[Ligurian]
by onkoona
Scenes of Attrition
SCENES OF ATTRITION INT. PRIVATE APARTMENT IN HEIAN IMPERIAL COURT DAY An older middle-aged man dressed in Heian courtiers clothing sits by a goban, laying out a game. A servant enters with a tea tray. He sets up the tea next to the goban. He is holding a rolled letter. SERVANT (bows, nose-to-mat) My lord, another invitation to the Fujiwara Go Gathering has arrived. SUGAWARA (turns to the servant angrily) Throw it into the fire, like all the rest! SERVANT (sits up, but keeps low) But my lord! SUGAWARA (turns back to his game) I want nothing to do with Fujiwara and his new fangled ideas! (grumbles) A uniform go strategy indeed. The presumption! And calling it 'the New Wave'. The gall! SERVANT (speaking under his breath) It is not master Fujiwara who calls it that, my lord. SUGAWARA (turns to the servant, shouting) I don't care who calls it that! It's not acceptable, and there's an end! SERVANT (cowers) SUGAWARA (stands up, close-up shot of obsessed evil face, facial tick optional) Fujiwara and his 'New Wave' cronies are a danger to the harmony of the court. I, Sugawara no Akitada, will not let such a threat continue! (after dramatic pause sits back down, turns to servant) Go get my writing set. SERVANT (bows nose-to-mat, starts to scurry on his knees in the direction of the sliding door) SUGAWARA The expensive writing set, mind! SERVANT (stops, turns towarsd Sugawara, bows nose-to-mat, turns and scurries off) SUGAWARA (under his breath) Nothing but the best for the emperor... (CONTINUED) INT. ANTI ROOM OF A TRADITIONAL EDO PERIOD MANSION DAY The room is mostly empty with a beautifully calligraphed scroll with an appropriate saying on it on the wall and two seat pillows on either side of a small low table in the center of the room. A man, in his fifties, dressed in the more expensive clothing of the day, walks in and sits down heavily on one of the pillows. He rests his arm on the table and hangs his head down. A younger man, also in period costume, follows and kneels next to the older man, he looks at him in concern. YOUNG MAN Sir, why did you break of the match? INSEKI (doesn't lift his head) He is too strong; he would have pulverized me, at two stones head start, I just had to end the match. YOUNG MAN But sir, he is only a 4-dan, and a child, how could he have... INSEKI (lifts his head, looks straight at camera) His coming was foretold to me. Like a New Wave would he come. An equal, a rival. (turns to the young man) Go reissue the challenge for tomorrow, but this time tell him we play as equals. YOUNG MAN Yes sir, at once. (bows and scurries off) INSEKI (looks up, straight over the camera position) Shuusaku, you are my rival, I know it. Tomorrow you will know it too. (CONTINUED) INT. TOP FLOOR RESTAURANT OF THE KEIO PLAZE HOTEL, HOKKAIDO NIGHT The restaurant is empty save for a fashionably dressed man in his thirties wearing tinted glasses and holding a cigarette. He is looking out over the city at night. An ancient looking traditionally dressed man joins him by the big window. He blows a smoke ring, while they look out, side by side. KUWABARA Ogata-kun, you may have beaten me in the first match, but I won't lose this next match. You just try taking the Honinbou title from this old man. OGATA (blows out some smoke) Kuwabara-sensei, there is a new wave heading for the go world. KUWABARA (turns his head towards Ogata) A new wave? OGATA (looks briefly at Kuwabara, turns back to the window and blows out more smoke) It's just a feeling I have. (muses) But it's coming: a new wave of young players. KUWABARA Oh really? OGATA And I would like to be here to greet them as a title holder. (CONTINUED) INT. RESTAURANT, THE NEW GRAND HOTEL, SENDAI DAY The restaurant has a futuristic look with touch displays on the tables, which at the moment are all showing an empty goban. An old man sits in a stuffed chair beside the big window that overlooks the sky scrapers and the new protective dyke. The man reads a holograph projection, clearly showing the words 'Go Weekly' in reverse to the audience. The headline reads 'DAY 2 RESULTS: TOUYA BEATS OCHI, WAYA BEATS HEDI, SHINDOU BEATS TOGAKE.' Another old man walks in, he limps a little and leans on a cane. TOUYA (stops a meter or so before Waya's chair) Waya, have you seen Shindou? WAYA (waves at his page and it refreshes to the next. Headline reads 'DAY 2 RESULTS' and the rest of the page is filled with stats.) He was dodging reporters earlier, but since he isn't here yet, I assume he got caught. TOUYA (takes the chair oposite Waya) Reporters? Again? What do they want? WAYA (keeps his eyes on his 'paper') To talk about 'The New Wave', I guess. That old blabbermouth, he should never have talked to Amano jr. about that! He knows the news hounds love that sort of thing. TOUYA You know, I think he forgot. He's been getting forgetful about a lot of thing lately. WAYA (switches off his 'paper' and slips the projection device in his pocket) Yeah, I know what you mean. I just don't understand why he hasn't taken mind rejuvenation just like the rest of us. TOUYA I don't know... I have talked about it with him but he just said that all things must come to an end. (sighs) And he talked about SAI again. WAYA (sits forward in his seat) Oh? What did he say? TOUYA (shrugs) Ah the usual, about how SAI never had a chance. WAYA (sits back) Yeah, that's nothing new;. SAIs career was way too short. And yet, I wonder why that bothers Shindou still. A loud beeping emanates from Waya's pocket. Waya takes out the projection device an switches it on. WAYA Here we have it. The projections headlines 'JUST IN: SHINDOU ADMITS: "THE NEW WAVE IS COMING"', mirrored towards the audience. Under it is a picture of a startled old man, wearing a yellow shirt with '5 rules!' on the breast pocket. (FADE TO BLACK)
Scenes of Attrition
SCENES OF ATTRITION INT. PRIVATE APARTMENT IN HEIAN IMPERIAL COURT DAY An older middle-aged man dressed in Heian courtiers clothing sits by a goban, laying out a game. A servant enters with a tea tray. He sets up the tea next to the goban. He is holding a rolled letter. SERVANT (bows, nose-to-mat) My lord, another invitation to the Fujiwara Go Gathering has arrived. SUGAWARA (turns to the servant angrily) Throw it into the fire, like all the rest! SERVANT (sits up, but keeps low) But my lord! SUGAWARA (turns back to his game) I want nothing to do with Fujiwara and his new fangled ideas! (grumbles) A uniform go strategy indeed. The presumption! And calling it 'the New Wave'. The gall! SERVANT (speaking under his breath) It is not master Fujiwara who calls it that, my lord. SUGAWARA (turns to the servant, shouting) I don't care who calls it that! It's not acceptable, and there's an end! SERVANT (cowers) SUGAWARA (stands up, close-up shot of obsessed evil face, facial tick optional) Fujiwara and his 'New Wave' cronies are a danger to the harmony of the court. I, Sugawara no Akitada, will not let such a threat continue! (after dramatic pause sits back down, turns to servant) Go get my writing set. SERVANT (bows nose-to-mat, starts to scurry on his knees in the direction of the sliding door) SUGAWARA The expensive writing set, mind! SERVANT (stops, turns towarsd Sugawara, bows nose-to-mat, turns and scurries off) SUGAWARA (under his breath) Nothing but the best for the emperor... (CONTINUED) INT. ANTI ROOM OF A TRADITIONAL EDO PERIOD MANSION DAY The room is mostly empty with a beautifully calligraphed scroll with an appropriate saying on it on the wall and two seat pillows on either side of a small low table in the center of the room. A man, in his fifties, dressed in the more expensive clothing of the day, walks in and sits down heavily on one of the pillows. He rests his arm on the table and hangs his head down. A younger man, also in period costume, follows and kneels next to the older man, he looks at him in concern. YOUNG MAN Sir, why did you break of the match? INSEKI (doesn't lift his head) He is too strong; he would have pulverized me, at two stones head start, I just had to end the match. YOUNG MAN But sir, he is only a 4-dan, and a child, how could he have... INSEKI (lifts his head, looks straight at camera) His coming was foretold to me. Like a New Wave would he come. An equal, a rival. (turns to the young man) Go reissue the challenge for tomorrow, but this time tell him we play as equals. YOUNG MAN Yes sir, at once. (bows and scurries off) INSEKI (looks up, straight over the camera position) Shuusaku, you are my rival, I know it. Tomorrow you will know it too. (CONTINUED) INT. TOP FLOOR RESTAURANT OF THE KEIO PLAZE HOTEL, HOKKAIDO NIGHT The restaurant is empty save for a fashionably dressed man in his thirties wearing tinted glasses and holding a cigarette. He is looking out over the city at night. An ancient looking traditionally dressed man joins him by the big window. He blows a smoke ring, while they look out, side by side. KUWABARA Ogata-kun, you may have beaten me in the first match, but I won't lose this next match. You just try taking the Honinbou title from this old man. OGATA (blows out some smoke) Kuwabara-sensei, there is a new wave heading for the go world. KUWABARA (turns his head towards Ogata) A new wave? OGATA (looks briefly at Kuwabara, turns back to the window and blows out more smoke) It's just a feeling I have. (muses) But it's coming: a new wave of young players. KUWABARA Oh really? OGATA And I would like to be here to greet them as a title holder. (CONTINUED) INT. RESTAURANT, THE NEW GRAND HOTEL, SENDAI DAY The restaurant has a futuristic look with touch displays on the tables, which at the moment are all showing an empty goban. An old man sits in a stuffed chair beside the big window that overlooks the sky scrapers and the new protective dyke. The man reads a holograph projection, clearly showing the words 'Go Weekly' in reverse to the audience. The headline reads 'DAY 2 RESULTS: TOUYA BEATS OCHI, WAYA BEATS HEDI, SHINDOU BEATS TOGAKE.' Another old man walks in, he limps a little and leans on a cane. TOUYA (stops a meter or so before Waya's chair) Waya, have you seen Shindou? WAYA (waves at his page and it refreshes to the next. Headline reads 'DAY 2 RESULTS' and the rest of the page is filled with stats.) He was dodging reporters earlier, but since he isn't here yet, I assume he got caught. TOUYA (takes the chair oposite Waya) Reporters? Again? What do they want? WAYA (keeps his eyes on his 'paper') To talk about 'The New Wave', I guess. That old blabbermouth, he should never have talked to Amano jr. about that! He knows the news hounds love that sort of thing. TOUYA You know, I think he forgot. He's been getting forgetful about a lot of thing lately. WAYA (switches off his 'paper' and slips the projection device in his pocket) Yeah, I know what you mean. I just don't understand why he hasn't taken mind rejuvenation just like the rest of us. TOUYA I don't know... I have talked about it with him but he just said that all things must come to an end. (sighs) And he talked about SAI again. WAYA (sits forward in his seat) Oh? What did he say? TOUYA (shrugs) Ah the usual, about how SAI never had a chance. WAYA (sits back) Yeah, that's nothing new;. SAIs career was way too short. And yet, I wonder why that bothers Shindou still. A loud beeping emanates from Waya's pocket. Waya takes out the projection device an switches it on. WAYA Here we have it. The projections headlines 'JUST IN: SHINDOU ADMITS: "THE NEW WAVE IS COMING"', mirrored towards the audience. Under it is a picture of a startled old man, wearing a yellow shirt with '5 rules!' on the breast pocket. (FADE TO BLACK)