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

"blahblahblah" Character's dialogue

blahblahblah Character's thought

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Chapter 3: Entering into an unknown world

Hotel East 21 Tokyo,

Soubi entered the hotel. Following the directions written on a signboard, he headed to the main hall, where the Go seminar was held. The closer he got to the room, the thicker the crowd was. He must be very close. Along the hallway, there were many stalls selling books. Soubi took a look at one of them. Most of the books had the word 'Go' written on the covers. He flipped through a book but didn't understand a thing. There were also booths selling stands that resembled to a wooden chessboard. Interested in neither the books nor the stands, he walked past those kiosks into the convention hall.

The hall was quite large. Near the entrance where Soubi was standing were five rows of tables. Each row had four sets of tables; and each set had four tables arranged in a horseshoe shape. On each table, there was that small stand – like the one they had put up for sale outside. In the middle of the arranged tables, a player (mostly guys, although there were a couple of women) in a suit, played four games (Go, he guessed) against four people at the same time. Deep inside the hall, there was a stage but nobody was on it at the moment.

"Hikaru." Soubi whispered. His voice was almost soundless; even he himself could hardly hear it.

"Soubi-san!" A loud cry came from his left. He turned around. Hikaru was there. His expression was a combination of shock and bewilderment. "What are you doing here? How do you know that I'm here anyway?" he questioned.

"You look very handsome in a suit, Hikaru." Soubi complimented. It wasn't an exaggeration. Hikaru, who usually wore T-shirt and jeans, dressed up in a suit today. His dazzling green eyes and blond bangs stood out against the black suit. He looked very smart for a fifteen year-old boy.

"Soubi-san!" Hikaru's cheeks flushed red.

"My, my, you're blushing." Soubi brought his face close to Hikaru's – with only inch apart separating them. "So cute."

"Stop teasing me, Soubi-san!"

"Oi, Shindou!" Someone called. The same cat-looking boy that Soubi had met a month ago approached them. Soubi recognized him. He remembered everyone who was familiar with his Hikaru.

If I remember correctly, his name is…

"Yeah, Waya?" His master turned to the said boy.

Waya wasn't alone though. A guy, around his twenties, was with him. He had black hair, brown eyes and a gentle look; a perfect image for a perfect big brother.

"Oh! It's you." Pointing at him, Waya exclaimed. "I don't know if you still remember me but we met about a week ago in front the Association, remember?"

"Yes." Soubi gazed at the red haired boy lazily. He had no interest in others except Hikaru, his Sacrifice.

"Is he a friend of yours, Shindou?" the ideal big brother joined their chitchat.

"Err, sort of."

"We are not friends." It was Soubi who said it in a firm tone. "I am his Fighter." He declared, loud and clear.

"Huh?"

"I'll be back, guys!" Hikaru spoke in alarm. He dragged Soubi out of the room and towards the lobby.

The boy sank on a big sofa. "What do you think you're doing? Saying that you are my Fighter like that?" he scolded.

"But it's true."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is." Soubi insisted.

"You're crazy! "

"You are stubborn." he commented. "Why don't you accept the truth that we are bonded and that I am yours now?"

"What if I tell you that I was taught how to play Go by a thousand year old ghost, would you believe me?" Hikaru queried.

Soubi smirked at the joke, "You've got a point there."

"Of course, I do!" His young master retorted. He crossed his arms and legs and huffed in annoyance. "You still didn't tell me how you knew I'd be here."

Soubi took out a cigarette and lit it. "I checked on the internet. It's not that we have a Go seminar everyday, is it?"

"How long have you been here anyway?" Hikaru continued his interrogation.

Soubi exhaled the smoke and replied honestly. "I've just arrived." Answering questions was one of Fighter's obligations.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What do you think about it?"

"Errr," Soubi scratched his face, not sure how to answer this one. Trying to come up with a good answer, he flicked his cigarette, the ash falling down on the expensive marble floor. "There're a lot people here. Everyone looks happy. The seminar seems to be successful."

Hikaru glared at him, upset. "Is that all you can say?"

"Well, frankly speaking, I don't know much about Go."That's a lie. I don't even have the faintest idea what it's about. Soubi confessed. "I know that you're a Go professional player." Although I don't know what it is. "I see the board," In his mind, he visualized the image of a player playing games against four opponents, "black and white stones," he spoke slowly, "so I think it's similar to," he glanced at Hikaru who was looking at him with expectation, "Reversi?"

It was the best he could guess.

"What?" Getting on his feet, Hikaru shouted in absolute shock and disgust. "Reversi, you say?" Seeing that Soubi only blinked innocently in reply, he let out a long sigh and slumped on the sofa again, "This is unbelievable." he grumbled.

"So, it's not Reversi?"

"No, it's not!"

"What is it then?" Soubi posed a question. He wanted to know what the game was. Why did Hikaru like it? Why did he become a Go player? How did he become a Go pro? He wanted to know everything about Hikaru, no matter how trivial it was. It would help to deepen their bond.

"What is it, huh? Hmmm," The Go pro tried his best to find the easiest way to explain it to someone who knew nothing about Go, "Well, you see, in chess, we take turns and move the pawns to take out the opponent's king, right?"

"Right."

"In Go, we take turns to place our stones on the board. The goal is to capture the opponent's stone and develop a territory. The one who gains more territory wins."

"That doesn't sound so hard." Soubi noted.

Then Hikaru smiled. Soubi had known him nearly a month now but he had never seen Hikaru smile like that before. It was such a beautiful and genuine smile. "That's just a small part of Go. Go has lasted for thousand of years, you know; passed on from generation to generation. The reason why I, no, why all Go players around the world keep on playing this game is because we're searching for a certain goal." Hikaru paused and looked out through the glass wall to the Japanese garden before he continued his speech, "You see, we all continue playing because we hope that," he closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and went on, "we hope that one day we will achieve a perfect game; a perfect game playing by a perfect hand that can only performed by God himself – the Hand of God." he looked straight into Soubi's blue eyes. "When I play Go, I feel like I am God, creating life – the stones are stars of the universe. I want to reach the Hand of God; I want to know what it feels like to cross the line between a mere human and God."

"Hikaru."

"There you are, Shindou!" A sharp voice called out. Soubi knew this person too: he was his lord's rival, Touya. The boy in a soft pink suit was trudging towards their direction. Once he reached them, he grasped Hikaru's arm. "Your break is over. Go inside and do your job!"

"Hai, hai," Hikaru replied in a bored sing-song tone, "See ya, Soubi-san." He winked at him before getting hauled by Touya to the seminar room. "Ouch! Touya! Don't pull so hard! It hurts!"

Soubi stared at Hikaru's back as he ran off. For a moment, he was lost in his bright and determined eyes, as if he had been enchanted. It had never ever happened before. He was a Fighter, a spell caster who put his power into his words and bended them with his willpower. He bewitched people, not the other way round. So what had just happened?

Two hours later,

"You're still here?" Hikaru cried out as he saw Soubi waiting at the very same spot he had left him earlier, smoking.

"I'm waiting for you." Soubi walked towards him, a cigarette held between his lips.

Hikaru snickered at that. "Yeah, like I want you to wait for me."

"Sarcasm suits you well."

"You're annoying, do you know that?"

"Many people say so." the suspicious guy laughed it off.

"Hey, Shindou!" Waya called. Isumi was with him too, "Are you coming with us?"

Soubi rested his chin on his head, embracing him from behind possessively. "No, he's coming with me."

"H-hey!"

Looking back and forth between them, Waya's forehead wrinkled. Swallowing hard, he loosened his tie and stuttered. "I-in that case, I'll leave you two alone."

"Thank you."

"Hey, wait! Waya! Wayaaa!" Hikaru called out to him but it was too late. His friends were out of his reach already. If truth be told, Waya was sprinting as if he were running away from a terrifying ghost.

"Let's go, Hikaru." Holding his arm tightly, Soubi smiled.

Hikaru simply breathed out in weariness.

They had not left the hotel's terrain yet when Soubi encountered his acquaintances.

"There you are! Agatsuma Soubi! We came here for a rematch!" the Fearless Fighter, Mei, declared hotly.

"Oh, you're so eager today, Mei-chan." her Sacrifice, Mimoru laughed.

Good timing! Now, Hikaru will see that I'm telling him the truth!

As Hikaru didn't believe his story, he had not yet granted Soubi the right to use his name. They were not fully connected yet, Soubi therefore was still the Blank Fighter, not Hikaru's and it weakened him.

Even with that handicap, the Fearless couple was no match for him. Mei, the Fearless Fighter, was a just child, a third or forth grader. Although she seemed like a loud tomboy, she had talents. That was why Seimei recruited her. But she was inexperienced and disobedient to her Sacrifice, Mimoru. Mimoru was around eighteen. He was a carefree high school boy who didn't take things seriously.

"Soubi-san, who are they?" Hikaru nudged his elbowed to get his attention.

Lost in his thoughts, Soubi said nothing in answer. I'll use this fight to open his eyes.

"The battle starts!" Mei announced fiercely.

Soubi took off his glasses, "I accept." he stated.

"Huh? What the!" Hikaru hollered out as their surrounding turned into black. The magical barrier expanded. Soon, the four of them were enveloped by a dome of darkness, "What's going on?"

"We are Fearless. And that's our power. We aren't afraid of anything." Mei and Mirumo declared their name.

"Hikaru, this is who you are." Soubi articulated. "This is who we are."

"Sou-Soubi-san." Hikaru spoke softly.

"Here I come! Little Duckling! Attack!" Mei shouted. Nearly thirty rubber ducks emerged out of thin air, they flew towards Soubi and Hikaru with high speed like missiles.

"Rubber ducks?" Hikaru wrinkled his eyebrows. Even he, who understood nothing, didn't know how to think of the choice of weapon their enemy had chosen.

"Wind, the faithful servant of mine, follows my command! Gentle breeze, turn into lethal arrows of wind and destroy those ridiculous toys!" Soubi countered. With that, the ducks exploded.

"Ano," Mimoru said meekly to his Fighter, "Mei-chan, I don't think those ducks will work against him."

"Shut up!"

A dog that barks at her owner and the indecisive master, I don't think I will lose but… Soubi sneaked a peek at the boy by his side, who gawked at Mei like she grew a second head. If the battle carries on too long, I'll be at a disadvantage. At any rate, it's two against one. "Multiply by hundred, thousand, ten thousand, arrows of wind, pierce through these ignorant fools who dare to defy us!" The wind stormed fiercely towards the Fearless duo. They closed their eyes and raised their arms up to prevent their faces from the invisible blades. It only lasted a second but it was an opportunity to attack, and Soubi wouldn't let that be wasted, "Restrain!" A long and thin piece of white fabric resembling a bandage sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Mimoru from head to toe.

"No! Defense!" Mei screamed with a frantic look in her teary eyes, "Something that can protect Mimoru, Appear!"

"It's too late." Soubi spoke coldly. "Besides, the spell is too open."

"Mimoru! Mimoru! Mimoru!" the poor girl hurried towards her crush, completely forgetting about Soubi and their unfinished battle.

"Want to yield?" Soubi asked condescendingly. If it was the old him, he would have striked until they fell but Ritsuka didn't like it that way. To Ritsuka, just winning was enough; there was no need to destroy the opponent.

Mei whimpered. "We give up."

"Good choice." The dome slowly vanished. They were back in the real world. Soubi grasped Hikaru's hand and led him to his apartment. He didn't even bother to look back at the crying Mei and the unconscious Mimoru.

That evening, Soubi's apartment

"This is all I got. The rest is beer, sorry." Hikaru took a bottle of mineral water from Soubi. He sat on a wooden floor, shaking. He hadn't recovered from the shock yet. It can't be true! Even if it's evening now, the sky wouldn't suddenly turn dark! Flying rubber ducks nearly attacked Soubi-san! Then that guy became an Egyptian mummy!

Soubi kneeled in front of him and tilted his chin up. "Are you okay, Hikaru?"

"How?" Hikaru choked up.

"You know how." The older man said gently.

"It's impossible." Isn't it?

"It isn't." Soubi stuck with his fairy tale. "You saw it with your own eyes. Are you going to deny it?"

"But magic," Hikaru started.

"is real," Soubi finished his sentence, his eyes didn't look away from his for a second.

Hikaru felt as if the world was spinning, but once he was able to pull himself together, he said. "Tell me everything."

He didn't know what he was doing anymore.

He's insane.

So am I.

Soubi had already told him about the basic of the relationship between a Sacrifice and a Fighter, and that Sai was killed by his former master. This time, he continued the story.

He told Hikaru about Sai joining the Seven Voices Academy and how Sai's behavior towards Hikaru brought him Seimi's hatred, who was once a member of the secret organization called the Seven Moons. This eventually led Sai to his death.

Soubi also told him about himself being the Blank Fighter, who could be with anyone, and how Seimei now wanted him dead, and how Ritsuka, Seimei's twelve year-old little brother, had abandoned him for his real Fighter.

"You can't be serious!" Rising up, Hikaru burst out angrily. "You're telling me that they killed Sai because he was too friendly with me? I can't believe it!"

He paced around. "This is not right! Not right at all! Sai was a disgrace, you say? Disgrace, my ass! Sai was too friendly, so what? He has every right to act that way! Everyone has the freedom to live the way they want! Just because he didn't live up to their standards! Just because he's different! They killed him! Wait! That's not right! They don't even have the right to kill anyone from the very beginning!" he panted heavily and collapsed on the floor. "It's not right at all!" he wailed.

Soubi crawled next to him and held him in his arms. Hikaru cried, and cried and cried. He had always wanted to know why Sai was tortured to death. Sai had the purest heart – who would want to kill such a great person? He had asked himself numerous of times. Now that he knew the truth; it hurt, it hurt so much. Sai died because of that incredibly selfish idea?

Hikaru didn't know how long it had been since he had started crying. He had cried until he had no tear left to shed. At last, he gathered himself together and stopped weeping. "Thank you, Soubi-san." he pushed himself away from the embrace. "And sorry that I ruined your shirt." Seeing that his tears had soaked Soubi's white shirt, he apologized.

"It's nothing."

When Hikaru got up to get his bag on the sofa, Soubi called. "Hikaru."

"We'll talk about this later." Hikaru said as he put on his shoes. "Mom is probably worried sick by now. One more thing," he spoke up before opening the door, "I have to mark you as mine, right?"

"Yes."

At that, he turned the doorknob and went home.

Hikaru wondered if this was how Alice felt when she entered Wonderland. His head was spinning from Soubi's surreal information. He wanted to think that it was a weird dream, but Soubi was right. He couldn't just go to bed and pretend that nothing had ever happened, could he?

Running away from a trouble like a coward wasn't what Sai had taught him to do.

"Don't look away from the reality, Hikaru. Don't turn deaf just because you don't like the truth." Sai had said.

Words:2915

Thanks to my beta: sany

Special Thank: Ckarrine and Jewl4Life who reminded me to tell those who know Loveless that people in this fic, don't have Cat ears and tails.

AN: Got 15 reviews for last Chapter! Hurey, keep giving comments to me :D

Glossary: Hotel East 21 Tokyo does exist, in case you want see the hall where the Go seminar that Hikaru attended, feel free to visit:

www(dot)hotel-east21(dot)co(dot)jp(slash)english(slash)meeting(slash)index(dot)html

Icis1984: As I've finished this fic already (although the last 3 chapters are still under beta-ing process), I promise you that I will update every week. It is my policy to post finished fic only.

Kat_Sakura: Thank for pointing about space. It's FFN's fault ;p

Reshia: "I love how you're portraying Soubi so realistically." To describe Loveless's characters is much harder than HNG's, since I'm not familiar with them. When I wrote about Soubi, I tried to think like him. "What would Soubi say in this situation?" I asked myself "No, he won't say this. It's not pervert enough!" Something like this, haha.

Zeynel: Yeah, poor Hikaru. Without knowing, he keeps falling into Soubi's scheme.

Japanesenut: "Im looking foward to reading more since it's still sort of an introduction." We have a fighting scene here, hope you like it.

Black Cat: "I guess he will need a little time to accepts that." Actually, yes, you're right. But since Mai and Mimoru appeared and unintentionally shew Hikaru that what Soubi said is true, Hikaru almost didn't have to think anymore. What a mean author I am!