a/n: Well, this was supposed to be my take on the cliché of the Mary Sue, but it didn't turn out that way. What follows instead is rather disturbing. For those of you who are going to hate it, my apologies in advance. This is still not a shonen ai story (nor will it be), but there was something that got me thinking.

Part 6: Rivalry

"You don't need that." Akira Touya stared over the goban to catch the eyes of the girl seated across from him as she hesitated over the black stone she'd just placed. "A four stone handicap is sufficient."

Her eyes registered her dubiousness at this thought, but her fingers reluctantly obeyed, returning the fifth stone to the go ke at her elbow. Bowing her head, she mumbled something in the direction of her lap.

"What was that?" He knew Shindou had a tendency to be rather lenient in the matter of his daughter's manners, but that didn't mean Touya had to accept it.

"I said, 'you're going to wipe the floor with me,' okay?" She glared at him with a look that was so familiar he almost laughed out loud, but the very familiarity warned him that would not be a wise choice.

"Naturally. But you'll learn more. You must fight for your advantages – not everything in life is freely given." He put a bit of a smile behind his words, softening the impact without removing the message. Touya had a fair amount of experience tutoring children and this child in particular, and knew a hint of honey always helped bitter medicine reach its mark. His experience was reaffirmed as the child nodded and smiled.

"Okay, but after this, we get to go to the park and feed the ducks." Her tone was confident, but there was at least a hint of pleading in her eyes. For all that she'd grown amazingly, she was still a child. He wondered how long that would last.

"Very well, but only if you lose by less than ten moku." There would be no throwing the game to make an earlier appointment with already-well-fed waterfowl. She nodded her agreement, then pulled herself into the rigidly formal posture she adopted when playing. They acknowledged each other and began another round of jigo, as they had on numerous Saturday afternoons.

She had improved tremendously in the four years they'd been playing. While there had never been any formal agreement with regards to her tutoring, she had developed a habit of showing up twice or thrice a month, asking to play. Of course, she always knew when he'd be around – no doubt utilizing her father's own awareness of his schedule. The strange part was that she generally seemed to appear at times when he was unopposed to playing her. That, he couldn't fathom.

And she was actually quite good. For an eleven-year-old to play him with only a four (or five) stones handicap was impressive, especially when one considered that she had played her own father only once, hid the fact that she could play at all from her mother, and consequently showed no interest in the game at school or anywhere someone might spot her. Touya assumed she played on the internet, and occasionally wondered what her handle might be. He also wondered what her father would say if he suggested to him that perhaps Kinume should be encouraged to join the insei program. He had a feeling he could predict her mother's response.

"Do you enjoy go, Kinume-chan?" He was genuinely curious. The girl looked up with irritation at the distraction, and he smiled, understanding. Questions would wait until after they'd finished. Instead, he watched her play, noting how carefully she seemed to consider each step, and how her mouth quirked into an unconscious frown of concentration. In almost all physical characteristics, the child resembled her mother, and it was only in the moments when she played that the other side of her parentage showed any trace.

The game ended as he'd expected. She resigned when a loss of roughly eight moku became inevitable, but her demeanor seemed uncharacteristically saddened by the loss. She noticed her teacher watching as she cleared the last of her stones, however, and quickly painted a bright smile on her face. "Time to feed the ducks!" she announced. She ran to the entryway to put on her shoes, while Touya stopped in the kitchen for a bag of stale bread. He seldom ate bread, but Kinume often fed the ducks, and he'd found they didn't care how old it was. He wrapped the plastic package up and placed it in the pocket of his jacket before joining his rival's daughter in the hall.

"Did you enjoy the game, Kinume-chan?" She was busily stuffing her arms into her coat, as he began tying his shoes. Whether she truly hadn't heard him or was simply pretending, he couldn't be sure, but once they'd both finished preparing for the outdoors, and made their way to the walk beyond the front door, she spoke up.

"I don't play go because I like it," was the curious response.

"Then why--?"

"Have you ever been in love, Touya-san?" He tried not to trip as they continued down the sidewalk towards the park. For a moment, he wondered if this were one of her whimsical subject-changing questions, but a look at the serious cast of her expression convinced him otherwise. It was an absurdly inappropriate thing to ask, and part of his mind resolved to have a long talk with Shindou about the manners a young lady should exhibit. Still, it was clear there was something very important in the question, and he was hesitant to halt the conversation entirely. He was trying to make up his mind how to answer, when the girl suddenly blushed. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't ask personal questions." Some memory of a parental admonition clearly filled her thoughts, and she looked up to gain his forgiveness. He nodded. Accepting that as pardon enough, the girl continued.

"It's just, I think love is a terrible thing. Tou-san and Ka-san are in love, and all it does is hurt them. They get angry and yell, and Ka-san cries and when I try to make her stop, she just says 'never fall in love, Kinume-chan.'" Her voice had the deliberately softened tone of one trying not to cry, and he wondered just how bad things had gotten between Shindou and his wife. It was one of several subjects that they never discussed, and he was simultaneously appalled and fascinated to hear of it from Kinume. They walked in silence for several moments before he realized that perhaps he should respond somehow. Glancing at the girl, he realized he had no idea what to say.

"I'm sure there are some good aspects to love," he ventured, hesitantly. In point of fact, he couldn't think of any at the moment, but it didn't seem right for a little girl to be so jaded.

"I'm never going to fall in love, Touya-san," she asserted, shaking her head for emphasis.

"You might find you become very lonely that way," he demurred, then blushed slightly as she looked up and caught his eyes. He was forever underestimating this child's maturity, and the hint of understanding that he saw in her gaze nearly had him panicking until she looked away.

"Not if I have something better." He was curious to know just what that might be and what it had to do with go, but they had arrived at the park and the ducks were waiting. Love and parents and black and white stones were flung from her regard as Kinume ran to greet her feathered friends. She was so excited she forgot the bag of bread scraps and had to come running back for them. He held out the bag, but she grabbed his hand anyway, and dragged her teacher to the water's edge to join in her excitement.

There was a certain joy in feeding ducks with Kinume. Touya helped for a while, then found a place on a bench from which to watch her. The girl laughed and teased and chased the birds, and he wondered that such happiness could float on the surface of what was turning out to be a rather deep individual. The sun was setting and the air was getting cold, when at last, she returned rosy-cheeked to join him on the bench. They sat for a moment, watching the sky, then the girl complained of hunger and Touya offered to take her home.

Walking back towards the train station, he watched as the merriment slowly left her face. Her eyes were drooping by the time they climbed aboard the train, but the look she cast out the window was strangely haunted for all its fatigue. They didn't speak throughout the ride. When at last the train stopped and the strange pair began their walk towards her home, Kinume finally spoke.

"Thank you for taking care of me today. The game was fun, and the ducks too. My mother appreciates your putting up with me." This last had the singsong quality of a phrase long drilled into the child, for all that he was sure she meant it.

"You're no trouble. Your play is really improving and I enjoyed your company. Just don't forget to practice before next time." He smiled to show he wasn't taking her for granted, then paused as an impulse struck him. "Kinume-chan, if I may ask, when you said you'd find something better than love, what did you mean?"

They were almost to her house, and she'd turned to skip the short way up her walk. Hearing his question, however, she stopped and looked back. A confident smile transformed her face and she laughed a little as she replied. "Rivalry!"

Two skips and the swish of a door, and she disappeared into the home that was not his. Outside, the street lamps flickered on, and Touya checked his watch. Twenty-minutes. He'd make it in plenty of time. The street was empty, the girl was gone, and in the go salon that had been his father's, his rival was waiting.