A/N: Warning; the first few chapters of this fic follows the canon events pretty closely so it might be a little boring. Later chapters will definitely feature more of my twist on Hikaru no Go.
Hey! :) Ermm, well, I just kind of wondered what it would be like if Akari actually got good at go. I don't personally play Go that much, so a lot of info I get are either from the manga or from Go books/websites. So please be patient with my slow updates, as I have to do a little bit of research into this story. xD
This fanfic is going to follow the manga's plotline, and of course, my addition of events (Akari's stronger at Go than she was in the manga so that's already a huge difference. xD)
Thanks for checking my story out!
Reminders
this is someone's thoughts
"speaking out loud"
bolded is important(emphasis)
Explanations for any Go Jargon is down below, so feel free to check down if you're unsure about something!
Akari no Go
Chapter 1-"What's up with Hikaru?"
"Man, there's nothing good in here." Akari frowned at the crouched Hikaru, rummaging through dusty boxes. They were in the attic of Hikaru's grandfather.
"Hikaru, this place is kind of eerie..." She said, looking around nervously.
"You're such a scaredy-cat. Stop whining and help me look, Akari." Hikaru said. She pouted at him but the boy took no notice as his eye caught on something else. Hikaru took out a goban and set it on the ground of the attic.
"Hey, this looks good." He said. Akari leaned over to peer at the board.
"Oh, isn't this what you use to play chess?" She asked.
"No, you play Go on it. It's called a go board or goban." Hikaru explained. He picked up the board, examining it. "Looks pretty old. Grandpa must have used this a long time ago." Then, he smirked. "I could sell this for a good amount of money."
"Eh, should you do that? What if your grandpa wants to keep it?" Akari disapproved and eyed Hikaru warily.
"It's totally fine." He said, grabbing a white cloth. "My parents cut my allowance because I scored 8% on the last test." Hikaru started to wipe down the goban.
"E-eight percent?! Hikaru..." She said in disbelief.
"Oi! Don't you start carping about it like my parents, miss I-scored-nearly-perfect."
Akari sighed. "You don't even have to study to get over half of the questions right. You just don't try, Hikaru." Hikaru stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes.
"What's with this stain? It isn't coming off." He furiously rubbed the board with the cloth.
"Stain? What stain? It's clean." Akari squinted her eyes at the board and couldn't see any stains. Hikaru pointed to the area around the corner of the board.
"Right here. These spots look like dried blood." He insisted.
"Where?" She squatted down beside Hikaru to look at the board closer.
"Here!" He emphasized where he was pointing. Akari furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.
"Hikaru, I don't-"
"That's what I've said!" Hikaru suddenly said. She looked at him quizzically. I didn't say anything..?
"Hikaru...?" He shot up and looked around the room.
"Akari, there's someone here." He said. "Who is it? ...grandpa?"
"H-hey, stop saying weird things! You're not scaring me!" She said, feeling chills going down her body. Akari stood up and wrapped her arms around herself.
Hikaru's expression filled with incredulity and looked as if he was in a trance. Akari slowly reached out to Hikaru, and started to believe it wasn't an act.
Without warning, he fell to the ground, his face clearly in pain. She quickly rushed to his side, shaking him.
"Hikaru?!" She exclaimed, worried. "What happened?! Someone...someone, help Hikaru!"
The sirens of an ambulance could be heard.
Akari sat at her desk in school, looking out the window. She pondered about the day before, when Hikaru fainted and had to ride to the hospital. Was there really a ghost? She shivered just thinking about it. Akari settled for the explanation that he was overcome with a sickness.
Shifting her gaze to Hikaru, she saw his slumped form and occasional twitches. She frowned, concerned. Maybe Hikaru hasn't recovered from yesterday yet.
"Attention class!" The teacher called out. "Since everyone did badly on the last Social Studies test, we will have ANOTHER test today." Groans and complaints went around the classroom.
Akari's hand shot up. "Uhm, Hikaru fainted yesterday and even an ambulance came. He's not feeling too well." The class was suddenly animated with chatter.
"Whoa, Hikaru, you rode in an ambulance?!"
"That's so cool!"
They made several other comments.
"Everyone, settle down!" The teacher reprimanded. She turned towards Hikaru. "I understand you are not feeling well, Shindou-kun but try to complete this test, okay?"
Hikaru had a look of disdain on his face but complied with her.
Soon, the tests were all handed out and Akari immediately started working. The problems were similar to the last test so she did not have much trouble with it.
She looked up at Hikaru. He was scratching the back of his head. She silently giggled and knew that he was struggling with the test. Then, her motherly side came out and made a note to offer to tutor him.
Akari was on the last problem when Hikaru abruptly stood up, sprinting out of the classroom. She shot up out of her seat and ran out of the classroom after him.
"Hikaru! What's wrong?" She shouted after him. Hikaru, hunched over, barfed into the sink. Beside her, she saw the teacher and several students following behind.
"Shindou-kun, are you alright?" The teacher patted Hikaru's back gently. "You should go to the nurse's office."
"I-I'm fine..." He said but then leaned back in the sink to barf more. Everyone stepped back, appalled and disgusted.
"Gross! Get away from me, Hikaru!" One classmate said.
Akari cringed at how much he was throwing up. "Y-you're definitely not fine, Hikaru..."
After that predicament, Hikaru and the rest of his classmates returned to class chattering, and the teacher had to snap them back to attention to finish their test.
Outside on the steps of Hikaru's house, Akari rang the doorbell. Moments later, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with her dark hair tied in a low ponytail.
"Hello, Mitsuko-obasan!" She greeted Hikaru's mother. "Is Hikaru here?"
"Hello, Akari-chan." She said. "Well, no...recently he's been going over to his grandpa's house to play go."
"Go?" Shock was clear in Akari's voice.
"Yes, and he also signed up for a weekly go class. My, I don't know what's going on with him!" Mitsuko Shindou looked thoughtful.
"He doesn't seem like the type that would be interested in Go..." Akari mumbled.
"Right?" She replied. "I'm sorry he's not here, I'll tell him that you came."
"Thanks, Mitsuko-obasan! Take care!" Akari waved goodbye to her and went down the steps of the house. Go, huh? Hikaru fainted the other day when he got that go board out. Funny now that he's starting to play go.
Akari passed by a park on her way home and decided to stop and herself down on a park bench, she observed two children playing in a sand-box. Akari then leaned back, putting both of her hands behind her head, and looked up at the sky.
"Why did he start playing it, anyway? It's just an old man's game..." She muttered.
"He's been weird lately..."
"Yeah, he actually got a good score on his Social Studies test..."
"He even got hit by a volleyball in P.E. when it's his specialty class!"
That was the chatter going around about Hikaru.
Akari approached Hikaru's desk in time to hear him say, "I've just had a lot of things going on lately."
"Like a Go class?" She said. He turned his head around, surprised.
"Huh? You knew about that?" He said. The other classmates overheard this and started to make a big deal out of it.
"Ehh, Hikaru, you're taking a Go class?"
"Whaat? Go is so lame and boring."
"You're a geezer."
They all made fun of him, causing Akari to frown.
"Hey! Don't judge him based on what he does!" She defended him.
"What are you getting so defensive for? Oh, I know! You like Hikaru!" One classmate said, teasingly.
"Akari likes Hikaru!" Another one chanted. "Akari and Hikaru sitting in a tree-"
Akari's face flushed red and she became annoyed. "N-no I don't! What are you talking about?!" She raised her fist and chased them around the classroom. "Come back here!" They playfully made jokes about her and Hikaru. For some reason, it really affected her. W-why do I care so much? It's not like I like Hikaru like that... She looked over at Hikaru and caught his gaze. Akari looked at the ground, feeling her face heating up.
"Hey, Hikaru!" Akari ran up to catch up with him. He turned around, puzzled. It was after school and she decided to invite him to hang out. They haven't done so in a long time.
"What's up, Akari?" He greeted. She matched his pace beside him.
"Are you doing anything this weekend?" She asked.
"Well, I'm planning on going to a children's Go tournament..." Hikaru scratched his chin sheepishly. Akari's eyes widened. It's Go, again?
"Eh? Uh, are you participating in it?" She knew that he started Go recently so it would be impressive if he's already tournament-level.
"No, I'm just going to check it out." They paused at the school entrance. "So yeah, see you." Akari wasn't sure why but she felt the need to call out to him just as he turned his back.
"Wait!" She blurted out. Hikaru stopped and looked back at her. Suddenly, Akari was a bit nervous. "C-can I come along with you?" Internally, she was smacking herself because she knew she didn't actually want to go to the Go tournament but to hang out with him. Man, am I really that desperate? I know nothing about Go!
"Huh?" Hikaru's face screwed up in confusion. "But you don't even like Go. You confused a goban with a chess board a while back. Why do you want to come?" Akari flinched a little at his harshness.
"I...I just want to see why you've become so interested in it." Akari admitted. It was half the truth anyway.
He looked contemplative for a moment before looking to his side and frowning. Finally, he sighed.
"Alright, I'll take you with me." Hikaru agreed. "But don't start complaining if you don't like it." She brightened at his words and nodded happily. Hikaru looked at her and snorted, thinking that Akari looked just like a puppy that was begging for treats and then got what it wanted.
That Sunday, Akari had dressed up in a cute outfit while waiting in the on the sidewalk for Hikaru. Her heart was beating fast. W-why do I feel like this could turn into a date? She covered her face with her hands. What am I thinking?! A date?! That's...argh, hurry up, Hikaru! She looked up and noticed Hikaru waving to her. Akari nervously waved back. They walked together towards the train station, chatting away.
Along the way to the tournament, Akari noticed that Hikaru seemed to make sudden movements and was mumbling to himself. She smiled nervously. Could it be that he's lost his sanity ever since he fainted?
Hikaru handed her the flyer to look at. It advertised a children's Go tournament with a picture of a hand holding a stone and a bunch of stores spread around the paper. Near the bottom, it stated the date, time, and place of the tournament. Akari looked at the Go stones on the flyer and then decided that this would be the time to learn something about Go.
"Hikaru, are these stones-?" She started. Hikaru immediately caught on and sighed.
"Those are Go stones. Black always goes first in a game." He said. Akari made an 'oh' expression and nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hikaru having some sort of conflict with something beside him. She looked over at him and saw nothing to his side.
"Hikaru?" She asked. He glanced at her, blushing slightly, and then straightened himself.
"S-since you're new to Go, I thought I would teach you a thing or two." He said. "Just so you don't embarrass me at the tournament."
Akari clapped her hands together in delight. "Wow, Hikaru, you do actually have a heart! But didn't you just start Go a little while ago?"
"Yeah but I'm better than you. Wait, what was that about me not having a heart?" Hikaru retorted.
"Geez, don't take it so personally." She giggled. He smirked at her.
Clearing his throat, Hikaru said, "Basically the goal in Go is to claim as much territory as you can by surrounding an area with stones. The one with the most territory on the board wins. There are other things you can do to meet this, such as capturing pieces and attacking the opponent's territory." He paused for a minute and looked above him. Akari tilted her head in confusion and looked at the spot above him. There was nothing there. "You count territory with moku. Ermm...and then...there are these things called handicaps." The train arrived at their stop, and Hikaru and Akari got off.
"Things?" She laughed at his diction. Hikaru pouted and she apologized. "Sorry, sorry, what are handicaps?"
"...uhm, it's so that if you face a stronger or weaker player, it will still be an even match. There's also a fixed system that Sa-I mean, I recently found out. It's called komi. White gets this komi, which is erm...6...6.5 moku because Black has the advantage of going first." He explained.
"Wow, I didn't know that." Akari was starting to get interested. "That means...wouldn't a beginner give an experienced player a tough time with a handicap?"
Hikaru laughed. "No way! An experienced player could totally catch up! Besides, a beginner would make lots of blunders."
Akari turned her attention away from Hikaru to look at a building nearby. She pointed at it. "Hey, I think that's it! 'Japanese Go Insitute', right?" Hikaru looked at the flyer for confirmation and nodded. They went inside and asked directions to the tournament room. Hikaru and Akari then entered a spacious room with several tables filled with kids and parents standing at the side.
"Wow." Hikaru whispered. Akari's mouth gaped at the amount of children, some even younger than her, that were intensely focused on the game in front of them. The room was full with sounds of stones clicking the boards and clocks being pressed. These kids look around the same age as me...and they're concentrating so hard on Go. That's...amazing. Akari thought in awe. There's a tense atmosphere in here...I don't get it, it's just a friendly tournament, right?
She glanced over at Hikaru, who was as astounded as she was. He then looked over to the group of people standing at the sides. They looked seemed like relatives and friends of the children that were playing. Hikaru looked around and started walking off in a random direction. Akari looked startled and followed him.
"H-hey, isn't this incredible?" She whispered to him. He nodded, still glancing everywhere.
"Who are you looking for?" She asked.
Hikaru leaned in, and replied, "I played a guy my age at a salon before. I'm trying to see if he's here."
Akari nodded in understanding. "Who's the guy? Does he go to our school?" Their whisper conversation received a disapproving look from a man in suit. Akari and Hikaru bowed in apology. She noticed a band around his arm. He must be a proctor or something...
"Anyway, the guy's name is Touya Akira. His uniform looked like it belonged to some rich academy...uh, Kaim, was it?" Hikaru replied in a hushed whisper.
"...you mean. Kaio? I'd suspect that they would have a lot of go players." Akari tried to think back to where she heard something about Kaio. Something about their Go Club...?
Hikaru stopped the conversation there as he suddenly looked at a game in front of him. A boy placed his stone at 1-3.
"Oh, so close! You should have gone one above that!" He blurted out-loud. Hikaru realized what he said and clamped his mouth shut with his hand.
Akari widened her eyes at him. "Hikaru..." She said through gritted teeth.
Both of the boys playing the game looked at the board and processed what Hikaru said. "Oh..." They said.
The same man who saw them having their whisper conversation came and put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing? This is a serious event; you can't interfere with a match!" People around them started to stare at them and whisper. The players of the game right next to them looked over, annoyed.
A blonde-haired man with glasses walked up to them and said, "Mori-san, calm down." He was wearing a suit also and had a ribbon on his chest. He must be one of the sponsors, I suppose...? Akari quietly observed.
"Ogata-san, I'm taking these two out." Mori said, angrily.
Akari pointed at herself and said, "Eh? Me too?" The furious proctor dragged both of them out of the room while Akari was shedding comical tears. She knew that she wouldn't stay there without Hikari but she didn't like being blamed for something she didn't do.
They came into an office with a very important-looking man and another proctor were standing in.
Akari put her hand on Hikaru's head and forced him to bow with her. "We are very sorry for disturbing this important event!"
The important man spoke. "It's not that simple." He frowned. "A lot of children take this tournament very seriously."
Hikaru laughed nervously.
"This is not a laughing matter!" Mori said. Then he sighed. "Okay, you two can go now. Right, Kakimoto-sensei?" The man named Kakimoto-sensei nodded.
Akari let Hikaru leave first and then paused at the doorway. "I'm very sorry for his actions. Goodbye!" She said.
As soon as they were a good distance away from the room, Akari punched him in the shoulder. Hikaru gave a yelp and rubbed his shoulder.
"Ow, what was that for?" He whined.
"What was that for? You got us kicked out!" Akari said.
"Why do you care so much? You didn't really care about coming here, did you?" He said. Akari couldn't contradict that, knowing that he was right.
"But I did ask you to take me here." She sighed. "We could just go get-" Akari noticed a man walking around the corner and Hikaru was about to collide into him.
"Hikaru watch ou-" But the warning was too late. Hikaru bumped into the man's chest and fell on his bottom.
"Ow..." He said. Akari looked up at the man that he bumped into. He was a tall man wearing a traditional kimono and had a menacing demeanor. Akari guessed that his age was around late 40s-50. I don't know why but...I can feel this guy is definitely someone not to be trifled with. Akari didn't know what people meant when they could "feel" the aura of some people until now. The man's aura enveloped her and made her gulp nervously.
"Be more careful." He said and walked off. Akari and Hikaru stared at his back.
"Whew...I thought I was going to get yelled out, right, Sai?" Hikaru looked up to an empty space above him. Akari glanced at him.
"Sai?" She questioned.
Hikaru sputtered and quickly tried to correct himself. "Uh, Sai? Did I say Sai? I-I meant Akari!" She narrowed her eyes at him. Yeah because 'Sai' and 'Akari' are totally similar. Akari decided to not push the matter further but took note of his slip. She held out her hand to help him up.
"But that man...seemed powerful, didn't he?" She mused.
"Yeah, pretty scary." Hikaru agreed. They walked in silence until Akari spoke up.
"Wanna go get something to eat?"
A/EN:
Annnndddd that was the end of the first chapter. As you can tell, I don't proof-read my chapters because I just don't have time to do so. So it's full of errors and I apologize for that. xD
Speaking of which, I would appreciate it if you checked my other story too, which is Life As Yui Komori. If you have checked out Diabolik Lovers or at least know of it, then please give a read and tell me how it is. ^^
Leave a review with any thoughts or questions! :)