Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.
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1. About this fic: In this fic, Sai is not a ghost but a living man. Each story (each chapter) takes place in different period; therefore, the timeline will skip back and forth according to the main character of each story.
2. About this Chapter: The story is set in July 2001, during Hikaru's disappearance. Although the ghost Sai doesn't exist in this fic, Hikaru still misses his Oteai game for an unknown reason.
Yin-Yang, Go pros and Sai
Principle 1: Feng Shui for the Touyas' kitchen
Principles of Yin and Yang:
"1. Yin and yang are opposite."
July 2001, the Touyas' residence
"I'm home," entering the house, Akira said, but there was no response. Normally, when his father or he arrived home, his mother would come to greet them at the entrance, but today only silence welcomed him home. Mother should be home today, shouldn't she? he thought. When he noticed a pair of black leather shoes, he knew the reason of her absence. So we have a guest. They must be in the living room. He put his shoes on the shoe shelf, went straight to the living room and found his mother chatting amiably with Fujiwara no Sai, the Feng Shui master.
The Touyas had been first introduced to Fujiwara a couple of months ago through his aunt who had acted as a middleman. His aunt had claimed that after she had re-organized her home following his advice, her family flourished well and her sickly son got healthier.
Unlike his aunt who was quite superstitious, Akira was a rational person who believed in modern science. In his eyes, Fujiwara was more like an interior designer rather than a fortune-teller.
It was true that their house had become cleaner and more organized once his mom arranged it the way the young man had suggested. However, Akira strongly believed that the ones who brought prosperity to this household were the members of the family, not the Feng Shui. Their wealth was a result of his father's and his hard work rather than the jade tree planted in a flowerpot that was placed at the southeast corner of the house, or a good "Chi" (energy) coming from a painting of goldfish on a wall. They were always surrounded by a peaceful atmosphere because the Touyas, with their calm nature, hardly ever got into an argument, not because of the Clematis the Feng Shui consultant had recommended his mother grow. His parents led a happy marriage because they loved each other deeply, not because the pair of quartz crystals in the southwest room.
"I'm home, Mother," Akira said to her before turning to the visitor, "Good evening, Fujiwara-san," he greeted.
"Welcome home, Akira-san," she replied. "Good evening, Touya-kun," Fujiwara greeted back.
Before anyone could say anything, a phone rang. His mother tilted her head down a little in apology, "Excuse me, Fujiwara-sensei." She gracefully rose from the seiza post (Japanese formal way of sitting), approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Please take care of Sensei for me, Akira-san."
"Hai."
After she left the room, he took her seat, opposite to Fujiwara.
"It's been a while, Touya-kun," it was the guest who initiated the conversation.
"Yes." It was a short answer but Akira didn't what else to say to the man; he wasn't familiar with him like his mother was.
Fujiwara no Sai was around his mid twenties. He had a pretty face with blue eyes. His long and silky black hair reached the slim waist that every woman would die for. He was tall and had a slender body with pale skin. Even his voice was smooth. He was, without doubt, the perfect image of a Bishounen. No wonder he was so popular amongst middle-aged housewives.
Today, Fujiwara wore casual pastel-color clothes. Akira remembered him saying that earthy color helped relationship go well and light color loose-fitting clothes inspired creativity.
"So, what brings you here today?" Akira asked.
Fujiwara grinned cheerfully. "Oh, Akiko-san said she felt a bit uncomfortable while cooking, so she wanted me to take a look at the kitchen."
"Is that so?"
"The kitchen is the heart of every house, you know," the young Feng Shui master spoke passionately; his eyes grew wide with enthusiasm. "Since it's a place where we provide food, it is considered to be the source of nourishment and good fortune."
"I see," the 3-Dan feigned interest. "What needs to be done then?" The last time the so-called Sensei had been here, he had pointed out that it was not good for him to keep a PC in his bedroom since it would disturb his sleep. His mother, who always complied with Fujiwara's guidance, had told him to remove it from the bedroom. He had refused to do so as he needed it for his homework (and to play net-Go in his free time). In the end, they had compromised, and he had agreed to cover the PC with a piece of cloth at night.
"Well," Fujiwara looked up to the ceiling and pointed at a light with his white Kawahori fan, "we have to change the fluorescent lights in the kitchen and use spectrum bulbs instead. You see, spectrum bulbs are good for a room with activity," he explained animatedly. "Then we have to throw away the broken toaster since it sends out a bad "Chi". I think the reason Akiko-san feels uneasy is because the kitchen is so…lifeless. We need to add something lively to boost up a good "Chi" level. A vase of flowers, a pot of herb or a small plant, anything is fine as long as it's fresh."
"I see,"
"Hmm," the young instructor rested the tip of the fan on the lips and studied the boy's face. He opened the white fan, hid half of his face behind it and spoke up, "It seems that you are in a bad mood today, a very bad mood if I might add."
The statement took Akira by surprise, it was correct nevertheless. "Eh?"
Fujiwara lowered the fan and smiled gently at him. "The Touya-kun I know would never greet his guest with 'What brings you here today?'. My, my, what a cold greeting! For a second, I thought that I wasn't welcome here!" Faking crying, he turned away and pretended to dry his tears. Once he was satisfied with his act, he stopped weeping, took a glimpse at Akira and gave him a knowing smirk. "But that can't be true, right? If a polite boy with good upbringing like you says something like that to a guest, it only means that you must be in a very bad mood. A fight, maybe? With a friend, perhaps?" he guessed.
"How did you…" Akira was speechless. The speculation was, after all, without fault.
Fujiwara chuckled in reply. "Well, I am a Feng Shui master. Observing people is part of my job, as well as giving advice," he said this with a warm smile. "Would you mind telling me about it, maybe I can help?"
Normally Akira wasn't the type who discussed his problems with others; even with his own parents, he tended to solve everything by himself and depended on others as little as he could. However, today was an exception. Maybe it was because he was so frustrated that he needed to vent it out on someone, even if that person was a stranger to him. Maybe it was because he was enchanted by Fujiwara's beautiful smile and his soothing voice like his aunt and his mother. "As you know that I'm a Go pro, I play with many other pros, but there is only one person that I see as my rival. His name is….,"
And so, he went on. He ended up telling Fujiwara about his rivalry with Shindou, his sole rival, and how the blond skipped the Oteai Game for no reason. "…I know how irresponsible he can be," he sighed, "but, seriously, missing the game for two months and losing by default? That's too much!" He shook his head in desperation and his fists clenched in irritation.
To Akira's surprise, upon hearing his rant about the annoying Shindou Hikaru, Fujiwara giggled behind his fan. "Oh, sorry," he apologized. "Please forgive my rudeness." He excused his discourtesy. "It's just that this Shindou Hikaru seems to be the total opposite to you. I'm amazed that someone so serious and well manner such as yourself became friends with an easygoing and loud boy like Shindou-kun."
The boy snorted without restraint. "Sometimes I ask myself why I even bother to care about him. Sometimes I doubt if he is really my destined rival or if I am just deluding myself that he is," he grumbled.
"Oh, I think he is," Fujiwara fanned himself leisurely. He looked amused by the whole thing. "I'm sure that he is," he affirmed.
Fujiwara's voice was firm and full of confidence, there wasn't a hint of the slightest hesitation; Akira wondered how he could be so certain when he had never met or heard about Shindou before. "Why-"
The Feng Shui expert snapped his fan close and faced Akira directly. "Day and night, hot and cold, hard and soft, this universe and everything is formed by two different forces: Ying and Yang. Yet, Ying and Yang are opposite. Ying is light, Yang is darkness. Ying is winter, Yang is summer. Ying is north, Yang is south. Ying and Yang are against each other but at the same time they keep each other in check." He gazed steadily at Akira before continuing. "An outgoing person like Shindou-kun tends to be a Yang person. An introvert like you is likely a Ying person. Although your personalities are so different causing the two of you to argue a lot, you don't hate him, do you? In fact, he fulfills your missing part and now you feel lost without him, am I right?"
Again, his words were flawless. Despite every unpleasant thing that happened between them, the thought of hating Shindou had never crossed Akira's mind. On the contrary, the existence of the other boy comforted him somehow. Before Shindou had entered his life, everything had been boring. Then, Shindou appeared before him. His dull world gradually changed. Excitement, happiness, frustration, anger, hope… he had never felt them until he met the blond. Shindou taught him what he lacked. Shindou gave him a motivation to be stronger. The idea of him leaving the Go world threw him off balance. Just thinking about it was unbearable; it was like the world suddenly turned black. He had been waiting for his other half for so long, now that he had finally found him, the very same half of him wanted to leave him alone again. That was why he was mad at Shindou. Anyone in my shoes would feel the same, right?
Seeing the former Meijin's son remaining in silence gave him an unspoken confirmation, Fujiwara let out a quiet laughter. "You're acting as if you're angry at him but in fact you're worried about him, aren't you? How cute of you!" He seemed to truly enjoy this. "It's good to be young!"
Akira started to wonder if this man was just that damn good at reading people or if it was he himself who was easy to read. At any rate, his speculations were correct.
"Don't worry, he will be back," Fujiwara assured. "He, too, is lost without you. White stones alone cannot create a game. He will soon realize that. All you need to do is keep on going and he will come back," he repeated, "to Go, to you, his opposite counterpart."
"Fujiwara-san, you-" the sound of the sliding door interrupted them, his mother had returned at last.
She settled next to him and smiled weakly at her visitor. "I'm sorry. I was on the phone longer than I expected."
"It's alright, Akiko-san," Fujiwara waved his hand. "Touya-kun is a good host. We had a good time."
His mother beamed. "Is that so? I'm glad then."
"Err, Mother," Touya junior chimed in, "now that you're back, I must excuse myself. I have to prepare for my game tomorrow." He turned to the advisor and bowed his head. "Thank you for your advice, Fujiwara-san. It put my mind at ease." He got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He was about to leave the room when Fujiwara called out to him.
"Touya-kun."
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to pry but-," the beautiful man frowned with hesitation, "tomorrow's match, is it very important?"
"Every game is important." The Go pro stated. "Tomorrow I'm going to play against Hagiwara-san, a 9 Dan. He will be a tough opponent," he admitted.
"I see," the Feng Shui master stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Why don't you wear pink tomorrow then?"
"Pink?" both Touyas chorused, confusion registering on their faces.
"Pink is the Fire element which supports career, and it also represents love." Fujiwara sent Akira a playful wink. "Who knows? Maybe you will reunite with the one you long for."
…
…
…
On the following evening, with the news of Touya Akira beating Hagiwara Masahiko and winning a ticket to the Honinbo League, together with the addition of the arrival of Shindou Hikaru, who came to confront his rival and declared that he would never give up on Go, the Go Association went into an uproar.
End of Chapter 1
Word Count: 2315
AN: I'm sorry for my long absence. I have no excuse. It's because of my laziness - -" I must tell you that I'm no expert on Feng Shui or Yin Yang either. This fic is a resulf from my research.
Actually saying that Yin –Yang are completely opposite is not entirely correct. Although everything has its opposite, this is never absolute, only comparative. Nothing is completely yin or completely yang. For example, cold can turn into hot; "what goes up must come down".
You all know my policy, I don't post a fic unless I finished it already. So, yes, I've finished this fic. There's no need to fear that I will abandon it. I promise to update weekly.
Special Thanks: Sara, my hard working beta.
Info:
Feng Shui at home
(wwwdot) iloveindia(dot)com(slash)feng-shui(slash)feng-shui-architecture(slash)feng-shui-home(slash)
(wwwdot) care2(dot)com(slash)greenliving(slash)feng(-)shui(-)your(-)kitchen(dot)html#
Yin Yang Concepts
w w w(dot)shen(-)nong(dot)com(slash)eng(slash)principles(slash)propertiesyinyang(dot)html
w w w(dot) thaiexotictreasures(dot)com(slash)index(dot)html
Yin Yang and personality
w w w (dot)365tcm(dot)com(slash)topics(slash)traditional(-)chinese(-)medicine(slash)yin(-)and(-)yang(-)traditional(-)chinese(-)medicine