Nineteen -
Hikaru no Go, Akira
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"Ah. Thank you." Akira dug his fingers into his knees and stared blindly down at the goban, making no move to clear away his black stones.

Touya-meijin picked the last few white stones out of the pattern on the goban and dropped them into the bowl. "What is it, Akira?"

Akira closed his eyes and swallowed. "Father, I would..." He trailed off, then squeezed his eyes tightly shut and dipped his head. "Please, I would like to play an even match."

"An even match?" Touya-meijin echoed, tucking his hands into his sleeves and studying Akira's face. "If that's what you want."

"Yes. Yes, I..." Akira looked up. "Sometimes when I play I find myself relying on those two stones. You'll eat away at my territory and I'll think 'At least I have those two stones. I may still be able to come out ahead.'" Belatedly he began to clear the black stones from the goban, sweeping his hand slowly over the board. "It's making me weak. It's weakening my go."

Touya-meijin said nothing.

"I need to kick that crutch out from underneath myself," Akira said, putting the cover on the bowl of black stones and putting them on the goban. "I may still lose to you, but when I have nothing to fall back on--"

"--you'll be forced to throw everything you have into the game?" his father finished for him, and Akira glanced up at his father from under his bangs and nodded. Touya-meijin watched his son's face for a moment and then almost, almost smiled. "Very well." He placed the bowl of white stones on the board and picked up the black ones, settling them into their spot by his knee as Akira did the same with the white stones. Inclining his head, he said, "Please."

Akira caught his breath, and then bowed to his father. "Please." His fingers were trembling, just a bit, but when he dug them into the stones, they stopped.

Touya-meijin plucked a black stone from his bowl and held it close to his chest, considering the goban. "I'm proud of you, Akira," he said quietly, and even as Akira's head jerked up in shock the faint smile fell off Touya-meijin's face, and his first stone slammed into the lower right star.