a/n: Just because it was fun to write.
Part 14. You Haven't Seen Her
Touya heard the door clack shut and his rival's whistling. He gritted his teeth, resolving not to yell at him. After all, the man was his guest. So what if he left discarded socks in the middle of the living room, had not put the goban away once since arriving and this morning had left a sink full of dirty dishes he'd promised last night to clean? So what if his very presence turned Touya's restful retreat from the world into a strangely uncomfortable landscape of alien music and unfamiliar papers and a toothbrush not his own on the sink in the hall bathroom? Civility to guests had been drilled into Touya at a very young age, and in all the years of helping his mother prepare for and then tidy up after his father's guests, he'd never faltered. Shindou, however, was pushing it.
"You're home?" The guest had the nerve to look surprised. He was smiling broadly and had his headphones on, his head swaying ever so slightly in time to music Touya couldn't hear. His happiness was almost insulting, but at least his match must have gone well. His secretly fuming host went back to washing the dishes.
"This afternoon's lesson was canceled." He tried to keep his voice polite, for all that he hoped his posture radiated enough irritation to get his point across.
"Hey, what are you doing? I said I'd clean those!" The half-blond dropped his backpack on the floor, set his mp3 player and headphones on the kitchen ledge and made to move into the kitchen.
"When?" Touya asked, not relinquishing his place by the sink.
"Huh?"
"When were you going to clean them? Dinner was nineteen hours ago." He sighed, realizing that keeping track was probably childish and feeling resigned to the fact that his rival unerringly brought out the worst in him. "In any case, I'm almost finished. Would you please not leave your backpack in the hallway today?" He could practically feel Shindou's confusion and annoyance, but he heard the man pick up his bag. One week and three days...
"Fine, but leave the drying for me. I'll be right back." Touya heard him head back to the guest room. It was odd hearing noises in the house. He remembered spending a heart pounding half hour trying to go back to sleep the night before after hearing someone open his front door at one o'clock in the morning only to realize it was just his guest returning from a study session. He almost wondered if Shindou was louder than usual at night, but set the thought aside. Shindou was never quiet. He finished the last dish just in time for the man's return. "Move it. I'm drying."
Touya shrugged, moved, and watched his rival stare blankly at the dishes for a moment before beginning to look around the small kitchen. "The dish towel is hanging on the hook right in front of you," he snapped. Shindou smiled, grabbing it as though no hint of insult had colored his host's words. He began boisterously wiping away, while Touya tried not to fidget in concern for his mother's china.
"I beat Ochi today," Shindou offered. Touya decided it would probably be rude to return to the book he'd been reading, and instead pulled up one of the stools beside the kitchen counter.
"Was it a good game?" This was a standard question between them which usually translated out to 'please recite the interesting portions of the kifu to me'. They fell into a familiar discussion of Ochi's tactics and habits and for a while, Touya could overlook the inconvenience of sharing space with someone else. Shindou was actually pretty good at drying dishes.
"He went straight to the bathroom afterwards, though," the man continued. "That hasn't changed since he was an insei." The word sparked a memory, and Touya sat up a little.
"Shindou, have you considered sponsoring your daughter into the insei program?" If he hadn't been watching closely, he would not have seen his friend's back stiffen. Shindou relaxed again almost immediately before replying in an offhand way.
"Kinume? She doesn't play go." Shindou's rival sat back in surprise. Not only was it a patently ridiculous statement coming from the title-holding champion who had lost to her; it was exactly what the daughter in question had predicted her father would say. Not that he'd mentioned the insei program to her, but he had asked why they couldn't simply inform her father of her ability.
"She beat you." His incredulity was clear.
"It was a fluke." Something was making Shindou uncomfortable in a way Touya was very familiar with. He decided not to back down.
"A fluke! Beginners' luck doesn't exist in go."
"Well, it does in my family!" Shindou looked somewhere between angry and amused. Then Touya met his gaze and gave what he hoped looked like a knowing nod. He was rewarded by a tinge of very old terror in his rival's eyes.
"The same way you defeated me the first time we met?" Touya managed to keep the excitement out of his voice. He knew Kinume and knew there was nothing miraculous in her play. He would truthfully have been perfectly willing to believe she'd somehow had a momentary inspiration, but Shindou's reactions had him once again hoping for clues of Sai. Had his rival shared the secret with his daughter?
"No," Shindou tried to laugh it off. "Kinume's just really good at strategy. She's got good instincts, you know?" Touya could see the nervousness building and decided not to press any further. Shindou didn't run away physically anymore, but holing up and declining to talk to anyone for a while (i.e. sulking) was not unheard of. The tutor decided to follow up on his earlier interest in his student.
"All the more reason you should consider at least letting her try out." He watched Hikaru relax and saw the comfortable, competitive edge of an oncoming argument reassert itself in his eyes.
"She's a chess player, Touya. It's what she lives for. She'd never give it up for go – even if she did know how to play." He laughed, clearly remembering something. "She doesn't care about the hand of god; killing kings until there aren't any challengers left is what she's all about." Inwardly, Touya somehow doubted that.
"She could be a very positive influence to the game. If she were matched against worthy opponents-" Shindou had folded the dish towel and was hanging it back up when he interrupted.
"Have you ever seen her play?" Touya hesitated, unsure of how to answer, but Shindou continued. "Chess, I mean. Have you seen her play chess?" He shook his head.
"Come on then," and Shindou was leaving the kitchen and heading for the entryway. Bemused, Touya followed.
"Ah, what are you...?" Shindou was already shrugging into his jacket, and motioned for Touya to do the same.
"It's Akari's turn tonight, but what the hell. I'm taking you to see Kinume do what she does best."
-
The match had apparently been going on for some time by the time Shindou and Touya arrived. Most of the other participants had long since left the community center where it was being held, gone with their parents or mentors to discuss defeats. Even so, there was a decent crowd of parents and youngsters still clustered around the last game of the tournament. Kinume faced a plump boy with sandy hair and blue eyes across the checkered board. A clutch of fallen soldiers rested by each opponent's elbow.
Shindou pushed through the spectators to stand where he could easily see the board, dragging Touya with him. Everyone was maintaining the standard three feet of distance, but clearly pressed as close to that limit as possible. Touya noticed Akari directly to Shindou's right. She saw them, and smiled slightly, making a little more room before returning her attention to the game.
Touya followed her lead, but was immediately reminded of his incomprehension of this game. He had played chess a few times, but not enough to truly understand it. The battle on this board was merely black and white. A few more white pieces than black remained, but he didn't know whether that meant anything. He looked at Shindou for some clue, but the blank-yet-attentive look on his rival's face was enough to tell him Shindou didn't really know either. Instead, he focused on the players.
Kinume's eyes held a familiar intensity. The deep fires of competition clearly burned as brightly for chess as for go. What was unusual was the almost exuberant playfulness in her smile. She was enjoying herself tremendously. Her fingers, when they touched her soldiers, lingered in an almost loving caress and she placed each with the delicacy of a conductor flitting his baton. Her lips moved as she played, but no sound emerged. It was almost as though she were talking to someone, but her opponent never answered – it wasn't him.
Touya did not have to ask who was winning. The sandy-haired boy's shoulders already had the infinitesimal slump of defeat. Even so, he appreciated Shindou's consideration when the man turned to whisper in his ear.
"According to Akari, Kinume has mate in four." Touya nodded, faintly amused that Shindou had had to learn this from his wife.
Ten minutes (and four moves) later, it was over. The fallen king lay on the board and the contestants shook hands. Kinume said something in a language Touya didn't recognize, and her opponent smiled slightly.
"Have fun in China, Shindou-san," said the boy, and she smiled a polite, demure smile that made the watching parents proud. Then the children were leaving their game, and Kinume was surrounded by friends and some older people all congratulating her. Akari and Hikaru waited at a slight distance, holding some whispered conversation. Akari seemed happy and Hikaru wasn't frowning, so Akira decided to listen to Kinume's well wishers instead.
"Excellent game, Shindou-san!" An older man with greying hair and the sort of out-of-date suit Touya had come to associate with professional game-players was congratulating the girl. "You're still relying a bit heavily on your knights, but it worked well for you this time." Kinume blushed prettily, and Touya wondered if she had somehow been replaced by an identical twin with an alternate personality. She'd never taken criticism gracefully in his experience.
"But the knights are my favorite, Nozuki-sensei," and she fingered her horse-headed earrings. As she did it, she caught sight of Touya and her smile lost its ladylike quality, splitting her face in excitement. "TOUYA-SAN!" He found himself the sudden, uncomfortable center of attention as she introduced her teacher. "Nozuki Yota-sensei, this is my friend Touya Akira-san. He's my father's rival."
"Ah yes, the famous go player. I've heard a lot about you," the old man smiled, with a slight nod to Kinume. "A pleasure," he bowed. Touya returned it, mumbling something similar. Then the teacher momentarily reclaimed his student's attention. "Shindou-san, please be certain to have your mother call me to solidify the travel arrangements. We wouldn't want you to miss this chance through any forgetfulness, would we?" She nodded her agreement, he smiled and moved to join another conversation. Then Kinume returned her attention to Touya.
"You came to watch me?" At his nod, her grin widened. "What did you think?" she asked eagerly.
"Well," he tried to think of something appropriate to say, but was interrupted by Shindou's intrusion into the conversation.
"You did GREAT!" He beamed, with only the briefest smirk at his rival's obvious ignorance.
"Not that you'd know," she teased her father. Akari came up behind her daughter to give her a sedate hug.
"It was a very impressive game," her mother reassured her. Kinume laughed and turned to her mother.
"Did you see him fall for that sacrifice with the queen? I mean, come on. Like I would ever give her up for nothing, but then when he castled I thought I was in trouble until..." She went on animatedly reviewing the game to Akari and the older woman smiled over her daughter's back at her husband.
"I'm going to take her home. Would you like to come for tea?" There was the slightest strain to the moment as the child paused in her narration to see her father's response. Hikaru smiled at her, but shook his head.
"Can't. I'm studying with Touya tonight, but thank you. Maybe tomorrow." Akari nodded and Kinume shrugged.
"But Touya-san, you will watch me play again some time, won't you?" Her eyes held a spark of amusement at their shared secret and the hint of double meaning.
"Of course," he replied, letting her know he knew exactly what she was thinking. It probably was time for her to move up to two stones...
The two pairs exited the community center, separating in the parking lot. Hikaru kissed his daughter once, despite her protests, and grinned cheerfully. Akari smiled indulgently at them both before thanking Touya, rather formally, for coming. Happy faces were maintained all around until the car door closed.
"So we're studying tonight?" Akira inquired. He watched his friend's face fall as the man stared out the car window just a moment longer.
"You see why it has to be chess, right?" Hikaru's voice seemed a little lower than usual. "She loves it so much." His face was still turned away. "It won't ask her for anything she can't give."
Akira thought about it for a moment. He remembered the fierce joy in the girl's eyes as she commanded plastic armies across the checkered wasteland. Then he remembered the way she came relentlessly, rain or shine, early or late or right on time to play another game – a game she almost never won. Looking at her father's face, he began to understand.
"You haven't seen her play," he murmured.
For a moment their eyes met in the darkened interior of the car; a deep, challenging stare that dared them both to confess their secrets. Then Hikaru was looking past him out the windshield and suggesting that they stop for ramen on the way back to Touya's, and Akira was informing him that they were going straight back to study, lest he be proved a liar. Hikaru coaxed and Akira snarled and they argued all the way to the noodle shop.