Only one this time, because of schoolwork... but during japanese class I
did draw a little pic for this story, which I've uploaded here:
http://www.matmice.com/home/gomapurple_3/chi.gif I suppose this part of
the story will take more than one chapter, so... look forward to it?
And this chapter's poem is in the picture ^^;;. It reads: Kaku shi nomi/ Arikeru mono wo/ Imo mo ware mo/ Chi tose no gotoku/ Tanomitarikeru.
We were together/ Only a little while/ Though a thousand years/ We believed our love would last.
~Ootomo no Yakamochi (8th century)
Chapter Fourteen: Kumo ga kure - Vanished into the Clouds
"So, what would be the best course of action in a situation like this?" Sai placed a black stone next to Akira's white, smiling. Akira had never played someone who seemed so overjoyed simply to be playing. Of course, this was only shidougo, so Sai wasn't putting forth his full power - he didn't really need to, which reminded Akira of just how much further he had to go as a player.
"I would... let's see, I would attach here." Akira placed his stone next to another white and waited for Sai's comment. It was only early evening, but Akira's mind was frazzled. He had spent the afternoon with his mother, which was normally pleasant; this time there had been so many other things on his mind that his mother insisted he looked sick and should be taken home to his father. Mrs. Touya had lived with her family for some time, and even though Akira kept half of his things there it could feel a little unwelcome. His younger cousins glared at him from behind his back, mocking his serious expression.
"A good move! In many cases, it's better to defend your own area than to make risky moves. But..." His eyes flashed, hinting at the true ability he controlled while playing Akira. "What if this were not shidougo? What if... you were playing someone willing to take risks, someone who might try unusual hands to throw you off?" Black followed quickly after white, creating a formation that Akira would not have expected. It seemed to have no advantage, but..."
"Playing conservatively only works when you are certain of your lead," stated Sai a few turns later. "Look at the board - can you tell which of us is ahead?" After a few moments of concentration, Akira shook his head.
"I can't read the game so far ahead."
"Then the only way to ensure a win is to play with determination. Not recklessly - you don't want to end up with something more complicated than you can control." Akira knew all these things. His father, who was currently searching his study for an old issue of Go Weekly, would say the exact same words. And yet Sai seemed to play inventive and possibly deadly hands without the slightest sense of fear. Unlike Akira, who had second thoughts about everything...
"Akira?"
"Huh? Oh, it's my move." Akira quickly put down a stone. Even though he thought it to be a good placement, Sai frowned. "Was that a poor move?"
"No, the move was fine... it's just that you seem distracted by something. Is it your upcoming match with Shindou? From what you've told me, he doesn't seem like he would be a threat... but I sense brilliance in his play much as I see in yours. Those games you recreated for me... I was impressed by the both of you. I'd go as far as to say you were nearly on the same..."
"He's nothing at all like me!" exclaimed Akira with uncharacteristic force. Sai seemed a little taken aback, responding with only a quiet murmur.
"Well, of course I really don't know Shindou..." Akira wanted to scream. Of course Sai knew Shindou - it was only through a series of accidents and treachery that he had ended up here. Akira desperately wanted to hate Hikaru. It was so much easier than confessing the fact that thoughts of the other boy invaded his mind with terrifying clarity.
Akira's father, of course, knew that there was some like between Sai and Shindou Hikaru. Akira had promised to talk to Shindou about that... it was one of the few times Akira was glad to have a father so out-of-touch with everyday life. It had been frightfully easy to make his father believe that Sai and Shindou had had a sort of falling out. Akira could see the faint outline of his reflection in his teacher's eyes, but he scarcely recognized himself in that shadowy figure.
"Sai-sensei, I'm feeling a bit tired... could we end this game here?" Sai nodded, his youthful face troubled. "I think I'll just go to bed early. Mother said I looked a bit ill." The expression of concern still did not disappear, but Akira decided to let his teacher worry for now. He was halfway to his bedroom when the doorbell rang. Probably some pro coming over to play father, he thought. Sai sometimes played as well, although he would introduce himself as "Murasaki."
As the youngest member of the household, a weary-eyed Akira trudged over to open the door. But instead of an elderly pro or Ogata's familiar face, a short boy with multicolored hair stared back at him. Hikaru looked as if he were trying to say something, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate.
"Akira... I thought maybe we could... uhh, I wanted to ask you something..." Akira found himself unable to speak as well. His heart was pounding in excitement, but also fear, anger and shame. There was nothing he had to say to Hikaru - he feared that if he opened his mouth, the whole terrible truth would come pouring out.
"Um, Hikaru," he finally managed. He couldn't just let Hikaru stand in the doorway... what if...
"Is there a visitor, Akira? Could I play them?" Sai... Whatever feeling it had been that had lifted Akira's heart was now gone, leaving him so empty that he was forced to grip the doorframe tightly just to keep from collapsing. That look on Hikaru's face...
That was the realization of betrayal. Hikaru must have known that there would be no way for Akira to deny knowledge of some previous contact between Sai and Shindou. It was no use making excuses. Akira looked on in morbid apprehension as Hikaru's eyes grew glassy with the beginnings of tears. It had to have been only seconds, but with their gazes linked it felt like a thousand years. Finally Hikaru broke the electrically tense contact, turning to disappear into the twilight. Akira allowed his eyes to close, listening to the sound of Hikaru's pounding footsteps on the pavement grow fainter and fainter.
"Akira...?" began Sai, hesitantly. "That was... Hikaru!" He spoke the other boy's name in a frantic whisper that ended in a harsh choking sound. Akira could almost feel Sai's gaze burning into the back of his head, full of questions that Akira could not answer... Following the imagined lingering sound of Hikaru's footsteps, he began to run.
"Sai! What happened? I heard the doorbell..." Touya Kouyo didn't miss Sai's expression of total shock, and quickly set aside the magazine he had been looking for. "Where's Akira?"
Sai didn't answer. With a softly strangled cry, he too ran off into the rapidly darkening evening.
Useful Japanese Section!:
Kumogakure - chapter 41 1/2 of Genji, meaning "vanished into the clouds" Shidougo - instructional Go Attach - when you place a stone next to one of its own color, instead of going for an attack.
And this chapter's poem is in the picture ^^;;. It reads: Kaku shi nomi/ Arikeru mono wo/ Imo mo ware mo/ Chi tose no gotoku/ Tanomitarikeru.
We were together/ Only a little while/ Though a thousand years/ We believed our love would last.
~Ootomo no Yakamochi (8th century)
Chapter Fourteen: Kumo ga kure - Vanished into the Clouds
"So, what would be the best course of action in a situation like this?" Sai placed a black stone next to Akira's white, smiling. Akira had never played someone who seemed so overjoyed simply to be playing. Of course, this was only shidougo, so Sai wasn't putting forth his full power - he didn't really need to, which reminded Akira of just how much further he had to go as a player.
"I would... let's see, I would attach here." Akira placed his stone next to another white and waited for Sai's comment. It was only early evening, but Akira's mind was frazzled. He had spent the afternoon with his mother, which was normally pleasant; this time there had been so many other things on his mind that his mother insisted he looked sick and should be taken home to his father. Mrs. Touya had lived with her family for some time, and even though Akira kept half of his things there it could feel a little unwelcome. His younger cousins glared at him from behind his back, mocking his serious expression.
"A good move! In many cases, it's better to defend your own area than to make risky moves. But..." His eyes flashed, hinting at the true ability he controlled while playing Akira. "What if this were not shidougo? What if... you were playing someone willing to take risks, someone who might try unusual hands to throw you off?" Black followed quickly after white, creating a formation that Akira would not have expected. It seemed to have no advantage, but..."
"Playing conservatively only works when you are certain of your lead," stated Sai a few turns later. "Look at the board - can you tell which of us is ahead?" After a few moments of concentration, Akira shook his head.
"I can't read the game so far ahead."
"Then the only way to ensure a win is to play with determination. Not recklessly - you don't want to end up with something more complicated than you can control." Akira knew all these things. His father, who was currently searching his study for an old issue of Go Weekly, would say the exact same words. And yet Sai seemed to play inventive and possibly deadly hands without the slightest sense of fear. Unlike Akira, who had second thoughts about everything...
"Akira?"
"Huh? Oh, it's my move." Akira quickly put down a stone. Even though he thought it to be a good placement, Sai frowned. "Was that a poor move?"
"No, the move was fine... it's just that you seem distracted by something. Is it your upcoming match with Shindou? From what you've told me, he doesn't seem like he would be a threat... but I sense brilliance in his play much as I see in yours. Those games you recreated for me... I was impressed by the both of you. I'd go as far as to say you were nearly on the same..."
"He's nothing at all like me!" exclaimed Akira with uncharacteristic force. Sai seemed a little taken aback, responding with only a quiet murmur.
"Well, of course I really don't know Shindou..." Akira wanted to scream. Of course Sai knew Shindou - it was only through a series of accidents and treachery that he had ended up here. Akira desperately wanted to hate Hikaru. It was so much easier than confessing the fact that thoughts of the other boy invaded his mind with terrifying clarity.
Akira's father, of course, knew that there was some like between Sai and Shindou Hikaru. Akira had promised to talk to Shindou about that... it was one of the few times Akira was glad to have a father so out-of-touch with everyday life. It had been frightfully easy to make his father believe that Sai and Shindou had had a sort of falling out. Akira could see the faint outline of his reflection in his teacher's eyes, but he scarcely recognized himself in that shadowy figure.
"Sai-sensei, I'm feeling a bit tired... could we end this game here?" Sai nodded, his youthful face troubled. "I think I'll just go to bed early. Mother said I looked a bit ill." The expression of concern still did not disappear, but Akira decided to let his teacher worry for now. He was halfway to his bedroom when the doorbell rang. Probably some pro coming over to play father, he thought. Sai sometimes played as well, although he would introduce himself as "Murasaki."
As the youngest member of the household, a weary-eyed Akira trudged over to open the door. But instead of an elderly pro or Ogata's familiar face, a short boy with multicolored hair stared back at him. Hikaru looked as if he were trying to say something, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate.
"Akira... I thought maybe we could... uhh, I wanted to ask you something..." Akira found himself unable to speak as well. His heart was pounding in excitement, but also fear, anger and shame. There was nothing he had to say to Hikaru - he feared that if he opened his mouth, the whole terrible truth would come pouring out.
"Um, Hikaru," he finally managed. He couldn't just let Hikaru stand in the doorway... what if...
"Is there a visitor, Akira? Could I play them?" Sai... Whatever feeling it had been that had lifted Akira's heart was now gone, leaving him so empty that he was forced to grip the doorframe tightly just to keep from collapsing. That look on Hikaru's face...
That was the realization of betrayal. Hikaru must have known that there would be no way for Akira to deny knowledge of some previous contact between Sai and Shindou. It was no use making excuses. Akira looked on in morbid apprehension as Hikaru's eyes grew glassy with the beginnings of tears. It had to have been only seconds, but with their gazes linked it felt like a thousand years. Finally Hikaru broke the electrically tense contact, turning to disappear into the twilight. Akira allowed his eyes to close, listening to the sound of Hikaru's pounding footsteps on the pavement grow fainter and fainter.
"Akira...?" began Sai, hesitantly. "That was... Hikaru!" He spoke the other boy's name in a frantic whisper that ended in a harsh choking sound. Akira could almost feel Sai's gaze burning into the back of his head, full of questions that Akira could not answer... Following the imagined lingering sound of Hikaru's footsteps, he began to run.
"Sai! What happened? I heard the doorbell..." Touya Kouyo didn't miss Sai's expression of total shock, and quickly set aside the magazine he had been looking for. "Where's Akira?"
Sai didn't answer. With a softly strangled cry, he too ran off into the rapidly darkening evening.
Useful Japanese Section!:
Kumogakure - chapter 41 1/2 of Genji, meaning "vanished into the clouds" Shidougo - instructional Go Attach - when you place a stone next to one of its own color, instead of going for an attack.