Blind Luck2: No Way Back Chapter 10
May. 26th, 2011 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onkoonaBlind Luck2: No Way Back
Chapter 10
As they had come back to the car, Kuma gave Sai a big hug, nearly crushing the slender man, and then hurried off to his duties in the shelter.
'So this is the shelter,' Ogata said. Sai was puzzled at the man's tone, and decided to take remark at face value.
'Yes.'
'And these people?' Ogata was obviously referring to the men milling around the shelter door. It was nearly 9am and the doors would close soon, effectively dispersing the crowd.
'All stay here,' Sai stated. Why was the other man asking him that? What could the shelter and its inhabitants possibly mean to someone like Ogata?
'I see... And the ones who attacked you? Are they here?'
Ijimekko and Mushi? Sai was sure they'd be around. He tried not to think about those two. Or about any of their friends.
'Probably,' he admitted, again wondering where this was going.
'What are their names? What do they look like?' He wasn't quite sure why but Ogata's tone started to grate on the blind man's nerves.
'What does that matter?' he asked trying not to sound irritated.
A silence followed. Sai tried again to gauge the other man's mood, not liking being unable to.
'I want to call the police on them,' the pro player said.
'What?' Sai couldn't believe his ears, what was the man thinking? His being attacked was not Ogata's business!
'No! You are not getting the police involved in this! ' Sai insisted.
Ogata was standing very close now a grabbed Sai's right wrist.
'Yes, I am. When that cabby told me about what had happened to you, what they did to you, why they could have killed you that night! Imagine! A genius like you, dead because of thugs like that! Scum like them belongs in jail and that is where they are going.' Ogata shook him by the wrist. 'Now tell their names!' he demanded.
Sai felt a cold lance go through him. This was it, this was the wrong feeling he had had since yesterday; Ogata's almost possessive behavior towards him, maybe even from when they had first met.
Sai shook off Ogata's hand, reclaiming his wrist.
'No, I won't,' he stated, his voice flat. 'How do you know that that was here anyway?' he demanded to know.
He did a double take. /That cabby had said.../ Kawai? What did Kawai have to do with this? The Go pro and the cabby had spoken each other? When?
The answer came with stunning clarity; when Sai had played Touya for the first time. //'This may take a while. Play a game with the squirt if you like.' Kawai had said, following Ogata to settle the bet.// They had stayed away a long time; the game with Touya was already halfway through the middle stage when the older men had come back.
'You knew,' Sai accused. 'You knew what had happened and that I lived here! Kawai told you, that's why you were not surprised when I revealed that later! You knew!' Sai felt like he'd been led around by the nose; right at the beginning Ogata had known where he'd come from, yet the titleholder had let him utter every degrading word. Had he enjoyed watching the blind man explain his miserable existence? Was Sai's life some sort of game to him?
He stepped back and started to turn away when Ogata grabbed his other wrist, jarring the cast, but not painfully so. It did prevent him from moving further away though. Ogata stepped closer again, almost pinned Sai against the car's passenger-side door. The blind man started to feel closed in, trapped.
'Yes, I knew. But it would have served no purpose to mention if; it might even have driven you away! I was not about to let a genius of your caliber disappear on me!' Ogata explained.
Sai put his right hand forward, palm first, catching the titleholder fully in the chest. He gave a shove and Ogata stepped back giving the blind man some room. Sai was under no illusion that he could have done that had the other man not let himself be pushed; the man was half a head taller and many kilos heavier than the former ghost. He extended his flat hand further out, and the pro stepped back another step. As Sai gained a little personal space he realized he was seething mad. So Ogata only valued him because he was good a Go? Was that all he was to the titleholder, a gifted toy?
'What do you think I am? A Go playing doll that can be collected? A curiosity that must be protected? Why? Because I'm blind and good at playing Go? I'm not a pet or an idiot savant!' he tried to keep his voice down, but his anger made that hard to do.
'All I'm asking for is the names of your assailants,' Ogata interjected, trying to sound reasonable.
Sai knew he should stop this discussion and leave. He knew better than to respond to whatever the other said because it would only escalate the fight. But he was just too mad right now, because, he had to admit, he had cared about this friendship a lot. And the betrayal really hurt and so he responded against his better judgment.
'I'm not going to jeopardize my position here, by setting the cops on these people!' Sai argued.
'What position here? You're with me now, you're not coming back here, ever!' Ogata hissed.
'And what if something goes wrong between us? Where would that leave me? On the streets, that's where! And that would put me right back here, because _I_ have nowhere else to go!'
Sai was shaking with the rage at the betrayal and the fear of being out on the streets for real. That had never happened yet; he had never had to actually spend the night outside. The prospect filled him with absolute dread. Out there, at night, there were a thousand Ijimekkos and Mushis; the blind man would not stand a chance against them. And Sai knew there were worse things than just being hurt or even killed, that could happen to him, out there.
'Yes, about that,' Ogata stepped closer again, 'Why won't you look for family? Why would you just accept Shindou's word for it that there is none? Why?!' The taller man was now pushing Sai back into the car.
Ah, there was the heart of the matter, apparently for Ogata anyway. The titleholder had not really accepted Sai's honest and clear refusal to talk about his past. And the man's dislike of Sai's young friend seemed to be deep rooted. He knew he ought to have this out with the man properly but right now he felt too humiliated and betrayed, and most of all cornered. It was time to end this before Ogata made him choose between Hikaru and himself. The titleholder would not like Sai's answer. And Sai, for one, would not like to make such a choice, ever.
'That's none of your business! Let me go!' Sai yelled, giving the bigger man another push, which he obeyed. Sai stepped away from the car, unfolding the cane that he had folded up earlier in anticipation of getting in the car.
He started walking away in quick strides, trying to find his bearings. His instinct was to run as far away from the man as he could get.
'Fujiwara, stop!' He heard behind him, but ignored it. Sai took a deep breath, forcing his anger down and out of the way; he would need all his wits about him, if he were to make an effective escape.
His inner compass told him which way he was facing, and a tell tale dip in the pavement, combined with a wedged up piece of asphalt underfoot, told him exactly where he was.
'Fujiwara!' The sound was still coming from behind him; maybe the Go pro didn't dare move away from his car, it being such a very expensive thing in a very bad neighborhood. Sai ignored it, pulling his mind back to the task of finding his way.
Now that he knew where exactly he was, he adjusted his heading to a little more to the left and presently came to edge of Harbor street proper that ran in front of the shelter. He stood still a moment, listening to the traffic.
On this road it was mostly big noisy vehicles. But having made this crossing twice every day for a year made the blind man very in tune with the traffic flow. He listened intently for that moment when the traffic noise was at its lowest volume. Ah, there it was. He started to cross the street with confident strides. 'FUJIWARA!?!' The sound went through him, chilling his spine, almost making him falter, but he forced himself to keep course and speed, ignoring everything but the possible sounds of oncoming cars. He didn't stop until he had safely reached the side walk on the other side, and heard the sound of a car driving by behind him. He breathed out. He knew how dangerous this crossing was, a danger he faced every time he crossed the street. Every day for the past year, twice a day.
He found the street corner that crossed Harbor Street with the street that led straight to Trade Square. He started walking down it. He had no idea where he was going nor why; he just kept moving across the familiar terrain.
A car came up behind him, and Sai anticipated its sound as it would pass him by and speed off ahead.
Instead it pulled alongside him, keeping pace with him and he could hear the automated sound of a window rolling down.
'Fujiwara, you scared me half to death!' Ogata bellowed over the sound of the engine. The Go pro revved up the engine, driving ahead a little only to stop the car and open the passenger door.
Sai never stopped moving, never altered his stride, swinging his cane in its customary arch before him. He could not stop walking. If he did they'd have words again and the blind man was still angry enough to start saying things he didn't mean. Or blurt out secrets better left unsaid.
As he passed the stationary car, Ogata commanded,
'Get in.'
The blind man kept going.
Ogata closed the door, putting the car back in motion, easily keeping up with the walker.
'Fujiwara, please get in,' he pleaded. Sai was not unaffected by the man's tone; he sounded really upset. He felt some of his anger dissipate with the surge of sympathy he felt. Ogata had been kind to him, very kind, and maybe he didn't deserve Sai's outrage at his one mistake.
Sai stopped and sighed. Ogata hit the brakes, coming to abrupt stop. 'Please, get in,' he asked again.
The blind man didn't turn around.
'I need... some time on my own,' he said. It was all he could give the man until he'd sorted out his own feelings.
'If it helps any, I apologize,' the pro said, sounding unsure.
Sai hadn't meant to put that emotion in the man; he didn't deserve that either. He was unwilling to risk saying the wrong thing so he stayed silent as the seconds dragged.
'Just get in, will you!' Ogata's voice now held exasperation and the tone of the command rubbed the blind man the wrong way. Sai's anger flared up again; what right did the man have command him, bully him even? He really wasn't a pet and, apart from gratitude for his generosity and hospitality, he didn't owe the titleholder anything. Sai was a free human being. And even if his life so far had been bad, it was his, and no one had rights over it or him.
He started walking again, the car revving to keep up.
Sai realized he was coming up on a narrow side road, really only a walk space, used to get to the inner courtyard behind the row of houses. He was still in the area he'd extensively explored almost a year ago, and knew well what lay beyond.
As he walked the iron fence to his left gave way to a hedge, which in turn gave way to the opening to the alley. Sai took the turning, yelling at the car and its occupant, 'Just leave me alone!'
The blind man increased his walking speed as much as he dared; he didn't want to lose count of his strides and he certainly didn't want to trip, giving the other man a chance to catch up.
'FUJIWARA!' Ogata screamed behind him, as the alley narrowed and Sai took the right turning that led off from the alley, hopefully putting him outside of the pro’s field of vision. He was tempted to cover his ears to blot out the sound of Ogata's voice, but he needed his hand on his cane and the other was still covered by the cast, so had no choice but to go on ignoring the other man with his mind only.
He walked more cautiously to the end of this bit of throughway, as it was very narrow and the only time he had been there before, some sort of stingy plants had been on both sides; he really didn't want to come away with another rash.
Sai's gamble paid off when he reached to wider road at the end and he couldn't hear Ogata anywhere behind him.
He passed the inner courtyard of the block of houses quickly and let his feet move further and further away from the titleholder's car.
He hardly noticed the trickle of tears that ran down his face as he went; he was too busy thinking.
What the hell was he going to do now? He wasn't even sure that he had broken with the titleholder, would they be able to patch this up if it were so?
Did he even want that? Had the man deserved Sai's rejection for such a small mistake? And then there was his temper; could Sai live with the man's volatile temper? Was being able to play him at Go enough to put up with all that? Was Sai maybe totally over reacting? He couldn't answer any of these questions. Except that he remembered something; he liked Go. He loved Go, had ever since he had (re)discovered the game. And Hikaru had said he had even died over it and become a ghost because of it!
Go. The elation he experienced when the empty 19 by 19 field appeared before him at the start of a game. The sound of the first coordinate being voiced and the first stone hitting the wood with that sharp sound. The divvying up of territory in the first part of the game. That was the point that you started to perceive where the battles will take place. Than the middle game, where tentatively claimed areas are strengthened into hopefully invincible battlements. There'd be smaller and bigger wars here too, and then the big drag out fight that would decide what would be left to reap by either player in the end game.
Often that big battle would not happen or would be aborted, when Sai's opponent had seen his fortifications fell short for a real battle, and resigned. He had particularly enjoyed the times when he'd fought Ogata and Touya; their level had been so high! His one game with Hikaru held a special place in his heart. Hikaru wasn't at Touya's level yet, but he would get there, of that there was no doubt.
His thoughts of Go had calmed the blind man down considerably. The anger had faded completely and he now was left with a sadness combined with a burning desire to play Go.
Sai checked his location; his feet and cane had set him on the path towards the Heart of Stone. Realizing that that was exactly where he longed to be, he continued on his path.
The people at Heart of Stone had always been nice to him. They may not be at the level of skill as Ogata or Touya or even Hikaru, but Sai felt he was a better fit there than he did at the fancy Go club and expensive shopping mall that the likes of the titleholder and his protégé frequented.
And best of all Hikaru had known about the Heart of Stone, the boy had been there many times as well. Yes, that was the place for him, Sai just knew it!
oOOo
Don't forget to review!!!!
Chapter 10
As they had come back to the car, Kuma gave Sai a big hug, nearly crushing the slender man, and then hurried off to his duties in the shelter.
'So this is the shelter,' Ogata said. Sai was puzzled at the man's tone, and decided to take remark at face value.
'Yes.'
'And these people?' Ogata was obviously referring to the men milling around the shelter door. It was nearly 9am and the doors would close soon, effectively dispersing the crowd.
'All stay here,' Sai stated. Why was the other man asking him that? What could the shelter and its inhabitants possibly mean to someone like Ogata?
'I see... And the ones who attacked you? Are they here?'
Ijimekko and Mushi? Sai was sure they'd be around. He tried not to think about those two. Or about any of their friends.
'Probably,' he admitted, again wondering where this was going.
'What are their names? What do they look like?' He wasn't quite sure why but Ogata's tone started to grate on the blind man's nerves.
'What does that matter?' he asked trying not to sound irritated.
A silence followed. Sai tried again to gauge the other man's mood, not liking being unable to.
'I want to call the police on them,' the pro player said.
'What?' Sai couldn't believe his ears, what was the man thinking? His being attacked was not Ogata's business!
'No! You are not getting the police involved in this! ' Sai insisted.
Ogata was standing very close now a grabbed Sai's right wrist.
'Yes, I am. When that cabby told me about what had happened to you, what they did to you, why they could have killed you that night! Imagine! A genius like you, dead because of thugs like that! Scum like them belongs in jail and that is where they are going.' Ogata shook him by the wrist. 'Now tell their names!' he demanded.
Sai felt a cold lance go through him. This was it, this was the wrong feeling he had had since yesterday; Ogata's almost possessive behavior towards him, maybe even from when they had first met.
Sai shook off Ogata's hand, reclaiming his wrist.
'No, I won't,' he stated, his voice flat. 'How do you know that that was here anyway?' he demanded to know.
He did a double take. /That cabby had said.../ Kawai? What did Kawai have to do with this? The Go pro and the cabby had spoken each other? When?
The answer came with stunning clarity; when Sai had played Touya for the first time. //'This may take a while. Play a game with the squirt if you like.' Kawai had said, following Ogata to settle the bet.// They had stayed away a long time; the game with Touya was already halfway through the middle stage when the older men had come back.
'You knew,' Sai accused. 'You knew what had happened and that I lived here! Kawai told you, that's why you were not surprised when I revealed that later! You knew!' Sai felt like he'd been led around by the nose; right at the beginning Ogata had known where he'd come from, yet the titleholder had let him utter every degrading word. Had he enjoyed watching the blind man explain his miserable existence? Was Sai's life some sort of game to him?
He stepped back and started to turn away when Ogata grabbed his other wrist, jarring the cast, but not painfully so. It did prevent him from moving further away though. Ogata stepped closer again, almost pinned Sai against the car's passenger-side door. The blind man started to feel closed in, trapped.
'Yes, I knew. But it would have served no purpose to mention if; it might even have driven you away! I was not about to let a genius of your caliber disappear on me!' Ogata explained.
Sai put his right hand forward, palm first, catching the titleholder fully in the chest. He gave a shove and Ogata stepped back giving the blind man some room. Sai was under no illusion that he could have done that had the other man not let himself be pushed; the man was half a head taller and many kilos heavier than the former ghost. He extended his flat hand further out, and the pro stepped back another step. As Sai gained a little personal space he realized he was seething mad. So Ogata only valued him because he was good a Go? Was that all he was to the titleholder, a gifted toy?
'What do you think I am? A Go playing doll that can be collected? A curiosity that must be protected? Why? Because I'm blind and good at playing Go? I'm not a pet or an idiot savant!' he tried to keep his voice down, but his anger made that hard to do.
'All I'm asking for is the names of your assailants,' Ogata interjected, trying to sound reasonable.
Sai knew he should stop this discussion and leave. He knew better than to respond to whatever the other said because it would only escalate the fight. But he was just too mad right now, because, he had to admit, he had cared about this friendship a lot. And the betrayal really hurt and so he responded against his better judgment.
'I'm not going to jeopardize my position here, by setting the cops on these people!' Sai argued.
'What position here? You're with me now, you're not coming back here, ever!' Ogata hissed.
'And what if something goes wrong between us? Where would that leave me? On the streets, that's where! And that would put me right back here, because _I_ have nowhere else to go!'
Sai was shaking with the rage at the betrayal and the fear of being out on the streets for real. That had never happened yet; he had never had to actually spend the night outside. The prospect filled him with absolute dread. Out there, at night, there were a thousand Ijimekkos and Mushis; the blind man would not stand a chance against them. And Sai knew there were worse things than just being hurt or even killed, that could happen to him, out there.
'Yes, about that,' Ogata stepped closer again, 'Why won't you look for family? Why would you just accept Shindou's word for it that there is none? Why?!' The taller man was now pushing Sai back into the car.
Ah, there was the heart of the matter, apparently for Ogata anyway. The titleholder had not really accepted Sai's honest and clear refusal to talk about his past. And the man's dislike of Sai's young friend seemed to be deep rooted. He knew he ought to have this out with the man properly but right now he felt too humiliated and betrayed, and most of all cornered. It was time to end this before Ogata made him choose between Hikaru and himself. The titleholder would not like Sai's answer. And Sai, for one, would not like to make such a choice, ever.
'That's none of your business! Let me go!' Sai yelled, giving the bigger man another push, which he obeyed. Sai stepped away from the car, unfolding the cane that he had folded up earlier in anticipation of getting in the car.
He started walking away in quick strides, trying to find his bearings. His instinct was to run as far away from the man as he could get.
'Fujiwara, stop!' He heard behind him, but ignored it. Sai took a deep breath, forcing his anger down and out of the way; he would need all his wits about him, if he were to make an effective escape.
His inner compass told him which way he was facing, and a tell tale dip in the pavement, combined with a wedged up piece of asphalt underfoot, told him exactly where he was.
'Fujiwara!' The sound was still coming from behind him; maybe the Go pro didn't dare move away from his car, it being such a very expensive thing in a very bad neighborhood. Sai ignored it, pulling his mind back to the task of finding his way.
Now that he knew where exactly he was, he adjusted his heading to a little more to the left and presently came to edge of Harbor street proper that ran in front of the shelter. He stood still a moment, listening to the traffic.
On this road it was mostly big noisy vehicles. But having made this crossing twice every day for a year made the blind man very in tune with the traffic flow. He listened intently for that moment when the traffic noise was at its lowest volume. Ah, there it was. He started to cross the street with confident strides. 'FUJIWARA!?!' The sound went through him, chilling his spine, almost making him falter, but he forced himself to keep course and speed, ignoring everything but the possible sounds of oncoming cars. He didn't stop until he had safely reached the side walk on the other side, and heard the sound of a car driving by behind him. He breathed out. He knew how dangerous this crossing was, a danger he faced every time he crossed the street. Every day for the past year, twice a day.
He found the street corner that crossed Harbor Street with the street that led straight to Trade Square. He started walking down it. He had no idea where he was going nor why; he just kept moving across the familiar terrain.
A car came up behind him, and Sai anticipated its sound as it would pass him by and speed off ahead.
Instead it pulled alongside him, keeping pace with him and he could hear the automated sound of a window rolling down.
'Fujiwara, you scared me half to death!' Ogata bellowed over the sound of the engine. The Go pro revved up the engine, driving ahead a little only to stop the car and open the passenger door.
Sai never stopped moving, never altered his stride, swinging his cane in its customary arch before him. He could not stop walking. If he did they'd have words again and the blind man was still angry enough to start saying things he didn't mean. Or blurt out secrets better left unsaid.
As he passed the stationary car, Ogata commanded,
'Get in.'
The blind man kept going.
Ogata closed the door, putting the car back in motion, easily keeping up with the walker.
'Fujiwara, please get in,' he pleaded. Sai was not unaffected by the man's tone; he sounded really upset. He felt some of his anger dissipate with the surge of sympathy he felt. Ogata had been kind to him, very kind, and maybe he didn't deserve Sai's outrage at his one mistake.
Sai stopped and sighed. Ogata hit the brakes, coming to abrupt stop. 'Please, get in,' he asked again.
The blind man didn't turn around.
'I need... some time on my own,' he said. It was all he could give the man until he'd sorted out his own feelings.
'If it helps any, I apologize,' the pro said, sounding unsure.
Sai hadn't meant to put that emotion in the man; he didn't deserve that either. He was unwilling to risk saying the wrong thing so he stayed silent as the seconds dragged.
'Just get in, will you!' Ogata's voice now held exasperation and the tone of the command rubbed the blind man the wrong way. Sai's anger flared up again; what right did the man have command him, bully him even? He really wasn't a pet and, apart from gratitude for his generosity and hospitality, he didn't owe the titleholder anything. Sai was a free human being. And even if his life so far had been bad, it was his, and no one had rights over it or him.
He started walking again, the car revving to keep up.
Sai realized he was coming up on a narrow side road, really only a walk space, used to get to the inner courtyard behind the row of houses. He was still in the area he'd extensively explored almost a year ago, and knew well what lay beyond.
As he walked the iron fence to his left gave way to a hedge, which in turn gave way to the opening to the alley. Sai took the turning, yelling at the car and its occupant, 'Just leave me alone!'
The blind man increased his walking speed as much as he dared; he didn't want to lose count of his strides and he certainly didn't want to trip, giving the other man a chance to catch up.
'FUJIWARA!' Ogata screamed behind him, as the alley narrowed and Sai took the right turning that led off from the alley, hopefully putting him outside of the pro’s field of vision. He was tempted to cover his ears to blot out the sound of Ogata's voice, but he needed his hand on his cane and the other was still covered by the cast, so had no choice but to go on ignoring the other man with his mind only.
He walked more cautiously to the end of this bit of throughway, as it was very narrow and the only time he had been there before, some sort of stingy plants had been on both sides; he really didn't want to come away with another rash.
Sai's gamble paid off when he reached to wider road at the end and he couldn't hear Ogata anywhere behind him.
He passed the inner courtyard of the block of houses quickly and let his feet move further and further away from the titleholder's car.
He hardly noticed the trickle of tears that ran down his face as he went; he was too busy thinking.
What the hell was he going to do now? He wasn't even sure that he had broken with the titleholder, would they be able to patch this up if it were so?
Did he even want that? Had the man deserved Sai's rejection for such a small mistake? And then there was his temper; could Sai live with the man's volatile temper? Was being able to play him at Go enough to put up with all that? Was Sai maybe totally over reacting? He couldn't answer any of these questions. Except that he remembered something; he liked Go. He loved Go, had ever since he had (re)discovered the game. And Hikaru had said he had even died over it and become a ghost because of it!
Go. The elation he experienced when the empty 19 by 19 field appeared before him at the start of a game. The sound of the first coordinate being voiced and the first stone hitting the wood with that sharp sound. The divvying up of territory in the first part of the game. That was the point that you started to perceive where the battles will take place. Than the middle game, where tentatively claimed areas are strengthened into hopefully invincible battlements. There'd be smaller and bigger wars here too, and then the big drag out fight that would decide what would be left to reap by either player in the end game.
Often that big battle would not happen or would be aborted, when Sai's opponent had seen his fortifications fell short for a real battle, and resigned. He had particularly enjoyed the times when he'd fought Ogata and Touya; their level had been so high! His one game with Hikaru held a special place in his heart. Hikaru wasn't at Touya's level yet, but he would get there, of that there was no doubt.
His thoughts of Go had calmed the blind man down considerably. The anger had faded completely and he now was left with a sadness combined with a burning desire to play Go.
Sai checked his location; his feet and cane had set him on the path towards the Heart of Stone. Realizing that that was exactly where he longed to be, he continued on his path.
The people at Heart of Stone had always been nice to him. They may not be at the level of skill as Ogata or Touya or even Hikaru, but Sai felt he was a better fit there than he did at the fancy Go club and expensive shopping mall that the likes of the titleholder and his protégé frequented.
And best of all Hikaru had known about the Heart of Stone, the boy had been there many times as well. Yes, that was the place for him, Sai just knew it!
oOOo
Don't forget to review!!!!
