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31_days2007-09-07 11:59 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2007-09-07 11:59 pm
[7 Sept] [Hikaru no Go] And the Waves Crashed on the Goban 7/?
Title: And the Waves Crashed on the Goban 7/?
Day/Theme: 7 Sept/You look a little bit older, a little bit colder
Series: Hikaru no Go
Character/Pairing: Hikaru/Akira, Isumi/Le Ping
Rating: General
Kadowaki Asako tapped her heels outside the hospital ward impatiently; Tatsuhiko had excused himself to make a phone call and made her wait there, saying that it was from his broker. He better not be smoking, she thought with irritation. She had made him promise to quit after they got married.
It had been a boring visit, anyway. She didn't know what possessed Tatsuhiko to drag her along on a hospital visit to one of his Go friends--she amused herself by speculating, not without a hint of malice, that her husband had a touch of homophobia and needed 'a woman's protection' when he came across a gay couple.
Shindou Hikaru--no, it should be Shindou Meijin--and Touya Ouza made a cute couple, she thought. It was amusing to think that since Shindou was finally awake and recovering, she guessed that he would soon be defending his title from his own lover. The two of them had been fighting over the Meijin title for years, after all.
Asako prided herself on keeping up with news in the Go world, even if she didn't play. A comment from one of her old boyfriends (also a Go pro) about her ignorance had stung, and once married to a Go pro, she had resolved not to be oblivious to the world that so fascinated her husband.
Where was Tatsuhiko? Had he gone back to see Shindou, after all? She walked down the hallway, and frowned at the raised voices coming from Shindou's hospital room.
"...not Sai!" came a shout.
It sounded remarkably like Shindou--he and Tatsuhiko had been talking nineteen to dozen about a game just now--but why was he shouting? Surely he wasn't quarreling with someone-
Asako ducked behind a pillar when another man emerged from Shindou's room. Even from just a quick glimpse, she identified him immediately.
Ogata Seiji, current holder of the Gosei title. An ex-boyfriend. That ex.
She pretended to be studying a notice on the wall, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as he stalked past, his eyes focused on something only he could see. He didn't notice her at all, and she watched him until he walked through the door.
He looked different, Asako thought. Older, of course, but driven as well, as though he had to beat a finishing line only he could see. It was a look that had frustrated her hugely when they were together: it was as though he could not see anything except his ambition. But from the lines on his face and around his face, Asako had the feeling that he looked this way all the time now.
When they were together, Seiji had been facing one of the toughest opponents in the Japanese Go world: Kuwabara Honinbou. The wily old pro managed to outplay Seiji to retain his Honinbou title, and when she and Seiji broke up, he had been on the verge of launching his second challenge at the old man, both for the title and in revenge for the way he had been outwitted.
But he didn't succeed. Beyond all expectations, Kuwabara had maintained his title for another three years, and when he finally lost, it was to a young pro named Isumi Shinichiro. Seiji lost his 10-dan title in the same year--the same year Shindou became Meijin and Touya became Ouza.
It must have been a tough struggle for the top, Asako thought. No wonder Seiji looked different now. She thought of her own husband, fighting his way into the title games, and felt her heart soften (just a little).
"Asako! I've been looking everywhere for you," Tatsuhiko said, appearing suddenly behind her. He still looked very much like the first time they met, when he had leered at her in her short skirt, and had nearly been slapped for his rudeness. There were more lines around his eyes, but they were not cold. She suddenly felt relieved.
Day/Theme: 7 Sept/You look a little bit older, a little bit colder
Series: Hikaru no Go
Character/Pairing: Hikaru/Akira, Isumi/Le Ping
Rating: General
Kadowaki Asako tapped her heels outside the hospital ward impatiently; Tatsuhiko had excused himself to make a phone call and made her wait there, saying that it was from his broker. He better not be smoking, she thought with irritation. She had made him promise to quit after they got married.
It had been a boring visit, anyway. She didn't know what possessed Tatsuhiko to drag her along on a hospital visit to one of his Go friends--she amused herself by speculating, not without a hint of malice, that her husband had a touch of homophobia and needed 'a woman's protection' when he came across a gay couple.
Shindou Hikaru--no, it should be Shindou Meijin--and Touya Ouza made a cute couple, she thought. It was amusing to think that since Shindou was finally awake and recovering, she guessed that he would soon be defending his title from his own lover. The two of them had been fighting over the Meijin title for years, after all.
Asako prided herself on keeping up with news in the Go world, even if she didn't play. A comment from one of her old boyfriends (also a Go pro) about her ignorance had stung, and once married to a Go pro, she had resolved not to be oblivious to the world that so fascinated her husband.
Where was Tatsuhiko? Had he gone back to see Shindou, after all? She walked down the hallway, and frowned at the raised voices coming from Shindou's hospital room.
"...not Sai!" came a shout.
It sounded remarkably like Shindou--he and Tatsuhiko had been talking nineteen to dozen about a game just now--but why was he shouting? Surely he wasn't quarreling with someone-
Asako ducked behind a pillar when another man emerged from Shindou's room. Even from just a quick glimpse, she identified him immediately.
Ogata Seiji, current holder of the Gosei title. An ex-boyfriend. That ex.
She pretended to be studying a notice on the wall, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as he stalked past, his eyes focused on something only he could see. He didn't notice her at all, and she watched him until he walked through the door.
He looked different, Asako thought. Older, of course, but driven as well, as though he had to beat a finishing line only he could see. It was a look that had frustrated her hugely when they were together: it was as though he could not see anything except his ambition. But from the lines on his face and around his face, Asako had the feeling that he looked this way all the time now.
When they were together, Seiji had been facing one of the toughest opponents in the Japanese Go world: Kuwabara Honinbou. The wily old pro managed to outplay Seiji to retain his Honinbou title, and when she and Seiji broke up, he had been on the verge of launching his second challenge at the old man, both for the title and in revenge for the way he had been outwitted.
But he didn't succeed. Beyond all expectations, Kuwabara had maintained his title for another three years, and when he finally lost, it was to a young pro named Isumi Shinichiro. Seiji lost his 10-dan title in the same year--the same year Shindou became Meijin and Touya became Ouza.
It must have been a tough struggle for the top, Asako thought. No wonder Seiji looked different now. She thought of her own husband, fighting his way into the title games, and felt her heart soften (just a little).
"Asako! I've been looking everywhere for you," Tatsuhiko said, appearing suddenly behind her. He still looked very much like the first time they met, when he had leered at her in her short skirt, and had nearly been slapped for his rudeness. There were more lines around his eyes, but they were not cold. She suddenly felt relieved.