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The bustle of the study group going home for the night was more energized than usual, Hikaru couldn't help noticing, with all the seasoned pros patting the three students on the shoulders and telling them to do their best tomorrow when the Pro Exams held their first round. Hikaru didn't like to think about how they talked about "carrying the name of the Shindou study group to glory", although Waya and Isumi told him to stop complaining since they had to set it apart from the other study groups somehow. It was embarrassing, was all. He was just 34! It wasn't like he was one of the old geezers who got things named after them yet. As far as he was concerned, he just happened to have a day every week when his friends came over to talk about Go!
Well, his friends, their students, and his own student, who was right now getting her pigtails pulled by Waya while she cleaned up stones from the discussion.
"And don't let anybody from Touya's study group show you up in the Pro Exams, Kondou! They're our rivals! Remember that!"
"I'll play seriously. You can count on it, Waya-sensei."
"That's my girl!" the other pro chuckled, backing towards the door. "You'll do us all proud, I know!"
Hikaru remembered what she might be feeling from when he'd been Sayuri-chan's age, how nervous he'd been about taking the next step into the Go world, wondering if he'd be able to play the way he wanted to, pushed against a wall by illness and defeat. It was too much to ask of a middle schooler, he thought whenever he looked at the bright-eyed children lining up in the halls of the Go Institute to put themselves to the test. But he hadn't felt that way when he did it. And he kept catching himself thinking, Sayuri-chan will breeze right through, no sweat! No one could possibly beat her.
Okay, maybe he'd turned into a little bit of a proud uncle type of teacher. He'd always sworn he'd stay objective about any student he had, but there had always been something about the way Sayuri-chan smiled over the chance to play, then turned into a sharpened sword when laying down stones, that made Hikaru believe she was born to be a pro. He had to remind himself before he talked to her, every single time, that this was a real exam, a real challenge for her to face, and not just some formality before she claimed a place among the professionals battling for the top ranks. And he had to remind himself, every single time, that it wasn't appropriate to ask Touya if he'd please, please, please play the New Pro match against her when she made it.
There'd be plenty of time for that.
Right now, Hikaru reminded himself that she was a fourteen year old girl with her own ways of playing Go, and she was going into the Pro Exam to play for herself, and not for him. No matter how much her expressions could remind him of Sai, no matter how much of that atmosphere that had grabbed his attention still clung to her -- the way she narrowed her eyes when she struck a decisive move on the board, the way she glowed over the littlest things and never seemed able to get tired of Go, the way she could sigh and turn closed eyes up to the ceiling in peaceful satisfaction after a game well played -- she was someone else. The patterns of play she'd grown into over the years were distinct enough that he could never mistake them for his old teacher's. Brilliant, and that wasn't just his inner proud uncle speaking, but her brilliance was her own, and he couldn't wait to see what she did with it.
It was her turn to be the future.
"Thanks for cleaning up, Sayuri-chan," he said as he sat at the other side of the board.
"No, no! Thank you, Shin--" She bit back a smile, realizing that all the geezers who liked formality were gone. "Hikaru-sensei. Tonight was really informative. I'll keep it in mind during tomorrow's match."
"You just worry about keeping your mind on the game you're playing. Don't worry about me, or what any of these jerks say. You play Go you can be proud of, all right?"
With a nod, and her steel-eyed game face, she answered, "Yes, sir!"
They really did have the same eyes, though. He hoped Sai would be watching while the girl who had his eyes took the Go world by storm. It would've made him happy.
"Just one thing before you go home." He pulled out a paper fan and held it out across the goban. "This is for you. Call it a good luck charm. Or a tradition, or something."
She didn't reach out at first. Sayuri-chan gasped, "Hikaru-sensei, but your fan...!"
"What? No! I've got my own fan over here. I picked this one up for you at the shop this afternoon. Go on, take it!"
Her hand shaking just a little, she grasped the wooden handle and managed to smile despite looking like she might just cry. "Thank you, Hikaru-sensei."
Yeah, she was going to do just fine. For the first time in a while, he wanted to look behind him and see the face he hadn't seen in so long, and say, "Look, Sai. People are still going to play Go in another thousand years. Just watch!" But like always, Sai wasn't stuck behind him anymore. He was waiting across the board.
Image Description: Hikaru hands Sayuri a fan over a goban, with the shape of Sai's face in the background.