Blind Luck2: No Way Back Chapter 9
May. 23rd, 2011 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onkoonaBlind Luck2: No Way Back
Chapter 9
It’s a short chapter I’m afraid. But let me tell you, you really wouldn’t have liked the cliffhanger I would have left you with if I had gathered more into this chapter!!
Chapter 9
A hellish noise woke Sai from a restless slumber, filled with dreams of being chased and blundering about in the dark.
'6:45, sleepy head! Move it, we're short on time today,' Ogata said as he threw aside his own bedding with a whoosh, got up and gave a tug on Sai's.
It took the former ghost a minute or two to figure out why they were getting up so early. They had talked about going to shelter to pick up his things before they'd started playing, but the titleholder hadn't mentioned the plan again afterwards, or before going to bed. The whole thing still didn't sit right with Sai, but he still had no reason to refuse, at least not one that was acceptable enough and wouldn't possibly alienate his friend.
They made very short work of dressing and breakfast, both forgoing showers. Sai checked his hair by hand; the braid Ogata had put in it had held just fine, and would not need to be redone, thereby saving more time for Sai to carefully repack his bag.
He now had more possessions than fitted in the canvas bag. The question was; what to leave out?
He decided to wear one of the new long sleeved shirt and the new leggings. The jogging suit he had worn the day before he put aside; it was not his, but Ogata's. He collected his old clothing, now clean and dry, courtesy of the titleholder's laundry service, which had dropped it by while they were out yesterday.
He sorted out all the underwear and socks and packed them, then the short sleeved t-shirt and the new long sleeved one, together with his drawstring pants, he packed them also. That left his hooded shirt and the loose pants he had worn yesterday, they were the most worn out of the things he owned, probably because they were his favorites. They were just not going to fit in the bag. With a sigh he placed the bundle in the cubby hole beside the door.
Sai was just tucking away the empty plastic bag from Shitateya's when Ogata came out of the bathroom and announced departure.
xXXx
The shelter wasn't too hard to find. Ogata commented that Harbor street was well marked and since Sai knew the denominations of the docks the shelter was between, the pro player drove them pretty much straight there.
'Mayō-kun!' Sai heard yelling from the direction of the shelter as he got out of the car. He smiled as he recognized the voice; his almost friend Kuma.
Heavy footfalls came sprinting towards them.
'Hey what's this? That's, like, a wow car! Is this a friend?' Kuma's questions came in rapid fire.
'Kuma-san, may I introduce Ogata-sensei?' Sai bowed.
''Sensei' eh? What are you teaching my friend here?'
'Go, and it's more like he's teaching me,' Ogata said, still standing on the other side of the car.
'Is he?' Kuma exclaimed then added towards Sai, 'I didn't know you could play Go?' He made it sound like a question implying that he found it unlikely, but not impossible.
Sai felt his face heat up a little.
'I didn't know until last week either,' he hedged.
'We've come to pick up Fujiwara's things,' Ogata said, making Sai feel uneasy again.
''Fujiwara'? Who is 'Fujiwara'? Kuma asked.
Hearing his real name on the big man's lips made a shiver run down his back. Like it made his past more real. But he wasn't sure having it more real in this place was necessarily a good thing.
'That's me; that's my real name,' Sai said softly. He yelped a little as he felt himself grabbed by the upper arms as the big man exclaimed,
'Your real name? How wonderful!' Kuma gave him another squeeze, which was just this side of painful and let go of him only to put a meaty hand on his shoulder companionably.
'So does that mean you remember now? Mr. Uwayaku always said you might, someday! So you've been with family, the last few days? How wonderful!' As usual with the kind hearted man, he jumped to conclusions much too fast. It was in the man's favor that he always went for the most positive of possibilities, and Sai couldn't fault him for it, but he did feel compelled to disillusion him.
'Kuma-san, I don't remember anything yet, I ran into someone who had met me before, but only briefly. And there is no family either, as far as I know, I'm all alone.'
'Oh,' the big man sounded very disappointed.
'He's been staying with me,' Ogata said, and Sai wasn't sure he wasn't detecting a hint of smugness in his voice as the man continued, 'We're here to pick up his stuff.'
'Oh,' Kuma said thoughtfully. 'Oh!' he said sounding like a penny had dropped in his head and a connection had been made.
'You'd better go in then; Uwayaku's in the office, he'll want to talk to you, before you leave,' he added to Sai.
Ogata appeared to hesitate.
'I'll look after the car, don't worry, such a fine thing too,' the big man said in the pro players direction. That seemed to help Ogata move and he came 'round the car, taking Sai's left elbow and gently guiding him forward.
oOOo
They entered the shelter with Ogata's unnecessary help. Sai speeded up his forward motion to subtly make the other man aware of his superfluous interference. Sai wasn't sure it worked but Ogata did let go of his elbow as they entered the narrow corridor that lead to the office.
Sai knocked on the door, and opened it when he heard the word 'enter' from inside.
He knew from previous visits that the office was small, dusty and crammed full of paperwork and general stuff. He inched inside.
'Mayō-kun?' Mr. Uwayaku sounded both surprised and suspicious. 'I though you weren't here last night?'
Sai gave the requested answers by quickly outlining where he had been sleeping and why, knowing Mr. Uwayaku was always very busy and not by nature a patient man.
'Fujiwara Sai, eh? You are sure of this?' the man demanded.
'Yes sir,' Sai confirmed.
'I shall pass it on to the authorities, then, if you are sure.'
'Yes sir, thank you sir.'
'And this man?' Mr. Uwayaku suspicion was palpable now. At the same time Sai could feel the titleholder's increasing animosity, radiating off the man as he stood behind Sai in the door opening.
'Is the Go professional I spoke of, Ogata-sensei,' Sai answered the manger's question.
'I see,' Mr. Uwayaku drawled out the remark. 'And you want to live with him on a more permanent basis?'
Sai nodded.
'And you, Mr. Ogata, what do you intend to do with our Fujiwara-kun?' Mr. Uwayaku made it sound like an accusation.
'I intend to play Go with him,' Ogata almost spat.
'And that is all?' the shelter-manger queried. Sai was at a loss as to what he was talking about; playing high level Go was enough for anybody, wasn't it?
The blind man could feel the level of hostility between the two men rise up another notch.
'Yes that is all. He'll be better off with people who can appreciate him for his talents,' the titleholder hissed.
'I see,' Uwayaku repeated, ignoring the pro player's tone. To Sai he said, 'And this is what you want?'
Sai bit his lip. Is that what he wanted? To live with Ogata in order to play more Go? He absolutely wanted to play more Go. Living with Ogata, who was a high ranking Go professional, would be the best way to put him in the way of that and also give him more access to better opponents than anything else he could think of.
'Yes sir, I do,' he said.
Mr. Uwayaku was silent for a moment, apparently making up his mind for he said, 'Okay. Mr. Ogata, I will need your address and phone number.' He paused.
'But Ogata-san, If I ever find out you played anything other than Go with Fujiwara-kun...' Mr. Uwayaku let his voice trail of, dripping ice in its wake. Sai really didn't know what to make of the entire conversation, but since he had what he wanted, he decided it did not matter very much. He noted that the titleholder made no answer to the remark.
The blind man felt Ogata step around him, reaching forward as the man said, 'My card.'
Mr. Uwayaku thanked him, and then acted like they had been dismissed. The Go players stood silently for minute.
'Uhm, Mr. Uwayaku, can I have my coat?' Sai asked tentatively.
'What?,' Mr. Uwayaku sounded like he had been deeply engrossed in something else. 'Oh, your winter things...' A chair scraped across the floor as the manger got up. There was the tell tale sounds of cabinets opening and stuff being moved, followed by the sound of stiff clothing hitting the desk.
'Here you are,' Mr. Uwayaku's chair scraped again as he retook his seat.
Ogata gathered up the items, stepping around Sai to leave the office.
'Thank you. For everything,' Sai said softly, bowing before he too turned around to go.
'Mayō-kun? I mean Fujiwara?'
Sai turned back.
'Good luck with your new life,' Mr. Uwayaku's voice didn't sound so cold anymore.
'Thank you,' Sai nodded his head in appreciation.
'If,' the man continued, 'you ever need to come back, or just help or advice, call me.'
Sai felt the knot in his chest give a little. Mr. Uwayaku had never been very warm with him; maybe the man needed to keep a certain distance between himself and the homeless men living here. But the offer of help and advice warmed Sai, because he now knew, as he never had before, that he could call on the man for help, if he ever needed it. It was like another brick in the wall that he was building his life upon.
'Thank you sir, I will,' he smiled.
'I'm sure Kuma will want to know how you're doing. And now off with you, I have work to do!' the man dismissed him.
'Yes, of course sir,' Sai smiled as he stepped out the office and closed the door.
xXXx
Guess what? I made up Harbor street too!
Don't forget to review!!!!
Chapter 9
It’s a short chapter I’m afraid. But let me tell you, you really wouldn’t have liked the cliffhanger I would have left you with if I had gathered more into this chapter!!
Chapter 9
A hellish noise woke Sai from a restless slumber, filled with dreams of being chased and blundering about in the dark.
'6:45, sleepy head! Move it, we're short on time today,' Ogata said as he threw aside his own bedding with a whoosh, got up and gave a tug on Sai's.
It took the former ghost a minute or two to figure out why they were getting up so early. They had talked about going to shelter to pick up his things before they'd started playing, but the titleholder hadn't mentioned the plan again afterwards, or before going to bed. The whole thing still didn't sit right with Sai, but he still had no reason to refuse, at least not one that was acceptable enough and wouldn't possibly alienate his friend.
They made very short work of dressing and breakfast, both forgoing showers. Sai checked his hair by hand; the braid Ogata had put in it had held just fine, and would not need to be redone, thereby saving more time for Sai to carefully repack his bag.
He now had more possessions than fitted in the canvas bag. The question was; what to leave out?
He decided to wear one of the new long sleeved shirt and the new leggings. The jogging suit he had worn the day before he put aside; it was not his, but Ogata's. He collected his old clothing, now clean and dry, courtesy of the titleholder's laundry service, which had dropped it by while they were out yesterday.
He sorted out all the underwear and socks and packed them, then the short sleeved t-shirt and the new long sleeved one, together with his drawstring pants, he packed them also. That left his hooded shirt and the loose pants he had worn yesterday, they were the most worn out of the things he owned, probably because they were his favorites. They were just not going to fit in the bag. With a sigh he placed the bundle in the cubby hole beside the door.
Sai was just tucking away the empty plastic bag from Shitateya's when Ogata came out of the bathroom and announced departure.
xXXx
The shelter wasn't too hard to find. Ogata commented that Harbor street was well marked and since Sai knew the denominations of the docks the shelter was between, the pro player drove them pretty much straight there.
'Mayō-kun!' Sai heard yelling from the direction of the shelter as he got out of the car. He smiled as he recognized the voice; his almost friend Kuma.
Heavy footfalls came sprinting towards them.
'Hey what's this? That's, like, a wow car! Is this a friend?' Kuma's questions came in rapid fire.
'Kuma-san, may I introduce Ogata-sensei?' Sai bowed.
''Sensei' eh? What are you teaching my friend here?'
'Go, and it's more like he's teaching me,' Ogata said, still standing on the other side of the car.
'Is he?' Kuma exclaimed then added towards Sai, 'I didn't know you could play Go?' He made it sound like a question implying that he found it unlikely, but not impossible.
Sai felt his face heat up a little.
'I didn't know until last week either,' he hedged.
'We've come to pick up Fujiwara's things,' Ogata said, making Sai feel uneasy again.
''Fujiwara'? Who is 'Fujiwara'? Kuma asked.
Hearing his real name on the big man's lips made a shiver run down his back. Like it made his past more real. But he wasn't sure having it more real in this place was necessarily a good thing.
'That's me; that's my real name,' Sai said softly. He yelped a little as he felt himself grabbed by the upper arms as the big man exclaimed,
'Your real name? How wonderful!' Kuma gave him another squeeze, which was just this side of painful and let go of him only to put a meaty hand on his shoulder companionably.
'So does that mean you remember now? Mr. Uwayaku always said you might, someday! So you've been with family, the last few days? How wonderful!' As usual with the kind hearted man, he jumped to conclusions much too fast. It was in the man's favor that he always went for the most positive of possibilities, and Sai couldn't fault him for it, but he did feel compelled to disillusion him.
'Kuma-san, I don't remember anything yet, I ran into someone who had met me before, but only briefly. And there is no family either, as far as I know, I'm all alone.'
'Oh,' the big man sounded very disappointed.
'He's been staying with me,' Ogata said, and Sai wasn't sure he wasn't detecting a hint of smugness in his voice as the man continued, 'We're here to pick up his stuff.'
'Oh,' Kuma said thoughtfully. 'Oh!' he said sounding like a penny had dropped in his head and a connection had been made.
'You'd better go in then; Uwayaku's in the office, he'll want to talk to you, before you leave,' he added to Sai.
Ogata appeared to hesitate.
'I'll look after the car, don't worry, such a fine thing too,' the big man said in the pro players direction. That seemed to help Ogata move and he came 'round the car, taking Sai's left elbow and gently guiding him forward.
oOOo
They entered the shelter with Ogata's unnecessary help. Sai speeded up his forward motion to subtly make the other man aware of his superfluous interference. Sai wasn't sure it worked but Ogata did let go of his elbow as they entered the narrow corridor that lead to the office.
Sai knocked on the door, and opened it when he heard the word 'enter' from inside.
He knew from previous visits that the office was small, dusty and crammed full of paperwork and general stuff. He inched inside.
'Mayō-kun?' Mr. Uwayaku sounded both surprised and suspicious. 'I though you weren't here last night?'
Sai gave the requested answers by quickly outlining where he had been sleeping and why, knowing Mr. Uwayaku was always very busy and not by nature a patient man.
'Fujiwara Sai, eh? You are sure of this?' the man demanded.
'Yes sir,' Sai confirmed.
'I shall pass it on to the authorities, then, if you are sure.'
'Yes sir, thank you sir.'
'And this man?' Mr. Uwayaku suspicion was palpable now. At the same time Sai could feel the titleholder's increasing animosity, radiating off the man as he stood behind Sai in the door opening.
'Is the Go professional I spoke of, Ogata-sensei,' Sai answered the manger's question.
'I see,' Mr. Uwayaku drawled out the remark. 'And you want to live with him on a more permanent basis?'
Sai nodded.
'And you, Mr. Ogata, what do you intend to do with our Fujiwara-kun?' Mr. Uwayaku made it sound like an accusation.
'I intend to play Go with him,' Ogata almost spat.
'And that is all?' the shelter-manger queried. Sai was at a loss as to what he was talking about; playing high level Go was enough for anybody, wasn't it?
The blind man could feel the level of hostility between the two men rise up another notch.
'Yes that is all. He'll be better off with people who can appreciate him for his talents,' the titleholder hissed.
'I see,' Uwayaku repeated, ignoring the pro player's tone. To Sai he said, 'And this is what you want?'
Sai bit his lip. Is that what he wanted? To live with Ogata in order to play more Go? He absolutely wanted to play more Go. Living with Ogata, who was a high ranking Go professional, would be the best way to put him in the way of that and also give him more access to better opponents than anything else he could think of.
'Yes sir, I do,' he said.
Mr. Uwayaku was silent for a moment, apparently making up his mind for he said, 'Okay. Mr. Ogata, I will need your address and phone number.' He paused.
'But Ogata-san, If I ever find out you played anything other than Go with Fujiwara-kun...' Mr. Uwayaku let his voice trail of, dripping ice in its wake. Sai really didn't know what to make of the entire conversation, but since he had what he wanted, he decided it did not matter very much. He noted that the titleholder made no answer to the remark.
The blind man felt Ogata step around him, reaching forward as the man said, 'My card.'
Mr. Uwayaku thanked him, and then acted like they had been dismissed. The Go players stood silently for minute.
'Uhm, Mr. Uwayaku, can I have my coat?' Sai asked tentatively.
'What?,' Mr. Uwayaku sounded like he had been deeply engrossed in something else. 'Oh, your winter things...' A chair scraped across the floor as the manger got up. There was the tell tale sounds of cabinets opening and stuff being moved, followed by the sound of stiff clothing hitting the desk.
'Here you are,' Mr. Uwayaku's chair scraped again as he retook his seat.
Ogata gathered up the items, stepping around Sai to leave the office.
'Thank you. For everything,' Sai said softly, bowing before he too turned around to go.
'Mayō-kun? I mean Fujiwara?'
Sai turned back.
'Good luck with your new life,' Mr. Uwayaku's voice didn't sound so cold anymore.
'Thank you,' Sai nodded his head in appreciation.
'If,' the man continued, 'you ever need to come back, or just help or advice, call me.'
Sai felt the knot in his chest give a little. Mr. Uwayaku had never been very warm with him; maybe the man needed to keep a certain distance between himself and the homeless men living here. But the offer of help and advice warmed Sai, because he now knew, as he never had before, that he could call on the man for help, if he ever needed it. It was like another brick in the wall that he was building his life upon.
'Thank you sir, I will,' he smiled.
'I'm sure Kuma will want to know how you're doing. And now off with you, I have work to do!' the man dismissed him.
'Yes, of course sir,' Sai smiled as he stepped out the office and closed the door.
xXXx
Guess what? I made up Harbor street too!
Don't forget to review!!!!
