A/N: Hello, I do hope you like this chapter and will continue reading. And here's the one with the parts I mentioned in the last chapter, I know his secrets are being spilled one after the other in this but that's sort of the point.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no Go or its characters nor do I want to, the show would be terrible if I did own any part of it
Chapter Seven: Sol-Sensei Part Two
Akira's POV
I was sitting down in one of the chairs seeing that there was another one beside me. It made me curious.
"There's a Go Tournament going on right now. Why don't we drop in after we are done here?" the Kaio Principal asked me with a smile. "That's fine, and Sir?" I asked getting his attention.
"Why is there a second chair? I thought I was the only one who would be here at this time" I asked. "Ah, my Go Teacher was supposed to come by for a meeting and drop off some of his Kifu. I guess he couldn't make it today" he explained. He looked disappointed that his teacher couldn't come by.
"It has come to my attention that you just applied to our School. There is something I would like to ask you" he started. "Yes?" I asked, curious as to what it may be. "I would love it if you would join our Go Club, Akira. It would be a good experience for our members if they got to watch you play in person"
I shook my head at that. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm not good enough to play Go in your Club" I told him looking at my lap. I heard him sigh before I looked up in shock at what he told me.
"I had heard from my Go Teacher that he played you before. He had thought he could go against you without having to use the Go Styles he mastered" Fubuki-sensei said which is what shocked me.
"My teacher had mastered Blind Go, One-Color Go, Imitation Go, Picture Go, Speed Go, Teaching Go, forcing a tie, and can even play five boards at once"
What he said surprised me. "He can do more than one of them at once as well. Talent can be a burden, especially for him. I'm sure you can understand that Akira" he said. I showed my agreement with a nod.
"My teacher had quit Go two years ago, but he had stopped enjoying the game five years ago. He still kept playing, hoping to find someone he could go against without fear" he explained sadly. I kept wondering who he was talking about as he kept talking. "Have I really played your teacher before, sir?" I asked.
"Yes, you have" he nodded. I know he already told me this, but I can't figure out who I played against that could be that strong.
"He said he played Imitation Go against you both times. After the first time he thought he might be able to play you at full strength, but after the second…" he stopped at that. I noticed the pained expression on his face then.
"I told him that if he finds someone he wants to strive for the Divine Move with, whether a boy or a girl, Go will finally be fun for him. As soon as he realized Go was boring he kept playing. On his ninth birthday though, he stopped all together" he explained. The connection to gender baffled me.
"Why did he stop, sir?" I asked, noticing his frown deepen at that.
"A Pro Player lost to him the day of his ninth birthday. He fell asleep suddenly after the Go Player left and it terrified everyone. When he woke up in the Hospital he found out that the Pro Player he beat had vanished right after the game. He didn't even tell anyone he was leaving. If Sol-sensei had been awake, I would guess he would think that the Pro Player died, like so many others did" Fubuki-san started. I didn't say anything since I don't think he is done yet.
"I don't know what the voicemail he got on his phone the day of the Match, right after it happened, said, but it changed him. Sol-sensei, right after listening to the message, apologized to everyone the Go Player met and talked to. No matter how far he had to go, didn't matter how many people he had to see, he apologized to each and every one of them. Sol-sensei had earned a lot of money from teaching Go to others and playing Matches against Pros, Dans, and Titles, but despite depleting most of it he had way more than he earned to spare" he explained. I didn't know what to say to that. I'm glad I didn't say anything though because Fubuki-sensei continued talking.
"Sol-sensei got his name because, in shortened terms, S-O-L in Spanish means Sun and he is as bright as one. It is pronounced as S-O-U-L though because he seems to have the knowledge, experience, wisdom, and money of someone who has lived for 5000 years"
I was impressed by how much this 'Sol-sensei' seemed to know. I would have loved to see how he plays and, maybe even, become friends with him… if that is even possible. After this was said though, he started talking about the School.
Time Skip: After the Talk
Third Person POV
"I am glad we had this chat, but I do hope you join the Go Club. Sol-sensei's Kifu will likely be framed and hanging on the walls by the time you join" Fubuki smiled at Akira while they were still in his office.
"And I would want to look at them. My father asked me to say hello since he's always talked about this School" Akira told the man.
"When your father came here, he was a very good Go Player. The few times I was able to say I wasn't ashamed of playing him was when I was taught by Sol-sensei" he said. Akira nodded at this. 'He is very obsessed with this 'Sol-sensei' person' Akira thought, sweat beading on his forehead.
"When I first saw how good Sol-sensei was, it was through a Kifu that had very old moves. Some of them are even used in his current style of play. One day when he was three, the day he showed us the Kifu, he said it was the first game someone killed themselves over for losing" Fubuki explained sadly. Akira jerked his head up from the floor when he heard that.
Time Lapse: A few Weeks ago
Akira's POV
I was in my father's Go Salon, hearing Ogata-sensei tell me that my father played a game against Hikaru. "Did he really play a game against Hikaru?!" I was shocked to hear this.
"I ran into him on the street, it was a terrible idea to bring him though" that shocked me even more. "Why was it a bad idea, Ogata-sensei?" I asked as he took a smoke.
"Hikaru ran out of the room after he coughed into his hand. Your father had wondered what was so bad about Go that would cause Hikaru to cough up blood after playing one of his own moves" that surprised me.
"I had asked your father if he was any good and he said he was. He said that after watching only a few moves" he said but he still wasn't done.
"Before the Match had even started, it was the strangest thing. He said he was going to show him how he played you, but not how he plays" he finished confusing me.
Time Skip: Present
I was brought out of the past by Fubuki-sensei. "Are you feeling alright, Akira?" he asked. "Yes, I'm fine" I nodded looking at him. We were at the front of the School, in front of the Gymnasium where the Go Tournament he was talking about earlier was being held.
"I think you will enjoy watching this" he said making me curious. He brought me to the room where the Tournament was being held. I could already hear the Go Stones being placed on the Boards.
"That man right there is Mr. Yuen, he is the Coach of the Kaio Middle School's Go Club" Fubuki introduced. The man bowed to the principal making it clearer who he was talking about.
I watched the man, who was in front of Kaio's opponents move. I was shocked to see Hikaru here. He isn't in Middle School yet.
"It seems that young man in our Go Club is going to lose against Sol-sensei" Fubuki-sensei smiled. It surprised me because I didn't know Hikaru was the 'Sol-sensei' Fubuki was so obsessed with.
I watched them play before I saw Hikaru place a Stone at 16-15. "It seems Sol-sensei is bored" I heard the Principal say. I looked at Hikaru's face as he kept playing. He was playing the same way he played against me. Fubuki-sensei said he played Imitation Go the two times he played me.
When Hikaru's Stone was captured I noticed his frown. He really is bored.
"You guys hangin' in there?" a red-head asked his teammates. I saw Hikaru shrug his shoulders. He wasn't even paying any attention to anything that was going on around him. Is this how he plays when he's bored?
The game ended but when I saw the man he beat crying I looked at Hikaru. He flinched which is what caught my attention. There was a look of pain that crossed his facial features. I saw him grab out a red Handkerchief that looked to have been white before. He coughed into it before his eyes met mine.
He stood abruptly, before bowing. "It's good to see you, Akira" he greeted me.
"You played a beautiful game, I'm quite envious of your opponent Shindo-san" I praised with a small smile on my lips. I was concerned however. "Sol-sensei! I didn't think you would make it"
I moved out of the way so the Principal could get through. "Fubuki-san, hello" I saw Hikaru smile before I saw it morph into a frown when Fubuki-sensei looked down at the Board.
"If you had informed me you had a prior engagement I would have rescheduled the appointment" I heard him say. He also asked if his parents and Doctor know that he's playing Go again. "They did forbid you from playing two years ago" he mentioned. I frowned at this.
I saw Hikaru look at the ground with a sigh, worrying me, but I don't have any idea why. I haven't had a friend before, but I think I am starting to think of Hikaru as one.
I watched as Fubuki-sensei walked up to Hikaru, giving him a white Handkerchief to replace the old one. He told Fubuki-sensei that he had already turned down sixteen schools from across the World, including Kaio. His parents were the ones who were wanting him to go, surprising me again.
I was about to ask Hikaru if he was okay when his face turned as white as a sheet of paper. He coughed into the Handkerchief Fubuki-sensei gave him before I could even ask.
"Your acceptance isn't based on your mastery of Go, Sol-sensei. It is based on the Literacy Essay you wrote at the age of six" he explained to Hikaru.
Is this what he meant when he said Hikaru seemed to have knowledge beyond what he should? Not everyone can get accepted into Kaio as easily as Hikaru seems to have been. With something he wrote at the age of six no less.
I was broken from my thoughts when I heard Hikaru say that I would hate him. I didn't say anything, if what I am thinking is correct, I can't blame him for thinking that.
I had demanded a game from him after obsessing about the first one for a month. I was surprised and angry and curious when I heard from Ichikawa that he quit a couple of years ago. I didn't even consider that he might have had a good reason for it. He had a terrible experience in Go and I made it even worse with my actions.
"I don't want Haze Middle to be disqualified for having a sixth grader on their Team so they could compete" Hikaru said. I realized I had gotten too caught up in my thoughts again today. I saw Hikaru turn around, picking up a black Satchel meant for School.
I was taken aback by Fubuki-sensei's enthusiastic response when Hikaru asked which Kifu he wanted. It was so similar to a kid's reaction to getting an ice cream or candy or something they wanted. I was surprised by how many Kifu Fubuki-sensei wanted and how excited he sounded when he asked for them.
"So, you want either the Kirin Picture Go, the five simultaneous Tie games with two Dragons, two Tigers, and one Kirin, and the Match I played against the third to last Meijin?" Hikaru asked. From what I was told about him I wasn't surprised by what he listed.
"My favorite is the Kirin so I will take that one. The Meijin Match will go to the Sponsors and the five Tie Matches for the Go Club" Fubuki-sensei said in a thinking pose from what I could see of his visage. I saw Hikaru nod before he turned around, digging through his black Satchel.
He pulled out a pile of Kifu before taking out a file folder with a golden Kirin on the front. He put the Kifu inside before handing it to Fubuki-sensei. "You can look at them, Akira" he told me when he handed the folder to me. I tuned everything out as soon as that happened.
I did look through them and what I saw surprised me. The Kirin that Fubuki-sensei asked for looked closer to the Divine Move than my father had gotten. The others weren't as surprising, but they were beautiful none the less.
I saw Fubuki-sensei go up to the scoreboard, putting Haze as the winner. When he came back I handed the folder back to him.
"Thank you, Akira. By the way…" Fubuki-sensei said getting my attention. "Hikaru would never lie to a friend, his words might be vague or coded but they're always true" he advised. I nodded storing that away in my brain for another time.
A/N: Hello, I finished writing this at 6:52 P.M. on November 3, 2016.
I finished rewriting this at 11:28 P.M. on September 18, 2018.
I do hope you like this chapter and will continue reading. See you on October 5, 2018.
