A game is made up of rules. They could be simplistic or complex but
usually the foremost not the latter. What makes each game different though
is not just the rules but also the players. They are the brains, heart,
and driving force. It is the players that stretch and bend the rules.
They test the limits of society with their skills for it is society that
makes them.
Each generation is different, some dimmer while a few brighter. The stars are the only things lasting from one generation to another, the giants at which all others stand upon. Even as some stars become one with the night sky, forgotten in the void of the universe, another star is born to replace the fallen giant.
Staring out the window, one such giant slept. The train with its constant rhythm and hum lure those in its grasp to sleep. Sleep was a wonderful thing though. It can help the body heal, let a person be what they are not and for a few that can control their sub-conscious, a teacher.
For Touya Akira, this was a mixed gift. To be able to remember every moment of his life, every game he has ever played helped the young protégé excelled where others struggle. To replay each game he lost as he slept increased his chances of winning the next time he met his opponent.
Yet karma is a bitch.
The sound of thunder roared in the distance, loud enough to wake the newly crowned Honinbou titleholder, the youngest in history. It was days like this that made having a photographic memory a burden. What good was slaving over past games, trying to improve yourself, waiting to take the game to the opponent that had humbled you when that same opponent never graced the other side of the goban you patiently waited at?
Watching each drop fall from the skies, Akira sighed, lost in fragments of his past. "Shindou. Why must you frustrate me so?" he whispered to himself. Closing his eyes for a second, Akira let his eyes become unfocused to the point that each droplet seemed to resemble that of the stones, which had catapulted him to the top. Those black and white ovals that lead Akira back to the events that changed his life forever.
* * * * *
"Should I become a pro?" chibi-Akira asked himself. Any other thoughts that would have filled the twelve year old was dashed as the commotion up front interrupted him.
"100 yen!" the young child shouted.
Those words forever changed his life, not because they had any special meaning but rather, they created the first sentence he heard from the enigma known as Shindou Hikaru.
"I lost," Akira muttered to himself moments later.
"I lost," cried a rain soaked Akira.
"Play me!" shouted Akira. "Why do you run from me?" Akira shouted to his rival as he disappeared behind a cloth curtain.
"Stop playing around!" a frustrated Akira shouted as he wiped away his tears.
"White has the strength of a pro, is he the Korean?" Akira asked. "White was Shindou?"
"I lost," Akira muttered, looking at the electronic goban.
"You're Sai, aren't you Shindou?" Akira declared. "Play me now!"
"Sai, who are you?"
"Dad, dad is playing Sai?"
"Why must my thoughts keep going back to Shindou?"
"He lost, dad lost!"
"Retire?"
"Shuusaku?"
"Missing?"
"He ran away from home?"
* * * * *
"Why did you run away Shindou?" Akira asked the memory of his one time rival.
"I've waited for so long. Why did you have to run away? 5 more months was all I needed."
Each generation is different, some dimmer while a few brighter. The stars are the only things lasting from one generation to another, the giants at which all others stand upon. Even as some stars become one with the night sky, forgotten in the void of the universe, another star is born to replace the fallen giant.
Staring out the window, one such giant slept. The train with its constant rhythm and hum lure those in its grasp to sleep. Sleep was a wonderful thing though. It can help the body heal, let a person be what they are not and for a few that can control their sub-conscious, a teacher.
For Touya Akira, this was a mixed gift. To be able to remember every moment of his life, every game he has ever played helped the young protégé excelled where others struggle. To replay each game he lost as he slept increased his chances of winning the next time he met his opponent.
Yet karma is a bitch.
The sound of thunder roared in the distance, loud enough to wake the newly crowned Honinbou titleholder, the youngest in history. It was days like this that made having a photographic memory a burden. What good was slaving over past games, trying to improve yourself, waiting to take the game to the opponent that had humbled you when that same opponent never graced the other side of the goban you patiently waited at?
Watching each drop fall from the skies, Akira sighed, lost in fragments of his past. "Shindou. Why must you frustrate me so?" he whispered to himself. Closing his eyes for a second, Akira let his eyes become unfocused to the point that each droplet seemed to resemble that of the stones, which had catapulted him to the top. Those black and white ovals that lead Akira back to the events that changed his life forever.
* * * * *
"Should I become a pro?" chibi-Akira asked himself. Any other thoughts that would have filled the twelve year old was dashed as the commotion up front interrupted him.
"100 yen!" the young child shouted.
Those words forever changed his life, not because they had any special meaning but rather, they created the first sentence he heard from the enigma known as Shindou Hikaru.
"I lost," Akira muttered to himself moments later.
"I lost," cried a rain soaked Akira.
"Play me!" shouted Akira. "Why do you run from me?" Akira shouted to his rival as he disappeared behind a cloth curtain.
"Stop playing around!" a frustrated Akira shouted as he wiped away his tears.
"White has the strength of a pro, is he the Korean?" Akira asked. "White was Shindou?"
"I lost," Akira muttered, looking at the electronic goban.
"You're Sai, aren't you Shindou?" Akira declared. "Play me now!"
"Sai, who are you?"
"Dad, dad is playing Sai?"
"Why must my thoughts keep going back to Shindou?"
"He lost, dad lost!"
"Retire?"
"Shuusaku?"
"Missing?"
"He ran away from home?"
* * * * *
"Why did you run away Shindou?" Akira asked the memory of his one time rival.
"I've waited for so long. Why did you have to run away? 5 more months was all I needed."