Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.
Principle 5: Feng Shui for Love
Principles of Yin and Yang:
"5. A Part of Yin is in Yang and a part of Yang is in Yin."
May 2001, Tokyo, the Fujiwaras' residence
"Sai-niii," Waya dashed onto a large and comfortable bed and squeezed a cozy pillow tightly. Ah, I love this bed, and I love this pillow too.
"And here I am, thinking that you probably missed me, but no-o, it's the bed and the pillow that you missed," Sai, who was folding his well-ironed shirt on the floor, said without turning around. "My bed and my pillow, to be precise."
Even with his back facing him, Waya could hear the sarcasm in his smooth voice. He snorted at that. The flashbacks of his mother telling him to be a goody-goody like Sai became visible in his memory. But face it, no one is perfect, not even Sai-ni. The guy simply knew how to act like he was but he wasn't. Waya was aware that he was one of the few whom the man showed his cheeky side to. Fujiwara no Sai lived next to his house; they had known each other for what seemed like…. forever. That was why Waya was lucky and privileged enough to witness Sai's insolence. "Can't help it," he mumbled, his arms still holding the pillow. "It's your fault that the bed is so comfy that it distracts me from greeting you properly," he spoke in a defensive tone.
Sai raised himself gracefully, walked towards him and sat on the edge of the bed. "Hmm, since this is a good Feng Shui bed, I guess I'm guilty as charge then."
Oh, no! Here we go again. Knowing what the older guy was going to say,Waya buried his face into the pillow hoping that the fluffiness of the pillow would prevent him from hearing.
"..well balanced, with good mattress, solid headboard, high quality sheets from natural fibers…" But Sai's Feng Shui speech could still be heard.
There will never be an ending of this.
"…harmonious energy…"
"Okay, okay, I got it." He couldn't take it anymore. He got up and sat next to his neighbor. "Feng Shui all the time."
Sai replied in a heartbeat, "Same goes to your Go."
That's not true. Waya denied wordlessly. At least I don't breath in and out of Go. I have a life, a real life, you know. He couldn't help but think back to when he had taken Sai to his apartment.
"This is bad." Sai had declared with a frown. His hand had been on the doorknob; he hadn't even turned it and stepped into the room yet.
It was at that moment Waya had realized that bringing the Feng Shui master to his new apartment was a mistake, a big mistake.
Sai then had told him that his loose doorknob was not good since it could mean that he was having a hard time with romance and had ordered him to get a screwdriver to tighten it up to avoid the problem.
Once his Feng Shui friend had entered the room and noticed that he kept his Go-ban in his small room, he told him that the reason why Waya couldn't get a girl was because he brought work (a.k.a., Go-ban and Go stuff) into his bedroom.
According to Sai, working in bedroom represented hard work and could hinder his romance space. To level up the love in his tiny apartment, he should hang a picture of a Peony because it was a powerful symbol of romance according to Feng Shui and keep the south west corner clean as it was dedicated to the love and relationship of the room owner's life. Moreover, he should place a heart-shaped rose quartz in the southwest since it was the most powerful area for love, and the rose quartz would encourage romance.
By the time Sai had mentioned something like "hanging a picture of Mandarin ducks, since they mate for life", Waya burst out, telling him to shut the hell up as he wasn't looking for a mate anyway.
The other man had merely blinked in surprise and blushed with embarrassment. "Oh," he hid half of his red face behind his treasured white fan. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you're just looking for a sex partner. In that case, essential oils like Neroli that increases the sexual drive should be enough."
That was the first and the last time Waya ever brought Sai to his place.
An abrupt question broke his trance. "By the way, do you come home to have your mom doing the laundry for you again?" Sai sniggered. "What kind of 'living by myself' is that?"
The red-haired boy hit him with the pillow and lied down on his back. "Shut up," First, Nase. Now, Sai-nii. There must be a conspiracy against me.
"Doesn't your mom say anything about this?" the older man asked.
"Of course, she grumbles about it but who cares," Waya answered with shrug. "Complain, complain and complain. Maybe, it's because she's getting old."
"Hey, that's not nice," Sai reprimanded him sternly. "It's your mom we're talking about." He said in a warning tone. Then, there was a brief pause. "I guess she's still against your choice of becoming a Go pro and living alone then." He spoke quietly with sympathy.
Said Go pro didn't want to talk about this matter any further so he changed his pose to lie on his side with his back on his companion.
Sai sighed. Then a brilliant idea suddenly emerged in his mind. "You know, maybe you might wanna place a picture of your family in the east corner." He suggested enthusiastically. "It helps to …" he didn't get a chance to finish the line since Waya cut him off.
"Ha!" the younger boy snorted. "As if my mom will magically approves of me if I hang her picture."
"Well, that alone won't help, I admit." Sai wasn't totally unreasonable.
"Feng Shui alone can't solve everything; it's our actions that determine the result." The Feng Shui master had told him when he had asked him if he really believed in Feng Shui.
"You should go to visit her more often, you know." Sai advised.
"I go there every week." Without thinking, Waya responded right away.
"To get your laundry done!" His sworn brother strongly protested. "That doesn't count! You have to talk to her more often! You two need to communicate!" He practically shouted, and it was rare for a decent guy like Fujiwara no Sai to shout. Waya should know how serious Sai was this time. Yet…
"Yeah, yeah," was all he got as a reply.
"Hmmp," He crossed his arms over his chest, pouting angrily. Even a five year old could tell that the teen didn't pay attention to his lecture, not even in the slightest. It was then that something caught his eyes. "And what are you wearing anyway?" It wasn't a question but a statement of disapproval. "Why do teenagers these days like to wear jeans with so many pockets?" He reached out to one of the pockets.
Feeling Sai's hand on his leg, Waya gasped. "Hey!" He shoved his hand away, bounced up and pointed at the older man accusingly. "That's sexual harassment! You, sexual harasser!"
"Sex-Sexual harasser?" Shocked, Sai stuttered. "How rude!" He exclaimed heatedly. The idea of him molesting Waya, of all people, completely scandalized him. "I just want to know what you're keeping in these pockets, that's all!"
"Well, you could have just asked!" the young Go pro retorted. "All I have here are sweets. There's nothing worth attacking me!"
"For the last time, I'm not attacking you." Sai told the boy with a sour face as if simply saying it dirtied him and tainted his dignity. Then he realized something. "Sweets?"
Feeling the man eying on him, Waya grabbed the blanket to cover himself. "Oh no, don't tell me you're becoming Ogata."
The Feng Shui consular was now irritated. "I don't know who Ogata is but I swear," he paused mid sentence, "no, I know this name." He said to himself. "I'm sure I heard it from somewhere." He tried to remember but no avail. "Anyway, I'm not going to attack you." He let the subject die and got back to the original topic. "Empty your pockets," he demanded.
"Huh?"
"Show me what's in your pockets," he clarified the order.
Waya sighed in annoyance but complied nevertheless.
True to his words, there were nothing but sweet; chewing gums, candies and lollipops. Seeing that, Sai shook his head. "I believe I've told you this many times." He heaved a sigh of dismay. "Your body is like your home. You should avoid clutter of your body, don't walk around with unnecessary things like these." He gestured to the sweet. "About the accessory, one piece per type is enough." He informed Waya when he noticed the boy wearing two wristbands. "And why are you wearing black today?" He moaned in displeasure. "Didn't I tell you that black is for career? Red and pink are for dates. However, meeting family and friends like today, you should have worn orange or yellow. Orange gives energy. Yellow supports communication and stands for openness. Green, brown and…."
"No more!" Waya cried. "I'm begging you! Sai-nii! My ears are getting hurt!"
Sai turned away and wailed dramatically. "I still remember the day when my little Waya asked me tons of questions about Feng Shui." He said in between sniffs. "Now he's all grown up. He even has a job. No wonder he thinks that I'm nothing but an old man who believes in superstitious." He wept made-up bitter tears of remorse. "Time is such a cruel thing. I miss my cute little Waya. It seems like yesterday when he first learned how to hold a stone."
That brought back an old memory. Before Waya had become Morishita's student, Sai had offered to introduce him to his grandpa's Go pro friend. The boy had declined the proposal though. Getting a mentor was a serious matter; he hadn't wanted to leave his future into an unknown man's hands simply because he was his friend's acquaintance. Even after he had rejected Sai's kindness, the man didn't hold grudge or anything. Their relationship was still the same like nothing had happened. Sai had been, was and would always be a reliable big brother to an only child like Waya. If he was Touya Akira, Sai would have been his Ogata (except that he was not arrogant as that jerk Touya, and Sai wasn't creepy as the disturbing Ogata, thank God).
Speaking of brothers, there were two other persons whom he considered as his brothers. One of them was Isumi. After failing the Pro exam, Isumi had gone to China to sharpen his skill. Still, judging from the long distance call he had gotten last night, it was clear that things didn't go well there.
Then, there was Shindou. Waya sighed tiredly. Compared to Shindou, it was easier to figure out why Isumi was so down. Failing the exam he had desperately wanted to pass, being in different country where he didn't know the language and getting his ass kicked by the Chinese day after day could dishearten even the strongest man.
Shindou, on the other hand, was a mystery. He couldn't think of any reason why the blond got depressed all of a sudden. He had passed the pro exam and became a Go pro on his first try and he had won his first two matches in a row. What caused the dejection then?
"What's wrong?" Sai, who effortlessly noticed his gloomy face, asked with curiosity.
Waya knew there was no point in telling the Feng Shui instructor that everything was fine. This guy knew him better than anyone, including Waya himself.
After passing on the story to the older man, Waya whined loudly. "This is not right! Not right at all! Shindou's supposed to be a rude, loud-mouthed and cocky brat that annoys the hell out of me! And I, I'm supposed to get mad at him before ending up feeling intimidated by his fast progress! Then Isumi-san, as the voice of reason and the big brother of our gang, is supposed to cheer me up and talk some sense into me. That's how it the universe works! Now, everything is a mess. Shindou somehow turns into a miserable creature without explanation! Isumi-san, although with good reasons, became so, so resigned! Right now, I don't even know where I stand anymore!" He exploded, his hands moved ferociously.
Sai, who stayed silent throughout the tirade, commented calmly, "Well, that doesn't sound fair to me."
"Fair?"
"Everyone has their weak moments, Waya." The big brother spoke slowly. He took something from the bedside table and gave it to the red head. It was a stone Taijitu: the symbol of Ying and Yang. "Take a look at it, Waya. There is a black dot in the white zone and there is a white dot in the black zone, right? Why do you think they're there?" He asked but he didn't wait for an answer since he knew that the younger boy didn't have one. "Each dot is a reminder that there are always traces of one in the other. A part of Ying is in Yang and a part of Yang is in Ying." He explained. "Shindou-kun, despite being a rude and loud-mouthed boy as you claimed him to be, is the spirit of the group. But you can't expect him to be lively for you day in and day out. No one has enough energy to do so." Gently patting Waya's head, Sai lectured in a brotherly manner. "Same goes for Isumi-san, you can't him to be strong all the time and rely on his support forever."
Waya thought over for a minute before saying, "I think you're right but," he crossed his arms over his chest and muttered moodily, "you make it sound like I'm such a selfish prat."
Sai laughed lightheartedly. "Nope, not selfish. You're just…young." He ruffled Waya's messy hair to make it messier. "Just remember, no one is perfect."
"You don't need to tell me that," Waya answered in a flash, "Shindou is far from perfect anyway."
Fin
Words Count: 2575
Special Thanks: My beloved and hardworking beta, Sara
AN: Finally, it ends! That's right, there is no Hikaru in this fic. I just wanna write a fic that Sai doesn't play Go and practically knows everyone but Hikaru. And here it is! Since the timeline skips back and forth, it might confuse you, here is the list of all chapters in chronology:
1. Chapter 5: May, 2001 (after Sai disappeared and Hikrau stopped playing Go)
2. Chapter 1: July, 2001
3. Chapter 3: Ogata got the Gosei title (before Akira and Hikaru faced each other in the Oteai match)
4. Chapter 2: After Samsung Cup (Before the Hokuto Cup)
5. Chapter 4: May 2002 (After the Hokuto Cup)
Thank you for reading, especially for those who give me comments. Please remember that every comment encourages us, the authors, to keep on writing.
Info:
The spiritual Feng shui newletter Issue 29, may 2009
http(colon)(double slash)(www)(dot)fastfengshui(dot)com(slash)articles(underscore)lovelife(dot)htm
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http(colon)(double slash)fengshui(dot)about(dot)com(slash)od(slash)love(slash)qt(slash)perfectbedroom(dot)htm
(www)(dot)stvalentinesday(dot)org(slash)feng(-)shui(-)love(-)tips(dot)html
(www)(dot)essortment(dot)com(slash)lifestyle(slash)fengshuiencour(underscore)serv(dot)htm