Alright, here's finally the next chapter, sorry about the wait! I… ended up cutting it in half, though, to get it out a bit faster. This was anyway one of my longest chapters. I said in previous chapter I'd post the one after this next week's Saturday, but now you'll probably get it sooner. No promises on the exact day, though, might be around next Monday, if I have time to check it through during the weekend.

Chapter 10

After a wonderful weekend Sai found Monday to be a more, well, Monday-ish day. They had a surprise quiz on chemistry (a cruel thing to do on a Monday, Hikaru mumbled), and afterwards Sai realized he had made a couple of stupid mistakes in it. The lunch was mud fish soup which Sai simply hated. And to crown it all, during the last break his homeroom teacher asked him to stay behind after the last class, because there was something they 'needed to talk about'.

Sai sighed, anticipating the subject, and he turned out to be right. The teacher told him how disappointed she was, and gave him a long sermon about how the school expected immaculate behavior from their students even outside the school grounds, and how piercings simply didn't fit a well-mannered young man. "It is your business, of course, what you do after you finish in this school, but as long as you are our student, we expect you to follow our rules. And I doubt there are many high schools either that would accept something like this!"

"You allow piercings for girls," Sai managed to put in. "That's pretty… discriminatory."

"That is quite different, surely you understand that. There is nothing strange about a girl with earrings. And of course, even in their case, they should keep it inconspicuous and modest, and not to use them in school. But for a boy, any kind of piercings can't be anything but conspicuous! We cannot encourage this kind of behavior. Your hair too has been a borderline case, but as your manners are otherwise so fine, we have let it pass. Perhaps we have been too allowing toward you here. As a boy, you should…"

As a boy. "And what if I'm not?" Sai cut her off, beginning to get genuinely annoyed.

"…what?" The teacher blinked at him, looking confused.

"You're saying boys aren't allowed to pierce their ears. So if I'm not a boy I can do it, right?"

The teacher frowned. "What is this silliness now? Surely you're not saying you're a girl!"

Sai couldn't help laughing out loud. "Yeah, that would just be weird, wouldn't it? And we can't have that here! Is that why you've never even mentioned intersex in class… is it too weird, too?"

"What… are you talking about, Fujiwara-kun?"

Sai opened his mouth, then closed it. What was he talking about? Too much, that was for sure. "Nothing, sensei," he muttered quietly and bowed. "Please excuse me."

He grasped his backpack and fled out of the room, leaving the teacher to gape after him.

.

"Sadao," his mother said as soon as he came home. "What happened at school today?"

Of course. Sai closed his eyes, taking off his shoes. He had hoped the teacher would simply reprimand him the next day, but of course she had called his mother. His mother had said he should stop running away all the time… quite true, he thought with a sigh. Maybe he could have done something to save the situation if he had stayed there. He couldn't just keep on rushing out of the room any moment things got difficult.

"Your teacher called," she went on when he said nothing. "She wants to meet me tomorrow. She was a little… unclear about the exact reason."

"She was reprimanding me because of the piercings," he said quietly.

"And?" his mother asked as he didn't go on.

"And then I slipped something. About intersex. I wasn't going to, but she made me so mad."

"Sadao," his mother sighed. "I knew you would get in trouble because of those silly things." She shook her head. "Well. No point to cry over spilled milk, I guess. I'll see what I can do tomorrow."

Sai just nodded his head a little and went to his room.

Next day his mother came to the school after the day was over. Sai sat outside the teachers' room, waiting and worrying about what was going on inside. After a while Hikaru and Akari appeared in the corridor.

"There!" the girl said. "I told you. I saw his mother coming to the school. Something's going on."

"Hey," Hikaru said and sat down beside Sai who nodded a bit at him. "What's happening? You're not leaving school again, are you? I mean, it's been going just fine, right?"

"I don't know," Sai sighed. "I guess… I happened to let our teacher know that I'm intersex."

"Happened?" Hikaru blinked. "Is it… going to be a problem?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," Sai said quietly. "I've no idea. If she's going to tell the other teachers, and…"

"Can she do that?" Akari asked. "I mean, talk about the medical information of her students with anyone else? It doesn't sound right."

"Doesn't matter what's right or wrong if she does it," Hikaru stated.

Akari sat down as well, and the three of them waited there quietly. Then the door finally opened and the teacher looked out.

"Fujiwara-kun," she said. "Would you come in for a moment."

Sai stood up and, with one look at Hikaru and Akari for support, followed the teacher in.

"Your mother has explained your situation to me," the teacher said when they had sat down. "We have agreed that it is the best for you to keep quiet about this for the rest of the school year. It would certainly cause nothing but complications. But it's good that I finally know exactly what the matter has been so I know what to do if anything happens."

Sai wondered briefly exactly what she would be able to do if anything did happen (and what that could possibly be), but said nothing. "And the piercings?" he asked instead carefully.

The teacher sighed. "You may keep them for now. But never use any kind of earrings in the school premises or their proximity. Personally I think it would be best for you not to attract attention to yourself like that."

Sai bowed. "Thank you very much."

He and his mother left the room. Hikaru and Akari jumped to their feet as they came out.

"So?" Hikaru asked.

"It's okay." Sai smiled at him. "Everything's okay. And they allowed me to keep my piercings too."

"That's a relief," Akari sighed.

Sai nodded, but despite his smile he couldn't help feeling a little troubled over it all.

May came, and with it Sai's birthday. This year he didn't want any big party, but he invited both Hikaru and Akira over for a day of go, once again begging them to behave themselves. They pretty much locked themselves in Sai's room with snacks, drinks, and a go board.

Hikaru and Akira played the first game, as Sai wished so. He sat happily by the board watching them.

"You know, I'm so glad you two are beginning to get along," he said. "I didn't really believe it would happen, but luckily I was wrong."

"I guess," Hikaru said, rubbing his chin as he stared at the board. "I'd rather play you, though. It's too bad three people can't play go together."

Akira looked up, staring thoughtfully into the distance. "I wonder if that were possible," he said. "One would need yet different color of stones, maybe gray. Technically, I guess… it might work."

"That's certainly an interesting idea!" Sai said, getting excited. "Why don't we try it?"

Both Akira and Hikaru turned from their game to look at it.

"I wasn't really serious…" Akira said.

"It's a bit silly," Hikaru stated.

Sai pouted. "You two are no fun. Why not?"

"We'd need to make a new set of rules, too," Akira pointed out. "Like… is your stone captured if it's surrounded by both of your opponents' stones? Who gets it? How do the eyes work? And so on. You'd have to think about everything in a totally new way."

"That's why I liked the idea!" Sai exclaimed. "It'd be fun! Don't you think?" He looked hopefully at his friends who glanced at each other.

"Me and my big mouth," Hikaru muttered.

"Just what I was thinking," Akira said dryly. "But sure," he said to Sai, "as it's your birthday and all, we can try it if you really want. I'm not sure if it would work out, though."

Sai clapped his hands joyfully. "Wonderful! We can use stones from my travel board for the third player, they're clearly different from these."

"Great," Hikaru mumbled, eyes on the go board, "but I'm really trying to concentrate on this game now."

"Sorry." Sai, who had already jumped to his feet, sat down again, a bit embarrassed.

Although Hikaru put yet up a battle, Akira won the game easily. Sai managed to sit a while quietly discussing the game, but the others could see his impatience, so they cut the discussion short and started trying to form some kind of rules for their three-people game.

"This is going to be interesting," Akira said with a shake of his head as they started.

"To say the least," Hikaru mumbled, while Sai exclaimed, happily, "So it will!"

They played a while in silence. Then Hikaru started laughing somewhat uncontrollably. "This is like being a beginner again," he said when he calmed down a bit again. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing!"

Akira gave a laugh too. "Tell me about it."

"But it's fun, right?" Sai said and the others nodded, sighing.

The board was beginning to get quite crowded. They all paused, staring at the board. "Do you think it's over?" Sai asked.

"Maybe?" Akira said. "But who won?"

"I hate to say it but I think you've been doing pretty well," Hikaru said.

"Compared to you," Akira replied, and Hikaru's eyes flared up.

"I don't think we have clear enough rules to declare a winner here," Sai put in hurriedly before the boy had time to say anything. "You're probably right. This didn't work out too well."

"You were right too," Hikaru said, calming down. "It was fun."

"Who wants to play next?" Sai asked, starting to pick away the travel board stones.

"Why don't you two play," Hikaru said. "I'll watch and learn."

"You know," Akira said as they cleared the board. "I've long been wondering about something. Why did you start playing go? You don't quite seem like the type to like it, and you used to claim it's a stupid game."

"What type do I seem like then?" Hikaru muttered a bit angrily. Sai gave him a look and he swallowed the rest of his comments. "I don't know," he said, shrugging a little awkwardly. "I just got sucked in, I guess? You seemed to always have so much fun, and you were so serious about it. I guess I got curious."

Both Sai and Akira gave him looks that made it clear they both suspected the truth of that statement. "What?" he muttered angrily. "I didn't realize you need to be of some special type to play go. Do I need to start dressing in violet and purple too?"

"I was just wondering," Akira said calmly. He looked at Sai. "Shall I nigiri?"

Hikaru watched their game in silence. You still don't take me seriously, he thought, giving Touya a dark look, but managed to keep quiet. Sai does, he thought then, and that cheered him up immediately. One day… one day he too would be able to play like that. One day he would be able to beat Touya in an even game, and also give Sai a proper challenge.

"Just you wait," he muttered aloud, but neither of the players heard him.

...

Seldom had Sai waited for the summer vacation as eagerly as he did now. Of course, he had promised his parents to study also during the summer to get the best grades possible for his last year, but even so, it was wonderful to have so much extra time in his hands – all to spend on go. He also finally called Kawakami Kimiko, the go player he had met at Shizuku no kai, and met her at a quiet little go salon for a few games and a chat. That discussion was long due, and Sai wished they had had it much sooner. "It's completely different," he later told Hikaru, "to talk with someone who not only gets what you mean, but knows it, someone who can give you the words you can't find. I… don't really have words for that feeling either, but it's amazing."

The visit to a new go salon also helped him to create a new plan for Hikaru's go education. He wanted to make sure Hikaru would get all the practice he needed to be able to pass the insei exam in December. The best way to ensure that was to make sure the boy played as many different players as possible. He had thought they could go together to Akira's go salon, but he realized soon the boy felt a little ill at ease there. So he decided to set out to explore the go salons of Tokyo. They'd surely find a good place for Hikaru to practice, and it would be fun too.

Tokyo certainly didn't lack go salons, he soon realized. He made a list, based on recommendations he got from people at the go club and Akira's salon, and comments he found online. It turned out pretty long, but then again, they had the whole summer break for it.

Hikaru didn't seem too interested at first as he suggested this, but agreed to accompany him in the end. Sai chose purposefully a place that would be quite different from Touya's go salon; a simpler and smaller place run by an old couple. He noted with satisfaction that Hikaru seemed more relaxed there than at Akira's place. He just hoped the amount of cigarette smoke there wouldn't be quite so awful. His mother wouldn't like it if he came home smelling of tobacco. Also, although Hikaru had found many opponents there to play with on his level, there hadn't been anyone nearly good enough to give Sai a challenge. He doubted he'd be going back there. Hikaru nodded when he told him his conclusion after they left the place. "My mom's not going to like the smell either," he said. "But it was fun! Shall we go somewhere tomorrow?"

They kept on visiting one go salon after another, and Sai noticed, a little bit amusedly, how Hikaru's enthusiasm grew day by day. He suddenly realized how limited group Hikaru's opponents had been before. Of course he played many different people online, but that was quite different from seeing the opponent on the other side of the board. So far, Hikaru had been playing mainly just school kids. It was about time for him to get some practice with adults, and learn that it didn't matter whether the one opposing him was a balding old man, a plump middle-aged woman or someone who looked like belonging to a yakuza gang. What mattered was what happened on the board, and that was all.

A couple of weeks into the summer vacation he was eyeing his list, when one name there caught his eye. Heart of Stone. It sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard of it. Someone in the go club had mentioned it as a nice place, but he was still sure he had come across the name also elsewhere. Well, perhaps he would find out when they went there. First there were yet a couple of other places to check.

When they finally went to visit the Heart of Stone, Sai still couldn't figure out why he knew the place. He was sure he had never been there before. They stepped in, and a middle-aged woman gave them a sour look from behind her counter.

"Good morning!" Sai said happily. "We'd like to play here. It's 500Y for children, right?" He dug out his wallet. It had taken some arguing, but in the end Hikaru had allowed him to pay for both of them. Sai knew he had argued just for form's sake – Hikaru surely didn't have enough money to spend on go salons every other day, whereas for him it wasn't really a problem. "You're coming because I invited you," Sai had said. "So I'll pay, too."

Sai gave the place a cursory glance while the woman gave them the forms to fill. "I'd like to play your strongest players," he said turning back to the woman, whose sour look turned even sourer, if possible. "I'm planning to take the pro exam this year," he explained. "My friend's aiming for the insei exam. We both want to get some practice."

The expression on the woman's face was still quite skeptical, but a couple of the customers who just finished their game heard what he said. "Pro exam, huh? I'll play you, kid," one of them said with wave of his hand. His opponent ended up playing against Hikaru, and so they started their games.

Sai's didn't last for long. His opponent was good, but hardly good enough. The man ended up staring at the board with a bit stunned expression, one hand stroking his hair. "Pro exam, you say?" he said. "I bet you'll pass."

"That good, huh?" Another man took a glance at their board. "How about we'll play next?"

Sai's opponent snorted. "This one will slaughter you, Niimi-san. Too bad Kawai-san isn't there. He's the only one at this place… well, I bet you'd beat him too."

"Kawai-san too?" This was beginning to attract more attention. "How good is that kid?"

Sai shook his head, a little embarrassed about the attention he was suddenly getting. "As I said, I'm going to take the pro exam," he muttered. Then he turned to watch Hikaru's game. "Is it okay if I'll just watch a while and don't play anyone for now?" he asked. The men around him nodded, and his opponent started to replay their game for the other customers.

The first look at Hikaru's game told him that the boy was in trouble. This opponent was quite well-matched for Hikaru, though, and Sai was happy to see how fully his friend concentrated on the game. Even so, he didn't believe that would be enough. It wasn't hopeless yet, but Hikaru would need to come up with something new to survive.

And just as soon as he had thought it, Hikaru did exactly that. Sai took a sharp breath at the move his friend played. A new variation, one that would certainly make his opponent think hard. It took Sai a lot, but he managed to sit quietly where he was and not start applauding. When the game ended to Hikaru's narrow win, he couldn't contain himself anymore.

"Hikaru!" he exclaimed, falling on Hikaru's neck, "That was wonderful! Such a great game!"

Hikaru's opponent was shaking his head. "That was a close call," he said. "He took me at surprise by that move," he pointed at the board, "and I think my response to it was a mistake."

"Yes," Sai said, suddenly releasing Hikaru who had been struggling to get free and now in his sudden freedom almost fell off his chair. "Your move opened him a way to threaten these stones here. If you had played tsuke instead, you could have played next here and here, and so stop him. That really was a brilliant move!" He gave Hikaru his brightest smile, and the boy ran his finger through his hair with a self-pleased though a bit embarrassed chuckle.

"You think so?"

Sai gave a laugh and patted his shoulder. "You should know that yourself, too."

...

It was quite obvious that they had by now become the main attraction of that go salon. Or rather, Hikaru thought to himself, Sai had become the main attraction. Pretty much everyone wanted to play with him. As Sai agreed to another game, Hikaru couldn't help feeling a little pang of jealousy watching him. No matter how well he played, sometimes it felt downright impossible to ever reach that level. How many games he would have to play before he would be where Sai was now? And, he just knew it, once he would be there, Sai would have moved on. It was a never-ending chase.

Why hadn't he let his grandpa teach him when he was a kid? How could he have been so stupid to think that go was boring? If he had started playing then, he would be so much better now. He wouldn't have to just watch Sai and Touya in their own spheres, he could join them as an equal. He could…

"Hey kid! Are you awake?"

With a start he realized that someone had sat down by his table. "How about a game?" the man asked, and Hikaru nodded. Dwelling on his pas stupidity was pointless, anyway.

Hikaru played yet two more games, which he both lost – though the latter one was a close call. Sai, on the other hand, won all his games, despite some of his opponents having a four stone handicap. They were just finishing their discussion of the last games, when someone entered the go salon and, soon noticing that something was going on, made his way to their tables.

"Ho!" the newcomer exclaimed. "If it isn't my pretty fare!"

Sai looked up, blinking, and saw a face it took him a while to remember. Then his mouth formed an O. "So that's why I recognized the name of this place!" he exclaimed, recognizing the taxi driver who had once taken him to Hikaru's place.

The man was grinning down at him. "Didn't think I'd see you here, but happy to have been mistaken!"

"You know this boy, Kawai-san?" someone asked. The man gave him a frowning look.

"What do you mean, boy? That's the girl I told you about, the one who wanted to be pro but whose parents won't let her!"

"I'm pretty sure he's a boy…" the asker said, while another customer was shaking his head. "Isn't that his girlfriend…" he said, nodding toward Hikaru. His voice trailed off at the glare Hikaru gave him.

Sai sat on his chair, cheeks colored slightly red. Hikaru gave a deep sigh and rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid," he snapped. "Of course…"

"What does it matter?" Sai cut him off. "Why do you need to know if I'm a boy or a girl?"

The men around him shared a confused look. "What…? It's… isn't it…"

No one really managed to say anything sensible. Sai kept quiet, the blush on his cheeks turning an angrier shade, and his lips formed a tight line.

"What do you mean, what does it matter?" one of the customers then repeated a little angrily. "Of course it matters! Why aren't you answering a simple question? You aren't some kind of a freak, are you?"

"Look you…!" Hikaru started, bouncing to his feet, but the sour-faced woman cut him off from her counter.

"Watch your mouth, Kato-san!" she called. "You can talk how you want outside, but I won't have no name-calling here. Besides, you've not answered the question either. What does it matter? Didn't you say that kid's an amazing player?"

"Well, yes, but…." the man stuttered under her glare. "Don't people normally, I mean…"

"Just shut up already," Hikaru snapped. The man gave him an annoyed look and might have said something, but right then Kawai burst into laughter.

"Well, if you don't wanna tell us, then don't, kid," he said, ruffling Sai's head a bit. "Say, are you really as good as they claim? Can I have a game?"

"Wait," Hikaru said, eyes narrow. "Is that the creep who was inviting you over to some shady place?"

"Hikaru!" Sai whispered fervently. "This is that 'shady' place!"

Hikaru blinked, realization dawning on him. "Oh. Well, anyway." He gave Kawai another glare. "Just keep your hands off Sai."

Kawai gave him a long look, from head to toes. Then he turned back to Sai. "So, what is this one?" he said, inclining with his head toward Hikaru. "Boyfriend or bodyguard?"

"Just a friend," Sai said, still a little red. He gave Hikaru a look, attempting to keep the boy in check with his gaze alone. "And… I'm sorry, but we've been here quite long. I think we should be going…"

"A shame," Kawai muttered. "Not even one quick game of speed go? Truly a shame."

"Sai said no, so it's no," Hikaru said firmly. "Let's go," he added, looking at Sai.

"Such awful hurry!" Kawai exclaimed. "It wouldn't be bad to have a game against you either, kid. You've got spunk!" He reached to ruffle Hikaru hair this time, and the boy squirmed away.

"Hands off, creep!"

Kawai just grinned at him and turned then to give Sai a questioning look. Sai shook his head. "I'm sorry Kawai-san," he said and stood up. "My parents are expecting me home soon. But… I might come here again some day. If it's okay…"

"Why wouldn't it be? I hope you will," the man said, turning more serious. "So… I heard them talking about you taking the pro exam this year. Is that true, your parents changed their minds?"

Sai nodded, a smile spreading on his face. "Yeah! They gave me their permission! So that's why we're going to go salons, to practice."

"Don't tell me he's taking the pro exam too," Kawai said raising his eyebrows at Hikaru.

"Why couldn't I?" Hikaru snapped back.

"He'll be taking the insei exam," Sai said with a small smile. "Maybe next year it will be time for the pro exam."

The look Kawai gave Hikaru clearly said he didn't quite believe that. Hikaru returned the look with a defiant raise of his chin, and Sai decided it was time to get going. He grasped his bag and placed a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Thank you for the games," he said, giving a bow to everyone.

"Thank you," one customer replied, and there were others nodding. "Do come back some day."

Sai gave a non-committing nod, and half dragged Hikaru out. By the counter he paused a little, giving a bit deeper bow to the woman. "Thanks for everything," he said, and the woman gave the lightest nod, the sour look frozen on her face.

As they walked out, Hikaru threw a fuming look over his shoulder. "You're not going back there!" he exclaimed.

Sai laughed a little. "Take it easy, Hikaru. I don't think Kawai-san's any bad man. And you liked playing the people there, didn't you? I think there were many players who are good opponents for you there."

"Maybe," Hikaru muttered. "But I still don't like… well. That guy."

"I figured that out," Sai said with a small smile. Hikaru gave him a sidelong look.

"Why didn't you tell them you're a boy? I mean, that you're… that is, you, I mean… you are, right? That is, kinda… still?" He had such a confused look on his face that Sai couldn't help laughing despite the heavy tiredness that settled on him about this subject.

"I don't know why I didn't tell them either," he said. "I just… suddenly found the whole matter so annoying."

"Oh." Hikaru said nothing more, but the look on his face as he walked on watching straight ahead told Sai he was very hard trying to figure out something to say.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru," he said. "I'm not making this easy for you, am I?"

"What?" Hikaru glanced at him, wide-eyed, literally flailing a little for a moment. "No! I mean, yes, but no. That is, it's not… not… I mean…"

"You really don't know what you mean, do you?" Sai said, watching him with a small smile.

Hikaru shook his head. "I guess not. But… we've not been talking about this for a while." He looked around. There were quite a lot of people on the streets, but there was anyone hardly paying them any attention. "About… what you're going to do, you know?"

"I do," Sai sighed. "I know I should try to reach some kind of a decision. Time's just flowing by, and… well, I guess I have decided," he said, so quietly Hikaru barely heard him over the noise of the traffic.

"What?" He hurried onward so that he could take a look at Sai's face.

"All this indecision is a decision in itself, isn't it?" Sai muttered. "I've been talking about it with my therapist. Sometimes I just don't really get why this gender issue is an issue in the first place. I mean, this is me, right?" He spread his arms and took a few steps sideways, turning to look at Hikaru. "I'm sure I've said this before, or at least thought of it, bu if I'm happy to be as I am… why can't I just be that? Me, myself. I. Whatever I am. Maybe…" He paused for a moment to think. "Maybe I didn't tell them whether I'm a girl or a boy because it's the wrong question to begin with. I'm not sure if either of those terms fully apply."

Hikaru thought about this a moment. "Okay," he said then, and Sai looked at him.

"Really?"

Hikaru gave him a slight smile. "Yeah."

The smile spread also on Sai's face. "Thanks," he said, and grasped Hikaru's hand. A moment they walked like that, then Hikaru coughed, a little awkwardly.

"You know, if we walk like this, everyone's totally going to think that we're… you know."

"Eh, sorry," Sai mumbled, letting go. Hikaru looked again like he wanted to say something, but though he opened and closed his mouth a few times, nothing came out.

"So when will we do this again next time?" he asked after a while.

"How about during the weekend?" Sai suggested. "On Saturday? We could even check out two places, if you feel like it. Or… check out one new place and come here again."

Hikaru grimaced. "Why do you want to go to that place again?"

"I don't know. I just… kind of liked the atmosphere there." Sai paused, thinking. "And maybe I really want to see if it's going to be okay. You know, them not knowing. Don't tell them, ok? Think of how you talk of me to them."

"Okay," Hikaru promised with a sigh.

Think of how you talk of me, Sai had told Hikaru, and that made him realize he should also think of how he would talk of himself. During this first meeting – it being a first meeting – he had politely used watashi when referring to himself, instead of the more informal boku normally used by men and boys. He should remember to keep on using watashi in the future too, even though it would sound a bit feminine. Perhaps, he thought fleetingly, he should start using watashi all the time, to help him remember it… but no. That would draw unnecessary attention to him, and besides, it didn't matter that much to him.

They did head to the Heart of Stone next Saturday. Hikaru wasn't too eager about it, but he could see that Sai was for some reason really wishing to go there. He grimaced as when they entered he immediately noticed Kawai bent over a go board. "Of course he's here," he muttered.

The woman by the counter looked exactly the same as when they had left a few days before. Hikaru got a funny feeling looking at her, thinking that maybe she had just been there all this time, sitting behind that counter with that same sullen look on her face. The expression on her face was so unchanging that she could have been a part of some painting as she sat there unmoving, watching the customers. "No one would hang that on their wall," Hikaru muttered, and Sai gave him a confused look.

"Hey, look!" Kawai had raised his head from the board and noticed them. "See who came! Look, owner, the kids we told you about."

The man he had been playing with looked up too. "Ah, the future pros, huh? Welcome!" He stood up and nodded at them. "I've heard much about you."

Hikaru gave him an appraising look and decided he was okay. A man past his middle age, with graying hair and a face that was a little round and had a friendly look on it.

"As Kawai-san said," the man went on, "I'm keeping this place, together with my wife there." He nodded toward the woman by the counter, and Hikaru's eyes widened.

"That's your wife?" the boy exclaimed, and got Sai's elbow sharply between his ribs.

"Nice to meet you," Sai said with a little bow, and a little belatedly Hikaru nodded his head too.

"So, shall we play?" Kawai asked, indicating with his hand to a free board. Sai was about to nod, Hikaru got in between.

"Not so fast!" he said firmly. "You're playing first with me!"

Everyone just stared at him a moment. "Hikaru," Sai said then, his tone quite exasperated.

"What?" Hikaru asked. "I just want to check what that creep's really like before you start playing with him."

"Who are you calling a creep, brat!" Kawai exclaimed and reached his hand to ruffle Hikaru's hair quite roughly.

"Ough, you let go!" Hikaru cried out, trying to dodge. "Creep!"

"You take that back!" Kawai seemingly squeezed even harder.

"Yes," Sai said a little dryly. "Why don't you two fight it out on the board."

"Maybe I could have a game with you, then – Fujiwara-kun, was it?" the owner said with a bit of a smile.

"Kun?" one customer remarked. "We don't even know if that's a girl or a boy."

"One can use kun of a girl too," the owner said amiably and sat down, looking expectantly at Sai.

"I'd be happy to play with you," Sai said and sat down too. They played an even game, and though the owner was probably the best player he had so far played in this go salon, Sai won the game easily.

"I can see why people have been so excited about you," the owner said as they cleared the board.

"What? Did he won?" Kawai asked from the neighboring table. "Promising. I can't wait for our game!"

"How about your concentrate on our game first!" Hikaru snapped. The man turned back to him, looking a little annoyed.

"I don't even need to concentrate on this," he mumbled. "But as you wish." It was his turn, and he snapped loudly his stone on the board.

Hikaru didn't seem to be intimidated – if anything, the contrary. But, Sai figured as he looked at the board, he was going to lose. It hadn't been a bad game, though, and there were some intriguing shapes on the board of which he wasn't sure how they had been born. He would have to ask them to replay this game for him later.

As he had guessed, Hikaru did lose, and he wasn't too graceful about it, either. "53," the boy finished counting his territory. "Damn. Four and a half moku short."

"But it looks like a fun game!" Sai said. "Could you replay it for me?"

"If you wish," Hikaru said, still a bit glum. Kawai looked like wanting to protest, but in the end shrugged. "And after that we play?" he said.

"Do I have your permission?" Sai asked Hikaru with a bit wry smile. Hikaru just gave him a look and said nothing.

The game was fun, as Sai had predicted. Half way through it had been quite a usual go game, with Hikaru being almost all the time a little behind. Then the boy had clearly decided that he had to do something. Sai grinned at his move.

"That," he said, "is what I call innovation!"

"It was kind of useless, though," Kawai pointed out. "I mean… what were you supposed to achieve with that, anyway?"

"I wasn't quite sure," Hikaru admitted a little gruffly. "I thought I could maybe do something here, but… it didn't work out."

"You had a good idea, though," Sai said. "If you had here replied to Kawai-san's move like this, and then, after he played here, gone here, it just might have played out totally differently."

Both Hikaru and Kawai were staring at the board with unblinking eyes. "Damn," they said at the same time, and glanced at each other. "I just might have won, that way," Hikaru said. "Why didn't I see it…"

"You're improving," Sai said happily. "Fast! I'm sure that after just a short while you would see something like that."

"Hmm," Kawai said. "Shall we finish this?"

The replayed the game to its end, after which Hikaru rose quietly up from his chair and let Sai take his place. He settled instead by the board to watch. Quite an audience gathered around them, and Sai and Kawai started their game – this one even, because Kawai insisted. The game didn't last for long, and in the next he grudgingly accepted a handicap. It didn't help much, though. Hikaru grinned when Sai won that game too.

Kawai was shaking his head at the board. "Damn," he said, and looked up at Sai. "You'd better pass that exam, or I won't be forgiving you. Beating me with three stones! That's just incredible!"

Sai smiled. "Don't worry. That's what I'm planning to do."

During the summer Hikaru and Sai became regular visitors in that go salon. Sai liked the place and most of the people there, and going there also meant he spared a bit money, for the owner told them they could come and play for free. Hikaru suspected that it was Sai the owner really wanted to come. Sai just shrugged and asked him if he wanted to go somewhere else, and Hikaru declined, quite vehemently. Sai hid his smile – he was quite sure the main reason Hikaru was so set to visiting that place was because he wanted to defeat Kawai one day in an even game. He could see that the man didn't quite believe that would ever happen, but then again, he didn't know how impressingly fast Hikaru's game had been developing.

Occasionally people attempted to trick him into revealing his gender, but he was surprised to realize how easy it really was to hide it. He was pretty sure that some day Hikaru would say something that would give him away, but so far the boy had been surprisingly careful with his words, and he continued his little experiment throughout the summer.

I have been thinking about the question of pronouns. Just saying. Still going with he in the fic, though.

In the next chapter we're going to pro exam prelims!