Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go or Loveless.

"blahblahblah" Character's dialogue

blahblahblah Character's thought

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Chapter 2: An inconvenient truth

"Excuse me, are you Shindou Hikaru?" Soubi asked Shindou Hikaru with a smile.

"Ha, hai," the boy nodded in reply.

"Shindou, who is he? A friend?" the cat-boy with red hair, whose arms were hanging around Hikaru, wondered.

"Geez, you're heavy, Waya," his Sacrifice (he hadn't realized yet that he was his Sacrifice) struggled away from Waya's hold and advanced to Soubi. "Hi, I'm Shindou Hikaru. Is there something I can do for you?" he offered his hand.

Soubi accepted his hand, "Nice to meet you, Hikaru," then he whispered into his ears, "I'm Fujiwara's friend."

"!"

If it was Ritsuka, he would've jumped on me and hugged me.

But the teen boy stood still, neither jumping nor hugging him. He collected himself well. "Is that so?" That was all he uttered. He closed his eyes before calling out his friend, "Hey, Waya!"

"What?"

Without looking back at the other boy, he shouted. "Sorry but seems like you gotta go to the station alone!" His emerald green eyes never left Soubi's. "I have something to talk with his bro."

Hikaru led him to a park near by. Soubi thought of it as a good sign. It showed that he had leadership in his vein – the most important quality for a Sacrifice. How ironic it was though, that the first time he had met Ritsuka, Soubi had brought him to a park to talk too.

When they reached a fountain in the middle of the park, Hikaru turned around, "And, you are?"

"Soubi," he answered, "Agatsuma Soubi."

"A-gat-su-ma Sou-bi," the green eyes boy repeated slowly.

My name... coming from his lips… his voice runs through me. A firm voice that will rule over me from now on… it makes me feel safe. This is it… He is the one! "Yes,"

"Sai has never mentioned you before," the boy remarked.

"Well, actually we're not friends," Soubi admitted. "We went to the same school and had the same advisor. We didn't really know each other." It's a lie. In fact, we didn't know each other at all.

"I see,"

Both paused for several moments, and Soubi took the opportunity to study his new master. With his bleached bangs and trendy clothes, he looked like one of the typical teenagers he often saw at Shinjuku.

But there's something about him. Even as he stands so far away from me, I still feel a confident aura radiating from him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he spoke up. "But it's as if you don't want to talk about Fujiwara. I thought he's a precious friend of yours."

"Memory is like a blade with two sharp edges. It can bring us either sweet happiness or bitter pain," Hikaru spoke calmly.

"Such beautiful words, you say," Soubi smiled. "I like you, Hikaru."

What did he just say? Did he just say that he likes me? And he called me 'Hikaru' too!

Hikaru felt a sweat drop rolling down from his forehead. He swallowed hard, eyeing the man in front of him with distrust, "You shouldn't say that you like someone so easily, Agatsuma-san."

"But I do like you, Hikaru." the said man insisted. "And, please, call me, Soubi."

Well, let's play along for now. "Soubi-san."

"Just Soubi,"

Better not be too familiar to him. "I don't think it's appropriate, Soubi-san."

"Such a polite boy you are. I like you, Hikaru."

He says it again. Hikaru examined Soubi. He could see through his gold rimmed glasses that his eyes were azure blue. His hair was long and its color was strawberry blond. It made him wonder if he was even Japanese. He was tall and slender. He wore a black turtle-neck shirt and black leather pants. To be honest, he was quite a handsome young man, even with those bandages around his neck.

Hikaru kept quiet and stared at Soubi, observing him and taking notes. For a few moments, the air was still and calm before it was punctuated with a shrill ringing noise.

"Excuse me, it's mine," he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and answered the phone, "Hello? Touya? Yeah, I'm on my way there." he hung up and went back talking to Soubi. "Sorry, Soubi-san. I have to go now."

"It's alright, Hikaru." Soubi smiled again. "Now that I found you, I'll find you again, no matter where you are."

"By-bye," At that, Hikaru left. This man didn't look like a bad guy but his instincts told him not to trust this man.

"In the end what we can depend on is our intuition," Kurata had often told him that.

The next day,

"It's him again," Hikaru sighed at the sight of Agatsuma Soubi waiting for him at the lobby of the Association.

"Shindou?"

"Sorry, Touya. See ya tomorrow, okay?" he waved the 4-Dans goodbye and sprinted towards Soubi, "Soubi-san," he greeted.

"Hikaru," Soubi gave him a smile.

That smile again.

They went to the same park again. The mysterious blond followed him obediently without saying anything.

"You like this park?" Soubi started a conversation once they arrived to the park.

Hikaru shrugged. It wasn't that he liked this park in particular.

"Or is it because you don't want to be alone with me?"

That was precisely the reason why he chose this park. It wasn't too crowded but it was not that deserted either, a perfect place to talk in private while having a few witnesses in case anything happened.

Soubi saw right through his plan.

The older man took out a cigarette and a lighter from his breast pocket. He held the cigarette between his lips and lit it, "You're careful. I like it. I like you."

"Didn't I tell you that you say that too often?" Hikaru was getting annoyed. Hadn't he told him not to say that? Was he a retard?

Soubi breathed the smoke in and out, "But it will make our bond stronger."

"Bond?" What the hell is he talking about?

"Who is that boy?" he queried.

"Touya?"

"Your friend?"

"And rival," Hikaru corrected, "He's my friend and my eternal rival."

"Eternal rival, huh?" Soubi seemed to be amused by the idea, "Do you believe in destiny? Fate perhaps?"

"What?" Sai asked me this too… once.

"Do you believe that there's someone who was born just to be yours?" Soubi's blue eyes looked straight into his green eyes. His voice was surprisingly serious.

To be mine? What the hell is he talking about? Hikaru wondered.

"Don't you think it's wonderful that two people, just two, are meant to be together?"

"You don't look like the romantic type to me," he sniggered, trying to divert the subject to the normal one.

"... that two people are connected by the Gossamer thread."

Gosso…what thread? Like red thread on pinky fingers between lovers?

"… from the moment we met, our bond was formed,"

Hikaru found himself trembling. A spell. he thought.

Soubi's voice kept on ringing, enchanting him, "… the more we meet, the more we get closer, the more our bond get stronger,"

Like there is a power in his words, hypnotizing me, tying me... Hikaru held himself tight to keep himself from shaking more violently.

"We're standing here, talking. It strengthens our bond too."

What bond? Our bond? "What?"As if getting slapped, he was now fully awakened, free from a hypnotic state.

Hikaru's exclaim stopped Soubi's flow of words, and he stared at him,quiet, serious.

He took a few steps back. Oh boy, this is not happening. "Lis, listen, Soubi-san," he stammered, "I'm sorry if I ever gave you a wrong idea but…but I don't think of you that way."

Suddenly Soubi's face was right before his, "What way?"

Hikaru didn't want to be there any longer, "Goodbye, Soubi-san." he said and prepared to leave.

But before he could run away from the spine-chilling man, he heard him say, "I know who killed Fujiwara Sai."

Thirty minutes later,

Hikaru sat on a bench in the park, too shocked to speak. He ruffled his hair; he felt so confused, "Let me get this straight," he began, "You're telling me that Sai possessed some kind of supernatural power?"

"Yes,"

And so, the interrogation went on, "And that I'm Sai's Sacrifice, a.k.a. Sai's master?"

"Yes,"

"And that Sai was killed by another guy who used to be your Sacrifice, a.k.a. your master?"

"Yes,"

"And now, since Sai died, you wanna team up with me?"

"The fact is I have already teamed up with you," Soubi corrected, "As I told you, our bond has been already formed the moment we met."

This shocked Hikaru into silence.

"From that instant on, I've become your Fighter. I'm yours," he announced. "Good summary anyway," he complimented.

"You're crazy!" Rising from the bench, Hikaru exclaimed, "Man, at first, I thought that you're only a homosexual! But you're insane too! I'm leaving!"

"Didn't you find it strange for a man in his early twenties wanting to spend time with a twelve year-old like you all the time?" Soubi remarked calmly.

At that, Hikaru froze straight away.

"Has he never told you that he wanted no one else but you?" Soubi questioned.

Hikaru kept quiet, feeling confusion swirling in his head.

"Has he never told you what his and your real name is?" he pressed on.

There was a pause, before, "Goodbye, Soubi-san." Hikaru said in a hard tone and walked away.

That night, Hikaru's room

Hikaru had already changed into his nightclothes and was spread on his bed, lying on his back, and staring at the ceiling, "Damn you, Sai. What the hell have you gotten me into?" Soubi's questions were still running in his mind.

"Didn't you find it strange for a man in his early twenties wanting to spend time with a twelve year-old like you all the time?"

"Of course, I do." he said to himself.

"Has he never told you that he wanted no one else but you?"

"To me, only you are enough Hikaru. As long as you're here with me, I don't want anything or anyone else." Sai had said it every time he had asked him about his others friends. Hikaru remembered it well. Whenever he had mentioned this question, Sai would take his hands into his and hold them firmly before repeating this statement to him over and over again.

"Has he never told you what his and your real name is?"

In fact, Sai had told him once, "You and I, we are searching for the Hand of God. Nothing but obstacles are waiting for us. The path we take has no end. This will be our true name, Hikaru, remember it. Our name is the same and it is…"

Two weeks later, late May, Tama Art University, drawing room

Looking out of a window, Agatsuma Soubi was smoking. It had been two weeks since he had disclosed the secret of their world to Hikaru. However, he had not yet told him about the Seven Moons, the Seven Voices Academy or his two previous Sacrifices since it was not necessary for him to know it now. He had only revealed the truth Sai had been hiding from Hikaru all along.

Unknown to most people, there is always a battle between "those with supernatural powers" (that was what Hikaru had labeled them as) going on in this world.

The battle is normally fought between two teams, with each team consisting of two people. One is the attacker, a spell caster who is called a "Fighter". The other is the master of the Fighter, who receives all the damage inflicted by the other team – and he is called the Sacrifice.

To win the fight, the Sacrifice must concentrate on the battle before him and conduct his Fighter. The more focused the Sacrifice is, the clearer the orders are, and the more powerful his Fighter is. The Sacrifice orders and the Fighter obeys – that is how they fight.

It wasn't that anyone could join hands and become a team. It was predestined. All of them had true names. Only those who shared the same name could become a pair. Just like Sai and Hikaru. Sai was born as a Fighter,with Hikaru as his lord.

Because they have the same name…

Except me…

Soubi had no real name. According to Ritsu, he was the Blank Fighter who could match up with any Sacrifice. Ritsu thought that it was cool but Soubi himself considered it as a punishment – a punishment from God.

Everyone had someone but he had no one. To either be used like a tool before the true Fighter appeared, and cast aside when said Fighter came, or to become a spare Fighter for the Sacrifice whose Fighter had passed away, that was his destiny.

He had questioned himself numerous times before he had decided to meet Hikaru. What was the meaning of his life? Wasn't it worth anything? By trying to take Fujiwara Sai's place like this, didn't it mean he hadfinally accepted his fate as a spare Fighter?

But he was selfish and desperate; he admitted that he needed a Sacrifice.

He needed a master.

He needed someone, anyone, to command him.

Hikaru doesn't believe me. Well, no teenager nowadays believes in magic anymore.

But Ritsuka believed you immediately. Another voice disagreed.

That's because we got ambushed by the Breathless team right away after I told him about me being his Fighter.

Oh, that's true. The voice conceded.

Since that day, Soubi had gone to the Go Association to meet Hikaru every day. Whenever the boy saw him, he would say, "Stay away from me."

Soubi was overjoyed. Finally, he had someone to control him.

Since it was an instruction from his master, he obeyed. But he hadn't told him not to follow him, had he?

So, Soubi had spent the entire week trailing (stalking) his master (although the said master hadn't accepted it yet). Hikaru's schedule was simple. He lived in a middle-class resident area in Tokyo (lucky that his mother wasn't a hysterical children-abusing mother like Ritsuka's).

He woke up around seven thirty and left the house at eight. He went to the train station and arrived at the Association building around nine (Soubi had no idea what he did inside the building though). Usually, Hikaru would leave the building by one p.m., and he would drop by a place called "Heart of Go" (again, Soubi had no idea what business he had there. All he had seen was Hikaru quarrelling with the boy around his age whose name was Touya, the one Hikaru said to be his eternal rival.).

If not, he would leave the building around six p.m., and in that case, he would go straight back home.

It's four forty-five. Soubi wondered if the teenager had finished his work already, "What's Hikaru doing right now?" Saying itto himself, he didn't expect anyone to hear him.

But someone did hear him.

"Who is Hikaru? Sou-chan!" Kio hollered into his ear.

"Oh, hi, Kio." he spoke indifferently.

"Don't you 'Hi, Kio' me! You skipped classes again! Sensei was furious! And who the hell is Hikaru? I haven't heard of his… or her name before! You're cheating on me again, aren't you!?" Kio thundered at the top of his voice.

"Kio, don't say something that might lead people into a misunderstanding," Soubi exhaled the cigarette smoke into the face of the said (gay) man. Kio Kaidou was a good friend of his but he was too loud, seriously.

"Damn it, Sou-chan! Tell me, who is this Hikaru?" Kio demanded, coughing at cigarette smoke the same time.

Soubi ignored him, and exhaled out a stream of smoke.

His best friend heaved a heavy sigh of despair, "Tell me, Sou-chan… you didn't get yourself involved in something dangerous again, didn't you?"

Kio had a good reason to be worried. Three months ago, Seimei and his Beloved Fighter, Nisei, had broken into the Academy. Soubi and Ritsuka had arrested Nisei but Seimei had managed to capture Kio. Fortunately, they had been able to exchange hostages without shedding blood. If it had happened to other people, they would have stopped getting involved with Soubi – but Kio had not, Soubi was truly grateful for his loyal friendship.

A month after that, the Loveless Fighter had come into view.

"Sou-chan! Sou-chan! Are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" It's five already. "Sorry, Kio. I'm out of here." Soubi said with a smile and took off.

"What? Wait! Sou-chan! We're not finished yet! Arrz!" Kio's frustrated shout echoed in a hallway. That was all he heard.

Twenty minute later, Japanese Go Association

"Hi, Hikaru," greeted Soubi.

His Sacrifice groaned before saying in a pleading tone, "Listen, I'm not in the mood. I'm too hungry."

"Is that so?" Soubi drew near him, "How about a bite of dinner then? My treat."

Hikaru raised his eyebrow at that.

"Ramen?" Soubi uttered when Hikaru took him to a ramen shop not far away from the Association.

"Oh, Shindou-kun! Welcome! Welcome!" the chef grinned wildly as he saw them step into his shop, "Same as usual?"

"Yup," the bleached bang boy answered while heading to an empty table. "What about you?" he turned to Soubi.

This was the first time Hikaru had ever shown concern for him. It made Soubi very happy, "No, thanks."

The fifteen year-old boy casually threw his bag on a seat and settled himself while Soubi sat on the opposite. "Aren't you hungry?"

With his arm on the table, Soubi rested his chin on his fist, "No, I want to watch you eat."

"That's really sick, man," Hikaru spoke with a disgusting face.

"You're cute."

He sighed. A waitress served them two glasses of green tea and a bowl of Miso ramen for Hikaru.

"The owner seems to recognize you," Soubi noted. "You come here often ?" he asked; he wanted to know everything about his master.

"Yeah. I like ramen," Hikaru replied with mouthful of noodle. "I don't mind having ramen three times a day for an entire year."

"That's not healthy," Soubi commented, "It's not wrong for liking ramen. But you shouldn't have it everyday," he lectured. "Taste is one of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. You shouldn't have the same dish on a daily basis. You need to have other dishes with different flavor. It's a good way to practice sense of taste."

"You may be right, however…" Hikaru looked at him with an accusing expression. "When it comes from you, it sounds so creepy."

Soubi chuckled, "Many people say that. Now, I like you even more."

Hikaru put his hands together and bowed, "Thank you for the food. I have to go home now." he snatched his bag and got up. Soubi stay unspoken watching him leave.

"Oh, by the way," the boy turned around, "don't come to the Association tomorrow. Even if you go, I won't be there. I have a seminar tomorrow."

Then he went off.

Words: 3180

Special Thanks: my dear Sany, what would I do without you?

To those who don't know Loveless: Hope that you start to get the basic idea of what Loveless is. You may wonder who the hell Seimei and Ritsuka are. Don't worry, as the story goes by, you'll learn more about him.

To those who know Loveless: Yeah, Soubi starts again - -" In this universe, people don't have cat ears or tail.

Glossary: Tama Art University does exist :) I have spent a lot of time looking for an art university in Tokyo which have Japanese Painting Class. I finally chose this university for Soubi. If you want to know more about what Soubi is studying, feel free to visit : www(dot)tamabi(dot)ac(dot)jp(backslash)english(backslash)dept(backslash)jp(dot)htm

AN: Thanks for your review, Thanks for those who add this fic on your fav and/or alert list :) After a week, this fic got 568 Hits and 6 reviews which mean I got 1 review every 95 Hits! 0_O Com'on guys, I know you can do better than that. Give me some sign that you're really out there :)

Black Cat: Thanks for your review. "What were Sai and Hikaru 's true name?" You gotta keep reading (and reviewing) to find out :)

japanesenut: Lol, what a compliment! Thank you! I tried my best to make the characters...alive and realistic as much as I can (like searching for an art university for Soubi..etc).