Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.
Please read: This chapter will be the only chapter that comes from Sai's POV.
Principle 3: Feng Shui for Kuwabara's garden
Principles of Yin and Yang:
"3. Yin and Yang change and grow in a cyclic and balanced manner."
August (Summer), after Ogata Judan won Nogi and got his second title (the Gosei), at the Kuwabaras'
"I have nothing," Sai bowed to his opponent. Still he wondered if he was worthy to call the man before him his opponent.
"Thank you for the game," Kuwabara responded. He studied the pattern of the game, nodded to himself before saying with contentment, "You're pretty good. If you had taken Go more seriously, you would have been a pro by now."
The compliment could not be greater than that. "You flatter me," Sai placed both hands on the tatami floor and lowered his head in gratitude. "Thank you for your kind words but I'm content with the way things are now," he thanked while his face was only an inch apart from the floor.
The veteran Go pro snorted. "'The way things are now', you mean being a Feng Shui Master like your grandfather?" He shrugged. "Why do I even bother to ask? Like grandfather, like grandson, I say."
Sai only beamed in return.
Kuwabara Honinbo and his grandfather were lifetime friends. Since he was a boy, the elder Fujiwara, with Sai as a tag along, have been dropping by Kuwabara's house to play Go with him once a month on a regular basis. It was Kuwarabara who had taught Sai the game of Go. Sai himself didn't know how good he really was, however, he had often been told by his opponents as well as Kurata Atsushi, his Go professional friend, that he was quite strong for an amateur. Apparently, playing against the Honinbo monthly for twenty years had definitely paid off.
Sai's parents had passed away in a car accident when he was six. After that, his grandfather had become his guardian. He had raised him, fed him, nursed him, educated him, groomed him to be a Feng Shui master and given him love. Sai was always, and would eternally be, grateful to him. He was the man he was today thanks to his grandfather's effort. This was the reason why he had never considered occupations other than being a Feng Shui counselor. It was a great honor for him to follow his grandfather's footsteps and live on as his successor.
Sai let his eyes wander through the opened paper-sliding doors to the garden outside and smiled proudly. In Feng Shui, the garden was deemed as Yin, while the house was considered to be Yang. For that reason, the garden and the house had to perfectly balance each other. Kuwabara's garden was one of his grandfather's master pieces. It was indeed an ideal Feng Shui garden.
The distance between the house and a grove of Pine trees which represented long life and bamboo which was a symbol of strength and firmness were perfect. If those trees stood too close to the house, they would block out the sun and prevent a "Chi" from entering the house, which would cause the occupants to lose their energy and motivation afterward.
In the southwest area, garden lights were placed to bless Kuwaraba and his wife a happy marriage.
In the north of the garden, which was the direction of career, there was a fishpond to enhance prosperity and good fortune. Following his grandfather's advice, the Honinbo kept some Carps in the fishpond. Generally, fish were favorable pets for all time because they had to swim upstream and leap over waterfalls in order to get to their breeding grounds; they became a sign of wealth, diligence and career progress. Especially, Carps, with its Chinese name pronounced as "Lei-Yu" which sounded similar to "have wealth", were believed to be more fortunate than other fishes. There was also Lotus in the pond. Lotus indicated purity, peace, creativity, intelligence and determination, and it was one of the five most auspicious flowers. Sai would love to see those white and pink Sacred Lotus flowers next July.
Speaking of the great five flowers, the title holder had them all in this garden. Apart from the Sacred Lotus, his senior Fujiwara had advised his friend to grow Peony, the most propitious flower that stood for wealth and love. Sai couldn't wait for Kuwabara's lovely Japonica Peonies; with their white petals and yellow stamens and its fragrance that attracted colorful butterflies, to blossom in May. The budding Chrysanthemum, on the other hand, would bloom in the coming September. When they did, their bright yellow color would bestow happiness and laughter to the family. Moreover, the white Star Magnolia and orange Orchid would come into flower next spring, together they would bring gentleness, hospitality and patience to the house. With these flowers, Sai was certain that the Kuwabara's household would always be surrounded by prosperity, joy and love.
Although at this moment none of the great five flowers matured, other flowers did. The cherry white Daisy showed their beauty and humor while six feet tall soft pink Pampas Grass drew strength and resilience.
Then, there was a thick bush of pink Benogia denoting the perfect balance of Yin Yang, a round shrub of Nikko Blue Hydrangea representing achievement, soft violet Cranesbill magnetizing wealth and butterflies and several large pots of Aspidistra plants gathering power. In addition, Kuwabara's wife had planted the red-rose Camellia Japonica Spring's Promise and the ivory Gardenia, it was a clever decision since the Camellia exhibited endurance while the Gardenia could amplify strength.
Even the ground was carpet by the evergreen Japanese Juniper to develop tolerance and the pavement was covered by straight edged stones in curved line to activate the flow of "Chi" instead of a straight pathway which would form a negative "Chi".
Sai scanned the garden and noticed that it was very well maintained. The trees and the flowers were trimmed neatly, there was no sight of overgrown plants to create the bad "Chi", and all dying plants were removed to prevent bad luck and health problem.
Despite his non-stop and loud whining, Kuwabara did take great care of the garden as his grandfather had instructed him to. Sai couldn't help but chortle as he recalled when the Honinbo had lamented over his much-loved bonsai. His grandfather had ordered his childhood friend to throw away the dwarf tree given that it was a sign of low development.
"Bonsai or your precious Honinbo title, take your pick," the Feng Shui grandmaster had somewhat threatened Kuwabara.
Kuwabara-sensei's forlorn look is hard to forget. He chuckled to this day, the older Fujiwara still insisted that the only reason Kuwabara managed to keep his title was because he had gotten rid of the misfortune plant.
"How nice of you to come to visit me," the Honinbo broke his train of thought. "Thanks for the souvenir by the way,"
Sai replied, "Peaches are fruits of heaven. They represent immortality." He gave the old man a sweet smile before adding, "With these, the Honinbo title will be yours for eternity, sensei!" he joked merrily.
Kuwabara guffawed at that, "Funny one, aren't you? It would be great if those brats were like you." He grunted. "No one respects elders these days."
Sai then asked with hesitation, "Did someone offend you, sensei?"
"Hah! He even has the guts to challenge me!" the old man growled crossly. "I've been the Honinbo long-g before he was even born! Insolent fish freak! Just because he won two titles at such a young age, he's getting cocky!"
"Well, everyone has his own moment," Sai judged fairly.
"Oh no," the experienced pro rolled his eyes.
"Eh?"
"You're going give me one of those Feng Shui lectures again, aren't you?" Kuwabara had known Sai since the day he had learned how to elegantly open a fan with one hand for the first time, he knew the young Feng Shui master well. "Just like I said, like grandfather, like grandson."
"But, sensei, it's true," Sai insisted, acting like a kid protesting his grandfather. "Although Yin and Yang balance each other, Yin and Yang change and grow in a cyclic and balanced manner."
"Ja-pan-ese, boy," the old Go pro drawled. "Speak in a language that I can understand."
Sai simply giggled. "It means that although Yin and Yang are equal, the weighing scale isn't always set at 50-50. There are times when one increases, then the other will decrease."
"Again," Kuwabara shook his head in defeat, "I have no idea what are you talking about."
"For example, if Yin rises to 60%, Yang will naturally reduce to 40% instead of remaining at 50% to maintain balance."
"I see," the Honinbo nodded in understanding. He paused for a brief moment, crossed his arms over the chest while frowning deeply and finally questioned, "And that has something to do with me because?"
"Well, sensei, please forgive me for my rudeness," Sai tilted his head down a little, "but it appears to me that you aren't so fond of the upraising of that," he laughed uneasily, "insolent fish freak, whoever he is."
"Hmmp,"
"When you made it to the top, he, the fish man, I mean," he clarified, "was forced to watch you in silence from the sideline. Now that it's his turn, naturally, you will," Sai struggled for a right (or rather a not-so disrespectful) word, "be forced to stand down to let him have the spotlight for a while." He moved his hands enthusiastically. "Don't worry, sensei! Over time, like Yin and Yang will find their ways to return to balance, you too will step up and he will step down, and everything will be alright again!" He assured his unofficial Go mentor with an exaggerative cheerful tone of voice. "You two will be equal again. Therefore, there is no need to get frustrated," Or jealous. "over his success now."
"Hmmp, you make it sounds like I envy him for getting new titles." Kuwabara grumbled. With eighty years experience of living, he easily read between the lines.
"You?" Putting his hand over the heart, Sai dramatized while putting on a shocked expression. "You? Who have held the Honinbo title for half a decade? Envy someone?" he exclaimed loudly. "Just thinking like that is a sin itself! I never imagined that such a day would ever come!"
Kuwabara smirked. "Cheeky brat, flattery gets you no where." He pointed at the game they just finished. "What's with that move at 3-15? You walked right into my trap! How could you not see that coming!"
"Ten minutes ago, you said that I could be a Pro!" Sai pouted.
"I didn't say that!" Kuwabara shouted back. "I said you could have been a Pro if you had taken Go more seriously when you were young! Right now you're not in the pro level, boy!" After that, he started pointing out Sai's good and bad hands.
And so their post-game discussion went on.
Who is that insolent fish freak? Sai wondered.
End of Chapter 3
Word Count: 1967
Special Thanks: Sara, my loved beta
This chapter is the most tiring one. Not only I had to find each plant's Feng Shui meaning, I have to select them carefully so Kuwabara will have good fortune in every aspect. Then I have to do a research about them: how do they look like, what are their color, when do they bloom..etc.
Announcement I: I made another HNG amv which I proudly present it to you all! Feel free to check it out and give me a comment, here is the link. (If the link doesn't appear, please go to my profile page)
www(dot) youtube(dot)com(slash)watch?v=aisHpnPpu-M
Announcement II: Because of the Redbotton issue, I decide to repost my fics at my livejournal account (littlenk/livejournal(dot)com) and at my Archive On Our Own as a back up. (For more info, please visit my profile page).
lalunaticscribe and ginebra: Thanks for your review.
Aloha: Yes, this fic has 5 chapters.
fan: "it explained a bit why he dresses in pastels and girlie colors" "Evi Grin" How do you feel to know that Sai is the reason?
Info:
Feng Shui for garden:
http(colon)(slash)(slash)hubpages(dot)com(slash)hub(slash)feng(-)shui(-)living(-)room(-)decorating
http(colon)(slash)(slash)hubpages(dot)com(slash)hub(slash)feng(-)shui(-)garden
www(dot)indiaparenting(dot)com(slash)alternative(-)healing(slash)8(underscore)922(slash)plants(-)and(-)feng(-)shui(dot)html
www(dot)earthspirits(dot)net(slash)feng(-)shui(-)garden(-)plan(dot)htm
Flowers:
www(dot)daytonnursery(dot)com(slash)Encyclopedia(slash)Encyclopedia(dot)htm
www(dot)maskedflowerimages(dot)com(slash)
http(colon)(slash)(slash)garden(dot)lovetoknow(dot)com(slash)
www(dot)mobot(dot)org(slash)gardeninghelp(slash)plantfinder(slash)Search(dot)asp
Fruits:
http(colon)(slash)(slash)fengshui(dot)about(dot)com(slash)od(slash)fengshuicures(slash)qt(slash)feng(-)shui(-)fruit(-)symbols(slash)htm