Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go.

Chapter 32 : Meeting the Touyas

The following day,

Hikaru and Sai agreed that today was the perfect day to pay the ex-Meijin the 2nd visit. This time, the blonde didn't have any trouble in getting dressed like the 1st time, she always learned from past experience, therefore, in order to avoid the same problem, she had chosen her clothes since last night. Today, she was going to have a talk with Kouyo, no matter what happened, even a storm couldn't stop her.

Last night had been a long tough night for both of them. Hikaru couldn't stop thinking about Kouyo's retirement. Why did he retire? Why now? Was it because he had lost his title to Ogata? Or was it because he had lost to Sai? Either way it was her fault. Well, how could he lose to his own student anyway?

Maybe, it was because he had been distracted, after all, the man had just faced a traumatic experience of losing for the very 1st time in his life! He hadn't gotten over it yet! Guess who was the one who had arranged that game for him? It was her! Shindou Hikaru!

Perhaps, it wasn't like that. After all, he still held another 4 titles, so what? Just losing the Jyudan title and 14 millions Yen in money prize couldn't hurt him, he was Touya Kouyo, the millionaire Go player!

Then why did he retire?

Well, it was because he was Touya Kouyo, for God's sake! How did he… how did he lose to a…a nobody!

There came another question, why did he, the great Touya Kouyo, bother to play with an anonymous player in the 1st place? Aaa, it was because there was a girl asking him to do that. Who was she? Guess what? It was Shindou Hikaru again! Hurey!

This crazy thought had kept haunting her all night long, causing her a sleepless restless night. In the same time, while Hikaru had been thinking about her guilt, Sai too had been thinking about his.

Of course, he thanked God for letting him live in this world for over thousand years, he did owe him great debt of gratitude for the time he had been spending with both Torajiro and Hikaru. Of course, he was glad that the girl's skill improved remarkably, nothing could bring him greater happiness than watching her Go growing up. She was like a little sister to him! The better player she was, the better teacher he was, right? Since he was the one who taught her the game! But that was what all he was, wasn't it? He was just a man who taught the one who likely to achieve the Hand of God, not the man who achieved the Hand of God himself. He had been searching for it for thousands years, time had passed, people had changed but his heart and his goal had never shaken, it had never been a day going by without thinking about Go or without dreaming of the Hand of God.

And then what?

After 1000 years of wandering in the darkness, when the path finally opened, God simply let someone else to walk through that road? What about him? What was he in the eye of God? Didn't these 365,000 days of waiting mean anything?

Yet, Sai loved her, he loved Hikaru. It was a complex feeling, the confusion nearly killed him as he was both envious and proud of her in the same time. God, please, don't get me wrong. I love her, Yes, I really do love her. It will be a great honor to be in a part of your plan, to watch her reach the Hand of God...If I can turn back time, I will still choose the same path, I will play Go, I'll teach her Go. Even though, you give me another chance to choose it again, the answer will be the same…always be the same, no matter how many times I have to choose. I don't regret it…not even in the smallest corner of my heart…It's just that I…I…

" Sai," his sister called him, waking him up from his trance.

" Huh?" Blinking a few time, he finally gained back his consciousness. Looking around, he was surprised to find himself standing in front of the room 432. It appeared that he had been tailing the girl automatically to the hospital.

" Let's go inside," Hikaru knocked the door and entered the room.

Touya Kouyo was sitting on his bed, his laptop was on the same small table near him. Everything looked the same, nothing had changed, only there was an unknown young woman sitting on the couch by the bed.

" My, my, you must be Shindou Hikaru-chan!" Once she saw the unexpected pretty visitor, Akiko exclaimed with excited gladness.

That was right, the young woman was Mrs. Touya, Kouyo's wife, Akira's mother.

Akiko quickly got up and practically dashed to the stunned girl, " Akira-san always mentions about you!" Grabbing both of Hikaru's hands, she spoke spiritedly, " You come here to see Kouyo-san? What a kind girl! Why don't you come to have dinner with us sometimes?" she willingly invited.

" Dinner? Err..well…I," Stammering, Hikaru didn't know what to say. What the hell was going here? Is she Touya-kun's mom? And why do I have to have dinner with his family anyway? It's not that I am that close to him!

" My, my, Look at you, you are so adorable!" Observing the girl, the overexcited mother marked with contentment as the green-eyed girl really looked cute in her light-blue short-sleeved slim Baby Tee-shirt and her cream short skirt. She's even prettier than I thought! My Goodness! She's perfect! She swiftly turned around to complain her husband, " I can't believe that the two of you thought that she was a boy, how could you mistake this lovely girl for a boy?"

What? You too? Touya-Sensei

When Kouyo saw the questioning expression that the blonde wore on her face, he didn't know how to react properly in this dilemma so he faked a cough and turned away gazing out the window instead.

" Don't worry, I'll give both of them a long lecture when he's back home," Winking playfully, Akiko promised.

Hikaru said nothing in reply, she only grinned back widely. Though she didn't know a thing about this strange woman, she thought she began to like her already, at least she was on her side.

" Akiko, Could you leave us for a minute?" Kouyo spoke up.

Does it kill to let me have a chat with my son's girlfriend? With a tinge of annoyance,Akira's mother glared at her husband briefly before letting out a sigh of frustration, " Fine," she said irritably before abruptly turning back to smile sweetly at the lovely girl, " Don't forget about the dinner, Okay? You're always welcome at our house," she gladly told her.

Being polite, Hikaru gave her winning smile in return, " Thank you , Auntie,"

" Hohoho," Akiko laughed blithely, " Mother, Hikaru-chan, you can call me 'Mother', I always want to have a cute daughter like you! Hohoho," Then she let go of her hands and exited the room.

Not again. The celebrated 1-Dan moaned witheringly without a word, now she knew why the woman was so overjoyed, she thought that she was her son's girlfriend! I needs to find Touya-kun a girlfriend so this silly rumor will stop! Does he have a girlfriend? I bet he hasn't, why? He's quite good-looking?...Ah! How can I forget? Stupid Hikaru! He's already married! To GO!

" It seems that she likes you a lot," Kouyo noted. In fact, he didn't have to mention it, it was so damn clear that his wife adored the blonde, even the slow girl herself noticed that!

" Haha," Blushing red, Hikaru only laughed awkwardly in reply. What should she say to him anyway?

……….

……….

A short silence fell between them, the ex-Meijin stared at his guest. Not knowing what to say next, the young pro looked down at her feet, with her hands folded behind her back.

Finally, Hikaru plucked up the courage, " Ano…Sensei, About the news, your retirement," she timidly spoke up.

Cutting in, Kouyo asked plainly, " Are you Sai?"

" Eh! What?" Jumping a little, the bleach-bang girl cried in panic, " Wh..Why me?"

" During the game, I felt the same pressure that I felt when I played with you in the Beginner's Dan Series," the wise man clarified.

" I…I…," Freezing, the long-haired girl stuttered. How could she deny? In a sense, she could be counted as Sai since she was the one who sat in front of the Goban placing the stones on the board. However, she wasn't Sai as she wasn't the one who actually played the game, that person was Sai, not her, she only laid down the stone under his instruction, that was all! He can sense Sai's presence? How can he?

…………

…………

" That's alright," Noticing how uncomfortable she was, Kouyo dropped the topic. However, he still wondered if his son's friend was his greatest rival or not. Yet, he wasn't a pushy man, if she didn't want to tell him who Sai really was, Fine. The only thing that he really wanted to know was, " Can I play with him again?"

" Again?" Hikaru repeated. That's great! I'll let them play when I'm free! Sai must be very happy! Maybe he'll even do his happy dance! Heehee, this is great! Besides if it is Touya-Sensei, he won't ever tell anyone about this little secret!

Seeing his lively successor chuckling happily, Sai hung his head down in despair. It's too late! I likely…no longer have enough time remaining. He thought sorrowfully without hope. I can feel it within me, without saying a reason, without pity. The sand of time that had stopped are now falling!

"Ano…Sensei" the 1-Dan shyly uttered, " About the retirement," she brought back the old topic, they needed to talk about this.

Kouyo was wise and lived long enough to figure out what she was worried about, not to mention that her reaction was very obvious. It made him wondered how this extrovert girl changed into a mysterious secretive player when she sat before the Goban, " It's not because of him…or you either,"

" Then, why?"

" Actually, I've been thinking about it for a while now but I couldn't decide when to quit it. I finally see the light after losing to him," he spoke openly, " Maybe I lost because I've locked myself in the Pro world without knowing that there are many good players out there," Looking at the blue cloudless sky, he went on, " Maybe things will be better without those boring rules, I can play against anyone I want to play with, I can be stronger,"

" But!"

" It's fine, really, don't you worry" he reassured her with a cool smile, " It's not that I can't play Go anymore. Though I'm no longer a Pro, I can still play Go. That's right, as long as I am still alive, as long as I have this healthy body, I won't quit playing the game,"

As long as he has the body? He looks so happy because he's still alive and healthy? With a corner of her eye, Hikaru glimpsed at her heartbreaking ghost who was standing next to her with a sad expression on his face. My poor Sai.

………….

" I'm sure that I can set up another game for you," she gave her words, " But…Won't you reconsider about the retirement?"

" I've made my final decision," Like his son, Kouyo was definitely a headstrong person, once he determined to do something, no one could make him change his mind. Moreover, the news had already went into the public, he couldn't simply take it back on a whim, he was Touya Kouyo, not a 5-year-old brat.

" But…"

In front of the room,

Last week, Ogata had been busy preparing for the last game against Kouyo so he hadn't had enough time to interrogate his Sensei about Sai but he was free now. So, today he dropped into the hospital to ask the ex-Meijin about Sai's true identity.

Sensei must know who Sai is…Maybe he even meets him. Before he knocked the door, he heard a loud shout coming from the inside.

Who's yelling? Ears against the door, he wondered. He didn't hear it clearly so he noiselessly opened the room and secretively sneaked into the room like a ghost.

" Though you said it's not my fault, I still feel like it is!" He is so stubborn! Just like Touya-kun! I really feel sorry for his mother! How can she put up with them? Hikaru protested with a whining tone, " I don't want you to retire! Sai himself doesn't want you to retire too!"

! Sai! Ogata's cold eyes widened by the name ' Sai'.

" So, please…,"

" Hikaru!" Sai called out as soon as he saw the tall man standing at the edge of the bed, " Chuu…u,"

Eh? Turning around, Hikaru mumbled silently when she saw the man's tense face, " O-ga…EH!"

" Sai, you know Sai, don't you?" Marching menacingly towards her, Ogata demanded.

" Ogata-kun,"

" I…I have to go now! Good day, sir!" the alarmed 1-Dan cried loudly in panic and quickly rushed out the room with great speed.

/Bang/

" Wait! Shindou!" Yelling, the new Jyudan hurriedly chased after his fugitive.

" Hikaru...u!" So did Sai.

But the said girl didn't listen to anyone, she ran away as fast as she could. Run! Run! Run! Hikaru! Run!

Though Hikaru was a natural athlete and a very good runner, she wasn't fast enough to shake Ogata off since he was a man, he was still young, he was in a good shape, moreover he got longer legs. Before she made it to the elevator, he caught her up.

I'm not gonna let you go away! " Wait!" Reaching out his hand, he hastily grabbed her slim wrist forcing her to stop and turn around.

" O..Ogata-Sensei!" Frightened to death, Hikaru stammered with fear, " Please, Let go of me," Trying to snatch back her hand, she struggled to be free from the grip.

/ Huff Huff/

Sai panted tiredly as he finally arrived at the scene, unlike his teen apprentice, he wasn't good at sports. With hand on the wall, he bent over puffing for air. After he caught his breath, he looked up. What he saw was a creepy man in a white suite was holding his little sister at the wrist, " What are you doing? Let her go!" Now, it was time for the protective brave brother to step in, " Let her go!"

Unfortunately, the man with glasses couldn't see his heroic action since he was just an invisible ghost, " If you know Sai! I want to play with him too! Fix a game for me!" he ordered. I want to play with him! I wanna beat him!

" Ogata-Sensei..," Does he want to play against him that much? The eye-catching pro muttered, her body was shaking lightly since the man was dreadfully threatening. Why everyone in Touya Group are always bloody serious like this when it comes to Go and Sai? " You…you misunderstand, I..I don't know Sai," she lied her way out, " I just saw their game in the net, that's all,"

/Ding/ The elevator reached the 4th floor, the door opened, and the prince on a white horse appeared.

" !" The prince in outdated clothes froze as he saw the shocking picture.

Ogata automatically loosened his grip as he caught sight of Akira, Hikaru took it as the advantage, she immediately took her hand back and speedily rushed into the elevator before it closed.

" Eh!" Ogata and Akira exclaimed but it was too late, the elevator had already closed, Shindou Hikaru managed to get away at last.

Quickly turning to his Sempai, Akira inquired piercingly, " Ogata-San!"

The indifferent man simply chuckled with amusement, " Easy, boy, I don't dare to lay my hand on your girlfriend,"

" Ogata-San!" With his red face, the legendary 2-Dan shouted out loud, " You know that it's not like that! So please stop it! What happened anyway? You shouldn't….you shouldn't hold her hand like that! It's not proper!" That was right, it didn't matter if Hikaru was his girlfriend or not, a girl shouldn't be treated rudely like that, especially if the girl happened to be his friend.

" I overheard her talking with Touya-Sensei," Ogata spilt out, " They were talking about Sai,"

" Eh!" Sai!

" I'm sure that she knows Sai but she doesn't admit it. Let's go to ask your father about this," he proposed before heading back to the room number 432.

Ogata-san thinks that she knows Sai…No, it's not like that. Akira thought as bewilderment overpowered him. Shindou is…Shindou is…

" Sensei," Ogata greeted the unwell man when both of them came into the room.

" Ogata-kun, Akira,"

" Sensei, Shindou is the one who set up a game against Sai for you, isn't she?" he questioned inquiringly.

Kouyo gave them a steady stare, his right hand man looked very determined while his son somehow seemed uncomfortable about this subject, " No, she is not," he replied placidly.

" But, Sensei,"

" On that morning, I received a challenge massage from him so we played, that's all," With his arms folded, he told stories. He didn't like lying, however, he had to keep his promise. Tilting his head a little bit, he asked them, " Apparently that the two of you saw that game too, what do you think about it? This Touya Kouyo performed well, didn't he? Though, I didn't gain the triumph, I'm still proud of myself,"

Ogata was a guy of sharp intelligence, he knew that the aged man only wanted to change the focus. There must be some kind of conspiracy around here! I can smell it in the air! I let Shindou running away, I'm not gonna let him getting away with it! " Akira-kun, you want to know about Sai too, right?" Asking for a back-up, he turned to the younger pro.

"……………" Akira gazed into his father's peaceful eyes and heaved a sigh of defeat, " If Father doesn't want to talk about it, it's no use asking him," he said.

Disappointed by the boy's uncooperative action, the 10-Dans weakly dropped himself on the long sofa. Leaning his back lazily on its back, he spoke resignedly, " If you say so,"

/Click/ The door opened, Akiko walked into the room.

" Oh, Akira-san, Ogata-san too," she greeted cheerfully with a soft smile, " Eh?" Looking around the room, she queried, " Where is Hikaru-chan?" Where was her future-daughter-in-law?

Hikaru-chan? " She's left already," Frowning in wonder, her black-haired son answered calmly. Did she just call Shindou as 'Hikaru-chan'?

" She's left already?" Akiko echoed with displeasure," So soon? Didn't you ask her to stay a little longer?"

" No, I didn't, you see, Mother, she…"

" You should have done so," Cutting in, she lectured him. What is he doing here anyway? " And why didn't you send her back home?"

" Well, I…," Sending her home? Mother, she practically flied into that elevator! I didn't even have time to say hello!

" That's okay, don't forget to invite her to our house next time when you meet her," she told him. Maybe my son isn't smart as I thought, he doesn't know a thing about girl! I have to fix this.

" What? To our house?" Akira exclaimed with bombshell. For what?

" Yes, I really like her so I invited her to have a dinner at our house sometimes, you don't mind, do you?" Mrs. Touya narrated merrily. Actually, you should thank me for that, Akira-san.

Yet, the said boy wasn't thankful at all," You what?" he shouted at the top of his voice.

Outside the hospital,

With hand on a vending machine to support herself and her breath came into short pants, Hikaru stopped running at last, " Phew, that was close," she wiped the sweat from her forehead and grinned brightly at her gorgeous ghost, " Isn't it great? Sai, He wants to play with you again,"

Looking away, Sai didn't say anything back, he simply gave her a deep sad look in reply.

" Sai? What's wrong?" the concerned little sister asked with a worried tone.

Still, there was no word coming out from his rosy lips.

" Don't worry, there's plenty of time," Attempting to cheer him up, she smiled cheerily at him.

Time? Hikaru has time but I have no time left. The cheerless man mournfully said to himself as a great sorrow overwhelmed him.

The confused girl didn't know what to do or where to go next so she went back home, it appeared that her unpredictable mentor wasn't in the mood to do anything. As she set foot into her house, her mother greeted her cheerily, " Welcome back, Hikaru," Hanging up the phone, Mitsuko spoke with a smile.

" Hai..ai, I'm back," Hikaru sang.

" I've just finished talking with Grandpa," the mother informed her daughter, " His storehouse was burglarized last night,"

" What?" The duet cried out.

" It's okay, Both Grandpa and Grandma are fine," Mrs. Shindou assured them, " Some of his stuff in the attic was stolen though,"

" The Goban! What about the Goban!" Sai yelled extremely nervously.

" Right! The Goban!" " Mom! I'll go to Grandpa's!" Hikaru shouted as she stomped out the house, with her brother right behind her back.

" Wait! Hikaru!" Mitsuko called out.

/Bang/ the girl bashed the door to her face in return.

Shindou Heihachi's residence,

" So, the Goban wasn't stolen, that's great," Heading to the storehouse with Sai and her Grandpa, Hikaru sighed with relief.

" That's not great!" Heihachi retorted, " They took my pots, my painted plates, Ah! And many of the hanging scrolls too!"

" Did you call the cops?" the 15-year-old pro asked as they went into the said building.

" Of course, they came and collected some fingerprints," the old skinny man reported, " Still, I'm glad that you're worried enough to come here," Being proud that his granddaughter loved him this much, he spoke happily, " Only you understand me, only you value my priceless antiques,"

" But Dad always refers them as a bunch of junks," Climbing up to the attic where Sai's Goban was, Hikaru teased lightheartedly.

" What? A bunch of junks?"

" Haha,"

Here, they were, at the place where they had first met. Standing before them was the ancient Goban that Sai had slept in for 140 years, here, it was, under this long-forgotten dusty attic, still looked dirty as always…did it?

Eh? Noticing something strange, the blonde knelt down and delicately fingered the old Goban. Something was different, something changed, " This is just me or the blood-stains seem lighter?"

Eyes opened wide in dread, gasping with shock, Sai trembled with fright as he felt a cold shiver of fear run through him sending a chill down to his bone. It was amazing how one careless word could send him into the depths of terror.

" Hikaru…u," Heihachi called her from downstairs, " Let's play a game,"

" Hai..ai," Hikaru sang back idly, " Let's go, Sai," Why does it seem lighter? How come?

" Let's go home, Hikaru," Still shaking, the scared spirit muttered faintly.

" Eh? What? I didn't catch it?"

" Let's go home!" With a begging look, he pleaded, " Let's go home and play with me!"

" Eh? But I haven't play with Granpa for a while now," the smiling girl protested, " I'll play with you late, okay?" she compromised.

" Let's go home now!" Sai demanded darkly.

" !" Taken aback, Hikaru jumped with shocking surprise. The statement was not a request but a command, the ghost had never commanded her before…never ever, especially with this kind of authoritative tone of voice, " O…Okay, we'll go back home then," she reluctantly conceded, even if she didn't understand what made her kind brother turn to be a scary monster like this.

There is no time remaining. I am…I am… In fact, Sai himself had known for some time now, he had realized what was about to happen to him since the day he played against his rival, since the minute Hikaru pointed out that saving hand. On that day, he had come to the understanding of his existence… his future. However, he refused to admit it, he even refused to think about it.

But, it was clear to him now, the fading blood-stains was the proof of it. Was it impossible for a man to run away from his own destiny? I am disappearing!

HikaruKotobashi: Sorry, the sand started dropping already :( REALLY? You found the link? Could you send it to me? My e-mail address is in my profile page :)

Kireshai-chan837: I think I deserve a cookie :)

xiar : I hopethis chapter can answer your question.

Kathy: Kathy, we're friend,right? So, please, don't kill me. ( I know you want to)

Rebbi: Here comes Ogata, Spiral? Hmm, here, in Thailand, the current Volume is 12th. I myself don't know how long it will be.

Kinlin : Now you know why Kouyo want to retire.

Karin : Thank you!

Giftfrombelow: DDR, huh? I sucks at music, even in a game - -"

Lilac-Blossom-Neko: " this chapter was awesome!" Really? Thank you. I can play piano, though I didn't play it for a long time.

Pakkizuki : "i wanna Hikaru to meet Yongha! " They will meet in the continuation.