Notes: Tsugi part 1 was the first chapter I wrote for this story, as the flow of ch1 didn't come to me until I started work on chapter 5.

Oct 19: fixed honorific

Chapter 2: 粘ぎ Tsugi "Connect" Part 1

"Thank you very much for the ride, Ichikawa-san," said Akari with a slight but forced smile on her face, as the go salon clerk pulled to a stop before the Touya residence.

"Any time for a friend of Akira-kun's," Ichikawa-san replied, as the young girl exited the car, cradling the heavy gift in her arms. "Have a nice day, and feel welcome to stop by the go salon some time!" Akari wanted to point out that she wasn't exactly Touya-kun's friend and didn't actually know him that well, but felt it would be kind of rude. And besides, how could Ichikawa-san be so cheerful? But then again, she wasn't close with Hikaru.

As Ichikawa-san sped off down the road, Akari adjusted her hold on the cloth-wrapped bundle, and had a good look at Touya's house. They had a really beautiful place, she thought, large, peaceful, out of the way and very traditional. It was so quiet that she could hear the running of a pond and the wooden clonk of a bamboo fountain in the garden. Very fitting for the esteemed family of the retired Meijin.

There didn't seem to be any cars around. Possibly no one was home? But it was still worth a try to deliver it in person. She ascended the front steps, pushed the doorbell, and waited.

For a time, there was no sound, and she thought that maybe no one was home after all. The package strained her arm muscles, and the clonk of the fountain came again. She was starting to turn around and leave when the door opened, revealing no one other than Touya Akira.

For a moment, Touya-kun stared at the girl with blank, confused eyes. Then he failed to stifle a gasp. "Shindou's… What brings you here?"

"Ah! Um," Akari searched for a way to word this. "I'm Fujisaki Akari. I am—was Hikaru's childhood friend. We helped make the Go club at our school… together…" Her voice trailed off into emptiness at the mention of his name and she gazed down at the parcel.

Touya-kun didn't say anything. He turned his face back to stone, but she could tell it wasn't working. His eyes were tired, sunken in. He looked almost dead inside.

"A-anyway," said Akari, voice wavering, "I think he would have wanted you to have this!" She blurted this out and thrust the parcel at Touya-kun's chest so vigorously that the sound of rattling stones came from within, and the boy delicately wrapped his hands around it.

As Akari started to turn hastily away toward the road without so much as a goodbye, Touya-kun called out, "Wait! Fujisaki-san!"

She stopped and looked back at him again. The death in his eyes had momentarily been swept back, and they shone almost with the same light she used to see in Hikaru when he had heard any mention of Touya-kun. Then once again he regained composure, and returned his face to stone.

"Fujisaki-san, I was getting ready to have tea. Would you please join with me?"

Tea with Touya-kun? Wouldn't that be a waste of the go prodigy's time? Akari was only a dabbling amateur, and not even a very good one at that. No, there had always been something strange between Touya-kun and Hikaru, and she was Hikaru's old friend. It probably had to do with that.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Touya-kun added with a gentle smile, which seemed forced, like her own. She knew the feeling.

"Of course," she said, "I don't have any other plans," and she followed the young Touya into the house, making sure to remove her shoes. After all, the same curtain of emptiness hang around them both. How could she leave him alone in that? How could she refuse?

"Please, Fujisaki-san, make yourself at home," said Akira, as he brought the wrapped go board to his own room. He was absolutely certain it was a goban with two bowls of stones—the weight and rattle of the parcel was familiar. He would not unwrap Shindou's board now in front of Fujisaki-san, as he was afraid he might lose control of himself.

Fujisaki-san at first assumed seiza on the cushion, then allowed herself to slip into a more relaxed sitting position. She looked down at both the tea table and the goban before her. "Um, Touya-kun, If you're thinking about playing a game with me, I must warn you that I'm no good at all and it would be a waste of your time. It really is no trouble for me to be here, right?"

In the kitchen, Akira set a teapot filled with hot green tea and two cups on a tray, and brought it into the room with Fujisaki-san. "No, no trouble at all," he said calmly, "Okaa-san is out on errands and Otou-san is visiting with old friends. At this rate, he will probably be out late—he likes to play long games and then discuss them at length afterwards."

"I thought Touya-sensei quit go?" said Fujisaki-san.

Akira lowered the tea tray to the table, trying to keep it steady, but could not help the porcelain pieces rattling a little. He wasn't quite as calm as he thought. He sat opposite Fujisaki-san in seiza. "Otou-san retired as a professional player, but that doesn't mean he will stop playing go. It's all friendly games from now on, and he will continue to teach."

"And what about you? Don't you have school about now? Or Go?"

Akira felt a pang strike in his heart and wash over his body. The hand holding the teapot jolted and he spilled some hot tea on the table. Fujisaki-san reached a hand out to help him clean it up. "No, it's alright," he said, mopping it up with the cloth napkin. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he keep it together?

"Anyway, as for me, I'm not ready to go to school. I had a match scheduled for today, but I didn't go. This is my second time, since otou-san…"

"He must really have meant a lot to you…" said Fujisaki-san.

His hands clenched on the cup he'd almost brought to his lips, as he struggled to keep back the beginnings of tears. Those words… Why did she say those words?

Her brow furrowed with concern. "Touya-kun?"

"It's n-nothing," choked Akira, the tears starting to flow. The cup fell out of his fingers and spilled all over the delicate tatami, and he started sobbing uncontrollably. "It's all nothing!" he cried, "All meaningless!"

Fujisaki-san reached out a hand, but Akira shrank away. Why? Why did it have to happen like this? He took a deep breath, wiped away some tears with his fingers and sniffed, but then broke down into another series of sobs.

Then he said, "One day, he's chasing you, the next day, he's gone." He wiped at his raw face, his eyes and throat sore. "Now he'll never catch up to me, and I will never understand. It just doesn't make any sense." He hang his head and let the tears flow quietly.

Fujisaki-san observed without saying a word, and let her gaze fall to the cup she held in her lap, some tears falling herself.

They sat like this for quite some time, saying nothing. Only the sound of the bamboo fountain outside punctuated the silence.

After a while, Akira said, in a soft voice, "You were a very special friend to Shindou, Fujisaki-san."

The girl looked up from her contemplation. "Ah?"

Akira looked up into her face. "You were friends with him before he started go. You were friends with Shindou only for Shindou, and not for his go. That puts you in a very unique position." He gave a small smile, a genuine one this time.

"Really?" said Fujisaki-san, blushing a little.

Akira realized now how calm he was in body and mind, and that he didn't have to force himself to stay this way. Though he sensed this was far from over, he felt as if he had already taken a step forward.

"I wish I knew more about him," said Akira, after a moment of contemplation. "Not just about his go, but about Shindou. Like why did he first decide to play go? What was he doing before? Why did he color his hair? What kind of jokes did he tell? Little things like that. Fujisaki-san, may I please ask you these kinds of questions?"

Fujisaki-san smiled, and Akira could sense that this, too, was a natural smile. "Ok, but only if you start calling me Akari!" she said.

Akira giggled a little bit at his own expense. "Alright, Akari-san," he cautiously said, and she laughed.

"Well, I don't know everything, but I can tell you some things, like about why he bleached his hair. Prepare yourself for this one—it's pretty dumb."

And in this way, the two told each other stories about the life of Shindou all through the next couple of hours. Akari-san lost track of the time so that she didn't realize she was late for dinner until his mother arrived home, who offered her a ride. Akira finally thanked her for the time and for Shindou's gift and saw her out, and spent the rest of the evening in good spirits.