Collection of Memories
Summery: Hikaru quit go after Sai left him and he moved with his family to America. But even as he finds a new obsession, go is still on his mind. Will Hikaru make his way back to Japan and his destiny with go?
Disclaimer: Only the original idea is mine, not Hikaru no Go
Part One – The Art of America
Act One – The End of Junior High
June 2002
Hikaru stood silently as people were called to the stage. He was at his grade 9 Farewell and in all honesty, he just wanted to go home. His suit annoyed him, reminding him of go but his mother had convinced him it was the best suit he had. She told him his friends would envy him but Hikaru turned away, confirming her suspicions that he hadn't made friends here in America. Throughout the school year, between learning better English and getting over Sai, he had developed into a quiet, serious boy with no friends. He knew others had whispered that they thought he thought he was too good for them but he didn't try to dispel the rumors; especially after they found out about his go career.
x-x
He sat alone at the lunch table. The conversations in English went right over his head and although he knew some of the students spoke Japanese, they wouldn't talk with him.
Footsteps alerted him to someone's approach and he was surprised to see one of his classmates and not a teacher like he was expecting. He was even more surprised when the kid spoke in broken Japanese.
"You... play go? Expertly?"
The kid obviously spoke English natively and was only a beginner Japanese speaker.
Hikaru sighed. "You mean professionally." He replied in Japanese.
The kid grinned. "This be you?
He shoved a couple of pages printed off the Internet into Hikaru's face. The person in question read them and realized they were an English version of the Weekly Go magazine. Hikaru could just barely understand what the pages said.
To his dismay, it was a page that listed his forfeits. The title of the article was something along the lines of 'Disappearing Go Career' but Hikaru guessed he had messed up the translation of it.
With the picture clearly depicting his one of a kind hairstyle, Hikaru couldn't deny it. He nodded.
The boy smiled at him. "Teach me? Grandpa wants me to play him."
Hikaru shook his head.
"I'm not playing anymore. I can't." He tried to clarify for the other boy but the meaning was lost in translation.
From then on, all the kids thought he was a stuck up kid and left him alone. Hikaru started letting his blond hair grow out and didn't bleach it again.
x-x
The principal began calling up students who won awards. He started off each time with an explanation on what the award was, what the student had done to get the award and then he announced the name of the award winner.
Hikaru wished he could just sneak out and leave but his parents had already been informed that he would be winning an award and wanted to see him on the stage.
"The Visual Arts Award." The principal began a new speech. "This award is given to the student who excels in the visual arts program at this school. The student helped out in the arts room, entered the city wide Youth Arts Competition and won first in the acrylic category, despite being new to our county. This year's award winner is Hikaru Shindou."
As Hikaru walked across the stage to where the principal was standing, picture of some of his paintings were shown on an overhead projector.
A microwave with the reflection of a Japanese hat, the skeleton of a computer with people playing inside of it, an airplane with wings like a bird, looking alive as it flew, an umbrella that is half modern and half ancient Japanese.
x-x
Hikaru looked at his timetable in dismay. Art? He didn't want to take art. But when he talked to the vice principal, it seemed he didn't have a choice if he wanted to go into high school next year.
At first he hated the class, painting vases and faces like the teacher wanted. But then came an assignment to paint what ever he wanted. Hikaru didn't know what to paint. He gazed about the classroom, hoping for inspiration when he spotted the microwave people used at lunch to heat up their food.
The painting started off normal enough, just lines and shading but soon Hikaru found his mind wandering. By the time he was done, there was a reflection of the hat Sai used to wear, just like the one time Hikaru had caught Sai examining the strange contraption.
Hikaru realized he found peace in painting and painted memories of Sai. Someone asked him what his inspiration was and he smiled sadly before telling then it was his friend's view of modern things. He once jokingly called the collection of paintings Past Views in a Modern World but the teacher was pleased with the name and it stuck.
x-x
The principal smiled as he handed the small plaque and paper to Hikaru. The boy smiled and as he turned to leave, the principal stopped him. Hikaru could see his parents smiling in the crowd and a few other students staring at him. He wondered whether they were trying to figure out what he was like or if they just hated him.
The principal was speaking again and Hikaru mostly tuned him out. He managed to catch what the principal was saying to him rather than the audience thanks to his skill at listening to Sai.
"Hikaru, this is the painting that won the Youth Arts Competition. Can you tell u about it? I've heard you don't have it part of your other collection of paintings?"
The boy shook his head, making his blond tipped bands sway back and forth. "I have this painting is part of a new collection. It is called 4-11."
x-x
The canvas was 17 by 18 inches and the background was completely black. A purple almost as dark as the black flowed like hair from the left hand corner to the opposite side. White circles stood out as well as the absence of colour almost in the form of dark circles from a grid like shape made of faint lines superimposed on everything.
When Hikaru finished the painting, tears formed in his eyes. He could clearly see Sai in the flowing purple and in the hands. He recognized the formation of stones and could clearly remember which game he had played with Sai that these were from.
4-11. If he had moved two down, he would have had a chance. 4-11 was where he had lost.
Hikaru thought of the games and images of Sai that haunted him every day. He felt relief from painting this picture and wondered if he would be free if he painted more. He decided he liked the idea.
x-x
Hikaru looked at the audience and said one more thing before turning and walking quickly off the stage, hoping to go home and rid himself of the suit.
"4-11 is the beginning of the Missing Collection and along with the collection Past Views of a Modern World, these are my Collection of Memories."
-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-
Woo! Next part is up!
Not much is happening in this chapter but I have more stuff coming in the next chapters. I think it's going to get sad before the fun stuff happens. Sorry!
Just going to say now I don't know a whole bunch about art so the descriptions of paintings from now on are probably going to suck but if you have ideas, I might put them in the fic.
I hope to have more soon!
Tell me what you like!
Please Review!
- REW