Title: Sai Once More
Author: Cheska
Chapter 3
Pg – 13

Disclaimer:  Hotta Yumi and Obata Takeshi own Hikaru no Go, not I.  *sniff* *sniff*  Wish I did, slumps shoulders and runs out of the room bawling her eyes out.

Author's Notes:  Keep giving me your opinions on as to what the pairings should be, I'm still accepting them!  ^_^

~.~.~.~

  Merodi looked to her left and saw Sai walking by her side, nothing from the look of his face suggested that he was even concerned about the Insei test that they would soon be taking.  To her right, she saw the Arcanian Guardian acting as her 'Guardian', a form of a parent.

  "The Institute of Go," she heard Sai whisper in awe.

  She only smirked in response as she stepped through the doors and immediately saw the sensei waiting for them with her paper in hand that showed three kifus of her latest games.  She remembered writing those with the help of Sai, they dated not too long ago when they were playing online against some opponents.

  "Aerea Merodi?" the sensei inquired, and as she nodded, he motioned for her to follow him.

  "Good luck you two," the Guardian whispered before he began making his way down the hall of the sixth floor.

  Flopping down on the mat, Merodi stared at the board before her and heaved a sigh.

  (Ready Sai?) Merodi queried.

  Sai didn't respond and as she stared in back of her, she saw his eyes staring at the Goban and then to her.

  (You play…)

  (Nani? Why?) Merodi's eyes widened just as she tried to calm herself down.

  (This game…you play, you've let me play all the games so far.  I can't afford to be too selfish, can I?) Sai innocently inquired.

  (Demo…you'll be the one…)

  (It won't matter, we're the only ones here…) Sai nodded his head, indicating that it was okay.

  With a small sigh, she turned her attention back on the Goban and bowed before the teacher who would be measuring her capabilities.

  "Please…" Merodi said as calmly as she could and proceeded forward.

~.~.~.~

  Thirty minutes later, complete silence filtered the room.  In front of the girl, the sensei bowed his head in defeat.

  "I...it seems that you've won,"

  Merodi lightly blushed in response as she cleared the Go stones and put them back into the Go-ke without a word.

  "Gomen ne…if I…"

  "No, no I'm supposed to measure your strength," the teacher waved it aside as he pushed his glasses back and proceeded to stare at the three kifus before him.

  "Yes, yes…well you'll be starting your Insei training next month," he proclaimed, at the same time that Merodi breathed in a sigh of relief.

  "Arigatou sensei!" Merodi bowed before rising up and turned her head to a smiling Sai.

  (Hear that Sai? Next month!)

  "Would you like to see the room you'll be playing in?" the teacher inquired.

  "H-hai!"

  Coming out of the room, she saw the Guardian staring at them and at her nod smiled and began to follow and listened to the teacher speak of what will happen now that she's an Insei.  All the while, Merodi stepped into the room and saw all sorts of kids concentrating hard or cleaning up their mess.  Looking around, she noticed Sai looking at a certain group and began to drift over there.

  (Sai?)

  (Over there, Nase was with Hikaru two years ago and Fuku…) Sai conversed.

  Seeing whom he was talking about, Merodi decided to come closer and observe.  Peering at the game, she saw that Nase had won as black against Fuku's white.  Letting a small smile adorn her face, she saw that they were gazing at her.

  "Took the Insei test?"

  "Hai!"

  "From the looks of it, you've gotten in, ne?" Fuku grinned.

  "Yes, I'll be starting next month!"

  "Merodi, time to go," the Guardian called out to her.

  "Merodi…good luck," Nase waved as the girl disappeared through the door and out of their sight.

  (Those were Hikaru's friends?  They're nice…)

  (You'll surely meet more of them once you become a Pro…) Sai added.

  (I'm sure of it…Sai…)

~.~.~.~

  *beep* *beep*

  *thump*

  Merodi picked up the soda can and opened it up; tipping her head back, she took a deep swallow.

  "Ahh...delicious"

  *tap* *tap*

  Merodi took a side-glance to her right only to see Sai tapping at the machine.

  (After all this time, Sai, you're still fascinated by the soda machine?) Merodi sweat dropped.

  (But Merodi…I've never seen such a thing that can produce drinks in metal cans…) Sai explained in a whiny tone as he continued to tap at the machine with his fingers, now that he no longer held a fan.

  (You're lucky that no one else can see you…) Merodi said throwing the drink down into the trash can.

  Immediately Sai stopped his tapping and made a sad puppy face look that made the girl sweat drop and sigh afterwards.

  (Come on Sai, I was just kidding.  And anyways, we should get going, the Young Lion's Tournament is coming up! You don't want to miss that, do you?) Merodi tried to cheer the ghost up, and he immediately perked up once more just as she expected.

  (Demo…Merodi?)
  (Hai?)

  (Won't Hikaru be there?)

  At this, she paled.

~.~.~.~

  "Hey I thought that Hikaru was going to be here," Nase cried out, noticing that the bleached haired boy wasn't around.

  "Shindo-kun isn't here?" Fuku echoed, looking around as well.

  (He's not here…that's a relief but still…we can't let down our guard.  You'll have to try and mix into the crowd during the games, Sai…) Merodi warned as she let a swift gaze through the various people intermingling inside the room.

  (Yes, we're close to becoming Pro…and once we clear the way, we can see Hikaru again, right?) Sai recalled.

  (Yes, let's go that way…in the corner…) Merodi fixed her gaze on a dark corner of the room and waded through the crowd to get there with Sai in tow.

  "Aerea-chan!" Nase's voice called out from a crowd to her left.

  Stopping for the moment, she saw Nase with Fuku and two other people she didn't recognize but from the way that Sai was looking at them, she figured they were Hikaru's friends in the past as well.

  "Merodi, just Merodi…Nase-san…"

  "And don't be so formal with me either," Nase giggled.

  "Oh, these are Ochi and Honda…they're Pros.  Ochi passed two years ago and Honda, just last year," Nase explained upon seeing Merodi's curious gaze at the two boys.

  "Ahh…nice to meet you," Merodi bowed before turning her attention to the teacher who was to judge the tournament come up to the back end of the room.

  "Let's begin the 11th year of the Young Lion's Tournament, please," the man said.

  At once Merodi looked around the room and saw Sai making his way to the back end of the room.  Following him, Merodi sat down at the empty seat and faced her first opponent.

  (We're lucky Sai, Hikaru's not in the tournament this year…) Merodi conversed.

  (I wonder why…) Merodi asked herself.

  Looking at her opponent, she noticed that he made the first move.

  (You play…) Sai prodded.

  Sighing to herself, she did as she was told and began to play.  After all, if Sai didn't want to play at the moment, then she might as well.  But she wondered to herself why he was letting her play, all of a sudden, as of late.

  (Sai?)

  (Yes?)

  (Why are you letting play some of these games?)

  (…You and I both share the passion for Go, I can't always play the games…you should as well…) Sai explained.

  When he didn't say anything more, Merodi relented as she continued to play in the Young Lion's Tournament…, and won against her first opponent.

~.~.~.~

  Seeing that her opponent bowed his head in defeat, she coincided to his defeat, bowed her head as well before returning her attention on the Goban, and cleaned up her side as the white player.  After that, she rose from her seat and saw the other kids playing, those who were 20 and under.  Turning to her left, she saw Nase and another pro play and nearby were Fuku playing against Waya. 

  Waya, wasn't he…?
  (Waya-kun is Hikaru's good friend…) Sai informed her, noticing the young girl's eyes focusing on the red haired boy.

  (Demo…where's Hikaru?)

  (Touya Akira isn't here as well…)Sai added.

  At those words, she froze and took the time to stare around her surroundings.  Indeed, they weren't there.  And from the time that she had watched over them from the heavens, she knew that the two were rivals…eternal rivals when it came to Go. 

  (Wherever they are, they're together…ne?) Merodi lightly said, as she walked pass the many players and halted before the game between Fuku and Waya. 

  "So Shindo-kun and Touya aren't here because of a convention in Yokohama?" Fuku said as he cleared up his black stones while Waya dropped his white stones in his Go-ke.

  (A convention. That explains their absence.) Merodi noted, storing that information away.

  "Isumi-san and I are going to be going to Matsuyama with Shindo also, I think by that time…your Pro-preliminaries will be going into the final games," Waya confided.

  Merodi tuned the rest of the conversation off as she continued to wander around the room some more.

  The rest of the tournament ended up just as Sai and her predicted, they won the Tournament…all the way to the point that she even came up to the final competition, which baffled the judges as well as the fellow pro players.

  (Sai, should you play or I?) Merodi inwardly grinned as they faced the final opponent, which would surely let her grab the trophy of the Young Lions Tournament.

  Sai nodded his head vigorously as a signal that the ghost would be playing this match.  Turning her full attention on her opponent, she awaited her instructions.

  (Right of the upper star!) Sai instructed.

  *swish*

  *pa-chi*

  "This'll be fun…"Merodi cheerfully announced to her opponent, seeing that it ended up being Ochi.

  Pushing up his glasses, he only cast a glare, before fully turning his attention on the Goban.

  *pa-chi*

~.~.~.~

  As was expected, Merodi (or rather Sai) won the Young Lion's Tournament, managing to defeat the formerly undefeatable young Go Pro, Ochi Kousuke.  And as the month of May passed, July had come and thus began the Pro exam preliminaries.  Of course, as a top student in the Insei class, she was able to skip the preliminaries and immediately move on to the test.  And so, all she could do now was wait for the Pro Exams to be begin.

  "September, all we have to do is wait for September…Sai," Merodi fixed a hard glare at the screen before her as they began to log on once more. 

 (Merodi-chan is so serious now, but I can't help but feel the excitement as well.  So much joy…welling up inside of me!) Sai noted as he stood behind the girl and stared as immediate challenges began to fill up the screen.

  "Let's play, Sai…" Merodi said.

  "That one, let's play that one Merodi!" Sai excitedly said.

~.~.~

  The month of July came and passed to disappear to the month of September.  And it was during this time that Merodi entered the Go Institute, coming in contact with Fuku and Nase. 

  "I see you two came in early, shall we go?" at their nod, Merodi took a deep breath before she briefly glanced to her side to see the Go Genius.  His expression that of solemnity and in the pit of her stomach she could feel the tension of the room around her and yet, no panic no fear settled in her mind.  Only excitement and anticipation for the future that was to come, was this what Touya Akira felt or maybe…Shindo Hikaru?

  (Hikaru's goal was to reach Touya Akira, yet…during the Exam his main focus was to win.  Over here, we can't afford to lose either!) Sai grandly stated as he moved his hands for emphasis.

  Merodi nodded her head in agreement, as she took a seat in the playing hall.  Sitting down on her knees, she stared hard at the floor as she went over old kifus and the days that they would be playing.

  (Just like last year and the year before that, the days haven't changed over when the Exam will be taken.  Three days a week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday for two months.  And only three…three people with the top records get to become Pros…out of 27 games.)

  "Nanamakura-kun….Sasaki-san…" the judges called out for the students to draw out their numbers, this first day was used to draw and write down their names.  Later on, they would be scheduled to play against arranged opponents.

  Looking around, she noticed Nase and Fuku with anticipation and nervousness running all along their face.  And she also noticed one of the other Insei…Iijima-san come up to take his number as well.  He was always the one that hardly spoke during her time as an Insei but she noticed him converse with Fuku and Nase.

  "Ahh...sitting for such a long time hurts…" Merodi complained as she stretched her legs out before her.

  (Demo…Merodi-chan, you can sit longer than that...)Sai pointed out from behind the sleeve of his konoshi.

  (I know but during those times, I'm concentrating on my next move or the move of my opponent.  This was just sitting and being bored…) Merodi retorted.

  On the following days ahead, win after win came.  Some from Merodi's side and others on Sai's just like before.  Up to the point where it was only two more games before the end of the Pro-Exam.

  "Undefeated as of yet, Merodi-chan!" Nase congratulated as she popped up by her side.

  "Arigatou, Nase," Merodi said with a tinge of embarrassment, "And congratulations on yours and Fuku's wins as well.  I hear that there's only been two losses for you and Fuku both!" Merodi stated.

  "Hai!  We're doing well this year since Isumi-san and Honda aren't here to crush us," Nase joked.

  "Good luck tomorrow!" Merodi called out as she exited the changing station and made her way out of the building.

~.~.~.~

Morishita-san's Study Session:

~.~.~.~

  "Have you heard?" Saeki, a tall, lean man with light brown…almost blonde hair, suddenly spoke up in the silent room.

  At his words, everyone turned their attention to him as he placed a white stone on the Goban, making a soft 'pa-chi'.

  "The Pro-Exams are almost over, I wonder if the new students are going to be as strong as they are now," he conversed.

  "Oh!  I heard that Nase and Fuku are taking it again this year!" Hikaru cried out with glee and looked over to Waya who was glued to the monitor. 

  He had recently purchased a laptop and was now playing against an amateur Go player and after hearing Waya's exasperated sigh, he figured that it was a disappointing game.

  "Let's see…Pro-Exam…" Waya muttered under his breath and drew in his breath as he caught sight of the list of names appearing before the screen.

  "What is it?!" Hikaru cried out and bounced on over.

  "Nase and Fuku are still tied at two losses, and there's one who's still undefeated…" Waya stated aloud for the room to hear.

  "That's good that means that they'll pass this year!" Hikaru comfortingly exclaimed.

  "But, undefeated…and there are two more games left.  Who's the person?" Morishita inquired.

  "Aerea Merodi…"

  "…Merodi?" Hikaru said in a startled tone.

  (She's back?)

~.~.~.~

  There was only two more games, and as the young 14-year old girl entered the playing hall with the 1000 year old ghost.  His dark blue-almost violet eyes scanned the room before resting on their next opponent, a young man named Nanamakura.  From what she had heard of him, he wasn't too bad this year; having lost 6 games out of the total 27 games.  And as she sat before him, she discreetly turned her head to the ghost to see if he wished to play this game or she would.  At his stern gaze, she knew that it would be him playing this time and calmly waited as Nanamakura prepared to nigiri.

  "Two stones…even…"

  "5…6…8…even," Nanamakura's soft voice counted.

  "Onegaimashu," the two said to each other at once.

  Nanamakura-san was tense throughout the whole game.  Beads of sweat could be seen forming at the side of his head by the time that they had reached the middle of the game.  Sai, from the sound of his calm voice, wasn't the least bit phased by this player.  Although she could tell that he was a bit difficult from the amount of time that it was taking to reach the end of the game.  Either that, or Namakura-san was in denial at having to lose….

  "I resign," Namakura-san bowed his head in defeat and began to put away the stones.

  After putting away the stones, the girl rose up and marked her win.  26 games, all wins…and there was only one more left to go.  She couldn't help but grin at the sight of her unblemished…or rather, their, unmarked record of straight wins.  However, once they were inside the actual world of the Pros, it'd change…at least that's what she felt for the moment. 

  "Only one more game…" Merodi muttered to herself before stamping her opponent's loss.

~.~.~.~

  "Nase vs. Aerea," Hikaru read out loud from a Weekly Go Magazine that he had just purchased.

  "The final game for the Pro-Exam with her, think that she'll still go undefeated?" Waya asked.

  Thinking back, Hikaru recalled the many times that he had spent playing with her.  During that time, he was still learning Go but so was she.  Yet amazingly enough, she managed to catch on quickly and even surpassed him despite the fact that she had only begun learning for a few weeks. 

  (But she had watched various Go games during her time, and claimed to have read plenty of books about it throughout her years.  Up to the point that she can recreate games from sheer memory and will alone, her opening moves are perfect also.  So it's no wonder that she could have beaten me…and against Sai, she was able to play an even game against him.) Hikaru recalled, shaking his head from his reverie.

   "Shindo?" Waya called out to the boy who unconsciously blushed at having dazed off and looked at an expectant Waya.

  "Ano…I just remembered something.  Gomen nasai, Waya…" Hikaru apologized before he got up and hurriedly left the Go Salon they were staying at to pass the time away.

  Shindo Hikaru had known that he should've stayed and continued to practice on his Go.  Even more when it involved that it was his job to teach others and he was now getting paid for doing that.  However, it had also passed through his mind that it was only a few more minutes until his shift ended and that there were no more customers around.  Considering those, the young Go Pro had snatched that opportunity to drift to his favor and left the Go Salon. 

  He slipped into the next train that would take him near the Go Institute Building of Tokyo City.

  (Just made it…) Hikaru gasped as he leaned his head forward and placed both his hands on top of his knees, trying to catch his breath.

  "Shindo!"

  "T-Touya?!  Don't do that!" Hikaru clutched at his chest and immediately straightened up, his big green eyes widening at the sight of the green haired, green-eyed Go Pro.

  "…." He didn't respond as he waited for his rival to recover.

  "What are you doing here?!" Hikaru cried out after catching his breath.

  Quirking his eyebrow, Touya Akira merely stood there before moving out of the way, as the people behind them began to move up front to get to the exit.

  "This is a public vehicle if you haven't noticed," Touya replied.

  Before long, the city's structural buildings passed them in a blur before it slowed down to a stop at the next train station.  Just a few blocks away was a towering building that the two Pros knew all too well.

  "Well this is my stop," Hikaru mumbled as he watched the doors slide pass and he stepped through it.

  As he started to walk along with the jostle and hustle of the people around him, he noticed that his rival had also stepped out and was now following his path.  A few minutes later, he was keenly aware that Touya Akira was still close by.

  "Ano…Touya, where are you going?" Hikaru demanded.

  Touya cast a glare at him and stiffly replied, "The Go Institute."

  Frowning, Hikaru accepted his reasoning.  After all, Touya is a Go Pro so he must be meeting someone there or quite possibly, to visit the kifu room so he can brush up on his Go.

  (Not that he needs it…) Hikaru bitterly added in his mind.

  Seeing the Go Institute in sight, Hikaru quickened his pace and as he stepped inside the elevator, he saw that Touya had entered with him as well.

  (Just where is he heading?) Hikaru wondered to himself but shook the thought aside.

  "6th floor…the playing hall," Hikaru muttered under his breath and as the elevator made the familiar *ting*, the doors opened to let them out.

  Touya Akira stepped out first, followed by Shindo Hikaru and the trek down the hall was uncomfortably quiet.  But as the sight of the familiar light and the view of the many players inside the room was apparent for the two, the young bleached blonde haired boy couldn't help his excitement. And from the look of his rival's face, he immediately knew that from his façade, the boy was also happy at the sight of the upcoming future Go players as well.

  "You're here to see the results of the Pro-Exam, Touya?" Hikaru tentatively asked and at the nod of his head, he nodded as well.

  "Yeah, me too.  I heard that one of them was undefeated and I wanted to see the outcome of this last one.  Her name is…"

  "Aerea Merodi…" Touya Akira finished for his rival.

  "Aa…Merodi, I've played her before…" Hikaru nodded in affirmation.

  But as he took the time to observe his rival, he noticed that his attention was more focused on what was ahead of him.  Following his gaze, Hikaru took the time to stare as well and his eyes widened at the sight before him. 

  Before him, right at the front of the open paper door, was Nase and Merodi.  But that wasn't the surprise that greeted him.  It was the fact that right behind Merodi was Sai…

~.~.~.~

  "I…resign," Merodi could hear Nase's reluctant voice and soon the familiar sound of the Go stones being put away in the Go-ke could be heard. 

  Soon after, Merodi copied the girl as well and then turned to smile at the ghost behind her who softly smiled in return.

  (Ne, Sai…we finally made it.)

  "The world of the Pros…" Merodi whispered under her breath after cleaning up the last remaining Go stones.

  "…Aerea Merodi…"

  "…Sai…"

  Two different, yet distinct and familiar sounds reached her ears.  And at the same time, both voices made her blood freeze and her heat began to beat faster.

  Slowly, Merodi rose up from her sitting position and took the time to look at Sai.  She could see his surprised reaction but that completely changed to happiness and then faded to a quiet resolve and soft smile.  She knew what that meant; Hikaru…was the voice she heard. 

  Turning her figure around, she saw at the doorway was Touya Akira and Shindo Hikaru.  One with wide eyes, full of shock and bewilderment while the other remained calm and transfixed on catching her attention. 

  "Konnichiwa, Touya-san…Shindo-san…" Merodi politely bowed before the two Go Pros.

To be continued…

~.~.~.~.~.

  Hahaha…what an awful place to leave you, ne?  But I've been writing so much.  Sorry about that… ^^;;

  Don't forget to tell me the type of pairings that you want from this story! 

Pairings:

 Akira/Hikaru: 2

 Sai/Hikaru: 1

 OC/Akira:     1

 OC/Hikaru:   1