Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of Illumination ❯ New Places and New Faces ( Chapter 3 )

oOo

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go was created by Hotta and Obata. All characters and plots belong to them, including any I create. This is a piece of fanfiction written by fans for the enjoyment of other fans. No money was made by the creation of this work.

 

Journey of Illumination

By Lady Lark

 

Chapter Three - New Places and New Faces

 

April 8, 2002

 

The cherry blossoms still swirled in the chill morning air as Akari walked up the steps of Mitaka High School. Absentmindedly, she straightened the front of her blazer distinctly aware of how different it was from the sailor suit type of uniform that Haze Junior High had.

 

Glancing around her, she noted the similarity and differences. Both males and females wore navy blue blazers embroidered with the school crest on the lapel. The boys wore navy slacks while the girls had a choice of either a blue and green plaid or navy pleated skirt. The high school was also very progressive. It was one of the first schools in the prefecture to allow girls to wear slacks instead of skirts. Akari wasn't sure how she felt about this. She preferred skirts herself, but she could see where pants could be more practical in the bitterly cold winter months.

 

After passing through the front entrance, she stepped off to one side to consult her student planner. She wanted to make sure that she went to the right place to change into her school shoes. But when she looked at the map, she didn't see a place to do that. Confused, she followed a group of upperclassmen girls to see where they went and was stunned to find that they headed directly for their homeroom.

 

Shrugging at the strangeness, she consulted her planner once more. She had been assigned to class 1-B which was on the third floor of the building. Finding the stairs, she headed for the third floor all the while scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Reaching the landing, she was pleased to note that her classroom was only a few feet from the stairs.

 

How convenient!

 

She slid open the door just as the bells in the clock tower began to chime. Akari heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she wasn't late; she didn't know if she could stand the embarrassment. Seeing that there was an empty seat still open by one of the windows, she crossed to it, setting her book bag on the hooks hanging off of the side of the desk.

 

She settled herself in the seat and glanced out the window. The view was to the south and she could see both the baseball and soccer fields from her seat. It was the perfect seat for daydreaming and Hikaru would have loved it.

 

Thinking of her friend made her wistful again. She had read in Weekly Go that he was preparing for the new Japan/China/Korea cup. She wished she could go cheer him on. She wondered about this new player, Yashiro, he sounded strong. Thinking of strong players caused her mind to bring up another face: Touya Akira. She hoped that Hikaru had managed to talk to Touya. She remembered Hikaru's stated rival from the three times she had met him. The first had been when Touya had tracked down Hikaru at the Go club meeting.

 

Before she had the chance to sink too far into her memories, the homeroom teacher opened the door. Out of habit, the class rose to their feet and bowed at their sensei's arrival. The middle aged man beamed at their politeness and walked over to the desk where he set down a stack of books.

 

“Good morning, class. My name is Tanaka Masao. I will be your homeroom teacher for this school year. Let's all do our best to make it a good one.” His eyes roamed over the classroom smiling paternally at the room full of teenagers. “This is class 1-B, so if you are in the wrong class, I suggest you find the correct classroom now.”

 

One girl near the front of the room looked shocked and leapt to her feet, grabbing her book bag with one hand. “I'm so sorry, please forgive my stupidity,” she said, bowing deeply.

 

“It's quite alright, miss. What class are you supposed to be in?” Tanaka-sensei asked gently.

 

“1-C, sensei.” A deep blush staining her cheeks.

 

He smiled at the poor girl. “It's right next door. You must have opened the wrong door by mistake.”

 

“I guess so.”

 

“Well, go on,” Tanaka-sensei said in a kind voice.

 

The girl bowed once more and slipped out of the room. After lost girl had left, Akari took the opportunity to scan the room to see if either Kaneko or Mitani was in her homeroom. Neither were, she noted sadly.

 

Tanaka-sensei shuffled the papers on the desk until he found the one he was looking for. “This is the class list. The current class representatives are Himura Yasuo and Kurokawa Sayuri, they will change based on class ranking,” he paused in his speech to indicate which students were the class reps. Both had stood up when their names were called - Himura was a slender young man with messy hair whereas Kurokawa was a short, painfully thin girl, with long hair pulled back into a single braid. The teacher nodded at them once and both students sat down.

 

Tanaka handed the class list to Kurokawa and continued with the typical first day of school business. He posted the weekly class schedule, which she took down disinterestedly. He also listed the various clubs and their after school meeting locations. She perked up at this, and was pleased to hear that the Go and Shogi club had their own room on the fourth floor. She made a note to go check out the club after school.

 

The first four periods passed quickly with each teacher going over the general outline of the course and handing out a list of assignments. Akari took down each of the assignments in her planner and started to wonder how she would every find the time to do her homework and be a member of a club. It was so much more work given out than in junior high.

 

Finally lunch time arrived. She fished around in her bag and pulled out her bento. Then she felt torn. She wanted to stay and socialize, but she also wanted to go look for Mitani and Kaneko.

 

While she was still making up her mind, a soft voice attracted her attention. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

 

Akari looked up to see a girl with short brown hair styled in a cute pageboy bob, looking down at her. She was holding a small lunchbox with ducks on it and she had a shy smile on her face.

 

Akari returned her smile. “Of course not. Please join me.”

 

“Thanks,” she replied. Then she looked out the window at the grounds. “You have such a great view.”

 

“I was lucky,” said self-deprecatingly. “All through junior high, I had a desk right in the middle of the class.”

 

“It could've been worse,” the girl said wrinkling her nose. “Last year, I had to sit all the way in the back behind the head of the basketball team. I never got to see the blackboard. I had to copy everything off of one of my friends.” She held out her hand to Akari. “My name's Takahashi Minako.”

 

Akari grasped and gave it a quick shake. “I'm Fujisaki Akari; it's a pleasure to meet you, Takahashi-san.”

 

“Same here, Fujisaki-san,” she replied, turning the desk in front around to face Akari. “So what junior high did you go to?” Takahashi asked sliding into the seat and opening her bento.

 

“Haze,” Akari replied doing the same. “You?”

 

Takahashi finished chewing her first bite before answering. “Mitaka. They have a feeder school, if you pass your classes you are guaranteed a spot in the high school without having to take the entrance exam,” she explained taking small bites of her bento.

 

“Lucky!” Akari exclaimed a little wistfully. “My district doesn't have a high school, so I knew I would have to take an exam if I wanted to continue my education.”

 

“That's no fun,” Takahashi sympathized. “What clubs did you participate in?”

 

The auburn-haired girl swallowed a bite of her rice. “I was on the Go Club.”

 

“The Go Club!” Takahashi said with a start. “You're so cute I would have thought you would have been a member of the Fashion Club or in the Cheerleading Club. You must be really smart.” The brown-haired girl's eyes were sizing her up appraisingly.

 

“Not really,” Akari demurred, taking another small bite of her bento. “I joined the club because a friend joined it.”

 

“I bet your friend was a boy, right,” Takahashi said shrewdly.

 

Akari tried to keep the blush from her cheeks, but failed. “Yeah, I joined because of Hikaru. But I really grew to love the game.” She paused to eat a pickled scallion before continuing. “I was so excited to hear that this school has a Go club.”

 

“We do?” The brown-haired girl asked in surprise.

 

Akari nodded. “Um-hmm. It's combined with the Shogi club, but I don't mind. It'll still be fun. What clubs are you involved in?”

 

Takahashi tapped her chopsticks against the side of her face. “Well, I'm a writer in the Journalism Club and I am a member of the Chorus Club.”

 

“Wow, you must be busy,” Akari said.

 

“I am but it is a lot of fun. You should join one of them that way we can hang out together,” Takahashi encouraged.

 

“I don't know if I will have the time,” Akari said slowly, not wanting to offend her new friend. “They assign a lot more homework than I am used to. I don't know if there are enough hours in the day to do it all.”

 

The brown-haired girl nodded vigorously. “Tell me about it!”

 

Akari glanced down at her wristwatch and sighed. She only had about twenty minutes left. She gave Takahashi an apologetic glance, while packing up her empty bento box and chopsticks. “I'm sorry. But I want to go check the other classes to see if I can find a few of my former schoolmates.”

 

The other girl nodded. “That's fine with me. I'm going to try to work on a story for the Journalism club anyway. Make sure you are back on time though. You don't want to miss the introduction to the next class.”

 

“I won't. It was a pleasure meeting you!” she called as she ran out the door.

 

Takahashi nodded and waved at her before turning her attention back to her food.

 

Akari made her way through the corridor searching for Mitani and Kaneko. Her first few stops didn't come up with anything. She turned to walk down the hall to the next classroom, when a familiar voice stopped her.

 

“Oi, Akari. There you are, we've been looking all over for you.”

 

She turned to see Mitani and Kaneko walking together. She giggled and bounced up and down. “Mitani-kun, Kaneko-chan! It's great to see you guys!”

 

“It's good to see you too, Fujisaki-chan,” Kaneko said with a smile spread across her wide face.

 

“What class are you guys in?” Akari asked curiously.

 

“We're both in 1-E,” Kaneko answered, pointing at Mitani and herself.

 

“Lucky! I'm in 1-B. I don't know anyone there. Although one girl seems pretty nice,” she elaborated. She glanced at her wristwatch and winced; she only had five minutes before the next class started, but she really wanted to stay and catch up with her friends. At the same time, she also remembered Takahashi's words that she didn't want to be late for the next period. She caught her lower lip between her teeth trying to decide what to do.

 

Mitani caught her glance and her worried expression. “You can go, Akari-san. Our classroom is right there,” he said in a quiet voice.

 

Relief flowed through her at his words. “Thanks, Mitani-kun. Kaneko-chan. I'll see you after school at the Go club,” she said cheerfully, turning to run back to class.

 

“I'm not joining the club here,” Kaneko said quietly from behind her.

 

Akari stopped and faced the other girl slowly.

 

Kaneko looked uncomfortable, her hands fiddling with the buttons on her blazer.

 

“Why not?” Akari asked in disbelief.

 

Kaneko kept her gaze downcast as she answered. “I'm one of the class reps.”

“But that's wonderful!” Akari cried even more confused than before.

 

“It is,” she agreed with a nod. “But it also means that I have a lot more responsibility. I have to be on the festival committee as well as the school planning committee now. It's mandatory for all class reps. And I still want to join the volleyball club.”

 

“You don't have the time,” Akari said with a heavy feeling in her heart.

 

Kaneko shook her head. “No, I don't.”

 

Taking in her friend's, dejected posture she knew that Kaneko was torn. It was an honor to have scores high enough to qualify as the classroom rep. But she knew that the shy, overweight girl loved the interaction and acceptance that she found playing Go. Akari reached over and gave Kaneko's hand a quick squeeze. “I understand.”

 

The other girl returned the squeeze. “I knew you would, but I still feel bad.”

 

“Don't,” Akari said, swallowing her disappointment. “This is important to you. And we'll still be friends. Just make sure to tell me when your games are so I can come cheer you on!” Akari could see the tension flowing out of Kaneko's body and she sighed.

 

“Thank you, Fujisaki,” Kaneko whispered. Underneath her hard exterior, the girl was really very sensitive.

 

“You'd better get back to class,” Mitani interjected starling both of the girls.

 

She looked at her watch again. “Eeep! I have to run. See you later!” she called taking off at a run.

 

From behind her, she could hear Mitani and Kaneko's goodbyes, even though she couldn't make out the words through the din of the hallway.

 

She skidded to a stop in front of the door to 1-b, trying to catch her breath. Sliding the door open, she gawked at the teacher within.

 

The woman had short, bright red hair and pixie glasses. But the most startling thing about her was the fact that she was obviously not Japanese. Akari stared at the woman who had turned toward her. The woman smiled at Akari's befuddled expression and gave her a quick wink. Chagrined, Akari sketched a hasty bow and walked to her desk.

 

Overhead, the clock tower chimed signaling that lunch was now over.

 

“Hello, class!” the woman said in English. “I am Caitlin Evans and I will be your English teacher this year. You can call me Cait-sensei.” She then repeated her introduction again in Japanese. “Before we get started, I thought that it would be good to get to know each other. You can ask me a question, in English, and I will answer your question in either English or Japanese. My choice. And when you ask your question, tell me your name. Okay, who's going to be first?”

 

All of the boys hands shot up. She pointed at one. “Honda Tetsuo, Cait-sensei. Do-do -uh - you - havu - a - boyofurendo?” he stuttered out.

 

“A bit forward, Mr. Honda. The answer is - that is classified information,” she answered in English.

 

The rest of the questions and answers tended to fall into two categories. Personal - which Cait deflected in English. Or general - which she answered in both Japanese and English. Akari was amused by how the teacher forced them to use their English in order to find out what they wanted to know. All too soon, Cait-sensei, she didn't like being called Roberts-sensei, gathered up her things and moved onto the next classroom.

 

The rest of the day flew by as they finished up with mathematics and physical education. Then the class met once more for homeroom to finish up the day's business. The class reps drew lots to decide which row of students would clean up the classroom that week and Akari blew a sigh of relief that her row's week was going to be week two and not week one. She didn't want to miss out on the first meeting of the Go Club because she had to do classroom chores.

 

Grabbing her bag, she flew up the stairs to the fourth floor. The announcement this morning had said that the room would be clearly labeled, but she wasn't quite sure how. Starting at the end of the hallway, she walked down the corridor looking up to see if the room was had a sign or some other kind of marker. She got about halfway down the hall when she heard the distinctive sound of go stones being placed on the board.

 

When she got to the door, she saw a poster with clipart representations of a Go and Shogi board on it. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the door frame. She hoped that there were some strong players and that by joining the club she could further her dreams of becoming a professional Go player.

 

oOo

 

Author's Note:

 

Here is the first part of the original chapter two. Again this was too long in the original chaptering, so I am breaking it up and fleshing things out that I didn't bother to do the first time around.

 

Betareaders, Editors, and Contributors: Panasonic Princess, Troy Thomas, Broken Visage and My Mom.

 

Vocabulary/Terminology:

Shogi - The Japanese equivalent of Chess.

 

FAQ:

Q: Is Mitaka a real school and why didn't you use Haze as a school?

A: Mitaka is a real school in Japan and the uniforms are as I described in this fic. However as of 2005 they have eschewed uniforms and allow students to wear whatever they want within some reason.

 

Q: What is the big deal about class reps?

A: Unlike in American schools where teachers have classrooms and the students move from class to class, in Japan the teachers move from class to class with the exception of Chemistry, Physical Education, Art, and Music classes. The class reps' responsibilities include gathering homework for absent students and making sure it gets home to them, enforcing school policies, planning for the school festival, setting up a cleaning schedule, and other duties. Class reps are typically chosen based on who has the highest test scores.

 

Q: Is Cait-sensei you?

A: No. She is based primarily two of my friends. Both were teachers in Japan. One still lives and works there.

 

Q: What are these classroom duties that you mention?

A: In Japan, the students are responsible for keeping the classroom neat and tidy. They clean the blackboards and whiteboards, take out the trash, stack the desks, and clean the floors. There is a janitor who cleans the main and common areas of the building. But the students have to take care of their classroom. It is a source of pride for them as well as a way to teach humility, cooperation, and respect.

 

Q: What is the word count of this chapter?

A: Not counting Author's notes - 2,820 words.

 

Q: What is a bento?

A: A bento is a box/container that the Japanese hold their lunches in. It is common for them to include rice, pickled vegetables, sweet egg omelets, hamburger, and other things. When kids are younger, bento boxes are packed by kids moms and it is a competition as to which mother can create the cutest and tastiest lunches. As kids grow, they start making their own lunches. Boys typically buy their lunches whereas girls make theirs. Some mothers still make their kids lunches but not as frequently.

 

Any other questions? Feel free to ask.

 

Reviews and concrit are welcomed and encouraged.