Wow, I'm a bit floored by the emotion and sadness you manage to bring out in such a short piece. I feel for Sai, being denied the chance to be immersed in go like he was with Hikaru. Sai (and Akira) kind of transform Hikaru through their love of go, up to the point where Hikaru loves go for its own sake. With Akari, I can't see Sai being able to sway Akari away from her ordered life of getting good grades, getting into a good high school and college, and then finding a nice man to settle down with. When she tells Sai that she can't play go anymore, it must be a real blow to Sai, and he can't even get too upset because he doesn't want to take over her life like he did with Torajirou.
Lol, and I hope you don't mind if I flesh out a little plot bunny that this ficlet has inspired in me. I'm not sure when you planned for Akari to have her accident, but I'm setting this a few years down the road.
Touya Akira, 4-dan, sat back from his desk, a look of complete devastation and awe reaching his normally stoic and pristine face. Could it really be that the game that he had just played over the 'Net had been with the ever elusive 'sai' that still had the go world in a buzz?
Ever since last year's disapearance of the mysterious 'sai', impostors claiming to be 'sai' would pop up online, and every time he challenged them to a game, they would invariably show the lack of skill and depth that 'sai' possessed. 'sai' was never a regular NetGo player, coming online every few weeks for a day or two of NetGo, but whenever he was active, offers to play would always flood his net handle. Touya had only been able to challenge 'sai' five times in the three years since he had first stumbled upon him. Having been utterly crushed, Touya had put it behind him, deciding that one of the higher dans had decided to play anonymously and that he had just run into an opponent he would later face over a go board. When whispers started to float around the Go institute that a powerful 'Net player had emerged and was defeating seasoned pros left and right, Touya started to take notice.
Listening to a conversation between Waya and Isumi, both sho-dans at the time, Touya was able to learn that 'sai' couldn't be an insei or a pro. Process of elimination had ruled out too many days when 'sai' played during insei and pro matches. That many absences would have been noted and accounted for. Concentrating on the goal ahead of him, Touya put the identity of 'sai' out of his mind. As long as he was able to play go with players stronger than he was, he was sure to get that much closer to the Hand of God. 'sai' could keep his anonymity.
That all changed a year ago when 'sai' just vanished off the face of the planet and stopped playing netGo.
Wiping his suddenly sweaty palms, Touya looked back up to his screen once more to check that the player who had just defeated him was still logged in. 'hikaru' was indeed still online, and seemed to be entering a new game with 'goboi88' according to his stats. Having a very rash idea, Touya decided to send 'hikaru' a private message to see if his suspicions were right.
Hoping that 'hikaru' could read English even though his designated nationality was Japanese, Touya wrote, "I'm sorry, but are you the NetGo player, sai? I only ask, because I would like to play a game with you in person. My name is Touya Akira, and I'm a go pro. If you would please contact me at touyaakira@goinstitue.jp, I would appreciate it very much."
Waiting ten minutes for the reply, Touya let out a sigh of relief. Reading over the broken English, Touya felt his shoulders slump in defeat. "I sorry Touya-san. I no play go with pros. I only play for fun. Thank you for chance."
'hikaru' soon forced his opponent to resign and logged off. Touya Akira stared at his computer monitor for a few more minutes, willing 'hikaru' to log back on. After admitting defeat, Touya shut down his computer, shocked and defeated about whether or not 'hikaru' would be back online to play him.
He wasn't.
However, when 'torajiro' showed up six months later, and beat Ogata-san in an even match on the 'Net, Touya kept his fingers firmly in his lap.
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timeasmymeasure
Um, I'm very rambly and you can totally ignore this if you want
Date: 2006-04-19 09:01 pm (UTC)Lol, and I hope you don't mind if I flesh out a little plot bunny that this ficlet has inspired in me. I'm not sure when you planned for Akari to have her accident, but I'm setting this a few years down the road.
Touya Akira, 4-dan, sat back from his desk, a look of complete devastation and awe reaching his normally stoic and pristine face. Could it really be that the game that he had just played over the 'Net had been with the ever elusive 'sai' that still had the go world in a buzz?
Ever since last year's disapearance of the mysterious 'sai', impostors claiming to be 'sai' would pop up online, and every time he challenged them to a game, they would invariably show the lack of skill and depth that 'sai' possessed. 'sai' was never a regular NetGo player, coming online every few weeks for a day or two of NetGo, but whenever he was active, offers to play would always flood his net handle. Touya had only been able to challenge 'sai' five times in the three years since he had first stumbled upon him. Having been utterly crushed, Touya had put it behind him, deciding that one of the higher dans had decided to play anonymously and that he had just run into an opponent he would later face over a go board. When whispers started to float around the Go institute that a powerful 'Net player had emerged and was defeating seasoned pros left and right, Touya started to take notice.
Listening to a conversation between Waya and Isumi, both sho-dans at the time, Touya was able to learn that 'sai' couldn't be an insei or a pro. Process of elimination had ruled out too many days when 'sai' played during insei and pro matches. That many absences would have been noted and accounted for. Concentrating on the goal ahead of him, Touya put the identity of 'sai' out of his mind. As long as he was able to play go with players stronger than he was, he was sure to get that much closer to the Hand of God. 'sai' could keep his anonymity.
That all changed a year ago when 'sai' just vanished off the face of the planet and stopped playing netGo.
Wiping his suddenly sweaty palms, Touya looked back up to his screen once more to check that the player who had just defeated him was still logged in. 'hikaru' was indeed still online, and seemed to be entering a new game with 'goboi88' according to his stats. Having a very rash idea, Touya decided to send 'hikaru' a private message to see if his suspicions were right.
Hoping that 'hikaru' could read English even though his designated nationality was Japanese, Touya wrote, "I'm sorry, but are you the NetGo player, sai? I only ask, because I would like to play a game with you in person. My name is Touya Akira, and I'm a go pro. If you would please contact me at touyaakira@goinstitue.jp, I would appreciate it very much."
Waiting ten minutes for the reply, Touya let out a sigh of relief. Reading over the broken English, Touya felt his shoulders slump in defeat. "I sorry Touya-san. I no play go with pros. I only play for fun. Thank you for chance."
'hikaru' soon forced his opponent to resign and logged off. Touya Akira stared at his computer monitor for a few more minutes, willing 'hikaru' to log back on. After admitting defeat, Touya shut down his computer, shocked and defeated about whether or not 'hikaru' would be back online to play him.
He wasn't.
However, when 'torajiro' showed up six months later, and beat Ogata-san in an even match on the 'Net, Touya kept his fingers firmly in his lap.
Erm, sorry?