Blind Luck2: No Way Back Chapter 18/19 (or 20)
Blind Luck2: No Way Back
Chapter 18
Fujiwara no Sai, former tutor to the emperor, a celebrated player of Go, used to playing with the eyes of Go loving Japan in the Edo period, and the Go loving world upon him only a few years ago, was nervous as hell when he walked in the Touya Go club, that Wednesday morning, after having been dropped off by title holder and Go-pro Ogata, ready to start his very first day at work.
He was glad he was well rested from the day before.
After he had spent a few hours learning to read by the fountain the day before, it had been Ogata who had roused him out of his book by offering to come and pick him up, taking him to the Go club.
There they first had replayed one of Ogata's games from the last Gosai tournament (and Sai had learned that Ogata had held that title too but lost it, and now was training to get it back). Touya soon had joined in the discussion, making no further mention of Shuusaku, for which Sai had been grateful. And later Hikaru had shown up just in time to join in a challenge of speed Go.
Playing at the Go club had, up to this morning (and not including his very first visit), been fun and without too much stress. But now it was different; now he had to perform and give his 'clients' their money's worth.
Knowing that in his past life as a Heian noble, he had been a Go tutor did nothing to assuage his anxiety; for he remembered nothing of that time and any teaching skills he must have learned there were lost to him now.
Sai shored up his courage as best he could as Ichikawa's /'Ohayo!'/ greeted his knock on the club’s outer door.
She quickly saw him to his table and then bustled off promising him tea and a client list in a moment.
oOOo
While he waited for her return, the blind man tentatively laid a hand on the table before him. He knew that before him stood the two Gobans that would fill his working life from now on; two 19 by 19 universes that had the potential to give him absolute bliss, today and every day from now on.
He moved his hand forward, encountering a wooden leg. His slid his fingers up the leg and onto the board. The depressions of the grid lines were clearly felt by his fingertips, and Sai smiled when he realized his fingers were trying to 'read' the lines as though they were Braille.
No, he thought to himself, no reading necessary; these 'sentences' were as yet empty.
The sudden longing to fill them washed over him so fast, the former ghost couldn't even gasp at it.
There will be playing today, he promised himself, there will be many more /kifu/ to remember by tonight!
xXXx
Sai's first client was an older sounding man, Otogai, who started talking the moment Ichikawa had walked away after instructing the man on how to play a blind man. And it seemed he wasn't going to stop talking while playing either, quite on the contrary, his monologue got faster.
It didn't bother Sai too much; most of what the man said was about Go anyway. From his play the blind man could tell, that while he was very much a fan of the game, his opponent's sense of strategy was weak and his choice of moves wooden as though he had learned them from a book and had never made them his own.
The constant stream of words also clued Sai in on what the man was exactly thinking as he executed his stiff moves. Within the first ten moves of the game Sai had already decided that this was going to have to be a /shidogo/ game as the difference in strength was just too great of an un-handicapped game.
Sai's first two hours as a 'working stiff' flew by, and Otogai left saying he was so glad he had taken the second-hour-at-half price introduction offer, and that he was going to book again for sure!
Ichikawa told him he had a 10 minute break before the next client was scheduled and served him tea with chocolate biscuits.
After the break there was a quiet older sounding man with a fairly solid Go skill that first wanted a 'straight' game, 'to test your skill, young man' and then, after having lost spectacularly, asked for a handicapped game at 8 stones. Sai was very impressed with the man's self knowledge, as that was the exact number the former ghost would have recommended had he been asked.
By the time lunch break was over Ogata and Touya had arrived and all three decided to dissect the Honinbō prelim game that Touya had played that morning.
At this time Sai also found out that Ogata had booked all the game slots of every one of Sai's working afternoons of this week and the next.
And while it was undeniable that it would give them the freedom to play or discus or do whatever in the afternoons, Sai wasn't sure if this was quite right; for one thing it would cost the man a fortune! It worried him greatly; since he still owed the man a game a day for letting him stay. If Ogata was buying the blind man's time as well, how was he ever to pay off his debt?
In a quiet moment when Ogata had gone off to rustle up some dinner Sai quickly asked Touya for advice.
'Oh, don't worry about it,' the young man said, 'Ogata is a full partner in the club; he doesn't need to spend any money!'
Oh. Sai hadn't thought of that. Well, at least it explained how the titleholder had gotten him this job so fast. But it did leave Sai with another quandary; if Ogata was part owner of the club, he would effectively be paying part of Sai's salary, which the club ought to earn back in fees from the customers paying for Sai's. But if Ogata then monopolized his work time, the titleholder would still be paying Sai in a roundabout way. Did that mean the blind man was even more indebted to him or less? Sai didn't know and it made his head hurt thinking about it. And anyway Ogata was distracting him by setting up another game of speed Go before dinner. A dinner that was paid for by Ogata, by the way. When does this money thing end? Sai thought helplessly before turning his formidable brain to going whole hog trying to outplay Ogata.
xXXx
The next morning Sai felt a lot more self-assured when he sat down in ‘his’ chair at work. The day before had gone smoothly, and he felt confident now that he could really do this job properly.
Sai had been quite excited when he had been given his schedule that morning; his second slot was filled by a 5-dan pro! Of course the blind man had played pros - Ogata, Touya and Hikaru - before, but he was still looking forward to finding out what style this one would have.
As Ichikawa introduced the new 'client' and explained to the man how to play a blind man, the man was brusque and tried to brush her and her instructions off almost rudely.
Sai didn't have much time to reflect of the man's behavior when the man claimed white for his choice of color, waving his right to a 6 and a half point /komi/ - declaring that he didn't need it to play a blind man - and opened the game with a clack of a stone on the board and a growled out coordinate to go with it: lower left star point.
Well, Sai could tell he wasn't going to like this fellow, but he knew that liking an opponent (or not) had nothing to do with playing a good game, and he was determined to give the man the best game he could, and hopefully raise the man's opinion of him.
Dama was a strong player, well versed in all the standard moves, but he was willful too, almost like he was rebelling against these standard gambits. Sai wondered briefly who his teacher was, as he could see the hand of another in the pro’s play; it was almost like he was at war with his teacher's influences.
About 40 hands into the game, Sai felt he had a good grasp on the 5-dan's style of play, and he decided to start his offence.
At about 70 hands his opponent caught on and started to react, but it was too late; Sai’s prep work had started to pay off and the game was pretty much decided; all that was left was for Dama to play it out to try and minimize the losses. And all that Sai had to do was stick with him and try to corral more points.
It was in the middle of the end play that he called out a coordinate to connect two of his most crucial formations that Dama said, 'There is a stone there already.'
Sai startled; how could there be a stone there? He checked his virtual board; no, nothing there.
'What color?' he asked.
'White,' came the answer.
Sai cleared his virtual board and quickly replayed the game. Still the junction remained empty. And no move had gone missing or was out of sequence.
'Look, if you're not able to play Go, you should not be taking on opponents, you know,' the man drawled accusingly.
The man was right, of course, if he couldn't play he shouldn’t seek to play anyone. But for the life of him Sai could not explain how that space ended up being filled by a white stone?!
He could feel dread running up his spine; this sort of a mistake was unacceptable in playing Go, it was an insult to the opponent and at the very least it was an instant loss. It was an absolute disaster. And if he couldn't guarantee a well-played game, without mistakes, Sai knew he couldn't keep playing and if he couldn’t play, he certainly wouldn't be able to keep his job.
He felt his hands turn cold at the thought; his dream job that others paid for! Others, Ogata, to whom he owed too much to already! If Ogata found out he'd lost his job due to a mistake in Go, on his second day at work, would he still be interested in him enough to let him stay? Or would he end up on the street again, or at the shelter? He couldn't stop a shiver. Oh god, he never wanted to have to go back there again, ever!
'Are you gentleman ready for a cup of tea?' Ichikawa's ever cheerful voice sounded.
'No, I'm ready to leave this mockery of a game!' the man spat venomously, scraping his chair back loudly.
Yes, it was a mockery, Sai realized, letting his head fall in shame. How could a blind man play Go professionally? It was absurd! And yet it was all that he'd ever wanted; playing great games, and earning respect. But there was no respect to be had today; he'd messed up and he deserved getting fired over this, he knew that very well.
'Oh? What happened?' she asked, her tone vaguely concerned.
'I miscounted,' Sai quickly confessed before the other man could accuse him.
'I see,' Ichikawa said and he could hear a chair being moved and a person sitting down at the table, pulling the chair in position beneath her.
'I'd like to see that, if you don't mind,' she said, and though her tone was still soft, it didn't sound like a request. 'Please give me the coordinates, Fujiwara-sensei,' she asked and Dama snorted at her use of the word 'sensei'. Sai let his head hang lower; he knew he deserved the derision.
Sai quickly recited the game, and could hear the stones hit the second Goban as Ichikawa played them. He was acutely aware of the sharp sounds as they pierced to air, and was secretly saving them in his head, fully cognizant of the fact that this was probably the last time he'd hear them. No one would want to play him after this, no one at all.
He stopped talking after he'd given the last coordinate; the black stone that was to have gone on the occupied space.
'Why are you stopping?' Ichikawa asked.
'Because that space is already occupied,' Sai admitted dully.
'No it isn't,' the girl's voice chimed.
What? How can that be, Sai wondered.
'Oh! It is occupied on this Goban,' Ichikawa's voice now came from nearer the first Goban.
'Why, that dirty cheat!' she groused.
What? Cheat? The man had cheated?
Relief flooded through him; he hadn't miscounted after all? He wasn't going to lose his job due to incompetence after all?
His hand found its way up to his face and he wiped at the tears that he found there.
'Ichikawa-san,' Touya's voice startled Sai with its sudden appearance and unusual harshness; this wasn't over yet, he realized, and he swallowed as he awaited the young pro’s verdict.
'Yes, Akira-kun,' she responded in an equally serious tone.
'Was that Dama, 5-dan, I just passed on his way out?' Touya asked.
'It was,' Ichikawa confirmed.
'He played white in this game?'
'He did.'
'Well then,' Touya gave sigh, 'have him membership revoked and put him on the black list; we do not tolerate cheaters here!'
Sai felt another small surge of relief that the man would not be let into the club again, but he still sat waiting for the young co-owner of the Touya Go Club to chastise him as well, even if it turned out he had done nothing wrong.
'Fujiwara-sensei, are you all right?' Touya's voice held concern, and Sai let himself un-tense a bit; maybe he wasn't going to get yelled at just yet.
'I'm fine,' he lied.
'Yeah, right, sure,' the young man drawled, the disbelief plain from his voice.
'Tea, I think, and cookies,' he ordered, adding, 'and make it those chocolaty ones, if you would.'
'Yes, Touya-kun,' Ichikawa said laughingly before hurrying off.
Sai tried to hide his new tears behind his hand after he found he could not stop them overflowing his eyes. He wasn't ever sure why he was crying; did he think Touya was angry with him? Touya didn't sound angry as the boy came closer, put a hand on his shoulder and tried to tell him it was going to be 'all right'. Maybe that was why he was crying, because it had turned out 'all right' so far? But somehow it didn't feel like it was over yet, somehow there was more and it was the not knowing that made him cry harder.
'Fujiwara, please stop crying,' Touya pleaded. But Sai just couldn't and he brought up his plastered hand in an attempt to cover more of his face.
Touya's voice changed from mildly upset to an artificial calm. 'Can you tell me what's wrong? Please!' the young pro added, his tone subtly changing to exasperation.
'Please, tell me!' the boy repeated when Sai still didn't answer after a long minute.
In that time he had re-won some courage; no matter what the news, receiving bad news is always better that remaining in doubt. He drew in a breath and asked for the answer that he so desperately needed to have right now.
'Are you going to fire me?'
The question sounded pitiful to even his own ears and he cringed, but the need to know outweighed the embarrassment, so he didn’t take it back.
'Fire you? Whatever for?' Touya sounded genuinely surprised.
Whatever for. Sai wasn't sure either but that fact didn't take the fear away.
'For... for causing a scene,' he stammered, not being able to think of another better reason.
To Sai's amazement Touya laughed. It was a good sound, the blind man decided.
'If we threw out everybody that made a scene in here, this place would be deserted! Go players have some of the hottest tempers around, and boy, are they emotional, when it comes to losing!' The boy tapped his hand twice on the shoulder of newest employee of his family's Go club, before letting go and exclaiming, 'ha, here's the tea and after that I want to see you work!'
With that Touya took a chair and Ichikawa informed them Sai did have another 5 minutes before the next client was expected. They filled the time with looking over the cheated game on the first board; or at least Touya did, Sai didn't really want to talk about it, but in the end he was gratified that Touya concluded that even if the cheat had worked, Dama had been so far behind he still would have lost.
'Such a stupid man; there is no dishonor in losing to a better player, but he had to go and cheat, and that is unforgivable...' Touya mused out load. Sai could hear the regret in the young pro's voice, and briefly wondered how he himself had felt in his first life when the other courtier had cheated and then had falsely accused his former self of cheating. He knew nothing of that bygone age other than what Hikaru had told him and that had been nothing about the social conventions of that era. Suddenly he longed to know.
oOOo
The next day had started oddly chaotically; Ogata had miscalculated and set the alarm clock for a time that left only 15 minutes for him to get ready for the day. A day that started particularly early as Ogata had a train ticket to Kyoto for an important game.
After Ogata had whirled about the apartment like an autumn tempest, apologizing about 20 times that he wouldn't have time to drop Sai off at the club today and dropping some wrapped sandwiches in Sai's lap, the man rushed out the door, and the former ghost felt it was safe to get off 'his' seat on the couch, and get dressed.
Since it was still early, Sai started on the next page of his Braille book. His fingers were slowly getting used to recognizing the formations and with each new page his reading speed seemed to double.
It was a very interesting book too; the first page had been simple poems, then in the next two pages a classic fairy tale had been written, and after that, on the page he had just finished was the start to a history of Braille, about its inventor and his experiences. Sai wondered what life for a blind man would have been like in his own original time; the Heian period. Probably just as bad, if not worse that in Mr. Braille's time, he mused.
With a start he realized he had forgotten to keep track of time! He quickly checked his watch; he'd been reading an hour and to his relief it was now about the time they'd left the house the last two days, so he was right on schedule.
His relief came to an abrupt end when he realized Ogata would not be driving him to the club as he was not here. What to do? Call Kawai, obviously. Oh, but Sai didn't have his number; somehow he had forgotten to ask it. Uh, what else could he do? Call Hikaru to ask him for the number? Wouldn't that be a little rude, this early? And anyway, there are thousands of cabs in Tōkyō; it didn't have to be Kawai's cab, did it? No, it didn't.
He stuffed his book in his bag, put on his shoes, locked the door behind him on the way out and purposefully set off down stairs to the reception area.
While Sai had never ordered a taxi before, he was pretty sure that people at reception desks could do that sort of thing for you and the former Heian noble shored up his courage and after walking up to the desk he asked the doorman to call him a cab.
The good news was that it worked perfectly, much to Sai’s relief, but the bad news was that it would be another 10 minutes before the cab would get there to pick him up. Sai did have a bit of leeway in his schedule; so far Ogata had dropped him at the club at 9:40, so if the cabby was as fast as Ogata, today he'd still be there at 9:50, he calculated. Nothing to worry about then.
As it turned out either the cabby was a slow driver or Ogata drove unusually fast, but Sai arrived at 9:55, and was immediately directed to go to his 'work station' by Ichkawa the moment he came through the door.
He had found his station, pulled out his chair, dropped his bag, and sat down, folded his cane and put it on the table, before he realized he was not alone. He was so startled an almost rude 'Who's there?' came out, as he sprang back up out of his chair.
He realized his mistake at once but was saved from having to apologize by a 'Sorry to startle you,' that came to him in the tones of a calm mature male voice, from directly across the table, and consequently from across one of the Gobans.
'That's alright,' Sai said, 'I am Fujiwara Sai, pleased to meet you. Uh, are you on my schedule?' he added tentatively.
'I believe I am,' the man said cordially, 'Touya Kouyo, pleased to meet you.'
xXXx