Iijima Ryou fidgeted as he paced back and forth in his room. He's supposed to be studying; the examination date for National Center Test for University Admissions that would determine his new fate was fast approaching and there were a few more preparatory tests to take in his cram school. He shouldn't be distracted, but he was.

A spangled red and green bag. trimmed with shiny fake berries and sparkly gold ribbon, frankly screamed holiday cheer on his study desk. It was over the top, but the person manning the wrapping desk had been an eager, sad-eyed young woman and he hadn't had the heart to stop her.

He plopped back to his bed, sighing. If the gift bag had eyes it would be glaring at him, and if it had a mouth it would scream at him to hie off to the institute and just hand the gift to Nase, greet her a Happy Christmas, and if he was so damned scared, he could leave right after.

It didn't help that the whining voice sounded a lot like Shindou Hikaru coaxing the other insei to eat ramen with him.

He've lost contact with most of the other insei, though Nase sometimes sent him mail about them. Who passed, how they've fared in the rankings, and what new go-related activity they've come up with. Iijima is vaguely disturbed by the idea of strip tsumego (which Nase never lost) and smiled at 1, 2, 3, go (where after four moves the players switched bowls and played for their opponent). She always ends the message with a, 'Drop by the institute sometime. You should see what the boys have been up to lately. :D'

Nase probably thought he missed go, which was why she mailed him last week about Waya's plans for a Christmas get-together. He did miss it, the sound of a well-thought of move on kaya and the countless problems restricted to the grid of three hundred sixty one intersections, but he missed being around them more. They were a happy circle, while the other students in cram school raised their eyebrows when they heard he was an insei, and kept away on the mistaken belief he was some sort of go freak.

He'd wanted of getting something for Nase to thank her for her thoughtfulness, and yesterday he'd gone to the shops his female cousins liked to shop in. He had also nearly backed out of the plan as crowds of giggling schoolgirls eyed his red face with something akin to envy. They must've thought I'm someone's boyfriend looking for a Christmas present, he thought sourly, turning his back to the gift. A shop clerk, finally taking pity on him, helped him pick out the slim chain bracelet with round black and white charms.

Oh, damn. He didn't want to stay with this bag for any longer than he should. He flipped open his phone and spent five minutes composing his message. It was lunchtime, and Nase was sure to reply quickly.

'Iijima here. I want to know more about what Waya's plans are. Can you meet me today at MacDonald's?'

His phone immediately beeped out the opening strains of Dvorak, and he read her reply.

'Sure. I'll see you there at three.'

Iijima knew if the gift bag had a face it would be smirking.

***

'This is not right. I shouldn't do this. I just might embarrass myself,' he thought, right outside McDonald's. He could see Nase through the large windows, and she wasn't alone. He counted at least four other people sitting in the booth, and one had Shindou's distinctive yellow streaks. He knew that if they saw him carrying this ridiculous gift bag he'd never live it down, and stuffed it inside his backpack. Iijima stopped worrying about how it'll look when he finally gave it.

"Hey, what took you so long?! Nase insisted we shouldn't order before you got here." Shindou hasn't changed at all, Iijima thought, amused. They were all there, Fukui, Isumi, Waya, Komiya, Honda, and even Ochi, looking terribly put out as he was squashed to one end of the booth.

"About time. I'm starved! We can finally line up now," Waya breathed, scrambling out of his chair. After taking their orders, the other boys left him and Nase alone.

"Hi!" Nase sounded harassed. "Glad you're finally here. When they found out you mailed me they insisted to come see you. They wanted to surprise you, so they practically confiscated my phone."

"It's - great to see them," he said, and it sounded lame to his ears. Nase beamed at him, expecting him to say more. He quickly added, "And now I'll hear about Waya's plans first-hand."

"Are you free on the twenty-fourth? Waya wants all the insei to stay overnight in a ryokan, for some hayago and Christmas cheer." Nase's smile widened to a grin at his expression. "Komiya says his mother's going to make nine by nine brownie boards with gingerbread pieces, and you get to eat all of the territory and pieces you win."

An edible go board. Sometimes the other insei could come up with inspired ideas. "I might be late - I have a mock exam until seven. They've picked a place already?"

"Well, Isumi and Honda listed down a few promising ones, but they're almost all booked through the season. Ochi says if we can't find one he'll ask his grandfather if we can party at his house, but that's our last resort. Shindou joked we could try Touya's, with the Meijin out of the country and all, but that's going to be weird, don't you think?"

It was going beyond weird; it would be surreal. He'd seen photographs of the intensely traditional household, and partying with Touya Akira was not high in his list of things to do before he died. "I'll help them to look for one. there's a ryokan near my cram school, and it looks decent."

"Hey, Iijima, here's your order." Waya was back, his tray heaped high with both their orders. Shindou was right behind him, and they began the task of seating nine people in a booth meant for six. Iijima sat between Waya and Nase, trying and failing to keep his arms and knees from bumping theirs as they ate. Waya had drawn a tsumego on a napkin, and he and Shindou were arguing about the solution.

"I thought the plan was to put the whole area in seki? You might let black escape with two eyes if back plays like this." And Hikaru drew a couple of loopy circles, numbering them with blocky text. Waya chewed on a fry as he pondered Hikaru's answer.

"Crap. I didn't see black five there. How about this?" He scribbled over three of Hikaru's moves. "If white three does this and follows up with that then you have a ko threat in your hands."

"Oh you're right, that would be wrong then. And what do you think about it, Iijima?" Shindou must've seen the thoughtful frown on his face.

ijima paused, caught off balance. He cleared his throat, and replied, "I saw this in a Korean tsumego book. The best first move should be right below Shindou's solution."

"Really?" Shindou looked unfazed at being corrected. "I thought about that, but if white attaches to the left of that then you can be caught by a pincer here. Argh, it's hard to show you what I meant without a go board."

"Here," Komiya offered a tiny magnetic one, and they fumbled to set the problem up with the miniscule pieces. Iijima showed the solution, and Shindou and Waya was listening to his explanation when Ochi butted in.

"Oh, I saw that answer already during my tutoring with Touya," he said. "He didn't need to look at the solution at the back of the book. He explained it to me, and I got it."

"Well, it seems your rival's stronger than you, Shindou," Waya teased. Shindou bristled immediately.

"Hey, he had people who are practically go sages teaching him to play go since he was two. I started when I was twelve, and give me a year, I'll be beating him in official games, see if I don't!"

As Waya and Shindou quickly degenerated to an argument, Isumi seeked Iijima's attention. "Nase said there's a ryokan you might recommend for Waya's mad party."

"Oh, yeah." He quickly gives the name and directions to it, which Honda listed down. The noise grew louder as their group broke off to different conversations. Waya and Shindou were now arguing about what happened the last time they went to a go salon together. Komiya was telling Ochi about a tennis simulation game for a handheld, and Nase chatted with Fukui about their prospects for the next pro exams. It was all so normal, like he'd never left the insei program.

Iijima felt a smile tug at his lips as he listened to Isumi tell Honda the go news from Korea.

***

"I'm really sorry about this," Nase apologized an hour later, when their impromptu meeting finally broke up and the others left for a nearby arcade. He had cram school in thirty minutes, and she was going home. They were waiting for their trains, though his would arrive ten minutes before hers. There were few people on the platform - it was still early, though the occasional salaryman ambled past them. "The rest got a bit rowdy at the end."

They've been politely asked to leave when Shindou and Waya's teasing escalated to an all-out food fight. His hair still felt sticky from the splash of cola when he protected Nase a badly-aimed drink. "It was fun. Anyway I think I needed that."

"Needed what?" He stopped pacing, and Nase did as well. He only had a minute before the train arrived.

"Nothing." It was now or never. Even if the plans for the party pushes through there was no way he'd give the bag in front of the other insei. The lights signalled the train, and he could feel the rumble of its arrival through the soles of his shoes. He fumbled around in his bag, searching for the gift. "Ah, Nase, I didn't come here just to talk about Waya's plans."

"Well, is something wrong with cram school?" His hand finally closed onto something crinkly and beribboned. But the train was nearly upon the station.

"Um, for everything, Nase-chan, I mean, you've reminded me there's still go. I thought I'd be better off avoiding the insei and everything connected to the institute - " He wanted to explain himself better, but the words faltered at Nase's smile. The train doors slid open, and people began to disembark. "Anyway, I mean, thank you."

"You're welcome. We do miss you in the institute, Iijima. You should come by more often."

He could tell the train would leave soon; he had a sixth sense about this. He was being a coward, he knew he was, as he pulled out the gift ten seconds before the doors close. He thrust it to her hands and stepped inside the train with the doors closing at his back.

He didn't turn to look at her even as the train lurched to a start. He was scared of what she'd look. It was too forward, he thought. Nase probably thought he liked her, and would reject him the next time they met. How was he going to go to the party now? He was in the midst of a full out panic attack when his phone beeped. He automatically reached into his pocket to check it.

'Iijima-kun. Thanks. It's always great to get gifts from friends. ^_^ See you on the 24th, okay?'

He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and quickly replied.

'Yeah. I'll be there.'