Ah, another happy-feeling chapter... for now... *evil grin* I'm having a
lot of fun writing this, but since exams are coming up, I may have to slow
down a bit. ^^;;;
Chapter Twelve: Momiji no Ga - The Joy of Autumn
Hikaru slung his school bag over his shoulder, chewing on a piece of gum. No history homework tonight, at least, although if his mother had seen that last test she would have him doing homework even when it wasn't assigned. Since Akari had the highest grade in history, Mrs. Shindou was always mentioning how nice it would be to have her tutor him. Hikaru winced - Mitani would kill him in some painful way. Even though Akari had finally stopped staring wistfully at Hikaru, Mitani's glares were more than enough reminder. Well, as long as they were happy, right?
Hikaru, too, was as happy as he had been in months. Even though Sai's absence lingered over him just as much as the ghost had, it felt so... right... to play Go again. Isumi had challenged him to complete the game they had started once before, and...the "click" of stones against the board had been exactly the same as when Sai had been there, sort of like a tiny reminder of his departed friend. Maybe Sai had been right - even after a thousand years, there were some things that remained constant. Even so...
His thoughtful expression brightened as soon as he saw Isumi's tall form on the other side of the park. Waya should be somewhere around there too - they had agreed to meet at the fountain before picking a random Go salon to practice at. It was just like old times - Isumi was back from China, Waya seemed happy, and Hikaru was playing Go again. Unbeknownst to two of them, though, the fourth member of their circle was missing...
There was Waya... sneaking up on poor Isumi, standing quietly in front of the fountain... his arms snaked around the older one's waist, causing Isumi to jump. But then, Isumi relaxed into the touch, leaning back into Waya's embrace. They exchanged a whisper, and then turned to share a kiss... Hikaru's backpack slipped off his shoulder, the sudden noise startling him. Luckily, he was too far away for Waya and Isumi to have noticed.
Isumi... and Waya... Well, Hikaru had always suspected something, but it was a bit of a shock to actually see it. And at the same time, a warm feeling... If only he were a little more sure about Akira...
Akira! Hikaru blushed nervously, suddenly conscious of being in public even though he was standing on a near-empty side street. If anyone knew how he felt about Akira - especially Akira! - he might die of embarrassment. Still, he really looked forward to seeing the dark-haired boy on the other side of a goban. Their few meetings over the summer had been great, but lately Akira had distanced himself completely. Had Hikaru frightened him off?
It was a little bit cooler than usual for the end of August, a strange in-between time before the "Indian Summer" set in. A green leaf bearing a trace of scarlet spiralled down from a tall tree. Hikaru's gaze followed it until he noticed Waya running off, waving. Weren't they all supposed to find a Go salon? He shook off his disbelief and ran through the wooded park towards Isumi.
"Hey, Isumi? Where's Waya?"
"Waya?" Isumi couldn't quite hide the flush that spread across his face. "Uhh... his aunt is getting married, so his family is going to Yokohama for the wedding..." Hikaru waved it off with his usual smile.
"Oh well. We'll have a double match, then!" He made a fighting gesture, which Isumi copied a little awkwardly. "The pro exam starts soon, right? Pretty soon we'll have to start charging for our services!"
"Heh, I don't want to get my hopes up so early, but..." Isumi looked up at the light glinting off the fountain's stream of water. "This year... I don't know, I really feel like I can make it."
"Congratulations!" There was a slyness to Hikaru's tone that set Isumi on edge. Hikaru could see the hairs on the back of the older player's neck stand up.
"What, I haven't passed yet!"
"Well, that's not what I was congratulating you for!" Hikaru's easy smile was contrasted by Isumi's sudden pale look of shock. It was easy to tease Isumi, so Hikaru felt a pang of pity - for less than a millisecond.
"Umm... Hikaru... what do you..."
"Waya, stupid! Sheesh, you're worse than a junior high girl... it took you forever!" Hikaru found himself unable to stop smiling, which soon spread to Isumi. Was this what it was like to be in love? If it was, then... Hikaru wanted it more than anything. More than winning tournaments, more than passing history, more than...
"Waai, am I that obvious? It's just... Waya... you know..." He threw up his hands in a helpless gesture, flustered but glad. "I kind of still can't believe it myself... and you... you're okay with it? I mean..."
"Yeah, yeah!" Hikaru's head bobbed up and down. "I'm really happy for you, it's just..."
"Just what?"
"There's this... person... that I like... and... uh..." Isumi sat down on the edge of the fountain so he and Hikaru were more level.
"Would his name be Akira?" Hikaru's eyes widened. How did Isumi know - it was this hard to just tell Isumi about his feelings! Confessing to Akira was going to be impossible!
"Uhhh..." Isumi still had that goofy grin plastered on his face. "I don't know what to say to him, though! The way he looks at me... it's so cool. But I..."
"Hikaru." Isumi had regained some of his composure, and now looked at Hikaru with gentle eyes. "It doesn't matter what you say, really, or what you do. If you go with whatever is in your heart... you can't be wrong."
"I don't know. Akira's hard to talk to - I can't seem to say anything, really, when I'm around him."
"I always thought I'd be the last person anyone would go to for romantic advice," laughed Isumi. "I've only known one thing in my entire life, and that's Go." He leaned back and dangled one hand in the clear water of the fountain. Small yellow fish came up to bite at his fingers, but drifted off once they had determined that Isumi was not edible.
"It was easier when we were just rivals. How about you and Waya?"
"Waya?" Isumi looked confused for a moment. "We've never been rivals, really... it's not always about winning, it's about playing a good game that satisfies both sides." He pulled his hand from the pool and watched the water drip from his fingertips onto the stone ledge. "But you know a Shuusaku fuseki, right?" Hikaru nodded - he knew a lot more Shuusaku than just the opening moves... but thinking of Shuusaku reminded him of Sai. Sai had always spoken so fondly of his first host and beloved "Torajiro", who had died so tragically young. So, yeah, he knew the fuseki.
"Well, I'm sure you know why it's not played so much anymore. It's too slow... there has to be an element of aggression to Go as well. If you want something, you have to take risks and stake your claims. If you hold your stones too closely, you might end up missing crucial opportunities." Isumi cocked his head and smiled slightly. "But then again, I only know about Go. In love, I'm a beginner too..." Hikaru, though, felt a little better.
"Thank you, sensei!" he declared with an overdone bow. Isumi waved him away, laughing.
"Sensei? Hardly! Let's say we skip practice tonight... maybe you could..."
"Visit Akira?" Hikaru wouldn't admit to being afraid, but his heart fluttered at the though. "Yeah... I just might do that..."
Useful Japanese section!: Momiji no Ga: Chapter 7 in "Genji", which my edition translates as "Beneath the Autumn Leaves"... but really it's something more like the joy of seeing fall colors.
Chapter Twelve: Momiji no Ga - The Joy of Autumn
Hikaru slung his school bag over his shoulder, chewing on a piece of gum. No history homework tonight, at least, although if his mother had seen that last test she would have him doing homework even when it wasn't assigned. Since Akari had the highest grade in history, Mrs. Shindou was always mentioning how nice it would be to have her tutor him. Hikaru winced - Mitani would kill him in some painful way. Even though Akari had finally stopped staring wistfully at Hikaru, Mitani's glares were more than enough reminder. Well, as long as they were happy, right?
Hikaru, too, was as happy as he had been in months. Even though Sai's absence lingered over him just as much as the ghost had, it felt so... right... to play Go again. Isumi had challenged him to complete the game they had started once before, and...the "click" of stones against the board had been exactly the same as when Sai had been there, sort of like a tiny reminder of his departed friend. Maybe Sai had been right - even after a thousand years, there were some things that remained constant. Even so...
His thoughtful expression brightened as soon as he saw Isumi's tall form on the other side of the park. Waya should be somewhere around there too - they had agreed to meet at the fountain before picking a random Go salon to practice at. It was just like old times - Isumi was back from China, Waya seemed happy, and Hikaru was playing Go again. Unbeknownst to two of them, though, the fourth member of their circle was missing...
There was Waya... sneaking up on poor Isumi, standing quietly in front of the fountain... his arms snaked around the older one's waist, causing Isumi to jump. But then, Isumi relaxed into the touch, leaning back into Waya's embrace. They exchanged a whisper, and then turned to share a kiss... Hikaru's backpack slipped off his shoulder, the sudden noise startling him. Luckily, he was too far away for Waya and Isumi to have noticed.
Isumi... and Waya... Well, Hikaru had always suspected something, but it was a bit of a shock to actually see it. And at the same time, a warm feeling... If only he were a little more sure about Akira...
Akira! Hikaru blushed nervously, suddenly conscious of being in public even though he was standing on a near-empty side street. If anyone knew how he felt about Akira - especially Akira! - he might die of embarrassment. Still, he really looked forward to seeing the dark-haired boy on the other side of a goban. Their few meetings over the summer had been great, but lately Akira had distanced himself completely. Had Hikaru frightened him off?
It was a little bit cooler than usual for the end of August, a strange in-between time before the "Indian Summer" set in. A green leaf bearing a trace of scarlet spiralled down from a tall tree. Hikaru's gaze followed it until he noticed Waya running off, waving. Weren't they all supposed to find a Go salon? He shook off his disbelief and ran through the wooded park towards Isumi.
"Hey, Isumi? Where's Waya?"
"Waya?" Isumi couldn't quite hide the flush that spread across his face. "Uhh... his aunt is getting married, so his family is going to Yokohama for the wedding..." Hikaru waved it off with his usual smile.
"Oh well. We'll have a double match, then!" He made a fighting gesture, which Isumi copied a little awkwardly. "The pro exam starts soon, right? Pretty soon we'll have to start charging for our services!"
"Heh, I don't want to get my hopes up so early, but..." Isumi looked up at the light glinting off the fountain's stream of water. "This year... I don't know, I really feel like I can make it."
"Congratulations!" There was a slyness to Hikaru's tone that set Isumi on edge. Hikaru could see the hairs on the back of the older player's neck stand up.
"What, I haven't passed yet!"
"Well, that's not what I was congratulating you for!" Hikaru's easy smile was contrasted by Isumi's sudden pale look of shock. It was easy to tease Isumi, so Hikaru felt a pang of pity - for less than a millisecond.
"Umm... Hikaru... what do you..."
"Waya, stupid! Sheesh, you're worse than a junior high girl... it took you forever!" Hikaru found himself unable to stop smiling, which soon spread to Isumi. Was this what it was like to be in love? If it was, then... Hikaru wanted it more than anything. More than winning tournaments, more than passing history, more than...
"Waai, am I that obvious? It's just... Waya... you know..." He threw up his hands in a helpless gesture, flustered but glad. "I kind of still can't believe it myself... and you... you're okay with it? I mean..."
"Yeah, yeah!" Hikaru's head bobbed up and down. "I'm really happy for you, it's just..."
"Just what?"
"There's this... person... that I like... and... uh..." Isumi sat down on the edge of the fountain so he and Hikaru were more level.
"Would his name be Akira?" Hikaru's eyes widened. How did Isumi know - it was this hard to just tell Isumi about his feelings! Confessing to Akira was going to be impossible!
"Uhhh..." Isumi still had that goofy grin plastered on his face. "I don't know what to say to him, though! The way he looks at me... it's so cool. But I..."
"Hikaru." Isumi had regained some of his composure, and now looked at Hikaru with gentle eyes. "It doesn't matter what you say, really, or what you do. If you go with whatever is in your heart... you can't be wrong."
"I don't know. Akira's hard to talk to - I can't seem to say anything, really, when I'm around him."
"I always thought I'd be the last person anyone would go to for romantic advice," laughed Isumi. "I've only known one thing in my entire life, and that's Go." He leaned back and dangled one hand in the clear water of the fountain. Small yellow fish came up to bite at his fingers, but drifted off once they had determined that Isumi was not edible.
"It was easier when we were just rivals. How about you and Waya?"
"Waya?" Isumi looked confused for a moment. "We've never been rivals, really... it's not always about winning, it's about playing a good game that satisfies both sides." He pulled his hand from the pool and watched the water drip from his fingertips onto the stone ledge. "But you know a Shuusaku fuseki, right?" Hikaru nodded - he knew a lot more Shuusaku than just the opening moves... but thinking of Shuusaku reminded him of Sai. Sai had always spoken so fondly of his first host and beloved "Torajiro", who had died so tragically young. So, yeah, he knew the fuseki.
"Well, I'm sure you know why it's not played so much anymore. It's too slow... there has to be an element of aggression to Go as well. If you want something, you have to take risks and stake your claims. If you hold your stones too closely, you might end up missing crucial opportunities." Isumi cocked his head and smiled slightly. "But then again, I only know about Go. In love, I'm a beginner too..." Hikaru, though, felt a little better.
"Thank you, sensei!" he declared with an overdone bow. Isumi waved him away, laughing.
"Sensei? Hardly! Let's say we skip practice tonight... maybe you could..."
"Visit Akira?" Hikaru wouldn't admit to being afraid, but his heart fluttered at the though. "Yeah... I just might do that..."
Useful Japanese section!: Momiji no Ga: Chapter 7 in "Genji", which my edition translates as "Beneath the Autumn Leaves"... but really it's something more like the joy of seeing fall colors.