----------(17)-----------

Somehow, death threats seemed a little extreme.

He had been pretending to be Sai for three weeks. Shindou had been doing it for as long, though at a lower frequency. Kenji and Kenichi had been missing for nearly two months, with no clue as to their location or well-being.

That some anonymous person felt it right to threaten violence over a mere NetGo game seemed like a cosmic joke.

Touya wrenched his mind back from that avenue of thought, which would only lead to more distraction.

A knock at the door drew his attention. "Akira-san, there's someone to see you."

"Who is it, Mother?" Touya asked, hearing the wariness in his voice as he stood up to face the door. He looked down at the hand-bound book in his hand, and slid it under the heavy volume of A History of Japanese Igo.

The door opened.

"Hello, Akira," the visitor was standing beside his mother, his suit looking a little rumpled.

"Takeshi-san," Touya said in surprise.

His mother mentioned something about giving them their privacy, and excused herself, leaving Touya to stare at the other man.

So it was Takeshi. Then again, it made sense. Though it normally prided itself on its emphasis on professional Go and professional titles, the speculation over the upcoming NetGo game was such that even Go Weekly must have been forced to acknowledge and even cover the story. As though to acknowledge the concession, the publication had sent a freelancer like Takeshi instead of one of its regular reporters.

"Am I interrupting anything? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Takeshi asked.

Touya said nothing. Retreat in order to draw the enemy's response, he thought, then shook himself inwardly. Takeshi was not an opponent. "Please, come in," he said.

-----

"You wouldn't believe what happened!" Shindou grumbled when he saw Touya.

"What happened?" Touya asked, removing his shoes and entering the house after Shindou. They were planning to spend afternoon studying more Go, and going over Shuusaku's Go, in preparation for their NetGo game that night. Or more accurately, Sai and Touya's game.

"When I was leaving the Go salon today, someone stole my fan!" Shindou said, opening the door to his study and sitting down at the Go board.

"Your fan? But..." Touya's eyes went to the fan placed in front of Shindou's seat.

Shindou followed his gaze. "I have another one."

"Another one?" He frowned, thinking. Shindou's fan was one of his trademarks: the way he held it, the way he sometimes used it to point at the Go board, and the way he never unfurled it. It seemed incredible that he could replace it so quickly...

It was as though Shindou could follow the direction of his thoughts, for he gave a dark chuckle. "Did you think I would be devastated if it went missing?" he asked.

Touya sat down, watching as Shindou took up the fan, turning it gently between his fingers. "I haven't thought about that," he confessed. "It seems like so much a part of you that I've never really questioned it."

A corner of Shindou's mouth quirked up in a half-grin, before his expression turned sober. "When you're fifteen, you hold on to... certain objects," he said slowly. "I've always felt that Sai is in my Go. But after so many years... I've lost the urge to think of Sai... as a fan, I guess."

"What do you mean?" That was certainly not the strangest thing he had heard Shindou say, but it came close.

"I mean..." Shindou frowned as he tried to find the words. "I mean, Sai is with me on my quest for the hand of God, whether I have a fan or not. I'll never lose him, anyway."

Touya considered, feeling a slight pang of envy. Shindou was more mature than him, it seemed. That seemed to be against the order of the universe. "That makes sense, I think," he managed to say.

"I'm still pissed off that someone stole it. But I'll survive. Besides, it's not the same fan I had when I was fifteen."

"Excuse me?"

"When Kenichi was teething, he chewed it in half."

"What?"

"I was so mad. I yelled at him for that, and Asako yelled at me for yelling at her son," Shindou said, shaking his head at the memory. "I got a replacement, and two years later Kenji tore that into pieces, and managed to cut himself on the splinters. Asako gave me hell." A reminiscent smile drifted to his lips, before it was replaced by the familiar worry. "What wouldn't I give to have them back," he muttered.

Touya looked down, not knowing what to say. "We'll find them, Shindou," he said finally.

Shindou glanced at him for a second, before he turned to the fan in his hand again, lost in memory.

Shindou had assured him that he had an alibi prepared, though he did not elaborate. It was somewhat ironic, that after all they had done to make sure that no one could connect Shindou to Sai, they were now using that very set-up.

Touya signed on using his real name. Immediately, he was inundated by messages alternately advising or pleading him from proceeding. Ignoring them, he looked for, and found Sai's presence. As agreed, they set up the conditions: three hours, the komi following Japanese standards of eight and a half moku. Nigiri: Touya to go first.

He fancied that he could see Shindou sitting in front of the screen, like him, his eyes narrowed with concentration.

Let's go.

---------to be continued---------