Author notes
ACLARATIONS ABOUT THE PLOT:
() Hikaru is not talking….at least out loud, the conversations with Sai are…. Mind-spirit? You know… just in his head… (And no, he is not crazy!)
About the muteness…
1.-Hikaru was kind of shocked when his mother died, but with the help of his grandpa and Sai's appearance he was recovering. BUT the death of his grandpa had a very negative effect (and what happened on that night) on him and his father trying to deal with his own grief is pushing Hikaru away. I'm not trying to make the father a villain, he is just grieving and in the meanwhile he is thinking that Hikaru just needs some space and time. Like just letting a plant grow and hope that it becomes all beautiful by its own….…
2.-Hikaru will not be talking until VERY later…I'm sure it will a challenge because Hikaru in Manga and anime NEVERS shut actually I think is his mouth the cause of many of the things that happens to him….(…What I've got myself into…..T.T). Now there will be two mayor events making him to talk again… (No, I'm not telling!)
3.-For those worried about Hikaru-Akira yes he is appearing, and yes they are going to be rivals…but under strange circumstances….
4.-Again I ask forgiveness for my English it's not my mother language but hopefully it's going to get acceptable (I Hope….) And I'll make my best to make this readable…
Arigatou for your attention!
Chapter 02: "To let a star die"
The City of Beijing was famous for its miscellaneous conformation, new and old mixed together, some parts were crowded with so many buildings that backstreets and real streets often were identical, a maze to the unfortunate to navigate them without the necessary knowledge.
"Hikaru maybe we should get back…..?"
"No"
"Hikaru we have been walking for two hours. WE.ARE.LOST!"
"We aren't lost….we just are…um…somewhere else…" The eight year old said with not much conviction. The buildings were getting older and dirtier the more they walked. "Ummm…Sai…maybe….maybe we are just a little misplaced…"
The ghost looked at him blankly "Okay! Very. Completely Lost!" Cried out the child in his head, his lips never once separating. The bundle in his arms was cradled more close to his chest, that being the reason of his escapade.
"Sai…maybe we should return, I can always use some glue…and we can get back to use paper…" Said Hikaru. The Ghost looked at him and then at the precious package, it was too important to Hikaru to only be glued…they had come that far, and probably the shop wasn't too far away….
"We must be close…. Are you just giving up now? What you grandpa would have said?"
The child looked hurt but then he smiled lightly "He would say, "Hikaru you little brat a man should always carry his promises!" and then he would smile…"
"Then he is right! Come on! We must continue!" The child nodded and Sai smiled. He was amassed at the strength of the child…those very first weeks had been pure hell, him not being able to physically comfort the small child, the nightmares he could not dispel, the silent tears he could not dry, and his own anger at Hikaru's father for only leaving the boy on the apartment and later return late or not even returning for days, a piece of paper on the kitchen the only warning.
"Sai!" Two angry green eyes were focused on him, he smiled at that, it was nice to see his boy expressing some emotions…even if only with him… "Are you laughing at me?!" Cried the boy getting redder and the ghost waved his arms trying to pacify the child "No, no! Sorry Hikaru"
"Hey you!" A voice from a door made the duo stop their fighting, a teenager stood there, looking at Hikaru with a calculating gaze "What are you doing brat? You're lost?"
Hikaru looked at him and just shook his head, but the other's smile just got wider "So you ARE lost…well I know very well this part of the city I could give you a tour….Have some money?"
"Hikaru let's go, just ignore him" Said the ghost and the child tried to leave, but the teenager was in front of him in no time.
"Hey little rat I asked you a question, so you better answer….so, Have money?…mmm what's that?" He said pointing to the bundle on the child's arms "What about this, You give me whatever you have in there, and your money, and I will let you go without punching you, refuse, and I will take all your things and give you a great beat. Sooo which one you choose?"
The child stared at him in fright "Sai…Sai…"
The other boy smirked "So the beat is it!" A hand came to Hikaru trying to grab him "Hikaru run!" Screamed at the same time Sai, and the child sprinted; running with no direction the other at his heels.
"Sai!" Called the child in panic. The other one was so close he could almost feel his hand at his back, they entered a market and the child dodged the people, his heart beating furiously. Somebody was screaming, he turned a corner and found himself in a dead end, a dirty blind alley, the frantic eyes scanned the area for a way to escape. A door in the building at the left, he grabbed the handle and pushed and the door opened but only slightly; something was blocking the entrance!.
"There you are you stupid scum!" The child slide into the small gap and promptly fell down a stair only to land in a pool of dirty water, he could hear the other boy cursing and trying to open the door, but he stayed there immobilized by the fear and the pain on his back, then the screams and curses stopped and the only sound left was the drip of the water.
"Are you alright?!" Asked Sai and crouched at his side whispering reassurances at the child. Hikaru was still gasping for breath and his eyes were dry, but wide and bright with fear.
"Who's there! I'll call the police!" Sounds of small steps filling the place and then there was light, they were in a kind of basement. On the door stood a very old man; a cane grasped firmly in his left hand. The child stared at him in terror and the old man stared back.
"In the name of all gods! Child are you fine?!" The man approached limping and Hikaru made a small sound at the back of his throat and tried to bend himself in a ball but stopped when pain shoot in his back. The man grabbed him gently and carried him with an ease not proper of his age.
"Don't worry kid I won't hurt you, you fell all down the stairs?" He left the boy on a bed and started checking him for injuries "I used to be a healer so don't worry, does this hurts?" He said moving one leg and the child winced and buried his face in the pillow.
Half an hour later the child was in the bed his left leg completely covered in bandages, the same as his back, the elder was at his side rubbing a smelly past in some bruises in his arms "Almost fourteen steps! You're a lucky one, not even one broken bone!" The child snorted but didn't even winced when the man rubbed a pretty nesting bruise on his elbow "And a brave one! Most grown men would be weeping for his mama by now!... What happened? how did you fall into my basement?"
Hikaru looked at him but didn't responded, some words he could understand but complete sentences were out of his reach… he was more reading the man's body language that anything.
"Is because of that?" said the old man pointing at a square package at the bedside, it was badly wrapped in some cloth and was wrenched in water "Did you steal it?" Asked the man with an accusatory gaze. The child tried to get up and scowled with indignation "Okay! Calm down I get it, you didn't stole it! Calm down kid!".
"Stop it you're going to hurt yourself more!" Whispered Sai and the child stopped struggling, and looked at the ghost with fear and sadness "Sai….I was so scared…and now…I won't be able to fix it!"
Sai smiled at him "You did what you could…he would have understood…now let this man tend to your wounds okay?"
The old man stared at the child with a small frown and then sighed. Hikaru extended his left arm again as if giving is permission for the torture to continue.
"….So…for you to have fall down the stairs like that…was somebody chasing you?" He said trying to speak slowly. A hesitant nod was his answer.
"Aha…was because of that package? Were they trying to take it away from you?" Another nod and a look of fear passed into the child's face.
"Don't worry, they won't find you here….this things are happening a lot lately… a bunch of brats are robbing and causing problems, nothing too serious but still…." The child nodded and wrapped his arms around himself and looked at the bundle sadly. The old man took it in his arms.
"Did you need to take this to somebody? Was it a gift to someone?" The package was bended in an odd shape signaling that it was broken. The child saw this and his eyes blurred with unshed tears. And the man squirmed "You know…I repair antiques and stuff, just for fun….. But I'm pretty good with these old hands…maybe I can fix this"
The small boy looked at him hopefully and nodded eagerly and the old man chuckled "Not a very talkative boy, are you?" He started unwrapping the package and revealed what seemed a splint broken by half, he examined the pieces and recognized a foldable goban, it seemed very used and the lines were beginning to fade, the cheap wood was scrapped at the corners.
"Umm…yes it can be repaired but maybe you should buy another one…these are cheap and there are more bigger ones" The pieces were snatched of his hands by a fuming child, his eyes were burning with defiance, as if daring him to even try to damage further his treasure.
"So…this board seems to be very important for you, do you play go?" The boy nodded a little hesitantly and the man smiled at him "Let's make a deal then. I fix this up and you play with this old man a game what about that?" The child nodded and closed his eyes.
The old man seated himself in a small table and grabbed a small piece of sandpaper and started to work on the rouge parts of the old wood, working with small and slow movements, the sound soothing to the child's ears, he fell asleep very soon. The old man kept working with the same small pace once in a while stopping to inspect his work "Does the child know that you're trailing him?"
The question was spoken so softly that Sai almost missed it; he gaped at the man completely taken by surprise "Can you see me?"
"Yes I can…the child knows? You don't seem to be from this age, and you two don't look alike; so I don't think you're related…." Stated the man never once tearing his eyes of his work and Sai shifted a little uncomfortable. "No, we are not….well, really I don't know why he was the one who found me, but he did, we have been together since then."
"Ah…so why are you still here exactly?"
Sai was a little unnerved at the man; he wasn't accustomed to being talk to without eye contact. "I was a go player long time ago…I died in disgrace and God gave me a second chance. I met a child, his name was Torajiro; he let me play again and together we played many games, but then he died at a young age from illness and I waited again until one day I met this child…Why am I here?... To accomplish the hand of God…"
The old man's movements stopped and he looked straight at the ghost "The hand of God? ..…yes I've heard of it, a friend of mine told me about it…. so you think God gave you this opportunity for that purpose alone?" Asked the man and Sai felt his irritation raising a notch at the tone of the man.
"Yes of course! It's my destiny! I love go above everything! For years, ever since my childhood I've been searching for it! No matter how long or how hard the search is I will surely find it!" Said Sai with conviction, but the man only arched a brow and returned to his work.
"Yes I can see that much…however I don't think that god's plans are that simple, you said you had a second chance; you played again to your hearts content, and yet you resurged in this time, at the side of this child, maybe there is something you didn't grasped the last time?"
"I…what other purpose there could be? There isn't anything more important or anything that I desire more…"
The man stopped working again and gave the ghost a hard gaze "Then I think that maybe you should wait another ten lives….somehow I don't think that god concedes whims, at least not without a more profound intention, if your divine move could be achieved just by keep playing and by just one person alone, I think that it would had been discovered long ago…after all doesn't go needs more than one player?"
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"Hikaru, I'm off! Don't stay all day in front of the TV…..and no go after twelve!" Shindo Masao said without looking at his son; who was sprawled in the couch, reading a comic book in Chinese. He sighed, Hikaru had grasped the language so fast… if only the same had happened with the friends…. Well, he would only give more time to the boy; it had worked just fine the last time….
"Take care, and have dinner early this time, if you need anything call me to my cell phone, but ONLY if is an emergency; I have a huge presentation." Without one more word the door closed softly and Hikaru peered behind his only and one comic, one would guess that after always seeing him with the same comic he would at least ask about it... but he didn't….he never asked anything….
Shrugging Hikaru got up tossing the comic to the table, he looked at it, noting that the cover was about to fall apart…. He would need to get a new one…
"Sai let's go, today we must go with Mr. Lian" Said Hikaru putting on a gray jacket, it had the logo of the company his father worked for, and Hikaru for some reason hated that jacket. He simply felt uncomfortable with it but the others were to colorful or noticeable…and he had to pass THAT street unnoticed…
"Sai!" called Hikaru again, the ghost was sitting in a corner staring into space…
"We must...?" Asked Sai in a whisper and Hikaru had to reevaluate his opinion, Sai was sulking.
"Yes, we must! He fixed grandpa's board and he cured me! And he is very nice Sai. I still don't know why you dislike him so much! You don't even speak at all when we go there…" With a firm nod Hikaru signaled the door and Sai glared half heartily at him.
The child peered at the empty corridor and sighed when he found it desert, he had always fantasized about finding somebody at the corridor; they would stop him and ask him something and then….. His fantasies always stopped at that point, he was half curios, and half terrified of what would be next…. But he never found anyone, he was always sure there was not a soul before coming out.
Satisfied of the emptiness of the building, he adjusted the black cap on his head and as silently as he could he closed the door.
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"My child! It's good to see you. I was beginning to though you wouldn't come today" Said the Chinese before letting the panting child pass. Hikaru put his hands together in a silent apology and the man just waved it off and the child smiled lightly.
Once Hikaru had entered the man gave Sai a light nod of recognition and the ghost gave back one more stiffly and entered the house his head high. It wasn't that he didn't liked the man, but those first words had been engraved in him.
Later they had discovered that Lian Hsiao was a very good Go player and a very kind person, his house was a small two bedroom kind, with a small basement at the back. While the first room contained the bathroom and bedroom, the second was a strange mixture of a improvised clinic and a workshop; with a wall covered in remedies, bandages and medic supplies and a small bed aside, and a table for restoration. He fixed everything from broken vases and plates to furniture, leaving them better than before.
Lian was an appreciated old man, and every day somebody would come into his house; for a favor or just for small chat and occasionally for a go game, he seemed to have a great lot of good friends, but at the same time he had an air of loneliness wrapped around him.
But what had called to Hikaru had been his silent acceptance of his muteness, he was fairly sure that the man knew he wasn't really mute, but never asked anything or frowned when he didn't responded, he asked things always like "how are you today? And How's school?" without expecting a real answer.
Hikaru positioned himself on a bench in front of a small coffee table; on top of it an old goban stood proudly, it was a real antiquity from what Lian had told him. "Sai you're not playing again?" Asked Hikaru, but Sai merely refused with a small bow.
"You should play….after all it's not everyday that you get the chance to play someone than me….you really should play…" Said Hikaru but Sai stayed silent.
"Say kid, you love go right?" Asked Lian and Hikaru nodded eagerly "Sooo….once in a while I go to a friend's work place…no, work place is such a bad way to put it…I think it should be better to call it his sanctuary. But he is just like you, a kid with an obsession for this!" Said Lian pointing to the board "He is the one Who taught me to play and I come back once in a while just to try to beat him...but I don't think that's going to happen, every time I go he just beats me faster than the last time…… want to come with me, it will be also an opportunity for you to learn to travel by train."
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
Hikaru looked awed at the room, tables and tables lined up were almost the only furniture in the place, each one with a board on top. The friend of Lian resulted to be a young boy named Yang Hai he had been a pro for a year and apparently a distant relative of Lian.
"This is where all this group of crazy people; who call themselves pros by the way, practices in." Said Lian, however his speech was ignored, the child was too busy with inspecting the room, the teenager at his side was staring with curiosity at the small child. "Hey who's the shrimp? Is he your grandson or something?" Asked Yang and Lian smiled proudly.
"Yes he is! He is my dear grandson, and also the one who will beat you in my name!" Said Lian poking the teen with a bony finger, who only smiled back "Are you sure he even knows how to play?"
In that moment a small blur passed them and hid behind Lian, who looked surprised at the child "What's wrong child?" asked concerned the old man but a whine was his only answer, looking at the room he searched for the source of the child's discomfort, only finding a small crowd looking at them…. it seemed that the child was really, really shy.
"Yang may I introduce you my beloved and brand new grandson umm….Li! Yeah Li sounds fine…" Hikaru and Yang looked at him as if he was crazy "What? You don't like it?" Hikaru stared at him and hesitated, he had know the man for nearly four months…he had been very kind to him, teaching him proper Chinese and never once pushing him to talk back or asking anything…he seemed to understand him better than he did himself.
But still…a new name? he liked his name….his mother had give it to him….and his grandpa…but he liked this place, there were a lot of people playing and wasn't too far for his home…maybe he could come and watch…and maybe, just perhaps play…once or twice….but then people would start asking things, his family, his name, and his father already didn't like him to spend so much time playing….
Finally he nodded and smiled accepting his new name…
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"WAKE UUUUP !"
"WAAAAAA!" Hikaru's body crashed with the floor and then he started searching frantically for his attacker a pillow in hand A slightly red Ghost was in front of him his arms crossed and glaring. "It's LATE, your father has been gone for nearly and hour! And we are going to be late!"
The still sleepy Hikaru blinked at the ghost, trying to understand what he was talking about. "What? Where?" He asked dumbly still half sleep. Small tears of frustration started to appear in Sai's eyes and Hikaru covered his ears in a failed attempt to cover the imminent cry of: ""TO THE GO ASSOCIATION!"
"Yeah…yeah coming….I don't see what is so different today, we always go there and not this early.." Said Hikaru glaring at the clock, then he remembered Yang's promise. "Ah! I know! You're excited about the game Yang mentioned!"
Small flames of excitement flared in Sai eyes and he nodded, Hikaru smiled and then took a deep breath "So you also must remember …." He said very softly "THAT THE GAME STARTS AT TWO PM! IT'S 7 IN THE MORNING!"
Sai looked at the clock….and wriggled his hands nervously "Eh…yes…. little early but I Though that maybe we could play with someone before the game…" The child sighed, sometimes Sai's obsession was a little tiring… "I don't understand you….when we are there you get all excited and happy but then you refuse to play, when I tell you to, and the few times you actually play you never….it's just not the way….it's not like when you play me…. Weaker…"
"Handicapped Hikaru, never weaker…." Responded Sai in a low voice "And don't you do the same?...you never play at your fullest." The child blushed and stared out of the window "You saw what happened the first times…when I won they got all awed and started asking and they wanted me to make some exam….I don't like to get stared at Sai…I just want to play…I don't want to become a pro…"
Sai looked at the child and nodded. At first he also had been very excited, but then Hikaru had started playing, at eight years he was much better than Torajiro had been….Sai could see his potential, the same way he could see how the child hated the attention.
And that was the reason Sai didn't play at his fullest, if a eight year old would exhibit such abilities it was bound to attract attention, and then Hikaru would stop playing….the very Hikaru had told him that once…
Flashback
"Sai…Why won't you play like you always do?" had asked Hikaru one day and Sai had just smiled at him "You could tell?" The child nodded and Sai sighed "It's called self-handicap Hikaru…you don't want people fussing over you like that first time right?" The eight years old shook his head vigorously and Sai smiled "I though as much…."
"…Maybe….maybe you should play!" Said Hikaru in a rush "You love go more than me, and you told me that your objective was to obtain the divine move…..and you're much better than me….maybe you should play…."
Sai stared at the small child, the offer was tempting. When he first had encountered Hikaru he had just assumed that the child would always let him play, why would he refuse?...but then he hadn't expected a broken child, so he had waited, his time would come, he had waited a millennium, one, ten years couldn't compare.
Then that horrible night he had seen the child breaking once more, and this time there was no grandpa who could embrace the child. As a spirit there was so much he could do, only words, so he had told the child tales from his own childhood, he had used the go to make the child stand up again, to keep him walking. He could wait, his search could wait a little more…
And then he had started to get glimpses on the child's true value, a sharp mind, fast to grasp new concepts, eagerly to try and learn, fearless if only while playing, and overall his increasing love and passion for the game. For Hikaru, the game was a link to his past, to his happiness, the only way the child could vent his emotions freely….. And he was offering to let the ghost play instead of him……Hikaru knew that even if Sai played trough him that would not make him stop playing as well, but if Sai and Hikaru played the people would notice even more, and they would start asking questions…
"Sai?" Green eyes bored into him and in that moment Sai knew he would not be taking the child place…how could he take away from the child the last thing that was keeping him on his feet? The child was growing, and his potential…. even if he didn't want to play at his current age; that would change…the thirst for a challenging match…
"It's fine Hikaru…playing like this…with you, with everybody is enough, I'm learning just by seeing…this game has changed so much…I still have so much to learn… I'm happy Hikaru, I like being and playing with you" Said Sai and he was amazed at how true those words really were.
-end of flashback
"SAI!" The scream pulled him out of his memories Hikaru was in the door wearing the black cap and grey jacked "Are you coming or not?!"
"Ah Hikaru wait! DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!"
And Sai was also amazed at how his chest hurt at those words…
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"Shrimp! You're early! Don't tell me, the world has come to an end! Oh dear gods have mercy of all us!"
Hikaru glared at Yang and tried to kick him but the teen eluded him expertly, all their encounters were the same, Yang trying to rile up the child or to make him talk. Bribery, blackmail, adulation, candy, jokes, pleading, fake tears, threats of death…none of them had worked, and generally only gained him a kick or a punch.
"Sooo Shrimp, are you going to take the exam yet?" That was another thing, ever since discovering the child talent he had started pushing the kid to make an especial pro-examination. But the child seemed not even interested in it, he was very passionate about the game, but the titles and being a pro seemed of little interest for him.
The child glared again and seated himself in a chair in front of the goban, and grabbed the black stones and looked at the teen expectantly. The other chuckled and seated himself "You know, you could be a little gentler to me, your big-bro, after all I'm always looking after you!"
The child raised one brow as is mocking him and Yang chuckled again "Brat".
The game started and the silence became almost absolute, Yang frowned at the board, the child was good, maybe even good enough to become a pro with a little more experience, but sometimes his game was weird, the child would make simple mistakes that at the end made the difference between winning and losing. Such mistakes were normal for a child of such age, but at the same time, the rest of his game was flawless, and those mistakes were only made when the child got ahead…as if making them on purpose… but a child of such age….to control his own game that way… no, it wasn't possible, according to Lian the child didn't have a master, perhaps his father?.
"Well shrimp are you going to defeat me today or not?" Asked the teen grinning and Hikaru glared at him and then he hung his head. From all the things that Yang used to tell him that phrase was the only one that affected him; ever since the first day Lian had trusted to Hikaru his dream of defeating Yang.
The game continued and ended as always; Yang defeating the child by a small margin, only 3.5 moku.
Sai was irritated, he couldn't describe the feeling or his reason, but he was seriously pissed off, every time Hikaru restrained himself …yes he was really, really pissed off.
"Ajá…I win Li! Uh! look at the time, we should go now….the game should be starting soon" Said Yang and Hikaru nodded and followed the other one.
They entered a small room with two televisions and a large table with several chairs, three gobans rested on top of the table.
"This is a room were we can watch the match, it's a very important game so not everybody can watch it in live…" Said Yang and pulled a chair for the child "Here, this is the best place, we use this boards for recreating the game as it goes"
Hikaru stared at the screen in front of him, it was the image of a board but nothing else, a few minutes later several people entered the room, some of them greeting Yang and giving the child curios glances. The game was one of a level Hikaru had never seen, each move holding a profound meaning, and as each stone was placed the child would feel more anxious, death, life, captured stone, connecting here and there…
Yang was explaining the moves, and once in a while someone else would make a comment. "Uh, uh…I think that was a terrible mistake, Jao isn't going to fall for that…" Said an old man at the right of Hikaru and Yang nodded "Yeah….I think the game is decided…"
Hikaru looked at the board and at the last stone…..it was in a vulnerable position, ready to be taken….a group at the right side stood silently…if white were to capture the lonely stone then black would capture a great portion of white's territory it was clearly a trap, a very simple one….
That black stone….. "Sai….you think….this stone…" Said Hikaru and the ghost nodded silently signaling the left size "Yes…that stone holds a significance much more profound, if taken it will cause a great damage…but if ignored its going to decide the outcome of this game…"
Hikaru stared at the stone, such brilliance in one move, could he do the same? In ten, maybe twenty years? Could he make such a brilliant universe with his own hands?
"Well that's it" Said Yang standing up and Hikaru looked at the screen, a head appeared over the board signaling his surrender, and the child frowned, it was black. Why! Black could win! Why!
"Yes, such a painful mistake, I think Mao couldn't take the pressure. Well, after all he is getting too old, maybe it's time for him to retire" Said a young man also standing up, everybody else were clearing the boards and leaving the room.
"Well I think I should congratulate Jao, Are you coming Yang?" Said the same man and Yang nodded "Yeah in a moment. Let's go shrimp they're going to discuss the game, o maybe you prefer to go home….?"
Hikaru nodded absently and Yang ruffled his hair "Yeah I know how you feel, it had been such a great game until that move….well mistakes like that occurs even to pros, don't break your little head over it. See you tomorrow?"
Another nod and Yang sighed exasperated; the room was left in complete silence, only a child and a spirit in it "Sai….why? It was such a good move, why did he let it die?"
The ghost smiled gently and signaled the board "Each one of this stones has the possibility of became a brilliant move…..each one holds it's own light, however they can't do it alone….and at the end the only one who can make them live and shine is the one holding them, sometimes, one stone is ready to become a brilliant star…. but the eyes of the one holding it are too blind to notice, and so the stone looses it's chance….we can't do anything because we're not the one holding them."
The child nodded sadly, such a loss…
"That's why you won't play again like you did today" Hikaru stared at the ghost not understanding "What?"
"Today…and yesterday, and every game before that… making those pitiful mistakes, restraining yourself, killing your own game… it's much more worse that what happened here. You are killing your go Hikaru." Finished Sai, and the child gaped at him, it wasn't the same, and his games could not be compared to this one…
"Every game, every single one of them have a meaning. If I handicap myself it won't hinder my ability, my go is already mature, and any hardship will only make it stronger. It will make me use new strategies…. but your go Hikaru is still brand new, is tender and molding himself, if you keep learning but at the same time restrain your ability it will become weak and full of flaws, and then it will be too late to do anything…"
Hikaru looked again at the board and at the lonely stone that had been left to die.
"That's why I don't want you to play that kind of go anymore, we will find a go salon or a club if you don't like playing here, and you will be playing against me with no more handicap, I've been too soft to you until now, its enough!...you want to play this kind of go don't you?" Said the man signaling the abandoned board and Hikaru nodded "I do…I want to be able to create a board like this….with my own hands…"
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
1 and half years later…
"Hikaru….do you remember our house in Japan?" Asked Masao one night over dinner, and extraordinary occurrence by itself, since the man usually never was at home that early. The child stopped eating not liking those words.
"Well….you see, the company has decided to cut the project early….and well, we are going back to Japan. Isn't that great?" Said the man with a wide smile and the child stared at him. Moving to Japan? After almost three years? To leave Lian and Yang and everybody again? To be left alone again?
Hikaru kept staring at his father, too stunned to even move "Yeah I know! I also was very surprised! They cut almost half a year, really! But I think it's for the better, over there is much more calmer and maybe you can get the chance to know more children of your age, it's not good for you to spend so much time in old shops with strange old men and running alone in those streets.!"
Tears welled in the child's eyes but he did not cry, he just hung his head and clenched his hand, he wanted to yell and rage but he knew that at the end his father would not listen to him, he never did after all.
"Hikaru stop that! You should be happy to go back, you were such a happy kid there, I think it was a mistake to bring you here, but it doesn't matter now, were going back at last! How I miss real Japanese food…. HIKARU WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"
But the child was running as fast as his legs would carry him, he needed to see Lian!
Two years of navigating the streets had taught him all the shortcuts of the area, so it was no more than ten minutes later that he found himself in front of Lian's door, he banged the door so hard that his hand hurt.
"Coming already! Stop it you're going to destroy my poor door!" Yelled Lian and opened the old door, only to find himself with an armful of a ten year old. "Li? What's wrong?" Asked the old man and the child started sobbing. He felt cold inside.
"Li my child … do you want to spend here the night?" The child started crying then, full wrenching sobs and wines. He held the child and stared at the ghost in front of him asking in silence for an explanation. Sai looked at the sky ignoring the inquiry, it was so clear…so blue, so wrong…. How could the sky be so bright when a child was so sad?
They rarely had a day so clear in Beijing…..he felt so sad… his little brother would be suffering again….
Lian held the child for large hours until the small body went limp with exhaustion; he then gently tucked the boy in bed and seated himself at his side.
"What happened?" Asked the man while looking at the child, but Sai knew he was asking him. "Was the father?"
Sai sighed and nodded "We are returning…to Japan" he clarified and the man nodded
"He didn't ask… he just announced the news, and then he started voicing his complains; his dislike to his son's liking for Go...the lack of friends his age… the child got pretty upset, he is very afraid of being alone, but his father doesn't understands that…once again he will have to face the lose of somebody precious to him……"
The man nodded and brushed a strand of hair from the child's forehead "Yes…of course he is….so small, yet his soul is so old already…. that's why I don't like you being with him all day…" The ghost looked surprised at his admission "..Children are new beings…very delicate and surprisingly strong at times….but they don't posses the strength that the experience gives…they must learn for themselves…this child is not an exception. He has already lost a great part of his childhood…..I was afraid that you would attempt to rob him from another…".
Said cringed slightly and looked at the child "I just….want to be near him, I want to protect him…to help him grow…but also keep my search…"
"Maybe you should just look for another host then, this child has a long way to go before being fine or strong enough to be standing by his own, watching and helping such grow it's a full time job, one that a person already with a task can't take. Your divine move… could you give that up?"
"Yes! If I have anything is time! If it is for Hikaru's sake ….then I can wait a little more!" Whispered Sai furiously, gripping his fan tightly. "I can wait!"
Lian chuckled and smiled for the first time at the ghost "Well, then you're not as bad as I had though, maybe there's still hope for you…to love a game above everything is fine, but to turn a blind eye to other things, to ignore a gift from heaven….that is something I can't ignore…what's your name kid?"
Sai stared at the man, here he was this tiny wrinkled man, smiling at him patronizingly and calling him a child, he ought to be angry, but instead he felt warm inside "Fujiwara-no-Sai, it's a pleasure to met you" He answered bowing deeply, and the men chuckled again "So… when you aren't sulking you are actually a very polite young man" A vein pulsed in Sai's forehead at the commentary. He never sulked!. "My wife would have loved to meet you both….she was such a nice lady…take care of him Fujiwara-no-Sai, for some reason you two were bonded, if you take care of him….then I have a feeling that, that move of yours will be more easy to grasp…"
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"Jin maybe you should get back now to your home…"Said Lian at he child, they were in front of the go institute, he had let the child spend the night at his house and had planned to send the child home; but when the kid woke up, he immediately grabbed the old man and practically dragged him to the go association. He had send the father a letter with another man of the neighborhood explaining how he had found the child wandering alone the streets, and how he had given him shelter from the night, finally promising to send the child safe at the next day.
"Hikaru he is right! Your father is going to freak out, what are we doing here?" Asked Sai but the child didn't give sign to have even listened. Once inside Hikaru dragged the old man to the game room, it was still early, but the place was already full of people. Intimidated the child stopped, but then, he found what he had been looking and continued walking.
Yang Hai looked surprised at the child and the old man approaching his table, while the child was as common sight in the room, to see that pair was very rare. "Well shrimp did you fell off the bed?" Asked Yang with a grin and then greeted cheerfully the old man "Lian! You have been too absent lately it's been almost a month since the last time I saw you….OH! I know! You little scoundrel who's the girl ah?"
The child got red in the ears but didn't even try to reply, instead he seated himself in front of the young man and grabbed a bowl of stones asking silently for a game.
Yang was now pretty surprised. When he had first met the child he had been amazed at his ability, then he became confused with his strange way to play, but before he could get an answer to his questions the child had stopped playing; he still would go from time to time, but he just watched the games and discussions, or asked silently to him to explain some kifu, but he never played him or anyone. And now he was asking him for a game, with a deadly serious expression that didn't belong to such a young face.
He looked at Lian for an explanation but the old man only shrugged. The child stared at him and Yang nodded gravely, this wasn't a friendly match; this child was challenging him.
"Well, then Li…nigiri"
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Hikaru stared at the airplane in fright, his father was talking to another man and discussing something of business, Sai was looking curiously at a woman with a bag with small wheels. And he was downright terrified. He didn't want to return! The voice of a woman announced a series of departures and his father grabbed his shoulder shaking him lightly.
"That's our flight Hikaru, let's go" The child nodded and followed the man.
"Don't worry Hikaru the giant bird won't fall, that man over there was telling his companion that is more probable to die in a bungee jump that in a plane…. Hikaru, what is a Bungee jump?"
The child chuckled and felt a little better, Sai was by his side, he wasn't alone, his dear friend was with him …..Like he would always be…
Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5Go5
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY GONE!"
"I mean that he is no longer here, that his presence in this city came to an end, that…"
"I understand what you mean by gone, but when! Where he went !"
Yang was at Lian's house, he had been searching for the child only to find him missing. "For the last time Yang I don't know were he went, or if he will come back o when if."
"Could you at least give me his father's name? A way to contact him?" Pleaded Yang and the man stared at him "And why do you suppose that I know his name?"
"Why do I supp…. ISN'T HE YOUR GRANDSON!" Yelled Yang loosing the last of his patience.
"Honorary Grandson" He corrected "and no, I never knew his real name, or his father's I never cared about such silly details, he is a nice kid who is my friend, that's all I need to know"
"But…but…he defeated me!" Said Yang dropping himself on the bed "No he didn't just defeated me…he crushed me completely! Don't you understand? That child must become a pro!"
"Oh? And why he must become just anything?" Asked Lian and the other man grunt in frustration.
"Because the child is a bloody prodigy! Imagine what he could become if he were to play against the better, to learn from them!" Explained the man but Lian merely shrugged.
"Well if he is as good as you said he is without being a pro I don't know why the rush of making him one, if he were interested I'm sure he would had become one long ago." Stated Lian and pulled out a broken wood statue and started examining it, Yang stared at the man and frowned completely frustrated, he had just discovered an amazing kid and then he had disappeared just as fast…
"Ah Yang by the way, I think you have to give me something?" Said Lian with a wide grin and Yang just stared at him "What are you talking about?"
"The bet, the bet, Hikaru won soo…You. Must. Pay." Sing songed the old man and Yang groaned.
Far away a plane arrived to the international airport of Tokyo with 126 passengers and a ghost.