9
-
'His dream came true.’
Taki said that to me and Sensei as we walked.
'Eh?’
'I’m talking about my grandfather.’
The day after I returned from Lamp Hall, I had already explained the circumstances to Taki. That said, I left out a lot of the details. I had kept the mojibake in my eyes a secret from Taki in the first place, and I also hid the fact that the exorcist was the actor Natori Shuuichi.
I ended up saying that when I went to Lamp Hall, I coincidentally witnessed the exorcism, and Yoshimi-san told me a lot of things. The puzzle of the letter a game of go. Though there were a lot of youkai in Lamp Hall, since the exorcist was skilful, all of them were sealed into the go stones. Well, the story was about right.
This was the conversation from a few days afterwards. Taki had received a letter of gratitude from Yoshimi-san, and she caught me and sensei when we were heading home from Nanatsujiya.
'My grandfather looked for youkai his whole life and he couldn’t see those youkai with his eyes, but the truth was that he was playing go with youkai.’
'Ah, that’s true.’
'Isn’t it a stupid story for the person himself not to have realised?’ said Sensei.
'That’s not true, Sensei. I’m sure…’
Even if he hadn’t noticed, something had definitely been conveyed. That was why Shinichirou-san, the youkai and Ichiko-san too had enjoyed it so much.
'That’s true. I wish I could have gone to that shop too.’
'Eh?’
'I mean, he was my grandfather. I wanted to see it with my own eyes… Hehe, but I’m thankful to you and Nyanko-sensei, Natsume-kun.’
Then, Taki muttered this.
'To Grandfather, Ichiko-san was… a very important friend, it seems.’
'Eh?’
When I went to Lamp Hall, Taki had searched through the storehouse at her home and found a bundle of letters. They were stored carefully along with what were probably the documents bought at Lamp Hall.
'They were wrapped in beautiful cloth at the back of the box… Like he was carefully wrapping up his important memories.’
Taki smiled kindly while thinking about it.
'Ah, yes, Yoshimi-san’s letter was a bit strange.’
'Eh? What was?’
I was surprised when Taki changed the subject so suddenly.
'She called me Tooru-kun, you know? What do you think?’
'Ah, that’s, er…’
Taki stared at me.
'She’s talking about you, isn’t she, Natsume-kun.’
'W-well… yes.’
Then, Taki made me explain in detail why I ended up being called Taki. Well, I said that it was because the mischief-loving exorcist had overdone it. Since it was true.
'Well, it’s fine. I’ll think of it as you going for me.’
After saying that, Taki forgave me in the end.
'Something wonderful was written in Yoshimi-san’s letter.’
'Eh?’
'The meeting between me and Tooru-kun – that is, Natsume-kun.’
'Yes.’
'The meeting between me and Tooru-kun was definitely a wonderful connection born from a series of coincidences and fates. That’s what I think now, it said.’
'A series of coincidences and fates, huh.’
'Then, I thought too.’
'What about?’
'Calling out to you, Natsume-kun, and your replying to me – those were definitely just coincidences, right?’
'Yes.’
'If I had spoken to somebody else, and that person replied… I feel terrified when I think about it.’
'Ah, that’s true.’
If that had happened, something very unlucky would have happened for both Taki and that somebody else.
'But when I read Yoshimi-san’s letter, I felt a bit relieved.’
'Why?’
'That definitely wasn’t just coincidence. I think some power of fate made that happen.’
'Power of fate, huh.’
'The reason I accidentally called out your name that time was because I knew you as a mysterious person from before then, Natsume-kun.’
'Really?’
'Seeds of fate like that spread and some of them overlap like connected coincidences… I can’t express myself well though.’
I could mostly understand what she was trying to say.
'Because of that, I was saved, and because we met, now I get along well with the kitty, Tanuma-kun and everyone.’
Taki spoke while walking a little ahead of me.
'That’s why, even if it was a coincidence that I called out to you back then – ’
Taki turned to face me.
'I just thought it was a wonderful coincidence.’
After saying that, she held up her thumb and winked awkwardly.
-
Notes:
The kirin (麒麟) or qilin is the most powerful creature in Japanese mythology (though this isn’t the case in Chinese mythology) and is the namesake of Kirin beer. For an example of a Japanese kirin, look up their logo.
Though translated as auspicious beast below, the specific word (in case you’re interested ( ；∀；)) used is zuijuu (瑞獣), which are represented by the four benevolent animals: the qilin, the dragon, the tortoise and the fenghuang (or Ho-oh, if you will (o・ω・o)/). These four were the greatest of all animals and were considered good omens.
Fuseki (布石) is a go term which describes how the board opens and usually occurs at the beginning of a game. It uses the kanji for to take position (布く) and stone (石).
Moku (目) is the go term for point of territory. (Incidentally, Japan uses territory scoring rather than area scoring which is common in China.)
Komi (コミ) is the compensation given to the player playing white since black has the advantage of going first. In Japan, the komi was set at 6.5 moku by the Japan Go Institute in September 2002. However, at the time of the game in this novel, it was only 5.5 moku.
Tengen (天元) is the centre point on the go board.
Nobi (ノビ) is a go move wherein one plays directly next to one’s own stone to create a line. Though in the novel the term is written in katakana, the kanji for nobi (伸び) means to extend.
Hane (ハネ) is a go move wherein one plays a stone so it reaches around the opponent’s. The novel uses the katakana but the kanji for hane (跳ね) means to leap.
Uttegaeshi (ウッテガエシ) is a go move where one plays a stone to be captured so that one has a larger capture afterwards. Though written in katakana in the novel, the kanji for uttegaeshi (打手返し) means move reversal.
Seiza (正座), which uses the kanji for proper and to sit, is a traditional Japanese way of sitting - the one used during tea ceremonies &c.
Dame (ダメ) is a go term indicating a neutral point. It’s written with katakana in the novel but the kanji for dame (駄目) also has the meaning of 'no good’.
-
and that’s the end! I tried my best to explain the parts about the game but my knowledge is limited (to hikaru no go) so hopefully it made sense. ♪～(￣ε￣；) I’ve kept the japanese names for the related terms since I’m not familiar with the english ones.
hopefully you enjoyed this story as much as I did (｡･･｡) also, for those who haven’t seen it yet:
THE AYAKASHI’S TUNE, the second story of the natsume novel, was translated at the lj community by the wonderful AMBIENTLIGHT. since it’s natsume, of course it is delightfully heart-warming, so you should take a look if you haven’t! ♫
9
-
'His dream came true.’
Taki said that to me and Sensei as we walked.
'Eh?’
'I’m talking about my grandfather.’
The day after I returned from Lamp Hall, I had already explained the circumstances to Taki. That said, I left out a lot of the details. I had kept the mojibake in my eyes a secret from Taki in the first place, and I also hid the fact that the exorcist was the actor Natori Shuuichi.
I ended up saying that when I went to Lamp Hall, I coincidentally witnessed the exorcism, and Yoshimi-san told me a lot of things. The puzzle of the letter a game of go. Though there were a lot of youkai in Lamp Hall, since the exorcist was skilful, all of them were sealed into the go stones. Well, the story was about right.
This was the conversation from a few days afterwards. Taki had received a letter of gratitude from Yoshimi-san, and she caught me and sensei when we were heading home from Nanatsujiya.
'My grandfather looked for youkai his whole life and he couldn’t see those youkai with his eyes, but the truth was that he was playing go with youkai.’
'Ah, that’s true.’
'Isn’t it a stupid story for the person himself not to have realised?’ said Sensei.
'That’s not true, Sensei. I’m sure…’
Even if he hadn’t noticed, something had definitely been conveyed. That was why Shinichirou-san, the youkai and Ichiko-san too had enjoyed it so much.
'That’s true. I wish I could have gone to that shop too.’
'Eh?’
'I mean, he was my grandfather. I wanted to see it with my own eyes… Hehe, but I’m thankful to you and Nyanko-sensei, Natsume-kun.’
Then, Taki muttered this.
'To Grandfather, Ichiko-san was… a very important friend, it seems.’
'Eh?’
When I went to Lamp Hall, Taki had searched through the storehouse at her home and found a bundle of letters. They were stored carefully along with what were probably the documents bought at Lamp Hall.
'They were wrapped in beautiful cloth at the back of the box… Like he was carefully wrapping up his important memories.’
Taki smiled kindly while thinking about it.
'Ah, yes, Yoshimi-san’s letter was a bit strange.’
'Eh? What was?’
I was surprised when Taki changed the subject so suddenly.
'She called me Tooru-kun, you know? What do you think?’
'Ah, that’s, er…’
Taki stared at me.
'She’s talking about you, isn’t she, Natsume-kun.’
'W-well… yes.’
Then, Taki made me explain in detail why I ended up being called Taki. Well, I said that it was because the mischief-loving exorcist had overdone it. Since it was true.
'Well, it’s fine. I’ll think of it as you going for me.’
After saying that, Taki forgave me in the end.
'Something wonderful was written in Yoshimi-san’s letter.’
'Eh?’
'The meeting between me and Tooru-kun – that is, Natsume-kun.’
'Yes.’
'The meeting between me and Tooru-kun was definitely a wonderful connection born from a series of coincidences and fates. That’s what I think now, it said.’
'A series of coincidences and fates, huh.’
'Then, I thought too.’
'What about?’
'Calling out to you, Natsume-kun, and your replying to me – those were definitely just coincidences, right?’
'Yes.’
'If I had spoken to somebody else, and that person replied… I feel terrified when I think about it.’
'Ah, that’s true.’
If that had happened, something very unlucky would have happened for both Taki and that somebody else.
'But when I read Yoshimi-san’s letter, I felt a bit relieved.’
'Why?’
'That definitely wasn’t just coincidence. I think some power of fate made that happen.’
'Power of fate, huh.’
'The reason I accidentally called out your name that time was because I knew you as a mysterious person from before then, Natsume-kun.’
'Really?’
'Seeds of fate like that spread and some of them overlap like connected coincidences… I can’t express myself well though.’
I could mostly understand what she was trying to say.
'Because of that, I was saved, and because we met, now I get along well with the kitty, Tanuma-kun and everyone.’
Taki spoke while walking a little ahead of me.
'That’s why, even if it was a coincidence that I called out to you back then – ’
Taki turned to face me.
'I just thought it was a wonderful coincidence.’
After saying that, she held up her thumb and winked awkwardly.
-
Notes:
The kirin (麒麟) or qilin is the most powerful creature in Japanese mythology (though this isn’t the case in Chinese mythology) and is the namesake of Kirin beer. For an example of a Japanese kirin, look up their logo.
Though translated as auspicious beast below, the specific word (in case you’re interested ( ；∀；)) used is zuijuu (瑞獣), which are represented by the four benevolent animals: the qilin, the dragon, the tortoise and the fenghuang (or Ho-oh, if you will (o・ω・o)/). These four were the greatest of all animals and were considered good omens.
Fuseki (布石) is a go term which describes how the board opens and usually occurs at the beginning of a game. It uses the kanji for to take position (布く) and stone (石).
Moku (目) is the go term for point of territory. (Incidentally, Japan uses territory scoring rather than area scoring which is common in China.)
Komi (コミ) is the compensation given to the player playing white since black has the advantage of going first. In Japan, the komi was set at 6.5 moku by the Japan Go Institute in September 2002. However, at the time of the game in this novel, it was only 5.5 moku.
Tengen (天元) is the centre point on the go board.
Nobi (ノビ) is a go move wherein one plays directly next to one’s own stone to create a line. Though in the novel the term is written in katakana, the kanji for nobi (伸び) means to extend.
Hane (ハネ) is a go move wherein one plays a stone so it reaches around the opponent’s. The novel uses the katakana but the kanji for hane (跳ね) means to leap.
Uttegaeshi (ウッテガエシ) is a go move where one plays a stone to be captured so that one has a larger capture afterwards. Though written in katakana in the novel, the kanji for uttegaeshi (打手返し) means move reversal.
Seiza (正座), which uses the kanji for proper and to sit, is a traditional Japanese way of sitting - the one used during tea ceremonies &c.
Dame (ダメ) is a go term indicating a neutral point. It’s written with katakana in the novel but the kanji for dame (駄目) also has the meaning of 'no good’.
-
and that’s the end! I tried my best to explain the parts about the game but my knowledge is limited (to hikaru no go) so hopefully it made sense. ♪～(￣ε￣；) I’ve kept the japanese names for the related terms since I’m not familiar with the english ones.
hopefully you enjoyed this story as much as I did (｡･･｡) also, for those who haven’t seen it yet:
THE AYAKASHI’S TUNE, the second story of the natsume novel, was translated at the lj community by the wonderful AMBIENTLIGHT. since it’s natsume, of course it is delightfully heart-warming, so you should take a look if you haven’t! ♫
