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Once upon a time, in the beginning of a certain summer a long time ago, Akira Touya was asked to help his cousin out with the prestigious uptown ice cream shop that he ran. Now, Touya did not have any particular feelings about ice cream. Out of all the things that he could be doing on a given day, working at an ice cream shop was fairly low on the list. Still, he agreed to help out because it was a favor to a family member, and they had only asked him to take on two shifts every week. Touya showed up in uniform on his first day, and began to learn the job.
He was a fast learner. Even though he had never held a part-time job before, Touya knew how to speak politely to the customers, and knew how to perform the various tasks at the shop both neatly and efficiently. It wasn’t long before he had become fairly popular among the female customers who visited from the local high school. Touya, naturally, treated all of his customers equally, male or female. At the end of his workday, it was always a relief to come home and play a game of Go against his father before bed. Although he did not dislike the job, he was looking forward to the end of summer when he could return to his normal life.
One day in late June, a young man came in and ordered an ice cream cone. He was short and casually dressed. Normally, Touya would not have given him a second thought, but for some reason the young man stared at Touya with a remarkable intensity. Touya was certain that he had never met this person before, so he could not understand why the young man’s eyes followed him the entire time that Touya prepared the ice cream. When Touya handed over the ice cream, the young man paid and left the shop without saying anything else.
He came back again during next Touya’s next shift. Touya served the other customers in line, and glanced at the young man who made no move to order, but instead hung in the back of the store staring. When the shop was empty of all other customers, Touya called out to him.
“Are you going to order anything?”
“No,” said the young man. “I’m good.”
Touya was not sure how to respond to this. Just as he was about to ask this strange customer if he needed anything, the young man walked up to the counter and looked Touya in the eyes.
“My name’s Hikaru Shindou. Remember it!” he said.
Touya nodded confusedly, and watched the young man leave the store. That evening, when he returned home and opened his computer, he opened the Nihon Ki-in’s homepage and typed the name “Shindou” into the search bar. Just as he had guessed, Shindou was a Go player. He had thought that the name had sounded familiar at the time, and now he remembered that Ichikawa-san had spoken of him several months earlier at his father’s Go salon.
“He’s only a shodan, but they say that he started learning Go only very recently!” Ichikawa-san had said conspiratorially. “Don’t you think he could be a good rival for you, Akira-kun?”
“That’s all right,” Touya had said. “I have to focus on all the players who are waiting for me in the upper dans before worrying about someone who’s still a shodan.” He had long ago dismissed the hope of gaining a rival his own age, and preferred not to think of it, even though Ichikawa-san still brought up the prospect from time to time.
Now as he looked at the computer screen, Touya had to admit to himself that Shindou’s playing record was intriguing. Who was this boy, and how had he learned Go so quickly?
. . .
Shindou came to the shop again the next week. Similarly to the last time, he hung at the back while the other customers came and left. His eyes never left Touya as he worked. After nearly twenty minutes of this, Touya called out to him.
“Shindou-san, if you aren’t going to order anything, won’t you at least try a sample?”
“Okay,” Shindou said. He approached the counter. “How many can I try?”
Touya shrugged.
“Can I try the strawberry raspberry?”
Touya prepared Shindou a sample spoon, which Shindou put in his mouth thoughtfully. “Mm! That’s good.”
“Would you like a scoop of it?”
“Can I try the coffee flavor too?”
“Of course.”
Over the course of several minutes, Shindou tried nearly all the flavors with the exception of rum raisin and black sesame.
Losing some of his patience, Touya leaned over the counter. “Have you decided on what you’d like?”
Shindou grinned. “Can I come back again next week for more samples?”
“Of course not!” Touya snapped. Realizing that this was not an appropriate tone to use with a customer, he amended his demeanor and tried again. “You play Go, don’t you?” he asked.
As though a switch had been flipped, Shindou suddenly became animated. “Yeah! Do you wanna play a match?”
Touya blinked, slightly taken aback. “Well, er… we’re both professionals, so in any case we’re bound to have an official match sooner or later…”
“Yeah, but I wanna play against you now!” Shindou said.
“I’m working now,” Touya pointed out.
“Fine, then after work sometime. You can do that, right?”
Touya said that he had no problem with the arrangement, and before he knew it, they had planned a time and date to meet. Touya watched Shindou leave the store, feeling excited and slightly confused.
. . .
Fifteen minutes before the appointment, Touya was waiting for Shindou at the designated spot. Although it was difficult to admit it to himself, Touya was aware that his expectations for the match were high. He had done more research on the internet prior to the day of their meeting. He had even asked Ashiwara-san if he knew anything about Shindou’s playing record, but the only information that he could gather anywhere was that Shindou was a skilled player whose meteoric rise had attracted the attention of several prominent players. Touya could not wait to see Shindou’s skill level for himself. Ichikawa-san’s words echoed in the back of his head, but he shook them away. It was too early to entertain hopes of rivalry.
Just as Touya was looking at his wristwatch to see how many minutes were left before three o’clock, he was approached by a young woman wearing a fashionably long floral dress.
“Touya-san! What are you doing here?”
It was Nakai-san, a coworker from the ice cream shop. Touya had spoken with her only briefly while working at the shop, but she was pleasant enough to work with. Thinking in the back of his mind that he would very much like for Shindou to arrive soon, Touya chatted with Nakai-san for several minutes. The conversation dragged on. When Touya hazarded a glance at his wristwatch again, he saw that it was already five minutes past three p.m. Apologizing to Nakai-san, Touya explained that he was waiting for someone to show up, and Nakai-san apologized as well for taking up his time. But even after she had left, Shindou did not arrive. After thirty minutes of waiting, Touya gave up and went home. He had not exchanged phone numbers with Shindou, and had no way to contact him. As he walked home, it was difficult for him to bear the sense of disappointment pooling in his heart.
The following Wednesday, he was overcome by a capricious urge to call in sick. Such whims were unlike him, and Touya reprimanded himself for his childishness. He knew that the only reason he did not want to go to work was that he did not want to see Shindou there. At the same time, the thought of arriving to work and not seeing Shindou there was just as unbearable. The only thing to do was to go there and face the situation, no matter how unpleasant it might be.
. . .
Within the last hour of Touya’s shift, Shindou arrived at the store. Touya’s anger was immediately calmed when he saw the apologetic look on Shindou’s face.
“I’m really sorry,” Shindou said as he came up to the counter. “I didn’t mean to leave you waiting like that. I had something come up suddenly and I couldn’t make it. I’m really, really sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Touya said. He intuitively sensed that Shindou was lying about the “something coming up”, but this suspicion was overwhelmed by a sense of excitement. They could play against each other now. There was still a chance!
Shindou seemed to be thinking the same thing. “If you want… could we play a match after you get off work today?” He held up a canvas bag. “I have a portable Go board with me.”
Touya would have laughed at Shindou’s enthusiasm, but in truth, he was overjoyed that they would be able to play so soon.
“Perfect,” he said. “We can play here after my shift.”
So it was decided. Shindou waited patiently at the back until Touya had closed up the shop, and when everything was in order, they sat down for their first game.
“An even match,” Shindou said, looking Touya in the eyes.
“Good. An even match,” Touya agreed.
As the game unfolded, Touya felt a building sense of wonder and excitement. He had never played someone like this before. Shindou’s style was unique and surprising. It demanded his full attention, and required him to think in ways he usually didn’t. After finishing the match, Touya realized that he had been so engrossed in the game he had completely lost track of time. What he had meant to be a casual game had absorbed him completely.
Apologizing for taking so much of Shindou’s time, Touya could not help noticing that Hikaru too was beaming. He had lost the match, but seemed if anything even more enthusiastic than Touya himself was.
“Let’s play again,” he said, and Touya agreed readily.
They began to play a game after every one of Touya’s shifts. When Touya bashfully admitted the arrangement to his cousin who owned the shop, the cousin only laughed and said that he was impressed Touya had managed to find a way to incorporate Go into such an unrelated job.
Touya, for his part, began to look forward to each workday with a fervor he had never before experienced. Shindou’s playing style was so fresh and invigorating, it was often all he could think of throughout his shift.
. . .
One day, as Touya closed up with Nakai-san, he noticed that Shindou appeared to be sulking in the corner.
“Touya-san, you’re getting distracted, aren’t you?” Nakai-san said teasingly. “You must be thinking of your Go match, right?”
“Ah—” Touya said. “No. I mean, I’m sorry. I should focus on my work.”
“Don’t worry!” Nakai-san said. “You’re always so diligent. I really like that about you, Touya-san.”
Unsure what to say, Touya nodded and rolled up his sleeves further to wipe down the counters. When he had finished the rest of his closing duties, he bid Nakai-san a good evening and approached Shindou.
“Are you ready to play?” he asked.
“You know she’s flirting with you, right?” Shindou replied sullenly.
Surprised by the suddenness of this assertion, Touya furrowed his brow. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said.
Shindou laughed quietly. “You don’t know how to flirt?” he said. “It’s easy. Like this.”
He took Touya’s hand. “Your fingers are really pretty. Your hair too. You’re like a model or something.”
Embarrassed by Shindou’s touch, Touya withdrew his hand. “And what do you hope to gain by saying that sort of thing?” he asked.
“If it goes well then the other person will say something back to you.”
“And then?”
“I don’t know, and then you start dating or something! Anyway, let’s play.”
They played several games that night to prepare for their first official match, which was scheduled for next week. When Touya arrived home, he considered what Shindou had said. Why had he brought up the flirting? Until that point the two of them had discussed nothing but Go. It occurred to Touya that Shindou was perhaps trying to encourage him to flirt back with Nakai-san, but Touya had no interest in her. Although he puzzled over this conversation many times, he could not find an answer.
. . .
It was soon the day of the official match. When Touya entered the restroom to wash his hands, he was surprised to see Shindou standing in front of the sink, visibly nervous. He walked up to him, and was further surprised when Shindou avoided his gaze.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so nervous?”
Shindou swallowed. “It’s our first match…” he said.
“But we’ve been playing every week for two months.”
“Yeah, but this time it’s official!” Shindou retorted. Touya could not understand Shindou’s agitation.
“Getting nervous won’t help you. I want you to play your best Go,” he said. “Just like you always do.”
“Yeah, but I can’t relax like this!”
“Like what?”
“You look r-really good in a suit,” Shindou stammered.
Touya hesitated a moment. “You look good too,” he said.
“There’s no way I look good.”
“Your hair looks nice.”
“Are you kidding? I look terrible.”
“You look like a model,” Touya said. This time, the words seemed to sink in.
“Uh… Touya? Are you flirting with me?” Shindou asked.
“Yes,” Touya replied.
“WHAT!?”
Not wanting to explain himself further, Touya pressed a quick kiss to Shindou’s lips, then looked at his watch. “I’ll see you in four minutes,” he said.
“THAT’S ILLEGAL!” Shindou shouted from the bathroom. Doing his very best to maintain his own composure, Touya walked to the room and sat down to await their match.
. . .
The following day, Shindou and Touya lay side by side underneath Shindou’s covers, discussing their first official match.
“You turned into a demon halfway through,” Shindou was saying.
“That’s only because you pushed so insistently.”
“Even though the beginning of the match started out so nicely… I would’ve liked to close the gap a little bit more at least!”
“Next time,” Touya said, and leaned in to kiss Shindou again. Running his hands through Shindou’s hair, he wondered how in the world he had been so lucky to find him. Shindou laughed at Touya’s gentle touch, and nipped at his earlobe as though taking revenge.
“Shindou,” Touya said, “Why is it that you never showed up to our first meeting? I waited for you for half an hour.”
Rolling onto his side languidly, Shindou gave a guilty smile. “I saw you talking to Nakai-san, and realized I was jealous of you. When I thought that the two of you were dating, I completely lost my nerve. I felt so self conscious, I didn’t even want to look you in the eye.”
Touya looked at Shindou seriously. “I can’t relate to that,” he said. “I have never felt self-conscious around you.”
“Oh really? How come?”
“Maybe because you’re an idiot.”
“Oi!”
This time it was Shindou who pressed a kiss to Touya’s lips. “Jeez,” he said. “You always act so high and mighty. Even though you’ve never dated anyone before me and you didn’t know the first thing about flirting.”
“Well,” Touya said, leaning on one elbow, “If you’re such an expert on relationships, why don’t you tell me what two men usually do when they’re dating.”
“Hmm, I think usually they hang out… and have sex… and go on dates… and then they probably play lots and lots of Go,” Shindou said, smiling playfully.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I think that’s what normal guys do when they date each other.”
“Then would you like to play a match now?” Touya asked.
“You bet I would!”