"
"Really good?" Kishimoto let out a derisive snort, "Really good is the old guy that cleans up at the go Salon every Saturday. What you are, Touya Akira, is an abnormality. Even among the pros I suspect you're something extraordinary."
"I . . ." Akira's protest died on his lips. Kishismoto's words were complementary after all, even if his intent was not.
"On some level, though, it must be frustrating. I mean, when your naturally that gifted, where's the challenge? Is that why you went all delusional about that Haze student? Were you so desperate for someone to pace yourself against that you elevated some second rate player to be your rival? What was his name . . ."
"Shindou." said Akira. Behind Kishimoto, flanked by Waya and that Mitani kid, was Shindou. His lips were pursed, and his eyes held the intensity he usually reserved for go matches. How long had he been standing there?
"Shindou. That's sounds about right." said Kishimoto, once again misinterpreting the situation. "Last I heard he was going to try and get into the Insei. Do you suppose he ever did?"
He didn't know? It was possible he'd missed seeing Shindou's qualifying for the pros. But Shindou had been written up in the go press several times since then. Perhaps Kishimoto hadn't recognized the name?
"You quit playing go." Said Shindou.
Kishimoto turned so Akira couldn't see his expression, but his shoulders were tense and his hand clenched slightly.
"You didn't even play in high school, did you?" Shindou advanced to the table and Kishimoto turned his head back and forth between Shindou and Akira, looking trapped.
"And you base this assumption on . . .? Let me guess, you're a pro player now and I didn't know it? Did you think it's maybe because the go magazines are second rate journalism that I don't bother to read?"
"No," said Shindou.
Akira caught just the faintest half grin on Shindou's lips, although he doubted anyone who hadn't logged long hours at a go board with the boy would have seen it. It was all the look that Shindou would allow himself when he'd figured out how to win the game. It was a look that Akira had learned to be careful around.
"I base it on your having a completely whacked view of the game. I'd guess you hadn't touched a go stone in years if you think that Touya's got it that easy."
"Oh, I see." Kishimoto sneered, but Shindou didn't even flinch. "You've succeed in catching up with him and now the two of you are caught in an never ending struggle to see who's the best? Were you an undiscovered go genius after all?"
"Being a go genius doesn't even get you out of the preliminary go pro trials, or into the first class of the Insei. Do you think you didn't advance because of talent?"
"What?" Kishimoto's face was red, no longer from just sake.
"Shindou," said Waya, "I remember playing this guy, he wasn't that strong."
"Kishimoto-san wasn't strong because he never pushed himself past the point where it was easy for him. He got into the Insei and played second class, but quit when he couldn't make it in the first class, he played junior high school go, and I'll bet he quit when he had to start playing high schoolers."
"What would you know about it?"
All the smoothness was gone from the man's voice. He pushed himself away from the table and stood squarely before Shindou. Kishimoto had a good three inches on him. I'm taller than Kishimoto now, Akira realized.
"I know that not one of us," Shindou said, not fazed by Kishimoto's height, "not even Akari, and certainly not Touya-san hasn't had to work for every improvement in go skills. Bet you still play like you did in junior high. Want me to prove it?"
"How? Is there some special pro trick that allow you to judge my abilities?"
"Sure," said Shindou, cheerfully. Meaning he'd already won, Shindou never relaxed, not even in yose. "You're going to play Mitani."
"Who?" asked Kishimoto, at the same time that Mitani said:
"What?"
"Remember how he completely wiped the floor with you that one tournament?" Shindou turned to Mitani, the good natured smile back on his face, "If he beats you again, it means that he's improved, or that you haven't gotten any stronger since junior high."
"I've gotten way better since then!"
"Then, it's the perfect test. Let him have your seat, Touya."
Akira stood and moved to the side of the table.
"I don't see why I have to get dragged into a go game to prove your point," protested Mitani.
"Yuuki!" came the voice of the other Mitani, "You're going to play the game. It will be good for you."
Mitani gulped and did as he was told. Akira gave silent thanks for being an only child. Kishimoto looked as if he would protest, but returned to his seat. They nigiri'd, and Mitani took black.
"Hey, Touya." Shindou whispered in his ear, "Let's go."
"Huh, what? Aren't you interested in seeing who wins."
"Mitani, no contest. Look, the guy's sweating already. Come on."
Without waiting to see if he would follow, Shindou took off. Fujisaki looked like she wanted to run after him, but instead she turned to Akira and gave him a half smile and shrug. The others, focused on the opening moves, didn't notice as Akira slipped away.
"Where are we going?" Akira asked as he caught up to Shindou.
"The magic club looked like they had some really good ramen."
"You won't have any room for dinner."
"Oh, I thought I'd disappear before then."
"What?"
"I bet they all go out in a group afterwards, so they won't miss me." Shindou was smiling, but not fully. "'sides, it would be awkward, me and Mitani, and me and Waya. He's still riled about the whole internet go thing, best to give him a few days."
They found the stand and Shindou paid for the meals before Akira could get out his wallet. They sat down at the picnic table nearby and started eating.
Were these intentional actions on Shindou's part? Akira wondered. Sometimes Shindou seemed to set up moves in advance, just like in go, and other times, he'd simply dig himself deeper and deeper. But, even then, he could sometimes make a good move out of a bad one. Akira decided to say nothing for now.
"Mitani's going to owe me after today." said Shindou presently, "He gets a rematch against Kaio and goes out to dinner with Akari. Probably gets his sister off his back too. He was telling me about her, she's gotten weird."
"Shouldn't you be setting Mitani-san up with Kaneko-san?"
"Nope, it's Akari he's in love with. Probably since middle school."
But Fujisaki's in love with you, thought Akira. Could Shindou not realize it?
"Did Mitani tell you that too?" he asked instead.
"When a guy is that desperately in love with someone, you'd have to be blind not to see it. Since Akari's the one he's interested in, it must be even more obvious. No way a person could miss that." The way Shindou phrased the words, it was as if he was trying to make the comment seem offhanded. Or maybe Akira was just reading into it.
"But," he tried to say lightly, "what if the interest isn't returned."
"Then it gets complicated." This was not said in anything near an offhanded manner. Shindou was staring expectantly at Akira, waiting for him to make the next move.
And Akira was at a loss.
He had to be talking about Fujisaki. Shindou must mean that he wasn't interested in her and perhaps he was looking to Akira for advise. But why not say her name? Why not ask Isumi who was probably far more experienced in these manners? Why had Shindou made it a point to show him around the festival earlier today? Why had he stood up to Kishimoto on Akira's behalf? Why, whenever Akira had made up his mind on how he regarded Shindou, did Shindou catch him completely off guard, with a simple look, a carefully chosen word, a deviously placed stone?
It was a long moment. The whole situation was unexpected, and beyond him. He couldn't deal with it now, and looked away.
"It's nearly six." said Shindou, and the silence was broken. "Don't you have to be somewhere?"
"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry about this." Akira stood up and gave a small bow, secretly grateful for the ability to retreat for now.
"Don't be," Shindou seemed completely at ease, as if the previous conversation hadn't meant anything. Maybe it hadn't. "We're still meeting on Tuesday evening at the go salon, right?"
"Sure," Nothing had changed after all. And that was what Akira wanted, wasn't it?
"Good, we're rivals after all." Shindou walked out of the stand and headed back in the direction of the go club's demonstration area.
"You're comfortable still using that term?" Akira called after him.
"I'm not going to stop using it because some girl's given it shojou implications, if that's what you mean. See ya, Touya."
"Goodbye, Shindou."
Shindou waved, but didn't turn around. In a moment he'd disappeared in the crowd. Akira sighed and headed in the opposite direction.
Nothing had changed. Shindou didn't suspect, and even if he momentarily had, Akira hadn't revealed anything.
"Waya-san," and a hand fell on his shoulder. "You know, you're not fooling anyone."
Akira jumped a foot. It was the crazy ex go player from before. In the light of the setting sun he looked even more maniacal.
"You put up a good face at the stand. Honestly, I barely suspected it then. But just now, with Shindou there. I could tell, just from your body language. Didn't even need to hear the two of you, although it was nice to confirm it for sure."
"I . . . don't . . ." Akira glanced nervously from side to side. It wouldn't be terribly mature, but he could try to outrun the guy.
"I'm afraid you've been found out, Touya Akira." And he let out a thundering laugh.
He had been talking about his identity. Akira blinked feeling both relief and astonishment.
"It was a good try. But, I'd have tracked you down eventually. I must have really riled you with my quantum computer talk, huh?"
"Oh, yes. Completely," Akira assured him.
"Sorry, it's the way Moore's law works. Enjoy your days in the sun while they last." He seemed to swagger as he left. Akira wondered if the Americans knew what they were in for.
It was getting late and Akira needed to get home. Ogata-sensei was coming by for a friendly match, and Akira was looking forward to a battle where he knew the rules of engagement.
* * *
Author's notes and apologies:
I haven't read past Manga 17, so apologies if I've got some of the relationships or the state of the Go club wrong.
As far as Kaga goes. I've assumed he's quite brilliant (Tsutsui made the comment that Kaga didn't have to study for his high school qualifying exams) He's also a freshman in college and over enthusiastic about the progress of science, physics in particular.
The best current computer go programs can barely beat medium ability amateur players. The difficulty lies in the number of possible moves that can be played at each turn. Computational-wise, go is at least an order of magnitude more difficult than chess, and it took IBM a long time before they came up with a computer that could beat Kasparov (and the IBM guys still tweaked it to be strong against Kasparov's particular weakness.)
A quantum computer, if they ever figure out how to make one, would carry out a mind boggling number of computations simultaneously (don't ask me how) and could conceivably, with the right programming be able to predict all possible configurations of a go game to choose a winning strategy. But the physicists are a long ways from even making early prototypes.
Moore's law, by the way is that computer's abilities double every five years.
Finally, I needed a bad guy for conflict purposes, so I grabbed Kishimoto. He's not such a petty character in either the manga or anime, but I've always thought it was rather convent that he motivated Shindou to try for the Insei, with the results being another tournament win for Kaio.
When I started this, I was planning on concluding it here, but have sense developed a few more ideas, I'll have to see if they work out on paper. From now on, I'm keeping an end in mind, otherwise the short sketch keeps growing and growing.