Aishuu Offers:
In the Shadow of the Light
Challenge: Pure Dialogue.
Time: 25 minutes.
Disclaimer: Hotta and Obata.
Notes: Speakers should be pretty obvious. Done for a timed challenge.
THANKS TO THOSE WHO POINTED OUT THE PROBLEM WITH AKARI'S LAST NAME. Damnit, I watch too many anime series.
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"This is the kifu?"
"Yes, Fujizaki got it for me. Careful, you're wrinkling it!"
"And I can't destroy anything Fujizaki gives you, can I?"
"Shut up."
"That's no way to talk to a senpai."
"You were never my senpai. I took your place, since you were too damn lazy to keep playing. Or chicken."
"You just never realized the glory of Shogi. I can teach you, if you want."
"I'll stick to Go, thanks."
"This is... really something. I knew when they finally played each other seriously that it would be."
"Huh. Lot better than their first game. Both of them ended up bawling like babies. I don't know why Touya was expecting so much out of Shindou."
"You never really watched Shindou play when he was serious, did you? The first time he played me, he almost beat me."
"So? You're a Shogi player."
"And I'm a better Go player than you'll ever be, too. No, stupid, Shindou's special. It was like he has a split personality."
"He was just inconsistent. You heard he quit, right?"
"What was up with that?"
"Not a clue. One day, he quit being a pro, just like he quit club. And I almost strangled him."
"I almost strangled him a couple of times. I think most people who've spent any amount of time with him have wanted to kill him. Damn, I wouldn't have thought to play a suberi here..."
"They leapt right into the fight. I never could figure out what was going on in his head."
"Least you never had to put up with Touya. Shindou at least is a nice guy. Touya is a pain in the ass."
"I met him once. He was... intense."
"The guy chose whether he wanted to win or lose. And I was going to be a pro... and he just did what he wanted because he felt pity for me. Come to think of it, Shindou was a bit like that... though I could never figure out the pattern to which games he'd chose to win."
"Chose to win?"
"Didn't you ever notice? That split personality thing. It was like he was playing with two styles, and couldn't control them. Sometimes I'd insult him, just to get him to play seriously - but it didn't always work."
"Never really thought of it. I never really thought of him as a pro-caliber player until he said he was going to take the insei tests."
"When was the moment you knew he was better than you?"
"Huh?"
"Can it. I'm curious."
"I... that day, when we quit club. He'd been beating me for a while, but I dismissed it as flukes. But... that day.... you?"
"I always knew."
"He's never beaten you."
"No, and that's why we'll never play again. If we play again, he'll crush me. I want to be the player he'll never beat, that memory."
"He. We were both first boards when he was third. This keima didn't get much advantage..."
"That was the best move I can see, and I don't think either of us would have seen it in the heat of the game. Are you playing still? Going to join our Go Club when you come here?"
"Tsutsui's already drafted me. I'll go to some of the meetings, but I don't intend on playing in the tournaments."
"You should. Fujizaki will be disappointed."
"What she got to do with it?!"
"Hmmm... you should ask her out. Stop following her like a puppy and just get it over with."
"You are a pain in ass."
"And who's the coward now?"
"She's interested in Shindou. Always has been, even though he's constantly making her cry, that bastard."
"He's not interested in her. His interest lies... elsewhere."
"I've never seen him around another girl."
"He doesn't swing that way."
"Not-"
"Yep. Those two have been obsessed by each other since they were twelve. They really should stop fighting and kiss and make up."
"I... I don't need that mental image."
"Scary, isn't it? You should ask Fujizaki out, though. Before it all goes down."
"Bad picture, baaaaad picture...."
"You have a dirty mind."
"I'm a typical teenage male. Maybe I should sell copies of this kifu... I bet a lot of people will pay to see it in the future..."
"The first Shindou/Touya game? It's a collector's item."
"Shindou seems to have gotten it together... but Touya still won."
"Not because he was a ton better. The game could have gone either way - in the future, Shindou will win something. He's a prodigy."
"Scary. But Touya's one, too."
"I know. That's why I quit after realizing I'd never beat Touya fair and square. I could have been a pro, but... when you play a genius, you know that you'll never be their equal. I would have been mediocre all my life, one of those middle dans who never play in title matches."
"It's not a bad life."
"It's not a good one, either. I'm happier now, really. I can still play... and no one expects a Shogi expert to whip Go players into place. Speaking of which, wanna play?"
"Feel like losing?"
"That'll be the day. What do you want for a handicap?"
"Bastard."