[Fic] Crossing Boundaries 4/? (Hikaru no Go)
Title: Crossing Boundaries 4/? (Chapter 4: Delusion)
Authors: aiwritingfic and chaineddove
Characters: Isumi, Le Ping, Yang Hai, Waya, others (Shindou, Touya, etc etc)
Wordcount/Rating: 4100+ words / G
Summary: Isumi is stuck with the notion that Le Ping is a kid. Le Ping, unfortunately, has other ideas.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to ESL fanficcers everywhere. We're taking over the fandom. <3
Previous Chapters: Mistranslation, Resolve, Shift.
I like Waya?!!?
The thought disturbed Isumi a lot less than the thought of liking Le Ping, so he focused on it. After all, just because he couldn't help stroking Le Ping's hair, and he didn't mind when Le Ping was curled up and snuggling him ...
Well, all right, Isumi wasn't sure if he liked Waya, but... all the same, it couldn't be that he liked Le Ping. Le Ping was too young, for heaven's sake--only fifteen. It was absolutely despicable of Isumi to be attracted to Le Ping. Fortunately for Isumi, he wasn't. It was just that Le Ping reminded him so much of Waya, that was all. There was just one problem--Isumi was pretty sure Waya was straight. Waya liked girls; he might not have been as bad as Yang Hai with the various pop idols, but at least Waya knew some of their names.
Of course, Isumi thought with a measure of relief. That was probably why this was happening. If Isumi knew Waya wasn't and couldn't be interested in him, it was only plausible that Le Ping was serving as a sort of impossible substitute for Waya. Now that he understood where these undesirable impulses had come from, it was easier to tell himself how wrong it all was.
Le Ping murmured in his sleep, tightening his arms around Isumi, and Isumi patted Le Ping's head almost before he could help himself. Le Ping was cute and completely open, Isumi thought fondly. Almost like a child. It was only natural to mistake childish affection for love when one didn't know the difference. Now that he was thinking logically, Isumi remembered how Le Ping's face had looked after the match with Kim, how it had looked that morning, how it had looked after the first match against Oka. Le Ping had looked pained, even crushed. And when Le Ping had proclaimed his determination to win, Isumi had seen it for the bravado it surely had been. Putting a brave face on a bad situation; oh Le Ping, Isumi thought fondly, stroking Le Ping's hair again.
Who wouldn't have wanted to comfort Le Ping in that situation? It was only natural to hug a child that was hurting. Even if Le Ping had grown physically, he was still a young child inside. I'm not in love with Le Ping, Isumi told himself. That's not what this is. He's too young. I love him as if he were a little brother. He told himself that, closing his eyes again, and this time it wasn't long before he was asleep, Le Ping's head pillowed against him.
***
There was a buzz of excitement around the match hall the next day. The prize could be decided with this game, and Japan had a good chance at taking it home at last after several consecutive failures.
Isumi brought Le Ping to the hall as early as he could, mostly in an attempt to spend as little time alone with the boy as possible. It was much easier to convince himself of his rationalization when Le Ping was alert and chattering animatedly to various members of the Chinese delegation, looking exactly like Waya had a few years ago. Yang Hai lifted an eyebrow towards Isumi, but Isumi avoided meeting his friend's eyes and used checking on the Japanese team as an excuse to escape while Le Ping was occupied. It felt a little like he was running away, but he wasn't capable of dealing with Yang Hai and deflecting endless insinuations right now.
If Isumi had been looking for a distraction, the Japanese delegation certainly provided one--walking into the backstage lounge assigned to them was like walking into a miniature war zone very reminiscent of the one in the Go Institute lobby on Friday morning. Isumi knew his countrymen better than anyone, so he wasn't very surprised to see Shindou and Touya facing off across the room, with Oka standing between them, trying to hide behind the curtain of her bangs and look diminutive.
"I was only saying," Shindou was growling, "that she should watch out for a second-line invasion in the mid-game, because that is what Ko would do, and I would hate to see her lose!"
"She isn't going to lose, Shindou!" Touya insisted. "Unlike some people, she won her game on Friday!"
"Hey!" protested first board Shouji, who was sitting on the couch with third board Yamamura.
"She is perfectly confident without your advice!" Touya continued relentlessly, ignoring Shouji entirely. Oka didn't look particularly confident just then, but Touya seemed not to notice.
"That game wasn't against Kim! I don't like the look of that kid! He smirks just like Ko! He'll never let her live it down! She has to win!"
"STOP PRESSURING HER, INGRATE!"
"OH, LIKE YOU'RE NOT PRESSURING HER!"
"SHE'S NOT YOUR STUDENT TO PRESSURE!"
"OH YEAH? AND WHO, EXACTLY, TUTORED HER WHEN YOU HAD THAT COLD IN MARCH AND COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED!?"
"I COULD HAVE GOTTEN UP, SHINDOU! YOU FORBADE ME TO GO!"
"I DIDN'T WANT OKA TO GET SICK BEFORE THE PRELIMINARY! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR MY FORESIGHT!"
"Young love," Kuwabara said, wheezing and cackling. Isumi hadn't noticed him before; he stiffened a little, but Kuwabara didn't seem to be targeting Isumi for the moment. "Ohohoho! Why weren't you this exuberant in your youth, Ogata-kun?"
Hand on the doorknob, having just arrived, Ogata merely looked around, met the eyes of the three in turn, nodded, and then turned to leave, not acknowledging Kuwabara at all.
"Running away again, Ogata-kun?" Kuwabara said, smirking.
"Duty, Kuwabara-sensei," Ogata said smoothly, withdrawing quickly.
"Is that so?" Kuwabara said, lighting his cigarette and wheezing contentedly.
Isumi sighed, laying a hand on Shindou's shoulder just as Shindou was about to walk towards Touya and possibly cause him bodily harm. "Shindou," he said, and Shindou turned.
"Isumi-san!" Shindou said. Isumi had broken up enough of these shouting matches that his hand on Shindou's shoulder was enough to have the younger player restraining his temper. He spared one last glare in Touya's direction, then looked around the room. "Hey, where's the mini Waya?"
"Did you lose your rival, Isumi-kun?" Kuwabara asked.
"Kuwabara-sensei," Isumi said politely in greeting, unable to pretend any longer that he hadn't noticed Kuwabara. "Le Ping is with the Chinese delegation. They're in the main hall, if you wished to speak with them?" He hoped fervently that Kuwabara would take the bait and go, though he somehow he doubted that was likely. He turned back to Shindou, eyes scanning the room. "Shindou, where's Waya?"
Shindou shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he overslept. He'll get here eventually."
"Maybe he's wherever Yashiro-san is," Shouji piped up. "He hasn't been around to yell at Oka about Kim yet."
"He did that yesterday," Yamamura said. "I saw him."
"I am so glad I am not playing second board," Shouji said with a snicker.
"You know what!" Oka finally exploded. "Half a moku! It was just half a moku! Clearly that half a moku was some horrible mistake on my part and you should have been the one playing second! I want no part in this demented rivalry! I'll beat Kim or I won't, and no matter how many people yell at me, the result won't change!"
Isumi's head was starting to ache. Sometimes it was hard to believe these people were the current and future hope of Japanese go. "Do your best, Oka-san," he said, taking a deep breath. "We'll all be supporting you."
"Yes," Touya said with a glare at Shindou. "Unlike certain people, the rest of us believe in you."
As Shindou exploded again, Isumi rubbed his temples and decided perhaps leaving would be the best course of action. He was saved by the entrance of a member of the organizing committee. "Is everyone ready? It's time for the representatives to be seated."
Kuwabara wheezed in private amusement as they filed out, Shindou and Touya still bickering. Isumi decided it would be better not to ask.
***
He looked for Waya throughout the course of the tense game between Japan and Korea. However, Waya was nowhere to be found in the hushed crowd. Occasionally, Isumi would involuntarily look over at Le Ping, sitting beside him; he managed to catch himself before anyone else noticed, though once he thought perhaps Yang Hai might have seen. He wouldn't have seated himself next to Le Ping if he'd been able to excuse himself. However, Le Ping had grabbed his arm and dragged Isumi to those seats almost literally, and it hadn't been possible to change seats after that.
He continued to look for Waya, but when the game ended two to one in Korea's favor, Waya still wasn't anywhere to be seen; he was neither in the crowd of Japanese players congratulating Shouji for his extremely successful game against Hong, nor hanging back away from the crowds. Even as everyone started dispersing, discussing the possible match-ups for tomorrow's doubles exhibition game and the doubled prize money that would roll over into next year's tournament, the only head of familiar messy red hair in the room belonged to Le Ping. Where had Waya gone? Isumi wondered. He might have expected Shindou to forget to call or notify someone if he was expected somewhere, but Waya had always been good at keeping Isumi notified if he was going anywhere else.
It wasn't until the next day when Isumi's name was pulled for the exhibition game and Waya was still missing that Isumi became much more worried. As soon as it had been possible to leave the room, he'd done so, pulling out his cellphone to call Waya while keeping an eye on the proceedings inside the room through the glass pane set in the door.
"Thank you for your call, but the number you have dialed is not currently being answered. After the beep, please leave your name and a brief message." Voicemail. Isumi wondered if Waya had merely neglected his phone. It had happened in the past, though it was rare.
"Waya? It's Isumi. The exhibition match-ups have been announced--I'm playing with Yang Hai against Ko Yongha and Yashiro-kun. The game's about to start--where are you? I hope you'll be able to make it." Then he had to put the phone away, because Yang Hai was already climbing the stairs to the stage and Ko had already taken his seat, smiling with feigned benevolence at his selected partner. Yashiro looked like he'd rather die than take the chair next to his.
Isumi allowed himself a moment to feel sorry for Yashiro before he focused his mind on the game to come. Ko Yongha was a formidable opponent, and Yashiro was as daring and brilliant as Shindou on the goban. Isumi would have to make sure he didn't let Yang Hai down. Though Isumi was reluctant to drop the issue, for now, Waya would have to wait.
***
After the game, Isumi had dutifully accepted all the congratulations at Yang Hai's side. To be fair, he thought that if their opponents hadn't been quite so focused on fighting each other instead of Yang Hai and Isumi, things might have been different. Ko Yongha's brilliance would only go so far with Yashiro sabotaging him every step of the way. But despite the definitive victory, he had to admit to a feeling of relief when the foreign delegations finally finished checking in at the airport.
Actually, Le Ping was unexpectedly well-behaved. Too well-behaved. It was more than a little unsettling to notice how quiet Le Ping was, especially when one recalled how things were when the Chinese delegation had arrived. Then, Le Ping couldn't seem to stop clinging to Isumi at all; now he hadn't tried to cling to Isumi once, and had instead spent most of the time by Yang Hai's side. Yang Hai, in turn, kept giving Isumi interested looks. (Kuwabara was, too, but Isumi found it easier to ignore the Honinbou than Yang Hai.)
When it was time to say their goodbyes, Le Ping said them too politely, using awkward and slightly inappropriate keigo, then absurdly stuck out a hand for Isumi to shake instead of hugging him. Yang Hai met Isumi's eyes with a smirk in the background and then clapped a hand on Isumi's back jovially (proprietorially, Isumi thought) and wished him all the best. It was all over far too quickly for Isumi, who hadn't quite re-acclimatized himself to Le Ping's sudden withdrawal. When Le Ping's messy red hair had vanished around the corner--not even a wave towards Isumi as he left, though he had been watching for it--Isumi had felt a curious pang of melancholy. He decided to ignore it, compartmentalizing it away as he did during go games. He just needed to get back into his daily rhythm. That was all. Everything was going to make much more sense without Le Ping invading his apartment and his bed.
With all this in his mind, Isumi sat in the coach, two seats to himself, while Kurata-sensei and Shinoda-sensei chatted about Oka and Shouji's achievements. Shindou and Touya had tried to engage Isumi in conversation, but Isumi's responses had been slow and somewhat unrelated. Touya at least had sensed that Isumi wasn't likely to be a very good conversationalist at the moment, and had steered the conversation away. Now they were arguing over their mentees and who was the better of the two.
Isumi missed having a shock of red hair beside him. He must have gotten too used to Waya, Isumi thought. He tried Waya's phone once more and got the same impersonal message. He sighed and hung up. Of all times for his friend to vanish off the face of the earth, this was not the most convenient one. Not that he knew exactly what he intended to say, but he hoped that it would come to him once he could see Waya and sort things out.
One more time, then.
"Yes, hello?"
"Waya!" Isumi said, surprised--he hadn't actually expected an answer.
"It's not Waya," the voice said, and Isumi flushed. The voice was too feminine.
"I--I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't know he had company." A girl, no less! Was that what Waya had missed the matches and contacts for? Isumi hadn't known Waya to ever put his girlfriends before go, though. Was this serious, then? But how had Waya hidden her from Isumi all this while?
"Who is this-- oh, Isumi-san!" the voice said cheerfully. "This is Morishita Shigeko. How are you?"
Morishita's daughter? Waya, what did you get yourself into? Isumi thought with a groan. He didn't want to have to protect Waya from an angry Morishita; they'd seen him rant about Touya Akira before. Isumi didn't really want to see Morishita disown his favorite pupil... though if one thought about it, perhaps Morishita might welcome the match...
"...sick," the voice said.
"I'm sorry," Isumi said, realizing he'd missed whatever she'd just said. "Could you please repeat that?"
"My father sent us over to check on Waya-kun," she repeated. "My brother's cooking something right now. Waya's quite sick. He's been sick since yesterday."
Oh. "Thank you for telling me," Isumi said. "Will you be there much longer? We've only just left Narita half an hour ago, and it'll take another hour to get to Tokyo. I'll come by after we get back and take care of him."
"You don't have to hurry," Morishita Shigeko said. Isumi could imagine her sunny smile--Waya had mentioned it a few times, always with a look of amazement on his face and sometimes accompanied with a Wow, Isumi-san, she really grew up nicely, didn't she? "My father told us to stay and take care of him for a little while until Waya-kun's mother gets off work. She's going to take care of him. You don't have to trouble yourself, Isumi-san."
Letting the Morishita children take care of Waya wouldn't be any trouble? But if Isumi went over, Morishita might mention the insistence the next time they met, and Isumi did not want to offend Waya's teacher. "I... see..." he said, trying to think.
"Don't worry!" she said again, and laughed. Isumi could hear the sound of some sort of pot banging against a stove in the background, and then a hiss. "Whoops. I need to help nii-san. Take care of yourself, Isumi-san. Perhaps we'll see you soon!" And with that, the line was disconnected.
***
Three days later, Waya called just as Isumi was leaving the Institute for the evening. "Isumi-san," he said, sounding a little hoarse but unchanged otherwise. "Shigeko-san said you called. Sorry--we didn't want you getting sick too. My mom's been taking care of me. Man, I've forgotten how nice it was to have someone else do the chores. I should get sick more often and have her come stay once in a while. Anyway, how have you been?"
"I've been all right," Isumi said. He could hear Waya tapping away on a keyboard. "Are you playing net go?"
"Yeah," Waya said, sounding a little tired. "I haven't played in almost a week. That was almost as bad as not having any energy to sit up."
"Would you like me to come over for a game?"
"Sure! But wait--I don't want you catching this. You wanna play net go instead, Isumi-san? Shindou knows how to play. He can help you log on."
"It's all right," Isumi said. He wasn't one for computers. "I'll come by later. Or tomorrow," he amended, glancing at his watch. It was too late to go today if Waya was still unwell and in need of rest. "Open the windows--you should air out your room. I'll come see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"
"Is everything all right, Isumi-san?" Waya asked. "You sound a little strange. Take care of yourself. Don't you get sick too."
"I'm fine," Isumi told him. He was relieved to hear from Waya, for one thing, though if he were honest with himself, he felt pretty calm for someone talking to his supposed romantic interest. "I should be the one to tell you to take care of yourself--catching a cold in the middle of summer."
"Yeah, this totally sucks," Waya said, and Isumi could imagine his grimace. "Rotten timing. I missed your exhibition game, too. Got your message, though. How did it go?"
"We won, though it wasn't a very good game," Isumi admitted. "Yashiro-kun was playing poorly."
"I'll bet," Waya said with a hoarse laugh. "Man, I hope someone got pictures of him." The hoarse laugh became a cough.
That sounded quite alarming. "You need to rest, not talk on the phone," Isumi said firmly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure," Waya agreed easily. "Should be fun. See you, Isumi-san."
"Good night," Isumi said, and hung up.
The walk home was uneventful after that. The summer air was beginning to thicken. As Isumi let himself into his one-room apartment, he wondered why the place felt so large and empty that night.
***
He'd been tossing and turning restlessly for what felt like hours, drifting in and out of wakefulness as he listened to the cicadas outside. They were very loud that night, Isumi thought, turning onto his side again. His futon felt too large. He wondered what Le Ping was doing now. The flight would have been short, and by now both the Chinese and Korean delegations would have arrived safely (well, he hadn't heard anything about any plane accidents, in any case, so they must have). Le Ping hadn't won either game; Isumi wondered if he should ask Yang Hai to keep a closer eye on the boy.
Of course, Isumi thought, there was no need. Yang Hai already watched over Le Ping a lot. Le Ping had complained many times to Isumi, actually, irritated that someone who wasn't his brother was acting like one. Funny how Le Ping hadn't complained when Isumi took care of him, though. Or perhaps he had complained to Yang Hai? Playing both sides against the other? In spite of himself, Isumi smiled. How like Le Ping, and yet how unlike. No, Le Ping wouldn't. Somehow, Isumi was sure of this.
And why was he thinking about Le Ping when he should be thinking about Waya? This was immensely worrisome. Waya was sick, after all. One needed to check up on him often. Isumi reached for his cellphone and dialed.
After several rings, the line connected. "Hmm?" Said Waya's extremely sleepy voice. "Wha... Isumi-san? It's..." a pause and a rustle, "three in the morning?"
Was it? Isumi looked at his phone's time display, and then blanched. It was. "I'm so sorry," he said, contrite. "Please, go back to bed. I didn't mean to wake you."
"'M awake now," Waya said and yawned audibly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing at all," Isumi said, soothingly. "I'm sorry. I didn't look at the time. Go back to bed, Waya, and I'll talk to you in the morning instead."
"If you're calling me at three in the morning," Waya said stubbornly, sounding more awake by the moment, "something is wrong. Especially if you have no idea what time it is. Can you just... not talk around it and tell me and then I can go back to sleep instead of worrying about you and whatever... crisis is enough to have you calling an invalid in the middle of the night?"
Waya was hardly an invalid, but Isumi knew it was his fault for calling so late. "It's nothing," he said, trying to think of something to say to ease Waya's suspicion. Waya had always been just a little too perceptive to things like this. "I don't want to bother you with something so..." He searched mentally for a word.
"You've already started with the bothering, so you can continue since I'm up anyway," Waya told him, then gave a short cough. "Seriously, what?"
Isumi sighed. There was nothing for it. "Well, I... you see... " If he didn't say anything soon, Waya would either become irritated or concerned, neither of which Isumi relaly wished at the moment. "Le Ping reminds me of you."
There was silence over the line while Waya processed this. Then Waya said with mock patience, "Okay... that's kind of been obvious since you came back from China that one time and ruffled my hair. I'll agree it's a little creepy how he's a mini clone with Mandarin language settings, but probably not enough to keep you up all night?"
"It's not just that," Isumi said. He flushed, even though he knew Waya couldn't see. "You... you know how you kept thinking about Morishita-sensei's daughter?"
"Uh," said Waya. "Okay. I'm lost. What does Shigeko-san have to do with Le Ping?"
"Nothing at all," Isumi said hastily. He didn't need Waya misunderstanding. "I just think I shouldn't be thinking about someone so young all the time merely because he's a convenient substitute for you. It isn't fair to Le Ping at all."
"Uh," said Waya again. "Gimme a break, Isumi-san. I'm half asleep. What? You're calling me to discuss the fact that you've suddenly realized you're attracted to the kid?"
"No, don't misunderstand!" Isumi said desperately. "I must be thinking about him because I'm attracted to you!"
Ominous silence greeted that statement. Just as Isumi began to fear that he had been disconnected, the ominous silence was replaced with hysterical laughter with coughs interspersed liberally between the peals. "Oh, Isumi-san," Waya managed, and promptly hung up.
It took a moment for Isumi to realize what the sudden silence meant. "Waya?" he asked in slight disbelief. But no, there was no Waya, only the default screen of his cellphone again.
Next: Correspondence
Authors' endnotes:
- Hikaru and Akira should not technically have students yet. They are really too young. But we think they tutored those kids as Insei, and then when they passed, they just kind of... kept coming over, so they kept them (like pets! XDDD. Ogata has goldfish. Shindou and Touya have... er, Insei. Or young pros.) They are probably allowed to come over for games and have dinner and such. They know more about Touya and Shindou's private life than anyone (Oka takes pity and cooks sometimes when Touya looks like he might kill if he sees more instant ramen).
- aiwritingfic wanted Shige-chan, chaineddove wanted Shigeko-chan; in the end we settled for the Morishita-sensei-approved Shigeko-san. ^_^
Authors: aiwritingfic and chaineddove
Characters: Isumi, Le Ping, Yang Hai, Waya, others (Shindou, Touya, etc etc)
Wordcount/Rating: 4100+ words / G
Summary: Isumi is stuck with the notion that Le Ping is a kid. Le Ping, unfortunately, has other ideas.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to ESL fanficcers everywhere. We're taking over the fandom. <3
Previous Chapters: Mistranslation, Resolve, Shift.
I like Waya?!!?
The thought disturbed Isumi a lot less than the thought of liking Le Ping, so he focused on it. After all, just because he couldn't help stroking Le Ping's hair, and he didn't mind when Le Ping was curled up and snuggling him ...
Well, all right, Isumi wasn't sure if he liked Waya, but... all the same, it couldn't be that he liked Le Ping. Le Ping was too young, for heaven's sake--only fifteen. It was absolutely despicable of Isumi to be attracted to Le Ping. Fortunately for Isumi, he wasn't. It was just that Le Ping reminded him so much of Waya, that was all. There was just one problem--Isumi was pretty sure Waya was straight. Waya liked girls; he might not have been as bad as Yang Hai with the various pop idols, but at least Waya knew some of their names.
Of course, Isumi thought with a measure of relief. That was probably why this was happening. If Isumi knew Waya wasn't and couldn't be interested in him, it was only plausible that Le Ping was serving as a sort of impossible substitute for Waya. Now that he understood where these undesirable impulses had come from, it was easier to tell himself how wrong it all was.
Le Ping murmured in his sleep, tightening his arms around Isumi, and Isumi patted Le Ping's head almost before he could help himself. Le Ping was cute and completely open, Isumi thought fondly. Almost like a child. It was only natural to mistake childish affection for love when one didn't know the difference. Now that he was thinking logically, Isumi remembered how Le Ping's face had looked after the match with Kim, how it had looked that morning, how it had looked after the first match against Oka. Le Ping had looked pained, even crushed. And when Le Ping had proclaimed his determination to win, Isumi had seen it for the bravado it surely had been. Putting a brave face on a bad situation; oh Le Ping, Isumi thought fondly, stroking Le Ping's hair again.
Who wouldn't have wanted to comfort Le Ping in that situation? It was only natural to hug a child that was hurting. Even if Le Ping had grown physically, he was still a young child inside. I'm not in love with Le Ping, Isumi told himself. That's not what this is. He's too young. I love him as if he were a little brother. He told himself that, closing his eyes again, and this time it wasn't long before he was asleep, Le Ping's head pillowed against him.
***
There was a buzz of excitement around the match hall the next day. The prize could be decided with this game, and Japan had a good chance at taking it home at last after several consecutive failures.
Isumi brought Le Ping to the hall as early as he could, mostly in an attempt to spend as little time alone with the boy as possible. It was much easier to convince himself of his rationalization when Le Ping was alert and chattering animatedly to various members of the Chinese delegation, looking exactly like Waya had a few years ago. Yang Hai lifted an eyebrow towards Isumi, but Isumi avoided meeting his friend's eyes and used checking on the Japanese team as an excuse to escape while Le Ping was occupied. It felt a little like he was running away, but he wasn't capable of dealing with Yang Hai and deflecting endless insinuations right now.
If Isumi had been looking for a distraction, the Japanese delegation certainly provided one--walking into the backstage lounge assigned to them was like walking into a miniature war zone very reminiscent of the one in the Go Institute lobby on Friday morning. Isumi knew his countrymen better than anyone, so he wasn't very surprised to see Shindou and Touya facing off across the room, with Oka standing between them, trying to hide behind the curtain of her bangs and look diminutive.
"I was only saying," Shindou was growling, "that she should watch out for a second-line invasion in the mid-game, because that is what Ko would do, and I would hate to see her lose!"
"She isn't going to lose, Shindou!" Touya insisted. "Unlike some people, she won her game on Friday!"
"Hey!" protested first board Shouji, who was sitting on the couch with third board Yamamura.
"She is perfectly confident without your advice!" Touya continued relentlessly, ignoring Shouji entirely. Oka didn't look particularly confident just then, but Touya seemed not to notice.
"That game wasn't against Kim! I don't like the look of that kid! He smirks just like Ko! He'll never let her live it down! She has to win!"
"STOP PRESSURING HER, INGRATE!"
"OH, LIKE YOU'RE NOT PRESSURING HER!"
"SHE'S NOT YOUR STUDENT TO PRESSURE!"
"OH YEAH? AND WHO, EXACTLY, TUTORED HER WHEN YOU HAD THAT COLD IN MARCH AND COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED!?"
"I COULD HAVE GOTTEN UP, SHINDOU! YOU FORBADE ME TO GO!"
"I DIDN'T WANT OKA TO GET SICK BEFORE THE PRELIMINARY! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR MY FORESIGHT!"
"Young love," Kuwabara said, wheezing and cackling. Isumi hadn't noticed him before; he stiffened a little, but Kuwabara didn't seem to be targeting Isumi for the moment. "Ohohoho! Why weren't you this exuberant in your youth, Ogata-kun?"
Hand on the doorknob, having just arrived, Ogata merely looked around, met the eyes of the three in turn, nodded, and then turned to leave, not acknowledging Kuwabara at all.
"Running away again, Ogata-kun?" Kuwabara said, smirking.
"Duty, Kuwabara-sensei," Ogata said smoothly, withdrawing quickly.
"Is that so?" Kuwabara said, lighting his cigarette and wheezing contentedly.
Isumi sighed, laying a hand on Shindou's shoulder just as Shindou was about to walk towards Touya and possibly cause him bodily harm. "Shindou," he said, and Shindou turned.
"Isumi-san!" Shindou said. Isumi had broken up enough of these shouting matches that his hand on Shindou's shoulder was enough to have the younger player restraining his temper. He spared one last glare in Touya's direction, then looked around the room. "Hey, where's the mini Waya?"
"Did you lose your rival, Isumi-kun?" Kuwabara asked.
"Kuwabara-sensei," Isumi said politely in greeting, unable to pretend any longer that he hadn't noticed Kuwabara. "Le Ping is with the Chinese delegation. They're in the main hall, if you wished to speak with them?" He hoped fervently that Kuwabara would take the bait and go, though he somehow he doubted that was likely. He turned back to Shindou, eyes scanning the room. "Shindou, where's Waya?"
Shindou shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he overslept. He'll get here eventually."
"Maybe he's wherever Yashiro-san is," Shouji piped up. "He hasn't been around to yell at Oka about Kim yet."
"He did that yesterday," Yamamura said. "I saw him."
"I am so glad I am not playing second board," Shouji said with a snicker.
"You know what!" Oka finally exploded. "Half a moku! It was just half a moku! Clearly that half a moku was some horrible mistake on my part and you should have been the one playing second! I want no part in this demented rivalry! I'll beat Kim or I won't, and no matter how many people yell at me, the result won't change!"
Isumi's head was starting to ache. Sometimes it was hard to believe these people were the current and future hope of Japanese go. "Do your best, Oka-san," he said, taking a deep breath. "We'll all be supporting you."
"Yes," Touya said with a glare at Shindou. "Unlike certain people, the rest of us believe in you."
As Shindou exploded again, Isumi rubbed his temples and decided perhaps leaving would be the best course of action. He was saved by the entrance of a member of the organizing committee. "Is everyone ready? It's time for the representatives to be seated."
Kuwabara wheezed in private amusement as they filed out, Shindou and Touya still bickering. Isumi decided it would be better not to ask.
***
He looked for Waya throughout the course of the tense game between Japan and Korea. However, Waya was nowhere to be found in the hushed crowd. Occasionally, Isumi would involuntarily look over at Le Ping, sitting beside him; he managed to catch himself before anyone else noticed, though once he thought perhaps Yang Hai might have seen. He wouldn't have seated himself next to Le Ping if he'd been able to excuse himself. However, Le Ping had grabbed his arm and dragged Isumi to those seats almost literally, and it hadn't been possible to change seats after that.
He continued to look for Waya, but when the game ended two to one in Korea's favor, Waya still wasn't anywhere to be seen; he was neither in the crowd of Japanese players congratulating Shouji for his extremely successful game against Hong, nor hanging back away from the crowds. Even as everyone started dispersing, discussing the possible match-ups for tomorrow's doubles exhibition game and the doubled prize money that would roll over into next year's tournament, the only head of familiar messy red hair in the room belonged to Le Ping. Where had Waya gone? Isumi wondered. He might have expected Shindou to forget to call or notify someone if he was expected somewhere, but Waya had always been good at keeping Isumi notified if he was going anywhere else.
It wasn't until the next day when Isumi's name was pulled for the exhibition game and Waya was still missing that Isumi became much more worried. As soon as it had been possible to leave the room, he'd done so, pulling out his cellphone to call Waya while keeping an eye on the proceedings inside the room through the glass pane set in the door.
"Thank you for your call, but the number you have dialed is not currently being answered. After the beep, please leave your name and a brief message." Voicemail. Isumi wondered if Waya had merely neglected his phone. It had happened in the past, though it was rare.
"Waya? It's Isumi. The exhibition match-ups have been announced--I'm playing with Yang Hai against Ko Yongha and Yashiro-kun. The game's about to start--where are you? I hope you'll be able to make it." Then he had to put the phone away, because Yang Hai was already climbing the stairs to the stage and Ko had already taken his seat, smiling with feigned benevolence at his selected partner. Yashiro looked like he'd rather die than take the chair next to his.
Isumi allowed himself a moment to feel sorry for Yashiro before he focused his mind on the game to come. Ko Yongha was a formidable opponent, and Yashiro was as daring and brilliant as Shindou on the goban. Isumi would have to make sure he didn't let Yang Hai down. Though Isumi was reluctant to drop the issue, for now, Waya would have to wait.
***
After the game, Isumi had dutifully accepted all the congratulations at Yang Hai's side. To be fair, he thought that if their opponents hadn't been quite so focused on fighting each other instead of Yang Hai and Isumi, things might have been different. Ko Yongha's brilliance would only go so far with Yashiro sabotaging him every step of the way. But despite the definitive victory, he had to admit to a feeling of relief when the foreign delegations finally finished checking in at the airport.
Actually, Le Ping was unexpectedly well-behaved. Too well-behaved. It was more than a little unsettling to notice how quiet Le Ping was, especially when one recalled how things were when the Chinese delegation had arrived. Then, Le Ping couldn't seem to stop clinging to Isumi at all; now he hadn't tried to cling to Isumi once, and had instead spent most of the time by Yang Hai's side. Yang Hai, in turn, kept giving Isumi interested looks. (Kuwabara was, too, but Isumi found it easier to ignore the Honinbou than Yang Hai.)
When it was time to say their goodbyes, Le Ping said them too politely, using awkward and slightly inappropriate keigo, then absurdly stuck out a hand for Isumi to shake instead of hugging him. Yang Hai met Isumi's eyes with a smirk in the background and then clapped a hand on Isumi's back jovially (proprietorially, Isumi thought) and wished him all the best. It was all over far too quickly for Isumi, who hadn't quite re-acclimatized himself to Le Ping's sudden withdrawal. When Le Ping's messy red hair had vanished around the corner--not even a wave towards Isumi as he left, though he had been watching for it--Isumi had felt a curious pang of melancholy. He decided to ignore it, compartmentalizing it away as he did during go games. He just needed to get back into his daily rhythm. That was all. Everything was going to make much more sense without Le Ping invading his apartment and his bed.
With all this in his mind, Isumi sat in the coach, two seats to himself, while Kurata-sensei and Shinoda-sensei chatted about Oka and Shouji's achievements. Shindou and Touya had tried to engage Isumi in conversation, but Isumi's responses had been slow and somewhat unrelated. Touya at least had sensed that Isumi wasn't likely to be a very good conversationalist at the moment, and had steered the conversation away. Now they were arguing over their mentees and who was the better of the two.
Isumi missed having a shock of red hair beside him. He must have gotten too used to Waya, Isumi thought. He tried Waya's phone once more and got the same impersonal message. He sighed and hung up. Of all times for his friend to vanish off the face of the earth, this was not the most convenient one. Not that he knew exactly what he intended to say, but he hoped that it would come to him once he could see Waya and sort things out.
One more time, then.
"Yes, hello?"
"Waya!" Isumi said, surprised--he hadn't actually expected an answer.
"It's not Waya," the voice said, and Isumi flushed. The voice was too feminine.
"I--I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't know he had company." A girl, no less! Was that what Waya had missed the matches and contacts for? Isumi hadn't known Waya to ever put his girlfriends before go, though. Was this serious, then? But how had Waya hidden her from Isumi all this while?
"Who is this-- oh, Isumi-san!" the voice said cheerfully. "This is Morishita Shigeko. How are you?"
Morishita's daughter? Waya, what did you get yourself into? Isumi thought with a groan. He didn't want to have to protect Waya from an angry Morishita; they'd seen him rant about Touya Akira before. Isumi didn't really want to see Morishita disown his favorite pupil... though if one thought about it, perhaps Morishita might welcome the match...
"...sick," the voice said.
"I'm sorry," Isumi said, realizing he'd missed whatever she'd just said. "Could you please repeat that?"
"My father sent us over to check on Waya-kun," she repeated. "My brother's cooking something right now. Waya's quite sick. He's been sick since yesterday."
Oh. "Thank you for telling me," Isumi said. "Will you be there much longer? We've only just left Narita half an hour ago, and it'll take another hour to get to Tokyo. I'll come by after we get back and take care of him."
"You don't have to hurry," Morishita Shigeko said. Isumi could imagine her sunny smile--Waya had mentioned it a few times, always with a look of amazement on his face and sometimes accompanied with a Wow, Isumi-san, she really grew up nicely, didn't she? "My father told us to stay and take care of him for a little while until Waya-kun's mother gets off work. She's going to take care of him. You don't have to trouble yourself, Isumi-san."
Letting the Morishita children take care of Waya wouldn't be any trouble? But if Isumi went over, Morishita might mention the insistence the next time they met, and Isumi did not want to offend Waya's teacher. "I... see..." he said, trying to think.
"Don't worry!" she said again, and laughed. Isumi could hear the sound of some sort of pot banging against a stove in the background, and then a hiss. "Whoops. I need to help nii-san. Take care of yourself, Isumi-san. Perhaps we'll see you soon!" And with that, the line was disconnected.
***
Three days later, Waya called just as Isumi was leaving the Institute for the evening. "Isumi-san," he said, sounding a little hoarse but unchanged otherwise. "Shigeko-san said you called. Sorry--we didn't want you getting sick too. My mom's been taking care of me. Man, I've forgotten how nice it was to have someone else do the chores. I should get sick more often and have her come stay once in a while. Anyway, how have you been?"
"I've been all right," Isumi said. He could hear Waya tapping away on a keyboard. "Are you playing net go?"
"Yeah," Waya said, sounding a little tired. "I haven't played in almost a week. That was almost as bad as not having any energy to sit up."
"Would you like me to come over for a game?"
"Sure! But wait--I don't want you catching this. You wanna play net go instead, Isumi-san? Shindou knows how to play. He can help you log on."
"It's all right," Isumi said. He wasn't one for computers. "I'll come by later. Or tomorrow," he amended, glancing at his watch. It was too late to go today if Waya was still unwell and in need of rest. "Open the windows--you should air out your room. I'll come see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"
"Is everything all right, Isumi-san?" Waya asked. "You sound a little strange. Take care of yourself. Don't you get sick too."
"I'm fine," Isumi told him. He was relieved to hear from Waya, for one thing, though if he were honest with himself, he felt pretty calm for someone talking to his supposed romantic interest. "I should be the one to tell you to take care of yourself--catching a cold in the middle of summer."
"Yeah, this totally sucks," Waya said, and Isumi could imagine his grimace. "Rotten timing. I missed your exhibition game, too. Got your message, though. How did it go?"
"We won, though it wasn't a very good game," Isumi admitted. "Yashiro-kun was playing poorly."
"I'll bet," Waya said with a hoarse laugh. "Man, I hope someone got pictures of him." The hoarse laugh became a cough.
That sounded quite alarming. "You need to rest, not talk on the phone," Isumi said firmly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure," Waya agreed easily. "Should be fun. See you, Isumi-san."
"Good night," Isumi said, and hung up.
The walk home was uneventful after that. The summer air was beginning to thicken. As Isumi let himself into his one-room apartment, he wondered why the place felt so large and empty that night.
***
He'd been tossing and turning restlessly for what felt like hours, drifting in and out of wakefulness as he listened to the cicadas outside. They were very loud that night, Isumi thought, turning onto his side again. His futon felt too large. He wondered what Le Ping was doing now. The flight would have been short, and by now both the Chinese and Korean delegations would have arrived safely (well, he hadn't heard anything about any plane accidents, in any case, so they must have). Le Ping hadn't won either game; Isumi wondered if he should ask Yang Hai to keep a closer eye on the boy.
Of course, Isumi thought, there was no need. Yang Hai already watched over Le Ping a lot. Le Ping had complained many times to Isumi, actually, irritated that someone who wasn't his brother was acting like one. Funny how Le Ping hadn't complained when Isumi took care of him, though. Or perhaps he had complained to Yang Hai? Playing both sides against the other? In spite of himself, Isumi smiled. How like Le Ping, and yet how unlike. No, Le Ping wouldn't. Somehow, Isumi was sure of this.
And why was he thinking about Le Ping when he should be thinking about Waya? This was immensely worrisome. Waya was sick, after all. One needed to check up on him often. Isumi reached for his cellphone and dialed.
After several rings, the line connected. "Hmm?" Said Waya's extremely sleepy voice. "Wha... Isumi-san? It's..." a pause and a rustle, "three in the morning?"
Was it? Isumi looked at his phone's time display, and then blanched. It was. "I'm so sorry," he said, contrite. "Please, go back to bed. I didn't mean to wake you."
"'M awake now," Waya said and yawned audibly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing at all," Isumi said, soothingly. "I'm sorry. I didn't look at the time. Go back to bed, Waya, and I'll talk to you in the morning instead."
"If you're calling me at three in the morning," Waya said stubbornly, sounding more awake by the moment, "something is wrong. Especially if you have no idea what time it is. Can you just... not talk around it and tell me and then I can go back to sleep instead of worrying about you and whatever... crisis is enough to have you calling an invalid in the middle of the night?"
Waya was hardly an invalid, but Isumi knew it was his fault for calling so late. "It's nothing," he said, trying to think of something to say to ease Waya's suspicion. Waya had always been just a little too perceptive to things like this. "I don't want to bother you with something so..." He searched mentally for a word.
"You've already started with the bothering, so you can continue since I'm up anyway," Waya told him, then gave a short cough. "Seriously, what?"
Isumi sighed. There was nothing for it. "Well, I... you see... " If he didn't say anything soon, Waya would either become irritated or concerned, neither of which Isumi relaly wished at the moment. "Le Ping reminds me of you."
There was silence over the line while Waya processed this. Then Waya said with mock patience, "Okay... that's kind of been obvious since you came back from China that one time and ruffled my hair. I'll agree it's a little creepy how he's a mini clone with Mandarin language settings, but probably not enough to keep you up all night?"
"It's not just that," Isumi said. He flushed, even though he knew Waya couldn't see. "You... you know how you kept thinking about Morishita-sensei's daughter?"
"Uh," said Waya. "Okay. I'm lost. What does Shigeko-san have to do with Le Ping?"
"Nothing at all," Isumi said hastily. He didn't need Waya misunderstanding. "I just think I shouldn't be thinking about someone so young all the time merely because he's a convenient substitute for you. It isn't fair to Le Ping at all."
"Uh," said Waya again. "Gimme a break, Isumi-san. I'm half asleep. What? You're calling me to discuss the fact that you've suddenly realized you're attracted to the kid?"
"No, don't misunderstand!" Isumi said desperately. "I must be thinking about him because I'm attracted to you!"
Ominous silence greeted that statement. Just as Isumi began to fear that he had been disconnected, the ominous silence was replaced with hysterical laughter with coughs interspersed liberally between the peals. "Oh, Isumi-san," Waya managed, and promptly hung up.
It took a moment for Isumi to realize what the sudden silence meant. "Waya?" he asked in slight disbelief. But no, there was no Waya, only the default screen of his cellphone again.
Next: Correspondence
Authors' endnotes:
- Hikaru and Akira should not technically have students yet. They are really too young. But we think they tutored those kids as Insei, and then when they passed, they just kind of... kept coming over, so they kept them (like pets! XDDD. Ogata has goldfish. Shindou and Touya have... er, Insei. Or young pros.) They are probably allowed to come over for games and have dinner and such. They know more about Touya and Shindou's private life than anyone (Oka takes pity and cooks sometimes when Touya looks like he might kill if he sees more instant ramen).
- aiwritingfic wanted Shige-chan, chaineddove wanted Shigeko-chan; in the end we settled for the Morishita-sensei-approved Shigeko-san. ^_^