The ten-year trace of the soul of chess

nine in the morning.

Japanese Chess Academy.Within the Youxuan.

Time is like the fine sand in an hourglass, passing by at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At first, Kuwahara Jin joked with the staff, planning to "educate" the sleepy boy after he arrived.

However, as time passed, the smile on the old man's face was gradually replaced by a solemn look.

He still folded his arms and was sitting in front of the chess pier.After checking the time for the last time, Kuwahara Jin let out a long breath, and closed his eyes silently as if meditating.

The staff on the side kept checking the time, and the recorder went out to check almost every 10 minutes, but in the silent and empty corridor, the figure that should have appeared was not seen for a long time.

There are only 5 minutes left before the game starts.

No prior leave.He also does not answer the calls of the Chess Academy.

Nothing has been heard from.

Emi Maeda thought she had been the recorder of many title battles, but she had never felt that the atmosphere in the game room was so oppressive and anxious, which almost drained everyone's patience.

The uneasy atmosphere in the Youxuan Room seemed to spread to the reporter lounge and review room one by one through the flow of air.

As early as 10 minutes ago, He Gu expressed great dissatisfaction with Shinto's late arrival.

At this time, the door of the examination room opened.

Everyone looked at the door in unison, but fell silent at the same time as Yi Jiao lowered his eyes and shook his head.

09:30am.

The 61st Honinbo Title Tournament has six rounds, and the game time is up.

However, the frozen TV screen ruthlessly reveals the cold fact that the chess player Mitsu Hachidan is absent for no reason.

In the examination room, He Gu was like a rabid lion, constantly changing his sitting position, and couldn't help but curse in his heart.

There is still a chance in the last 10 minutes.

——If the chess player fails to show up 10 minutes late, the game will be judged as a loss on the spot.

"What the hell is Shindo doing?!" He Gu shouted angrily, and slammed his fist on the table.The chess cover that was originally placed on the table, followed by this violent vibration, turned several times on the table.

"He Gu!" Yi Jiao reminded in a low voice, and finally pulled He Gu's restless mind back a little.

He looked around belatedly, and when he met the strange gazes from everyone, he finally couldn't sit still, and said in a low voice: "I'm going out to make a phone call." He knocked on the door and left the examination room.

Standing at the window, He Gu dialed out the phone again and again, but there was no one answering the phone.

"Damn—(くそ)!!!" After the fifth failed call, Kazuya kicked the wall as if venting his anger.

There are only 5 minutes left before the verdict, what the hell is Shinto doing? ! !

At the same time, in the Central Hospital.

The surgical light above the emergency room on the third floor was like blood, dazzlingly reflected in the pupils of the light.

He usually didn't feel dizzy, but when he saw the red operating light, he felt dizzy for a while, and even his ears seemed to have tinnitus for a short time.

At first, Guangquan thought it was his own illusion, but when he came back to his senses, he realized that it was really the phone ringing.

As soon as he picked up the phone, He Gu's scolding slammed down his head and face: "Shito, where are you now? You can't compare to the game?!"

Hikaru didn't remember until now that today was supposed to be his life and death battle in the Honinbo Title Challenge.

But at this moment, he took a deep look at the closed door of the emergency room, and thought to himself, what is the title of Honinbo?As long as Taya is okay, let him do anything.

As long as Taya is okay...

Maybe it was because he didn't hear Guang's reply, and He Gu was in a hurry, and shouted into the phone: "Are you listening to me?!"

Guang thought he was calm enough, but he didn't expect to break his voice when he opened his mouth.

"He Gu." Guang Ting himself called out almost sadly.

It seemed that something was wrong over there and stopped talking.

Guang swallowed with difficulty: "Hegu, Liang is in first aid right now, I can't go, you... abstain for me..."

Guang spoke slowly, feeling that every time he uttered a word, a barb was tearing at his throat forcefully.In the end, the whole voice was completely hoarse.

The other end of the phone was completely quiet, and the little noise that could be heard before seemed to disappear suddenly.

Guang found that his hands holding the mobile phone were shaking badly, and he asked He Gu as if grasping at a straw, "Can you... come here for a while?"

After hanging up the phone, Guang buried his face deeply in his palm, his elbows propped helplessly on his thighs, and his high shoulders were like two lonely mountain peaks.

I don't know how long it has passed, when he felt his shoulders being held by someone, Guang's whole body trembled for a moment, and suddenly he raised his head, and after seeing clearly that it was He Gu, his shoulders immediately collapsed.His face was pale and bloodless, and his eyes were bloodshot as if he had been awake for 72 consecutive hours.

He reached out and grabbed He Gu's wrist.The cold touch like ice made Hegu's skin immediately goosebumps, but he gritted his teeth and didn't pull out his hand.

Hikari looked over He Gu, and then saw Yi Jiao who came with him.

"Hegu, Yijiao..." When Guang spoke, the hoarse voice startled even himself.

It's like calling a friend's name subconsciously. After finishing speaking, my mind goes blank and I can't say anything.

He Gu sat down beside Guang, and put his arms around Guang's shoulders.

Yijiao looked at him, nodded at him, and then asked Guang: "How is the situation now? Have you notified Mr. Taya and them?"

Hearing Yi Jiao's question, only the once chaotic thoughts could be recovered.

He nodded with some difficulty, and said as calmly as possible: "Teacher Taya and the others are not in the country now. I have just contacted Mrs. Taya with Liang's mobile phone, and she will come back on the earliest flight..."

While speaking, the door of the emergency room opened.

Light immediately stood up and went forward.

The doctor came out from the door, took off the mask in front of them, and said, "The patient suffered from acute gastric bleeding caused by a gastric ulcer. Fortunately, he was sent to the hospital in time, and his life is no longer in danger."

After these words, Guang suddenly relaxed.

His feet were weak, and he hurriedly put a hand on He Gu's shoulders, so as not to kneel down in front of the doctor.

He kept saying "thank you" to the doctor until the doctor left after explaining the follow-up matters, but he was still stuck in place like a wooden stick.

He tried to move his legs, but found he couldn't.

The limbs were frozen stiff as if they had been poured with condensate.

After Liang was pushed out, Guang took his own initiative and moved him to a single ward.

Liang, he said, likes to be quiet.

Lovers on the hospital bed, trapped fragile in the white quilt.

Just remembering what Liang said to himself on the rooftop that day, he suddenly believed that there really was "retribution" in this world.All the injuries he once inflicted on Taya are now repaid back to himself.

Why didn't you treat Taya better before?

Thinking about it now, my memory is full of scenes calling him "idiot" and "idiot".

Why didn't Taya take him to the hospital for an examination knowing that he had a bad stomach?

The subtle pain and remorse are like colorless and odorless corrosive gas, penetrating into Guang's heart pervasively, gnawing at all his consciousness every minute.

Guang put his hand under the quilt, and firmly held Liang's hand, as if if he didn't hold it tighter, he might lose him at any time.

I dare not imagine a world without you in the future.

I don't dare to imagine that I will never see you smiling at me with gentle eyebrows and eyes.

Taya, you know that I hate coming to the hospital by myself the most, but why do you keep me stuck in the hospital for so long?

Guang lightly touched Liang's face, it was so warm that one couldn't bear to move it away.

In my impression, Liang always said "nothing".

It's okay, nothing will happen.

He is like his own harbor, always allowing himself to get whatever he wants unconditionally, sheltering himself from the wind and rain.

it's OK.

This sentence is like a mantra, constantly giving hints to himself, so that after a long time, the tight string relaxes like hypnosis.

It was as if that person really possessed an immortal body.

How did the previous few hours come, just like a short-term amnesia, I can't remember clearly.

He only remembered being stunned when he saw the fainted Liang.

But in the next second, he forced himself to calm down.

Because he can't afford to gamble.

He dare not use his panic to gamble on his lover's most precious golden time.

He rushed into the room quickly and called the emergency number.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he wiped away the blood on Liang's palms and lips, but he didn't dare to move him casually.

So, he just kept holding Liang's hand and stood by his side.

I also thought about carrying Qiliang's life on my back, but I didn't have a concrete understanding of this sentence until this moment.

The so-called "carrying a lifetime" means not only participating in his joys, sorrows, sorrows, but also having to face the birth, aging, sickness, and even... death of the loved one.

Without the guarantee of the law, without the blessing of family members, and relying entirely on their sincere love, is it possible for them to hold hands and pass through the adverse current and reach the end of time?

Guang held Liang's hand, it was so cold, it seemed that no matter how hard he covered it, he couldn't keep it warm.

No matter how I hold it, it is curled up loosely.

I wanted to shake him awake and tell him I was wrong.

"Liang, why are you still awake?" Guang whispered.

As long as you wake up, let me do anything.He silently promised.

After waiting for a few minutes, Taya on the bed still had her eyes closed tightly, showing no sign of waking up.

Not reconciled, Guang continued to promise that as long as you wake up, I will give you whatever you want.

But still no response.

Guang sighed, feeling that he had almost understood the idea of ​​the devil in that story[Note].

He wished he had never met Taya.

If I had never met, then I would not be so uncomfortable now.

During the time waiting for Liang to wake up, Guang did not leave himself a moment of free time.

He first called the Chess Academy and solemnly apologized to everyone for abandoning the game without reason.

Because of previous convictions, the staff almost thought that Guang was repeating the same mistakes, and couldn't help asking why, but Guang only said it was "personal reasons" from the beginning to the end, and kept silent about other more in-depth issues.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately picked up Liang's mobile phone and made a second call.

Then, he used his mobile phone to make the third, fourth, and fifth calls...

The ward was filled with his voice.

But the lover on the bed was still sleeping peacefully as if he had never heard of it, as if he wanted to make up for all the sleep he had lost this year at once.

Light compulsively sniffs out Liang's breath every 15 minutes.

During the time before Liang woke up, he didn't dare to drink water, and he didn't dare to take half a step away from Liang.

During the period, Yijiao and Hegu went to a nearby supermarket to buy necessities such as towels and washbasins, and brought lunch boxes for Guang.

They gave Hikari a break, and Taya was left to watch over them.

Just glanced at Liang on the hospital bed, but just shook his head lightly: "If he doesn't see me when he wakes up, he will be disappointed..."

He is too tired.

At this moment, he was like a battery that was about to run out of energy, and harsh alarms sounded all over his body, but he didn't dare to rest, let alone fall down.

He still has a lot to deal with.

He had to minimize the impact of this admission on behalf of Liang.

He needs to ask someone to help him with all the things that he is not convenient to deal with.

It wasn't until Guang finished everything he could think of that he sat motionless on the chair beside him like a malfunctioning machine.

The morning and night outside the window seemed to have nothing to do with him.

He just stood by the hospital bed stupidly, staring blankly at the pale lover on the bed, as if trying to wake him up with his thoughts.

In the ward at this time, he was the only one awake.

Ikaku and Kazuya have already set off to pick up Mrs. Taya at the airport.

But the quieter the moment, the more helpless Guang's heart became.

He is clearly an irreplaceable lover who is important to him, but he can't regard himself as a family member, and he is not qualified to interfere in Liang's affairs, and he can't even walk together hand in hand openly during the day.

He just glanced at the necklace that the nurse gave back to him just now.It was taken from Liang's neck during first aid.At the end of the black lanyard was a small ring.The inner wall of the ring is clearly engraved: ShindouHoninbou (into Fujimoto Inbo).

He literally wears it all the time...

At this moment, Guang wants to lie beside Liang and hug him tightly.

But as long as there is something hidden for a day, the relationship between the two of them will never be exposed to the sun.

He really hated this feeling of submissiveness and repeated concessions.

When Liang woke up, he moved slightly, and found that his hand was being held by someone, and when he looked up, he saw that Guang was leaning against the quilt, lying on the side of his bed.

He called softly: "Light." But no sound came out.

He seemed to have slept for a long time, and he could always hear the light calling his name in his dream.

It's nice to see the light as soon as you open your eyes.

The light seemed to be a nightmare, and he rushed forward, waking up suddenly.

Seeing Liang was smiling at himself, he was suddenly ecstatic: "Liang, are you awake? How do you feel now? Wait for me, I'll call the doctor!"

With that said, he ran out of the ward.

After a series of examinations, when the doctor confirmed that Liang was fine, Guang sat down on the chair as if he was exhausted.

It wasn't until this moment, when a mouthful of fresh air was sucked into his nostrils, that Guang felt as if he had finally come alive, and was finally sure that all the fear and darkness had passed.

He put his hand into Liang's quilt, held Liang's hand and squeezed it lightly, and couldn't hold back, leaned down/body carefully kissed his lover's chapped lips.

Liang's left hand was dripping, so he had no choice but to raise his right hand to wrap around Guang's neck, and kissed him for the rest of his life.

When the two parted, seeing the bloodshot eyes at the bottom of Guang's eyes, Liang touched Guang's bloodless face distressedly, and asked hoarsely, "Why are your eyes so red?"

As if eager to put all the moisture in his eyes back into his sockets, he closed his eyes slightly, grabbed Liang's hand, kissed each of his fingertips delicately, and just smiled and said, "No way."

Liang looked at Guang suspiciously, and then asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

Guang smiled lightly again, and said, "Fortunately, I didn't stay in bed."

He stuffed Liang's hands back into the quilt, tucked the quilt up for him, and said softly: "Do you still want to sleep? If you want to sleep, just sleep for a while."

Liang turned his head and looked out the window, although it was separated by curtains, it was still very bright.

He vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong, so he fell into a deep sleep again in a daze.

This time, he dreamed that Hikari took the title of Honinbo.

In the dream, Guang smiled so brightly that he ran towards him excitedly.

He stretched out his hand to hug the light, but it was in vain.

The sudden feeling of hanging made Liang suddenly open his eyes.

By the way, the Honinbo battle...

The originally blurred thoughts suddenly became clear when a thought flashed by.

Liang didn't have anything to keep time around, so he had no choice but to ask Guang: "What time is it?"

Just looked at the time: "6 o'clock in the evening."

A shadow crossed Liang's heart, and he asked again: "What day is it today?"

Guang replied inexplicably: "July 7." After finishing speaking, he followed up fearlessly, "What's wrong?"

Liang's chest rose and fell violently in an instant, and he tried to sit up, but Guangyan quickly pressed him down: "What are you doing up?"

Liang's voice became icy cold: "How is your chess match?"

Guang's expression flashed unnaturally, and he said ambiguously: "Let's not talk about this first."

Bright heart suddenly chilled.

He seemed to be having trouble breathing, and coughed violently, struggling to sit up.

On the one hand, Guang was worried that his hand would hurt Liang when he touched it lightly, and on the other hand, he was worried that Liang's movements would pull the needle buried in the blood vessel too much.

The struggle just now had consumed too much energy, so he forced himself up, clasped light's hand tightly with his right hand, and yelled, almost gnashing his teeth, "Shinto Hikaru!"

Guang let out a good-tempered "Hey", and finally raised his head to meet his gaze.

Liang was trembling with anger, and his voice was a little unsteady: "Do you know what you are doing? You have worked hard for so long, just for today. But what are you now? Are you abstaining?"

Guang used to worry that Liang would talk too little and that he would lose his language ability one day, but today he found out that he was so noisy, and suddenly felt a little noisy, so he leaned over to stop Liang's mouth.

Liang resisted and turned his head away, only to feel that his internal organs were on fire.

He seemed to be exhausting all his strength, fixed his eyes on Guang, and asked word by word: "Tell me honestly, did you not go to the game at all today?"

Guang finally fell silent, softened his tone and said, "Lie down first."

Liang's heart sank suddenly.

why?

Why not deny it?

Why can you make the decision to abandon the game so easily?

Isn't that the title you've always dreamed of?

Don't you... have no hesitation at all?

Liang didn't know whether it was chilling or angry, his whole body was trembling slightly.He raised his hand in the middle of the infusion high up, and when his eyes touched the calm but sad eyes, the palm couldn't fall no matter what, so he clenched his fist tightly in the air and slammed it heavily on the edge of the bed .

Hikaru seemed to turn a deaf ear to Ryo's anger.He gently broke away from Liang's clasp of his hand, helped Liang to sit up, put a pillow behind him, and said: "I'll fetch water." He walked out with the hot water bottle.

During this series of actions, Hikari kept his head down.

After all, Ryo couldn't see Hikari's expression clearly.

The author has something to say:

Note: The story I just think of is "The Fisherman and the Devil" in "One Thousand and One Nights":

One day, the fisherman picked up a copper vase and accidentally released the devil locked in it, but the devil wanted to kill the fisherman.

The fisherman asked: "I saved you, why did you kill me?"

The devil said: "In the first century of being locked in the copper vase, I often thought, if anyone saves me in this century, I will definitely repay him and make him enjoy glory and wealth for life. 100 years have passed, but no one has come Save me. At the beginning of the second century, I thought, if anyone rescues me in this century, I will definitely repay him and show him all the treasures in the world. But still no one came to rescue me. The third century At the beginning, I thought, if anyone saves me in this century, I will definitely repay him and satisfy his three wishes. But after 400 years, no one has come to rescue me. So I swear, from now on , If anyone comes to save me, I will definitely kill him."

2018.7.24 Minor repairs in one place, finally satisfied~