Title: Day Dream 1/?
Author: Kleptomaniac Can Opener
Pairing: Sai x Hikaru
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: Seeing as I'm not Hotta Yumi, I'll have to say I don't own any official HikaGo stuff.

Summary: Life is very dull for Hikaru Shindou, until he closes his eyes and dreams. But how can it only be a dream when it brings knowledge he can't possibly have?

NOTES: I've been meaning to write this for over three years. I'm such a procrastinator! XD But here it is now! I hope you guys enjoy the fic; it's a bit different from what I normally write.

~*~Part 1~*~

It's orange. Not a big surprise for an orange really. It's round, has those little bumps on it, and a minor bruise towards the bottom. It's firm, but ripe enough to eat.
All in all, it's an orange.
He rolls it back and forth on the smooth surface of the kitchen table. It rolls one way, then with a light push, rolls back the other way.
It's a round, bumpy, somewhat bruised orange.

"I must be really bored if I'm examining a piece of fruit." He puts the orange back in a wooden bowl with a couple of pears and a red apple. "Maybe I'll go play soccer at the park?" he mutters to himself, but the downside to going rises up as soon as the thought crosses his mind. "But there's never anyone good to play with. And if I go out Akari may catch me and bug me about studying again."

Shindou Hikaru is a typical twelve-year-old boy. He's in his sixth year of elementary, makes grades that could be better, and is the main striker and Central Forward for his school's soccer team (they've ranked third in the district since he joined two years ago, an improvement from eighth). He's a little on the short side and has a boisterous personality. It's been said that his bright blond bangs and sparkling green eyes are a perfect match for his attitude.

For some time however, around four months if not longer, those brilliant eyes have dulled. Hikaru has been a very bored young man. Life is the same thing everyday. It's routine, and he's sick of it. It's gotten so bad he doesn't even want to go to soccer practice anymore where he gets a consistent stream of praise.

"I wish something would happen." It's with those words that he drifts off into the land sleep, his head cradled on his arms.

~*~

"...! Where are you? You lazy child, answer me now!"

He opened his eyes. Everything was blurry for a moment until his sight adjusted to the intense sunlight streaming through the branches of the Sakura tree he had fallen asleep under. "I'm coming, hahaue!" He stood and brushed stray pink petals off his dark hakama. His braids bounced on his shoulders as he ran, his geta made clacking sounds on the stone walkway.

Though the woman was his mother, he could not picture her face. Indeed, he couldn't see it even as he peered up at her, though he had the feeling that she was beautiful and wore makeup. Multi-colored robes swished around her tiny wrist as she shook a white finger at him. "Shameful child, you were almost late! Fujiwara-sama has no time for tardiness."
"I'm sorry, hahaue." He straightened his robes then entered the room he had been led to. He almost ran into a man whose face he also could not see but he somehow knew was important. The boy was prompt when he moved aside, and bowed below his waist. He did not lift back up until a soft voice beckoned him in.
"Come in, child. You're ...-kun, are you not? I am Fujiwara no Sai, I will be testing your Go today."

When the boy looked up, he saw the most beautiful person that could ever exist.

~*~

"Hikaru? Wake up, Hikaru."
"Huh? Oh, mom." Hikaru sits up and yawns. "Guess I fell asleep."
"If you want to nap, go to your room. I have to start on the main dish for dinner or it won't be done before your father gets home."
"If he doesn't do overtime for the billionth time and eat at a noodle stand."
"That's no way to talk about your father. He works very hard for us so we can live here and have nice things." Hikaru stands up and stretches.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm gonna go to the park."
"That's fine, but be back in time for dinner," Mrs. Shindou calls out as her son leaves the kitchen.
"Sure." Hikaru slips on his shoes, grabs his soccer ball, and trots out of the house.

The dazzling sunlight makes him pause. For a moment, he thinks he can smell Sakura blossoms. But they won't be flowering for another half a year. Hikaru shakes his head. "I must still be waking up. Man that was a weird dream." He shivers a bit and on second thought, rushes back in to grab a light jacket before leaving again.

"Hikaru!" Fujisaki Akari is Hikaru's neighbor and childhood friend of the same age. Long brown hair bounces between her shoulder blades as she jogs to catch up to her friend. "Hikaru, don't tell me you're going to go play soccer! I bet you haven't studied for our vocabulary test yet!"
"Aw, I'll do it later."
"You need to study! You haven't passed a single one this year!"
"Whatever. You know studying isn't my strong point."

Akari follows him as he begins walking. "Your attitude has really stunk ever since the rainy season, Hikaru. You don't care about your grades or anything!"
"So I'm in a funk, big deal. Once something exciting happens I'll be fine."
"You can't just let everything go downhill because you're bored! We're going to change schools soon! We need to study for exams so we can get into a good one! Hikaru, are you listening to me?"
He had been listening until he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Hikaru? Hey, Hikaru? What is it?" Hikaru faces away from her, eyes searching the streets but finding nothing out of the ordinary.
"Did you see someone wearing a really tall hat?" he asks.
"A tall hat? Like a top hat?"
"Nah uh, like really tall and it tapers at the top?" Akari frowns, thinking.
"Like the tate-eboshi those court people wear in old samurai movies? But no one wears those anymore unless it's for costume play. You must have been seeing things."
"Yeah, probably." He continues on his way to the park with Akari keeping up her tirade about his lack of studying.

The park, which is more often than not teeming with the youthful energy of the neighborhood kids, is empty except for the presence of some preschoolers and a few kindergartners. "This is weird."
"Everyone must be trying out that new game in the arcades," says Akari. "And the new Miyazaki film came out just yesterday too."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about those." Hikaru isn't much into video games. He'll play when the mood strikes him, but he prefers to spend what little money he has on other things. Movies are really only a notch higher on his to-do list since it's easier to wait for them to come on television.
"Since there's no one here, let's go back and study together, okay?"
"Nah." Hikaru begins to juggle his ball; knee, leg, knee, toe, toe, knee. Akari sighs.
"Hikaru, what's wrong?"
"I told you, I'm just really bored."

In any case, they only stay for half-an-hour. Akari can't help but frown at her friend's ongoing depression. "Tomorrow's Sunday, Hikaru. How about we go to the amusement park or something? That would be fun!"
"I'll think about it, but I'm really not in the mood."
"Are you sure? Because once your parents see your progress report, you might get grounded again."
"Oh, man, I forgot about that! And mom always looks through my bag for my homework!" With that, Hikaru sprints off in hope of hiding the damning piece of paper.
"Hikaru! Wait up!" Akari runs after him but is soon left behind, staring at his disappearing back.

Hikaru is indeed scolded almost as soon as he's inside the door. His mother waves a wooden spoon at him while holding his grades in her other hand. "You are going to a good school! You should be doing better than this!"
"Sorry, mom, I'm just not that good at any of that stuff."
"You need to try harder! If you don't start doing better, I'll have to request that you're removed from the soccer team so you can concentrate on your work."
"Fine, whatever," he replies as he walks upstairs. His mother calls after him.
"You get back here, young man! We're not finished yet!"
"I'm going to study, mom!"

Mrs. Shindou huffs and rests both hands on her hips. "What is wrong with that boy? His grades have never been this poor and he used to love soccer." She shakes her head and goes back to the kitchen to finish dinner. Maybe it's a boy thing? She'll talk it over with her husband when he gets home.

Hikaru falls onto his bed face first. He knows he really should study like Akari and his mother keep telling him to, but he can't muster up the will to crack any of his books open. None of the subjects interest him so they feel like a huge waste of time.
Now that he thinks about it, his 'mood' didn't start until the teacher asked them to write an essay on what they wanted to be when they grow up. When confronted with the question, Hikaru found that of all the things he's heard of and encountered during his short lifespan, there wasn't one thing he could see himself doing twenty years from now. Things have spiraled downwards ever since.

"Hikaru! Dinner's ready!"
"I'm not hungry!"
"You're always hungry! Come down for dinner!"
"I'm going to bed, mom! I'm just tired!" The boy finds that in truth, he really isn't hungry and his eyelids keep drooping. He sighs and dresses in his long pajamas to get some rest. "Maybe I'm sick?" He closes his eyes and falls asleep soon after.

~*~

He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He was staring at a Go board with several stones already placed on it. He looked down; between his index and middle fingers was cradled a black stone. It fell from his loose hold into a shiny bowl with flower designs, a go-ke he knows, with a clack against other black stones. "I resign." He looked back up and met violet eyes. His breath caught in his throat.
"Wise choice, ...-kun. Let's discuss the game." Fujiwara shut the fan that had been covering the bottom portion of his face, and used it to point to the various weaknesses in black's game. If he had defended the upper-right corner instead of the left, if he had moved a certain stone one point higher, if he had understood better why the man had played a hand where he did, and so many other things, he would have stood a better chance. "Do you understand now?"
"Yes." The boy bowed. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."
"You hardly wasted it. I'm rather pleased we had this session." Lips painted purple smiled. It wasn't mocking, but gentle and warm. "Your mother, Midori-dono, informed me you have only played for two months. To come this far so quickly speaks of great talent and potential. I would be glad to take you as my student." The boy smiled brighter than he ever had before. He bowed until his head almost touched the surface of the Go board.
"Thank you, Fujiwara-sensei! I promise to study very hard!"
"I'm sure you will, ...-kun. I will speak to your mother about arrangements. From now on you will live here with me."
"Yes!"

~*~

When Hikaru wakes in the morning, he feels completely refreshed, like he has just lived through one of the best moments of his life. He's quite chipper when he goes down for breakfast.

"You're in a good mood, Hikaru." Mrs. Shindou smiles. It has been a while since she has seen her son so full of life. It eases some of her worry.
"Yup. I don't really remember, but I think I had a good dream." Hikaru digs into his pancakes with gusto.
"I bet you dreamt you won the National Tournament."
"Pro'bly," he agrees with a full mouth. He swallows. "My club is getting together after practice tomorrow. Is it all right I go?"
"You'll have to promise to study hard today."
"Aw, okay," he says with a full pout that threatens to make his mother laugh. "I promise."
"Alright. Just give me a call if you're going to be home late. And remember to stay with the group. I don't want your coach calling me to say that he lost you again."
"Sure, mom! Hey, where's dad?" The man often misses dinner, but he's usually around for breakfast.
"He had to leave for an early morning flight. There's some sort of conference he has to be at."
"Oh."

Hikaru is just finishing up when there's a knock on the door. Moments later, Akari bounces inside. "I'm coming in," announces the perky girl in an old ritual started in their kindergarten days.
"Good morning, Akari-chan! Come into the kitchen!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Shindou. Ah! Hikaru! You look much better today! Did something happen?"
"Nah, not really," he answers with a full mouth again.
"Eww! Hikaru!" shouts the girl. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" He swallows the last of his breakfast then sticks his tongue out at her.
"You're the one asking me questions while I'm eating!" She sticks her tongue back at him before giggling.

"Mrs. Shindou, is it alright that we go to the amusement park today?"
"Go ahead, just remember to study afterwards."
"Yes, madam! Hear that Hikaru? We can play before we study!" Hikaru waves his fork around in a false cheer, but doesn't complain.

Hikaru stares into the sky when they walk out of the train station. "Looks like it's going to rain later."
"We still have time. The weatherman said it won't start until around four, and it's only eleven now!" Akari grabs his arm and start dragging him towards the amusement park. "Come on, I have to go to the girl's room first."
"Alright, I'm coming."

Akari hurries into the public restroom, leaving Hikaru to wait outside. He spots a couple of old men playing a game that he's seen in old movies, on a weathered stone board. It's called Go or something like that. "Go..." For some reason he feels his chest warm a little. He walks over to watch, but only a few more moves are played before the two start arguing.

"You should forfeit already! You can't come back from that!"
"I can if you'd shut up so I can think!"
"You just hate losing!"
"You're impatient!"

Hikaru rolls his eyes and looks to the man playing black. "Why don't you just move here?" he suggests while pointing to one of the empty stars on the expansive board. The men pause.
"Hikaru!"
"Coming!" Hikaru doesn't wait to see if the old guy takes his advice or not. He's probably wrong anyways. He doesn't know how to play Go at all.

But the elder man does try the move and the result astounds both of them. "That was the perfect hand for this situation."
"No, fair! You got help from an insei!"
"Quit complaining!"

It's after three when Hikaru finds himself waiting for Akari again, though this time she's in the restroom to clean ice cream off the edge of her skirt. He relaxes on a bench that's situated under a tree and feels his eyes close. A short nap won't hurt. Who knows how long she'll take.

~*~

"Very good, ...-kun!" Fujiwara-sensei clapped his hands. "That was an excellent hand you played just now." The boy beamed with pride. His teacher didn't hand out praise unless there was reason. "But what will you do when I move here?" Fujiwara-sensei placed down a white stone next to his black, connecting them. The boy bit his lip and tried to think ahead. Why did the man move there?

The boy plucked a stone from his go-ke and thought. There was no such thing as a wasted move in Go, every stone had a purpose. He just had to figure out what that white one was doing. But the boy knew he was at a disadvantage. So far he could only see a dozen moves in the future whereas his sensei could see many times more than that.

Fujiwara smiled. "If you think too deeply, you will never move."
"Sorry, sensei," apologized the boy, dropping his stone back into the bowl. "I think I broke my brain." His teacher chuckled behind his fan.
"Sometimes you should listen to your instincts more closely." He closed his fan and used it to point to the board. "Try placing a hand here."

The boy did as he was told, and while looking at it he found he understood the purpose of that white stone. "Oh, I see."
"You're an intelligent boy, ...-kun. You should try hard, but not too hard. Understand?"
"Yes, Fujiwara-sensei. I will keep that in mind." He bowed low and felt his cheeks burning with pleasure.

~*~

"Wakey wakey, Hikaru," giggles Akari.
"Huh? Oh, sorry." Hikaru rubs his eyes and stretches.
"It's alright, I'm tired too. We went on practically every ride!" She looks up at the gathering clouds. "We better go home now though. I don't want to walk in the rain."
"Yeah, me too."

Akari skips and sings as they make their way to the train station. "What are you so happy about?" wonders Hikaru.
"I'm just glad that you're back to your normal self."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means," she says with a grin, stopping right in front of him and looking into his eyes, "that you had fun today." She turns around and runs for the station. "Come on! We can study until dinner then play a game!"
"Hey!" Hikaru darts after her, catching up just as they reach the ticket machines. "You only beat me because you got a head start!" Akari laughs.
"I know. You're lucky, Hikaru! You're so athletic already. You might become a star athlete one day!"
"Hmm, maybe." But the more Hikaru thinks on it, the less he wants to do it.

"Hey, Akari?" He looks to his friend sitting next to him. She's watching one of the programs on the train TV while waiting for their stop. She looks away from the three-minute English lesson and smiles at her friend, pleased that he's speaking to her again.
"Yeah?"
"Want to play Go after dinner?" She blinks, perplexed.
"Go? You mean Igo? Why?"
"Oh, um, never mind. It's just a stupid idea. I don't even know how to play."
"Hikaru, doesn't your grandfather know how to play Go?" Green eyes light up.
"Oh yeah! He does! He's always talking about how he beat what-his-name!" Akari giggles at the memory. Hikaru's grandpa gets really passionate when he talks about his youth.
"We can go next weekend if you want!"
"Yeah, okay." Hikaru's day, his entire week, looks a little brighter to him.

"Why the sudden interest in Go?" Hikaru shrugs.
"No reason. I'm just curious about it, you know?" Akari laughs.
"You're so weird! Go is for old men, isn't it?"
"Dunno, maybe." Except Hikaru doesn't feel like it is at all. He stares at his right hand, imagining a stone between his fingers. "It might be kind of fun."

~*~*~*~

Read more of this story on my fanfiction journal. :) The link is on my splash page.