Notes: Thanks to Sheree and Amanda for betaing. All mistakes are my own.
Jigo: A drawn game.
Chapter 2
Kikashi: A forcing move, usually made outside the main flow of play. Often answered, then ignored; to be used later in the game.
Two days after I moved in with Shindou, I had my first game since father's death with Isumi 6-dan.
As with all the games that Isumi played, a crowd of female fans arrived before I did. Shindou said that Isumi was too handsome for his own good. But it is more than that. I have seen Isumi play since we were both lower dan, and in all this time Isumi has not learned to hide his emotions. All his intensity, all his concentration is always raging on the surface. And it draws spectators into its storm… but it hurts his game, if his opponent is wise enough to watch Isumi's face when they play.
I have never looked at him when we played.
"Touya-san." Isumi nodded at me when I sat down across from him.
"Isumi-san." I nodded back. We sat in silence after that until the beginning of the game was announced.
But by the time he placed his tenth stone, I knew . . . I saw it in the way he moved his hand. I saw it in the way he placed his stones. It did not matter that I did not see his face. I knew anyway.
When I was seven, my mother miscarried, and a week later, father won his third title against Ino-sensei. When I was looking over their kifu, father came over and sat down next to me.
"Do you know why he lost, Akira?" Father asked me.
"He defended his territory here when he should have attacked."
"Yes, that was one of his mistakes." Father smiled, but his face quickly became stern again. "But the real reason he lost was because he is too nice."
"Too nice?"
"It is a fatal flaw in pros." Father sighed and put his hand on my shoulders.
"Did he let you win?"
"No. But all the same, he lost because he felt sorry for me."
Three weeks after Ino-sensei's loss, he retired.
"I resign," Isumi said.
"Already?" a female voice said somewhere near by.
"Shush!"
"But they just started!"
"Shush!"
"Thank you for the game."
"Thank you for the game." Isumi 6-dan will remain 6-dan a while longer.
***
The day after my match with Isumi 6-dan, Shindou looked over our kifu.
"He's too nice, isn't he?" Shindou said. He was eating a piece of toast, and the crumbs scattered across the kifu. "He thinks too much about his opponent when he's playing; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost so quickly."
"Would you have thought about my father's death if you were playing against me in that match?" I asked. We have not played a match against each other since father died.
"No. I wouldn't have remembered anything but the game itself," Shindou used his index finger to pick up the crumbs on the kifu. "It's the only time I can feel like I'm not so alone…" His bangs fell over his eyes, so I could not see them, but I knew…
"Shindou--"
He looked up, smiled widely at me, and said, "The Amateur Go competition is coming up; are you going to go?"
I bit back my words, and accepted the change of topic.
"I have not been invited." They have not invited me to help out since I was a 4-dan.
"Neither have I," came the reply as Shindou started to fold up the kifu, "you know they only invite lower dan because the higher dan are always so busy with title matches and league competitions that week. I go anyways because some of my friends always show up."
The Amateur Competition was marked on our schedules, but I have never thought to go.
"You should go with me. 'Cause, you know, sometimes watching amateur games can be really exciting. You keep on wondering if one of the players is going to make a move that you would make." Shindou's eyes were on me again. "And there are some really unconventional ways of playing, and I always learn a lot."
"You have a match against Ogata-san that day," I said.
"OH! I completely forgot they were on the same date!" Shindou rammed his open palm against his forehead. "And I told Kawai-san I would go! Darn it! He was so excited to be able to make it to the competition this year too!"
"Who is Kawai-san?"
"He's a nice guy I met at a Go Salon! He helped me out when I was studying for the pro exams. He's helped me out since too. And he does this--" Shindou reached out his hand towards my head, but reversed direction mid motion and put his hand on his own head instead and ruffled his hair.
"I'm so busy with competition now I haven't played with him in a long time," Shindou said. "He really wanted a game with me. Do you think Ogata-san will be mad if I rescheduled the game?"
"Of course he will be! He requested the game with you outside of regular competition in between his title matches. It would be unfair of you to ask him to change."
Shindou's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you are right. It wouldn't be fair to Ogata-san. I just hate to disappoint Kawai-san. He's been very kind to me…"
"I will go and play Kawai-san if you want."
Shindou's eyes widened visibly. "You are not going to come and watch my game with Ogata-san?"
He knew. Of course he knew, how can I be so foolish to think otherwise. I was scheduled to play Ogata for the Honinbou title in a month.
"You can replay the game for me afterwards," I said.
Shindou's mouth fell open at my answer, and I felt dizzy. He does not know me at all. We have been rivals for nearly a decade and he hardly knows me at all outside of go.
"Will you really play Kawai-san at the amateur competition?" The kifu that Shindou had been looking at slipped off the go table. "I mean it would probably help him out a lot. He's not a great player, but he tries very hard… and he--"
"I already said I will--"
"Thank you, Touya-kun." Shindou stood up and bowed to me. He has never bowed to me that way. Not even when he lost a game.
~TBC
Jigo: A drawn game.
Chapter 2
Kikashi: A forcing move, usually made outside the main flow of play. Often answered, then ignored; to be used later in the game.
Two days after I moved in with Shindou, I had my first game since father's death with Isumi 6-dan.
As with all the games that Isumi played, a crowd of female fans arrived before I did. Shindou said that Isumi was too handsome for his own good. But it is more than that. I have seen Isumi play since we were both lower dan, and in all this time Isumi has not learned to hide his emotions. All his intensity, all his concentration is always raging on the surface. And it draws spectators into its storm… but it hurts his game, if his opponent is wise enough to watch Isumi's face when they play.
I have never looked at him when we played.
"Touya-san." Isumi nodded at me when I sat down across from him.
"Isumi-san." I nodded back. We sat in silence after that until the beginning of the game was announced.
But by the time he placed his tenth stone, I knew . . . I saw it in the way he moved his hand. I saw it in the way he placed his stones. It did not matter that I did not see his face. I knew anyway.
When I was seven, my mother miscarried, and a week later, father won his third title against Ino-sensei. When I was looking over their kifu, father came over and sat down next to me.
"Do you know why he lost, Akira?" Father asked me.
"He defended his territory here when he should have attacked."
"Yes, that was one of his mistakes." Father smiled, but his face quickly became stern again. "But the real reason he lost was because he is too nice."
"Too nice?"
"It is a fatal flaw in pros." Father sighed and put his hand on my shoulders.
"Did he let you win?"
"No. But all the same, he lost because he felt sorry for me."
Three weeks after Ino-sensei's loss, he retired.
"I resign," Isumi said.
"Already?" a female voice said somewhere near by.
"Shush!"
"But they just started!"
"Shush!"
"Thank you for the game."
"Thank you for the game." Isumi 6-dan will remain 6-dan a while longer.
***
The day after my match with Isumi 6-dan, Shindou looked over our kifu.
"He's too nice, isn't he?" Shindou said. He was eating a piece of toast, and the crumbs scattered across the kifu. "He thinks too much about his opponent when he's playing; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost so quickly."
"Would you have thought about my father's death if you were playing against me in that match?" I asked. We have not played a match against each other since father died.
"No. I wouldn't have remembered anything but the game itself," Shindou used his index finger to pick up the crumbs on the kifu. "It's the only time I can feel like I'm not so alone…" His bangs fell over his eyes, so I could not see them, but I knew…
"Shindou--"
He looked up, smiled widely at me, and said, "The Amateur Go competition is coming up; are you going to go?"
I bit back my words, and accepted the change of topic.
"I have not been invited." They have not invited me to help out since I was a 4-dan.
"Neither have I," came the reply as Shindou started to fold up the kifu, "you know they only invite lower dan because the higher dan are always so busy with title matches and league competitions that week. I go anyways because some of my friends always show up."
The Amateur Competition was marked on our schedules, but I have never thought to go.
"You should go with me. 'Cause, you know, sometimes watching amateur games can be really exciting. You keep on wondering if one of the players is going to make a move that you would make." Shindou's eyes were on me again. "And there are some really unconventional ways of playing, and I always learn a lot."
"You have a match against Ogata-san that day," I said.
"OH! I completely forgot they were on the same date!" Shindou rammed his open palm against his forehead. "And I told Kawai-san I would go! Darn it! He was so excited to be able to make it to the competition this year too!"
"Who is Kawai-san?"
"He's a nice guy I met at a Go Salon! He helped me out when I was studying for the pro exams. He's helped me out since too. And he does this--" Shindou reached out his hand towards my head, but reversed direction mid motion and put his hand on his own head instead and ruffled his hair.
"I'm so busy with competition now I haven't played with him in a long time," Shindou said. "He really wanted a game with me. Do you think Ogata-san will be mad if I rescheduled the game?"
"Of course he will be! He requested the game with you outside of regular competition in between his title matches. It would be unfair of you to ask him to change."
Shindou's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you are right. It wouldn't be fair to Ogata-san. I just hate to disappoint Kawai-san. He's been very kind to me…"
"I will go and play Kawai-san if you want."
Shindou's eyes widened visibly. "You are not going to come and watch my game with Ogata-san?"
He knew. Of course he knew, how can I be so foolish to think otherwise. I was scheduled to play Ogata for the Honinbou title in a month.
"You can replay the game for me afterwards," I said.
Shindou's mouth fell open at my answer, and I felt dizzy. He does not know me at all. We have been rivals for nearly a decade and he hardly knows me at all outside of go.
"Will you really play Kawai-san at the amateur competition?" The kifu that Shindou had been looking at slipped off the go table. "I mean it would probably help him out a lot. He's not a great player, but he tries very hard… and he--"
"I already said I will--"
"Thank you, Touya-kun." Shindou stood up and bowed to me. He has never bowed to me that way. Not even when he lost a game.
~TBC
