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31_days2008-11-20 11:58 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2008-11-20 11:58 pm
[Nov 20] [Initial D/Prince of Tennis/Hikago] Slip Roads 20/31
Title: Slip Roads 20/31
Day/Theme: 20 Nov/_____'s no good, very bad day
Series: Initial D/Prince of Tennis/Hikago
Character/Pairing: previous Takahashi Ryousuke/Fuji Yuuta
Rating: PG-13, references to incest between brothers
------------------------
Uchiha Sasuke, 5-dan, had believed he was having a good day. It was a fine autumn's day when he got out of the house, with clear blue skies and only a few small, fluffy white clouds so high up that they seemed to be melting at the edges. There was just the hint of a chill. The row of ancient gingko trees in front of his Go salon were shedding in an extremely elegant fashion: leaves drifted to the ground one by one, some swirling artistically due to their umbrella-shaped structure.
He maintained his good mood even when he spied his brother through the window of the Go salon. Once again, Uchiha Itachi, ex-professional Go player, had beaten him to the shop. Sasuke simply nodded a morning greeting as he entered, pushing his irritation aside with the ease of long practice. Just like the unexplained decision of giving up his pro status to open a Go salon years ago, Sasuke was certain that his brother existed solely to be his nemesis.
What he couldn't figure out was why Itachi couldn't go and be his nemesis elsewhere.
In unspoken silence, they worked together to prepare the Go salon for opening. The portable Go boards were wiped again, with the go-ke arranged on the tables. The copies of Weekly Go were laid out, and Sasuke went to make tea. By then it was nearly nine, and Itachi flipped the little plastic notice at the door to indicate that they were open for business.
Their regulars came in about fifteen minutes later. Most of them were middle-aged to old men who had played Go all their lives. A few were not above a little betting on games for the excitement, but more often than not, the rest usually came for the Go. Purists, they--most could be counted on to spend the entire day at the salon. The younger ones, those that actually wanted to turn pro, came during the weekends.
"Hey, Uchiha-sensei," one of the regulars said to him later, "Can you play a game with me later, after lunch?"
"Of course, Kakashi-san," he said.
"Heard that you won a game against Waya-sensei last week," the man went on. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." That was part of the reason why he had been able to sustain his good mood for so long. Waya Yoshitaka, 6-dan, was one of the best players in his age group; he had made the Honinbou League last year, and Sasuke counted it an particularly good victory that he had won by three-and-a-half moku.
"Will you be in any other official games soon?"
"Let me see," Sasuke ran through his schedule mentally. "The Go Institute hasn't given me the schedule yet, but I'll be in the second level of the qualifying rounds for the Honinbou title." The Go Institute in Tokyo had jurisdiction over pros in Gunma.
"Impressive."
"Hardly, there are many players who are better," Sasuke responded modestly to the admiration in the other man's voice. Unable to help himself, he glanced at his brother, who was at the counter. Itachi had got all the way to the final qualifying rounds of the Honinbou League years ago, before he quit. Sasuke was determined to do even better.
"Have you thought about moving to Tokyo? It might be easier to build your career there."
Sasuke shook his head. "Maybe in the future," he said. "I don't mind travelling for now." It was something he had wondered, though--in Tokyo, he would be able to play with more pros, that was for sure. The door to Akatsuki Go salon opened just then, and Sasuke raised his head.
A loud voice asked, "Are you sure you aren't carsick?" and was followed by a young man slightly younger than Sasuke, who sported a head of hair dyed yellow in front and streaked with other colours. He looked as though he was more at home in the arcade not far away, though the other two that followed him looked more... ordinary. " 'cos that smirk on your face looks a bit unnatural-"
"Welcome," Itachi said, interrupting the stranger in mid-rant.
"Huh? Oh, sorry." The first speaker grinned the abashed grin of someone much younger. He glanced around, no doubt realising that the regulars in the salon had all looked up at the sound of his voice. "How much-" he began, before he addressed the old man in his group. "Hey, old man, how do you want to do this?"
"You were the one who explained how you and your insei friends did it. I suggest you take the lead," the old man said, looking very sly.
Sasuke thought he looked familiar somehow, and wondered at the insei? He belatedly noticed that Itachi was frowning, staring at them as though he could decipher their identity that way.
"Oh. Um," the first speaker cleared his throat. "We would like to play a team tournament with your strongest players. If we win, we don't have to pay the fee. If we lose, we'll pay the fee and wash-"
The old man cleared his throat.
"-we, that is, Touya and I will wash all the stones."
"Why should we do that?" Itachi, rather surprisingly, sounded cold.
"Because it'll be fun," came the instant reply. "Come on, who's your strongest player?"
Itachi seemed to hesitate for a second, before he nodded towards Sasuke. "My brother Sasuke can play with you. As for the others..."
"I'll play with them," Kakashi interrupted, before he glanced round. "Iruka-san, how about you?"
The retired schoolteacher frowned for a moment, then nodded his head. "All right."
"Great!" the first speaker said. "This is Touya Akira," he indicated the other young man beside him, who had hair that brushed his shoulders as he nodded his head in greeting. "And this is..." he seemed to be thinking rapidly, "Old man Takahashi. And I'm Shindou Hikaru."
The names sounded familiar, Sasuke thought, particularly that Touya Akira. Could it be... But he couldn't imagine the son of Touya Kouyo doing something as brash as going into a Go salon to challenge its players.
Itachi studied the three of them before he said, "You three are pros, right?"
A murmur rose among the customers in the Go salon at that, a counterpoint to the excitement that was growing in the air.
If anything, Shindou's grin only widened. "Yes," he nodded vigorously. "But please, it means nothing! We just want to play Go."
That, Sasuke could understand. He came forward. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he said by way of introduction.
The one called Touya looked interested. "Uchiha-san is a pro?"
Sasuke nodded, wondering if he should tell them he was 5-dan, but decided not to. Since these three had decided to barge in to challenge Akatsuki Go salon, they didn't deserve prior warning.
"Good!" Shindou seemed pleased. "You must be the strongest here. Touya, you play with him."
"Is that your way of saying that I'm better than you?"
"No way!" The reply was instantaneous, like a reflex. "If that was how these things are decided, the old man would be playing him instead. I'm just letting you have a chance at being first board, since I messed it up for you the last time." He looked back at the oldest member of their team. "So, old man, you can be second-"
The old man said decisively, "Third."
"But why?" Shindou asked, then visibly thought for a moment. "You're a sly old man. I'll have you know that I've never gone in for that half-assed strategy of putting your best player in third board."
"That's because your understanding of strategy wouldn't fill a teaspoon, Shindou."
Shindou made a face at him, the kind that elementary school children did over playground taunts, complete with stuck-out tongue. Sasuke wondered if Shindou was really a pro; he seemed too loud for that.
They shifted the tables around, and Sasuke found himself facing Touya Akira. He was tempted to ask his opponent if he were related to Touya Kouyo in any way, even though he could not imagine a son of Touya Kouyo wearing a bright yellow T-shirt with the words 'No. 5' on it. The times he had seen Touya Kouyo on TV, he was always in a traditional kimono or in a suit.
Kakashi, sitting next to Sasuke, asked Shindou, with a significant jerk of his chin at Touya, "So are you boyfriends or something? Because the two of you look awfully close."
If he was hoping to rattle Shindou--or even insult him--it was unsuccessful. Shindou only winked. "Well, he's wearing my T-shirt. What do you think?"
"Shindou!"
Sasuke revised his probability of this Touya being that Touya. The likelihood of Touya Kouyo's son wearing another person's T-shirt (boyfriends or not) was vanishingly low, he thought. Touya Kouyo had always been dignified, despite his prowess at Go, and he had an excellent fashion sense, the (few) females who turned up at Akatsuki had told him. He could not imagine that the son of Touya Kouyo wearing terrible clothes.
Not that the No. 5 T-shirt was bad, of course. But it seemed more suited to Shindou.
"Let's begin," Iruka said, nodding respectfully at the old man who was his opponent.
Sasuke couldn't help thinking he had really seen photographs of that man somewhere in Weekly Go.
"Stop delaying, Shindou," the old man said. "Touya-kun, you nigiri."
Touya did so; Sasuke correctly guessed even, which allowed him to start with black. There was a pause as the rest of them figured who would start first, and Touya nodded a bow at him. "Please," he said, smiling.
No, couldn't be Touya Kouyo's son. He couldn't imagine Touya Kouyo's son being so cheerful. "Please," he said.
About halfway through, Sasuke was aware of his brother making his way over to where they were seated, and joining the rest of the spectators in the Go salon in watching the games. He could feel Itachi's shadow falling over him, and it irritated him.
Touya, he had discovered, was all business when he played. Instead of the friendly, if slightly long-suffering expression he had on when he first entered the Go salon with Shindou and the old man, his opponent's eyes seemed to burn with an intensity as he played. There were no wasted motions, no tapping of impatient feet or restless flickering of the eyes. Instead, Touya was focused on the Go board, experienced enough to maintain his expression a near-perfect blandness, yet with a determination to win that made Sasuke pause, and struggle to rescue his stones.
Shindou was nearly the same way, he realised. The loudmouth impression seemed to have disappeared entirely, metamorphosed into a Go player who had turned his energy to reading far ahead of his opponent.
And if the narrowed eyes and air of concentration was any indication, the old man was no slouch either...
This was turning out to be one hell of a day.
(tbc)
Day/Theme: 20 Nov/_____'s no good, very bad day
Series: Initial D/Prince of Tennis/Hikago
Character/Pairing: previous Takahashi Ryousuke/Fuji Yuuta
Rating: PG-13, references to incest between brothers
------------------------
Uchiha Sasuke, 5-dan, had believed he was having a good day. It was a fine autumn's day when he got out of the house, with clear blue skies and only a few small, fluffy white clouds so high up that they seemed to be melting at the edges. There was just the hint of a chill. The row of ancient gingko trees in front of his Go salon were shedding in an extremely elegant fashion: leaves drifted to the ground one by one, some swirling artistically due to their umbrella-shaped structure.
He maintained his good mood even when he spied his brother through the window of the Go salon. Once again, Uchiha Itachi, ex-professional Go player, had beaten him to the shop. Sasuke simply nodded a morning greeting as he entered, pushing his irritation aside with the ease of long practice. Just like the unexplained decision of giving up his pro status to open a Go salon years ago, Sasuke was certain that his brother existed solely to be his nemesis.
What he couldn't figure out was why Itachi couldn't go and be his nemesis elsewhere.
In unspoken silence, they worked together to prepare the Go salon for opening. The portable Go boards were wiped again, with the go-ke arranged on the tables. The copies of Weekly Go were laid out, and Sasuke went to make tea. By then it was nearly nine, and Itachi flipped the little plastic notice at the door to indicate that they were open for business.
Their regulars came in about fifteen minutes later. Most of them were middle-aged to old men who had played Go all their lives. A few were not above a little betting on games for the excitement, but more often than not, the rest usually came for the Go. Purists, they--most could be counted on to spend the entire day at the salon. The younger ones, those that actually wanted to turn pro, came during the weekends.
"Hey, Uchiha-sensei," one of the regulars said to him later, "Can you play a game with me later, after lunch?"
"Of course, Kakashi-san," he said.
"Heard that you won a game against Waya-sensei last week," the man went on. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." That was part of the reason why he had been able to sustain his good mood for so long. Waya Yoshitaka, 6-dan, was one of the best players in his age group; he had made the Honinbou League last year, and Sasuke counted it an particularly good victory that he had won by three-and-a-half moku.
"Will you be in any other official games soon?"
"Let me see," Sasuke ran through his schedule mentally. "The Go Institute hasn't given me the schedule yet, but I'll be in the second level of the qualifying rounds for the Honinbou title." The Go Institute in Tokyo had jurisdiction over pros in Gunma.
"Impressive."
"Hardly, there are many players who are better," Sasuke responded modestly to the admiration in the other man's voice. Unable to help himself, he glanced at his brother, who was at the counter. Itachi had got all the way to the final qualifying rounds of the Honinbou League years ago, before he quit. Sasuke was determined to do even better.
"Have you thought about moving to Tokyo? It might be easier to build your career there."
Sasuke shook his head. "Maybe in the future," he said. "I don't mind travelling for now." It was something he had wondered, though--in Tokyo, he would be able to play with more pros, that was for sure. The door to Akatsuki Go salon opened just then, and Sasuke raised his head.
A loud voice asked, "Are you sure you aren't carsick?" and was followed by a young man slightly younger than Sasuke, who sported a head of hair dyed yellow in front and streaked with other colours. He looked as though he was more at home in the arcade not far away, though the other two that followed him looked more... ordinary. " 'cos that smirk on your face looks a bit unnatural-"
"Welcome," Itachi said, interrupting the stranger in mid-rant.
"Huh? Oh, sorry." The first speaker grinned the abashed grin of someone much younger. He glanced around, no doubt realising that the regulars in the salon had all looked up at the sound of his voice. "How much-" he began, before he addressed the old man in his group. "Hey, old man, how do you want to do this?"
"You were the one who explained how you and your insei friends did it. I suggest you take the lead," the old man said, looking very sly.
Sasuke thought he looked familiar somehow, and wondered at the insei? He belatedly noticed that Itachi was frowning, staring at them as though he could decipher their identity that way.
"Oh. Um," the first speaker cleared his throat. "We would like to play a team tournament with your strongest players. If we win, we don't have to pay the fee. If we lose, we'll pay the fee and wash-"
The old man cleared his throat.
"-we, that is, Touya and I will wash all the stones."
"Why should we do that?" Itachi, rather surprisingly, sounded cold.
"Because it'll be fun," came the instant reply. "Come on, who's your strongest player?"
Itachi seemed to hesitate for a second, before he nodded towards Sasuke. "My brother Sasuke can play with you. As for the others..."
"I'll play with them," Kakashi interrupted, before he glanced round. "Iruka-san, how about you?"
The retired schoolteacher frowned for a moment, then nodded his head. "All right."
"Great!" the first speaker said. "This is Touya Akira," he indicated the other young man beside him, who had hair that brushed his shoulders as he nodded his head in greeting. "And this is..." he seemed to be thinking rapidly, "Old man Takahashi. And I'm Shindou Hikaru."
The names sounded familiar, Sasuke thought, particularly that Touya Akira. Could it be... But he couldn't imagine the son of Touya Kouyo doing something as brash as going into a Go salon to challenge its players.
Itachi studied the three of them before he said, "You three are pros, right?"
A murmur rose among the customers in the Go salon at that, a counterpoint to the excitement that was growing in the air.
If anything, Shindou's grin only widened. "Yes," he nodded vigorously. "But please, it means nothing! We just want to play Go."
That, Sasuke could understand. He came forward. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he said by way of introduction.
The one called Touya looked interested. "Uchiha-san is a pro?"
Sasuke nodded, wondering if he should tell them he was 5-dan, but decided not to. Since these three had decided to barge in to challenge Akatsuki Go salon, they didn't deserve prior warning.
"Good!" Shindou seemed pleased. "You must be the strongest here. Touya, you play with him."
"Is that your way of saying that I'm better than you?"
"No way!" The reply was instantaneous, like a reflex. "If that was how these things are decided, the old man would be playing him instead. I'm just letting you have a chance at being first board, since I messed it up for you the last time." He looked back at the oldest member of their team. "So, old man, you can be second-"
The old man said decisively, "Third."
"But why?" Shindou asked, then visibly thought for a moment. "You're a sly old man. I'll have you know that I've never gone in for that half-assed strategy of putting your best player in third board."
"That's because your understanding of strategy wouldn't fill a teaspoon, Shindou."
Shindou made a face at him, the kind that elementary school children did over playground taunts, complete with stuck-out tongue. Sasuke wondered if Shindou was really a pro; he seemed too loud for that.
They shifted the tables around, and Sasuke found himself facing Touya Akira. He was tempted to ask his opponent if he were related to Touya Kouyo in any way, even though he could not imagine a son of Touya Kouyo wearing a bright yellow T-shirt with the words 'No. 5' on it. The times he had seen Touya Kouyo on TV, he was always in a traditional kimono or in a suit.
Kakashi, sitting next to Sasuke, asked Shindou, with a significant jerk of his chin at Touya, "So are you boyfriends or something? Because the two of you look awfully close."
If he was hoping to rattle Shindou--or even insult him--it was unsuccessful. Shindou only winked. "Well, he's wearing my T-shirt. What do you think?"
"Shindou!"
Sasuke revised his probability of this Touya being that Touya. The likelihood of Touya Kouyo's son wearing another person's T-shirt (boyfriends or not) was vanishingly low, he thought. Touya Kouyo had always been dignified, despite his prowess at Go, and he had an excellent fashion sense, the (few) females who turned up at Akatsuki had told him. He could not imagine that the son of Touya Kouyo wearing terrible clothes.
Not that the No. 5 T-shirt was bad, of course. But it seemed more suited to Shindou.
"Let's begin," Iruka said, nodding respectfully at the old man who was his opponent.
Sasuke couldn't help thinking he had really seen photographs of that man somewhere in Weekly Go.
"Stop delaying, Shindou," the old man said. "Touya-kun, you nigiri."
Touya did so; Sasuke correctly guessed even, which allowed him to start with black. There was a pause as the rest of them figured who would start first, and Touya nodded a bow at him. "Please," he said, smiling.
No, couldn't be Touya Kouyo's son. He couldn't imagine Touya Kouyo's son being so cheerful. "Please," he said.
About halfway through, Sasuke was aware of his brother making his way over to where they were seated, and joining the rest of the spectators in the Go salon in watching the games. He could feel Itachi's shadow falling over him, and it irritated him.
Touya, he had discovered, was all business when he played. Instead of the friendly, if slightly long-suffering expression he had on when he first entered the Go salon with Shindou and the old man, his opponent's eyes seemed to burn with an intensity as he played. There were no wasted motions, no tapping of impatient feet or restless flickering of the eyes. Instead, Touya was focused on the Go board, experienced enough to maintain his expression a near-perfect blandness, yet with a determination to win that made Sasuke pause, and struggle to rescue his stones.
Shindou was nearly the same way, he realised. The loudmouth impression seemed to have disappeared entirely, metamorphosed into a Go player who had turned his energy to reading far ahead of his opponent.
And if the narrowed eyes and air of concentration was any indication, the old man was no slouch either...
This was turning out to be one hell of a day.
(tbc)