[Kisung]

[answer_key]

Confrontation on Bamboo Island

0. Prologue

"Please have a seat, Shindou-san."

Sounds of seats being taken.

"Whenever you are ready, Shindou-san."

"... Uh, so where do I start?"

"Start at the beginning."

"My beginning?"

"If you like."

"... But what how much should I tell them?"

"Think of the folks who will hear this as people who have just arrived from their faraway home, say, on Mars. In a way that's exactly what they will be."

"Mars? That's kinda cool. ... So I should maybe talk a little about the things that are going on in Japan right now? Should I tell them about the Uneasy Peace, stuff like that?"

"You can. They should already know the general history of these times. They will know about the Japanese-Dutch Alliance. And they will know about the ongoing tensions between Imperial Japan, the Kingdom of Korea and Soviet China."

"Okay, cool."

"Ready to start?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm afraid it's gonna be a long day; there's a lot to tell..."

"It will be no problem; arrangements have been made for refreshments at three hour intervals."

"Okay, great. ... Uh, and I've understood correctly that I can speak freely, even about all the super secret stuff?"

"Yes. Even subjects covered by the Official Secrets Act; that is the whole point of this project."

"Okay. Then I'm ready."

"Good. Just relax and start talking. Don't worry if you digress from the subject somewhat; it's all interesting to the project, but do try to come back."

"Gotcha."

"Starting official recording, this day, Atsuko 47, fifth day of the fifth month. A.k.a. May 5th 2011, Edo, Japan. Shindou-san, douzo."

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

1.

Hi! I'm Shindou Hikaru. I live in Edo, the largest city in Japan, and the seat of the Shogun and Shogunate is here too, making it our capital city. Not that I have much to do with the day to day workings of government; I was born here in the year 24 of Empress Atsuko's reign, better known internationally as the year 1989. When I had just turned 15 I officially became a spy.

'Spy,' yes, you heard me right. Oh, don't think it's as glamorous as they make it out in the novels, but on the other hand, it's a very important job. Especially considering the tensions between the Three Great Asian Nations.

You know, I read a spy novel once. It was set in Northern Europe,Moldova I think, and in it they had a situation going that very much resembled our Uneasy Peace. They called it 'the Cold War'. I like that phrase. It's very appropriate for our conflict here and the way we give each other the cold shoulder.

Anyway, I understand you are here to learn how I became a spy and what happened at the tournament.

To explain how I became a spy, I have to go back some years to when I was 12 when, like every kid in Japan, I had to go through Evaluation. They would sort the easily place-able kids first at age 11, and of course I ended being harder to place. My best friend Akari was sorted by Master Shinouda, who had her tested for ballet school. Akari and I were very surprised that she scored very well, and was accepted straight away.

That she liked ballet was no surprise to me; I remember quite well how our parents made us both go to ballet class when we were five, because they had read in one of those stupid women's mags that it would 'improve posture.' I was so glad to only have had to go to class the one year but Akari had taken two ballet classes a week ever since.

So Akari went to ballet school and I lost my best friend. I consoled myself by getting into trouble: I developed a liking for breaking things. However, my bad-boy phase didn't last very long because some months later it was my turn to get evaluated and I ended up under the tender mercies of that same Master Shinouda. Boy, is that guy tough!

Master S took none of my shit, and none of anybody else's either. And, I had to begrudgingly admit, he was good at what he did. He started off with 12 kids that needed evaluating for future careers and he placed five within three weeks. The rest of us he split up in groups of twos and threes and handled separately. I ended up paired with a sullen red headed kid called Mitani. And, hey, I'm not saying I had the cheeriest disposition at that time, but this kid would suck the joy out of a room just by entering it, geez!

I have to admit that Master S did his best for me. It wasn't his fault that the only things I was any good at were playing Dodge Ball and breaking things. Unfortunately there never was and never will be a professional sports league for Dodge Ball, however much I wished there was. So, after trying to place me and failing - Master S tried a bunch of sporty things, but it turned out I sucked at the more profitable sports - he started work on Mitani and I tagged along just as Mitani had while I was being assessed.

And that is how I ended up at the Edo Go Institute, one very rainy day. Turned out that the only thing that floated Mitani's boat - and only a little at that - was the old man's game of Go. And, blow me, it turned out that that was something one could actually have a real career in. Well, who knew?!

So I stood and watched this - to me - brand new phenomenon of serious looking folks, young and old, peering at a wooden board with crossed lines on it where, each one in turn, they placed black or white pill shaped markers on intersections of those lines and apparently took much import, satisfaction, frustration and what-not from. It was absolutely mesmerizing.

That very first time, I watched a boy a little older than me with wild red-brown hair wearing an army print T-shirt play a slightly older kid that was over-neatly dressed for his age. Once the scruffy kid had declared that he had lost, after only half the board was filled with black and white dots, both boys - having realized rather quickly that I knew absolutely zilch about the game - set me down and taught me the basics, saying that I was not allowed to stay indoors if I didn't know the bare minimum.

At first I felt a little bullied but then it turned out the rules of the game were not so bad and I really didn't fancy waiting out in the rain, so I let them teach me whatever they liked. Afterward I watched them play another game - this time the scruffy boy named Waya won - and I did feel I could follow some of what was going on on the board.

The second time Master S brought us to the Institute, I was very disappointed that Waya and Isumi, the neat boy Waya had played before,weren't there and that the only other game going on - except Mitani's test games, which didn't interest me much - was between a boy with a bob haircut wearing one of those sleeveless sweaters with a lozenge pattern on it in pink and purple - yuck! - and an adult wearing a suit and sunglasses indoors. The man was blowing thick smoke clouds from his cigarette. Just the type that rubs me the wrong way.

But there really wasn't anything else going on so I went over and managed to catch the game within the first move. For all their eye watering looks, their play was interesting enough. Well, at least what I could follow of it, anyway.

The game was progressing nicely - it looked like ciggy-man was pushing sleeveless-boy off the board quite effectively - when there was a sudden crash from the other side of the room and ciggy-man was apparently so startled by the sound that he shot out of his seat, sweeping out an arm and upending the board and the stones, sending them flying.

As it turned out, a young girl bringing in the tea had tripped and dropped her tray, but if you looked the suit-man in his eyes - which I did - you'd have seen a look that I hadn't seen outside a thriller-action movie: a mixture of extreme fright, wired tension and down right anger.

"Ogata-sensei, calm down, nothing happened," bob-cut boy said soothingly, sitting forward in his chair. Suit-man - Ogata - gave him a long grave look before straightening his vest and suit jacket and retaking his seat, almost nonchalantly. Bob-boy then gave me a pointed look before getting out of his chair and onto his knees on the floor where he started gathering up the spilled stones. I joined to help him almost automatically. God, I hate peer pressure.

Once we'd gathered all the stones, Ogata-sensei started bemoaning the fact that they hadn't been able to finish the game. And that's when I said - and subsequently did - the thing that changed my life: I told them I could recreate the game.

I had been observing the game practically from the start, and while I didn't understand the significance of many of the moves made, I felt confident I could put them back on the board in order of play. I could tell from the look in Ogata's eye that he wasn't believing me, so I - yes, open mouth, insert foot - insisted that I could do it too. Predictably, Ogata called my 'bluff' and so I set out to prove it.

Putting back the game was more difficult than I had imagined but I was determined to do it; I wasn't about to lose face to a guy like Ogata! And after an awkward moment where I realized I had missed a move and had to take about six stones off the board to try again, I did manage to complete the game up to the point where the mishap happened. I remember looking up in unsure triumph and being delighted to see astonishment on the guy's face; I knew I'd got it right.

I'm pretty sure Ogata was about to speak when another commotion interrupted him; angry shouting could be heard from the end of the room where Master S and Mitani had been all afternoon. Then everything happened really fast and some few moments later the three of us were standing outside the front door of the Institute where Master S was holding Mitani by his upper arms and giving him a harsh talking to.

I had never seen Master S that mad before and I had to extrapolate from his uncharacteristically disjointed speech what had actually happened. Turned out Mitani had cheated. And obviously that was about the biggest no-no in Go playing. I didn't realize how horrible what Mitani had done was at the time, but I did realize that if playing Go was important enough that people could get paid for it then cheating could not be tolerated.

As Master S's rant was slowing down, I also realized that Mitani's testing would not be continued; he'd been kicked out for cheating, forbidden to come back. My heart gave a sudden lurch at the news. Not for Mitani's sake, I assure you, it was his own fault for botching his chances. But now Master S would have no reason to come to the Institute again and that meant I would not be coming again and I wouldn't be able to watch people play Go anymore. And just when I was starting to dig the game a bit too!

So imagine my surprise when the next Wednesday I found myself at the Institute again, with Master S and without Mitani. Turned out they wanted to test me. I think it was because I rebuilt that game; really can't have been anything else, 'cause that's the only thing I had done there, except just stand around and watch. They did ask me if I could recreate the game again, but with a week having passed I wasn't so sure. I did try and got a fair ways. I had the impression that the man - who turned out to be bob-boy's dad, Master Touya - who tested me was not unhappy with what I managed to produce, but even so I only could remember up to two thirds of the game, and I was sure that that was not really enough.

But apparently my efforts weren't totally bogus because it was recommended that I come and study Go for six months, every Wednesday afternoon and all of Saturday - which really sucked, because I had soccer practice on Saturdays - and after that they'd 're-evaluate.' At the time I had no clue what that meant, but I was not unhappy to learn more about the game and six months, while long, would not be forever and then I'd get to play soccer again.

Boy, was I wrong.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The upside was that Waya and Isumi were also in the kids' Go study class, even though they were in the A group and I was put in the B group. B for Bad. And boy was I bad! The kids with the absolutely lowest win scores in that class knew 10.000 times more about Go than I did! It was down right embarrassing to be taught the standard moves by a six year old girl! Even if Nanako was rather sweet about it.

It all went a little better after I had attached myself to the only familiar faces there - Waya and Isumi - at lunch on that first Saturday, because they would pump me full of game play strategies, until I felt my head would explode. But I was determined to be better - or at least more knowledgeable – than a girl of six as soon as (in)humanly possible. My pride demanded no less!

Indeed I got better, and quite fast if I can believe what Master S and Master T were saying. Both Masters were the no-nonsense type, so I felt safe believing them. My win scores also showed progress; I actually won a game once in a while.

By the time the six months were up, I had already guessed - correctly - that I'd be staying on for another six. I hadn't guessed what Master T had to say about it but now he told me I was well on the way to becoming a Go Pro. I can't tell you how that made me feel; I'd never thought I'd amount to anything significant in life, and after six months in the program I had become well aware how hard it was to go Pro, and to be told I had a chance at it! Well, wow!

Of course being on the right path did mean I had a ways to go before I could qualify for the Grand Test. And I spent another six months playing Go at the Institute until I was first moved up to A group , where I spent another year. Then I went on to the intensive track, where Waya, Isumi, and my new friends Nase and Fuku, also were playing and where I had to come to the Institute on Friday afternoons too, for the tests everybody in the intensive track were taking. Some were Go tests, some school tests, some general knowledge tests. I guessed the Institute wanted Pros who knew more than just Go. And I wanted to be a Go Pro enough to start looking into the subjects the tests had been about and so, maybe, hopefully, do better on the next one.

I'm self-aware enough to say I did well at Go; I even started to provide interesting games for the real eggheads of the Institute like Ogata and Touya Akira - the bob-headed boy from my second visit. There was something odd about those two - apart from their manor and style of dress - that set them apart from the students and even the other Pros. For one thing, they would be absent from the Institute for some days at a time, but games would still be scheduled for them and results from these games - and the game records - would be logged just like any other game. Of course Touya, Ogata and Master T were all certified Pros. Touya had been a Pro since he was 8; I know, 'cause I checked. And yes the kid is good, but he's my age exactly and I felt like a dunce next to him. It was infuriating!

So I worked hard to level up to be more than a minor diversion to Touya and Ogata, though I have to say, both always played me seriously, especially at the beginning when I really sucked buckets. Still, I wanted to be as good as they were. I wanted to be a 'Pro' too.

I really looked up to the Pro players I knew. And I tried to respect all of them but whenever I had to play Tsubaki Pro.... well he made it really hard. He, and a bunch of others, all Pros, were the most dreadful players I've ever seen. But they were all still Pros; I just couldn't understand why they had been certified! At least then I couldn't, now I know better, and I'm grateful that they are Pros after all.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

In the 39th year of Empress Atsuko's reign (2004 international date), I was to become 15 in the 9th month, and apparently that meant I was up for evaluation for the Pro Test. Waya and Isumi had done the Test earlier: Waya the year before and Isumi another year before that. Both had passed, but neither would tell me anything about what is was like.

Also their activities didn't change much; Waya still played in the student classes, now as an assistant teacher, and Isumi would also show up, all be it less frequently than Waya. And there were the Pro Games of course, where Pro players played other Pro players and leveled up by winning much like we did in the student classes. Being a Pro meant that you could - in fact had to - take part in the Pro Games and were allowed entry to the game rooms at all times, so you could just watch, too. I was always looking forward to that part, as I had never lost my enthusiasm for watching great games being played.

So when my time came I was eager to take the Test. But I found it wasn't anything like I had expected...

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

2.

As I entered the Test room, I was taken aback as to the amount of people there. I had counted on two or three but here were seven: two I didn't know at all, and five that I did. I had not expected Touya and Isumi, but I wasn't surprised to see Master T there. I recognized Ogata of course and I recalled the name of the last person there that I did know; Master Hagiwara, whom I had played only a few times over the past four years. He was good at Go, which was reflected in his status as a level 9 Pro player. He hadn't been very good at or interested in post-game analysis though, which was probably why he hardly ever played students. The two unknown men had serious faces. At the time I assumed they were some Pros I hadn't met yet; there were Go Pros all around Japan and it stood to reason not all would necessarily come to the Institute building in Edo in their careers.

All important games were held in traditional Japanese settings, on the floor, instead of the more usual style settings of tables and chairs. Master T sat on the traditional matting. Before him was a very nice old Goban with the closed Goke on top of it. He was dressed in his usual Japanese garb, but a little more formal looking version of it. Touya also wore a traditional outfit and he sat in seisa, like his dad, at Master T's side, as though he was there to assist. And maybe he was as some folders lay closed next to him, ready to be consulted if needed. The others sat on their knees in a row along the back wall, all wearing suits, even Isumi.

I was bid to sit down and Master T immediately started a game. He played black and I white, and no handicap was set, as it was to be an even game.

Not too surprisingly, I started losing straight away. Master T was the best living player in all of Japan, and possibly the world. He would have given the legendary player Shuusaku, who had lived at the end of the first Edo period just before the reforms, a run for his money had the man been alive today. So losing to Master T wasn't anything to be ashamed about.

But what was strange about the game was that Master T started talking to me, questioning me, persistently too, and that was not what I was used to in playing Go; usually it's played in silence. And the questions were quite weird - for asking over a game of Go, I mean. They were about how I felt about things in the world, like the Uneasy Peace and what I knew about the politics and the wars that had created it. About the fact that Japan had opened its borders over a century and a half ago and had taken in so many Dutch and British ideas and incorporated them into Japanese life from then on. About the treaty with Korea that had meant going to war with China in 1933. It had been a bloody war that ended in 1944 with the dropping of the first nuclear bomb in the sea just off the coast of China. The bomb had been a gift from the United British Colonies of (North) America to Japan, with a promise of more should it be needed. Just after the bomb, the Chinese leader Mao died and the new leader, Dao, stopped the war and closed the country. Later diplomatic relations were restored but then later again, something happened and all foreign diplomats were ejected or killed. Now Soviet China is a 100% closed country; no one in, no one out. And the border that China shares with the Kingdom of Korea is a minefield 10 kilometers wide. It's a wasteland with a river in the middle, terrible, I've seen the pictures.

And so the game continued and the questions continued. After history came politics - my idea of politics is simple: feed the people and don't make war. After that came my time at primary school and secondary school, then we talked about Dodge Ball and Go.

I lost the game and Master T set up another straight away. He continued with asking me what I would do in different hypothetical situations, like what would I do if I'd hit a cat with my bike on the way home or if I would jump in a cold river to rescue someone who was drowning. These were surprisingly hard questions, especially because I was also playing Go at the same time. I'd never thought about any of these things before; I guess I'm not much of a thinker.

I did my best to answers all questions honestly. Really I couldn't do anything else as I had no idea what they wanted to hear. After three games in as many hours, Master T declared me done - and my legs thanked him; any more and I would have needed a wheelchair - and sent me out of the room, with instructions not to stray too far off. Outside Waya greeted me, leaning against the hall wall with a can of soda ready to hand to me.

I suggested we take a stroll up and down the corridor so my legs could get their circulation back. As we walked I asked him if they'd ask that many questions at his test and he said they had. When asked what he'd been asked he told me not to ask so many questions. I felt more surprised than perturbed; Waya had always been tolerant of my – often admittedly stupid - questions. I couldn't fathom why he was so short with me this time. But then he added, "The test isn't over yet," and that - apart from generating more questions, which I decided not to ask - left me with a heightened sense of tension, in a good way; there was more.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Some ten minutes later I was called back in. This time I was asked to enter another room, one with Western style furniture. The two unknown men, Ogata, Master T and Master H were already there, and I passed Isumi and Touya on their way out of the room; I guessed their job was done. The door snicked shut behind me.

I stood for a moment just inside the door, wondering if and when we were going to sit down, as everybody remained standing. Then Master T seemed to grow taller - I swear, I don't know how he does that, but whenever he's really serious or really angry, he does that trick and everybody just shuts up and pays attention to him - and started speaking.

He told me he thought highly of my Go ability - and I nearly burst with pride - and that if I wanted to go Pro I'd be leveled at level 2 straight away.

Hold on, 'if?' Whatcha mean 'if!!!' Of course I wanted to go Pro; that was the point of all the studying, wasn't it? I think my, uhm, surprise was clearly visible in my face because Master T just smiled and told me all would be explained.

At that point both Master T and Master H moved from their spot towards the door and, by rote really, I started to follow. But Ogata called me back, and told me to stay. He also indicated I should sit down, which I did. He and the two still unknown gentlemen sat at the other side of the conference table. For a long moment we just eye-balled each other while Ogata drew a long draught of his cigarette and blew it out in a long gray cloud formation. I suppressed my cough.

Ogata stubbed out his finished cigarette in the ash tray theatrically, set forward in his chair and asked me point blank if I had heard of the Official Secrets Act. Keeping in mind that this could still be part of the test, even though Master T had pretty much told me I had passed, I answered truthfully, yes I did. The subject had actually come up in school, and yes, I do pay attention in class sometimes.

People could be asked to sign the Act, if they'd witnessed something that had to stay secret for the welfare of the nation. That's how I learned it, and that's how I repeated it to Ogata and the others.

"Yes," Ogata said, with the smug look he usually wore except when Master T kicked his ass all over the Goban. And then he added, "It's also used before secrets are revealed."

He moved even more forward and flipped open a folder that I hadn't noticed was on the table. Out of it he pulled a single sheet, turned it around and slid it towards me. It read 'Official Secrets Act' at the top and the first line read 'By order of her Imperial Highness Empress Atsuko and the Shogunate, and for the good of the state, you are hereby charged to keep whatever you see and hear, or otherwise come to know, as secret under penalty of High Treason.'

I had to swallow there. High Treason carried a death sentence, the only crime in Japan that did. What was so secret about playing Go that it needed this kinda safeguard?

That was what I asked next and Ogata - smug grin widening - said that all I had to do to find that out was to sign.

I took a moment to give it some serious thought. After all, I'm a bit of an anarchist at heart and this kinda thing just reeked of establishment. I asked Ogata if it was absolutely necessary and if it was really for the welfare of Japan. The fact that he lost his grin and took on that look he often gets when he would make his last stand in games against Master T, convinced me this wasn't a game. I asked him for a pen and signed without bothering to read the considerable small print. In for a penny, in for a pound.

After I handed back the signed Act - and all three gentlemen had inspected my signature - I was introduced to the two mystery men. Mr. Ishida of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Yamamoto of the Intelligence Service, department 5, or IS5 for short.. The frigging real Japanese Spy Department! For a moment I had images of helicopter chases and assassinations by poisoned umbrella tips flashing before my eyes, just like in the old Tanaka Hiro, agent 17 from the JSD TV show. Cool!!

But the gentlemen brought me back down to earth in no time flat. "Spying is not like you see it on TV, kiddo." Yeah, I guess not.

Anyhow, they - Ishida, Yamamoto and Ogata - sat me down and outlined my options. I'm giving a very short version of it here because it was quite complicated, and most of it doesn't pertain to my story anyway.

The first option I had was to walk out now. I'd have to keep Ishida and Yamamoto's existence a secret and also the fact that they had been at my Test. The consequence would be that I'd get a level 9 amateur Go status and I'd not be turning Pro. I decided immediately that that sucked buckets and I wasn't doing that.

The second, and only other option, was to continue the process of becoming a Pro. This would involve - at the very minimum - keeping a lot more secrets. Now I know I'm usually regarded as an open person, but I also know I can keep a secret if I need to, and I said so. At this Ogata nodded but added that because I had a basically honest character and a sizable mouth - oh thanks so much! - I would likely end up in a certain group.

I pouted at that - I know, not very mature, even on a 15 year old boy - and Ogata added that the group I'd be in was the group where all the real Go players would be.

As it turned out, there were three kinds of Go Pros at the Institute. One group was full of players who couldn't play very well but were fully trained and very capable spies, another of great players who covered for the bad ones - where I was going to end up - and a third, very small group, who were both real spies and could play great Go. Ogata admitted he was part of that group and I immediately guessed that Touya was one too. It sure explained his many absences. Ogata remained non-committal when I asked.

I did express my being miffed at not being in group three, but Ogata explained that I just had the wrong personality for it; he said my tests - those boring Friday afternoon tests - had proven that. Then I complained that everybody else would be having all the 'fun' he countered by explaining that the second group would also be involved in spying, just not so deeply, and would deliver an invaluable service in keeping the Institute's cover of a benign place.

Well, I guessed that made sense, it takes all kinds to make things work. So in the end I agreed to be in the support group and Ogata declared me a level 2 Go Pro. He even handed me my certificate straight way.

Now, if I had known at the time I'd have to learn Korean and effing Chinese, and take about a gazillion more of those Friday type tests, I might have taken that amateur level 9 and run for the hills instead!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Why Korean and Chinese, you ask? Well, that's got to do with the International Go Tournament. In Japan only Pro players were allowed to go. In Korea, China and the West, they have different rules about that. And for our safety's sake, even the support group has to learn the languages and some real spy stuff too. Rather cool that.

Now, I'm not going to tell you everything I learned to make me ready to attend the tournament for the first time; you can easily look that up and it's a long and boring read. I should know, I had to memorize it all. But I think I probably should tell a little more about the tournament at that particular time, as its function and form has changed over time.

Now, China was a hermetically sealed country and Korea only had its ports open to foreigners because they were worried China would take offense should any foreign spy come anywhere close to the Korean-Chinese border. And if you look at the map, you can understand that Korea really doesn't want to piss off China, because Korea is a dead duck should China go to war with them. Urg, I don't envy Korea its position.

So China's completely closed, Korea's almost completely closed and Japan is an island on its own, and while we do get foreign trade - and influences - we are quite far away from our allies. Our three countries have nothing in common; our location on the planet only, really. That, and that we all love playing Go. And that is where the tournament comes in; it is the only time Chinese, Koreans and Japanese are even remotely interested in coming together.

For the first half of the last century infrequent tournaments were held on big ships in the seas between our nations. But then in the 1960s, with the aid of the Friendly Nations' Council, on a little island that lies almost exactly between Korea and Japan, a big conference complex was built - by the Swedes, I believe, the only Nation all three countries could agree on - where peace conferences could be held and also the International Go Tournament ('InGoTo' for short). It was then that a non-Asian contingent was added. It's been an annual event since then, held in the 9th month of the year.

Of course what with the Uneasy Peace, it's not an entirely safe event and the Shogunate refuses to send ill-prepared people there. Hence my spy training, even if I'd be going there to only play Go.

Exactly 1024 players are allowed to come to the InGoTo, divided over the three Asian nations and the non-Asian contingent - usually called 'the West' - and they must all play at world class levels. The numbers are divided up equally between the four groups, so 256 contestants per group. There was also an allotment for support staff, trainers, caretakers and the like. The West, Korea and us would actually bring such type people, even if those of ours and I suspect those of Korea had had at least some special spy training. But it was blatantly obvious that China brought security personnel which Waya nicknamed 'goons.' And you know, once I got to the convention center for the first time I was forced to agree with his assessment; I'd never seen Asians as tall and muscled as those Chinese goons in my life before! Made me glad I was only in the support group and not a real spy!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

I did well as a young Go Pro. But my admittance into the Pro Games room wasn't quite what I had hoped it to be. A lot of the time the support group was busy faking games for the spy-only group or just plain covering for the 'Aces,' as the group of spies with great Go ability were known. When that happened we had to sit at an empty Goban and pretend the other was indeed there and then either an earlier played game would be entered into the records or we'd play the game later that same day - some times in the dead of night - when the spy player had found a few hours time between missions, often exchanging moves over a radio connection or computer chat; not ideal.

Pretty much all my games against Touya were played in that way. It was really galling to me because I had set the target of my Go ambition on him - being that we were the same age and all - but because each time we played Touya was at a disadvantage because his mind was really on his mission and not on the game. Understandable of course, and I'm sure it won me many a game, but I'd rather lose to him if that meant he could play more seriously!

The situation became so frustrating to me that, about one year after turning Pro I seriously considered quitting. I took my problem to Master S first then, but then I realized I couldn't tell him anything about the situation because of the Act, I had him ask Master T for a talk. Master T intimidates me and I wasn't sure he'd even speak to a low level player like me. But it turned out he would and we had a long talk and he promised I'd get more chances to play better players.

He saw what I hadn't realized, that not only had I - and a whole bunch of the younger support players – not been playing equal games against our peers but not much with any of the older Pros. So after our talk that changed. And for me it meant I got to play against Touya properly - and get slaughtered on the board - face to face, in his house if it was outside of institute hours. I was ecstatic.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Between Go games, spy school and endless psych tests, I also had a few chances to take part in actual spy missions. And no, I don't have many exciting stories to show for it. For one, I'm not allowed to tell anybody anything and for another, spying, real spying, is a deadly dull business. Literally 'deadly dull.' It's hours, days even, of taking turns sitting alone in a stuffy hotel bedroom, pretending you're playing exciting Go while actually listening to the feed from an ear-bud that is connected to a bug in a room nearby, with nothing on it but hours of someone's snoring. And you can't let your mind drift 'cause that's when you might miss something of extreme importance. This mind numbing monotony is then interspersed with very rare moments of high activity when one of the Aces rushes in and makes you set the place up as having been the scene of many hours of intensive Go gambling, eating junk food and drinking soda pop, so when the local police come around - in that particular case, six large Australian members of the SWAT team, complete with bulletproof vests and attack dogs - we look like a bunch of naughty Japanese teens who are living it up big because we're away from home for the first time; anything as long as we don't look like spies! And I never did find out why I was listening to that snoring guy or why Touya and Isumi wanted us to look like that, other than for cover.

I talked to Waya about my disappointment with not being one of the Aces, feeling a little bit like a whiner. So I wasn't doing the cool stuff, I should get over that already, I knew that. But Waya didn't agree with me and he said, "I think that how you feel is important and I've had the same feelings; it sucks having to watch from the sidelines so much." He then sent me to Ogata of all people.

"Your time will come," Ogata told me after Waya had laid out my issue and had given us some privacy. "One day, there will be something that only you can do, and you must prepare yourself to give it your best. In the mean time, you must be patient and wait." He then sat me down and told me some stories of how seemingly under utilized spies had been placed, after much time and effort, somewhere where they could show their worth. I can't repeat these stories, of course. Apart from the Act, they are not my stories to tell. I did learn this from them though: spying isn't about dying heroically for your country, it is about patience and blending in and biding your time to do your bit.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

I went to the tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Atsuko 40, 41 and 42). I was knocked out that first year in the very first game; I was totally green and had no clue what so ever that I had been matched to one of Korea's star players, Ko Yong Ha. He, in turn, was knocked out on the third day when he'd gone up against Master T.

But the players who'd been knocked out didn't go home or anything. Oh no, everybody stayed and played Go with those still in the tournament! I was delighted to learn that every single contestant was Go mad and would play non-stop if they could! (Why, I even had to step around a pair of Koreans who were sitting on the cold tiles in the 2nd floor men's room, arguing strategy with the aid of a paper hand towel and a ballpoint pen! I would have joined them, but my Korean wasn't up to it at that point.)

The only people that didn't intermingle were the Chinese. They would stick to themselves and only be seen at the official games and events. There were also never any Chinese players watching their countrymen play. And some players were surrounded by goons when attending their games. It was actually frightening.

Also frighting was the level of their Go ability. I swear there wasn't a single player under level 8 there, where as we'd come with a mix of levels - just because we simply don't have 256 level 8 or higher players - and so had Korea. But China is huge and they are very determined to be the best. So in the past the winner of this tournament had been Chinese about 70% of the time, and I guess China was trying to ensure that that would be an upward trend.

But the Chinese ended up disappointed that year; Master T won by half a point from their top player, Fong Yi, in the grand finale.

I had enjoyed that first year; I had played Go non-stop - playing Ko Yong Ha several times and winning 1 out of 3 - and I had had to fake a game only once. Not an official game of course but an after hours game, me against Touya and Isumi against Ogata, with Ogata and Touya disappearing up the air-ducts to do who-knows-what while Isumi and I played some games together.

The only thing I really had been sorry for was that I didn't get a chance to play a Chinese player; I was just knocked out too soon.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The second year I did better. I got to play two Chinese players, one game I won, the other I lost, but that was after having played three Koreans, so I played five games in all, making me still in the game on day three! (And winning that ramen dinner that Waya had bet me.)

But the big buzz at the conference was about the two players who weren't attending. One was Master T, the winner of the year before. His absence was not surprising, as everybody knew he had serious health problems. But it was disappointing for Japan, as Master T was really the only player with a real shot at the title. He was actually in hospital at the time of the tournament, so there had been no chance of him attending.

The second player who was conspicuous by his absence was China's renowned star player - the one who had never been outside of China yet - Sun Shun.

Sun had only recently entered the Go scene, and had only ever been playing on the official internet Go site. He never chatted, and no one had ever seen him in the flesh. Apparently no Chinese player had seen him in real life either, at least so say the spy players, and they should know. There had been some speculation on him not being human at all but a super computer. Ogata said that that was utterly impossible; yes, computers were great at calculating, but for Go you need talent and intuition too and no man-made machine had ever shown any of those.

So Sun was a man - or a woman, maybe; I can never tell with Chinese names - but definitely a human being. And everybody expected him to come to the tournament. After all, after playing hundreds and hundreds of games for nearly three years - sometimes four long games a day – it was obvious the guy was absolutely unbelievably incredibly phenomenally good at playing Go. He lost to Master T that first time - by only a half point, no less - and had been winning non-stop ever since, with victories including several more games against Master T! So why didn't he come to the InGoTo?

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

In the end that year the cup was won by Master Liao from the Chinese team who won by three and a half points from the Korean Master Hung Chung Ho (an uncle of Hung Su Yeong, who I played several times privately the year before). Our team was knocked out in the semi-final games, Ogata and Master Morishita losing both their games by a small but decisive margin. Big bummer.

The next tournament was held in 2007 and this is where my story truly begins.

Even weeks before the event started there was a buzz of tension, as China had announced its attendee list; Sun Shun was on it. For the first time since meeting the cool super spy player, I saw Touya in a frantic state; Master T had decided he was going to attend, ignoring doctor's - and his own son's - advice.

I think I can understand Master T's eagerness to play this Sun face to face. There is nothing like sitting across the Goban from your equal and rival. The tension, the concentration, the simple electricity in the air, nothing can beat that. So I decided to make myself useful - yeah, not my normal thing, I know - and I promised Touya I'd look after his dad so Touya could concentrate on whatever hush-hush thing was also going to be going on. Waya and Isumi, who where there when I made that promise, added similar promises and I felt really good when I saw that panicky harassed look disappear from Touya's eyes.

It's not like Touya is a close friend or anything, but in the spy business that's not so important. What is important is loyalty to the team and nation, and if me baby-sitting Master T - which isn't a hardship in itself as he's always teaching Go to us younger players - was what it took to make Touya a more focused operative, then baby-sitting Master T is what I'd do.

In the end the Institute provided a full time 'nanny' in the form of Master Shirakawa, a level 7 Pro who was renowned for not being interested in entering tournaments and preferred teaching amateurs, but who was fully trained as support staff and thus qualified to come to the island. Master Shirakawa was not unfamiliar to me; he had presided over quite a few of my Oteai games. He was always ready to sit down for tea and talk about anything you liked in the lunch break at the Institute.

And so the tournament began; my third and, as it turned out, final time.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

3.

The tiny island group known as 'Bamboo Islands' to us - even though it's far too small for any actual bamboo shoots to grow there - consisted of two 'major' islands, about 200 meters squared each, and a cluster of rocks where mostly birds nestled. The cluster had been left alone when the place was transformed in the last century.

The two main islands held a big building each, connected with a footbridge as wide as the islands themselves. On the more eastern island the hotel stood, some 80 stories high with a large restaurant with beautiful views and on the roof a helipad for emergencies. On the western island was the conference center, with wide conference halls and meeting rooms, now turned into Go rooms for the duration of the event. On the roof was a sun deck with a sandwich-bar, that also catered to eastern tastes.

All together they were the glitziest, slickest, most western buildings I'd ever seen. It's so not my kinda place, but for the opportunities of playing high level Go, non-stop for a week, I'd put up with a lot, even room service!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

On day one the big battle was scheduled; all 1024 players would be playing in two groups, one in the morning slot, the other in the afternoon. Twice 256 games would be played and only 512 players would advance to day two. I had bet a ramen dinner for three against Waya and Isumi; first of us to get knocked out paid. I was determined that it wouldn't be me!

As in the previous years, there was a big bustle before the wall that had the game match-up printouts tacked on it. But once I elbowed myself to the front I could get all the info I wanted. My first opponent was a Chinese fellow called Li, who I'd never heard of, and after I checked my program book with all the bios in it, still didn't know. He was a 'dragon level' player, but all the Chinese players were that, so that was no help.

I spied Ochi, Isumi, Waya, Fuku and Nase on the lists, all matched against Chinese players except Waya who had a Korean and Ochi who had somebody from the West. More interesting were the match-ups for Master T - a Chinese 'dragon' called Zeng Ah - and the by now infamous and mysterious Sun Shun, who was matched against a Korean called Park Dong Yul. I had met Mr. Park the year before, nice older fellow, good mid-level player, better than me too. Poor Mr. Park; Sun would probably obliterate him...

All my friends and I were scheduled for the morning games - ten o'clock start, not too early, thank goodness - and Master T and Mystery Sun were set for the afternoon. The games had a time limit of four hours all together, so 90 minutes of play time per player, plus an over time allowance of no more that 30 minutes per player. Komi was set at five and a half points. The afternoon games would start at 2:30pm promptly, with very few exceptions or extensions allowed. In the case of a no-show, the game would be called after waiting 30 minutes, with the no-show declared the loser. This tournament tolerated no messing about, as the Institute impressed on us younger players throughout the year, while we looked forward to the event.

As a rule the games on the first four days would be held in the biggest convention spaces, day one and the first match of day two would fill all four main halls in the complex. There were exceptions for certain players, like Master T because of his health, and apparently Mystery Sun too. Both had a mark behind their match-up notating that their games would be played in some of the small rooms at the center. I memorized both room numbers, B17 for Master T and E45 for Sun. The spy training hand book recommended memorizing as many names, locations, phone numbers, ID numbers - any numbers! - as you could; the seemingly useless info could become vital at any given moment. And I liked memorizing things, just for sport.

I did take note that Sun was to play away from the crowds, but it didn't surprise me any; the Chinese Go team more often than not kept their best players under wraps. I knew that having such options had been demanded by the Chinese team when this event first started, in fact it was what you would call a 'deal-beaker' for them.

To help out with Master T, Isumi, Waya, Master Shirakawa and myself shared a big suite with Master T and Touya. Being there in numbers wasn't just for convenience, it was also so we could cover for Touya's absences. I swear, that guy was only in our company when he could be seen to be in our company by the non-Japanese people at the tournament. It's like a sixth sense or something that lets him know where to be and when. And I swear I saw him at least once dressed up as a little old cleaning lady in a hallway that had a lot of the suites the Chinese occupied. Well, okay, not swear; I'm just sure it was him. I think.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

My game against Li Jao was not easy. The games against these 'dragons' never are. It's almost like they are fighting for their lives when playing Go. I had to use every trick in the book, and really the only way I managed to get him was by playing the wildest game you ever saw, and so threw him off his game, creating that chink in his defense that I needed to win. By only a half point. Really, too close a shave for the very first game!

Once I could let go of my focus on the game - I always have to spend some minutes going over what I should have done, knowing full how utterly useless that really is - I looked over at my friends, those that were in this hall anyway, and got a thumbs down from Nase and a thumbs up from Waya. Ochi was there also, but he's not a thumbs kinda guy, so I theatrically looked over to Ochi and then back at Waya, who first gave me hands and shoulders lifted in a 'I dunno.' Then he looked over the crowd that was still seated, most were still analyzing their games, and, apparently having gained some info that way, Waya gave me a thumbs up on Ochi's game. So, me, Waya and Ochi, at least, were going to be playing tomorrow.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

By the end of the afternoon we knew who else would go through: Master T and Mystery Sun, Touya, Ogata, Isumi and quite a lot of the better Japanese players. I think we lost maybe half of our team, and so did the Koreans, possibly a little more. The West had lost a lot more, but that was not surprising; they simply didn't have enough strong players, because it's really not a Western game. The big winners were the Chinese, they managed to keep 7 out of 10 players, impressive!

The match up for the first game of day two was interesting to say the least. I was matched with a West player by the unpronounceable name of Hagen Knudsen, a yellow haired giant from Denmark. I think that's somewhere in Europe. Master T was matched to a 'dragon' called Ruan, who I had never heard of. Isumi had another West guy, Louis Vallois, also utterly unpronounceable. Urg, can't these people have proper names? Sun was matched with a West player I did know: Duco Ooijer - 'call me Duco, is easier!' - whom I had met at both previous tournaments. Nice guy, reminded me of Master S a bit, played a very good game of Go too, just too bad that he was up against Sun...

Of course the biggest buzz after the afternoon games was had anybody seen Mystery Sun yet? Mr. Park obviously had, but he was Korean, and one of the missions for us spies this tournament was to find out as much as we could about the mystery player. And as early as possible; the Institute wanted a description and, if possible a photograph.

But Sun was really the 'hottest property' at the tournament and the Chinese goons were doing their best to make sure he wasn't seen entering or leaving room E45.

Since Touya and Ogata had had to play the afternoon games, at the same time as Sun, neither had had the opportunity to snoop around E45. Those of our people that did had bungled it and so it was up to one of us to try to talk to Mr. Park to needle him for information.

Mr. Park wasn't easy to pin down, being surrounded by other Koreans all wanting to know what the game - and Sun - had been like. In the end we had to make do with the second - possibly third hand - description I got off Hong Su Yeong, after dinner. Some of the others of the team had gleaned info in a similar manner and later that night we boiled it down to:

Sun Shun, late teens-early twenties. Slightly above average Chinese height, pale complexion, light eyes, unusually long hair worn in a braid, traditional Chinese dress. Doesn't talk during or after a game, but does use proper game play etiquette.

I was surprised to learn Sun was relatively young; these Chinese 'dragons' were usually mid-twenties and older. Maybe he was a prodigy. It would explain his sudden entrance onto the Go scene.

That he wore his hair long and a traditional Chinese outfit was very significant. When Mao was in power in China, in the first part of the last century, he had tried to have the old nobility class massacred but he was stopped by the other great Chinese voice at the time, Dao. Dao persuaded Mao that it would be a waste of resources as the nobility class knew most about running a government and things like that. So instead of killing them all - unfortunately he had already had a lot of them killed, by that time – Mao downgraded them to the lowest class of all, making being called a 'noble' a derogatory term. And since then the Chinese nobility had been made to keep wearing traditional outfits - just of a much lesser quality material - and long hair.

It also explained why the Chinese were keeping Sun separated from everybody else; that is the way all nobles are treated in China. Not much was known about how this works out inside China, it is thought that these nobles were given better lives if they were more useful to the state. I shudder to think how a noble with no real abilities would fare there...

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Much like the previous InGoTos, our group, with Master T in tow, followed closely by Master Shirakawa, had a lot of fun playing private Go games with whomever crossed our paths, trying to milk as much information as we could while providing a pleasant social environment. Unlike the previous times, we set up a 'base' of operations in the west facing corner of the enormous bar-lounge that was one level lower than the restaurant on the hotel island. We would be having the best view of the magnificent sunsets there, Isumi assured us. Not that I'm big on that but I enjoy a good sunset as much as the next guy.

The idea was that we'd all be there from after dinner until 9:30 and have open invite games, so we'd all get to play outsiders, and show our presence big-time. Then we'd move to the privacy of the suite, without invitees, giving Touya and Ogata a chance to go do big-boy stuff and Master T a chance to get an early night, should he feel the need. The rest of us could then play more games among ourselves and other members of the team. Nase, Fuku and even Ochi showed up that evening and a few more joined.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

My Second game of the tournament was against the great Dane - sorry, bad pun, couldn't help myself - and 'great' he really was; head and shoulders and a good deal of chest above the others, literally. He was no slouch at Go either; again I was forced to pull out all the stops and I managed to wrangle a one and a half point win. One of the reasons I love competitive play is the high stakes having to go all out against a really good opponent. Possibly the best part was when after the game, this mountain of a man with about a meter of curling yellow hair flowing around his head, shoulders and back - resembling a Western comic book barbarian, only lacking his fur-hide loincloth and enormous wooden club - asked me to join him in a game analysis, in perfect, if overly formal, Japanese!

There wasn't much time for a lengthy analysis, because while he was now out of the tournament, I'd be playing again in just over an hour, so I invited him to come to the 'base' after dinner instead. He looked very happy to agree, especially when I hinted that Master T might be there. I had to run to get a bite to eat before my next game and promised I'd see him later.

I must admit I did a bit of flirting; I'm really a sucker for long blond hair, and I think the Dane responded favorably. With a bit of luck, there could be some bed time action here. If we'd be able to actually find a place with enough privacy for that; last tournament I ended up in a linen closet with a very willing, but much smaller, Korean!

Of course things went a little differently from what I had planned for that evening anyway...

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

In the second day's afternoon games, Sun vs. Tang - also Chinese - was a win for Sun predictably; Master T won his game, as did Touya, Ogata, Ochi and Isumi. I won mine, but Waya lost his and that meant dinner back in Edo was on him, whoopee!

I was just on the way from the sun deck to the walk bridge, heading to my room to go get my sun glasses - I'd found I really needed those with sunshine this bright; no pollution to provide a filter out here in the middle of the ocean - when I was about to get into the just opening side elevator and was momentarily distracted by my friends laughing further down the hall. I had my head turned away from the elevator doors as I entered, muttering 'silly Waya' under my breath when I turned my head back just in time to see I needed to duck immediately or hit an obstruction at head height. I ducked, and I didn't realize that obstruction had been the arm of a huge Chinese goon, until I was well inside the elevator and the doors had already whooshed closed behind me.

The elevators were these modern western style things, all chrome steel and mirrors on every wall, with bright spotlights from above and surprisingly dark for all the fancy lighting. It was big enough to transport 10 people, if they were all close friends, or at least 16 employees from the same company, all suitably trying to look away in a different direction from anybody else. But at that moment with only three occupants, it was just too darn small.

At first I didn't notice the third person in the elevator; the goon was standing nose to nose with me, well more like my forehead to his chest, and he was yelling at me in Chinese. Now, as a good spy I had been trained in understanding and speaking Chinese, however you already know I sucked at too many skills to be allowed to become a real spy, and my inability to learn any significant Chinese was my biggest failure.

He yelled and I just stood there. It was obvious from his body language - at least I had had a passing grade for psychology, even if Master T told me I should keep 'going with my gut' and try to think less - that he wanted my out of there like an hour ago. The yelling was also a big clue. I couldn't understand why he was getting so outrageously upset, his pig-like face had turned completely red; if he would just hit the next floor's button he could very easily evict me when the door would open. But maybe the guy was just too angry to think straight and as the row of floor buttons was behind him and I didn't want antagonize him any further - and he hadn't laid a finger on me yet - I decided to let the elevator finish the ride, as I knew it would stop on the ground floor and the doors would open automatically.

But just when I had made my mind up to stick it out the earth moved and the elevator lurched and tilted and I went down to my knees as I'd been taught in training - when in doubt, hit the deck - and the Chinese guy lost his footing and did this amazing - and quite involuntary - pirouette in mid air, before crashing his bold head in the mirrored wall, creating shower of a thousand million shards of mirrored glass, all raining down in the red emergency light that had come on to replace the normal lights, as the man's body hit the carpeted floor with a thud, the hat that had left the man at the start of the incident settling on the floor beside the man's head.

An alarm started wailing and it wasn't until that moment that I saw the third occupant of the now motionless, if un-level elevator. In the far corner a young Chinese man sat with his knees up to his chest. He was unmistakably Chinese because he was wearing traditional Chinese clothes, even if his face was unusually pale and fine for a China-man. Over his shoulder a super long braid lay, possibly thrown there by the elevator's violent lurch earlier.

My mouth dropped open; it had to be Sun, no question. For a very long moment I looked at him, as I slowly closing my mouth. He looked back at me, his eyes huge and terrified. The wailing alarm suddenly stopped, apparently startling Sun and I could see him shudder, but he never took his eyes off me as I slowly pushed myself to a seating position. And for another very long moment we sat there, me in one corner, Sun in the other corner with the goon lying on his side facing my way, all lit by the that eerie red security light.

After a while I let my eyes wander to the goon, noting that while a drizzle of blood was rolling down his scalp, his chest was moving, and so there wasn't much I could do for him until help - or a basic medi-kit - arrived. The man's eyes were closed and his face slack with the all the hallmarks of being unconscious and possibly suffering head trauma; a concussion, if he's lucky. If he had been a friend of mine I might have worried about things like brain damage, but as it was I was not sorry if the Chinese lost a good goon. I would have minded if he was in danger of dying; we had strict instructions not to cause the death of a Chinese under any circumstances, and most especially not of a Chinese goon. It could cause an international incident involving one of the largest and most menacing powers on earth!

I looked back at Sun and noted the look in his eyes had changed. Fear was still there prominently, but now curiosity had joined it. I was therefore not surprised when Sun spoke.

"Are you here to assassinate me?" he asked. And that did surprise me for two reasons; one was the question itself, the other was that he had said it in Japanese. Haughty Japanese, incredibly old fashioned Japanese, but Japanese none-the-less.

Absentmindedly I lifted my arm so I could scratch the back of my head - a gesture that some of my lovers have said is quite endearing but that always made Ogata growl at me, and not in a nice way either - and halted the movement immediately when I saw the fear return to Sun's eyes. I lowered my arm slowly and said, "Of course not, why would I?"

Sun's face hardened at that and he said, "That's what this elaborate plot is all about, isn't it? To contrive that you and I are alone in this diminutive space?"

I had to blink a few times to get his meaning, and then I blurted, "What plot?"

The harshness left the pale face and a kinda boredom - or was it contempt - took its place. I found that I hated that look instantly and was determined to change it to something - anything - else.

"The plot of this elevator not going down, but up and it not halting at the levels requested, but at the top where you miraculously boarded it. The plot of the elevator now being disabled and Sergeant Yi lying dead between us. And my being now at your mercy. That plot," he said, leaning his head against the wall behind him almost like in defeat.

I found I had to shift my butt just then. Not only was I sitting on bits of the scattered mirror glass, I have always been unable to sit still for long - except at Go games - and if I hadn't thought at the time that my getting to my feet would have scared or at least upset Sun, I would have gotten up and started pacing. As it was I just shifted, causing altogether a lot more racket than I intended with the noise of the mirror bits getting crushed beneath me. Thank god for sturdy pants.

"Look," I started, "I don't know what nonsense they've been telling you, but," I held up my hands, palms out, in open surrender, "I'm not here to do anything to anybody." I exhaled, trying to expel my frustration with the continued look of weariness in Sun's eyes. "Your Sergeant over there isn't dead, at least I don't think dead men breathe and he is definitely still breathing," - oh gag, I was going to start babbling next, not good - I exhaled, looked up at Sun again and continued more slowly, "I know nothing of any plot, so I sure as hell can't have been part of one, now can I?!" I knew I was starting to sound accusatory, a behavior my spy instructor had reprimanded me for again and again; it can make the other person turn hostile.

I kept my eyes on Sun's, trying to convey my sincerity and held my breath.

After almost an eternity I was startled to see a single tear form at the bottom of his right eye and then it slowly ran down his cheek. The moment was shattered when Sun moved his head to hang forward, wrapped his arms around his head and knees and seemed to shrink into himself, not unlike a frightened child. Ah geez.

I rose to my feet slowly, keeping an eye on both the goon and Sun - and trying not to go cross-eyed - and carefully stepped over the still drooling, but strongly breathing goon, the glass loudly crushing under my rubber soles. I picked a spot against the wall not far, but also not too close - the instructor had said such things matter a lot when trying to calm someone - to Sun, brushed my butt with both hands clear of glass and sat down.

Sun hadn't moved, hadn't even lifted his head. I couldn't be sure if the guy was just scared or if something else was going on, but even so I felt for him; what with being a Chinese noble - if the info was all correct - life can't have been very easy for him. My mouth opened before I was finished deciding what would be to most calming thing to say.

"So, how come you speak Japanese?" Me and my big mouth. But it was an interesting question, the Chinese players and staff were famous for not speaking anything but Chinese. Loudly. My ears were still ringing from Sergeant Yi's tirade.

I had rested my head against the wall in exasperation when I realized I had spoken without thinking and from the corner of my right eye I saw Sun's head slowly come up. I rolled my head so I could see better and was pleased to note that the curiosity had come back in the still round eyes.

"Many great books have been written about Weiqi, uh, Go. Many of those are originally in the Japanese language, and many have quality translations. But not all and not all translations are of quality. I desired to know the best quality Go. So I learned by comparing what translation I did have with the originals." Sun said slowly.

"You learned Japanese from Go books, just so you could read more Go books? Geez, you are really into Go," I said. Then I added, after I saw Sun starting to withdraw again, "But that's a good thing, you know, to be that focused."

"It is not so good for my opponents," Sun's voice held a calculating note, as though he had said it to see me react. Much like I'd expect him to do on the Goban where a player would play a stone in an as yet undisputed area, just to see if the other player would follow him there with his next move.

"Ha," I laughed, "you're right at that!" I shifted my body around so I was facing Sun a bit more head on and dropped my legs into a loose tailor fashion pose. I deliberately exposed my front side - the soft parts, as my instructor used to call them - in a show of giving, and expecting to receive, trust.

"Well, all your studying has paid off, you always win," I said, giving him my most winning smile. "I followed all your internet games, and you are terrific!" Hey, a bit of fan-boy flattery always works.

But apparently I said the wrong thing as Sun's face fell. "I don't always win," he said, sounding sad.

I hadn't forgotten that Sun had lost that fist time against Master T on internetGo, but Master T is a terrifyingly strong opponent and it was not like Sun was clobbered by the Master, quite the opposite, it could have gone either way until the very last moves. I told Sun all that and added, "That was a great game, one of the best on record. There is no shame in being second best in that game, really!"

I had hoped my little speech would perk the guy up but it seemed to do the opposite, his face turned even more sad. Then he said something I didn't immediately catch and he put arms around his knees again, pulling in tight and started rocking ever so slightly, side to side. I concentrated on what he had said, using a memory trick of just winding back the sound so my brain could hear it again and I came up with, 'I mustn't lose, ever.'

"Whatcha mean 'you mustn't lose?'" I blurted, startling Sun into looking me straight in the eyes wide-eyed. I saw more tears forming, but I held my breath again, 'cause I had messed up again; I sure didn't want to make him cry!

"If," Sun stopped to swallow, the action dislodging a tear from its spot at the bottom of his left eye, "if I lose," the word wobbled, "there will be punishment."

They punished their players for losing? That was a horrible thought!

"What kind..." I stopped there. I stopped because I knew I wasn't gonna like the answer. Just the fact that Sun was this upset about it, meant it was something mighty bad.

"My sister... my niece..." was as far as Sun got before the dam broke and he started bawling like a baby. Ah, geez.

I gave him some minutes to have a good cry and then, when his head started to lift a bit, I handed him my still folded clean hanky. He nodded once as he accepted it and started to clean his face with it, using it folded like a make-up pad. Once his face was dry he handed it back and I folded it over one more time so the wet part was on the inside before putting it back in my nice dry pants, that were now going to keep on being dry.

"Thank you," Sun said, using one of the most archaic thanking phrases Japanese has.

"No problem," I said. And then we sat for a few minutes in silence, looking at each other under the weird red lighting.

He was actually quite good looking. A feminine face, made more so by the super long hair. Expressive eyes, quite large and surprisingly open. Straight nose, soft mouth, with the red light reflecting off the moist lips.

I don't know who leaned forward first, but suddenly his eyes were very close to mine - and I closed mine automatically - and then his lips were touching mine. They were warm and alive and Sun smelled of cherry blossoms and tears. For a long moment we held the contact but then it ended and I opened my eyes as I sat back upright.

Sun looked at me in shock, one hand covering his mouth, the fingers touching the spot my lips had touched his earlier.

"I should not have done that," he said, sounding breathless.

"I'm glad you did," I countered and smiled.

"No, you don't understand; they mustn't find out! They mustn't!" he insisted.

"Well, I'm sure not going tell them, now am I," I said, the giddy feeling of the soft kiss still tingling through me.

Then Sun rolled his eyes towards the goon and then back to me. Suddenly understanding his worry, I quickly got up, stepped over the goon and checked him over again. Face still lax, drool pile was getting bigger. In a stupidly bold move - I figured if I was wrong and the guy was not out cold, Sun would be in more trouble than I would be with just one angry goon in a small place, urg - I grabbed the guy's ear and twisted it, hard.

Either he was a world class actor with phenomenal pain control or he was truly out cold. I decided, he was still out and told Sun so. I then proceeded to search the man for spy equipment, cussing at myself for not thinking of doing so sooner.

It was commonly known among us spies that the Chinese didn't have a great deal of ultra modern equipment. It was partly a lack of funds – the Chinese economy was doing badly - but also because no nation would supply China with equipment or technical know-how; everybody was much too scared that the Chinese would do something horrible with such knowledge. But unlikely or not, I had to look.

"What are you doing?" Sun asked. I looked over at him while I was still bent over the goon, working through his pockets. I told him.

"He has a recording device. It's in his right inside pocket," Sun whispered his eyes growing bigger with fear again.

Bloody hell! I redoubled my efforts to find it and at last I found a box the size of a cigarette case. I held it up for Sun to see, using my sleeve to stop any fingerprints getting on it. "Is this it?" I whispered. Sun nodded.

I dropped it on the floor and planted my shoe on it. The casing shattered and the thing promptly shorted out, singeing the tape inside. I quickly removed my foot and grabbed my pen from my pocket, using it to move the tiny tape reel onto to the little short circuit fire. Damn Chinese made crap. It created a horrid smoke and Sun and I were both coughing. I darted about me for something to cover the smoking device with when I spied the goon's hat. It did the trick nicely and soon the air cleared.

I looked at Sun and smiled, he gave a very shy smile back, trying to hide it behind his hand. I retook my seat next to Sun and gently took his hand. "It'll be alright now," I said.

He looked at me still a little sad and then asked earnestly, "Please, don't tell anyone about this. Please, for my sister and my niece?"

I wasn't happy about having to promise that, especially because I knew I'd have to break my promise, because I had taken an oath of loyalty to my country. But the thought of his sister and niece suffering sure didn't sit well with me. In the end I promised, I hardly could do anything else.

Sun nodded at me gravely and squeezing my hand he said, "Thank you. We both know we must forget what happened here. We must not ever be seen to be friendly with each other. It must never be known that we care," his voice broke just as my heart did, "for one another."

Sun was right of course, soon the elevator would be fixed and we'd be sworn enemies again. The very thought filled me with dread; how could I let him go? My heart screamed at the injustice.

"I know you're..." I started to say when suddenly there was the horrendously loud sound of metal tearing and the regular light came back on.

I could hear "Hold on, we're coming to get you!" hollered in Japanese somewhere just outside the elevator doors. Quickly I got up and jumped over the goon - giving him a quick glance, still out - sat down and put my finger to my lips and moved my other hand palm down, in a sign that Sun should stay silent and stay put.

The rescue happened really fast, one moment the elevator doors were ripped open and I was pulled away by my arm by two burly Japanese staff members and the next I was back at our suite getting a medical once over from Isumi.

I had had only the one last shared glimpse with Sun before a Chinese goon blocked the view. I shall never forget that look on his face; that of a frightened child abandoned in a dark and dangerous forest.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

4.

After my check-up I was told to go to Master T's bedroom - the only one person room in the suite - and stay there. Perfectly normal procedure; isolate the witness so testimony can't be tainted. Didn't mean I had to like it. Less than two minutes later Ogata and Touya came in, Touya holding a sound recorder. And then over the next two hours they mercilessly grilled me about the incident.

They wanted to know in minute detail what Sun had said and done, what I had said and done and why - especially why - and if I was absolutely sure I had destroyed that tape recorder and, most importantly, the tape that had been recorded. Of that part I was very sure; I had done exactly what the manual had said to do about Chinese tape recorders. I was sure that even if any of the tape was salvageable, which I counted as highly unlikely, it would only yield the barest snippets of the conversation. That was assuming the thing had even been on before the accident; it hadn't been rolling when I'd gotten it out of the man's jacket, that's for sure!

Both master spies were very interested in Sun's looks and demeanor, and also the sister and niece he'd mentioned. They were particularly interested in them, and their existence seemed to give Ogata much thought.

"That just doesn't jive," the man said. I was a bit surprised here; wasn't it perfectly normal for a bloke to have a sister, a family? I was pretty sure it worked in China just the same as in Japan; your family is your most precious connection. Hey, I don't get on with my dad very well and I know I drive my mom up the wall, but they are family and I'd kill for them if I had to.

With his arms crossed, Ogata pressed the side of his curved right index finger to his lower lip in thought. Touya again looked over his notes and the sketch he had done of Sun after my description earlier, also looking pensive. "If only we had the man's DNA," Ogata mused.

Of course I knew what DNA was, a whole chapter on forensics had been in the manual, with DNA in a separate section. 'DNA can be used to conclusively identify an individual. It can be obtained from any body part but also from bodily fluids like blood, saliva, sperm, mucus, urine and tears,' the manual read. Tears? I quickly got out my handkerchief and asked, "Will his tears on my handkerchief do?" At that Ogata blinked - yes that is worth noting 'cause nothing ever gets to this guy – and Touya's jaw dropped but both sprung into immediate activity. Touya produced a clear plastic zip-lock bag seemingly out of nowhere and told me to put the handkerchief in it while holding it between my thumb and index finger, to reduce contamination, I guessed. He also asked me some disgusting questions about my use of it before I got on the elevator with a perfectly straight face. I was happy to be able to say the thing had gone clean into my pocket that morning and I hadn't used it at all prior the accident. (Well of course it was clean; I wouldn't have offered it to Sun if it hadn't been! What did Touya take me for?)

At that Touya nodded, zipped the bag closed, took out a felt-tip pen and labeled it with a few strokes, of which I recognized the Kanji for Sun's name.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

I didn't hear any more about the incident that evening. More procedure; the spy most deeply involved in an incident is most often the least informed, to avoid leaks, I guess. And now I also wasn't even allowed to join the group at 'sunset camp' as Waya had dubbed their after dinner hang-out. Instead I was stuck inside Master T's bedroom reading old Go magazines and not playing tonsil hockey with a certain blond hunk. Oddly that last part didn't bother me half as much as it should have; after meeting Sun, the blond giant had somehow lost his appeal.

After about an hour I put the mags aside and lay back on Master T's bed - there was no other furniture in the small room - my arms behind my head, looked at the ceiling and replayed my meeting with Sun in my mind's eye. Most especially that kiss.

The way I found out I was more interested in boys than in girls was not the way most people do. It was those damn psych tests. When I had become a Pro at age 15, I hadn't really taken any interest in the sexual side of life; somehow the subject had never come up. But after I had turned Pro and had signed up to be a spy, they took a complete psych profile of me, and I had to take therapy too. This is not the kinda therapy that cures a person of a mental disease but more a lesson in knowing yourself; that way you can't surprise yourself, and your fellow spies, with emotions and needs that can put a mission at risk. And that's where I found out I was interested in boys.

I was, well, shocked. Not that being gay is a capital offense in Japan, but it's not considered proper behavior and if the outside world was to see me as a genuine Go Pro, I felt I couldn't just go around dating guys. I told the therapist so and he set me straight; the psych tests are to find out who a person is including, and possibly most importantly, all less than positive things. But that didn't mean I should change who I was, quite on the contrary, I should find out how my mind worked and learn to work with it and not against it.

"Trying to deny what you are never works," he had said. "It will make you look nervous because that is exactly what you'll be; nervously trying to be something that you're not. It will make you vulnerable to manipulation and intimidation. No, Shindou, if you are a gay kid, be a gay kid and let that part of you develop naturally. Oh, do be sure to report each and every 'contact' to me or Master T or Ogata. And remember, there are condoms and lube in the second drawer down in the upstairs men's room. Use them!" With that, and my face burning bright red, I became a sexual being at age 15.

That didn't mean I jumped into bed at the earliest opportunity, but from that moment on I started noticing boys and men a lot more. Soon I realized I had a thing for long hair. And that casual sex was fun. But it was not until I saw a terrified man, barely older than me, cowering in a corner of a glass littered elevator, lit only by red light, that I had felt the kinda flutters mentioned in sappy love stories.

At the time I put the feeling down to adrenaline, but now, hours after the event and after a good hour of no stimulus at all, I still had those flutters in my belly and every time I think of our time in that elevator or that brief kiss, especially that kiss, my heart speeds up and it's almost as if my soul is trying to float out of my body. I realized I was in love.

I was in love with a Chinese man, an enemy, a citizen of the only country in the world Japan was at war with, if not officially. There was no scenario in which this was going to end well; I'm such an idiot!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

It wasn't until the next morning at the briefing before my next game - I had to get up super early for the two hour meeting, urg - that I heard I missed a bit of commotion the night before. There had been two visits from med-evac helicopters to the island: a Chinese one for the seriously injured goon from the elevator, and a Japanese one to pick up Waya, who had apparently broken his shoulder falling down a staircase. That explained why I had our shared room to myself that night at least. I was very surprised at two things. One was Waya falling in the first place - the man had great reflexes and I've never seen him lose his footing before - and the other at Waya breaking anything - I would have sworn the man was made of rubber the way he played on his rugby team - so how come he got hurt that badly?

But the answer came up very quickly; Waya had been assigned to take my handkerchief to be tested for DNA. Poor Waya… there just was no traffic on or off the islands without good reason. A broken shoulder is an excellent reason, but only if it's real; the tournament employs a doctor that can't be bribed, so Waya got a very painful one-way ticket home just to play courier. Now that's taking one for the team!

The results from the DNA test would be radioed in later that day in scrambled code. I wasn't quite sure what Ogata and Touya were hoping to gain from these results but my attention was quickly drawn away to more important matters. You see, the draw for the matches of the day had just come out and I had apparently drawn Sun Shun as my next opponent. Well, wasn't that an amazing coincidence? I gave Touya an are-you-kidding-me look at which he stared back impassively, which I know is his cat-got-the-cream smug look. It's all in the way the corner of his right eye is up a millimeter from normal, see? No? Well, you have to know they guy to tell the difference, I guess.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

I had been briefed and instructed for so long that morning that I was already feeling tired before the day had even started. But the moment I came up to room E45, where two goons stood outside guarding the door, my adrenaline started surging through my body and I was fully alert and ready for anything.

Ogata had said there would be a possibility that I would be attacked the moment I entered room E45. It was only a slight possibility, because no one, not even the Chinese, would want to create an international incident. But he felt I should know it could happen and that if it did that I should on no account fight back. Well, gee, thanks for that; instructions to let myself be beaten into a pulp from my boss. So much for health and safety.

But it was more likely that the Chinese would let the game go ahead, and I would get the cold shoulder throughout. And from Sun too, Ogata impressed upon me. I must not under any circumstance show I had feelings for him just as I must not expect any show of affection from him.

Here I gulped; I hadn't told Ogata and Touya about the kiss but they seemed to have guessed it anyway. Ogata gave me a knowing look and Touya just looked down his nose at me; I was gonna get a royal chewing out when the mission was over. Probably from Master S, champion chewer-outer. Just great.

I showed my InGoTo tag to both goons in turn and they let me pass into the lion's den. Which turned out to be an ornate room done up in traditional Chinese style with blood red textile wall hangings and curtains, black lacquer-work furniture, and gold painted ornaments everywhere. It was totally over the top with the amount of stuff in the relatively small space and the musky incense made the place smell like an opium den. Not that I would know what such a place smelled like, of course.

In the middle of the room stood a table with two ornate chairs and a black lacquer Goban placed on the surface with black lacquer Goke placed on top. At least the surface of the Goban was an inlay of light colored wood, if not as pale a wood grain I was used to.

Sun stood behind the table, dressed pretty much as he had been on the elevator, looking paler than I remembered. Behind Sun stood two goons, one at each shoulder. I looked over my own shoulder because the hair on the back of neck started to stand on end and saw another goon behind me next to the door way. I decided I didn't need to look over my other shoulder; there would be another one for sure.

I knew I wouldn't be able to outfight four goons, and I sure as hell didn't fancy getting beaten into a pulp, the boss's orders notwithstanding, so I decided to play it like I was an airhead, hoping they would not be interested in dismembering me for the hell of it.

I stepped forward, bowed and said in the most horrifically badly accented Chinese I could muster, "I has great pleasure to meat you." As my head came up I could see the goons behind Sun look pained; just the reaction I wanted.

Sun spoke a Chinese phrase of invitation and indicated the chair nearest myself with a graceful gesture. I walked to it and sat down, then pulled the chair closer to the table while remaining seated, making the thing creek and screech ominously, hoping to piss off the goons with the irritating noise.

Sun also sat and took one of the Goke off the board and I took the other. I got the one with black stones so I waited for Sun to nigiri. I guessed correctly so I played black thereby giving Sun the customary tournament komi of five and a half points, while I got the first turn.

I was under no illusion that I stood even a glimmer of a chance of winning the game against Sun. I just don't have what it takes. So, earlier that day, Ogata, Touya and myself had discussed what I could do with this one chance at a game.

We knew that there would likely be goons in the room and probably one or more video cameras observing the game and players, with microphones hidden everywhere, as well.

So talking and gesturing were out, which left the game itself. And Ogata told me the game would likely also be under scrutiny during and after the game, so whatever I did there had to be very under the radar indeed or Sun would get into trouble, and I, for one, certainly didn't want that.

What helped a lot was that I was already widely known as an 'erratic' player, changing styles and tactics as needed, so if I played an odd game it might not get noticed so much. But Ogata warned me - and rightly so - that the people who would be analyzing the game afterward would be the best players China had and that I shouldn't take unnecessary risks. My prime function in the game was to somehow make contact and hold the Go genius' interest. And I sure wanted that more than anyone.

So how can I explain how I used the game to communicate? Well, Go is all about communication, in a way. As you play against a person you call him out to fight or invite him to defend. It's just that that kinda communicating is rather limited. So I decided to play a very communicative game; lots of call outs and lots of invites and then I'd see if and how he'd respond.

Sun responded every time. His game was quite aggressive, not at all like some of the kifu I had seen of older games. There he had used aggression too, of course, but not nearly as much as he did in this game. I took it to mean that he was angry. So I invited him to a friendly ko battle in the middle of the field, but he placed his stones elsewhere which I took to mean that he wasn't angry at me.

We had played without additional motives for a while when, just as he placed a stone at my end of the board, his cuff rode up his arm a bit revealing his wrist which was covered in black and blue marks. He quickly retracted the hand after playing the stone and pulled the sleeve cuff down with the other hand before placing both hands in his lap where I couldn't see them anymore.

But I had seen enough and my blood was boiling with rage. Deliberately I let the rage bleed into my game; I made an aggressive move. 'I'm angry, you are angry too?' He came back strong, clearly meaning 'yes.' Then he placed a stone away from the battle near two other stones. I took it to mean that I shouldn't forget the 'little things' like sisters and nieces. I placed a stone there as well, hoping to communicate my understanding. He then went back to the minor battle we had started earlier, which we played out and after that I gave him another open invite and he took it. I decided to leave it at that for the communication side of things and just played the new battle out, where upon, after a suitably long thinking pause, I declared myself the loser and the game was over.

I got up, he got up. We looked at each other for a long moment and it suddenly hit me that the chance of ever meeting him again was slim, very slim. Even if he was receptive to being contacted from the Japanese side, he'd probably never be allowed to communicate with me. I'm just part of the cover, not an actual spy. And for a moment I felt panic; did he even know that? Had I inadvertently promised him things that couldn't possibly happen? If I did, there was nothing I could do about it now. Now all either of us had left was this last look and I did look my fill and my heart ached when I saw the beginning of tears in his near purple orbs. That's when I looked away, bowed deeply in farewell, turned around and left without looking back, for fear of putting him in even more danger.

After I had gone through the door the goons held open for me, I strode with large steps down the corridor, knowing that at least part of the hallway had Chinese clandestine video monitoring. I rounded two corners, found a men's room, and got into a stall, putting down the toilet seat and lid before I sat down and cried my eyes out for a good ten minutes. I had fallen hard for a man who I had no hope of ever being with, and the thought of never again seeing the person I now realized I loved, not just had flutterings for, was like a knife wound; it hurt and kept on hurting, without relief.

My cell phone beeped then with a come-home-now message from Ogata.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

When I got back to the suite I was ready to kill somebody. The moment I got in - and it turned out only Ogata was there - I let him have it.

"How can they treat a genius of his level like that?! The monsters! He had bruises on his wrist; big huge bruises! And he looked pale and drawn and he wants out, he said so, he wants out!" I yelled as Ogata stood by silently. I grabbed one of the couch's throw pillows and threw it at the wall, desperately trying not to do the same to the glass vase that stood on the side table. "Arg!" was all I could add before flopping onto the couch and running my hands through my hair in attempt to calm down.

"Are you done?" Ogata asked ice cold, and took another puff of his cigarette. I felt the anger drain out of me; I'm never angry long.

"Yeah."

"Good," he said, bending over to stomp out his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table and at the same time retrieving the kifu note block, handing it and a pen to me.

"Touya-kun is on his way. Start writing up the game so we can have a look at it." I took the items and gave Ogata a glare just for good measure. Just as I'd put down the first few moves, Touya came in, using a doorkey.

You can say a lot about Touya and Ogata's lack of social skills, or even basic human emotions, but when Go was involved the three of us were in sync. As I recreated the game, the two of them looked over my shoulder and they analyzed it at the same time and got exactly out of it what I had gleaned while playing it: Sun was not happy where he was and was open to alternatives. But they would have to include his family.

They talked about it over my head for a while but I was too drained to complain about it and when they got ready to head out to their respective games, I didn't object to being locked up in my bedroom once again; it was protocol after all, for when a cover player got 'active.'

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Later that afternoon, after Master T, Ogata and Touya came back victorious and Isumi came back defeated, we had another pow-wow. The DNA results had come in and apparently there was much to discuss.

I mostly held my trap as, surprisingly, it was Master T and Master Shirakawa who did most of the talking. I had known they were of a similar age but I hadn't known they were childhood school mates and that the subject of the conversation would be another school mate of theirs.

"The results are positive, just as we'd expected after we got Sun's description; he is the long lost Fujiwara heir," Master S opened the meeting. "What bothers me is that sister and that niece that Sun mentioned. Shindou-kun, are you sure about that part?" I confirmed I was sure; desperate concern like that wasn't faked.

"So couldn't Fujiwara-donno have had twins? It happens, you know, and we only know of her pregnancy, not of the actual result. And we aren't sure of Sun's sister's date of birth either, so she could have had a second child," Ogata put in.

"Hmm," Master T said pensively. "Either could have happened. But the point is moot anyway; Sun won't move without his family, and I can understand that. If he'd had a wife and child, we would be considering including those, even if they were Chinese themselves."

"It's because Sun is not Chinese that we're doing this at all!" Ogata raised his voice. "Chinese people belong in China, Japanese people belong in Japan! The gall these Chinese have to take and kill a Japanese diplomat and then steal his wife and unborn child, or children, and trying to make them Chinese just to put one over on us at a Go tournament!" he yelled.

"Now now, Ogata-kun, calm down, you know it didn't quite go like that. Fujiwara-donno and his wife were just caught in the revolution 20 years ago. We should be happy that young Fujiwara and his sister weren't killed at that time. Now we have a chance to get them back and we must be circumspect on how we do it or we risk losing both him and the sister, and the niece too, which will probably be more than Fujiwara-sama's heart can take."

I was back sitting on the couch while the others sat forward talking intently. I knew of the 'incident' 20 years ago of course, and tried to put Sun's story within that frame work. This is what I understood: Sun was the son of a Fujiwara-clan diplomat, who in turn was a son (the only son, as I later learned) of Chancellor Fujiwara, liaison of the Court to the Shogunate; a Very Important Person in Japanese politics. So effectively Sun was the Chancellor's only grandson. So it was clear we, Japan's spies, had to get Sun out. Not in the least because he was of Japanese blood and therefore had automatic citizenship, something we take very seriously here, but also because of his family connections. I wondered if Sun knew any of this.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The rest of the tournament was a whirl of cloak and dagger, most of which I missed because I was either in my room during the games or flanked by Master S, Master T and Isumi in the evenings. Imagine that; Master T watching my back! I knew it was protocol but Ogata took a moment to impress on me quite firmly that I was to lay low until we all got home; it was an order. It put a stop on me having the same type of fun I had had the previous years, but considering what was at stake - the safety and future of the man I love - I was not complaining or objecting to the treatment. Well, not much anyway.

The only thing I did object to was that I wasn't allowed to help. I was well aware that I just didn't have the the field training to be of help, but it was frustrating nonetheless. I did my part; be an airhead in public and play plenty of cover games in private with Isumi, me trying to emulate Ogata's play style while Isumi tried to play Touya's way. And then playing that way against Master T and Master S, urg, not easy!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Our team tried, we really tried, but there just was no way to get close to Sun again at the tournament. Just as someone had organized that I would go up against Sun in game four, so someone else had made sure Sun only went up against country men from there on, all the way to game ten, the final game of the tournament, where he played Master T.

Sun's Chinese opponents were no dummies either. I've seen the kifu, those were life and death struggles, every single one of them! And now that I knew a Chinese player - or Sun at least - would be punished if he lost, I could understand why the 'dragons' fought so hard. And privately I was glad to have been knocked out of the tournament already because I don't think I could comfortably play another dragon to win ever again.

In the end Sun won the final but the man was whisked way immediately after the game. The tournament ribbon ended up getting presented to a Chinese official who accepted it in Sun's name. We all went home depressed and my stomach started churning and wouldn't stop even after we got off the boat back in Japan.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The moment I got back to Edo I was 'debriefed' again. This time Ogata and Touya were flanked by some men with very stern faces. Ogata told me to tell the whole story again, "This time without omissions," his tone brooking no argument. I gulped when I saw no less than three sets of recording devices sitting on the table, their recording lights ominously blinking, waiting for input. I told them everything, my thoughts and feelings too.

After three hours my story was told and all questions they put to me I had answered as best I could. I felt drained; literally pumped dry of information. I got up as the unintroduced men and Touya got up, thinking the debriefing was over. But Ogata, who had stayed seated while Touya was still gathering up his papers and his recorder, waved for me to stay. I stood uncertainly while the three others filed out, Touya giving me a serious look just before closing the door behind him.

"Sit," Ogata said unceremoniously. I retook the seat I had been in all afternoon. For a long moment I just looked at Ogata, who pulled out a cigarette and made a show of lighting it and taking a long pull on it. He blew out the smoke, instantly stuffing up the air in the small conference room. I was too drained from the debriefing and too numb from the events at the InGoTo to feel any emotion at this point. In hindsight I think I should have felt worried for having been held back; I did have that royal chewing out coming and Ogata had always been the person I liked least at the Institute. But, over the time I had been a Go Pro and a spy, my respect for the man had grown; he was always there when any of the spies needed him. So a tirade from this man would hit hard, even though I deserved one.

Ogata strongly puffed on the cigarette two more times before pulling over an ashtray and dumping the ash into it with a flick of his finger. He then laid down the cigarette, took a breath and started talking.

"I don't have to tell you what you did wrong in that first debrief on the island, do I?" he asked and I shook my head and looked down. I knew I should have told them about that kiss. Rule #1: always be truthful with your supervisor.

Ogata sighed. "For a few moments there, we thought our plan had failed," he said.

"Plan?"

"Yeah," Ogata picked up his cigarette and sat back in his chair putting a leg on his knee. "After all that finagling we did so that you'd be the one to get in that elevator and then making it crash; would have been a lot of bother for nothing."

I felt a hot wave of something wiping away my numbness. 'A lot of bother for nothing?' Hold on the whole elevator thing had been contrived? And my kissing Sun had been planned? How...?

"It's in your profile, you know," Ogata said. I must have looked like a fish, mouth hanging open with shock, because he continued smirkingly, "We knew if we'd put you there, your wide-eyed naivete would do the rest. The only thing that was a gamble was Sun; we just couldn't get enough info on him to do a proper psych work-up. But even with the basics that we knew, giving him a chance to meet some one truly honest, we hoped that he would bite, and he did."

I found myself falling back onto the chair I hadn't even realized I had stood up from. The whole thing had been planned, with me as the patsy!

I didn't realize I had said my thoughts aloud until Ogata said, "Not at all! You were placed in a situation we knew you were eminently suited for, and you did better than expected. Now that you have made a real emotional connection to Sun, he will be that much more tied to his true home, Japan, than mere blood ties to people he's never met would yield."

Yes, I'm a spy and yes, I know that means that my service to my country trumps all, but at that particular moment I felt incredibly dirty and used. "So it was all a spy plot, a Romeo trap?" I asked in a dull tone, looking at the floor. No answer came to that, and for a while there was just the sound of puffs being taken and smoke being blown. Ogata was always good at blowing smoke.

I sat there feeling sorry for myself. Selfish I know, but there you are. Then something occurred to me; my feelings about Sun were still very real, and I had no reason to believe Sun hadn't been honest about his feelings. No matter how or why, we were connected by love and I wasn't going to give up on that, no sir!

I think I shouted that last part at Ogata. I had stood up again, had my fist balled as if ready for a fight and my heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Shindou," he said, getting up and stubbing out the cigarette and moving towards the door. "Thank you, for being true to yourself and your psych profile." And with that he closed the door.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

I think I turned into royal pain after that; I kept hounding the Touya's, Ogata, Waya, Isumi, anybody and everybody at the Go Institute for information. I just had such a horrible feeling of doom about Sun's fate; it felt so wrong.

After a week of this, I was called into the briefing room at the Go Institute. And I thought, 'this is it, now they tell me the Chinese killed him, that he's dead and that there aren't even any ashes to bury,' and I felt ice running though my veins. Or they're going to tell me I'm sacked, but I did consider that unlikely; I've never heard of any Go Pro getting sacked.

I knocked on the briefing room door and was called to come in at once. Inside Master H, Master S, Master T and Ogata sat down at the conference table while Touya stood shuffling some paper about from a briefcase to the table and back. I waited until I was motioned to sit, where upon Touya also sat, pulling up a writing pad and pen from among the papers on the table.

I felt chilly as Ogata started to speak, "As you are personally involved with the case and privy to some of the particulars as well, we, all of us here, have decided you are to continue to be an active player in the matter of Sun Shun." At this point I opened my mouth to speak but Ogata waved me down and I closed it again.

"However, from now on we expect you to curb your incessant questioning. Is that clear?" he said, his voice cold and strict. I looked apologetically, nodded 'yes' and turned my gaze to my hands in my lap. Ooops, overdid it, I guess.

"Sir, how is Sun?" I asked after having given Ogata enough time to say more had he wanted to. I looked up at the spies and saw Master T exchange a telling look with Ogata. Oh no. I think my scared thought was clearly reflected on my face because Master T then said, "We have heard nothing bad on that account."

"Nothing good either," Ogata added, sounding morose. He then looked at me and said, "Sun has not been seen on internetGo since before the tournament. We are worried. We need to question you again on both encounters you've had with him."

Mentally I sighed; I had been officially debriefed for both meetings twice already but if it helped any, I was prepared to get debriefed a thousand times more. I told them that.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

For another week nothing happened - except my now daily meetings with interrogators, sketch artists, profilers, shrinks and people without named occupations, probably more spies - but then my phone rang in the middle of the night and I had exactly two minutes to get dressed before I was to be picked up by two very burly army dudes and taken god knew where.

My heart came down from my throat only when I saw Master T as I arrived at the unknown location: a windowless briefing room inside a underground bunker a few hours drive from Edo. The place was lined with computer and video screens, running computer programming and showing the view of several night time infrared head-cams respectively. The people wearing the head-cams were moving quickly, making the video feeds wobble wildly.

"Good evening, Shindou-kun," Master T said in his usual unflappable tone. I greeted him back and joined him in front of one of the bigger video screens. My army escort saluted in perfect sync, 'Sir,' turned around and marched out the same way we had entered. Creepy really.

"Sorry about the escort; time is of the essence," Master T said.

But before I could answer there was a radio crackle and Touya's disembodied voice rang out, "T2 to T1. We are getting close. ETA 2 minutes." And I was starting to decipher what the video feed on the big screen represented; it was the head-cam of a person on board a military chopper, the kind that had the side open. Intermittently I could see the feet of the head-cam owner stand on the landing struts of the chopper. I could see the man's left hand holding onto a strap preventing him from falling out of the bobbing vehicle that was at first flying over water and then over grass and bushes.

"ETA 1 minute," Touya reported. The grass was getting closer, now being pushed flat by the down draft from the chopper's blades. Then it looked like the chopper suddenly dropped and Touya shouted, "We're down, go, go go!" over the radio and I could see figures, soldiers, pass in front of Touya's head-cam. Six, seven, eight of them all disembarking the chopper and hitting the ground running. Then Touya moved, and the video shook from side to side as Touya ran. I could just see the front end of the rifle that he was obviously holding.

Touya barked orders to T4, T6 and T7 that meant nothing to me since I knew none of the codes they used. I did note he didn't talk to his dad once, not even when the bullets started flying.

You know, when you watch a war film or a TV show that has war in it, it's easy to follow the action. But when you're just getting the head-cam and voice feed from only one of I don't know how many combatants, it's impossible to follow anything. All I can tell you is that after the first bullet rain - of which I can't tell who shot them but I can tell you Touya survived - there was a huge fire blazing behind Touya - I think - and then there was an explosion that threw him off his feet - I'm guessing from the head-cam movement - then he was back on his feet, barking out some more incomprehensible orders that ended with 'go, go, go!'

He then started moving and I could see some others joining him going in the same direction. They reached the side of a low building that had a bright light - at least in night vision mode - over a closed steel door. Touya ordered someone to ram the door and I could hear that happen as Touya looked the other way and moved his head from side to side, scanning for the enemy at his companion's backs.

With a crunch the door gave and Touya was moving again, ordering someone to stay at the door. I think I counted three people plus Touya going inside. The interior was well lit and Touya flipped from night vision to regular vision, which we also got on the monitor. He ordered his men to spread out to do a search. He took a left hand corridor. It was darker there and then I saw a shadow move. Then there was earsplitting gun fire from Touya and the figure fell. Touya moved closer and when he reached the figure he rolled it over and took a good look. Male, Chinese, green uniform, low rank, blood, gaping hole in his chest, dead. A gun slipped out of the man's hand just as Touya let go of the sleeve he had grabbed to turn the man over.

"East corridor clear, killed one guard who wasn't out," Touya reported, calm as a cucumber. He moved to a steel door with a tiny window inset at eye level.

"West side clear, everybody's out cold from the gas," someone reported.

"North side clear, same here, all down," in came yet another voice.

"Starting room by room," Touya said and used a hammer like implement to bust the padlock on the door. He entered quickly, shining a torch light - in the cell it was really dark - but found it empty and moved on. He did three rooms like that - all empty - before ending up back at the entry door.

"I have a woman and child here," someone reported.

"Good, get them on a stretcher," Touya ordered. I looked at Master T and he nodded. They'd found the sister and the niece.

"Anybody see Sun?" Touya asked.

"I have nothing but soldiers here," someone reported.

"I have two prisoners here, but no one that matches Sun's description," someone else reported.

"T7, where are you?" Touya barked.

"North corridor, at the end," came the answer and Touya started moving again, this time one corridor down from where he'd gone before. This one took first a turn left than one right and Touya came upon a widened part of the corridor where there was a table and chairs and three Chinese soldiers lay slumped over the table, their faces in their half-finished noodle bowls. They must have gotten caught by the gas in the middle of their food break. If my heart hadn't been hammering in my throat I might have laughed; it was quite a funny sight.

"Here, sir," the Japanese soldier that had come into Touya's view said, indicating one of the open steel doors with the down turned front end of his sub-machine gun. Touya went in with the flashlight.

Inside was a very dirty and wet looking cell with two bunks in it, one on each side and a filthy bucket sitting between them. Each bunk held a human shape. Touya tried the first; a short haired male of about 30 years of age, who had very Chinese features, out cold. Touya moved to the other bed. The figure there had his back turned to Touya's head-cam, but it was clear that he too was short haired and very dirty. My heart sank; what if Sun wasn't here at all?

Then Touya laid his black leather gloved hand on the man's shoulder and rolled him over. He got closer so we could see the sleeping man's face."That's him," I shouted. "That's him!!!"

"T2 to T1, say again, over?" Touya's voice came.

"T1 to T2. Positive ID. It's him. Bring him home. How copy, over?"Master T said loud and clear.

"Copy that. Will do. T2, out," Touya said.

I found I had to sit down and I did so at the central table. They'd found Sun. Dirty but alive. Without his lovely hair but ALIVE. And that was all that mattered.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

5.

The knock-out gas that had put out the inhabitants of the Chinese compound - all but one apparently - took a while to wear off and I was allowed to come sit by Sun's bed after he'd been cleaned up and dressed in new clothes. His own had been filthy, but that's not the reason why the Japanese doctors - who I suspected were part of the intelligence service too – removed them immediately; they were worried the outfit might have been fitted with a tracer of some kind.

Apparently the sister's dress had been and the niece's doll had had a bug sewn into it. They removed it and, after a good clean, put the toy back in the three year old's bed.

I had seen Sun's family members coming through, and I had taken a long look at the sister. She was roughly the same complexion as her brother, similar colored hair - hers was still in a long braid - but there the similarity ended. Where he was slender and tall, she was stocky, almost square. Her face was quite coarse too, where Sun had a gentle and elegant round face.

I was actually surprised these two were family. Maybe the sister had had a different father? Well, I knew we were going to find out, because I saw blood samples being taken from all three and sent straight to the lab.

As I sat next to Sun, watching him sleep, I saw how unhealthy he looked. These last two weeks had not been good to him, leaving him thin, with black bags under his eyes and his hair cut short, hacked off with a knife, it seemed. And when the nurse came to give him a sponge off, I saw he had bruises on his shoulders, just before the nurse ordered me out of the room.

As I stood leaning against the wall in the hallway waiting to be let in, all I could think was, at least he's alive, at least he's alive, ALIVE.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Six hours after Sun had been rescued he woke up. And I was right there to tell him we had his sister and niece too. He had started to panic when he realized he wasn't in that cell anymore. I had to repeat it several times before it sunk in and it wasn't until I helped him to sit up so he could see his niece in the cot on the other side of the hospital room that he started to calm down.

He then asked after his sister and all I could tell him was that I'd seen her, that she was just fine but that they were keeping her in another room, adding truthfully that I didn't know why. I could see in his eyes that it wasn't the complete information he'd hoped for but for now he seemed to accept it and he sagged back against me and let me put him back down flat on the bed. He groped for my hand and tiredly thanked me. As I waved off the thanks his eyes fell shut and he went into a natural sleep.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

A few hours later Master T came by Sun's sick bed and we moved away a little and stood talking in low tones for a while not wanting to wake either Sun or his niece - whose name was Meilin - up from their well earned rest.

After Master T had told me his son, and everybody else on the team, had survived the mission in good order, we talked some about Sun's background and his future. Apparently Chancellor Fujiwara and his wife were on their way and it was up to us - meaning me - to help prepare Sun to be reunited with the family he had never known existed. If Sun hadn't even suspected he wasn't Chinese, all this was going to come as a shock to him.

Just then I heard Sun groan and I rushed back to his bed side just in time to help him get to a seated position. He thanked me and then looked up at Master T, apparently just noticing there was another person in the room. His eyes went wide.

"Grand Master Touya, I am honored! My humble self did not expect to see such an illustrious person as yourself," Sun said and tried to bow deeply. I helped him sit up again, this time keeping hold of his arm and keeping a hand on his back to steady him if necessary. I parked my hip on the edge of the bed for better leverage.

Master T gave a - for him - deep bow and rumbled,"It is I who am honored to see you alive and on Japanese soil." I could hear Sun swallow, and a tremor entered his voice as he asked:

"Am I a prisoner?"

I looked from Sun's scared face to Master T's kindly face. "Not at all,"Master T said. "You are free, you have in fact come home; you are Japanese born and as such Japan is your home."

I looked at Sun and the poor guy had eyes as big as soccer balls and I felt some strength leaving him as he sagged against me. "And what of my sister? My niece?" he asked. I looked back at Master T and I didn't like what I saw; his kind face had fallen to make way for a darkly concerned look. He didn't have to say anything, it seemed that look was enough, because suddenly Sun started to struggle against me, trying to get out of bed and he pleaded, "I want to see my sister, I need to see my sister!" I could easily hold him, he was as weak as a kitten, but I didn't know what was to happen next so I looked over at Master T who looked pensive with his index finger to his mouth, arms crossed.

Sun struggled feebly on, calling for his sister – whose name apparently was Yanmei - and starting to cry into my shoulder when it became clear I wouldn't let him go. I looked back at Master T pleadingly. He dropped the finger and said, "Alright, let's go see your sister."

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

As I helped Sun into a wheelchair with the aid of a sturdy nurse, I realized that Sun was even weaker than I'd thought, and I asked Master T if this was such a good idea. Couldn't Yanmei come to her brother?

"Unfortunately that's not possible right now," Master T said. "She's not allowed to roam about, just yet." I gave Sun a dubious look and he answered it with a worried look of his own. My hackles were up; something was wrong.

Well, the first wrong thing was that Master T didn't take us to Yanmei's room but to an observation room where we could see her, but she couldn't see us. The room we were in was barely lit at all whereas the interrogation room - for that was what it was - was overly bright. A steel table stood in the center of the room surrounded by four steel chairs, two of which were occupied: Ogata was seated facing away from the observation window, and Yanmei in a chair on the opposite side, looking towards the observation window and unknowingly towards us. She had her arms crossed and looked really pissed off, a look that didn't suit her square face at all.

All three of us looked into the other room, Sun sitting in the wheelchair, me next to him with a hand on his thin shoulder and Master T next to me. I heard and felt the door open behind me and I looked in time to see Touya enter, holding a folder, a note pad and a pen. As if on cue Ogata started to speak in the other room.

"Now then, Sun-san, are we going to be reasonable? Your brother and daughter are doing fine, there's no need to worry," Ogata said. But apparently that wasn't what the lady wanted to hear. She jumped up, upending her chair and started shouting at him in rapid fire Chinese, of which I didn't understand a word. But it seemed that Sun did because he grabbed my arm and started crying and Master T must also have understood because I've never seen him move so fast to reach the speaker button to cut the sound off.

Sun pulled so hard on my arm that I knelt by the chair and he pretty much flung himself at me, sobbing his heart out. I let him glide into my arms onto the floor and I wrapped my arms around him as he cried and cried.

I looked up at Master T from my position on the floor and he looked stricken. Then I looked at Touya and he actually looked very, very angry. I saw him look at his dad and then turn around and stomp out of the room.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

After a while Sun had stopped crying and he just lay limply in my arms. Master T indicated to me to get him up and back into the chair but I decided not to bother with that thing. Sun was light enough and so I put one arm behind his knees and one behind his back and got up to my feet. I set off towards Sun's bed without checking who followed me.

Back in his room I gently put him on his bed but he had roused enough to object being laid down flat so I held him up while the nurse put two pillows behind his back so he could sit up. Once he was positioned, I looked him over with a critical eye. He looked terrible, worse than when they'd brought him in now 12 hours or so ago. His face was now white as a sheet and his brow was covered in cold sweat. Seeing that I called the nurse back and she promptly called for a doctor who came and gave Sun a shot, after assuring Sun it wouldn't put him to sleep, just boost his energy a bit. The doctor then turned to me - I think the man thought I was Sun's caretaker or something - and told me to get Sun to eat and drink something.

The nurse was very fast on the uptake, because no sooner had the doctor left the room, she appeared back with a paper bag with two bento lunches and three orange juice small packs and a tray with a steaming bowl on it which, disappointingly, turned out to be porridge for Sun.

I took the porridge bowl and sat down at the side of Sun's bed and Master T accepted the rest and while I started feeding Sun - who spluttered but only half-heartedly - Master T set out the rest of the meal for us on the swing-over-the-bed table. Throughout the process of feeding Sun and then ourselves we all kept silent.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Sun had fallen asleep after lunch and Master T and I ended up playing Go on a napkin in silence after he had refused point blank to translate what Yanmei had said. I was sure Master T had understood every word and I really wanted to know, but nothing I said could persuade the man into telling me.

I think we sat there for hours before Ogata showed up to take up position at Master T's back and observe me getting clobbered for the third time that day. Real shell Go stones on kaya wood or ink on napkin, Master T is one hell of a Go player!

But once Touya walked in, with his signature note pad under his arm, Master T stopped playing and we all looked up at him. He still looked angry. He cocked his head towards Sun who still slept. "Is it safe to wake him up?" he asked. None of us were sure so I hailed a nurse who consulted a chart, declared it safe and left again.

I gently shook Sun's shoulder. He woke right up, giving me a sweet smile before it disappeared when he saw that there were other people present.

"I'm sorry to have to wake you, but this is a matter of some urgency,"Touya started speaking. He looked over his father, Ogata and me in turn before asking, "How much has he been told of his situation?" If Sun thought it rude being talked about while present, he didn't give any hint of it. I for one thought it was very rude, but I decided I'd have that out with Touya later sometime over our next game, stuffed shirt that he is.

"I've informed him that he is of Japanese blood and have explained what that entails," Master T said gravely. Touya primly nodded his approval and then consulted his notepad, opening it in the middle somewhere before flicking to the desired page. He then looked at Sun and spoke at length.

"You are the son of Fujiwara Hiro and Fujiwara Keiko, born sometime in Atsuko 21, aka international year 1986."

"June," Sun interrupted. "I was born in June."

Touya made a note on his pad and continued, "This was of course after your parents got caught in the 'incident' and were stuck in China. We don't know what happened to your mother, but we have learned that your father was executed sometime in Atsuko 21.

"Fujiwara Hiro was adjunct-ambassador to Wuhan city at the time of the 'incident.' His father, who is your grandfather, is Fujiwara Jiro, who is married to Yamada Mikko," Touya consulted his notes and continued. "Even though you were yet to be born, your parents had picked out a given name for you. Your name is Fujiwara Sai."

A silence fell while all this information sank in. My Sun was really called Sai, that would take a bit of getting used to. And what of...?

"And Yanmei? What is her real name?" I asked. Suddenly everybody's expression changed; Touya got that angry look back, Master T frowned, Ogata sighed audibly and looked pissed off and Sun, uh, Sai looked like he'd start crying again.

"What did I say?" I asked genuinely perplexed.

It was Touya who answered, "Not your fault, you couldn't have known. Fujiwara-san, would it be alright if I informed him concisely?" Sai, who had rolled his face into my shoulder and away from the group, nodded against my neck.

"Very well," Touya started speaking, looking directly at me. I stared back just as impassively. "As it is known that you do not understand sufficient Chinese to be expected to follow what Yanmei said in the interview room earlier I will explain fully. We got the results back from the blood tests and we confronted her with them. She is in no way related to the Fujiwara blood line. We have no idea who she is. When confronted she demanded we send her home, when asked about her brother, she said some really rude things that clearly showed that she does not consider Fujiwara to be her brother and that she had only pretended to gain money and status." At this I felt Sai shudder against me. Poor bloke must have really believed she was his true sister all his life.

"When asked what she wanted, she again demanded to be sent home to China. When asked about her daughter she said that having the child had been a means to an end only, and that she didn't want to take 'it' with her, and we are to do with the child whatever we pleased." Now Sai was sobbing silently and I told Touya to stop his tale. I think it was only then that Touya took a good look at me with Sai crying in my arms; he actually paled. "Sorry," he said softly.

We all waited silently for Sai to pull himself together, while some of us composed ourselves; I saw the color slowly return to Touya's face and I was starting to lose that cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. At last Sai turned his face away from my shoulder, leaving both quite damp, and I helped as he struggled to sit up straighter in the bed.

"What," he started to say, but then had to swallow before he tried again. He had a deathly pallor and I scooted a little closer so I could lend him some strength. "What is the urgent matter?" he asked, this time a little stronger.

"Uh," Touya flustered - another first; Mr. Ice-cube just doesn't fluster - "It's the matter of your, uh, niece. Or your not-niece I should say," he added. Oh man, open mouth, insert foot, why don't chya!

But Sai didn't react to that and said quite firmly, "My niece, my family, blood or no blood."

"Yes, alright," Touya said. "Well, the options for her are limited. She is of full Chinese blood, so the Chinese government has that claim on her." I tightened my arm about Sai's shoulder as I felt him rear up at that statement; I was sure there was more and I tried to tell him so with my firm grip.

Presently he subsided and Touya continued talking. "But Yanmei, as the legal mother, has actually renounced any interest in the child, and by Japanese law, any person willing to claim the child may do so at any time."

Sai shook in my arms and I helped push him up and nodded wildly as he said, "I, Fujiwara Sai, Japanese by blood, hereby claim her as my kin!"The words and phrasing Sai had chosen were very old fashioned, but I could follow the phrasing well enough that, when asked to testify to these events, I'd be able to verify Sai's claim. I didn't know much about family law, but I did know the legal status of a claim like Sai had just made; even though it was verbal, it was as binding as any signed document.

Touya nodded gravely and then flipped his notepad to an empty page. He scribbled for a few minutes then he gave the pad and the pen to Sai and said, "Read it and sign." I looked over Sai's shoulder, breathing in his scent and it said exactly what Sai had said. He signed it. Then I signed it, followed by Master T and Ogata, and lastly Touya. Touya put the pad back under his arm and said, "I'll get this processed," before walking off.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

We persuaded Sai to get a little sleep while waiting; after all, Meilin was sleeping - under sedation - in the next bed and at best it would take a few hours before the red tape was sorted out. Master T and Ogata left, but Sai made me stay - no hardship there - and since I was dead tired too, I climbed into bed as well, much to the chagrin of the nurse. I wrapped my arms around the man I loved, breathed in his scent, settled my forehead against the back of his head, and silently promising him and myself to never let him go, I drifted off to sleep.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

We were 'stuck' in the hospital wing of the secret bunker for another few days. After Sai was declared well enough, an escort showed up to take him to 'debriefing.' The situation got my hackles up right away; I'd never had a four man soldier detail escort me to a debriefing, so why send one for Sai?

I decided to get in the leader's face about it and apparently he was under orders not to get physical with me or anyone because I really tried to get up his nose - and his nostrils flared wildly enough for me to conclude that I had succeeded - but he didn't shove me aside when I blocked the man's access from Sai, nor did he try to make a grab for him when he could have. Instead the man called Touya and Touya ordered me to let Sai go. I told Touya to stick it up his, uh, nose and that at the very least I was going with Sai where ever he was made to go. I knew I was doing the right thing here, especially because I could feel Sai trembling from where he was hiding behind me. I was fully prepared to resist us being separated until the cows came home, just to help Sai not be frightened; I was really only 10% worried that anybody here meant him any harm.

Touya gave in quicker than I expected and actually dismissed the sergeant and his three subordinates. He ordered me to get Sai to the interview room in a reasonable time frame. Well, that was nice, at least now Sai had a chance to dress and wash his face. Mine too; I could feel it needed it.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The interview room had been given a makeover, I noticed as I wheeled Sai in. There wasn't much that could have truly improved the drab walls and steel furniture, but an effort had been made to make the place feel more comfortable. There was a tray on the table with tea for 5 people - Master T, Ogata, Touya, Sai and myself - with a stack of hospital crackers and what the doctors here called 'nutritional cookies' - supposed to have all the right vitamins and didn't taste half bad either - on two separate plates. A small blanket had been thrown over one chair, meant for Sai I assumed, and the view mirror on the wall was covered with a set of gray curtains, making looking in from the observation room impossible. I hoped anyway. Also it didn't mean nobody could be listening anyway. But then I spotted the recording device - latest IS5 issue - and I realized the point was moot; many people would be listening to what was said today.

"Is that necessary?" I asked, nodding towards the thing on the table.

Touya put his hand on it and said, "It'll save time. This way Fujiwara only has to tell his story once and not be bothered again."

Yeah, right, until there is something some people really want to know and then he has to tell it again and again. I gave Touya a look that matched my thoughts. He gave me a determined look back; well well, he was prepared to back up his words, I was impressed.

After we all settled down and tea had been served Master T invited Sai to tell his life's story in his own words. Sai talked a long time and used many old fashioned phrases, some of which I had to look up - well, OK, ask Touya about - later.

Here is what I remember he said, together with what I figured out later he said.

"I was told I was part of twins born to members of the despicable nobility class and that my parents' name had been erased after their execution and that I should never refer to them or ask after their deeds or I would be punished. I lived with my sister in Linxia prefecture. I went to school and my sister worked in a laundry. Because we were nobility class, we were looked down upon and I had to do well in school or my sister was punished." Here Sai stopped and drew in a harsh breath.

"I tried so hard but the tasks they gave me, they were too hard and too many, and..." He stopped again and looked at the table top for a long moment and then continued. "I was never there to see the punishments and she would never allow me to see the bruises, but I would hear her scream. It was, it was..."

I put a hand on his arm and said softly, "Take your time."

"Then my tutors discovered I was good at math and we were sent to another town, a bigger town, Lanzou, in Gansu prefecture. I was 7 years old. Yanmei started working in a kitchen and I studied math. And my new tutors taught me Go. I did better in school; there were now fewer punishments. Sometimes I still couldn't finish all the home work in time, even if I worked all night and Yanmei would pay for it," he sobbed. I gripped is arm tighter, conveying my support.

"But you never saw her punished, nor ever saw her bruises or wounds,"Touya made the question sound like a statement.

"No, never," Sai answered. Even though a recording was being made, Touya still had been making notes throughout and he made one after Sai's confirmation. He then waved his hand in a please-continue gesture.

"When I was 12 I was getting really good at Go and my tutors recommended me for the Go program. I was accepted and we moved again, to Tianjin city. Now we got a really nice flat to live in and Yanmei didn't have to take job anymore, she looked after the flat and me from then on. I was warned to study hard and pass all exams and win all my games or we'd lose the flat and the clothes and the food.

"I could not win all my games but if it was a non-competitive game I was allowed to take punishment myself and so I could spare Yanmei," he continued. I was starting to feel anger rising up my spine; the little bitch had let Sai take punishments that she wouldn't have suffered anyway! She was lucky she'd been taken to another facility yesterday or I'd have gone to her cell that instant and have decked her for sure.

"I studied hard and won most of my games at first, and then I worked harder and started winning all of them," Sai continued. "By the time I was 16 we were doing very well; we had enough to eat, heat in the winter, an outing in the summer, enough clothes and things to make my sister happy. We were not free to go where we pleased, or at least I was not. During the day I was at the Go school or at a tournament. In the evening I was either home studying or still at school playing internetGo." He paused again. "I suppose that Yanmei could have gone anywhere while I was away from home, but I was told by her and by the guards that she was stuck at home all the time. I made allowances for her crankiness from boredom as much as I could." He looked again at the table top.

"Now I see how she played me. She played me many times but the worst time was when I lost to you, Grand Master, at internetGo," Sai shuddered as he looked up to the ceiling and wrapped his arms around himself as if to keep himself safe. I added my arms and presently he let his head rest on my shoulder.

"I was so upset at having lost, for I knew there would be punishment and it had already started when I arrived home. The guard had to tie me to a chair to prevent me from entering my sister's bedroom. They'd left the door open, and where I was put I could not see in, but I could hear everything!"Sai put his hands to his ears, shaking his head wildly, so I dropped my arms away for a moment so our heads wouldn't collide and then I grabbed him properly from behind, laying my head against his neck so he couldn't head-butt me accidentally. I held on, riding out the storm of his emotions while whispering stuff like 'it's all right' and 'shhh' in his ear.

After some very long moments he stopped thrashing and started crying. I held him tightly, his face against my chest, while the others chose to step out for a break.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

When Sai was finished crying and was calm again I called the others back in and was pleased to note that someone had thought of getting a fresh tea pot and what appeared to be a thermos of noodle soup and some bowls. Touya filled bowls and passed them around and we ate in silence.

After Sai passed me his half-finished bowl - I'd tried to get him to eat more but I could see he was just too exhausted - I put his and mine on the table. "Is there anything else?" I asked Touya, clearly implying that I thought that it was time to quit for the day.

"Just this," Touya said, handing me a single sheet of typed up paper to hand to Sai. I glanced at it in passing; it was a short version of what Sai had told us, cut down to the bare facts. I passed it on and while Sai quickly read it I accepted the pen Touya held out and passed that on the moment Sai needed it. He signed and handed both items back.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

The next day Sai looked better. But unfortunately his ordeal wasn't over yet. Again Touya came in with his notepad around 11 o'clock.

"One last thing," he said coming straight to the point. "Do you have any wishes concerning Yanmei? She wants to be sent home, is that all right with you?" he asked Sai, but it was I who answered.

"Yes, ship her home, she belongs in China, the b," here I stopped myself. "Send her home but cut off her hair first, like her country men did to Sai!" I almost screamed, getting up from my chair. But then I felt a strong tug on my sleeve and I looked down at Sai's tearful face.

"No!" he cried. "Don't cut her hair, please!" he pleaded. I frowned. Why the hell not cut it? She deserved it for making Sai think he was guilty of getting her raped!

"Shindou," Touya said, calling my attention away from Sai who was again sobbing, and this time it was my fault. "Shindou," Touya repeated. "You probably don't know what it means when they cut the hair off like that; it means the person is to be executed."

My heart skipped a painful beat. I looked down at Sai, with his badly cut hair sticking out this way and that. I dropped back onto my seat and embraced him. "Oh Sai, they were going to kill you," I breathed. "And it would have been my fault, wouldn't it? I wasn't careful enough keeping us secret, wasn't I?" I said softly.

Then I felt his head shake 'no' against mine and he said, "No, no, it would have happened sooner rather than later anyway. I was so tired, I couldn't have kept winning. Even for Yanmei, even for Meilin, so tired." He started crying again and I heard Touya leave as I awkwardly climbed onto the bed without letting the love of my life go.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

So now you know what happened at the 2007 InGoTo. Yeah, I know, very sappy story, but hey that's what love does to a man sometimes.

I don't know if you're interested in what happened next. Oh, you are? Well,it's gonna be more mushy stuff you know, but if you really wanna know...

I didn't go to the next InGoTo or the one after that nor will I ever go again, I think; it would be much too dangerous for me to go there again, the Chinese are known to be vindictive. Of course Sai can't ever go again either. In fact Sai isn't allowed to leave Japanese soil; the government - and his grandfather - are too afraid the Chinese will steal him back from us. I kinda get that fear; if he's snatched back, they'll likely have him publicly executed - Touya implied as much some time after we'd settled in - and no one here wants that. Me least of all.

After Sai was debriefed enough to satisfy even Ogata, and after the doctors gave him and Meilin a clean bill of health, I was ordered to escort them to Edo, and I was told my new job description was to be escorting Sai for the foreseeable future, with Touya implying I'd be stuck with that job forever. Not that I minded in the least.

We went to visit Sai's grandparents in their super grand house. The meeting didn't go very well; the only things they had in common was a last name and an interest in Go. But the grandfather was only a low level Go amateur and so they couldn't really talk serious Go with either of us. The grandmother liked Meilin, but insisted on calling her 'Umeko' - that being the name they'd picked for their Fujiwara grandchild - and it confused Meilin, since Sai and I hadn't known to prepare her for that. And we couldn't convince the old lady to lay it off until the next visit. So altogether it wasn't a big hit.

I guess the Go spies using me as bait in a honey trap was in a way justified after all; Sai's Fujiwara grandparents were too cold and aloof to make enough of a connection to a person as emotional as Sai is. If the 'honey' to glue Sai to Japan had had to come from these two, the whole thing might never have worked. Just saying.

Hanging around Sai and Meilin all day and all night, I found that Sai was very good with his former niece, now daughter. He was patient and indulgent of her inexperience, he was firm when he had to be and he delighted in making her smile, as she was him. They really were too adorable for words together. And you know, if it had been any other father with any other child, I probably would have hurled at the candy-floss sweetness, but since it was Sai and Meilin, ah that made all the difference.

After I had been staying with Sai and Meilin for three months I suddenly realized I hadn't been home to my flat in all that time and that I hadn't missed the place at all. That day I asked Sai if I could move in and he said he thought I long since had, and so I called up my landlord and canceled my contract. Official moving only took a day, and I planned it on a day Sai would be busy at the Go Institute anyway, so he wouldn't be bothered by the movers.

Most of our lives went smoothly. Sai qualified as a Pro - a real Pro, not a place holder or spy - in no time flat and was busy playing Go every working day from then on. Meilin liked to eat, sleep, and draw in coloring books and on the odd wall sometimes. She first hated learning Japanese but got over that quickly when she found she was allowed to make friends at school. She got used to being called Umeko and she never once asked after her mother. Most likely there's a bad story there that I fear will come to haunt us later. But for now she is a happy 6 years old and busy learning her first Kanji in school.

By and large Sai was accepted into Japan and Japanese society quite smoothly. But there were one or two bumps along the way. One time Sai and I were invited to a friendly round-robin* Go tournament in Kyoto. There one player refused to play Sai, saying he refused to play Go with a traitor. The man spat Sai in the face too and I was ready to sock him one when Sai called me back. Sai waited until the man had left before telling me not to hold it against the man.

"He is right not to set himself as equal to someone who has betrayed his country," Sai said. I argued that Sai didn't betray his country; he was of Japanese blood! "But I didn't know I wasn't Chinese at the time of my betrayal," Sai said sadly.

I tried to argue against it, but Sai wouldn't let himself off the hook. Not then and still not. Since then the subject has come up from time to time and still Sai won't excuse himself from the guilt. When they refused him permission to go to Canada for a Go conference. When they assigned us a 'security detail' when we went to the International Open Go, held in Sapporo, even though there were no Chinese attendees at that event. Every time something like that happened, Sai told me to cool it and just take it. It really was the only thing we ever argued about. On any other subject Sai would yield to my position - a fact, once I found that out, I took into account whenever arguments came up; I didn't want to waltz all over him after all - but not that one, he never budged on that one.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

Well, this was my story, of how I became a spy, what happened while I was one and how I stopped being a spy. As one of the fathers of a precocious 6 year old and the husband of the best Go Pro of Japan - Master T having retired a year ago, after Touya was killed while on a mission - and not being a bad player myself, I have my hands full and no more time for serious spying. Officially I'm the 'operative' assigned to the still suspect Fujiwara Sai. But since Sai doesn't seem to be making any move towards world domination or treason of any kind, my paper work for my secret job is done within 5 minutes every week. No, on the whole our household is a deadly dull place, only livened up with having to make Umeko wash her artwork off the walls, yet again!

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

6. Epilogue

"So, how was that? Was it what you're looking for?"

"Exactly what we were looking for, Shindou-san."

Chairs scraping.

"What happens now?"

"Now, we both sign as participant and witness and these tapes will be sealed with our signatures and put in our National Archives, not to be opened until one hundred years have passed."

"So not until the year 2111?"

"Exactly."

Rustling of papers and sounds of pens scribbling on paper.

Recording ends.

-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-Go-

* a round-robin tournament is where every player gets to play every other player, win or lose.