Aishuu Offers:
Lessons in How to Make a Bishounen Snap
~ A Hikaru no Go fanfiction ~
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Hotta and Obata wouldn't sue, right?

Earlier parts: http://www.fanfiction.net/~aishuu

Yes, I'm working on getting my site updated. Hasn't
happened yet.

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PART FOUR: Another Suitor, Sex Ed and the War on the
Home Front
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In less than a week, my class was due to host its own
version of a Go salon. I was, frankly,
completely exasperated by their efforts. Some of their
ideas were... odd to say the least.

Fujita and Murisaki were extremely competent class
representatives, organizing groups for what was
to take place. One group was going to play the
capturing stones game, while another was going to
serve coffee. Four girls had volunteered to be counter
girls, and the rest of the class was going to
help with decorating. They had already managed to get
hold of twenty cheap gobans, and were
planning on holding a raffle for a good set which
Kaidou-sensei donated.

He also was loaning his personal goban for me to use
as I tutored. I wasn�t actually going to be
playing shidou-go, since that would take too long, but
I would be teaching those who were willing to
pay an extra fee in ten minute sessions.

I was not surprised when Kaidou-sensei told me he had
advertised at the local Go salon.

�There�ll be plenty of players coming just to see
you,� he said. �It�s not often they have a chance to
play against someone who�s about to play for the
Honinbou title!�

Yes, because people who were about to play for titles
usually spent time studying, I thought.

Still, that was better than seeing the outfits the
girls had come up with. Cute, frilly, and... glittery.

And each time they made the slightest alteration, they
insisted on modeling them, and asking me for
my opinion.

�How does it look, Touya-sama?�  

�Is this color good on me, Touya-sama?�

�Don�t a look just like a counter girl?�

Uh-huh. I�m sure Ichikawa would have quit if my father
had decided that she had to wear any of the
designs.

Having girls twirl around, displaying themselves for
my benefit was not doing anything for my
popularity among my male classmates... and I felt like
my blush was now a permanent part of my
face.

One of the girls even asked if I would prefer the
skirt, which hung a rather immodest eight inches
above her knees, shorter.

That hole swallowing me up would have been REALLY
welcome. I thought I was about to pass out
before Isumi-san rudely escorted her away. I was
feeling really light-headed as all the blood rushed
out of my skull and to... other parts.

I�m a sixteen year old boy � what do you expect of me?

Luckily, aside from being embarrassed by the constant
parade of models, they didn�t involve me too
heavily in preparations. I was taking a rare moment
for myself when Fujita came to the library,
handing out lists of what we were expected to do.

�All you have to do is show up,� Fujita told me.

I gave him a weak smile in return, even though I was
still plotting ways to get out of it. �Yes,� I
agreed softly.

He straightened a pile of papers on my desk
absentmindedly, apparently something of a neat freak
as
he examined me for a moment. �You really don�t like
all this attention, do you?� he asked
curiously. 

�I need it like I need a hole in the head,� I told him
honestly. I was a bit surprised that another boy
was actually treating me like I was a human being. 

I liked it. It didn�t seem to occur to most of the
rest of the world that I was human.

�You know, I thought I was going to be the class
star,� he said, and I regarded him a bit in surprise.
Someone actually wanted this kind of attention? The
thought was incomprehensible to me, but
Fujita was still speaking.

�In middle school, I was the most popular guy, and I
didn�t see any reason for that to change � I
mean, I look good, have money, am reasonably
intelligent and try to be nice, and I play soccer,� he
told me. �But you...�

�I just wanted a normal school life,� I confessed.

There was no jealousy or resentment in his eyes, and I
tugged on my cuffs, unable to think of
anything to say. He was genuinely confused about what
had happened.

So was I. I was a Go player... when had go gotten to
be stylish? 

I will never, never understand women.

Neither, apparently, could Fujita, who just shrugged
with a slightly helpless expression. �I don�t get
it. Everything about you screams �introvert.� I bet
you wish you could find a hole and bury yourself
in it,� Fujita told me. 

�Sometimes. Is it so wrong to want peace and quiet?�

A small smile found its way onto Fujita�s face. �Life
would be awfully boring that way, don�t you
think?�

�I could use a little boredom. I�ve got enough going
on...� I murmured, feeling a bit disgruntled.

�Oh?� Fujita sounded genuinely curious. �No offense,
but I�m not clear exactly what a Go pro does.
All I know is that Kaidou-sensei is awfully
impressed.�

Even though I hadn�t intended to, I told him exactly
what my schedule was like. His eyes widened as
I explained the stress of my impending title game
against Kuwabara-Honinbou, and how I was also
still in some of the last rounds of both the Gosei and
Judan title matches.

�I... had no idea,� he said. �Kaidou isn�t kidding
when he says you�re impressive, is he?�

False modesty was getting me nowhere. �I�m one of the
best of our generation. My father is the best
of his. It takes a lot of work and practice,� I said
bluntly.

�Why are you even bothering with school?�

�Because it seemed liked the right thing to do.�

�I�ll see if I can get some of the others to back
off,� Fujita said. �I know the guys haven�t been that
nice.�

I sighed. �I�m used to it. I always seem to make
enemies.�

�Isn�t it lonely?�

�I have some friends,� I told him softly. �When people
don�t like you, at least you know it�s an
honest feeling.�

He blinked a bit in surprise, and leaned a bit closer
to me, so our faces were less than a foot apart.
His bright eyes seemed to suddenly start glowing. �You
know, I can see why the girls think you�re
so interesting. There�s something about you...�

Oh, dear GODS! I thought. 

�Ex-excuse me!� I said, stumbling to my feet as I
gathered my books and raced for the door.
It would be just my luck to end up with the
second-most eligible guy lusting after me, on top of
everything else.

Dammit!

***

I knew my patience had been stretched to the limit by
the way my father�s study group was irritating
me. Usually I was quite happy to be with them, but
today was a different story. Ashiwara�s prattling
wasn�t entertaining - it was annoying. And I was ready
to cheerfully take Ogata�s cigarette and... 

Well, I knew that my temper was on edge.

There was something about being around my father that
is strangely calming � he seems to project
an aura of serenity that encompasses everything around
him, making time stand still and everything
else insignificant. I want very much to be like him.

It was too bad that he was late for our study group,
because lord knew I needed to be soothed. I was
wound tighter than a spring, and putting me in a room
with Ashiwara and Ogata was not a good
idea. Don�t get me wrong � I like both of them very
much, but they�re both unable to resist...
meddling. I swear Ogata finds my life a great drama
set up for his personal amusement. And
Ashiwara... kami-sama save  me when he has �my best
interests� in mind.

Anyway.

The number of people who attend the study group varies
from session to session. There�s anywhere
from four to twenty, depending on how social my father
was feeling, and if there was a major match
to be discussed. Other factors included weather, work
schedules and if my mother had made her
famous mochi as a snack and word had leaked.

Go players will do anything for food.

My mother hadn�t cooked, and there weren�t any major
tournaments that had just been played.
Therefore, the session was small, with only six people
attending, including myself and my father.

Ashiwara and Ogata were regulars, rarely missing a
session. Most people saw Ashiwara as natural
company for me because of how close we were in age and
it was something I had mixed feelings
about. Ashiwara was one of the nicest people I knew,
but he also was one of the densest. It reminded
me of dealing with a puppy that refused to get off a
couch. I actually got along better with Ogata,
though I sometimes had horrifying visions that I would
turn into him in twenty years.

I was not looking forward to living a Go-obsessed life
with fish as my only company. But I could see
it happening.

The other two guests were Junpachi Suichirou and
Echigoya Dan. Junpachi was a promising
amateur who was going to attempt the pro exams as an
outsider, while Echigoya was a 5-dan who
had just lost the second preliminary round for the
Gosei round. He wasn�t destined for greatness, but
he was good company and loved the game.

Today, though, I was twitchy, and Ogata keyed in on it
immediately.

I didn�t like how he was looking at me. His eyes were
following me like a cat eyeing its prey, and I
thought and the smoke that curled around him made me
want to cough.

�How�s school, Akira-kun?� he asked finally, his voice
as smooth as silk.

�Fine.�

He tilted his head and looked at me curiously,
obviously detecting that Something Was Wrong from
my monosyllabic answer.

�Are you making a lot of new friends?� 

Game face, I thought. Wear your Scary Face! I thought.
The Scary Face! will let him know you�re
in a serious mood, and get him to bug off! �Some.�

Obsessive stalkers probably counted by some
definitions..

Ogata, though, was one of the few people who wasn�t
deterred by the game face. I had forgotten that
his game face was where I drew the inspiration for
mine.

�Any of the girls give you love letters yet?� he
asked, tilting his head curiously.

My back went rigid, and that blush, which I wish I
knew how to hide, immediately sprung to life.
�O-ogata-san...�

Did Ichikawa tell him? I wondered, knowing her
propensity to gossip, but she wouldn�t do anything
to humiliate me like this, would she? A smirk found
its way onto Ogata�s lips, but he didn�t say
anything else. He didn�t need to - the damage was
done.

Enter Ashiwara.

�You have a girlfriend?� he asked eagerly. �You�re
growing up on us! What�s she like? Is she cute?
When can we meet her - and does she play Go?�

His questions tripped over themselves so fast I
couldn�t make sense of them, but even as I opened
my mouth to deny them, Junpachi was adding his two
cents.

�It�d be best if she didn�t play,� he said. �Trying to
have a girlfriend who plays is asking for trouble,
because she�d end up feeling humiliated.�

�No! It�s better when they do! That way you can share
your love for the game with them!� Echigoya
disagreed.

�How do you know? When�s the last time you went on a
date?� Junpachi asked.

�That�s not fair! Least I didn�t get dumped at the
altar!�

�Don�t you dare bring that up!�

�Akira-kun, what�s she look like?� Ashiwara asked.
�You move so quick! Of course, I don�t think
that�s a surprise, considering that Touya-sensei was
supposed to have married your mother four
months after meeting her...� He started counting on
his fingers. �And I think you were born nine
months to the day...�

I did NOT want to know that! I had purposely avoided
even trying to figure out my conception date,
and now Ashiwara was shoving it in my face! Some
images were just too horrifying to think on -
and your parents having sex is one of them.

�Eight months,� Ogata inserted smoothly. �They were
married in April.�

�Ohhhh, were they! I didn�t realize it!� Ashiwara
said, his eyes widening so they were the size of
saucers.

�We don�t talk about it,� Ogata said sternly. �But if
Akira-kun has a girlfriend, maybe we should
talk to him before he gets into trouble.�

�I do not have a girlfriend!�I said, horrified that
they would even THINK I would do something like
that. 

Ashiwara gave me a disappointed look, before reaching
over and giving me a friendly clout on the
back which shook my teeth. �Don�t worry, I�m sure it
will happen soon!� 

I shut my eyes, wishing they would all just go away.
�Can we please just get on with this?� I
demanded.

They stared at me for a moment, before Echigoya seemed
to come to himself. �Um, yes. I had a
problem I wanted some help with.� He quickly arranged
some stones on the goban, and we all stared
at the problem. �This was my last game. I was white,
and I couldn�t see a way out of this.�

The game was close, and as we studied it, I realized
that it was a life-or-death problem. It was hard
to focus my attention on the problem in front of me,
and I took a deep breath, reminding myself that
this was Go, and I could solve it if I
concentrated....

�Here,� I said, pointing at the upper right corner,
where white was about to overrun black. �If you
play a hane here, you should be able to prevent the
opponent from connecting.�

Rather than the usually nods of agreement, the others
gave me dead silence in reply. Looking up
after the moment of silence extended into two, I
realized they were all staring at me.

�Um, Akira...� Ashiwara said finally. �We�re trying to
think of the move for the WHITE side.�

Ouch. Talk about embarrassing. �Um, white should work
on connecting there, then?� I replied
weakly, but it was a bit too late to cover for myself.
I had just let on that I was totally out of it. Not
wise, when Ogata Seiji was in the same room with you
and considered you the movie of the week.
	
The smoke seemed to get even thicker as he leaned
forward, and opened his mouth to ask another
question, one which I was sure would completely
mortify me. 

I was saved, though, by the sound of the door opening
and closing, and the measured sound of
footsteps I had always associated with my father.

Rescue!

�Hello, Touya-meijin,� everyone said respectfully, and
I took a deep breath, using a second to calm
myself down.

�Hello, father,� I said. Tug, tug...

He noticed me fiddling with my sleeves immediately,
since he always watched hands in the same
manner I did, and his eye arced slightly as he knelt
down on the mat we had saved for him. 

�Are you okay, Akira?� he asked in concern.

I wanted to run my head into a wall. I wish I knew how
to stop myself from messing with my cuffs
or collar every time I got upset.

�Fine!� I hurried to assure him, but everyone else
gave him devious smiles.

He wasn�t at all bothered by that. My father radiated
his usual serenity and that made me feel
absolutely horrible. There�s nothing worse about being
in a bad mood than having the ideal of Zen
sit in front of you, innocently showcasing the way you
should be behaving. My father is the person I
respect most in the world, but there�s nothing like
having a perfect role model to really set you on
edge.

So much for him calming me down.

�Ogata?� my father said simply, turning to the most
senior member of the group without a regard
for what I said.

�Akira is apparently experiencing some girl problems
in school,� he said, taking a long drag on his
cigarette. �He won�t say anything else.�

Junpachi handed my father a cup of tea, which he
sipped thoughtfully. �Akira brought home perfect
grades in his health classes, so I�m sure that�s not a
problem.�

It took a moment for me to get at what he was getting
at. Our junior high health classes contain a
section on sex education, and he was implying....
�Father!�

�Those classes aren�t very practical, though,�
Echigoya lamented.

�You should know,� Junpachi teased him.

�Shut up.�

�I�m sure Akira is just a bit shy,� my father said
after a while. �It�s not Go, but I�m sure he�ll master
dating when he sets his mind to it.�

Not you, too, Father! I thought desperately. The last
thing I wanted was my father getting involved.
Somehow or other, if he did, I knew everything would
seem so RATIONAL that I couldn�t deny the
demands they made of me.

�It�s not about dating!� I finally said, wishing they
would just leave me alone.

The group looked back at me. �What is it, then?� my
father asked.

It was very hard to think of a way to phrase what was
happening without letting on that I had a fan
club that WAS full of girls - that would just give
Ashiwara and Ogata perfect ammunition. �I have
an obsessed fan for a math teacher, and he�s convinced
the class that for our school festival this
Saturday, it�d be a good idea to present a Fo salon.�

They blinked once, and then all of them started to
laugh - even my father was chuckling quietly. �A
Go salon in your school?� Ogata asked between
snickers.

�Yes! They want me to tutor, and the girls are making
what they think counter girls wear, and it�s a
huge mess. I do not to get involved in this! I have
the Honinbou finals coming up!�

My tirade just encouraged them to laugh even harder.
Finally Ashiwara managed to choke back his
laughter enough to speak. �Akira-kun, it�s good that
students your age are getting interested in Go!
You love the game, why not share it with them?�

I was not about to let them know that I was more
worried about the girls who were involved in
setting it up - along with our male class
representative - using the opportunity to corner me. I
just
glared at them, which set them off again. �Can we
please just play?� I asked stubbornly.

Father watched me carefully as I pretended to turn my
attention to the board, but it was Ogata�s eyes
I felt more keenly. 

He was Up To Something.

Kami-sama help me survive the weekend...

END PART FOUR


Up Next: Part 5

The final part! What does it take to completely push
Akira over the edge? You guessed it: Shindou
Hikaru...

=====
That unfulfillable emotion that never settles down somewhere--
just decide to ignore it, then overtake it.
Aim for the loophole in this shy, trembling society,
for the place we keep struggling towards. I want new world.
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
Fanfiction: http://www.midnightrevolution.org/quicksilver/
Fic Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/~quillofferings

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