So I made a couple of changes, now that I have a better idea where this is going. Shindo is 15 and Tsuitsui is only 5D amateur, which makes him about the level of a group B insei (Which seems reasonable, seeing as most of them are like 12). Haze is a high school instead. For those of you wondering, no Sai is not dead yet, he still has a little bit left to do. As to who he really is, we'll get to that later. I will try to keep this fiction original, but there are bound to be lots of similarities with other fictions. I mean, this is about Shindo and his ascension in the go world, hard to be completely original. For those wondering about Akari, I am actually not really sure what I want to do with that. I'd like to have her involved, but I'd also like to add another potential romantic interest. No clue who though, there aren't many options available. Maybe Nase? Maybe a chinese/korean/american OC? Maybe Akira? I'm just kidding, Akira will be a rival and nothing more. Feel free to give me suggestions on this matter or anything else. Getting reviews feels pretty good, didn't expect it to be so satisfying. Also, I am one win away from 2 Dan on the Korean server Tygem, wish me luck. I really love Go!

Disclaimer : It seems that Hikaru No Go belongs to someone else, bummer.

''Class settle down'' said the teacher, as the second bell was ringing. ''There is a transfer student that will be joining us for the rest of the year. He is new to Tokyo and I hope you will all make him feel at home here. Now please introduce yourself Shindo.''

''Hey, my name is Shindo Hikaru. I've been living on an island, so this is my first time in Tokyo. I haven't had much time to see the city but I hope that I will. My hobbies are Go and soccer, please take care of me.''

Glad that the introduction was over, he headed towards the empty seat next to a serious looking boy with glasses. Hikaru had been slightly nervous heading towards his first class, but that had quickly passed and he was looking forward to making friends.

''Hey, I'm Shindo Hikaru, what's your name?''

''Please refrain from talking to me while the class is in session, I might miss something the teacher says.'' replied the boy, in a condescending tone.

Great, Shindo thought, sarcastically, this is going to be loads of fun.

As soon as the bell rang, Shindo was on his way towards the Go Club. The day had not been so bad after a rocky start with his seatmate. The rest of the class was pretty cool, one boy even inviting him to join the soccer club. Obviously, Shindo had turned him down, but it was still a nice gesture. They had also told him not to worry about the earlier incident, that Yamagi was that way with everyone. He had ignored him for the rest of the day and things had gone pretty smooth.

His day got even better when he saw what was awaiting him in room 301B. There had to be at least 20 kids, all around his age, playing Go. This was enough to bring a huge grin to his face. He had after all only ever played three people in his life. (Four counting Akari, which Shindo was not.)

As everyone was busy playing games, he headed towards Tsuitsui. One glance was all it took to see he was in deep trouble. His center group was cut off and there seemed to be no way to find life. Unless... it was not obvious at first, but he could counter attack and force his opponent, a tall red-haired boy into a capturing race. The semeai looked complicated though, hard to say who would win. Shindo was still reading it out when he heard his newest friend resign.

''Hmm... you shouldn't have resigned so early'' said Hikaru.

''Clearly, you have no idea what you are talking about. There is no way for the center group to live.'' said a voice from behind him.

Turning around, Hikaru was surprised to see none other than his seatmate Yamagi.

''Then how would you answer this?'' he replied, putting down a stone.

''Like this.''

''But then, white goes here, black has to answer because of the weakness here and then white extending creates miai to capture this stone or cut off blacks weak group and then a capturing race starts for the whole center.''

By the time he was done explaining, Hikaru looked up and saw that everyone had stopped playing. They were all looking at him like he was some kind of alien.

''This is the guy I was talking to you about senpai'' said Tsuitsui, addressing the red-haired boy.

''I see, well then Shunpo, let's have a game and I'll show you how a real man plays go'' he said with a smirk on his face.

''It's Shindo! And aren't you a little arrogant? What happens if I beat you?'' replied the blond-banged teen, getting worked up.

''Hah, don't make me laugh, you are a thousand years too early to defeat me. If you do, you can play first board in the upcoming fall tournament.''

Well, that will get me first board quicker than I expected thought Shindo, hiding a grin.

''But, if you lose you have to wash and polish all the stones every week for the remained of the term.''

Better not lose then. ''Deal'' said Shindo as he took a seat in front of his opponent.

''What are you doing Kaga, what happens if he wins?'' Shindo heard Yamagi say.

''Fool, are you doubting me? Quiet. I'll show you why I'm first board and you're second.'' answered the arrogant boy.

The game started off at a leisurely pace, with white setting up a framework on the top while Shindo took territory. The fuseki was now over and white's last move had been a three space jump into the center, closing off his moyo and challenging Shindo to invade. The next sequence was crucial to the game and would, in all likelihood, determine the winner. Had Kaga opted for a two space jump, Shindo might have only reduced and taken it to yose, but this clearly called for a do or die move. Where to play, where to play? As if to answer his silent question, his eyes locked on the 8-17 point. Klak!

Now Kaga would have to play as severely as possible, for the normal sequence in this shape would give Shindo too much. Seeing as white was quite strong in the area, this prospect should have been worrisome. However, the young challenger had prepared a probe in the corner, which, depending on how Kaga answered it, would either help his group live or give him the corner. Either way, the upcoming fight felt comfortable. Kaga had played an interesting game, but Shindo could feel the difference in skill. His style was a lot like Zelda, though Kaga was probably weaker. Guess immature brats play the same way.

A little while later, white resigned. Mad because he was behind, Kaga had tried to both keep the corner and kill black's invasion. This, of course, had not ended well. He had lost his corner and black had escaped towards the center. Shindo thought back to one of his conversations with Sai.

''A go master can look at the game of one of his students and tell what emotions he felt throughout the game. Whether he was angry and impatient, calm and strong or scared and defensive.'' Pointing to a stone on the board, Sai continued, ''When you tried to kill my invasion, you were obviously angry at it. I agree it seems like an overplay, but as the game showed us, it was not. You have to learn to respect every move your opponent plays, even those that seem weak or out of place. Failing to do so leads to impatient play. However, too much respect leads to playing defensive and being pushed around. The attitude you take towards Go has to be balanced, for as you well know, Go is ultimately a game of balance. Balance between territory and influence, attack and defense, respect and punishment.''

Shindo was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of Kaga storming off, muttering about some Touya Akira.

''What's his problem? And who's Touya Akira?'' Inquired the recently proclaimed first board.

''You don't know who Touya Akira is? He's the son of the Meijin!'' replied Yamagi, clearly annoyed.

Guess now that I beat Kaga I'm worthy enough to be spoken to. ''What's a Meijin?''

''WHAT? You are this good at Go and you don't know about the Meijin?''

They kept at it for a little while. Yamagi being surprised at every turn by Shindo's ignorance and his counterpart learning more and more about the Japanese Go World. He discovered that lot's of young kids strove to attain pro status, but only three would obtain pro status each year. Those kids were known as inseis. It seemed that Touya Akira had made Kaga quit being an insei, but no one knew what had happened. Shindo also learned that there were a couple of major tournaments each year and that the Meijin was the most respected title in Japan. It was currently held by Touya Koyo, the man closest to the Hand of God. Knowing he'd only remember half of what he was told, Shindo cut Yamagi short by asking to play a game, which he won without much trouble. The victor then decided to wander around, to see how the other members were faring. He ended up taking on the role of a teacher, giving advice to various players, pointing out their mistakes and suggesting different courses of action. Some of the older students might have been annoyed by a young kid acting like this, but they had seen Kaga lose and knew better than to refuse advice from someone strong enough to accomplish that.

As he made his way back to his dorm, Shindo was feeling happy. The club members were lots of fun and he had ended up getting to know Yamagi better. The guy was actually pretty cool, but took his studies way too seriously. Still, Shindo respected that and felt like he understood his earlier actions better. The club members had also assured him that Kaga would eventually come around. Funny how I keep starting off on the wrong foot with some people he thought as he collapsed on his bed. Deciding to skip homework, he reached for his laptop and opened up the netgo server. Zelda was on and was playing some guy named Isumi. The end game was well underway and Isumi was on his way towards a 2.5 moku victory. I'll challenge this guy once it's over, should be a good game.

Zelda made a small mistake in the end game and Isumi ended up winning by 4.5. To Shindo's delight the winner accepted his challenge and ended up with black to Shindo's white. The fighting started quickly with black splitting the upper white framework. Eventually, the one who had issued the challenge was able to save both his split groups and in doing so, ended any chance black had at winning. Isumi resigns.

Isumi : Thank you for the game

Hika55 : Thank you, nice game.

Isumi : You're strong, are you a pro? Zelda and I are Insei.

Wait... Yamagi told me about these guys... Ah! They are the ones who are studying to become pro.

Hika55 : What, does that mean you think I'm good enough to become a pro?

Isumi : How old are you?

Hika55: 15.

Isumi : We should meet up. With your skill, you should at least consider going pro as an option.

Hika55: I'm playing in the High School Tokyo Tournament if you want to come, we can meet up after.

Isumi : Zelda and I will be there.

Hika55 : See you there.

As tired as he was from the days events, sleep continued to elude Shindo. Earlier his mind had been excited and filled with go, but now several questions were haunting him. How could he possibly have the strength of a pro? How strong would that make Sai? Who was he really? Unable to fall asleep, he decided to write him a letter.

Dear Sai,

Tokyo is great! I made friends and joined my school's Go Club. They are nice people but I thought that they would be stronger. Apparently I am now our school's first board for the upcoming tournament. I played some inseis on the internet and they think I am strong enough to be a pro. It seems that 15 years old is a normal age to go pro. I can't really sleep right now. I'll be meeting with those two inseis at my school tournament, I'll get more information and try to make a decision. How does one even become a pro?

I know we used to talk about reaching the Hand of God, but I never knew there were so many people who had that goal. I never knew you could make a living off of that goal. How great would that be?

Anyways, how are you doing? I hope you are getting better, you must be sick of being stuck in the hospital. I know you don't like netgo, but maybe you could ask my grandfather to lend you his laptop, I miss playing you.

This next question might seem weird but, how are you so strong? I've only ever played against you and I'm good enough to go pro. Are you a retired pro? Did you ever play against Touya Meijin? I was told he was the closest to achieving your goal.

Write to me soon,

Shindo Hikaru.

Having laid his worries on paper, the confused boy drifted off to sleep.

Next week (I'll try to update weekly) : Tournament time! Sai replies to the letter! Battle for Hogwarts!

Go terms and approximate translations:
Miai = a dual situation. If you play A, your opponent plays B. If you play B, your opponent plays A.
Moku = points
Semeai = capturing race. When two groups are cut off by each other but not alive, the first one to capture the other one wins.
Moyo = a big territorial framework. The opponent either tries to invade it or to reduce it, depending on the size of the moyo and the surrounding groups.
Probe = asking move. Will you defend this way or that way? Each answer gives different options to the one probing.