In the Forests of the Night
A Hikaru no Go Ghost story

Quick Spoiler Warning: I wrote this part long after I had written the original ending. Halfway through posting the monster, the official ending to the manga appeared. I was basically hit over the head by my muse, and suddenly, I found myself with another story. It really can't stand alone as an independent one shot, so I was at a loss as to what to do with it. Initially, I wasn't going to post this but Imbrium insisted. So if you liked it, it's her fault. She can be really really persuasive. At any rate, she's the one who made the thing readable.

Oh boy. Watch your step! Spoilers for Hokuto Cup Arc! Plus, CHANGE IN POV! Gasp!

Epilogue: Framing Symmetry

Something was wrong.

Touya Akira knew it as soon as Shindo Hikaru left the Igo salon ... without stomping away from their game. There was no yelling. No waving of arms. Even Ichikawa-san was unprepared when he went up to the counter and politely took back his book bag.

"Well, that was different," she said as they both watched Shindo walk away, his steps slow and measured. "Is he all right?"

Akira shrugged in reply, still finding himself a little nonplused. It had been such a normal game -- not spectacular in any way, shape, or form ... but still adequately challenging. And of course, Shindo had played with his usual zeal, neither giving ground nor quarter. The after-game discussion, however . . .

"He didn't try to argue with me. Not even once."

If he hadn't known better, Akira would've accused Shindo of not listening. Yet, his rival had countered each of his statements, albeit in a dry, toneless voice. And abruptly, just when Akira was about to get into what he thought was Shindo's most damning mistake, Shindo had stood up and announced he had to leave.

And then had proceeded to do so without even the slightest hint of drama.

That clinched it, at least in Akira's eyes. Something was definitely wrong. But what to do about it, however ... the uncertainty buzzed within him, a discordant sort of feeling that left him rubbing his arms absently.

"He didn't even call me an idiot," he murmured, "or tell me how he's going to kick my ass the next time.'"

"Oh boy. It must be serious." Ichikawa-san's lips quirked, the edges pulling upward slightly. "You're not going to let him get away with that, are you?"

"I ..." He remembered that dull, emotionless voice, remarking on each move as if the outcome hadn't mattered, as if who he played hadn't matt-- Akira clenched his teeth. I can't believe I'm obsessing about this! Why do I care? He's finally decided to be civil for once. I should be celebrating, not worrying. "It's not my business."

"Touya-kun," Ichikawa-san hesitated, then brought her chin up. "You still haven't told him about being away next week, have you?" She inclined her head toward the door.

"Well ..." Akira stared at the closed door. "I do have to tell him, don't I? Thank you, Ichikawa-san."

He was moving before he had finished his statement. He found he had to restrain himself from breaking out into a run. Luckily, Shindo had moved slowly, his steps unhurried among the blur of businessmen pushing home from work and the uniformed tide of students being released from cram school.

In the midst of the evening crowd, Shindo's slow meandering stood out like a rock against the whirl of a cascading river.

"Shindo! Wait!"

"Touya?" A puzzled look flashed across Shindo's face as he halted. "What are you doing here?"

Akira shifted his weight backward, suddenly feeling awkward. He hated the feeling, though it was one that his rival inspired with an alarming regularity. "I needed to tell you I can't play you until next week."

Shindo tilted his head. His brows drew together. "Huh?!"

"My family's going to Kyoto tomorrow, and we'll be there for the week. You know, for ..."

"Obon," Shindo finished. Akira could not read the expression on the other's face, but for a moment, he thought he saw sadness. "My family's going to Kasukabe. So I won't see you for a week either." He lifted a hand, waving it dismissively. "Okay. Later."

That really should have been the end of it. But something in Shindo's stance, though ... the way he had hunched over and crossed his arms low on his chest, perhaps, or the way he dragged his feet -- something just didn't feel right, and it stood out every bit as garishly as Shindo's obnoxious blonde bangs did against his otherwise black hair.

So I really shouldn't care but ... since I'm already here, he shrugged mentally. "Are you going home now?"

"No." Shindo started walking again. He raised an eyebrow as Akira jogged beside him. "Uh, Touya? Is there something else?"

"Where are you going?"

Shindo's pace faltered, then resumed its even length.

"You know, even if you put on an apron, you'd still wouldn't be able to pass for my mom," he snorted. "So why do you care? I'll be back, I'll play you again ... that's what matters, right?"

The comment should have stung, but Akira never lost a step. "Is it about our game?" he asked. "I thought it went well. You only lost by half a moku this time."

Shindo shook his head. "Just get off it, Touya. It's not about you. And I don't want to talk about our last game, okay? I know I lost to you by half a moku, by a stupid mistake even. Jeez. History sure loves to repeat itself, doesn't it?"

What does he mean by that? Akira wished he had a chance to stop and think, but Shindo increased his pace and he had to push to keep up. Half a moku ... why would that ...

Oh. Akira's memory stirred with an image of Shindo, half bowed over a goban. "Hokuto."

He didn't know he had said the word aloud until the other boy flinched. "Shindo ..."

Shindo swung his hand up, cutting off the sentence. "It's not about that."

"But . . ."

"This has nothing to do with you or that. And I promise you it's not about any of our games, okay? So just drop it." Shindo was really moving now, arms swinging as he barreled through the crowd.

Akira tried to ignore the dirty looks from the other pedestrians as he matched his rival, step for step. "Even if it's not about our games, that still doesn't mean I don't want to know."

"Yeah, right."

"You honestly think I don't think about anything besides Go, do you?"

"Well, duh!" Shindo rolled his eyes. "Isn't that what it's always about? Specially between me and you? It's not like we talk about anything else. Whenever you open your mouth at me, it's always to tell me that I need to improve so that I'm not such a big embarrassment to the nation and the game, or to rag on about how reckless I'm playing, or something Go-related like that. Hell, I'm used it it by now."

"I ...." the statements took him aback, and he nearly lost Shindo in the bustling melee. Is that really all I ever do? Is that all it adds up to ... talking about Go and yelling at him?

Maybe that's why today felt so odd, with him leaving as he did.

For a moment, he stood frozen, watching his opponent's retreating back, unable to give chase. This seems hopelessly familiar, he thought as he forced himself to move. Crap! I'll never catch him now.

I should get out more. Exercise. He sighed. At this rate, I'll need an act of GOD to ...

But perhaps the heavens were listening. Or perhaps they routinely sent salvation in the form of a rather rotund housewife. Whatever the case, Akira gave a mental thank you to the powers that be as Shindo smacked into the woman at the turn of the corner and bounced flat onto his rear. As it was, Shindo had just finished spluttering his apologies when Akira finally caught up.

"Touya! Go away!" Shindo spat as Akira grabbed his arm.

"I'm not here to play tag with you! Just stand still and be quiet! When I said that you'd embarrass the whole nation if you didn't win at Hokuto, I --"

"Uggh! I can't believe you!" The other boy balled his hands into fists, and he lowered his head and closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. When he finally looked up, his eyes had narrowed into that familiar, arrogant glare. "I don't care about what you said at Hokuto! That wasn't the problem! You were right to say what you did. I needed to win. And you were right that it wasn't an end. That there is no end. "

"Still, every time we talk Go, you know I don't mean to --" Akira stopped, unable to quite voice the thoughts spinning in his mind. "You know, don't you?"

Jerking his arm out of Akira's grip, Shindo threw both hands in the air. "What is with you today? You're always ragging on me, yah, but jeez. ... it's fine. You don't have to get all weird about it. You're my rival. The way I see it, being jerks to each other is a part of our job description."

With one last, angry huff, Shindo broke away.

"What do you mean by that?" Akira didn't have enough voice left to yell, but luckily, his words seemed enough to reach his opponent anyway.

Sighing loudly, Shindo spun around on one foot. "I don't have time for this. Just ... I know, okay? I know you were only trying to make me do my best, back during the cup. So don't you dare apologize. Especially not for trying to make me win. Not for ... believing I could ... for yelling at me until I do, reminding me that I have to ... for giving me a reason to fight. All right? I needed that. I still need that. Especially when I need to win. Especially when I'm defending his honor ..."

"What? Who's honor?"

Shindo started walking again, but to Akira's relief, it was at a normal speed.

"Who's honor?" he insisted as he kept pace.

"The honor of Japan of course," Shindo amended. They had reached the train station now. Shindo took out his wallet and bought a ticket. After noting the amount, Akira did the same.

Shindo's mouth narrowed into an increasingly tense line. "Touya. For the last time, what I'm doing ... where I'm going ... it really has nothing to do with games or tournaments or cups ... or anything like that. It might be even a little ..." he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's something I just gotta do. Alone."

"Fine. I'll leave you alone when you tell me where you're going. And why."

"It's none of your business! Why do you ... Why are you ..." Shindo clenched his teeth, as if physically biting back the rest of his questions.

It was just as well. Akira didn't actually have any answers.

Shindo turned away slightly, his posture tense. "This has nothing to do with you."

"But ..." Akira took a deep breath. Why can't I let this go? "It does."

"Okay, what?!" Shindo crossed his arms. "What do you mean it does'?! You don't even know about --" he bit his lip forcefully, then subsided.

"Look, I'll play you next week. Same time. Same place." He flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture. "We'll do the whole 'being jerks to each other' thingie again, okay?"

Gritting his teeth, Akira leveled his best glare at his opponent. "No. You can't get rid of me that easily, Shindo. Even if this is NOT about our games ... it doesn't always have to be, does it?"

Shindo stared at him, fists half raised and defiant. "What do you think?"

"I ..." He found he couldn't meet Shindo's eyes any longer.He stared at a point just beyond his rival's shoulder, jaw set, stance defiant.

"Ugggh!" Shindo grunted. "You're just sooo ... arrrrgh! FINE!"

It wasn't quite the affirmation Akira was looking for, but Shindo made no other protest when he followed him through the turnstiles and up the stairs. The train pulled in just as they reached the platform.

Though the car was only mildly crowded, both of them chose seats across from each other. The distance eased the need for conversation. Akira took the chance to study his rival further, noting the tired slump in Shindo's shoulders and the way that his head bent forward, causing his hair to hide his face. But most of all, he noted the absolute stillness that had descended over the other boy. How long has Shindo been like this? Since Hokuto? Or before ...

He's learned silence, somewhere, somehow. Akira rubbed his arms, wondering at the sudden chill. He didn't think it was because of the air conditioning on the train, though.

The only time Shindo was ever this quiet was in the midst of a Go game. Even then, there was an intensity in the young Go pro that spoke of the surging energy just below the calm surface, a force that could erupt any moment with the most powerful of moves.

Not even the barest flicker of that energy remained now. Shindo looked exhausted, as if he had lost every game he had ever played. He had one hand shoved in his right jacket pocket. The edge of a purple tassel tumbled out from between his fingers.

His fan, Akira guessed. During the Hokuto cup, Yashiro had asked about Shindo about its constant presence, and Shindo had replied that it was a good luck charm. Akira, though, thought it might be more than that. Yet another mystery.

Six stops later, Shindo rose abruptly. Akira followed suit, though the weaving crowd of passengers made tracking his rival rather a challenge. He did lose sight of Shindo for a moment, as a mother with three children, two of whom were wrestling for the same piece of candy, crossed his path.

However, he found the other boy quietly waiting for him at the outside the ticket turnstiles. Akira raised an eyebrow. Maybe Shindo wants company, despite what he says.

"Shit! It's getting really, really dark," Shindo grumbled as he walked out of the station and into the lengthening shadows. "I didn't mean to let the last game drag on so long. Or get into a fight with YOU."

One by one, the street lights snapped on with an audible hiss. Akira did not like their harsh, blue-white glow. The lamps leeched the colors out of their surroundings and sharpened the edges and corners of each shape, making everything seem overly angular and cutting. As if following his train of thought, Shindo crossed the street, heading for a dimmer sidewalk on the other side. A few minutes later, he stopped in front of a large torimon gate.

Akira carefully schooled the expression on his face, trying not to gawk. A cemetery?! And here I thought the ramen fetish was strange . . . I really don't know anything about him, do I?

Sometimes, just hanging around the other boy made Akira feel as if he was swimming across some vast sea with no known depth. Though now and then, Shindo did throw him a float or two, a sudden insight into his complicated personality. Maybe this will be one of those times?

"See? It does connect, so I WAS right." Shindo muttered.

Or perhaps ... not.

Akira folded his arms. "What are you talking about?"

"I ..." Shindo threw a glance back over his shoulder, then shrugged. "Nothing.

"Are you here to pay respect to someone? For Obon?"

"In a way," Shindo swept a hand through his hair. In the heat, the strands had become matted, and they stayed flattened as his fingers passed through them. In fact, all of Shindo's bearing seemed even more subdued than before. In response, Akira felt himself growing more quiet and still.

"I know it's a day early, but I won't be back until Obon's over. But I wanted to be here. Because maybe . . ."

"Maybe what?"

"Nothing."

Akira blew a breath out, squashing the uncharacteristic urge to wrap his hands around his rival's neck and squeeze.

It certainly would be satisfying, but I don't think they'll let me play Go anymore if I'm in jail. Drat . . .

Shindo halted for a moment, just barely a step from crossing the torimon gate into the cemetery. "Wait. Do you watch any horror movies? The Ring? Blair Witch? Poltergeist? Aliens?"

"What?! Aliens?!" Just what are we going to do here?

"It's nearly Obon, you know, and sometimes ... sometimes things do come back." Shindo's eyes were very, very intense, but his gaze seemed to look through Akira, instead of at him. It was rather unnerving. "And you really don't look like the type to go wandering around in cemeteries on the eve of one of the most holiest of days."

"Are you trying to scare me, Shindo?!" Akira narrowed his eyes. It's almost working, actually.

"Nevermind. I think you'll be okay." Shindo nodded decisively. "Your mind really isn't all that open, and you don't watch the horror stuff, so you probably don't believe enough. Yeah."

"WHAT?!" Aliens, Akira thought. Aliens would definitely make a lot of sense where Shindo Hikaru is involved. "Did you just insult me? Again?!"

"Oh! Er. Not really. Hey, trust me, it's better to be narrow-minded here. Less stuff can get in."

"Calling me narrow-minded is an insult!"

"Uhh ... I gotta go now." Shrugging his shoulders, Shindo proceeded through the gate of the cemetery and onto the path. His gait remained steady despite the uneven heights between each stone. It was as if he had crossed this particular trail many times before.

Taking a deep breath, Akira followed, glancing at the well kept grounds. Cemeteries held no mysticism over his imagination, but he really did not have all that much experience with them. He and his family paid their respects to Akira's grandfather, who had passed when he was three, but other than that, he was far too young and ... far too lucky in that he had not needed to come all that often to such a place.

Shindo, on the other hand ...

It was almost like an almost tangible aura around him. It was in the way Shindo muttered to himself sometimes, or looked back over his shoulder for something not there. The way his face would fall, and how his hand would steal into his pocket, squeezing the fan slightly.

Shindo Hikaru was not a stranger to loss, on that Akira was willing to bet his current Dan ranking.

They had made it almost all the way through the graveyard when, without warning, Shindo stopped. Bending over, he knelt along the long grass to the side of the path. "I think ... It should be here somewhere."

"What are you looking for?"

Shindo peered up at him. "A shrine, a small one, but with a kami-statue of a kitsune. Should have a tea setting on it. But don't knock it over if you see it, okay? I don't want the trouble."

As per usual with Shindo, this instruction made no sense whatsoever. It's like being in a play, Akira thought, only he's on act sixteen while I'm stuck on line one.

"Why do you want to ..." Akira paused when it became apparent that Shindo was ignoring him. The other boy had dropped to his hands and knees, pushing aside the long grass and peering around the stone markers. The sun had almost fully set now, and the darkness deepened among the graves. "What can I do?"

"Just stand over there. I don't want you getting in the way."

Akira gritted his teeth at the challenge in Shindo's voice. Why does he always get to me?! he wondered as he knelt down as well, searching among the brittle grass. The drought had made the stems unusually dry, and the blades crackled as he swept them apart. The heat of the earth bled through Akira's pants, and the chirr of the cicadas rose and fell in hypnotic waves. Both boys did not speak as they searched. Besides the cicadas and the occasional crunch of his and Shindo's footsteps against the gravel, there was no other sound in the cemetery.

He had always liked silence, so the almost-silence in the cemetery didn't bother him. It was oddly comforting, in fact, reminding him of the space between Go moves, where anything was possible.

Later, he could have sworn the thing had sprung up from the ground, overly fast like mushrooms after a night's rain. He hadn't gone ten paces into his search when there it was, straight in front of his face ... a kitsune shrine to Inari, with a setting of tea on its altar. For Obon, the priests had tied a bright red apron around the small statue and the stone had been washed and polished until it gleamed, even in the waning light. The effect was such that, if Akira hadn't know better, it would've seemed like the statue was ... winking ... at him.

Why Shindo wanted to find such a strange shrine was something that puzzled him greatly. "Shindo? Is this what you're looking for?"

"Where?!" Moving so fast that he nearly tripped over his own feet, Shindo hurried over. "You found it?!"

"And what do you mean by that!?"

"Just ... it's you and you're so uh...." Shindo itched the back of his neck .

"Just so narrow-minded, you mean?" he stated blandly.

"I .." Shindo grimaced. "It's just with stuff like this ... it's just weird okay?! I really don't have the time and this is really not the place."

Akira paused, feeling the first pricklings of guilt filter through him. It is rather disrespectful ... he winced. The statue now seemed to be smirking at him. Akira backed away a step, and the effect faded. Just a trick of the shadows, he thought.

"Shindo ... really ... what is this all about?" he took a deep breath, and met Shindo's expression squarely. "Can you tell me that much at least?"

"I ... can't."

"Why not?!"

"Uh ... w-well ..." Shindo stammered. His eyes flitted back and forth from the shrine to Akira. "UGH! You should've just stayed at the Go salon."

"Why!? You're the only one I want to play there, you idiot!"

Shindo blinked. "Oh."

Why did I say that? Akira groaned. The grin spreading across Shindo's face was insufferable.

"Watch it, Touya. You almost gave me a compliment."

Feeling acutely embarrassed, Akira turned away. The silence didn't feel the slightest bit comforting anymore.

After a few smirking moments, Shindo reached into his backpack and withdrew a ...

Onigiri?! It's a rather ... lopsided ... onigiri ...

Shindo glared at him, almost daring him to comment, but Akira merely glared back.

"I don't have any answers for you," Shindo finally said. The timbre of his voice changed, sliding into something resonant and somber. "Not right now, at least. Maybe not even some day.' Maybe not ever."

To his own surprise, Akira shrugged. "That's okay. I can still be here anyway, right?"

After few more moments of strained silence, Shindo nodded once. He shuffled towards the shrine, then knelt. His hands trembled, as if he was balancing something overly heavy. The fan had also made an appearance again, clutched in Shindo's right hand.

"Please," Shindo said, his voice soft and indistinct. Akira knew then that his rival was not addressing him anymore. He felt his skin prickle and wondered if it was the wind.

With a careful bow, Shindo placed the onigiri in front of the kitsune statue. His voice dropped into inaudible murmur. The purple tassel of his fan swayed, pendulum like, as he put it down parallel on his knees. Then he clapped his hands together, palm to palm.

It was like watching a prayer, but not understanding the faith. Something in Shindo's movements held the weight of reverence, and Akira felt as if he was the worst sort of voyeur -- one who watched pain without understanding, unable to look away.

He did not know how long he knelt beside his eternal rival. He did not even know why. But strangely, he found the question no longer mattered. Because I can still be here. Even if I don't understand.

It was like being shaken awake when Shindo finally took back his fan and placed it carefully into a pocket. He then rose from his kneeling position and clapped three times. The sound broke loud and sharp in the ponderous silence of the dark gravestones. Shindo's eyes were bright underneath the artificial light of the lamps -- too bright perhaps. And larger than Akira could ever remember seeing them.

Despite the heat, he shivered. For a moment, they stared at each other, without blinking, without moving, and in the space of their silence, Akira heard a whispering susurration, not unlike the rush of a river over stones. He caught the flicker of something silver, and for a moment it was like being in the liquid drift of a dream, of rivers and rain, with something like starlight surrounding him.

"It's not always about Go, is it? It really isn't." he whispered, then wondered why he did so.

"No," Shindo said. "It isn't ... and it is. Between us, it's both."

"I ..." Akira paused. Rivers and rain, and starlight everlasting.

"I ... I don't get it!" he growled in frustration. "What are you TALKING about, Shindo?!"

"I don't know. You're the one that said it!"

"Can't you ever just make sense?!"

"No!" With that, Shindo turned toward the gates of the cemetery again. "Let's get back. I think I still have time to beat your scrawny butt. Hey, let say loser buys dinner! I've been wanting some miso ramen ..."

"Excuse me? We are NOT eating ramen. Not again!" With an uncharacteristic grunt, Akira threw his head backwards, staring at the star-filled sky. "Kami-sama help me." he muttered.

And he could have sworn the heavens answered with a laugh.

Owari ... for real this time! :)

Authors Notes:

AKA: Holy crap. And I thought the story was long!
AKA: She hasn't betaed this. Run. Ruuuuuuun!

First off, I really really didn't mean for it to take so long. Six months?! Oy. That's just really inexcusable, even if I plead that life really took a chunk out of my hide. I hope some of you came back at least. hopes really really hard I hope even more that you're not bringing sharp sticks with you this time, even though I deserve it (or worse!)

Because, yup, it's done. For real this time! Over a year and a half, countless rewrites, and much poking with sharp sticks, it's finally done!! And I didn't even have to make mincemeat out of Hikaru. ;)

Though I do have mixed feelings about this. As in flying airplanes, the hardest part is the takeoff and the landing. Screwing up on either part means you've totally wrecked the story. As much as I hate muddling a beginning, mishandling an ending terrifies me even more, mainly because I do have an obligation to you, the reader, to have the ending make some sort of sense.

I mean, if the beginning stinks, people generally click the back button on the browser and leave. However, having lead you on a merry chase through 100,000 plus words (Nope, not kidding you), bungling the ending means I've not only wasted my time, I've wasted yours as well. Which really does suck sour grapes. sigh

Still, I wouldn't have made it this far though, without these kind and lovely (if not slightly insane) people who gave me encouragement along the way:

Aishuu, Funkegirl, Kaitou Magician, Yukiko, Inverso, Lavondyss, Nadia-kun, ladyastralis, Sakurastar-63, Jenglory, Imbrium, Flame-spectre, Dark Cyradis, Illusioness, linda, always together, Kira Seldon, Wanderer, Sosiqui, Boko the Guitar-Playing Chocobo (aka Kou Kagerou of the Willow and Star Knights), tarigwaemir, Knightess Silver, Cheska, reichan, Lita of Jupiter, Coca-Cola, Kailun, chris, Halcyon Clouds, Darak, Yuri, winter light, E2k, Erin Ellis, Xiaoyue, Shingo the Pest, Moonphantom, Jessie-chan, Bea4231, firedraygon97, CM Aeris Queen of Insanity, Kamitra, Ookla the Mok (hehe, spelled right this time, I hope!), sawdust, Dephanie, Universe, Kionala, Shitsumon, Sakura117us, Kalena/Sydnee(?), liz, Jaid Skywalker, summercloud, Prismatic, anon, Dragon Lady 9, ying87, ShiniJekka, fireash, Akira, and GoldenRat.
Individual shoutouts go to (and this will be long, so you guys might as well take a chair and grab your favorite beverage of choice and/or skip this part. I know I should've replied by e-mail. I'm such a lazy sod!):

Lavondyss -- Hola again! ;) Hehe, you're back! Yay! You've always been with me since the beginning (more than a year and a half ago! Wow!) so I'm always grateful to see you in the reviews! Thank you so much for sticking with me until the end. It means a heckuva whole lot! Unfortunately, the answer to your questions is "none of the above" ... I'm not really good at anything but muddling my way around a plot. I had the beginning planned out from when I started, but the story took a sorts of detours along the way. o. For one thing, I hadn't planned to spend THAT much time on the whole kitsune thing. And the Touya Akira part? Well. That was rather unexpected ...

Jenglory -- Ohayo again! I hope the weirdness of Chapter ten didn't bother you too much. ;( Everything did get kinda muddled there, didn't it? blushes but I hope that the final result didn't disappoint. Hehehe, since you followed me over from the Promises story, I've felt a little bad ... mainly because I've dragged out TWO stories you were kind enough to review me on, without an end in sight. I hope this makes up for some of the pain. If not, hands out the pointy stick feel free to poke away! And always, I appreciate the review! ;)

liz -- guten tag! Thanks for reviewing me! I'm really sorry about the cliffhanger -- and for leaving it up for so long. It was a bit evil. I hope you liked the ending though! Yah, Go as a bloody battlefield still makes me wince a little. It's like taking Hikaru no Go and making it all Dragon Ball Z. Ouch! I just have something for swords, I guess. But I'm glad the starfield part worked for you! Yay! And that Sai wasn't too OOC in your opinion. That's what I've been worrying about the entire time I've been writing this hippo of a ficcie. Meh. But reading a review like yours helps. ;)

Kamitra -- Konnichi wa once more, my journal-buddy-who-is-also-a-translating-genius. Yay! G Well, ummm ... Hikaru doesn't stay dead. snerk He does kinda win the day, but with help. shrugs I couldn't help it. He looked all ... sad and ... bloody lying there. And I'm a coward ... I was worried people were going to really spork me to death if I left him that way. G TTYL, same place, kay?

E2K -- 'Allo again! Well. I sorta killed him. But he got better! ;) Actually, I think your English isn't bad at all. I tend to muddle up my own English as well, so it's probably my fault that things were a bit hard to understand. The mark of a good story, after all, is that it's easily accessible to the readers. blush I'll have to work on that. Look at it this way; I can't write in any language but English (and that's debatable), so the fact that you can write in two (or more) languages really impresses me. Anyway, thank you for writing to me again. And yup, Hikaru is alive and kicking at the end of the story. I don't know if this is a good thing, but he seems happy about it ... G

Universe -- Salutations again! Hehe, this is the real ending! I swear! Sorry about the confusion before. I deserve to be poked with a pointy stick for that. I have to agree ... Part 10c can be rather confusing; I apologize for that. To be honest, I'm not good with the metaphysical stuff, so I'm not surprised that it came out a bit weird. Luckily, it's over now. I'll try to look and maybe rewrite it later, so maybe it won't be so muddled. blushes I hope the real ending makes sense though! Thanks for reviewing me again!

Shimizu Hitomi -- Hilo again! Hehehe, you are one of the very few resident Go geniuses in the HNG fandom ;) (Kamitra is another one! Hee!). I really should give you a consulting fee. nods I think you're absolutely right about the seki ... I don't think it would work in a real life game. I was trying to be all symbolic, but I think I ended up being stupid. o. Oh well, I'm used to that by now. blush. The game I used was actually Honinbo Shusaku vs. (Honinbo) Ito Shuwa, 1851. Incidentally, I believe I re-used the first game that Hikaru plays with Akira when they first met (erm. I think I have this right, but I'm not 100 sure). I know, I know, it's a bit weird that I reuse the game, but again, I was going for the symbolism and failing miserably. Anyway, the moves are pretty much from 50-100, and you can see the map here:

I really have too much time on my hands. sigh Thank you for reviewing though!

Jaid Skywalker -- G'day to ya! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking the story so far ... in fact, hehehe, I'm relieved you made it to nearly the end. Phew. The Perfect Characters Guide is a manga guide that came out a while ago in Japan. I believe Toriyama World (The Great and All Powerful) still has the Sai 1000 Year Wanderer comic in question up here (sans spaces): http : www .brainfart. org / hikago / extras / extras. htm Hehehe, it's well worth the download. ;)

summercloud -- Buenos Dias! And um ... gomen nasai. :( sniffle I feel kinda bad. I couldn't leave it without a happy ending! I just couldn't. Well, um ... maybe this might help? I think, in a way, I'm meaner to Hikaru in this ending than I am in cutting him in half. Hikaru basically goes on never knowing that yah, he doesn't have a lifetime to figure out how to live with Sai ... and doesn't really treasure what he has with his friend until it's too late. In a way, that's kinda as bad as being cut in half. Sorta. Um. looks up contritely thanks for the review anyway. G If ya want, you can poke me with a sharp stick or something. I just can't do angst! sighs

Kaitou Magician -- Ni hau ma again! Um. blush I don't know what to say. Hehehe. Your review was really really nice. Um. I hope the ending lived up to your expectations as well! And I'm very happy to see that you returned ... you were one of my first reviewers. ;) Wow. Thanks for sticking with me!

Prismatic -- Greetings! Um. I didn't mean to make your cry. Um. I hope this makes up for it, huh? Er. He is better! Yay! BTW: I know what you mean ... I've found reading fanfic in the prescence of roomates to be a bit of a daunting experience myself. Especially the funny ones ... there's nothing like having someone ask "Why are you oinking?!" "I'm laughing!" "Why?!" "Because ... umm ... nevermind!" sort of thing. Hehe. Yay for privacy! And thanks for your review! ;)

Ookla the Mok -- O-ha again, o stupendous one. Um. Sorry for the name misspelling. I'm the mook sigh. Heh. Sincerely, I'm really embarassed. You may blast me now, a la Space Ghost. cringes Well, no matter how I mangle your name, I still think you rock muchly, giving your time to TW and all. And yup, I actually do have vol. 1 of FMA ... been thinking about picking up another sooner or later. Thanks for coming round to review again. ;)

anon -- Hallo! Thanks for reviewing me! Um, I hope you liked the epilogue and it's inclusion of Touya Akira. Originally, there were supposed to be other cameos by the Go-tachi at the Nine Stars, but it really didn't work out. Hikaru just likes to hog the viewpoint, for some reason or other. Bad Hikaru! But otherwise, what did you think?

Dragon Lady 9 -- Aloha! Um. Wow, thank you for your review! Both of them! bgblush Unfortunately, I think they made my ego swell to the size of a small planet. winces Ow. There's no room for my brains anymore. Sincerely, thank you though. I hope to write stories someday professionally. I'm certainly getting a lot of practice, and encouragement like yours helps a lot. Hey, you keep writing too. We fan-ficcers gotta stick together, y'know. :)

Sydnee -- Annyong Hashimnikka (again?)! Thank you for reading and reviewing! ;) And yup, I put Hikaru back in one piece. He was kinda really pathetic all sliced up like that, huh? I'm not sure if this was what Hotta-sensei had in mind in regards to the Hand of God, but I've always loved how deftly she handled the games and the character development, so I had to try to capture some of that in what I was doing too. I'm not certain I managed that at all, to be honest, but thanks for saying that I came somewhat close. blush It means a lot. ;)

Ying87 -- Bonjour! Thanks for the review! Hehe, no worries on reviewing each and every chapter ... that's like ten chapters! It's much too long! o. Hehe, I hope you do like the real ending though. nods And thanks for the compliment on Osusuki. I always worry about what you guys think, since he's sorta an original character. I'm not sure what I think about him myself. (Though yup, you're right ... he'd probably eat you if you tried to pet him. sigh But he'd eat ME first for putting him in the story in the first place, so if you can run really really fast, you're probably safe. G).

Kionala -- Selamat again! Thank you for reading the story again (I hope!), even if I killed Hikaru temporarily. (He got better!) I still feel really guilty about slicing him up like that. I'm so bad. . I don't blame you if you don't come back to read, but I thank you all the same. ;) Yay!

Shingo the Pest -- Tena koe again! G I knew I had smart readers. ;) YAY! Hehehe, I'm glad you like the fact you-know-who showed up. He was a bit hard to keep in the background, but I was hoping that it wouldn't be TOO out of the blue for him to pop up and save ol' Hikky's rear end. And hehee, I hope you liked the epilogue too ... cause there's more of him in there. ;) Ah well. I think I do have a soft spot for our Haku-lookalike, even if he has the most horrid taste in clothes. Thanks for the reply. I thought it was quite coherent, myself. G

Firedraygon97 -- Salaam again! Heee, thanks for the comments! The battle scene was a pain in the situpon to write, so I'm glad it came off somewhat well. ;) I was really worried about it being boring. (I mean, Go isn't something that really works with swords, no matter how much I fudge about it.) As for the mysterious hero figure, yup, he does kick much dark lord bottom! G I mean, considering who he is, I'm not surprised. (TA can kick much arse when he wants too!)

CM Aeris Queen of Insanity -- Shalom again! Thanks for coming back! Hehe, I really love the anime too. It's great to see everyone given voices and color, isn't it? And to watch some of the intensity between all the characters animated .... yeah, it's awesome. I kinda really like the manga better, but that's only by a narrow margin. But no, hehehe, I don't think is anywhere near the quality of the manga or the anime. Hotta Sensei rocks muchly. It's so easy getting inspiration when you have the best source material around. Well ... look at it this way. Naruto is useful for some things, isn't he? While your other boys are away. nods He can leap up tall trees with a single bound! (after much practice, that is. snerk).

ShiniJekka -- Salve! Thank you for reviewing me! And so nicely too. G Man, the ego, it is inflating at an alarming rate. o It's like y'all have been feeding it happy meals or something. Good grief. Seriously though, wow, I'm glad that the last chapters were so well received by you. To be honest, there's a lot of fun for me too, when I write. And it especially helps when I get reviews like yours, so the thank you is really mutual.

always together -- Yay! Another journal friend! ;) Lo-ha to you many times over. You liked Torrie-poo? ;) Wow! He was kinda hard to write for awhile, because I didn't want to make him into a Gary-stu. Poor Torajiro. I really didn't know what to do with him. Hehe, I really did like Swinging a Sword at the Waves, though I think I wrote the whole battle scene long before I read that. But it's a great piece, and a powerful one, so yay! DEFINITELY worth reading. Hikaru does become quite the fan-boy, doesn't he?! g I've said it a lot of times to you, but still ... thanks for all the support you give me. ;)

fireash -- Salut! Wow, you reviewed three times. Thank you! I'm sorry FFNET gave you such a hard time ... it doesn't really like me either, so I sympathize. It tends to eat at least one of the chapters every time I load something. Meh. But that aside, hehehe, yeah, it's one of the longest nights EVER. I think the actual timeframe of the story takes place within a nine hours ... Hikaru leaves Waya's house at around eight thirty or so and he doesn't end up out of the Wandering until around five thirty in the morning. It does feel like a WHOLE lot longer, doesn't it? winces Meh. I'm never good at keeping time. Heh. Maybe I can fudge by saying Osusuki can bend space and time? looks hopefully drat. You got me. G.

Coca-Cola -- Howdy again! Woot! Thank you for coming back. Hehehe, sorry about the Kojoro thing. I'm afraid she got packed back to the Wandering as soon as dawn broke. Them's the rules, I guess. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Hikaru has a stalker for awhile, even if he doesn't see her. She's that creepy, I guess. The Touya Akira thing was almost yaoi?! ebil grin Really?! Well, if you wanna think about it that way, go ahead. No arguments from me, although I think it's purely accidental. G. Good point about calling Akari as Fujisaki. I just felt weird, since I was going by everyone's last names to put her first name. But you're probably right ... I don't know. shrug I'll think about changing it in the repost! ;) Anyway, I hope you liked the ending. Even if it is Kojoro-less, I put more Touya Akira in! ;p

rei-chan -- Hoi again! Oh. blush Um, thanks for saying all those nice things in the review. Um. I didn't mean to do all that ... it was rather an accident, really. But I'm glad you enjoyed it .... ;) even if I almost made you cry. Warrgh. sigh Hope the ending made everything better! G

Kou-Kagerou -- Durdathawhy once more! Yay! Seeing your name always makes me grin ... I remember your first long name, ya' know. It's one of the most unique out there. Hehehe, I bet you draw better than I do! (I'm insanely curious to see what you came up with ... not to mention very very flattered that anyone would draw a picture for the story. Imbrium does, but that's only after I bug her to!) If you ever finish, please please please send it along. I bet it's a lot better than you think it is. ;) I'm sorry about the long time between updates; I know it makes it hard to read when you're going from part to part. Mea culpa! :( . Hee, I know it must be the longest night ever. Rawr! Believe it or not, it's supposed to take place in nine hours, but it takes like forever. Oh well. Thank you for your review again ... I hope the epilogue didn't disappoint!

Akira -- Buenos Noches (Dias?) to you too! Hehehe, thanks for giving my story a try! EIGHT hours!? Good grief ... I knew I was longwinded, but man, that's a bit much, huh? Sorry for keeping you up late! But I'm glad you enjoyed it ... at least this update was shorter, eh? I know, I know ... eight hours ... that's amazing. Thanks for keeping with it though! ;)

Tarigwaemir -- Maido ookini, Journal buddy! Hehehe, thanks for the review (and for visiting the ol' LJ. ;)) Actually, reading your review really did make my day. I was really leery about the whole Heart of the Game thing, since it does sound like something straight out of some weird shonen dragon-ball-z-esque type of manga, instead of something that would be out of HNG. The biggest problem was how to write the Go thing without being too cheesy ... the message I loved the most about the manga is that in the end, there is no end. I dunno if I pulled it off in the actual story, but I'm glad you thought that I came close. Yah, it totally made my day to read that. I hope the actual epilogue didn't disappoint either! Hehehe, I'll see you around the LJs to see what you think. ;)

GoldenRat -- Jambo sana! Hehee, you just squeaked right in before my next update. Thanks for reviewing me ;). I'm glad you decided to read the story and give me a review on it! G It's always cool to know that right before you update, at least there will be one reader returning (I've been delaying this by six months, so I worry!). At least I didn't make you wait too long, I hope. (I'm still horrid to the other reviewers. Sigh).
The VERY VERY LAST WRITING NOTES FROM ME EVER! YAY! :

And as always, much thanks goes to Imbrium, who has stuck with me for over a year now, listening to me whine about the story, and who read the ending so many times that I think she knows it better than I do.

I also had a bit of help from Eryne-chan this time round, who read chapter 10 and was invaluable in giving me feedback about how the ending was. Words cannot encompass how much good beta readers help a story. Without the support I've gotten from all of you, whether you helped with my grammar, commented on story points, or just reviewed and gave me encouragement, I wouldn't have been able to finish this thing. In the end, the story turned out to be more than 100,000 words (105,005 -- give or take a few hundred) and eleven chapters long. It's officially novel sized, much to my dismay. If you made it this far, you deserve some sort of reward or something. I still can't believe I wrote a novel length fanfic about Hikaru No Go.

I especially thank those of you who have been with me from the very beginning. You've had to wait more than a year and a half for the story to play out. I hope I didn't try your patience too much or stretched your suspension of disbelief past the breaking point. As several of you have pointed out, it's the longest. night. EVAAAAH!

As always, any comments, questions, and critiques are always welcomed. If you think there's a loose end I haven't tied up, please let me know. I plan to post a clean copy (sans these author notes) in about two months time, so if there are any plot holes, I will do my best to get them covered and fixed. The next to last part reads too much like an explication chapter anyway. All I'm missing is Jimmy the Reporter boy asking " Gee golly whiskers, Superman, how DID you save the whole world and get the girl at the same time?!" I wish I was better at working that sort of stuff in. blush

I'm still not so sure I should have included the Touya Akira epilogue ... the switch in POV is very strange, and I had a hard time getting a grip on Akira. I'm afraid he slides out of character a bit. sigh

But it's been quite a ride, and I thank you for taking it with me. Maybe you'll join me next time round? Okay. Put down the pointy sticks. I'm going now! Really .... really ... waaaargh!

til' next time,
yours sincerely,
muri

ps: If you want more fun, the end notes have been updated a bit. Yes. I babble even more there. Wargh.