Fujiwara Chapter 6
AN: Thanks once again for all the reviews! Someone asked a very good question -- why does Naritada address Hikaru by his given name? Answer: Most people didn't HAVE family names in the Heian, and if they did, there was no need to mention them. Since literally a third of the court was Fujiwara, things would get terribly confusing if everyone called each other by their family name. People were most often referred to by a title instead, if they had one. If they didn't have one, they were called their first name or a nickname. (Lady Murasaki's real name is lost to time. Murasaki was a nickname based on the main female lead in Tale of Genji.) It wasn't until much later, when the majority of the Japanese population began taking second names, that the practice of politely referring to someone by their family name in the third person evolved ^_^
The wisteria have bloomed in Georgia. Carr's Hill here in Athens is totally covered with it. We're keeping the windows open since it's nature's air freshener ^_^ *inhales!* Ahh . . . that smells so GOOD . . .
Review thanks go to tdei (again! *glomps from Admin-chama*), Darke Angel, TJ, Kaitou Magician, Sakurayuki, chibisalee, Chibi Angel, Eowyn, (*gasp for breath, continue*) Darak, jeano, Murinae, Jenglory, Shan, Sakura-star-63, Dark Cyradis, Ryyan, Fangboy, Lady Astralis, Lara, Lauren-sama, Coronet, Ami, and Tenku-no-Sora. (*falls down, wheezing*) That's a lot of reviews! *passes out*
Disclaimer: They're not mine.
Myuuzu-chan's notes: I like the .hack//sign OST. Cat should listen to it more. *sniffle*
* * *
Akira had returned to the hotel in the vain hope that Hikaru might have returned to the room they were sharing with Waya and Isumi, but found only those two playing an afternoon game on Waya's laptop to while away the afternoon hours. Akira watched the game with interest; go was go, whether played on a kaya board or a pixelated screen.
"You're not on the network, are you?" Akira asked, peering at the game.
"Naw, we're just using a standard download program. This hotel doesn't have net access. Figures." Waya placed a stone, accompianied by an electronic "meep!". "I wanted to check my email. Ugh, it isn't fair!"
"Waya-kun's an email-aholic," Isumi said with a smile.
"Only because people send me really interesting things! That, and I'm on the "who is Sai?" mailing list still, and I could be missing out on an important clue to his identify."
"There's a Sai mailing list?" Akira asked, surprised. He hadn't thought about the strange person who'd won against his father in quite some time, until Isumi had mentioned him earlier that afternoon. "You all are still searching for that person?"
"That person remains an elusive ghost. No one has seen him since that last game the Meijin -- Touya-san's father, that is -- played against him. But that just makes me more determined to find out who he is. Isumi-kun, it's your turn."
"I know, I know," Isumi said, a look of fierce concentration upon his face.
Waya sighed and leaned back, sipping a cola. "But the list HAS slowed down in the last couple of months. It's old news. Only a few people are doggedly trying to track him down now. You know Ogata-san? He hounds every member of the list, demanding any information that they have about him."
"No one knows anything besides his name," Akira objected. "And his skill."
"The god of igo," Isumi mumured, and placed a stone on the laptop.
"Don't start with that nonsense again, Isumi-kun," Akira said sharply. "Sai has only the most . . . tenuous connection with Shindou, and Sai has nothing to do with his disappearance."
Waya quickly placed another stone, and yawned. "Well, as long as he hasn't gotten arrested or anything, and he pays his share of the hotel bill, I can't complain that he's not hanging around. Sheesh, Shindou-kun can be so moody sometimes."
Akira felt that something important had just happened, and he had missed it. He stared at the screen of Waya's laptop, feeling the flow of the game in his mind, at the same time replaying the conversation of the past few minutes, trying to catch what he hadn't processed before.
That person remains an elusive ghost . . . the god of go.
"Isumi, it's your turn again! Play!"
"Stop being so impatient, Waya-kun."
Where had Hikaru gone?
* * *
His Majesty, the Emperor Ichijo, was about thirty years old. Because Hikaru's low rank technically did not allow him access to the divine presence of the god-emperor, His Majesty's face was nearly covered with a cowl, and he hid behind a fan. Hikaru had the vaguest feeling of playing someone online, since he couldn't read the Emperor's expressions.
Naritada and Michinaga, the Regent, stood close by and watched.
"The boy is remarkable," Naritada said to his cousin in a quiet voice. "His style of play is very unique, unlike anything I can recall, and yet his strength reminds me of Sai."
Michinaga said nothing, but looked at the game impassively. Normally around this time of day he would be playing with his grandchildren, the Crown Princes of Japan. Instead he was watching his son-in-law play a game against a veritable stranger, on the word of a cousin who had all but retired from the court recently.
Finally Michinaga spoke. "Where did he say he was from again?"
"From a village called Tokyo, Your Excellency."
"I have never heard of such a place."
"I assume it must be very far away then, Your Excellency." Naritada peered thoughtfuly at the board. "Now, see, that move is what I would have done, and what Sai would have done as well. I taught Sai to play go, if you recall."
"And created another dreamer in the court." Michinaga flipped open his fan and held it to his face, creating a sharp contrast against his darkly stained lips.
"Oh?" Naritada said with a smile. "Would you rather have a dreamer, or a schemer?"
"Dreams are as dangerous as schemes, when the dream pool's reflection accurately shows one's potential." Michinaga considered that last phrase again, and decided to add it to his journal in a poetic form later. " 'Does not the acorn dream of oak trees?' " he quoted.
"If it does, then the cherry blossoms must also dream of scattering on the wind," Naritada countered.
"The future is ahead of all of us." Michinaga chose not to argue the point. He peered closely at the game, which had progressed in absolute silence from both parties. Michinaga was good at go; everyone in the court was an adept player at least, but the game before him was higher than that. His son-in-law the Emperor was an exceptional player of his own right, yet the stranger's game was up to this point confident, assertive, and strong. Ichijo might have trouble winning the game.
"He shall have to play Tsuyujima after this," Naritada said. "That will be a most excellent matchup."
"I don't want a recreation of the events of four years ago," Michinaga warned. "Tsuyujima is jealous of his skill and position. He does not like interference."
"No, he doesn't," Naritada agreed softly. "He doesn't like competition at all."
* * *
The Emperor's skill was several levels above Naritada. Hikaru had to work much harder to concentrate. Not being able to see his opponent's face disturbed him, and the game was very close.
His legs were beginning to hurt from sitting in the formal position for so long. How had Sai done this, every day? Even during pro matches they at least had a break to stretch out their legs and return the circulation to their feet. Hikaru and the Emperor had been going for nearly two hours now, and as they approached the endgame, Hikaru had to resist the temptation drop into the more comfortable cross-legged position. To do so would have been utterly disrespectful toward the Emperor.
Hikaru placed a stone on the board, and let his fingers linger there for a moment as he studied the changes that the move had made on the matrix before them. Was it his imagination, or had a bit of the magic leaked out from his hands just then? A faint mote of light, but there nonetheless?
He was now winning by two moku, by his count. He should be able to increase the lead by another in the next few hands.
He grabbed his next stone in anticipation, when the Emperor spoke for the first time.
"Wonderful," he said from behind his fan, and Hikaru risked a glance up to catch the Emperor's eyes glittering from beneath the cowl. "This is the way that go is meant to be played."
Naritada had given Hikaru specific instructions not to speak to the Emperor, so he did not reply, but instead gave a sort of crooked smile in response.
"I have lost," the Emperor said then, surprising Hikaru. They weren't into the endgame yet; things could have still been turned around if he had made a mistake.
Unable to speak, Hikaru pointed to a spot on the board where the Emperor had gone a few turns before, then shook his head. He pointed to the place that would have been better with his fan, just like Sai had done when they played together, and nodded to show it was the best move at the time. Then he bowed low, and the Emperor bobbed slightly before Michinaga and an entire entourage of courtiers higher than the fifth rank gathered around them to study the game with interest.
"Oh, what an interesting shape!"
"I've never seen a game come out looking quite like this, Your Majesty."
Everyone fawned over the Emperor, who was, of course, infinitely more important than Hikaru in their eyes, but Naritada approached Hikaru instead and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Well done, young Hikaru-san," he said. "A beautiful game. I'm glad you were permitted to play the Emperor; he is the second most skilled in the court, behind Tsuyujima."
Hikaru remembered the sour faced man from before and shuddered.
"At any rate, you've impressed the Emperor. I can certainly see him granting you fifth rank status at the next festival, just so he can play with you again."
"He's a very good player," Hikaru admitted. "The game wasn't really finished yet."
"Oh? Do you think you would have lost?" Naritada grinned at the young man.
"No way!" Hikaru grinned and tapped his fan against his chin. "Well, if I made a mistake, he could have won."
"I have a feeling you're not the type of person to make mistakes in a game."
"Not anymore, anyway. You should have seen me when I first started! Why, S--" Hikaru cut off when he realized that he was about to explain how Sai had taught him the basics but never corrected mistakes until well after Hikaru had already made them. It forced Hikaru to see now only where the mistake had been made, but also WHY it was a mistake. As a learning tool, it had been utilized by go teachers for centuries.
"Everyone has to start somewhere. When did you learn to play go, Hikaru?"
"Only . . . three and a half years ago. Not that long at all." Hikaru adjusted his tate-eboshi again, and looked back to the cluster of courtiers around the Emperor. Suddenly, Tsuyujima caught his eye.
Hikaru bit his lip. The sour faced man was walking toward him.
Naritada gripped Hikaru's shoulder as Tsuyujima approached them. The other man bowed too low, almost sarcastically so, and gave Hikaru a sickly smile. Hikaru did not return it.
"Truly a match well played," Tsuyujima said. "Most impressive, if done with a strange style."
Hikaru gazed levelly at the other man, but said nothing.
Tsuyujima was unfazed. "I would like to play a game with you this evening," he said. Naritada tightened his grip on Hikaru's shoulder in warning.
This is the man that had Sai killed.
Suddenly Hikaru was angry, angry at the circumstances which had ruined Sai's life here in the Heian, angry at the politics that would have an innocent man killed just to protect someone else's power. At the center of his anger stood not Michinaga, who actually didn't seem like the man-eating beast history had made him out to be, but this man, this Tsuyujima, who had accused Sai of cheating to protect his own interests.
"If that is a challenge," Hikaru said quietly, "then I have no choice but to accept it."
* * *
End part six
* * *
AN: Thanks once again for all the reviews! Someone asked a very good question -- why does Naritada address Hikaru by his given name? Answer: Most people didn't HAVE family names in the Heian, and if they did, there was no need to mention them. Since literally a third of the court was Fujiwara, things would get terribly confusing if everyone called each other by their family name. People were most often referred to by a title instead, if they had one. If they didn't have one, they were called their first name or a nickname. (Lady Murasaki's real name is lost to time. Murasaki was a nickname based on the main female lead in Tale of Genji.) It wasn't until much later, when the majority of the Japanese population began taking second names, that the practice of politely referring to someone by their family name in the third person evolved ^_^
The wisteria have bloomed in Georgia. Carr's Hill here in Athens is totally covered with it. We're keeping the windows open since it's nature's air freshener ^_^ *inhales!* Ahh . . . that smells so GOOD . . .
Review thanks go to tdei (again! *glomps from Admin-chama*), Darke Angel, TJ, Kaitou Magician, Sakurayuki, chibisalee, Chibi Angel, Eowyn, (*gasp for breath, continue*) Darak, jeano, Murinae, Jenglory, Shan, Sakura-star-63, Dark Cyradis, Ryyan, Fangboy, Lady Astralis, Lara, Lauren-sama, Coronet, Ami, and Tenku-no-Sora. (*falls down, wheezing*) That's a lot of reviews! *passes out*
Disclaimer: They're not mine.
Myuuzu-chan's notes: I like the .hack//sign OST. Cat should listen to it more. *sniffle*
* * *
Akira had returned to the hotel in the vain hope that Hikaru might have returned to the room they were sharing with Waya and Isumi, but found only those two playing an afternoon game on Waya's laptop to while away the afternoon hours. Akira watched the game with interest; go was go, whether played on a kaya board or a pixelated screen.
"You're not on the network, are you?" Akira asked, peering at the game.
"Naw, we're just using a standard download program. This hotel doesn't have net access. Figures." Waya placed a stone, accompianied by an electronic "meep!". "I wanted to check my email. Ugh, it isn't fair!"
"Waya-kun's an email-aholic," Isumi said with a smile.
"Only because people send me really interesting things! That, and I'm on the "who is Sai?" mailing list still, and I could be missing out on an important clue to his identify."
"There's a Sai mailing list?" Akira asked, surprised. He hadn't thought about the strange person who'd won against his father in quite some time, until Isumi had mentioned him earlier that afternoon. "You all are still searching for that person?"
"That person remains an elusive ghost. No one has seen him since that last game the Meijin -- Touya-san's father, that is -- played against him. But that just makes me more determined to find out who he is. Isumi-kun, it's your turn."
"I know, I know," Isumi said, a look of fierce concentration upon his face.
Waya sighed and leaned back, sipping a cola. "But the list HAS slowed down in the last couple of months. It's old news. Only a few people are doggedly trying to track him down now. You know Ogata-san? He hounds every member of the list, demanding any information that they have about him."
"No one knows anything besides his name," Akira objected. "And his skill."
"The god of igo," Isumi mumured, and placed a stone on the laptop.
"Don't start with that nonsense again, Isumi-kun," Akira said sharply. "Sai has only the most . . . tenuous connection with Shindou, and Sai has nothing to do with his disappearance."
Waya quickly placed another stone, and yawned. "Well, as long as he hasn't gotten arrested or anything, and he pays his share of the hotel bill, I can't complain that he's not hanging around. Sheesh, Shindou-kun can be so moody sometimes."
Akira felt that something important had just happened, and he had missed it. He stared at the screen of Waya's laptop, feeling the flow of the game in his mind, at the same time replaying the conversation of the past few minutes, trying to catch what he hadn't processed before.
That person remains an elusive ghost . . . the god of go.
"Isumi, it's your turn again! Play!"
"Stop being so impatient, Waya-kun."
Where had Hikaru gone?
* * *
His Majesty, the Emperor Ichijo, was about thirty years old. Because Hikaru's low rank technically did not allow him access to the divine presence of the god-emperor, His Majesty's face was nearly covered with a cowl, and he hid behind a fan. Hikaru had the vaguest feeling of playing someone online, since he couldn't read the Emperor's expressions.
Naritada and Michinaga, the Regent, stood close by and watched.
"The boy is remarkable," Naritada said to his cousin in a quiet voice. "His style of play is very unique, unlike anything I can recall, and yet his strength reminds me of Sai."
Michinaga said nothing, but looked at the game impassively. Normally around this time of day he would be playing with his grandchildren, the Crown Princes of Japan. Instead he was watching his son-in-law play a game against a veritable stranger, on the word of a cousin who had all but retired from the court recently.
Finally Michinaga spoke. "Where did he say he was from again?"
"From a village called Tokyo, Your Excellency."
"I have never heard of such a place."
"I assume it must be very far away then, Your Excellency." Naritada peered thoughtfuly at the board. "Now, see, that move is what I would have done, and what Sai would have done as well. I taught Sai to play go, if you recall."
"And created another dreamer in the court." Michinaga flipped open his fan and held it to his face, creating a sharp contrast against his darkly stained lips.
"Oh?" Naritada said with a smile. "Would you rather have a dreamer, or a schemer?"
"Dreams are as dangerous as schemes, when the dream pool's reflection accurately shows one's potential." Michinaga considered that last phrase again, and decided to add it to his journal in a poetic form later. " 'Does not the acorn dream of oak trees?' " he quoted.
"If it does, then the cherry blossoms must also dream of scattering on the wind," Naritada countered.
"The future is ahead of all of us." Michinaga chose not to argue the point. He peered closely at the game, which had progressed in absolute silence from both parties. Michinaga was good at go; everyone in the court was an adept player at least, but the game before him was higher than that. His son-in-law the Emperor was an exceptional player of his own right, yet the stranger's game was up to this point confident, assertive, and strong. Ichijo might have trouble winning the game.
"He shall have to play Tsuyujima after this," Naritada said. "That will be a most excellent matchup."
"I don't want a recreation of the events of four years ago," Michinaga warned. "Tsuyujima is jealous of his skill and position. He does not like interference."
"No, he doesn't," Naritada agreed softly. "He doesn't like competition at all."
* * *
The Emperor's skill was several levels above Naritada. Hikaru had to work much harder to concentrate. Not being able to see his opponent's face disturbed him, and the game was very close.
His legs were beginning to hurt from sitting in the formal position for so long. How had Sai done this, every day? Even during pro matches they at least had a break to stretch out their legs and return the circulation to their feet. Hikaru and the Emperor had been going for nearly two hours now, and as they approached the endgame, Hikaru had to resist the temptation drop into the more comfortable cross-legged position. To do so would have been utterly disrespectful toward the Emperor.
Hikaru placed a stone on the board, and let his fingers linger there for a moment as he studied the changes that the move had made on the matrix before them. Was it his imagination, or had a bit of the magic leaked out from his hands just then? A faint mote of light, but there nonetheless?
He was now winning by two moku, by his count. He should be able to increase the lead by another in the next few hands.
He grabbed his next stone in anticipation, when the Emperor spoke for the first time.
"Wonderful," he said from behind his fan, and Hikaru risked a glance up to catch the Emperor's eyes glittering from beneath the cowl. "This is the way that go is meant to be played."
Naritada had given Hikaru specific instructions not to speak to the Emperor, so he did not reply, but instead gave a sort of crooked smile in response.
"I have lost," the Emperor said then, surprising Hikaru. They weren't into the endgame yet; things could have still been turned around if he had made a mistake.
Unable to speak, Hikaru pointed to a spot on the board where the Emperor had gone a few turns before, then shook his head. He pointed to the place that would have been better with his fan, just like Sai had done when they played together, and nodded to show it was the best move at the time. Then he bowed low, and the Emperor bobbed slightly before Michinaga and an entire entourage of courtiers higher than the fifth rank gathered around them to study the game with interest.
"Oh, what an interesting shape!"
"I've never seen a game come out looking quite like this, Your Majesty."
Everyone fawned over the Emperor, who was, of course, infinitely more important than Hikaru in their eyes, but Naritada approached Hikaru instead and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Well done, young Hikaru-san," he said. "A beautiful game. I'm glad you were permitted to play the Emperor; he is the second most skilled in the court, behind Tsuyujima."
Hikaru remembered the sour faced man from before and shuddered.
"At any rate, you've impressed the Emperor. I can certainly see him granting you fifth rank status at the next festival, just so he can play with you again."
"He's a very good player," Hikaru admitted. "The game wasn't really finished yet."
"Oh? Do you think you would have lost?" Naritada grinned at the young man.
"No way!" Hikaru grinned and tapped his fan against his chin. "Well, if I made a mistake, he could have won."
"I have a feeling you're not the type of person to make mistakes in a game."
"Not anymore, anyway. You should have seen me when I first started! Why, S--" Hikaru cut off when he realized that he was about to explain how Sai had taught him the basics but never corrected mistakes until well after Hikaru had already made them. It forced Hikaru to see now only where the mistake had been made, but also WHY it was a mistake. As a learning tool, it had been utilized by go teachers for centuries.
"Everyone has to start somewhere. When did you learn to play go, Hikaru?"
"Only . . . three and a half years ago. Not that long at all." Hikaru adjusted his tate-eboshi again, and looked back to the cluster of courtiers around the Emperor. Suddenly, Tsuyujima caught his eye.
Hikaru bit his lip. The sour faced man was walking toward him.
Naritada gripped Hikaru's shoulder as Tsuyujima approached them. The other man bowed too low, almost sarcastically so, and gave Hikaru a sickly smile. Hikaru did not return it.
"Truly a match well played," Tsuyujima said. "Most impressive, if done with a strange style."
Hikaru gazed levelly at the other man, but said nothing.
Tsuyujima was unfazed. "I would like to play a game with you this evening," he said. Naritada tightened his grip on Hikaru's shoulder in warning.
This is the man that had Sai killed.
Suddenly Hikaru was angry, angry at the circumstances which had ruined Sai's life here in the Heian, angry at the politics that would have an innocent man killed just to protect someone else's power. At the center of his anger stood not Michinaga, who actually didn't seem like the man-eating beast history had made him out to be, but this man, this Tsuyujima, who had accused Sai of cheating to protect his own interests.
"If that is a challenge," Hikaru said quietly, "then I have no choice but to accept it."
* * *
End part six
* * *