Title: DIFFERENT ROADS, SAME DESTINATION
Author: Lady Addiction
Fandom: Hikaru no Go
Pairings: None
Warnings: GEN, AU, angst, people with disabilities
Dedication: In thanks to the Lord for his many mercies in my own life.
I'm back! Man, it's very difficult getting back into writing this. I do confess that I haven't watched or read the series for about a year, so well...I'm probably off.
For the people who continued to have faith in this story, thank you for sticking it with me.
To Dephanie, I hope your time with JET will be greatly blessed and that you'll have lots of stories to tell during and after!
WWWW
VI.
When Touya Akira turned ten, the game of Go mutated subtly. Suddenly, his games were watched a little more closely, his father's comments a little more critical. Suddenly, there was more pressure for him to study hard in preparation for the pro exams . . . to teach Go . . . to demonstrate to the general public just how good he can play.
Suddenly, Go was not really a game anymore; it was life.
His Go became an exhibit. Rumours of his tremendous talent had created exceedingly high expectations. His father's students now demanded more of him, always comparing him with his father. Pro exams, tournaments, title matches, and insei were the constant bywords in any conversation within his vicinity. Akira felt more and more the need to rise up to the demand that he can do better, that Touya Kouya's legacy would live in him.
Because of this, more and more Akira felt constrained to ensure that his Go remained as flawless as possible. The time spent poring over books on the game suddenly doubled, competing with the time spent with regular studying. His teaching games were no longer truly games; somehow, it had mutated into work, down to the constant soft smile on his face and the professional tone he used.
Even his games with his father had changed. Akira now felt the eyes of his father like some high-intensity searchlight, pointing out every single error without fail. Akira studied more before matches with his father than he did for his school examinations.
It shouldn't be said that the enormous pressure crushed Akira; rather, he thrived in it, growing faster and faster until even his most dedicated detractor would say that he was a credit to his father.
However, the constant eyes watching, the unrelenting praise of his elders, changed Akira. Akira learned to minimize his risks. He mastered how to utilize each hand to maximum efficiency. He became proficient at all the proven attacks, counterattacks, and defences used by Go greats for decades, even centuries.
By the time Akira turned twelve, he was, in a lot of ways, textbook perfect in his Go game. Combined with judgment honed by a lifetime of games, Akira was well-above most other players, even the pros, and he knew it.
But technical proficiency was not enough in a game of masters.
And when Kuwabara-Honinbou himself pointed this out after a game ("You can train a monkey to reach technical perfection"), Akira was infuriated.
"Kuwabara-sensei, you insult me," he replied coldly, his face pale with rage. Spots of red inflamed his cheeks as he stared narrow-eyed at his opponent.
The elderly man squinted at him from across the table, rubbing his lip with a crooked index finger.
"Play Sai," the title-holder replied shortly. With that, he cleaned his side of the board and left the Institute's large, open recreation room abruptly. Akira stared down unseeingly at the board.
The minute he got home, Akira logged into WorldIgoNet. His father had disdained Sai, disliking anyone who chose to hide in the shadows. But apparently, Kuwabara-Honinbou thought that he, Touya Akira, had something to learn from the notorious NetGo upstart.
Later, it made Akira numb to realize that the old master was right.
-End Chapter-
There were points when this chapter was easy to write, and points where it was like pulling teeth. I do hope that I did Akira's character honour and I hope that you guys enjoyed it as well.