[bright] time

(bright side)

Taking the gift box bought from the fruit shop, he followed Mrs. Mudan into Teacher Kuwahara's ward.Knocked on the door twice, opened the door, and saw that Mr. Kuwahara, who was injecting a drip, was looking at the chess record on the table intently.

"Father, Taya-kun has come to see you."

"How are you today, teacher?"

"Well, I still can't die." As he said, he lowered his head slightly and looked up, glanced at my face through the lens of the reading glasses, and asked me with a flat expression,

"Is the cold war over yet?"

Facing this direct question, I can only smile wryly...

I come here about once a week, and every time the teacher sees my face, he will ask this question.

"If I don't want to be seen by my old body, I will smile next time." 』

This is really an unreasonable request.Even if I didn't follow up the vine fight, I couldn't smile to see the sick person.

"Peony, take off your presbyopic glasses, turn off the reading light, and take away the chess records. I'm going to play a game of chess with Xiaotaya later, so you go out first."

"Yes, my daughter understands. Taya-kun, please use it."

Mrs. Peony put the brewed tea on the table, walked over to help the teacher take off the glasses and put them back into the glasses case, turned off the light, put away the chess records, and pushed the small table back to the wall.

I can't even take off my glasses and turn off the lights... Has the teacher's condition deteriorated to this point?

"Hee - the Mongolian doctor said that you can't move until the drip is finished, little Taya, don't read about the old man's condition."

"...Well." The strength of speaking is no longer than before, and the cheeks are obviously getting thinner and thinner. The only reassuring thing is that the sharp light in the teacher's eyes is still undiminished.

"Then Peony is going out first, Taya-kun, I will trouble you to accompany father."

"Yes."

After Mrs. Peony went out, I thought the teacher would immediately bring up the matter of playing against me, but the teacher didn't.

"Little Toya, I read the report on "Battle of the Tiger and the Rhinoceros" that you and the boy read carefully last year. Hee hee──, it really is the son that Taya taught, and his thinking logic is very similar to him. Don't speak strange words, don't believe that you haven't seen something that has no basis."

Kuwahara-sensei had a sly smile on his face, which made me feel like I was being laughed at...

"...No wonder the boy is ill."

"Teacher?" Shindo's illness? …

"Little Toya. I have the title of "Seven Wins and Losses", have you heard of it?"

"…,Um."

"In the past, I also had experience with Taya several times in seven rounds. In a certain celebrity match, Taya took the lead in winning three, and as long as he won the fourth victory, he would be the youngest celebrity chess player at that time. In an interview, he was asked if he was afraid of a big counterattack by Laoshen, a ghost with seven victories. Do you know how he answered?"

Shaking my head, this happened before I was born. I have read the game record of this game, but I have never heard my father mention such anecdotes outside the game board.

"Taya said that he has never believed in the existence of such ghosts and monsters. He also said, "In my opinion, Kuwahara-sensei is a very respectable senior. It would be rude to call him a ghost." Father and son."

I laughed.

I don't like to be said that my chess is like my father, but besides Go, I still hope that I can be like my father.Facial features and figure may not be possible in a lifetime... I seem to have inherited more of my mother's blood in this regard, so if someone says that I am more like my father in these internal aspects of personality, I will actually accept it with pleasure.

"Little Toya, if Toya Yukiyo told little Toya that my old body is indeed a 'ghost', would little Toya believe it?"

"..." What if?I thought about it, raised my head after a few seconds and answered,

"I will believe it. If my father really told me so, then I will believe it without a doubt."

"Oh~? Even though I haven't seen it with my own eyes, Taya-chan is willing to believe it?"

"Because I trust my father."

"Hee hee, interesting." Kuwahara-sensei closed one eye and looked at me with a strange smile on his face, "It's surprising that little Toya also thinks with emotion."

...Maybe it is true.

I am a person who does not easily open my heart to others, but once I decide to trust that person, I will trust him to the end.Inexplicably, there is this person who will never betray my confidence.

No,...or should I say, the self who doesn't believe in him...is no longer me.I just do what is natural.

"It's such an honor to be trusted by little Toya? Hehe. It's just that he wants little Toya to believe... Is it himself, or is it purer... I just hope you believe in the truth without a body... Trouble kid."

The teacher was almost talking to himself, but I didn't miss it.

"the truth?"

"Hee hee hee, yes, the truth that I am a 'ghost'!" Kuwahara-sensei stared at me with widened eyes and a terrified expression.

"..., Father never told me that." I replied quietly, I really couldn't like this kind of topic.

"Hee hee hee hee -, yes. It is impossible for your father to say such a thing. I am not a ghost but an old man, but maybe I will transform into a ghost in a few days, hee hee. "

Kuwahara-sensei likes to make jokes about his own life. I come once a week and hear him say this kind of thing every time. Shinto comes every day and listens to it every day. I don’t know how it feels...

I sighed,

"Please don't say such things in front of Shinto, Sensei. He must not want to hear it."

"Hee hee, after being hospitalized, the kid stopped refuting, just listened.

The kid knows better than anyone else that everyone has an ending moment, and there is no right to exist in this world forever.He knew very well that the hour of separation was counting down. "

bang bang bang—

Suddenly there was a noise of running and running outside the door, the door opened suddenly, and the pale-faced Shinto broke in,

"teacher!?"

He stood at the door out of breath, and was very surprised to see Mr. Kuwahara and me. He stood there for a long time, panting like a cow.

In the end, the tense nerves were relieved and he sat down on the ground,

"...What do you mean dying?...What do you mean dying!? You asked Mrs. Peony to make such a call!? You are crazy!! Old monster!!" Very indignant.

"Hee hee - I want to see you all of a sudden. This is the fastest way."

"I'm working! The skylight is open over there!! Is it necessary to be in such a hurry to come at night!? I have the seventh battle tomorrow! How dare you make such a joke!!"

Shinto's current reaction can almost only be described as exasperated. He really rushed here with all his might, his head was sweating profusely, his hair and suit were messy.

"Hee-, have you won in your current situation? When you come to Xiaotaya at night, you will go back! Can you see it!? Thank you, old man! Kidou boy!"

Kuwahara-sensei choked on the vine with a superior attitude.

"You──" Shinto had mixed expressions, and it was obvious that he was suppressing his anger.

Strangle you! !

Making similar gestures towards Mr. Kuwahara, expressing silent anger.

In the end, he put down his hands unwillingly and glanced at me, and I glared back at him without hesitation.

In fact, I never met Shindo when I came to visit, because I always came when he was working or playing games.

I don't want to see him, don't want to disturb him chasing Honinbo, so I avoid him, and there is nothing to deny the matter until now.

Anyway, as long as sai is involved, he can't see anyone can't see me, so why should I block his eyes and make myself feel uncomfortable?

Sick... Mr. Kuwahara said just now that Shinto was sick...Yeah, he looks like... sick.

The same goes for the game of Go.Very confusing.

Shinto's chess is very slow, maybe it has something to do with his concentration, almost no external factors can affect his chess, but Sai seems to be the only exception, Sai is eroding his deepest mental state.The successive losses in the Honinbo Challenge may be related to this.

"Little Toya, my head is not as good as before, but I can still play some interesting chess moves, how about it? Let's play a game with the old man?"

"Yes, please let me accompany you." When I came to visit the doctor before, as long as I had time, I would play a game of chess with the teacher.

But today..., is there a way?There is still half a bottle of drip.

"Hee hee. Kid! The door is closed, the table and chairs are brought over, the old man wants to play chess with Xiao Tayao, you will take the chess instead of the old man."

Shinto gasped impatiently,

"That's why you asked me to come here? Just like you played chess with me before, you just hold your telescopic hand and don't ask anyone to point at it on the chessboard──"

He shut his mouth suddenly and paused for a few seconds.Curved the corner of the mouth, the element in the smile is sadness,

"It's already...you can't even be sure if you don't ask for help... so quickly..."

"Tsk, it's that dead face again! I told little Taya just now. I'm on an IV, so I can't move around!"

"Well, let's treat it like that." Ignoring Mr. Kuwahara's words, he closed the door and moved the table and chairs in the living room to the bedside without saying a word.

"Huh-" snorted, and said to me, "Look at this damn boy! He recently ate a bear's heart and a leopard's guts, and he talked to the old man in such a tone! It's extremely airy! No wonder the old man said he hates him, he really deserves to die Let me tell you a few more times before now. I hate you the most! Kid Shinto!"

With a wry smile, I also helped move the tables and chairs.

"Oh? Then cancel the cherry blossom viewing event? Since you hate me so much."

"What? The stone-brained doctor agreed?"

"Well, the day after tomorrow. So be good these days and don't make the doctor angry."

"Hee--, I'm so obedient. Look at the present, I don't even dare to move."

"Yes, yes~. Tsk, I think it's you who is the stone head! Stubborn."

I don't know why Mr. Kuwahara didn't accept the operation, because the success rate is only [-]%? …I don’t know why Mrs. Peony or Shinto didn’t persuade the teacher to undergo surgery, because they wanted to fulfill the teacher’s wish to die in front of the chessboard?

I only know... the moment the teacher's deadline comes, no matter how angry I am or how much I don't want to see Shinto, I must stay by Shinto's side.Because when the time comes...he doesn't know how sad it will be.

***

Set up tables and chairs, put away the chessboard.

Shinto sat in the chair near the hospital bed, and I sat opposite Shinto.Mr. Kuwahara was sitting on the hospital bed, just above Shinto's right shoulder from here.

After guessing, enter the vine and hold first, take the black stone, and I will take the white stone.

"Little Toya.

Take a closer look, the one sitting opposite you now is Kid Shindo, but your opponent is Lao Shen.

We have played chess many times, you know exactly what the old man's chess style is, right?If you use the wrong strategy, you may be overthrown by the old man who is already in the wind.

A word of advice to you, don't look up.At that time, the old man is not responsible for being dazzled. "

At first, I could still hear the slight voice of Kuwahara-sensei when he was giving instructions to Shinto, but gradually, as the battle became more and more intense, Kuwahara-sensei’s voice could no longer reach my auditory nerves, and only one thing filled my head. The chess pieces that appear on the chessboard and the logical thinking hidden in them can only be clarified by peeling off the cocoons.

Kuwahara-sensei's chess... is very strange.

The reason why the teacher is called a monster by those who hate him is that besides the unscrupulous tactics of the outside game, there is actually a bigger reason because the teacher's Go is based on a large number of deeply absorbed other people's Go, and then use these researches in Make unexpected conversions in actual combat.

Chess style is like a chess player's personality, it can be summed up as a reason, but Kuwahara-sensei is different.There is no way to find reason is his style of chess.

Simply put, the teacher's chess... has many faces.

Now this move is the siege used by Shinto and Mr. Ogata in the sixth battle.

At that time, when Xingqi came to the middle game, the Zhengjie in the upper right corner was in a difficult situation because of Shinto's too strong attack. The chess was quite unfavorable to him. Just when everyone thought he was about to lose, he Surprisingly, he cleverly used the discarded pieces to encircle a huge space in the center, reversing the situation, and this series of counterattacks is the reason why this game of chess will be regarded as a good story.

Interesting, when I saw it, I wanted to see it myself.

Now rushing into the central battle zone will not have much effect. It is better to launch other offensives so that he has no time to deal with it to prevent his expansion. Fortunately, in the first half of the game, I have already avoided this unexpected situation in the upper left corner. Leaving the back road, now is the time to use this war zone to go on the ground.

Aiming at the battle zone in the upper left corner, I made a bold move.How effective would such a move be?

Shinto shook his left hand. This is his habitual action when playing chess. It should be the bat fan that appeared in his hand during the formula game, right? ...the movement shows that he is deep in thought.

How about Shinto?What will you do next?

After a few more rounds of black and white, I found out... no,

Chess is too roundabout, not strong enough,

And the siege just now was a cover at all... This is not Shinto's chess move.

Huh?

…What am I thinking?

...Who am I... playing chess with?

The hands that appear on the chessboard... are Shinto's hands, hands that I am all too familiar with.

But these hands are playing chess that does not belong to him.

This kind of sense of disobedience... I have had it before,

During the third game, when I felt that he was playing someone else's chess, deliberately playing tricks on me...

Now, the person sitting in front of me is Shinto..., the one holding the chess piece is him, but the real chess player is──

I slowly raised my head, and my gaze shifted from Shinto's hand, Shinto's face, to Kuwahara-sensei who was sitting behind him, looking at the board and indicating the next move.

──The real chess player is... the person standing behind Shinto....

"Have you ever thought that those three might really be ghosts? 』

"So if I told you that the reason why I was able to beat you in the past was because of a ghost, you wouldn't believe it? 』

I remembered a certain quarrel with the follow-up vine, he said so.Looking back now, his face at that time didn't look like he was joking at all. ...The way I am now...I must be able to see it.

sai... is a grandmaster who has never shown his face on the Internet.

sai...is the teacher who teaches Shinto Go.

sai... There is no trace to be found, as if it never existed.

sai... asked Shinto to hold his son instead... and sat in front of me.

Sai...

not human…

It's a ghost...

I came to this conclusion in my heart, and my heart couldn't stop trembling.

At this time, Mr. Kuwahara, who was sitting on the bed, closed one eye, looked at this place, showing a crescent-like smile, and the atmosphere in the ward instantly turned strange.

It's like saying "Finally found out".

All the memories after getting to know Fuji are revolving in my head at an unbelievable speed. This game was played by Shinto, and that game was sai. Sai, who exists in the Internet world, is the reason why Shinto told me to watch his chess instead of a phantom....

Shinto's actions that have always been inexplicable to me, with this truth, all have an explanation.

At the end of the game, although I won Sanmuban, the content was not satisfying at all. I was just grabbing the ground to prevent myself from losing. There was no skill or fun.

Soon Mrs. Mudan came into the ward together with the doctors and nurses to help Mr. Kuwahara consult and remove the drip. It seems that I walked out of the ward at this time.Then he stood motionless outside the ward without realizing it.

The truth shocked me so much.

...Sai is actually a ghost, and the two games that I played with Shinto at the beginning... were all played by Sai.

The hatred and unforgivability I had towards him in the past turned out to be all a misunderstanding...

How could such a thing happen? ...ghosts or something...

"What's the matter, Taya?" The face that suddenly appeared in front of him was full of worry.

He lowered his face and shook his head, not knowing what face to look at him with.

"Your complexion looks a little bad, shall I take you back?" Shinto grabbed my wrist, with a questioning tone in his tone, but the strength in his hand could not be refused.

I still shook my head,

"I want to be here. Go back by yourself. There will be Honinbo tomorrow, right?"

"...I still can't figure out why you're angry."

Pulling the bangs to the head, it was like swallowing some bitter medicine, "...do you hate Zuowei?"

"I don't know..." I don't know anymore.ghost?Who would have thought that?

Pulling away Shinto's hand, he turned around and wanted to walk into the ward, wanting to ask if his guess was right.

"Taya! Why do you always turn your face away? Do you really not want Sakai in my heart so much?"

"Shinto, let go! This is the corridor!"

Forcibly being pulled over by Shinto and pressed against the wall, he twisted his face,

"Don't let me choose! Taya!...Really don't let me choose....You don't know what he means to me....Don't hate Saori, you shouldn't hate him!"

I tried hard to break free from Shinto's hand and push him away. Now we looked like we were wrestling, and the people from the nursing station on the other side of the corridor were looking out.Seeing that he was about to run over to persuade him to fight.

The palms holding my hands were hot and hard.But that face... looked like she was about to cry.

Shinto sticks to my ear,

"...You don't know, the person I've been chasing is actually him, not me. It's me who won't let him play against you. You should hate me! It's me who took away his Go, and his disappearance is mine Sin, I have to pay for this sin for the rest of my life! Do you understand?"

Before the nurses came over, Shinto let go of my arm and turned to head for the elevator.

"What's the matter, Mr. Taya?"

"It's okay. I'm sorry, I disturbed the patient." I shook my head and replied.

After the nurse left, I sat on a chair outside the ward, thinking about what Shinto said.

罪…

Such a heavy word.

...I seem to have overlooked many of his expressions, and misunderstood the most important thing....

It turns out that since he entered Fuji, he has been so persistent in Go...to Honinbo not only because Sai taught him Go, Sai told him about Shuce, but also partly because...he felt guilty towards Sai.

I should have thought about it earlier, the reason why Shindo's Go game feels heavy for no reason... is because he carried another person in his Go game, carrying an unexpected sense of guilt.

To Shindo, Go is not just a palace for victory and glory; Sai is more than just bright and beautiful memories for him.

When he thinks or talks about sai... the expression on his face is nostalgic, joyful, sad, and a touch of self-blame that will never be relieved is left in that gentle smile... .

***

After Mrs. Peony and the doctors and nurses walked out of the ward, I walked into Teacher Kuwahara's ward again.

Just when I was about to ask myself if coming in now would disturb his rest, the teacher asked me first,

"Got it? There are ghosts in this world. Hehehe—"

"...Hmm. Phantom... no, what kind of person was Sai Fujiwara...?"

"Hee-, so that's the name of the ghost? I've hated him for most of my life, and I finally figured it out today. Did God give me a present from before the death of the old man? Hee hee-"

"Didn't Sensei hear Shinto-san?"

"The kid hardly talks about the ghost. Most of it is the old man's guesswork and one-sided teasing. The old body only sensed it when he passed the kid for the first time. The kid knows that the old body has prejudice against the ghost and hates it. Old man, always with a dead face."

"induction?"

"People in the Kuwahara family have genes for this. Their inspiration is stronger than ordinary people, and they can feel that kind of thing."

"..."

That's why Mr. Kuwahara knew.I thought it was Shindo who took the initiative to tell the teacher, to someone other than me.It was partly because of the ruthless struggle to break away from his hand just now.

"What was the noise outside just now?"

"...Shinto said that Sai would disappear because of him..., that he did not let Sai play chess,...and that Sai was his fault."

I was too much, I only saw my own injuries, made him so embarrassed, and forced him to say such words.For Shinto, asking him to bring up the matter of Sai is like asking him to dig up the healed wound again for me to see...

"I don't understand why Shinto blames himself so much for Sai's disappearance?...What does Sai's disappearance have anything to do with Shinto?...I really don't understand." Where does his guilt come from?

"Maybe it's because the kid played his own chess and had the idea of ​​becoming a 'chess player'."

"...Is there something wrong with playing your own chess?"

"Hee hee-hee, little Taya. I will tell you the biggest fraud in the history of Go? The condition is to take this secret into the grave."

In this way, Kuwahara-sensei told me about his brother, about the mysterious chess records in the library, and... Shusaku's chess was actually played by chess players in the Heian era.And that chess player...is Sai who stayed by Shinto's side for more than two years.

"Aren't you disappointed? The real Shusaku is just a member of Furose Village, who can only record chess records. Hehe! A guy who has no ambition to play his own chess is not worthy of being a chess player. As a chess player, but he can't play his own chess. Give up your own life and let your old body do evil."

"But because Xiu Ce did this, we can see Sai's Go, right?... Maybe Xiu Ce just thinks that Sai's Go has the value of being passed down for thousands of years."

"Hee-. Has it been handed down for thousands of years? Well, the ghost chess is indeed of extremely high value, and it is a pity to be buried in the torrent of history like this. But the wish of the God of Go is to see the same person and the same thinking play out in this world A millennium or more?"

"?"

"The old man is very superstitious. He thinks that everyone has a so-called destiny. He wandered the world as a ghost for thousands of years. What is his mission? Maybe it's just like you and Shinto boy said, let him stay for thousands of years. The game record, but it may also just hope that he can inspire a successor who can surpass himself.

The former is undoubtedly a pool of stagnant water, while the latter is a flowing river. If the God of Go is smart enough, he must choose the latter.And God is indeed wise.

Why did the ghost stay with Xiu Ce for so long until he died?Because the mission was not completed, the God of Go couldn't see the hope he wanted to see.Why let the ghost follow the kid so short?Because the kid is already qualified to be the successor, so the God of Go sees hope.

The kid was right, if he hadn't insisted on playing his own chess, the ghost would not have disappeared.But is this the most correct result?From the old man's point of view, there is no need for the kid to blame himself at all.The boy was too overwhelmed. "

I think, to Shinto, sai must not only have the meaning of "Go", but also have more various emotions and memories.It is impossible to look at the disappearance of sai with such a detached attitude like the teacher.

"And because of this unnecessary self-blame, he hindered his road to Honinbo. It's ridiculous. It seems that the old man will also become a ghost after death, and have resentment towards this world.

I thought he went to Korea and finally cured his illness.It seems that the root cause of the disease is not cured, and an old disease may relapse at any time.Overseas wars are overwhelming, but in domestic wars, especially against Honinbo, the chess moves begin to be unstable, with good times and bad times.

Maybe Shinto boy would be better off leaving Japan, right?If you want to fly freely, you have to go to a world far away from Xiu Ce and away from ghosts like in those two years, right?Hee hee - how about it?Would you be willing to let go?Little Taya? "

Kuwahara-sensei was talking to himself, and finally asked me with a sly smile on his face.

impossible…,

Things are up to now... I can no longer imagine how I would become when I lost Shinto....

"The names of the ghosts and others, did Kid Shinto tell you?"

"…Ok."

"Hee hee, it seems that the boy is asking for help from little Taya. The old man thought the boy was dying of illness, and he was willing to stay in a deep and dark hole for the rest of his life."

"Can I save him?..." I feel like I've hurt him the most all this time.Why... At that time, I only used Go to see him.

"Kid Shindo will resolutely leave this land with ghost traces because of little Toya. Don't forget, there is no Honinbo in Korea that he can take, let him atone for his sins.

If the old man's guess is correct, the kid will want to play his own chess, and nine out of ten it is because of the presence of little taya, right?Go is played by two people.Believe it or not?The old man has already seen the fate of the two of you, hee hee hee. "

I follow Vine's...destiny....

***

After getting out of the taxi, I looked up at the balcony of Jinteng's house, the lights were dimmed. ...Take the mobile phone and call Jindo, the mobile phone is turned off, and it directly enters the voice system.

Jindo almost never shuts down, it will turn to silent state when working, but it will not shut down.When you quarrel with me, you won't turn off the phone, so that I can contact him at any time, right?

...It is only now that I know that losing contact under such circumstances is so disturbing...

Enter the password of the apartment lobby to enter, take the elevator, and decide to wait at Shindo's house temporarily.

Unlocking the lock of the room, I found the shoes that Shinto was wearing today in the entrance.

It's still early and the lights are not on. What are you doing at home?

I closed the door and walked into the house. There was no sign of him in the bathroom, living room, or kitchen. At this time, I found that the balcony was full of moonlight shining through the windows. It was the full moon again, and a month passed so quickly.

... quietly opened the room, and saw that he was sitting facing the chessboard under the silver moonlight.Obviously only a few hours later, looking at Shinto's back now, all those ignorant jealousy and resentment have been wiped out, replaced by only reluctance and sympathy.

...I couldn't help but walked over and hugged Shinto's neck from behind, leaning against his cold back.

Startled, Shinto turned to look at me,

"...Taya?"

Because he knew I was approaching, so he was able to turn his head to look at me?

"Excuse me?"

"...No. How come?" Are we arguing?This is what the eyes want to ask me more.

"I want to play chess with you. Can I do it now?"

"...Well, okay." Unable to guess my intention, Shinto still tidied up the chess pieces on the board.He turned his head and looked at me who was still hugging his neck strangely, and touched my face with his cheek,

"Is it cold outside?"

"Well, about twelve or three degrees." On the way here, I saw such a display on a certain building.

"Let's go to the living room? Is it cold and dark in here?"

Putting the lid on the chess jar, Shinto asked me this.

...Because of me, Shinto wants to play his own chess.

...Because of me, Shinto wanted to leave the hole and go to a bright and warm place. …Can I be self-righteous in thinking that I really mean so much to him?