Happy Birthday, Hikaru!

OMAKE!: Human Go

...

"Hey, you guys. I know that I really like surprises, but this is a long time to stay blindfolded." Hikaru told them as he continued fumbling through the dark, his arms stretched out and waving through the empty air in front of him.

"Dad! You're going to ruin the surprise!" His twelve-year-old daughter, Saiko, protested as she grabbed him by his arm and began to drag him forward.

"And you've been blindfolded this whole time. Why are you suddenly against it now?" His nine-year-old son, Sai, pointed out.

Hikaru smiled. He could almost hear Sai crossing his arms and pouting at him.

"Sorry, sorry." Hikaru laughed, giving up and letting Saiko pull him wherever her little heart desired. "It just starts to get disturbing being blindfolded for this long. I think my other senses are starting to compensate for my lost sense of sight."

All around him, Hikaru could feel his family rolling their eyes at him.

"We only need to go a little bit further, anata."

Hikaru turned his head in the direction of his wife's voice, brightly grinning at her. She probably responded to this with that gentle smile of hers, graceful and refined. Even after so many years, Hikaru could see it clearly, blindfolded or not.

"Come on, Dad!" Saiko dug in her heels and impatiently pulled him further.

Hikaru grinned and followed her, aware of the familiar presence of his son at his side. Sai loved to follow Hikaru around. Since his son could crawl, Hikaru always had a little follower. And the kid was as short as Hikaru had been at that age.

They continued down the long passageway they had been walking down (a hallway? a tunnel?) before exiting out into a much larger space. The bright lights hit them first, enough to penetrate through the thick material of the blindfold.

But it was the smell that Hikaru recognized first.

"Happy Birthday, Dad!" Saiko and Sai cheered.

Hikaru was finally allowed to pull off the blindfold. And he stared in wonder at the enormous stadium, the bright lights, the familiar sensation of astroturf under his feet.

"Happy Birthday." Aki glided to his side, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Hikaru automatically accepted the kiss through years of ingrained practice, still staring at the familiar stadium in awe.

They were standing on the field of the Tokyo Japan Youth Soccer Stadium (sponsored by the Mitani Group). And, like every time he ever stepped onto this field, a wave of nostalgia hit him of all of the games and practices and fun memories this place held.

Aki took his hand in hers, and Hikaru finally turned to look at her.

Today, Aki had forgone her usual tailored dresses and immaculate suits to dress in one of the heirloom kimono of her family. This kimono was hundreds of years old, in a graceful pattern of autumn grasses, falling leaves covering the silk of her obi. And her hair had been styled with all of the delicate pieces of hair ornaments Hikaru had given her when they had been dating.

Aki was the daughter of an old, traditional family. Today, you would most likely find her dressed in designer clothing, smartphone in hand, running her fashion empire like a queen would a country. But she had started dating him because Hikaru respected the traditions as much as she did.

Their daughter, Saiko, seemed to be in complete contrast to her mother, even if she did look like the miniature version of her beautiful mother. Saiko's personality was all Hikaru: bright and exuberant, obsessed with soccer, determined to fulfill her dreams, and, strangely enough, a money-hungry cheapsake.

Saiko was dressed as she always dressed outside of school: in soccer clothes. Her bright pink shorts matched her bright pink soccer cleats. And in honor of the stadium they were standing in (of the team she was hoping to join in the upcoming season), she had somehow wormed through Hikaru's closet and found one of his old children's-sized Tokyo Team jerseys.

The giant number 5 and SHINDO was printed clearly in iconic electric yellow, atop their classic lightning blue. And, looking at the gold stripes, it was one of Hikaru's regular uniforms (probably his first one).

Their son, Sai, looked desolately out of place. He was dressed in his school uniform (Hikaru would never understand the kid), also with one of Hikaru's Tokyo Team jerseys on over his collared dress shirt. (Hikaru suspected it was his very first one, but even then it was way too large and sliding off Sai's shoulder.)

Sai may look like Hikaru, but he took after the kind and sensible personality of his mother. Unlike Saiko who thrived with attention, Sai just seemed to wilt. And unlike Saiko and her dreams of one day becoming the best soccer player in Japan, Sai preferred quiet activities like reading and playing go (of course).

It hadn't been a surprise to Hikaru at all that his son would have the personality and interests he did, considering the man Hikaru had named him after. Hikaru hoped that his son would become as kind, as admirable, as wonderful a person as his namesake.

But no matter what, for both of his children, Hikaru would always support them. Whether or not they liked soccer or go or fashion or the Heian period. He was their father. He loved them!

Though sometimes, Hikaru was convinced that his kid had been infected by Touya.

Speaking of Touya...

Touya-Kisei arrived then, looking stern and sharp-eyed, and kind of utterly out of place striding across a soccer stadium.

Hikaru grinned brightly and began waving his arms wide.

"Touya!"

Hikaru then turned to the red-headed businessman frowning beside the Kisei.

"Mitani!"

Mitani glared at him, even more cutting than Touya during a title match.

Hikaru just grinned even more and kept waving with his free arm, Aki claiming the other one to press her sweetly-perfumed head against his shoulder.

"Shindo." Touya smiled happily. "Aki-san. Saiko-chan. Sai-kun."

As the family greeted the gentle-natured title-holder, Mitani marched straight up to Hikaru.

"You're finally here." Mitani grunted, tapping his foot impatiently. "About time."

"But I don't need to be on time. It's my birthday, Mitani!" Hikaru playfully whined, mustering up his best puppy dog eyes and whimpering.

"Ugh." Was all Mitani would reply to that.

Hikaru just laughed.

"Move." Mitani ordered as he began pushing Hikaru forward, all the way across the field. "We've set up the party game of your lifetime."

"Really?!"

Hikaru was greeted by a crowd of all his friends. His soccer buddies (from his pro teams and the Tokyo Team). Akari and the former members of the Haze Go Club. Waya and Isumi and all of the former insei. Hikaru's study group was here too; all of those young pros mingling amongst their rivals (Touya's study group). And all of the other go pros Hikaru had ever befriended over the course of a lifetime had been gathered here.

Even his parents and the former Touya-Meijin and Touya's mother were there, sitting along the sidelines on comfortable cushions laid out along the stand seats. They were conversing with old Coach Takashi and Ino-coach and even Mori-coach.

And the families of everyone invited were here too (because Hikaru loved everyone the-people-he-loved loved), creating an enormous crowd only a place as big as a soccer stadium could fill.

"Hey! The Birthday Boy is here!" Shinji shouted, enthusiastically leaping atop Hikaru as his form of a hug.

Hikaru nearly fell to the ground.

"Oi, Shinji," Hikaru chuckled good-naturedly. "You've got to stop doing that to me. We're, like, fifty years old already."

Shinji just shrugged and grinned, as carefree as always.

"What do you think of the place?" Shinji waved over the stadium, arm slung over Hikaru's shoulders. "It's all mine now. Can you believe it?"

"You're the Head Coach of the Tokyo Team, not the owner of the stadium." Mitani snorted and rolled his eyes at them.

"Yeah, yeah, boss." Shinji elbowed Mitani in the ribs playfully.

Mitani squawked in protest, rubbing at his ribs through his expensive suit.

Meanwhile, Hikaru watched as his children finished greeting their grandparents at the sidelines. Touya's son, Akihiko, was shyly walking up to join Saiko and Sai, encouraged by his two grandparents and his mother. The nine-year-old was even more shy than Touya had been. And Akihiko and Sai had been destined to be best friends even before they had even been born!

"Alright, that's enough of this! Let's start this already!" Mitani announced, stalking off immediately. He was even less in the mood for small talk than usual.

"What did you do to him before I got here?" Hikaru sided up to Shinji. "Make that dumb joke one million times too many?"

Shinji lit up at the mention of his favorite joke.

"I'll have you know that all the brats love that joke." Shinji grinned.

Hikaru looked skeptical.

"Shinji, you were telling that joke when we were brats."

"It's a classic then." Shinji decided.

"We didn't find it funny then!" Hikaru reminded him.

"Oh no!" Shinji suddenly exclaimed, looking fearfully in the distance. "I've got to go. Happy birthday, Shindo! Enjoy your awesome gift!"

And with one last thumbs up, Shinji jogged off.

Hikaru turned in the direction Shinji had been looking in, and saw his daughter grinning maniacally at Shinji, a scary light in her eyes.

Hikaru idly wondered how long Shinji would last before Saiko attached herself to him and haunted her future coach like a ghost.

Meanwhile, Mitani stalked up to the waiting Touya, snatched the offered object out of Touya's hand, and looked grumpy as Akira just smiled serenely.

Akira gave the signal. And suddenly, Saiko and Sai and Akihiko materialized in front of Hikaru like spirits. Both of his children grabbed hold of an arm each and began to drag him away, the sweet and gentle Akihiko trailing behind them.

They joined his parents and Touya's parents and Hikaru's old coaches and basically all of the older attendants of the party. They all ascended the short way up the stands and onto the large platform set up there, filled with comfortable chairs and a buffet.

"Sit here, Dad!" Saiko commanded, pointing towards the seat of honor.

"You'll love this, Dad!" Sai shouted behind him as he and Akihiko ran down the stairs again, the pair of them as inseperable as always.

Saiko made sure to completely limber up, get into position, and then tear down the stairs like a force of nature. She easily overtook her brother and his best friend despite their head start.

"What's happening?!" Hikaru exclaimed, looking at his parents on one side to Touya's parents on the other.

"Just enjoy it, son." His mother patted him on the cheek, before leaning excitedly forward in her seat.

Hikaru crossed his arms and pouted.

Luckily, that was when the enormous screen turned on and focused on Akira and Mitani's faces.

Hikaru perked up, noticing that his two friends were perched on towers on opposite sides of the field.

"Welcome, everyone," Hikaru's wife, Aki, appeared on the screen, smiling her gentle smile. "To my husband's 50th birthday celebration. I thank you all for coming."

Everyone cheered and clapped as Aki bowed gracefully to the camera.

"I'm joined today by Touya Chihiro-san and Fujisaki Akari-pro."

The camera panned out to show the two other smiling women sitting before the broadcast table.

"Happy Birthday, Shindo-san."

"Happy Birthday, Hikaru!"

"The three of us will be providing commentary on today's exciting match." Aki announced.

"An epic battle of legendary proportion!" Akari announced grandly, just because she knew Hikaru liked everything to be overly-dramatic.

"Which will be the latest speed go match between my husband and Mitani-san." Chihiro grinned.

Hikaru blinked down at the field.

He had assumed it would be a soccer match, but the field had been filled with intersecting lines.

"As a special request, the stones will be people, and the board will be this field."

Hikaru leapt up from his seat, looking down to see people separating themselves onto teams. All of them had been given a long robe in either white or black to wear over their clothing, as well as a long headband in the matching color.

"Everyone please assemble on the field as quickly as you are able." Chihiro requested. "To assist you, a spotlight will be shone onto the point of the board upon the field. Please use it to direct you to the correct position."

To demonstrate, a spotlight went on and landed at the exact center of the field.

"You can also follow along on our televised board." Akari added as a virtual go board appeared, showing a series of moves being played out by the computer.

"Hey! Why don't I get to play?!" Hikaru shouted in outrage. This sounded like so much fun! He wanted to play!

Everyone laughed.

"Anata," Aki looked apologetic. "You're still too terrible at speed go."

Hikaru crossed his arms and pouted.

Everyone laughed even harder.

"So that this goes fast and stays exciting, it has to be speed go, Hikaru. Just watch and enjoy yourself. We're all playing this game for you." Akari explained, really getting into it now. "I'm getting fired up!"

"We would like to take this moment to thank Akira-san and Mitani-san for organizing this wonderful match." Aki smiled after she had finished elegantly laughing behind her sleeve.

"Yes, this was my husband's idea, Shindo-san." Chihiro cheerfully announced. "Akira-san thought for a very long time on what would make Shindo-san's perfect birthday. He so greatly values your friendship."

On the screen, Akira was blushing so hard that he had hidden his bright red face in his hands.

"And Mitani-kun made it happen!" Akari added, punching the air. "Because you're his best friend, Hikaru! Go, Mitani-kun!"

The camera panned over to Mitani, who was openly frowning. Even if it were true (and Mitani would NEVER admit that out loud), Mitani didn't see why everyone needed to know that he had arranged this thing.

"Let's play already!" Saiko shouted from down on the field.

The crowd burst into laughter again.

Like father, like daughter.

"Well, I think that's explanation enough to follow along." Chihiro winked into the camera.

Then Chihiro began waving a tiny flag with TOUYA printed on it.

"GANBATTE!" Akari shouted, one leg propped against the broadcasting table like a delinquent queen.

"Let the game begin." Aki announced officially to the crowd, bowing respectfully.

Across the field, Touya and Mitani bowed to one another as well.

Then Mitani made his first move, and the game started with a very excited Saiko shooting out onto the field, playing as his first piece. Even from here, Hikaru could tell that she was taking this much too seriously. Definitely in game-mode.

Touya announced his first move straight after, even before Saiko had taken her place.

Hikaru watched as Sai self-consciously but determinedly dashed across the field. He was proud of Sai, even if he felt distinctly betrayed that his son was Touya's first piece.

And thus began the strange, messy, sometimes-confused game of Human Go.

Mitani, the Speed Go King, and Akira, the Kisei, remained absolutely focused on the match, taking it as seriously as the deciding game of a title match.

Aki, Chihiro, and Akari provided their colorful commentary. Aki, graceful and elegant and properly following the game. Chihiro, openly supporting her husband even if she was supposed to remain impartial. And Akari, shouting and yelling and cheering for both sides with great enthusiasm. (She just never got to announce games like this. The way she secretly wanted to.)

And while the virtual, televised board remained neat and orderly, the field of humans were less so. People didn't always get to the right spot, even with the help of the spotlight. Many times, one of the announcers had to correct people standing in the wrong spots and confusing the board.

Yet, even if you had never played the game in your life, there was excitement when people began to fill the field and the game began to take shape. Nothing was better than when "pieces" were caught, and "capture" became something else entirely. The go players weren't as bad, but Hikaru's soccer buddies, when clustered as a group, would grab the "captured stone" and carry the person away on their shoulders. Hikaru laughed aloud when he saw Kaito and Takashi sit on the captured Shinji stone.

Territories were won and lost. Players would shout and threaten, despite simply being go pieces. Someone got possessed by the spirit of a shogun. A group of players on the verge of capturing a corner of the board assembled themselves into cavalry, Saiko riding courageously atop her "horse". The other side assembled a cavalry of their own, a line of adults with children perched on their shoulders, pretending to await battle. At one point, a territory fell and the fallen players pretended to have been gruesomely stabbed or began to wave their white headbands in the air as a sign of surrender.

And Hikaru laughed so hard that he fell right out of his chair.

Hikaru wouldn't even remember who won this game. But he would always remember running onto the field when it was over, surrounded by all of the people he loved.

...

Author's Note:

Happy 3-Year Anniversary! It's been a wonderful three years! :)

2016.01.03