"Well Hikaru, this is certainly a pleasant surprise. Come in, how have you been, Mr. Kisei?"

Frowning as he removed his shoes and stepped into the house proper, Hikaru gave a contemptuous stare and replied, "Stop calling me that Grandpa, it's bad luck. The league is only half over, I still don't know if I'll even be able to stay in the League yet."

Turning to glance off at his grandfather's back for a moment, Hikaru returned his gaze to the backyard, hesitated a moment, then stepped down into the yard and moved on off toward the loft, his feet unconsciously sliding into a pair of slippers next to the stairway. Moments later he was across the yard into the den and looking up the ladder to the loft. Hesitating once again as perspiration began to form on his palms, Hikaru gulped and then began to climb his way up the ladder.

It was likely silly of him, always going up to check, but if there was even the slightest chance that this time Sai might be up there waiting for him then he'd gladly be silly. Besides, after his victory two days ago against Ogata, the dream and everything that had happened, maybe, just maybe…

Reaching the top and pulling himself to his feet, Hikaru began to make his way toward the back of the loft to where the old goban rested. Kneeling down before it and brushing off a bit of the dust that had settled onto it with one hand, Hikaru gazed upon the board that had changed his life forever. It had been on that day four years ago that he had found this board, seen the stain that only he could see, and met Sai. It seemed like a lifetime since then, and in some ways he supposed it had been a previous life, a life completely different from the one he lived in now.

His grandfather's voice rang loud from the bottom of the ladder, bringing Hikaru back into reality. "Come on, I've got the board all set up."

Chuckling to himself as he rose to his feet, Hikaru answered back, "Yeah, I'll be right there Grandpa." Turning to take one last glance back down at the board, Hikaru then spun and headed for the ladder.

"You know," Heihachi commented minutes later as Hikaru walked by him on his way to sit on his side of the goban, "you can just have that board if you want. It'd be better off if you took it if you're just going to keep coming over and looking at it like that."

Shaking his head with a slight laugh as his prediction came true once again Hikaru answered, "Nah, that's ok. It'd seem weird if it wasn't here."

Waiting for Hikaru to take his seat before the board, Heihachi then said, "If that's how you want it. So then, explain to me how your victory over Ogata Judan isn't enough to keep you from being knocked out of the Kisei League yet."

Moaning softly as he stretched his neck and back in an attempt to feel more comfortable, Hikaru replied, "Well it's not that it wasn't enough exactly. It'll be enough if one of two things happens. If they don't then it gets tricky."

"Oh," Heihachi replied, "and what are those two things? Nigiri."

Giving his grandfather another contemptuous glare before sighing and reaching for the stones, Hikaru shook his head in frustration. He'd given up trying to convince his grandfather to take a handicap, but he had hoped that likewise his grandfather would have given up his stubbornness on not needing one. "Well basically if Akira wins his next match or if Ichiryu 9 – Dan loses either of his two remaining matches then I can't be knocked out no matter what."

"I see. Oh, I'm Black." Then pausing as if a thought had just occurred to him, Heihachi turned to grab the Weekly Go that he had set down beside him and opening it said, "Akira… Akira Touya? Lets see, who does he play?"

"Next Thursday against Zama Oza."

Nodding his head, Heihachi continued to scan the page until he spotted the name. "Ah yes, there it is. Do you think this Touya can win?"

His eyes glazing over as if peering into the misty reaches of the future, Hikaru answered somberly, "I believe in his strength, granpa."

"Hmmm," Heihachi said, his eyes beginning to scan further down the schedule.

Ogata had pushed him to the very limits of his abilities and beyond, and now Zama Oza was looming on the horizon. It seemed like a simultaneously dream and nightmare schedule, four straight matches against titleholders and the former Kisei himself, and then Akira for the finale. For someone of his strength to cut a path through all that and claim the Kisei title, it seemed impossible. And yet here he was, three games behind him and one more titleholder to face, the undefeated frontrunner. Could it really be possible?

With his victory over Ogata, a player who only last week had been praised in the Weekly Go edition that lay next to his grandfather as Japan's current strongest player, there would be no underestimating, no slipping in under a high Dan's radar. Everyone in the Go world right now was likely speaking his name today, searching through online game listings to see just how strong he really was. From now on he was a name that pros everywhere would take as a serious force to reckon with.

Even if that was not the case, a player like Zama Oza who had faced Akira twice before would not have taken him lightly, not after that Shinshodan match against Akira three years ago. Nor was this an opponent Hikaru knew well, or that had been watching him like Ogata and Kuwabara. There was no admiration, no curiosity as to how he might respond, if he could find a way to overcome a situation, to Zama Oza, he was, like all the other pros high and low that stood in his way, a pest that needed to be squashed on the road to Ishibashi and the title of Kisei.

Thus only one advantage remained to him, fatigue. While Hikaru had been busy defeating Ogata, Zama had lost in the Tengen Main tournament's final round match to Fujisawa 9 – Dan, losing his chance to play for the Tengen title. While a title challenge of course would have been helpful in draining Zama's endurance, Serizawa had at the end of August won the right to challenge Zama for the Oza title, a Final that would begin in two weeks, the week after Zama was finished facing Akira.

"So Hikaru," Heihachi remarked, freeing Hikaru from his deep thoughts, "how's that insei friend of yours doing? You know, the girl you're mentoring?"

"Her name's Nase Grandpa." Hikaru answered in a monotone voice before letting out a sigh. Nase, that was the other issue at hand, along with Akari. Looking up from the board at his grandfather, Hikaru then said, "She stopped by the house on Wednesday to tell me that she had passed the Pro Exam."

Lifting his head from the board where he had been struggling to read a position that was worsening by the turn, Heihachi smiled and replied, "Really now, she passed the Pro Exam? That's wonderful Hikaru, I'm sure you're… Hikaru?"

Lifting his eyes back up from where they had been drifting, Hikaru answered, "Yes Grandpa?"

"You don't seem very pleased about this news. Is something bothering you?"

Biting his lip as his fist squeezed together, Hikaru paused. This had been part of why he'd stopped by today, to discuss the situation with his grandfather who had been so helpful with his concerns about Nase last time. He'd actually been trying to figure out how to approach the subject, and now the path had been laid before him. So why did he seem to be hesitating now? "It's… complicated."

Sitting up straight as he removed his hand from his Go bowl, Heihachi cocked his eyebrow and responded, "Complicated? Does this have anything to do with what we discussed before, about your not maybe not wanting her to pass?"

Shaking his head, Hikaru answered, "No, it has nothing to do with the Pro Exam. It's that… on Wednesday she… she kissed me."

Bringing his fist up to his lips in order to hide the grin that way beginning to form on his face, Heihachi replied, "Reeeally. Well this is interesting indeed. Do you know what provoked this?"

Shaking his head, Hikaru again answered, "No, but then Akari walked in on us."

His eyebrow cocking at this new revelation, Heihachi repeated, "Akari walked in?"

Nodding, Hikaru continued, "Yeah, she'd come over to play a game of Go with me and stepped out for a moment. I guess her and Nase know each other somehow, I don't know the details, but when she came back Nase had arrived and was kissing me on top of the bed."

His smile fading as the details poured in, Heihachi felt himself beginning to sigh. What is this? It sounds like a scene from a poorly written romance film. All that's missing is Akari running out in tears.

"And then," Hikaru added, "Nase said, 'Akari, you mean the guy you told me you were in love with was Hikaru?' and Akari started to cry and ran out."

Rolling his eyes despite himself, Heihachi began to shake his head. Of course she did. Then the words sank in. "And what do you think about that Hikaru, about what Nase said?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Hikaru replied, "I don't know, it's all just so sudden. Akari's my friend, both of them are. I never gave ideas like this a second thought. I had other things to think about like tournaments and stuff. Then they throw this on me right before the match and… it's all just so confusing?"

Rubbing his chin as he watched his grandson carefully, his attention taut and serious, Heihachi inquired, "Do you love Akari?"

His head jerking up at those words, Hikaru responded, "What? Love Akari… what kind of a question is that?"

"One that is very important to this situation I'd say. If she loves you but you don't love her then there's definitely an issue. So do you?"

Throwing his head back and closing his eyes, Hikaru sighed deeply. Did he love Akari? How was he supposed to know that? What was love, how could he tell if he loved someone or not, he wasn't even sure how it was that Akari had come to love him. Now that he really thought about it, he'd been rather cruel to her over the years, all those comments and insults, disregarding what she thought to pursue his own selfish lines of thought. How could she have fallen in love with someone like him, someone who treated her like that?

But how could he answer whether or not he loved her back? She had always just… been there. The idea of life without her around was unpleasant, and he wanted her to be in his life but was that love? After all he wanted Waya and Isumi and Nase and everyone else to stay in his life as well, but that didn't mean he loved them. He loved the game of Go, loved it with all of his heart and soul, but love of a game and love of a person were two separate types of love, they had to be two separate kinds of love.

"I don't know Grandpa, I just don't know. I can't even figure out what all of this means let alone-"

"It means," Heihachi interjected, "that those two girls have very strong feelings for you. If this was a Go game of Love, then I'd say that it's up to you to make the next move."

"But I don't even know what my move should be Grandpa. I don't have any experience with this stuff, I don't even think about it really. In fact…I never felt so special about neither of them ever…I mean…special in the meaning of…being more than friends. What am I suppose to do?"

"Hikaru, speaking from my own experience I can tell you that the next move is rarely clear. I would suggest that you start by going to talk to them about how you feel about all this."

###

As he walked down the empty hallways of Taro High School, Hikaru noted the differences between it and Haze. Not by much, but attending this school certainly gave college outlooks a more credible shot than the type of high school that he likely would have gotten into.

Turning down another hallway, Hikaru's eyes came to focus on the door that led to the mathematics room that the Taro Go Club practiced in. This would be only his third visit to the club, his schedule having prevented more trips since then. This was where he'd find Akari, and Grandpa had been right earlier this morning, both about his needing to talk to Akari. While he wasn't entirely sure what he would say to her, he certainly owed it to Akari to try.

"A-Akari , Akari, don't go. I… I need to talk to you."

Freezing in place, Akari stood with her back to the room for a long moment A light smile forcing its way onto Akari's face as her eyes began to show the signs of moistness, she nodded her head and said, "Ok."

Stepping out into the hallway, Hikaru took a glance back into the classroom and then motioned with his head to Akari for them to head down the hallway. Nodding again, the pair began to walk down the hallway, staring straight ahead without looking at one another. Halfway down the hallway Akari then said with dread in her voice, "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

Taking a deep breath, Hikaru answered, "It's about Wednesday night and what happened." Hikaru paused, this was difficult, he wasn't even sure where to begin. Turning to look at her, his eyes glancing back down the hallway at the classroom door, Hikaru exhaled. He might as well try to remove the misunderstandings before the rest of her club tried to castrate him or something.

"Akari, about that thing with Nase kissing me on the bed, that was-"

"You don't have to try and apologize about it Hikaru, I understand." Akari interjected, tears welling up in her eyes.

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Hikaru broke in loudly, "Akari it's not like that at all. Nase, she, well I don't know what she was thinking or doing but she just jumped on me like that and kissed me. I didn't know she was going to do that, I think it just sort of happened since she passed the Pro Exam that day."

"But you had your arms around her, don't try to pin this on Nase alone Hikaru. I know how you are!"

Taking a small step back at that, Hikaru felt a slight pain shoot through his heart. "Akari… you're right, maybe I am to blame. But please try to understand, she kissed me. I…I just unconsciously respond…" Shaking his head as his voice faded, Hikaru began to rub the back of his neck. This wasn't going well, the topic was moving away from where he had wanted it to go. Damn, why did stuff like this have to be so hard?

Turning and leaning against the wall with his head down in defeat as he struggled to continue, Hikaru placed his hand on his forehead as his own tears began to well up. "Damn it Akari, I don't know what I'm saying or am supposed to say or how I feel or anything. All this love stuff, you and me, me and Nase, all of it, I just haven't ever really thought about it. I don't know, I care about you and want you to be happy… it just seems like my life wouldn't be quite the same if you weren't there but I don't know what that means or what love is or any of it. I understand Go so well, it all just clicks in my mind and everything is so clear but this… it's like a murky swamp or mist that I can't see through or even a meter in front of my face.

"It was all just so sudden, Nase being so happy and then she kissed me and you were there and I just don't know what to say or think. I just always thought of both you and Nase as friends. I'm sure I sound like an idiot going on like this I-"

Removing her finger from his lips, Akari continued to smile brightly at Hikaru who found himself returning it wholeheartedly. He didn't quite know how all of that had worked out like it had, but Akari's smile made this whole torturous ordeal worth it. He really did hate to see her cry after all.

"Oh, and Hikaru," Akari added, "about what happened Wednesday night between you and Nase…"

"Yes?"

Without warning Akari's arms wrapped around Hikaru's head as she pulled his face down to her own and their lips met. Once again shock shot through Hikaru's body as his brain began to feel light, Akari's soft lips pressing against his own, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as he fell back against the wall, her body pressing up against his chest.

Then just as quickly it was over as Akari released him, a slight mischievous grin on her flushed face. Taking a deep breath, she then finished, "we'll just call it even now ok?"

His mind still lightheaded from moments ago, Hikaru just watched Akari turn and walk back toward the classroom, his eyes watching her hips sway back and forth as she walked. What had that been? Had that been her… tongue?