Title: The move
Author: Dead^Meat (deadmeat@bhlegend.com)
ICQ: 7790861 (Auth. req. – state who you are when you ask)
*Note regarding ICQ: I very, Very rarely use it nowadays, but please contact me on my e-mail if you want to get in touch, I use MSN. Although not with this e-mail, so please send me an e-mail if you want me to add you … :) *
Dates of revision: 2003-06-09 v 0.05 (Started)
2004-04-22 v 1.0 Chapter 3 released
* Disclaimer: Characters from Hikaru no Go have been used without permission. All characters contained in this work are copyright their respective mangaka and publishers, etc. No financial gain made by this.
* Quick-list of various Japanese words/phrases used, and it's translation.
-kun = name suffix
-san = name suffix
-chan = name suffix, mainly girls
Go = a popular Japanese board game using black and white stones
Hai = yes
Insei = special Go-student
* Reading:
"d" - Denotes speaking
'd' - Denotes thinking
_d_ - Denotes punctuation
|d| - Denotes sound effects
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Chapter three: The encounter******************************************************************
Having decided what colour to play, Asumi and Okumura bid each other good luck, and the game began. Since most people's games had ended by now, they came over to watch Okumura, a well-known regular to this salon, play against a younger girl, who was a blissful sight for sore eyes.
What they saw was a slightly nervous start from the girl's side, but after a few moves into it her game became more and more confident, her eyes focused and the expression on her face tense with concentration, just how they pictured an ordinary Go-player.
Among the growing crowd around the table was Waya, who stood slightly behind Okumura with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed slits silently watching over the table.
He was focused, yes. But not at the game, no, instead he was focused on Asumi. Only after a while did he realise this, having been caught up in wishful thinking and fleeting dreams, but when he did, he found himself enjoying watching Asumi. Watching her face, as her expression changes with each move, ranging from thoughtful to solemn, with her eyes darting around the board and her left hand unconsciously pulling the bottom of her ear, something he had noticed her doing when she was deep in concentration.
Catching all of these signs which he had once learned, and looked for, he started to feel nostalgia for her, for the time they shared when they were both insei. When they had laughed, had cried, had felt joy and pain and generally been very good friends ever since their first day as insei, which was at the same time. As his thoughts drifted away on the endless sea of memories, he began to unconsciously wish that he would see more of her, from now on.
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The afternoon sun sent it's dimming rays into the confines of an old, unlit classroom, sharing whatever light it had left for the fading day with the few occupants who still sat in their seats, hours after the school had rung out and everyone either left for club or gone home.
One of them was a young boy named Mitani Yuki, who sat hunched over a pile of paper, a frown covering his face as he scratched down his answer to the last question, roughly grabbed all the papers on his desk and thrust them out in front of him.
Opposite to him was the girl called Kaneko Masako, who was hunched over her own pile of papers. Noticing that Mitani seems to be finished with his homework, she calmly finished a calculation, straightened up and then took his papers with her usual, unconcerned expression, and began to grade him with swift, clean strokes of her pen.
Mitani leaned back on his chair and put his feet up on the neighbouring table, looking out of the window with an indifferent face, while trying to hide the growing feeling of nervousness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she was already finished with half of it, and that the papers were covered with, in his opinion, too much red ink, and so his feeling of dread deepened.
He started to wish that he would suddenly grow wings so he could fly the heck out of here.
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"Oh god, is that the time?" A woman exclaimed out loud, having caught a glimpse of the clock hung up above a store nearby. Increasing the frequency of her steps, she quickly minimised the distance between her and her goal, and stopped herself on the doorsteps. With a few, delicate strokes on her hair, flannel shirt and worn denim jeans, she made herself presentable and got ready for the scolding.
Opening the door, she feinted a stumble into the musty interior and was about to launch her blushing grin and usual tirade of excuses, when she noticed that something was out of place. There was no cheering at her.
Instead, everyone seemed to be crowding around one of the tables, and this peaked her interest to the sky.
Closing the door, she quietly sneaked through the unorganised table arrangement, silencing everyone that noticed her with a finger over her lips and a mischievous wink in her eyes, until finally she got a good spot overlooking the table.
On the table was a Go-board, and on it were lots of small black and white stones placed, in an intricate design that most people wouldn't understand. Regarding the woman, after a few moments thoughts she got the general idea made up in her mind, and began to examine the people around the table.
On opposing sides of the board was a young, pretty girl she had never seen before, and Okumura-san. Okumura-san usually took care of the rookies in the area, and he is pretty good, so it's nice to see him sweat every once in a while, which he is currently doing while playing against this girl.
The girl looked like she was having a hard time, as well, but you could see that she was enjoying, and perhaps even agonising, over the game.
Sweeping her eyes through the crowd, she immediately caught the odd bird out of the eagle's nest. Everyone around the table was thoughtfully watching the game, except for Waya-kun, who had his eyes on someone else.
Having seen the forest through all the trees, the woman grinned and curled her lips up in a cat-ate-the-canary smile, and turned back to the game.
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Sighing, Isumi Shinichiro sat on the passenger seat, listening to his mother telling him once more what he should and shouldn't do.
"… and remember, Shin-chan, don't do anything to offend our guest!"
"No, mother." Isumi moaned, having heard the same sentence repeatedly for more than an hour now.
"And if the money I gave you isn't enough," His father added, not for the first time, "don't hesitate to use your own, and I will repay you later. Just make sure our guest doesn't have to pay."
"Yes, father." Isumi readily agreed, and placed a hand over his slightly bulging wallet. 'At least this part of the deal isn't all that bad. If only there was a slight modification of the expected guest.'
As the car approached the airport, Isumi idly stared up at the crimsoning sky through the window, looking for the expected flight from China, and worried about how this catastrophe would unfold …"
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A young girl sat on an old couch, looking all worn and very tired while replaying the last game in her mind, trying out alternative moves and different approaches. In short, she wanted to find a way to get a different ending to the recently finished game, in which she unfortunately lost.
After having done that for a while, she sighed, dropped on her side and stared up at the ceiling while holding an unopened can of coke over her forehead, in a mild attempt to ease her riddled mind, freeing it from the lingering disappointment. This was of course the exact moment that Waya chose to come along and remind her.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, sitting down on the other end of the couch. "You don't look so good."
"Oh, well …" Asumi sighed, and closed her eyes. "It could've been better. Guess the past few days lack of rest has taken its toll on me."
"To say the least." Waya agreed, quieting down to give her the rest she needed.
As she laid there, lying comfortably on the couch, breathing rhythmically, she felt herself slowly slip away, away to the familiar dreamland she had long since visited, but yearned to go. A sudden feeling of soft, cool fingers caressing her cheek resulted in a sharp intake of air, and she flipped her eyes open to stare into Waya's, both transfixed by each others intense gaze. For what felt like an eternity, Asumi lost herself in Waya's hazel eyes, her cheeks coloured in a healthy shade of red, which intensified when a woman's voice interrupted them.
"Weren't you supposed to introduce me, Waya-kun?" the woman smiled, winking at Asumi. She started to blush, and quickly stood up alongside an equally blushing Waya.
"Uh, yeah … well, Nase-san, this is Hiromi sensei, one of the owners of this place, and a 5-Dan Go Pro. Hiromi sensei, this is one of my old insei friends, Nase Asumi."
"Pleased to meet you." Asumi said, bowing to the older woman who returned the gesture.
"As am I. I saw your game, have you been playing for long?"
"Well, it's been a couple of years."
"Really? Well, I think you're making pretty good progress, but if you ask me you guys should go to the next step, now. No reason to wait, is there?" With that said, Hiromi sensei smiled brightly, shifting her gaze from Asumi to Waya, and back.
Soon enough, the two of them made the connection, and both started to diligently protest.
"No no, you've got it all wrong!" Waya exclaimed, and Asumi continued.
"Yes, we're only friends!"
"Really? Aww, that's so boring. You guys look so good together, you know." Hiromi sensei made a pout, but quickly changed back to her usual smiles. "Anyway, Asumi-chan, could I have a word with you?"
Taken aback by the sudden request, and the strangeness of everything that had happen, she could only nod her agreement, after which the woman quickly shooed Waya away.
After she made sure that they wouldn't be disturbed, Hiromi sensei made herself comfortable, and bid Asumi to do the same.
"So, Asumi-chan, what do you think of my Go-salon?"
"Well … honestly, it looks a little … shaggy."
Hearing that comment, Hiromi sensei made big eyes and a brief motion as if looking around in awe, then turned back to Asumi.
"Nooo, you think this place looks shaggy? You're kidding, right?" Asumi could only shake her head, then Hiromi sensei leaned forward, gesticulating for Asumi to do the same. In a whisper, she then confessed her own impressions.
"Well, I admit that at first glance, it really does look pretty awful, doesn't it? And for a casual eye, that's about it with this place."
"But!" Hiromi sensei added, with a bright shine in her eyes. "I see something else, as well. I see unbound potential. I see a large salon with cheap rent, lots of restaurants and arcades nearby, and it's not too far away from the park and the train station.
I see streets filled with youngsters, boys and girls, and then I see what this place could become. A gathering point for Go-interested teens and young men and women, and even better, a place that draws the passer-by in, hopefully making them interested in Go as well. We won't be like any traditional Go-salon, no, we will evolve ourselves and aim for the future generation, making the new Go of Japan!"
Asumi sat silent and still, not wanting to provoke the wheezing woman in front of her, who was red with excitement and eyes way up in the clouds. Slowly, she calmed down, and stared into Asumi's eyes.
"So, what do you think of my dream? Please answer honestly."
Having gotten the request with such a serious tone, she felt that it was no answer to give impulsively, and so she took her time before answering, making sure she formulated her thoughts first.
"Well, honestly … I think that it sounds like a great idea, but perhaps difficult to accomplish. I mean, I think it would take more than a Go-salon aimed at a younger audience to make Go more popular among the younger crowd. Perhaps through a medium like a manga, or an anime, would be easier."
Hiromi sensei straightened up and seriously considered Asumi's suggestion, and soon gave her reply. "True. But then, I'm not that good at drawing manga, so I'll do what I can in my own way." With a smile, Hiromi sensei added that she was glad that Asumi seriously thought about her dream. And then it came.
"Asumi-chan, from watching your game I felt that you had yet to decide on a certain style in your play, that you constantly shifted from one to the other instead, but still maintaining a strength in your ability to switch your approach. Others might say that you're indecisive, while I'd rather say that you have yet to find your own style, and that you're still open for something new. I think that I will be able to provide you with enough guidance for you to find the means for reaching your goal.
With that in mind, what would you say about becoming one of my students?"
"Huh?" The sudden request surprised her, and she started to feel that with this woman around, she would always feel a few steps back, always amazed by the woman's unique and open character. This intrigued her though, and it also made her feel spirited again, and that with her as mentor she could evolve as a player, a person, and most importantly, as a woman.
"Yes, I'll be glad to study under you."
"Great! I've got my first student! That calls for a celebration!"
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Having shown their guest to the Isumi households guestroom, Isumi sighed quietly by himself, half-lying on a sofa in the living room, gazing at whatever it was that was on the TV. Over and over again, his mind recalled and replayed the todays events, and the reason why everything is as it is.
Sure, he was awfully grateful that his new-found Chinese friend Yan Hai let him stay in the dorm in Yan Hai's room, and he would have gladly offered the same service if Yan Hai ever needed it. So when Yan Hai called from China to ask, Isumi gladly accepted, with his parents approval of course. Yan Hai did point out that it was his cousin who needed a place to stay, and not him personally, while learning Japanese directly from the natives.
'Well, that was fine as well, no problem. We can talk about the details later.'
This proved to be fatal, for Isumi … since it was in fact later on that he discovered whom their guest really was … and by then, it was all too late for his objections, since every party had already agreed.
"Hello? Isumi-kun? Can I ask question?"
"Huh?" Stirred from his troubled deliriums, Isumi quickly stood up and faced his beautiful, Chinese guest while blushing healthily.
"Do you have tampon like this? I require some soon." She asked him straightforwardly, handing him a sample of what she was looking for.
Wide-eyed, Isumi stared a while at the white, fluffy roll placed on his right palm, before catching himself and looked back up, meeting the girls naughty grin.
"Thank you, Isumi-kun. Good night." Not waiting for an answer, she promptly turned around on her heels and swaggered out of the living room. Alternating to staring at her … and the thing in his hand, as soon as she was gone Isumi plopped back down on the sofa, feeling dazed and as if he had just been run over by a truck.
"Why doesn't anyone understand that it's not right for a girl to live in the same house as a guy, if they're not in a relationship?"
While brooding gloomily, he soon realised that he was still clutching that 'thing' in his hand, so he quickly threw it away and buried his head in-between his knees, once again wondering why fate was so cruel to him.
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Having stayed there for longer than planned, it had now grown dark and cold, so Waya offered to escort Nase to her train station. Neither said anything, as they walked silently onwards through the streets, each caught up in their own thoughts, and both wondering about how to break the silence. Soon enough, they reached their destination, and as Nase was about to say good night, she noticed that he had stopped a few feet away. Turning around, she saw him eyeing her nervously, and then said "I'm sorry."
"What for?" She asked him, while starting to feel slightly worried.
"Well, for the … the brusque way I asked you out yesterday. I mean, I saw you, and I thought that you looked a bit lonely, could use a little cheering up I mean, so I, I uh, I just demanded this out of you, for no reason or whatever, and I shouldn't have done that, I mean … I guess I was slightly 'under the influence' as well, there were loads of couples necking everywhere at the park yesterday, so I uh … I don't mean … uh … I'm sorry!
Having babbled out all his thoughts, he bowed deeply to Nase, and hoped that at least the last part was coherent enough to get through to her. He really did feel sorry, since this might have been the wrong way to start things, if there indeed was anything to get started at all.
Imagine his surprise, when he felt her cool hands lift his chin up and her eyes seeking his. What made him catch his breath was not her fragrance wafting in through his nose, nor her intense gaze burrowing deeply into his eyes. No, it was the angelic smile that blossomed on her bright face, as she realised his honest feelings.
"You don't need to apologise, Waya-kun. I truly enjoyed todays 'date', it was fun and made me feel more relaxed than I had been the last week. Besides, I got a chance to talk with Hiromi sensei, and I think it proved very fruitful indeed. So …" Asumi breathed, while gently pulling his face close to hers. "Whenever you want a real date, just ask, ok?" And then she gave him a kiss on his cheeks.
"Good night, Waya-kun." Asumi bid the young man in front of her, and left him, still spellbound and staring after her, at the foot of the stairs to the train station.
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Author's Notes:
By god, he's back! Amazing!
Well, anyway, after a few months waiting I'm finally finished with chapter 3. Truth be told, I was finished with half of it since February, but after I got to the section where Hiromi sensei was supposed to talk to Asumi, I couldn't write any more. I just couldn't. And that's how it continued, until today! Today, I say myself down to write, and write I did! :D
Anyway, for all those who are interested in how this chapter progressed from idea to finish, check out the following link:
wen.nu/~taah/the_move_ch3-outline-sm.jpg
I don't do this often, if at all, but for this chapter I did, and it was pretty cool :) Was a lot of help for my, months after planning, for remembering my original plans and adjusting them.
In any case, thank you all for your support by giving me comments, the FFN author's lifeblood.
In the next chapter, we will once again move our focus to yet another set of people. Look forward to it!
Hopefully, it will come out this month, but don't count on it ;P
Thanks once again!
Yours
/DeadMeat
P.S. Isn't he kawaii? :D D.S.