I haven't updated in ages but after I got good responses from my little
thing I have decided to continue and maybe even make previous chaps better.
Please remember I half wrote this 5 weeks ago and then now, so it might be
weird. And I stepped on my contact lenses this morning so. *sigh* I am
screwed, but I have finished my assignments so, go on R and R!
Chapter 3: Always with the hand
Hikaru's mother gaped for a second. Then pulled Hikaru's hand to her face and looked it over. 'Nandayo? I thought I saw blood on your hand! She dropped her sons' hand and turned mumbling about stress and required breaks.
Hikaru watched her for a second then, "But Okaasan there is blood on my-"he stopped. It was gone, nothing left of it at all.
Hikaru also decided that he needed rest, but not the 'in the house kind'. He grabbed his jacket and yelled back "I'm going out for a while" and closed the door behind him.
Hikaru didn't know where to go, so he just let his feet take him wherever they wanted. Hikaru walked for ages until he thought he was sensing something familiar and looked up. He was in the central region/ business district. Streets and streets of shops and restaurants, which included Hikaru's favorite Ramen place.
Hikaru decided that ramen was just the thing to take his mind of his insanity. Hikaru went in, ordered a bowl and sat waiting. It was while he was sitting that a girl tapped him on the shoulder. Hikaru looked up "Hey Akari, what are you doing here?" Akari sat down beside the boy she liked so very much and said, "you know, just thought you might be here or something, and you were" Akari blushed slightly. Hikaru sighed and thanked the waitress as she handed him his bowl of ramen and turned back to the troublesome girl. "Akari, could you please get me some chop sticks? They're closer to you." "Of course" Akari stood up, reached over the counter and took some. She smiled, sat down and held them out to Hikaru, "douzo" "Thanks, mumbled Hikaru, not really wanting to deal with such a cheerful girl on such a stressful day.
Hikaru lifted his eyes and outstretched his hands to take the chopsticks. His eyes snapped open and he almost fell off his chair. "Akari! What did you do to your hand? Hikaru yelled. Other customers looked around to see a boy half backed away across a chair and a clearly shaken girl with chopsticks outstretched in one hand. "Akari looked down at her hand in wonder, "Ummm, nothing? Why? What do you mean?" Hikaru got up and seized Akari's hand with his own holding it between their faces, "Look! How can you not see? There's blood all over it!" "Where?" Hikaru dropped Akari's hand and left the Ramen place instantly, leaving his meal uneaten and his friend starring after him. Hikaru walked for a while before he realized that that conversation was familiar. Hadn't there been another time when Hikaru had seen blood where Akari could not?
No this was different.
Surely.
Hikaru kept walking until he came to another familiar place. Touya's Go salon. Hikaru didn't really know why he was there, he really didn't feel like playing go right now, but going home didn't seem great either so he went inside. Being inside the go salon made Hikaru calm down a little, it was so reassuring being in such a familiar place. Hikaru walked to the counter to greet the smiling Ichikawa who informed Shindo that Akira was busy with some other customers but would be out in a minute.
Hikaru sat down and waited for Akira.
Hikaru waited and waited. But Akira didn't seem to be emerging from the back. Hikaru, bored, began investigating the floor and then his fingernails, and then the walls. His eyes eventually traveled directly in front of him and he found there was a woman standing in front of him staring at him.
She was pale and tall with straight blue hair and sharp eyes. "Would you like to play a game young man?" she asked Hikaru suddenly.
Hikaru a little startled replied, "er.no I'm sort of waiting for someone". The woman fixed him with a look, a look he knew he's d seen before, but couldn't quite remember..
"Do you know what Go is? Go is more than a game on a board, it's more than a game of calculation and wit, Go is a meeting of minds. Only when two minds entwine perfectly shall we see The Hand of God, the gateway for our minds to enter a new level of divine existence, and whilst that is almost impossible to do that our minds can meet across a Goban on a different plain of being every day.
Hikaru lifted his head and looked the woman in the eyes, "I want to play." The woman smiled. "May I play white?" Hikaru thought it was a little strange that anyone would want to be white, but iddn't question it as he had found this little speech of the highest inspiration and had only ever heard one person talk like that before.
Hikaru and the woman sat down at an unoccupied table and played. Hikaru thought this stranger played very well. Very, very well. Was she a pro? Hikaru, thought and played each move, screwing up his face in concentration, despite this, he seemed to know where to go.
Hikaru suddenly realized which game they were playing. He opened his mouth to say something and at the same time the woman playing him got up and smiled, "let's leave it there shall we?" she got up and left instantly leaving Hikaru to stare at the board. Exactly the same game he'd played that morning, minus the estimated move of Sai. He jerked his head up suddenly "Machi Nasai!"
But she was gone.
Not just her, everyone, there wasn't a sound to be heard in the go salon, no cars outside, no nothing, Hikaru was alone. His heart was thumping loudly now. "Touya! Ichikawa!"
There was no answer.
He could hear nothing except the beating of his heart, the sound was covering everything.
And then distantly through the beats a soft cry could be heard.
"Still your heart."
A hand landed on his shoulder and Hikaru jumped.
Or rather jerked suddenly as he found himself looking into the eyes of Akira and still sitting on a chair near the counter.
"So bored you fell asleep eh shindo?"
Hikaru's eyes widened.
"Touya! Your hand! It's all~"
But Akira wasn't listening he bent down and picked something off the ground and handed it to Hikaru, "did you drop this?"
Shindo looked at the paper, on it was a haiku:
He came in autumn He left me one spring morning Always in my heart
Tears sprung to Hikaru's eyes
What was going on?
Akira looked at Hikaru "doushitanda?" Hikaru looked at Akira, at his hands and back at the poem.
"Wakarinai"
notes: nandayo = what okaasan/'kaasan = mother douzo= here you go mach nasai= please wait doushitanda= what's wrong? Wakarinai= I don't know
Chapter 3: Always with the hand
Hikaru's mother gaped for a second. Then pulled Hikaru's hand to her face and looked it over. 'Nandayo? I thought I saw blood on your hand! She dropped her sons' hand and turned mumbling about stress and required breaks.
Hikaru watched her for a second then, "But Okaasan there is blood on my-"he stopped. It was gone, nothing left of it at all.
Hikaru also decided that he needed rest, but not the 'in the house kind'. He grabbed his jacket and yelled back "I'm going out for a while" and closed the door behind him.
Hikaru didn't know where to go, so he just let his feet take him wherever they wanted. Hikaru walked for ages until he thought he was sensing something familiar and looked up. He was in the central region/ business district. Streets and streets of shops and restaurants, which included Hikaru's favorite Ramen place.
Hikaru decided that ramen was just the thing to take his mind of his insanity. Hikaru went in, ordered a bowl and sat waiting. It was while he was sitting that a girl tapped him on the shoulder. Hikaru looked up "Hey Akari, what are you doing here?" Akari sat down beside the boy she liked so very much and said, "you know, just thought you might be here or something, and you were" Akari blushed slightly. Hikaru sighed and thanked the waitress as she handed him his bowl of ramen and turned back to the troublesome girl. "Akari, could you please get me some chop sticks? They're closer to you." "Of course" Akari stood up, reached over the counter and took some. She smiled, sat down and held them out to Hikaru, "douzo" "Thanks, mumbled Hikaru, not really wanting to deal with such a cheerful girl on such a stressful day.
Hikaru lifted his eyes and outstretched his hands to take the chopsticks. His eyes snapped open and he almost fell off his chair. "Akari! What did you do to your hand? Hikaru yelled. Other customers looked around to see a boy half backed away across a chair and a clearly shaken girl with chopsticks outstretched in one hand. "Akari looked down at her hand in wonder, "Ummm, nothing? Why? What do you mean?" Hikaru got up and seized Akari's hand with his own holding it between their faces, "Look! How can you not see? There's blood all over it!" "Where?" Hikaru dropped Akari's hand and left the Ramen place instantly, leaving his meal uneaten and his friend starring after him. Hikaru walked for a while before he realized that that conversation was familiar. Hadn't there been another time when Hikaru had seen blood where Akari could not?
No this was different.
Surely.
Hikaru kept walking until he came to another familiar place. Touya's Go salon. Hikaru didn't really know why he was there, he really didn't feel like playing go right now, but going home didn't seem great either so he went inside. Being inside the go salon made Hikaru calm down a little, it was so reassuring being in such a familiar place. Hikaru walked to the counter to greet the smiling Ichikawa who informed Shindo that Akira was busy with some other customers but would be out in a minute.
Hikaru sat down and waited for Akira.
Hikaru waited and waited. But Akira didn't seem to be emerging from the back. Hikaru, bored, began investigating the floor and then his fingernails, and then the walls. His eyes eventually traveled directly in front of him and he found there was a woman standing in front of him staring at him.
She was pale and tall with straight blue hair and sharp eyes. "Would you like to play a game young man?" she asked Hikaru suddenly.
Hikaru a little startled replied, "er.no I'm sort of waiting for someone". The woman fixed him with a look, a look he knew he's d seen before, but couldn't quite remember..
"Do you know what Go is? Go is more than a game on a board, it's more than a game of calculation and wit, Go is a meeting of minds. Only when two minds entwine perfectly shall we see The Hand of God, the gateway for our minds to enter a new level of divine existence, and whilst that is almost impossible to do that our minds can meet across a Goban on a different plain of being every day.
Hikaru lifted his head and looked the woman in the eyes, "I want to play." The woman smiled. "May I play white?" Hikaru thought it was a little strange that anyone would want to be white, but iddn't question it as he had found this little speech of the highest inspiration and had only ever heard one person talk like that before.
Hikaru and the woman sat down at an unoccupied table and played. Hikaru thought this stranger played very well. Very, very well. Was she a pro? Hikaru, thought and played each move, screwing up his face in concentration, despite this, he seemed to know where to go.
Hikaru suddenly realized which game they were playing. He opened his mouth to say something and at the same time the woman playing him got up and smiled, "let's leave it there shall we?" she got up and left instantly leaving Hikaru to stare at the board. Exactly the same game he'd played that morning, minus the estimated move of Sai. He jerked his head up suddenly "Machi Nasai!"
But she was gone.
Not just her, everyone, there wasn't a sound to be heard in the go salon, no cars outside, no nothing, Hikaru was alone. His heart was thumping loudly now. "Touya! Ichikawa!"
There was no answer.
He could hear nothing except the beating of his heart, the sound was covering everything.
And then distantly through the beats a soft cry could be heard.
"Still your heart."
A hand landed on his shoulder and Hikaru jumped.
Or rather jerked suddenly as he found himself looking into the eyes of Akira and still sitting on a chair near the counter.
"So bored you fell asleep eh shindo?"
Hikaru's eyes widened.
"Touya! Your hand! It's all~"
But Akira wasn't listening he bent down and picked something off the ground and handed it to Hikaru, "did you drop this?"
Shindo looked at the paper, on it was a haiku:
He came in autumn He left me one spring morning Always in my heart
Tears sprung to Hikaru's eyes
What was going on?
Akira looked at Hikaru "doushitanda?" Hikaru looked at Akira, at his hands and back at the poem.
"Wakarinai"
notes: nandayo = what okaasan/'kaasan = mother douzo= here you go mach nasai= please wait doushitanda= what's wrong? Wakarinai= I don't know