A Game of Go:
Aya brushed back his sister's raven hair from her ashen forehead. Gentle rain pattered against the window, breaking up the sounds of the machines helping monitor her vital signs. Her glossy, black braids draped across her pure, white pillow. He quickly pressed a kiss to her cool, smooth forehead and left her hospital room.
The drab, light-gray hospital hallways were busier than he was used to. He usually visited Aya-chan on weekdays rather than Saturday afternoons for that very reason. He quickly made his way to the dark parking garage. He slipped into his car and looked over to the passenger's seat where the letter he had received yesterday rested.
Aya reached over and crumpled it. The letter was from his sister's fifth neurologist. He had written a formal letter indicating that he had exhausted every avenue for treating Aya-chan. The neurologist, Doctor Yoritomo, had informed Aya that he was now declining any further treatment. To add insult to injury, Yoritomo had included a bill for Aya-chan's last consultation for 452,485 yen.
Aya would have to ask Manx for an advance on the next Weiss assignment to cover the bill. He tossed the balled up letter aside with a sneer. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of obligating himself to killing someone before even looking at the Weiss assignment, but he had little choice.
He started his car and drove out into the gloomy Saturday afternoon. Aya drove aimlessly down the busy Tokyo streets. He mechanically turned down smaller and smaller side streets while his sister's demure smile plagued his mind. His foot stomped the brake before his car drifted into a sharp curb.
His amethyst eyes traveled over to the small, seedy building in front of his car. It was a building he had lived in for a while, the Scarlet Moon Bar. A car horn blared behind him, shocking him into pulling into the alleyway beside the bar. He had no idea why he had made his way here of all places.
Aya got out of his car and walked over to the steel-gray back door. He knocked on the door, only half expecting it to open. It made a loud squeal; the interior was pitch black.
"Ran, come in," Shion's gravelly voice called out. Aya flinched back, hearing his given name. Aya stepped into the dim back room. He avoided looking at the older man while he locked the door.
"Sensei," Aya said, bowing to Shion.
"You're in time for some afternoon tea. I'm still not able to kick the habit," Shion said. Aya nodded, still avoiding direct eye contact with his Sensei.
Aya glanced around at the sparsely furnished room. Shion gestured towards the one extravagance, the goban in the corner. Aya walked over, annoyed with Shion; it was always games and indirect lessons with the man. He sat across the game table from the man and met Shion's dark, amber eyes.
"I hope you still play," Shion said.
"Sometimes," Aya said, thinking of the few times he had played with Omi. Ken and Youji could care less for the game. Shion held the brown bowls out for Aya to pick from. He took a bowl and opened it to see smooth, black, shale stones. He was to make the first move.
"Place your three stones," Shion instructed, giving Aya a three piece handicap. Shion placed his white stone on the remaining 3-4 point. There were several minutes of nothing but the soft clicks of the stones on the goban. Shion paused and served Aya a strong mint tea. Aya placed a black stone at the 4-3 next to Shion's opening move.
Shion smiled slightly as he moved a white clamshell stone under it. A quick exchange ended with Aya abandoning a corner he had dominated with his black pieces. He spotted a ladder breaker, a stray white piece, blocking his ability to secure another corner.
"How is your sister, Ran?" Shion asked.
"The same," Aya answered. Aya slammed the slate piece down in a new attack. Shion calmly played a ko-threat, flustering Aya. Yet another exchange turned sour for Aya.
"How about your quest with Weiss?" Shion asked. Aya's eyes swept over the black and white stones scattered across the grid. Stones that were made of slate and clam shells. Shion cleared his throat; Aya's eyes jerked up making the pieces a grayish blur.
"I'm closer to finding Takatori," Aya said. He reclaimed sente, pressing Shion back in multiple territories on the board.
"Still so focused. That's why you'll never totally master the katana. Your mind is so concentrated on one single thing that you miss what's around you," Shion said. "By the way, you're stones are too thick." Shion revealed why he'd accepted the gote position, initiating three successive snapbacks for 20, 13, and 12 point.
"I didn't come to have my swordsmanship or my Go game criticized," Aya snapped. Aya boldly advanced into a hole, seeking to divide Shion's territory.
"That's what you always seem to seek me out for," Shion said with a sly smile. Shion calmly played over Aya's piece, isolating it as he pushed into the final corner. Aya could see but a few bits of black territory. "It's like life, the light will always beat back the darkness. But it's your choice to let that happen. You could win if you wanted to and live in light again. Just keep in mind that you have control over your density; you aren't a victim of some dark event in your past."
Aya rose, glaring at his Sensei; he nodded to Shion. He left the drab, smoky room and breathed the fresh, rainy afternoon air. Aya jogged over to his car and drove towards the flower shop in the dusk light.
It wasn't long before he pulled his car up behind the flower shop that was now closed. He got out of his car just as night had finally settled, along with a thick mist. The shop's windows were all pitch black, but there was a warm glow from the windows above the shop where he lived with the other three Weiss assassins.
He quickly went up the back stairway and opened the door with his key. There was a soft blast of warmth along with a television playing in the background. His nose picked up the scent of cooked shrimp and noodles.
"Aya," Youji called out from the kitchen. "Just in time for dinner."
He went into the kitchen where Ken was setting the table for three. Youji was finishing cooking. Aya tried to ignore the strange sight of Youji home on a Saturday night, but it was just too unnatural.
"Omi won't be home for another two hours, so I thought the three of us could sit down and have a drink before we eat," Youji said. He put the shrimp and noodles on the table. Aya took off his jacket and sat beside Ken, who looked equally puzzled.
"Okay," Youji said. He got down three cocktail glasses and poured a small amount of whisky in each of them.
"This smells strong. You know I'm not a drinker," Ken said. Youji sat down and rubbed his thumb over the black and white label.
"It's important to me," Youji said. He held up his glass. Ken and Aya did likewise. They each gulped down their swallows of whisky and cleared their throats. "Hey, Aya. There is something Ken and I want to plan. We want to see if you'll be in on it."
"What is it?" Aya asked. Youji slid the crisp, white invitation towards Aya. The cool redhead scanned the black katakana. "What did you two have in mind?"
To be continued.