Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go.

Important Advice : While you're reading this chapter, you should listen" Crush " by Mandy Moore or " Accidentally in love", Shrek's soundtrack.

Chapter 4 : The insei class

December 1999, The Japanese Go Association, 6th floor, in front of the game room

" I heard that the new insei is a girl," Isumi, the top insei, informed his friends.

" Really?" Nase Asumi exclaimed in delight since there were only few girls in the insei class, " Another girl in the class, Great, now I'll have someone to talk to, someone who actually speaks in the same language," she chatted happily, it was boring to be the only girl in the group.

" Don't raise you hope too much," Waya, an insei with messy red hair, spoke up , " Maybe she's a nerd, you know, a girl version of Ochi," he snorted.

" You mean another talented rival who is likely to steal you place and pass the pro exam?" the younger boy with glasses uttered with heavy mockery, it was no one else but Ochi.

" Ochi! You!" Waya shouted heatedly.

Luckily, before anything got worse, thecomposed teacher came." Good morning, everybody," Shinoda greeted his students, he was the one who taught the insei and the one who let Hikaru pass the exam.

" Good morning, Shinoda-Sensei," Bowing with all respect, the insei greeted back.

" Let me introduce you to your new friend," the Sensei said with a smile, " This is Shindou Hikaru, Be nice to each other," he told them and went into the room so that his student could have a relaxed small talk.

Suddenly grabbing both Hikaru's hands, Nase exclaimed happily, " My, you are so cute! My name is Nase, Let's be friends, ne?"

" Hai!" the new insei smiled brightly.

While the girls were having a little girly chitchat, Isumi spoke up, " Well, if you ask me, I think she is very far from a nerd,"

Hikaru didn't wear thick glasses or dressed neatly in out-date clothes. She was in a dark denim mini-skirt and a green Faux Fur trimmed zip-vest over a white long-sleeved slim T-shirt. She wore trendy sneakers and knee-high socks. She dyed her bangs blonde and let her hair swing freely instead of tie it. No, Shindou Hikaru wasn't a nerd at all.

" Guys," Walking hand in hand with the blonde, Nase introduced Hikaru to her friends, " Meet Hikaru-chan, Hikaru-chan, these are my friends,"

" Nice to meet you, I'm Isumi," Isumi gave her his common brotherly smile, " Isumi Shinichirou,"

" Isumi-san is the oldest students here," the older girl teased, " He's like a big brother to us," then she gestured towards Ochi, " This is Ochi, he is a year younger than you,"

" Ochi Kousuke," Ochi said indifferently.

" And this is Waya," Nase turned to the said boy.

………

Seeing his friend staring at the charming girl without blinking , the big brother urged his best friend with his elbow, " Waya,"

" Eh?" Waking up, Waya spoke loudly, " Waya! Waya Yoshitaka! Nice to meet you! Shindou-san!"

Ah-hah, Everyone except Hikaru and Waya mentally smirked at the noisy boy's reaction.

" Shindou Hikaru," Hikaru smiled welcomingly to all of them, " Nice to meet you,"

" It's a pleasure to meet you all, My name is Fujiwara no Sai," Sai addressed himself courteously, " I'm her teacher,"

" Ha..Hai! Nice to meet you!" Blushing into red, the red-haired boy cried in alert.

" You've already said that," Ochi reminded him coldly.

" Ochi!" the loud-mouthed boy yelled at the younger boy.

" Let's go, Hikaru-chan," Nase pulled her new friend to the game room, " The class room is this way, you see, there're 2 groups, the first group and…." The girls headed to the game room dropping the boys behind.

" I got a crush on you," Isumi song, " I hope you feel the way that I do,"

" Isumi-san!" With a red hot flush all over his face, Waya shouted vociferously.

Adjusting his glasses, Ochi questioned, " It's Mandy Moore, isn't it?"

" Ochi!" the kitten-like boy blushed even harder.

Here we go again. Sai giggled noiselessly. I wonder if Hikaru can figure it out this time.

2 hours later,

" I lost! That sucks!" The newly insei moaned.

" Don't curse like that Hikaru, a lady doesn't curse," Sai lectured her again, This boy is even better than Mitani-kun," he commented sensibly, " I guess this is why they aren't allowed to enter an amateur tournament, they're on a higher level,"

" Sai, You're not helping..g," Hikaru mentally sang.

" Don't worry, you just got overexcited, you'll win next time," the dead teacher encouraged his apprentice optimistically," You've me as your teacher!"

Next week, at the insei class

Although Sai had told her that, Hikaru still lost.

" This is bad! I lost again!" The discontented blonde grumbled moodily.

" Hikaru, don't worr…" the blue-eyed ghost was about to comfort her but he was interrupted.

" Ha..Hello, Shindou-san," Waya greeted awkwardly, " How's your game?"

" Bad," Hikaru said it with a depressing sigh, " I lost again,"

Timidly sitting next to the girl without asking for permission, the boy in a funky clothes tried to cheer her up, " Don't worry! You just need some time to adapt yourself,"

" Hey! He stole my line!" the childlike ghost whined noisily, "Hikaru, I was about to say that too!"

" Sai, How could he stole you line? He doesn't even see you,"

" Thank you, Waya-kun," the friendly girl thanked.

She calls me Waya-kun! Waya-kun! Waya almost jumped. I like that, I even like it better if she calls me " Yoshitaka" " Don't worry! You'll be in the first class soon! I promise!"

" I don't think you can do anything about this," Ochi, the snobbish passer-by, uttered unemotionally, " It's not that Shinoda-Sensei will promote her to the first class just because you ask him to,"

" Ochi!" You little brat!

" Waya, Ochi," Isumi called the younger boys, " Not again," he shook his head in boredom.

" Isumi-san, Nase-chan," Hikaru warmly greeted both new comers.

" How's the game? Hikaru-chan," Nase sat close to the younger girl, very close, it was close enough to make Waya become an envious green-eyed monster, " From the look on your face, I guess you lost again, huh?"

"………."

" Don't get so sad, we all stumble in the beginning," she encouraged her, " You'll play better soon,"

" Nase-channn," Hugging the other girl, Hikaru cried, " I love Nase-chan the most!"

" I think you love me the most!" the whinny ghost protested. In fact, he wasn't a selfish guy but when it came to his little sister, he was very possessive...very very possessive.

I cheered her up too but I didn't get a hug. Waya complained without a sound. This is not fair, this is a sexual discrimination!

Knowing what was on his friend's mind, Isumi teased mischievously, " Waya, stop being jealous,"

" Isumi-san!" Going red with embarrassment, the punk suddenly yelled defensively.

" Waya-kun, what's wrong?" Slowing pushing herself away from Nase, Hikaru asked worriedly, " Why are you shouting at Isumi-san? Do you two have a fight?"

" Err..," Hand on the back of his head, Waya bashfully looked away, " It's nothing,"

" ?" While the rest were giggling, the slow blonde turned to her purple-haired mentor. " Ne, Sai, what are they laughing about?"

Sai himself was laughing too. " Ahh, nothing's serious, just forget it,"

" What? You too? " the two-tone-haired girl grumbled discontentedly, " Why am I always left out of the conversation?"

Actually, Hikaru wasn't left out at all, on the contrary, she was the center of the conversation but she was too dense to notice it.

" Is that Weekly Go?" Nase tilted her chin toward the magazine in Isumi's hand.

" Yap," Isumi handed her the magazine, " Wanna read?"

" Oh, Thanks," the dark-brown haired girl gladly took it and flipped through it to search for some interesting articles. Hikaru and Sai craned their necks to take a better look.

" Wait! Hikaru!" the Heian ghost called out in surprise, " Isn't that Touya-kun?"

Eh? " Wait! Nase-chan!" Hikaru turned a few pages back, " Touya-kun!" " You're right! It's Touya-kun!" She exclaimed as she saw a picture of the boy whom she had met last year. Akira was in a grey suit, he looked at bit taller but he still had the same powerful blue eyes and the same girly hairstyle, " It's Touya-kun! My, my, he doesn't change a bit," she chuckled in amusement, " Always looks serious, always dress tidily," " Right? Sai,"

" Umm, he looks more mature than I remember," Sai uttered thoughtfully.

" Sai, This is Touya-kun we're talking about. He has been mature since…only God knows how long,"

" dou…Shindou-san," Waya called her, actually, this was the 3rd time.

" Ah! Yes?" the green-eyed girl in a dark red/white Raglan sleeved T-shirt turned her attention to the living.

" You said like you know him, do you know him?" the 14-year old insei boy asked curiously.. He doesn't change a bit? It means that she had met him before?

Knowing why Waya looked discomforted, the knowing ghost hid his smile behind his fan.

" Umm, Kind of,"

" What do you mean ' kind of'?" Nase inquired questioningly, for Waya's sake, " Are you two friends?"

" Well…" Hikaru wasn't sure, they only met twice and talked a little. Plus, the last time they had met, they had a big big fight." Sai, are Touya-kun and I friends?"

" Umm," Sai didn't know either. To him, Akira was a very talented young boy but what he was to Hikaru? " I guess so,"

" Yes, we're friends…I guess,"

" Really?" Nase got excited. Everybody knew how much Waya hated the prodigy, now his crush happened to be friends with the boy he hated the most, what an irony, " You're Touya Akira's friend?"

" At least, I consider him as one," Shrugging her shoulders, the densest girl in the world replied casually, " But we haven't met for a year now," " This is just me or they treat it like a big deal? "

"Maybe it's because he is the Meijin's son…Or maybe it's because he passed the pro exam this year with the highest score," the Heian noble stated as he read the article.

" What?" Hikaru swiftly snatched the magazine from her friend as soon as she heard the news. " Sorry, Nase-chan," " He passed the exam? He's a pro now? Wait! He lost one game! No, it's not.." " He forfeited the game? But, Why?"

" Haven't you heard?" the alive big brother spoke out, " He didn't play his first game,"

" Why? Was he sick or something?"

" It's unlike him to drop the game this easily, he is the type who would rather die during the match," Sai marked. " Or maybe it's really him,"

" He ditched the pro exam to have a game with Sai," Waya said irately. He thought it was unacceptable and extremely rude. It was true that Akira was strong enough to pass the exam but to disregard the opponent as if he was nobody like that, it was so unacceptable. Waya couldn't forgive him for that. That guy has no respect for other players. God, I hate him so much!

" He what? " " Sai! "

" I knew it! I told you it was him!" the long-haired spirit exclaimed victoriously, " See?"

Months ago, Sai had played against someone called " Akira" on the net. He had insisted that " Akira" was Touya Akira but Hikaru had thought that he was just paranoid. She didn't think that Touya Akira was the type who liked playing a Net-Go.

" He's so traditional, I bet he likes playing with real people," she had said.

" That's right," Isumi confirmed, " That day he didn't show up for the exam, he played with Sai instead,"

" Sai?" Nase repeated, she was certain that she had heard this name before.

" That mysterious Net-Go player," the 18-year-old boy reminded her.

" Ah! Now I remember," the brunette-haired girl tapped her fist on her palm, " Is it the guy Waya keeps talking about?"

" Yes," Isumi nodded, " What about you? Shindou, Have you ever heard of Sai?"

" Err, yes," "Actually he's standing here by my side," " I heard that he's very tough,"

" Yes, he is," Waya absolutely agreed, " I played him once, he totally slaughtered me,"

" Eh? Did I play with Waya?" Sai asked his student, " When?"

" How am I supposed to know? You played with hundreds of people!"

" He even won the pro form China and Korea," the boy stated.

" Oh, really?" Hikaru played innocent.

" At first, Sai challenged Touya for a game," Waya told the story, " But Touya resigned before they even entered Chuban," he narrated, "He had to participate in the Amateur Go Festival so he didn't have enough time to play,"

" So, this is what happened," Nodding slowly, the 1000-year-old ghost folded his arms," Umm, this is why he suddenly quitted,"

" Then they agreed to play again on the day the pro exam started," Waya went on.

" What? That day was the first day of the pro exam? I didn't know that! Sai!"

" Neither did I!"

" But," the hot-blooded boy grew angry, " Touya shouldn't have cancelled his game like that,"

" Waya," Isumi said tiredly. It was months ago.

" How could he do such a thing?" Waya uttered furiously, " We may not be the son of the Meijin like him but all players surely deserve a respect,"

" Oh! No! Sai, what should we do now? Waya-kun is mad at him because of us!"

" I don't know either," Sai shook his head.

" Arrz! My teacher is so worthless! " " Well, I kinda..understand why he did that," Hikaru spoke guardedly, " I mean, what would you do if you were him? Wouldn't you do anything to play with someone as strong as Sai?" she stood up for Akira.

" Com'on, Hikaru, Stop it," Waving his fan, the silly ghost giggled in a silly way, " You're flattering me,"

Seeing her counselor acting foolishly, the trendy girl shook her head in despair. And this is the one who claims to be my mentor

" But…"

" Hey, everybody's leaving," Isumi broke in, " Com'on, guys, let's go home," Pulling his friend up to his feet, he suggested.

" Let's go, Hikaru-chan," Nase urged the blonde, she knew why Isumi suddenly cut in. She let the blonde walked forth, when Hikaru was out of hearing, she turned back to talk to Waya, " Waya, here are some tips to win a girl's heart," she told him, " Never talk about her family, her idol and her friends in a bad way!"

" Eh?" Waya was taken aback a little.

" Nase-channn," Hikaru song, she was ready to leave now.

" Comingggg," Nase shouted back and ran to her friend.

" She's right, you know," Isumi agreed on her theory.

"……Now I hate him even more," Waya muttered quietly but heatedly.

A/N: But Waya! Akira didn't do anything wrong! This chapter is 2597 words length! Chapter 3 is only 950!

Chuban : the middle of the game

I bet you guys ( and girls too) get bored of hearing this but Com'on everybody! Spend a sec to give me your review, so I can improve myself!

T-shirt : Actually, I think he's still the same Mitani but when he's with Hikaru, he tries to be...sweet, which is not Himself at all. Maybe that's why Hikaru doesn't like him the way he likes her 'coz she can sense it that this is not the REAL Mitani.

Kathy : " I don't think the guy is going to be the problem, since there are so many of them" Haha, you're right! Now, we've Waya!