Hikaru held his breath. "What do you mean?" he asked, multitudinous thoughts and questions flooded his mind. Akira approached just in time for Waya's response.
"Just as I told you, I underestimated him since he held the stones like a total amateur, and I almost lost," Waya repeated, not very sure which part the blond pro did not understand.
Hikaru went silent for a moment, and turned to Akira, who winced at the pro's serious stare. "Four years ago...when you first played me," Hikaru asked slowly.
Akira pondered on the question and replied, "This does sound like what happened that time. I underestimated you, and by the time I realized your 'true' strength, I was unable to defend myself."
"W-wait a minute. You lost to Shindou FOUR years ago, when he couldn't even hold a stone properly??" Waya exclaimed unbelievably. He had thought it was already a miracle for Hikaru to become a pro in merely two years.
Akira nodded while Hikaru once again ruminated. No one was able to read his expression. 'Sai is with another kid, who can't hold a stone properly,' Hikaru tried to sort out his thoughts. 'Is Torichiro a worthier Go player than I am? But he couldn't even solve the easy Go problem I set up. Is he more talented than I am? Was it really Sai?'
"Ugh," Waya had learned years ago that attempting to figure out The Secret of Hikaru's Go (Ochii, Isumi and him usually refer this to 'HikaGo no Secret' for short) was a waste of time. "You know what. I'm gonna grab Isumi. I'll be right back."
He then headed off to save Isumi from a crowd of girls. Isumi, being the good-looking, cute, shy, and single pro, who had passed the pro exam undefeated, was the most popular Go player amongst girls. Especially at events where he was required to wear a suit, he could be easily located. Just look for the biggest crowd of female fans (mixed with several male ones), and you'd find the poor defenseless pro in the centre of crowd. When Waya finally made his way to the popular pro, he grabbed his arm. "Isumi, let's go!"
"Hai!" For an instance, Isumi was relieved until they noticed that the screaming grew as the crowd moved in.
"WayaIsu!! Over here!" Some girl yelled. They both turned to look and suddenly, flashes of cameras went off. "You two look so cute together!"
"Ugh!" Waya's grip tightened on Isumi's arm and violently pushed through the crowd. Both panting nervously, they met up with Hikaru and Akira. Waya scanned the four of them: Hika, Aki, Waya, Isu. 'Why does double date come to my mind?' Waya shuddered at the disturbing thought.
"We gotta leave, FAST!" Waya told them breathlessly.
"What happened?" Akira asked, wondering what had made the two pros looked so frightened.
"Those fangirls had just corrupted my virgin mind!" Waya looked as if he had just been violated. Although Akira still did not understand, he followed them out.
"Let's go, Shindou," Akira's voice interrupted his deep thoughts.
"Hn," Hikaru followed the other three pros out the door.
"Ho ho ho~" A familiar creepy laugh came from the elevator as it opened. "Looks like it's the new wave."
"Kuwabara-Sensei," All of them bowed to the white-haired old man politely and walked inside the elevator.
The door closed as Isumi shifted uncomfortably when the old man stared at him, "Isumi-kun, how are you?"
"Fine, thank you," Isumi had always been scared of the respectable yet creepy old pro.
"Have you been working out? You look bigger," Kuwabara placed his hand on Isumi's arm, which caused the young pro to wince. "N-no, Sensei."
"You know, Kuwabara-Sensei." Waya suggested. "There's an online club of Isumi that you might like to join."
"Really, which one is it?" The old man looked at the brunette curiously, while Isumi looked as if Waya had just spoken the forbidden words.
"Oh, there aren't many out there. You'll know which one I'm talking about," Waya said with a fake smile.
"Hmm," Kuwabara withdrawn his hand and turned to the dazed Hikaru. "Shindou-kun~ I thought your long-haired friend was back. Is he not with you?"
Hikaru raised his head and looked at the old man questionably, then turned to look at Akira, his long-haired friend.
"Ho ho ho~" The old man laughed. "I'm not talking about Touya-kun. The pretty one who wears a tall hat? I thought I saw him earlier today."
Hikaru stared at the Honinbo title holder, frozen. He didn't know many people with long hair that wears a tall hat. In fact, he could only think of one. All his uncertainties vanished in an instance. It was Sai. He was with Torichiro. Hikaru ran off to look for Torichiro the very moment the elevator door opened up.
"Shindou!" Waya called as he and the others walked out to the lobby. "Where are you going??"
The blond pro ran out to the street. He looked to the left, then to the right, then back to the right. No orange cap in sight. He immediately turned around, thinking that Torichiro must still be inside. He rushed to the elevator and pressed the 'Up' button numerous times impatiently. Ignoring his friends' questions, he headed toward the stairs when he noticed that the elevator was not descending at all.
Houses and trees passed the window of the bullet train at high speed. A boy with an orange cap sat still with his arms crossed.
"We should've stayed longer!" The cute ghost beside him whined, pouting. "Can we go back, Torichiro?? Pleeeeeasssee??" Sai tugged the kid's sleeve.
Torichiro's eyes glared coldly under the cap. "How am I gonna explain when they find out someone who couldn't even solved an easy Go puzzle almost beat a Go pro?"
"Hikaru would understand," Sai mumbled, playing with his own sleeves. "I miss Hikaru~!!!"
"Go's just not my thing, Sai," Torichiro sighed. "It is pretty fun, I must admit. But whenever I let you play, I get serious headaches! It's just not worth it."
Sai looked at the child. His words reminded him of Hikaru when he told him that he would not let him play Go anymore. "What do you mean?" Sai cautiously asked. Torichiro gave him a quick glance and looked away, feeling a little bad for the ghost.
"This is getting worse every time!!" Sai sobbed loudly. "Torajiro let me play for a whole lifetime. Then, Hikaru only let me play for two years. Now, you only let me play for two weeeeks??!!"
Hands covering his ears, Torichiro groaned, "Arg! You are giving me headaches again!! Why don't you just go back to Hikaru then?"
"I don't choose who I become attached to," The ghost told the boy sadly. "I thought I went to heaven after I left Hikaru." He put his index finger on his lips, thinking. "I'm pretty sure I did." His eyebrows now tied together, looking really confused. "I even applied for reincarnation!" He began to mumble to himself. "The administration people must've messed up...hmm...I never liked that angel with the mustache..."
The train started to slow down. "Eh? Torichiro, we are getting off already?" Sai asked as he noticed the boy stood up and walked off the train with a terribly bored expression on his face. The ghost quickly followed his 'master' out the door.
A/N: Torichiro is not just some kid! You'll find out what's so special about him that Sai had to return! I think only the 'master' of Sai can see him. So, since Hikaru's not his 'master' anymore, he is not able to see him...except for people who can see ghosts, like Kuwabara! I've always believed that Kuwabara can see ghosts. How else can he be so creepy-looking??!
