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31_days2008-05-05 11:59 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2008-05-05 11:59 pm
[May 5][Hikaru no Go] Stones in Narrow Spaces 5/?
Title: Stones in Narrow Spaces 5/?
Day/Theme: May 5/ How terribly strange to be seventy
Series: Hikaru no Go
Character/Pairing: Akira/Hikaru
Rating: General
--------------
"Who wants to know?" A new voice asked.
Touya was the first to react. "Kuwabara-sensei!" he said, staring at the white-haired pro who had walked out from Norimoto's office the moment after Shindou had asked his question.
"Old man, what are you doing here?" Shindou asked, after he had stopping goggling in surprise.
Kuwabara gave the two of them an innocent look. "I'm here to visit the Shuusaku museum, of course. Just like you, Shindou." The old pro was the only person apart from Touya who knew about Shindou's yearly pilgrimages to Innoshima. But Touya didn't think that Kuwabara was here just to visit the museum.
"Come off it, old man," Shindou said, irritation filling his voice. He seemed to calmed down from his earlier urgent manner towards Norimoto. "What do you know?"
Norimoto, who had looked shocked at Shindou's rude manner towards someone as venerable as Kuwabara, recovered and waved a hand towards a small meeting room, the type used to teach Go to museum visitors. "Kuwabara-sensei, Touya-sensei, Shindou-sensei, if you don't mind, perhaps..."
"Good idea," Kuwabara led the way into the meeting room with the assured air of someone who knew that Shindou and Touya would follow.
"That old man," Shindou said under his breath as he took a step forward. "How did he know?"
Touya veered between bemusement and curiosity. After more than fifty years as a pro, there was little that Kuwabara did not know about the ins and outs of the Japanese Go community. He said as much to Shindou, whom he expected to scoff.
But Shindou only gave a thoughtful nod. "I just want to know if he wants to help us, or just wants to laugh at us," he said. "To someone like him, even the matter of a missing antique goban is probably nothing to him."
Touya glanced at Shindou, momentarily struck by the sentiment in those words. He half-wondered what it must be like for the seventy-year-old pro, to have seen so many changes in the world while playing a game that had remained unchanged from the time he was a child.
Well, unchanged except for the installation of title games sponsored by national newspapers, the introduction of komi, the growing popularity of Go around the world and its wane in Japan. And yet Kuwabara remained undaunted by the changes. He still looked out for new talent and seemed determined to stay in the Go world until his last days--no, his last breath.
Norimoto, who had accompanied Kuwabara into the meeting room and could be heard fussily telling Kuwabara about the framed calligraphy on the walls, now stuck his head out of the door. "Shindou-sensei?" He made an awkward gesture with his chin.
"Right," Shindou said to him. "Come on," Shindou nudged Touya with his shoulder. "Let's go in. If we stay out here any longer, that old man is going to make dirty jokes. You'd think that someone of his age-" He shook his head and stepped over the threshold, nodding to Norimoto in acknowledgement.
Touya followed.
Kuwabara was seated in front of one of the many gobans laid out in the room, and was scowling at it as though its presence offended him.
Norimoto closed the door with a deep bow. Kuwabara must have really intimidated him, Touya thought.
Walking to the middle of the room, Shindou sat down opposite Kuwabara without waiting for an invitation. Touya sat beside him.
In greeting, Shindou started to tease Kuwabara. "Oi, you look like you lost a game on-" he examined the goban for a second, "Torajiro's beginner goban?"
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. "Good eye, but you know it's not really that goban."
"I know, old man." Of course they knew. The gobans in this room were mostly reproductions of the famous antique gobans locked up elsewhere in the museum.
"It's foolish," Kuwabara said. "Gobans are made to be used, not encased behind glass, no matter how special they are."
Shindou chuckled. "Of course you'd say that. You're old enough to remember a time when those gobans weren't museum items." He stuck out his tongue.
Kuwabara snorted. "By their standards, my goban at home would probably be an antique too."
"It probably is. Just like mine will be too," Shindou said, "one day."
"Haha," Kuwabara said, his tone leeching his reply of all humour. "What I've always liked about you, Shindou, is that you're not afraid to smash tradition when you think it necessary. Where did you get the goban that you gave Touya Kouyo?"
The sudden change of topic didn't faze Shindou. Of course, Touya reflected, all their bantering had been leading up to this question. They'd known, from the moment they saw Kuwabara, that the old pro had wanted to talk about the theft of Shuusaku's goban.
Shindou sobered at once. "It belonged to my grandfather," he said, glancing at Touya as though for confidence to continue. "And my grandfather got it from his brother, who collected gobans." He gave a shrug, and spoke more quickly, as though trying to forget what he was saying. "Grandpa said that there were stories that the goban was haunted--by a man in a black hat-" There he paused, unable to continue.
Touya leaned closer to him, trying to offer his presence as comfort.
Kuwabara's eyes were glittering. "And?"
"-and they'd tried to get it exorcised. But Grandpa was never sure that it was... clean." Shindou swallowed. "So for years, he refused to sell it. From what Grandpa said, the goban has been in our family for more than fifty years."
"Yes," Kuwabara said slowly, as though the weight of the years were pulling him down. "That was the cursed goban I once knew."
(TBC)
Day/Theme: May 5/ How terribly strange to be seventy
Series: Hikaru no Go
Character/Pairing: Akira/Hikaru
Rating: General
--------------
"Who wants to know?" A new voice asked.
Touya was the first to react. "Kuwabara-sensei!" he said, staring at the white-haired pro who had walked out from Norimoto's office the moment after Shindou had asked his question.
"Old man, what are you doing here?" Shindou asked, after he had stopping goggling in surprise.
Kuwabara gave the two of them an innocent look. "I'm here to visit the Shuusaku museum, of course. Just like you, Shindou." The old pro was the only person apart from Touya who knew about Shindou's yearly pilgrimages to Innoshima. But Touya didn't think that Kuwabara was here just to visit the museum.
"Come off it, old man," Shindou said, irritation filling his voice. He seemed to calmed down from his earlier urgent manner towards Norimoto. "What do you know?"
Norimoto, who had looked shocked at Shindou's rude manner towards someone as venerable as Kuwabara, recovered and waved a hand towards a small meeting room, the type used to teach Go to museum visitors. "Kuwabara-sensei, Touya-sensei, Shindou-sensei, if you don't mind, perhaps..."
"Good idea," Kuwabara led the way into the meeting room with the assured air of someone who knew that Shindou and Touya would follow.
"That old man," Shindou said under his breath as he took a step forward. "How did he know?"
Touya veered between bemusement and curiosity. After more than fifty years as a pro, there was little that Kuwabara did not know about the ins and outs of the Japanese Go community. He said as much to Shindou, whom he expected to scoff.
But Shindou only gave a thoughtful nod. "I just want to know if he wants to help us, or just wants to laugh at us," he said. "To someone like him, even the matter of a missing antique goban is probably nothing to him."
Touya glanced at Shindou, momentarily struck by the sentiment in those words. He half-wondered what it must be like for the seventy-year-old pro, to have seen so many changes in the world while playing a game that had remained unchanged from the time he was a child.
Well, unchanged except for the installation of title games sponsored by national newspapers, the introduction of komi, the growing popularity of Go around the world and its wane in Japan. And yet Kuwabara remained undaunted by the changes. He still looked out for new talent and seemed determined to stay in the Go world until his last days--no, his last breath.
Norimoto, who had accompanied Kuwabara into the meeting room and could be heard fussily telling Kuwabara about the framed calligraphy on the walls, now stuck his head out of the door. "Shindou-sensei?" He made an awkward gesture with his chin.
"Right," Shindou said to him. "Come on," Shindou nudged Touya with his shoulder. "Let's go in. If we stay out here any longer, that old man is going to make dirty jokes. You'd think that someone of his age-" He shook his head and stepped over the threshold, nodding to Norimoto in acknowledgement.
Touya followed.
Kuwabara was seated in front of one of the many gobans laid out in the room, and was scowling at it as though its presence offended him.
Norimoto closed the door with a deep bow. Kuwabara must have really intimidated him, Touya thought.
Walking to the middle of the room, Shindou sat down opposite Kuwabara without waiting for an invitation. Touya sat beside him.
In greeting, Shindou started to tease Kuwabara. "Oi, you look like you lost a game on-" he examined the goban for a second, "Torajiro's beginner goban?"
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. "Good eye, but you know it's not really that goban."
"I know, old man." Of course they knew. The gobans in this room were mostly reproductions of the famous antique gobans locked up elsewhere in the museum.
"It's foolish," Kuwabara said. "Gobans are made to be used, not encased behind glass, no matter how special they are."
Shindou chuckled. "Of course you'd say that. You're old enough to remember a time when those gobans weren't museum items." He stuck out his tongue.
Kuwabara snorted. "By their standards, my goban at home would probably be an antique too."
"It probably is. Just like mine will be too," Shindou said, "one day."
"Haha," Kuwabara said, his tone leeching his reply of all humour. "What I've always liked about you, Shindou, is that you're not afraid to smash tradition when you think it necessary. Where did you get the goban that you gave Touya Kouyo?"
The sudden change of topic didn't faze Shindou. Of course, Touya reflected, all their bantering had been leading up to this question. They'd known, from the moment they saw Kuwabara, that the old pro had wanted to talk about the theft of Shuusaku's goban.
Shindou sobered at once. "It belonged to my grandfather," he said, glancing at Touya as though for confidence to continue. "And my grandfather got it from his brother, who collected gobans." He gave a shrug, and spoke more quickly, as though trying to forget what he was saying. "Grandpa said that there were stories that the goban was haunted--by a man in a black hat-" There he paused, unable to continue.
Touya leaned closer to him, trying to offer his presence as comfort.
Kuwabara's eyes were glittering. "And?"
"-and they'd tried to get it exorcised. But Grandpa was never sure that it was... clean." Shindou swallowed. "So for years, he refused to sell it. From what Grandpa said, the goban has been in our family for more than fifty years."
"Yes," Kuwabara said slowly, as though the weight of the years were pulling him down. "That was the cursed goban I once knew."
(TBC)