Akari stepped over the threshold of the Internet Cafe, happy and care-free that her exams were finally over and her summer vacation was about to begin. Even though she would still have to attend cram school everyday, this still left a lot more time for her to indulge her best friend in his favorite past time.
"Sai," Akari thought to her companion, "now that I have summer vacation, we can play NetGo a lot more often."
"Really, Akari-chan? How often?" Sai asked excited and practically vibrating with energy.
"Well, not everyday. I still have to go to cram school, but maybe once or twice a week. And I'll still play go with you at night. I'm still playing you with a four stone handicap, but I'm getting better."
"Really? Wai! Wai! Thank you Akari-chan!" Sai said happily dancing in a little circle.
Heading to the counter, Akari looked up to see Mitani-kun's sister manning the register. Pulling out her fee, Akari made small talk, asking after Mitani-kun and how he was after they had parted ways in Junior High. While Akari was never able to convince Mitani-kun to join the Haze Junior High go club, she still had fond memories of Mitani Yuuki.
Being later in the afternoon, there were many other students milling around, chatting in groups around computers. Some were playing online role-playing games, others were giggling over their emails, and there were even a few grandmas surfing online for patterns for their next knitting projects. Akari passed all these casual users, aking a free computer in the back of the building. Facing the entrance, Akari sat down ready to watch her friend do what he loved.
Watching Sai play go while on the net was always a delight to Akari. So many people would challenge Sai as soon as she logged in, and while she would usually pick one at random to let Sai play, she would always look out for the ones who gave Sai the most challenge. Whenever Sai played against a strong opponent, he would get a fierce expression on his face and would be bouncing off the walls when they got home.
Not spotting any of the challengers that Sai truly relished, Akari and Sai played a few easy games with some amateurs whose level were not that far off from Akari's. Akari would always feel a little amazed when she thought of Sai's devotion to the game and his seemingly endless patience when dealing with weaker players. He never pushed her into learning more than she was willing to handle, and while Sai would sometime talk wistfully of the players who would challenge Torajirou, Akari would look that much harder for a challenging NetGo player for Sai.
Logging off from the NetGo website she was using, Akari wanted to check her email quickly to see if Myuki and Sora had any plans for the weekend. Having a few minutes before she needed to leave, Akari looked up as she heard a commotion up by the front counter. A weird gaijin had walked in and seemed to be arguing with Mitani-kun's sister about something. Not being quite able to hear what they were talking about over the other conversations, AKari hoped that Mitani-chan was okay. Watching discretely as the two settled down, and Mitani-san got angrier and quieter, the gaijin soon left in a huff.
Closing her email and looking back worriedly at Sai, Akari headed over towards Mitani-chan to see what was the matter.
no subject
Akari stepped over the threshold of the Internet Cafe, happy and care-free that her exams were finally over and her summer vacation was about to begin. Even though she would still have to attend cram school everyday, this still left a lot more time for her to indulge her best friend in his favorite past time.
"Sai," Akari thought to her companion, "now that I have summer vacation, we can play NetGo a lot more often."
"Really, Akari-chan? How often?" Sai asked excited and practically vibrating with energy.
"Well, not everyday. I still have to go to cram school, but maybe once or twice a week. And I'll still play go with you at night. I'm still playing you with a four stone handicap, but I'm getting better."
"Really? Wai! Wai! Thank you Akari-chan!" Sai said happily dancing in a little circle.
Heading to the counter, Akari looked up to see Mitani-kun's sister manning the register. Pulling out her fee, Akari made small talk, asking after Mitani-kun and how he was after they had parted ways in Junior High. While Akari was never able to convince Mitani-kun to join the Haze Junior High go club, she still had fond memories of Mitani Yuuki.
Being later in the afternoon, there were many other students milling around, chatting in groups around computers. Some were playing online role-playing games, others were giggling over their emails, and there were even a few grandmas surfing online for patterns for their next knitting projects. Akari passed all these casual users, aking a free computer in the back of the building. Facing the entrance, Akari sat down ready to watch her friend do what he loved.
Watching Sai play go while on the net was always a delight to Akari. So many people would challenge Sai as soon as she logged in, and while she would usually pick one at random to let Sai play, she would always look out for the ones who gave Sai the most challenge. Whenever Sai played against a strong opponent, he would get a fierce expression on his face and would be bouncing off the walls when they got home.
Not spotting any of the challengers that Sai truly relished, Akari and Sai played a few easy games with some amateurs whose level were not that far off from Akari's. Akari would always feel a little amazed when she thought of Sai's devotion to the game and his seemingly endless patience when dealing with weaker players. He never pushed her into learning more than she was willing to handle, and while Sai would sometime talk wistfully of the players who would challenge Torajirou, Akari would look that much harder for a challenging NetGo player for Sai.
Logging off from the NetGo website she was using, Akari wanted to check her email quickly to see if Myuki and Sora had any plans for the weekend. Having a few minutes before she needed to leave, Akari looked up as she heard a commotion up by the front counter. A weird gaijin had walked in and seemed to be arguing with Mitani-kun's sister about something. Not being quite able to hear what they were talking about over the other conversations, AKari hoped that Mitani-chan was okay. Watching discretely as the two settled down, and Mitani-san got angrier and quieter, the gaijin soon left in a huff.
Closing her email and looking back worriedly at Sai, Akari headed over towards Mitani-chan to see what was the matter.