Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go.
Chapter 6 : Inspiration
Next Sunday, insei class
/Pachi/
/Pachi/
"….I resign," Lowering his head, Waya accepted his loss, " Thank you for the game,"
" Thank you for the game," Isumi bowed in return. That was right, he was Waya's opponent for today, " You played well," Clearing the Goban, he blithely complimented the younger boy.
" Don't lie through your teeth, Isumi-san," the upset loser snapped back touchily, " I lost by 5 moku and a half!"
" Well, it's because you played against me," Isumi grinned good-naturedly.
" This is just me or lately your character gets worse?" Waya asked irritably.
The black-haired boy sniggered, he did change his personality…at least when he was with this boy. Recently, he discovered a new enjoyable hobby, which was teasing Waya. Though the red-haired boy didn't have the guts to admit it, everybody knew that he had a crush on Hikaru, thanked to Nase who told Fuku, thanked to Fuku who told everyone in the class. There were only 2 persons who didn't know about this; Shinoda and the blonde herself. It was hard to believe how slow that girl was.
It's time for fun now. " So, Waya, have you read the bulletin board yet?"
" No," Collecting the stone, the red-headed punk replied loosely, " Why? What's new?"
" Well, Touya plays against the Ouza today," Isumi reported, " Actually, they're playing in the Yugen no Ma room right now,"
" Good for him," Like I care, Waya said uncaringly, " So what?"
" Wanna take a look?"
" No," he turned down the invitation immediately without any doubt, " Win or lose, it has nothing to do with me,"
The top-insei smirk mischievously," Are you sure?"
" I've something more interesting to do than watching that stupid arrogant jerk play the game," the up-to-the-minute boy rose and began to set off, " Have fun then,"
" Someone is gonna be there..e," Isumi song teasingly," After all, they're friends,"
"……….." Waya suddenly froze.
" By the time the game ends, it must be dark," the older boy pretended to talk to himself, " Ah! Don't worry, I'll make sure that she reaches home safe and sound,"
"……….."
" Maybe I'll walk her home," he gave his friend a very fake smile.
" !"
……….
As Waya started walking again, he asked innocently, " Where are you going?"
"…to the observation room," Waya uttered shyly.
Hahaha, he's so cute! It's good to be a teenager. Covering his mouth with his hands, Isumi howled with laughter in silence before he followed his friend to the said room.
" Eh? Their game is over?" Sai said once he saw the boys leaving the game room, " Lucky," he couldn't conceal his envy.
" !"
" We played with him 4 times," he reported tranquilly.
" But we've never seen his game against other players," Hikaru finished the line, " Moreover, he's playing against the Ouza today!"
" Hikaru! If you want, I'll play this game!" Sai keenly proposed. " I'll slice her into a half! It'll end in a minute!"
" Baka! We can't do that!"
/ Pachi/
The observation room,
/ Tack Tack/
/ Tack Tack/
" I can't believe it! Why Shinoda-Sensei gotta choose this day to teach me the game! It's not like he always does that anyway!" Hikaru mentally complained while she was running to the observation room.
" I hope the game isn't over yet!" Jogging along his sister's side, Sai uttered nervously.
/Bang/ The girl slammed the door and almost dashed into the room.
" How is it!" she cried. There were 6 guys in the room; 3 young pros, 2 insei, and one journalist.
" Shindou-san!" Rising, Waya offered her his seat, " Here, have a seat," he and Isumi were watching and recreating the game. She actually comes!
" Another insei?" Snorting rudely, a white-haired pro spoke, " Boring...g," Most of insei knew him well since he always provoked their precious big brother, not to mentioned how rude the man was. His name was…
" Mashiba! Shut up!" Waya scolded wrathfully.
" She is Touya's friend," Isumi evenly informed him.
" Friend?" Mashiba and the other guys repeated questioningly in unison. Touya Akira had no friend. The closest thing to his friend was Ashiwara Hiroyuki, who was 8 years older than him, he was like a brother to him, not friend. Touya Akira had no friend in the same age, especially if it was a girl.
Ashiwara observed the young girl standing before him. Hikaru was cute indeed, no one could deny that. Her bangs were bleached blonde, her long black hair was done in a half ponytail. Today, Hikaru let Sai dress her, she often did that to entertain the ghost. That explained why today she was in a navy long-sleeved shirt with turtle neck and a dark boot-cut jeans. Sai wasn't fond of those revealing clothes, whenever he got a chance to be the one who chose her clothes, he always chose the most concealing one. The conservative ghost would have chosen a 12-layered kimono if the blonde had owned one. However, Hikaru still looked adorable and neat, neat enough to be…
" Akira-kun has never told me he has such a cute girlfriend!" Ashiwara, a pro with wavy hair, beamed happily. Thank God! He has a life!
" Oh, No, we're just friends!" Blushing into red, Hikaru said defensively.
" No! They're just friends!" Waya yelled wildly at the very same moment.
" Hahaha, as an experienced reporter, I must say that the more you deny, the more true the story is," Amano, the journalist of Weekly Go, laughed humorously.
" Wha..What?" Flushing even harder, the extrovert girl stammered with embarrassment.
" Amano-san, I think you should write about this," Tasugioka, a 2-Dans, suggested lightheartedly , " Wanna beat the Ouza? Bring your girlfriend to the game!" he came up with the headline.
" No, we're not..," Hikaru tried to explain.
" They're just friends!" Shouting at the top of his voice, Waya cut her off.
………..
Ah-hah. Nodding leisurely, the quartet smirked evilly, they knew what was going on here. Touya Akira always made enemies every where he set foot on, now he got a new type of rival, rival in Love!
" Hikaru, forget it, it doesn't matter!" Sai spoke up impatiently, " What about the game?"
" Right! The game!" " Isumi-san! How's he doing?" Sitting on the chair, Hikaru asked in hurry.
" Black is Touya, White is Ouza," Pointing at the Goban, Isumi explained, " There's a handicap. Touya plays first and gets 5 and a half komi,"
" Handicap?" Hikaru and Sai repeated with curiosity. " Touya-kun doesn't need it, he's strong enough to play a fair game," They both shared the same thought.
" Still, it's tough for the rookie to beat the top pro," Waya noted sensibly, " Besides, the Ouza is going all out today, see?" he placed the stone on the board and enlightened her , " He's a tough player and he has no mercy,"
" Look at this hand," Isumi pointed at the board, " Touya didn't protect his side but attacked instead,"
" Interesting," the young girl commented, " But if white strikes here," " He's playing a very dangerous game, what do you think? Sai,"
" A bit reckless but very intriguing," Sai marked intelligently, " I'm sure he knew that the Ouza would attack where his defense is weak, yet he still played like that, maybe he got a plan," he reasonably theorized.
How will you fight? Touya-kun, Hikaru wondered.
/Pachi/ The Ouza attacked in the right.
" Zama-Sensei has just entered that territory," Amano spoke out as he saw the move that the Ouza had just made.
" If Touya-kun defenses, he can win, still, he keeps attacking," the wavy-haired pro stated confidently, " Why is he playing like this? It's not like him at all,"
/Pachi/ Akira countered back.
Standing up, Hikaru gradually approached to the TV. " I know why," Touya-kun…
" Hikaru?"
/Pachi/ Zama thunderously slapped the stone on the board.
" Oh! The Ouza found his weak territory!" Isumi exclaimed.
Scratching his head, Ashiwara confessed in shame, " Zama-Sensei is really good, I probably would have fallen into Akira-kun's trap,"
/Pachi/
/Pachi/
/Pachi/
" It's in Yose now," Mashiba said.
" Touya-kun's shape doesn't look good," Tasugioka remarked, " Will it remain like this till the end?"
" No way!" Hikaru came out sharply, " Touya-kun never lets it ends like that! He'll find the way and knock the Ouza out!"
/Pachi/ Akira continued attacking.
" Oh! It's useless! Akira-kun!" Ashiwara shouted nosily as if he wanted Akira who was in the next room to hear it, " You're going to deep!"
/ Pachi/ the game continued heatedly.
" He resigns!' Everyone cried out in shock as Akira resigned.
……………
" Let's go and discuss it," Getting up, the Meijin's student suggested.
" Although he lost but it's a very interesting game," Amano commented serenely, " He played too aggressive, that's why he lost,"
" Yet, it's still a good game," Tasugioka said with admiration, " A very good one,"
So the adults went off leaving 3 young insei in the room.
" Wanna join them? Waya," Isumi asked.
" Umm, no, it's getting dark outside," Waya turned to the awestruck girl and said gracelessly, " Err..ano..well..you see, Shindou-san, it's pretty late now….Isumi-san! What're you laughing at?" he chewed out as he saw his friend tittering, " Err…we can walk you to the station, I mean if you want me..us! us! Us to,"
Eyes fixed on the TV, Hikaru was captured by the game she had just seen, " Thank you, I'll be here for a while, you guys go first,"
" But…"
" Haha, Let's go home, buddy," Poor Waya, Hanging his arm loosely around Waya's neck, Isumi laughed gleefully, " Don't worry, she can take care of herself," he whispered.
Sighing heavily, Waya couldn't hide his disappointment. Then the older boy dragged him out of the room.
……….
……….
……….
" He lost," the green-eyed girl uttered quietly, " He lost to someone else, not to you,"
" Those daring moves…he is a brave young man," Sai said.
" Yes, he is," Smiling softly, Hikaru couldn't deny that, " He's not the type that hides behind the secure wall and keeps playing defense just to make sure that he'll be safe,"
" Hikaru?"
" So he chose to strike in order to gain a worthy victory…a real victory, even if it would cause him death," Speaking as if she was under magical spell, she kept on her monologue as she kept staring at the TV without blinking.
Hikaru? " He is very impressive, isn't he?"
" I will never forget this game," Eyes shone brilliantly, body shivered with excitement, Hikaru stated decisively, " He's so cool, I wanna play like him, Sai," Turning back to face her teacher, she declared firmly with pure determination, " I wanna become much much stronger, I wanna be like Touya-kun therefore I have to get stronger,"
Sai was a bit shaken by the statement. He had never seen this deep look before. Hikaru looked so serious, so energetic...so bright than ever. Hikaru, I'm sure you can, I'm sure you can. Smiling coolly, the teacher smirked with greatsatisfaction.
On the way home,
The first snows of year 2000 were falling, Hikaru was walking back home with Sai tailing her as always.
" Speaking of Touya-kun, he's the first one we played with," Trying to make the conversation, the talkative ghost brought up the topic.
" You're right," Hikaru smiled cheerily in return, " At first, I thought Go was a game for an old man only, he proved me wrong," Thinking of Akira's determined face, she giggled quietly, " I've never met a boy like him before," Looking up at the falling snow, she mentioned. Ah, I wish I could be strong as him. " That's it! I've made up my mind! I'll work harder! Next time he plays against me, he'll be speechless by my excellent skill!" She declared boldly.
"…………"
Clear blue eyes opened wide in surprise, Sai's lips curved to a high pleasing exciting smile. Good. Touya-kun's match is surely worth to see. Hikaru, my sweet Hikaru, though you don't accept it, I know that you do this for me. You only play Go because it's the game that I love. You play for my sake, you want to be strong just to make me proud. You want to get better and become a pro so that I can play with him again someday. You do it all for me, you always consider my feeling as your main concern while you yourself have neither reason nor purpose of playing the game. You don't have your own goal or your own intention either. You're strong, Hikaru, I can guarantee that, but you're… empty and directionless.
But now, everything changes, doesn't it? This is the very first time you want to play for yourself. You finally find your own path, you own objective, not mine…Touya-kun is a perfect target, chasing him isn't easy.
However considering to your outstanding growths in the past few months…Plus now you've got everything you should have... Talent, great diligence and motivation…right now, it's my duty to make sure that you'll be good enough to make your dream come true.
A/N : I tried very hard to show Sai's love to Hikaru in the last 2 paragraphes. As you can see,though this Hikaru is more considerate like she's willing to be another Torajiro, Sai loves her too much to turn her into another puppet. Ah, This chapter is 2318 words length, if you wanna know.
Kathy : You ask so many question, I don't know which one to answer first! Still, you'll know it soon as the story goes by.
BlackWingedGabriel : Yes, I see your point. As I said, in the first chapter I tried not to tell you directly that Hikaru is a girl here but used the body languages instead, I just wanna know if you guys can figure it out or not. Still, Thanks, I've already written the new summery without telling that Hikaru is a girl. What do you think? Is it better ?
Ady: " I don't really like Ochi" Is there anybody likes him? "Hoping for Hikaru-Akira interaction next!" Be patient, the girl has just joined the insei! I'm glad that you like " Finding Seiji" too. Telling you the truth, at first, when I put it in FFnet, I was kinda worried since there're so few who like Seiji. I nearly jump when some of the reader says that they begin to like him more because of my fic :)
Kinlin Child of Youma : "i wanna ask if many of the male characters hin Hikagowill fall for female Hikaru or is it anly limited?" Hahaha :) I read giftfrombelow's fic too, just like you said, thought we had the same concept but it's much different.
GiftFromBelow : Thank you, it's good to hear from you :) I'm waiting for the next chapter of your fic too :)
Samara-chan : No one has ever told me about comma, thank you. Still, it's kinda late, I'm too lazy to fix it now - - " Don't be angry, okay? Umm, I'll be more careful next time okay?