And here's another story of mine. The updates will be quick as the story is written already and just needs some editing. Hope you like it! ^^


It was pouring heavily outside, droplets of rain ran down the glass of the windows, some falling down on the windowsills, some sticking to the transparent material, obstructing the view. Not that there was much of a view, just darkness all around. The girl stood, daydreaming, watching the rain going down on earth. She was a bit skinny, average height and she had long brown hair. She couldn't be called a beauty, but there was something attractive in her. For once, she had a pair of beautiful bright green eyes, which were incredibly captivating.

The girl reached out, touching the glass with her fingers. 'Hmmmm... It's gotta be refreshing,' she thought.

The bell rang quietly as the doors creaked and someone walked in. The girl shook her head. It was time to get back to work. She turned and walked towards the entrance, smiling gently and stopping in front of a man, bowing slightly to him.

"Welcome!"

The man nodded, grinning at her a crooked smile, "Good evening."

"Would you like me to show you to a table?"

"Hi hi, that would be nice. Somewhere near a window, if you please."

The girl nodded and led the way. The man was already very old and moved slowly, thought that seemed to be caused by his personality rather than age. The girl secretly glanced at the man - she had never seen such an old one before. The top of his head was bald and the hair that was left in the back, was all white. He was constantly slightly smiling, as if he knew something she didn't and his eyes were almost closed. It was a wonder how he was able to see where he was going. Well, maybe he didn't. Still, he seemed harmless enough, even though her intuition kept telling her this was no ordinary old geezer. She went along the tables, but had to stop when the man suddenly halted, looking at the nearest table.

She came back a few steps and stopped as well, turning her head to see what he was looking at.

"Would you like to play as well?" She asked him. "We offer our customers to play various board games to pass the time."

The old man suddenly chuckled, cocking a brow and looking slyly at the girl, "Hi hi hi... I don't play chess, my dear."

"We have other games, as well."

"Oh?" He opened his eyes now, looking at her, smirking a bit. "Then, do you have a Go board?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, we have a few, though usually our customers are members of the chess club, so I'm not sure if you'll find someone to play with you."

The man chuckled again and stepped forward towards the next free table, which just happened to be near the window.

"Well then, will you play with me?"

The girl looked at the man surprised, "Me? I'm sorry, I'm not really that interested in Go."

"Oh? Why not?" The old man inquired, sitting down.

The girl laid down the menu she was holding in her hands all the time, "It's just... Isn't that board really... huge?"

The old man was taken aback by her answer for a while, but then he suddenly laughed.

"Well," the girl continued, "wouldn't it take like a few hours to finish one game?"

She kept silent for a while, "Actually, I'm already playing a few chess matches, and one Go match, though I'm still learning. I just found out about the basic rules today. One my customer really wanted to play Go with me. But I'll ask around for someone else to partner with you."

She turned around and went away, leaving the old man to look through the menu.

"Hi hi hi hi..." He chuckled, watching her go, trusting his sixth sense again. His sixth sense was never wrong.

The girl returned in a short while to take the order. The old man ordered just a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry, but right now there are no free Go players here," she said after jotting down his order diligently. "If you can wait a bit, Matsuda-san will play with you, after we finish our match."

"Hi hi hi... Then, why don't you play with me?"

The girl glanced at him surprised. "But I'm not really that interested in it. I don't like board games all that much and this Go game takes a lot of time. And the board is huge. It's kind of hard," she said, knitting her brows in thought.

"Oh, really?" The man grinned. "Isn't it more interesting that way? Come on, won't you do this old man a little favor? To brighten up his old days?"

He looked at her with his one eye opened, waiting for her answer. The girl raised a brow and then laughed.

"I'll think about that."

She went away, but when she came back with a cup of tea, she was also carrying a foldaway Go board with her. She placed it on the table, smiling, "I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I can't just let you sit here all alone, can I?"

The man chuckled, appreciating the joke.

"Wow!" A customer from a nearby table stood up. "Are you really gonna play another match of Go, Mei-chan? Have you finished the one with Matsuda-san?"

She turned to the man, shaking her head, "Not yet, it's only begun, I'm afraid."

The girl whom the old man now knew to be called Mei turned back to him again, "This will be my second match of Go, but don't worry, I'm a quick learner, so I'll try to make it interesting."

She smiled and the man chuckled, smirking at her, "Don't underestimate this old man here."

"Oh, I'd never," Mei kept smiling as she gave him a bowl with the stones.

The old man frowned slightly and pushed it to her, "Why don't you go first?"

"Hm?" She glanced at the black stones and shrugged. "Alright."

"You can place four handicap stones too," the man noted, but the girl only frowned.

"Handicap? I don't need something like that," she grinned and put the first stone somewhere near the middle of the board and the old man smirked at the random move she made.

Meanwhile, Mei left to tend to other tables and the man wondered if he was wrong about her. The girl had good eyes, but perhaps, he was expecting too much. She was clearly just a beginner, playing her second match. Well, at least he'll have some fun until the rain stops. He looked out of the window at the downpour, 'Really now... Playing chess and Go simultaneously. What an interesting girl... hi hi hi.'


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2 hours later

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The old man was looking down at the board intently. What in the world had happened here? The shape of the stones was way too weird… well, that was understandable when one thought of the places she put the stones. Random, just random. Or so it seemed. But now... Now he was having second thoughts. Seemed like his sixth sense was right after all - this was not a game of a beginner... Of course, he never intended going all out on her, but now even if he wanted to, he no longer could. All the routes were blocked. He had never encountered a situation like this before. He looked up at the girl. She was passing through tables on her way to the bar.

"Is this really the second time she's playing Go?" He asked a nearby watcher.

A few customers were watching the match, although he doubted they could understand much.

"Yeah, as far as I know," The man answered. "But I heard she's always been good in board games. And chess. Yeah, chess too."

"Hmmm..." The old man mumbled something to himself.

"Hey, say," the man turned to the elder. "Say, who's winning? I'm not that good at Go, I can't really tell."

The old man opened his eyes slowly, staring at the board. Yes, that's right. The weird shape was not the main problem here. Neither was her inexperience, though he wondered whether she was really just damn lucky or just a plain genius... Cause he was winning. By 6.5 moku... solely because of the komi rule. He stared at the board, realizing there was nothing more he could do. The match was over and he knew it. But what was the worst was that he felt as if it was all prepared from the very beginning. An inner hunch told him this could not be just a beginner's luck. Even if he didn't play seriously for the first half of the game, not to be able to catch up in the second half... He had no comment on that.

Then, the girl finally returned and looked down at the board. The old geezer looked up at her, "Looks like it's over."

She nodded and smiled, "Yeah, finally. That was one long game. And now, stalemate!"

"Stalemate?"

"Well, I guess it doesn't apply to Go, but I like that word. It means a draw," Mei smiled.

'So, she could even count the territory precisely while playing,' the old man frowned a bit and then chuckled.

"Hi hi hi... But it's my win. When you add the komi, I win by 6.5 moku."

"Huh?" The girl looked at him surprised. "The komi?"

The old man opened his eyes wider, "You don't know what a komi is?"

She shook her head, "There was no such thing in a match I played with Matsuda-san just now."

The old man explained briefly the komi rule to the girl and she frowned, looking unhappy. "Damn, I had no idea. So then, it's my loss? God, what a silly game! Why make such a rule, so that it is impossible to get a draw..."

She shook her head once more, "Weird game."

"Say, what was your name again?" The old man asked her and the girl smiled warmly.

"Mei."

"Hihi. I see. Then, I'll have to remember that," he smirked all to himself as the girl excused herself and went around the tables gathering the dishes. The cafe was closing down already.

The old man looked at the board again, 'She didn't know the Komi rule... So she thought it's a draw. Well, it would be, if not for the komi.'

He put the stones back and folded the board. Then, he got up and dusted off his jacket. It was a good game. 'I'll have to come back once again. To play seriously.' He looked at Mei and chuckled. She was a really interesting one. He then turned to leave, not listening much to the blabbing of the other customers, when he heard a loud voice of a man.

"WHAT?! She almost got a draw?!"

The old geezer turned to look at the man.

"Matsuda-san, not so loud!" The other man tried calming him down.

'Oh, the man form her first Go match,' remembered the old geezer.

"Gaaaah... You're saying she lost just cause of the Komi rule?! Man, I would like to have seen that match..."

"Yeah, yeah, what about yours?"

"Mine, huh," the man sighed. "Well, we played without the komi rule. I thought it was gonna be easier for her and I expected to have a clear win, but then again. I thought I was winning and then BAM, a draw."

"Huh? A draw?"

"Yeah, a damn draw... I wonder how she does that..."

'A draw?!' The old man stared at the two customers shocked. He tried to find Mei with his eyes, but she wasn't in the hall. A very bad feeling was gnawing at him. 'She played Go simultaneously and got draws on both? Wait... then... what about her chess matches?..'

He turned to the tables where he previously saw chess boards and walked to the customers, "Excuse me, would you mind telling me what was the result of your chess match?"

The man turned to him and sighed, "As always, a stalemate."

"Stalemate?" The geezer opened his eyes wide.

"Yeah, we all got stalemates. Again."

Another customer intervened, "Well, I've never even heard of her winning or losing. Has it ever happened before?"

The old man wasn't listening anymore. He got the most important part - it was a draw.

For everyone.