Title: A game of lost and found
Warnings : I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!
Summary: Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)
Foreword: First of all… this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada… in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome… and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English… so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!
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Chapter 8: The Beautiful Morning
It was a very beautiful morning the next day, but living in the fast pace Tokyo had most people ignoring the simple pleasures of life. Though, this statement was not exactly true for one particular young man. He was heading towards the Go Institute for his professional match and took his own sweet time getting there, for once enjoying the cool morning and ignoring the fast-pace life he usually leads; realizing that he needed this small reprieve. He was going to have a match with the infamous Shindou Hikaru and if the rumors were to be true, most likely he is going to lose to the first Dan badly.
Hamano Kariudo sighed dejectedly. He knows for certain that his skills and techniques are good, but he, like so many others, had to admit that the Shindou boy's skills and techniques are even better. In fact it far surpassed the qualifications that most of the lower Dans have. And those who had followed the Hokuto Cup tournament had exclaimed surprise, shock and disbelieve at the level of skills both Shindou and the Korean boy played at, especially since all of them knew that the very same Shindou Hikaru was only a first Dan. And today, though he was not looking forward to it, he is to experience the prodigy first hand.
Thinking back, he recalled that one of his acquaintances, another 3-Dan named Hasegawa Ryoushin, had a match with Shindou Hikaru early this week. He remembered coming out of the hall victorious only to encounter a shocked Hasegawa on the bench next to the vending machine. He took almost five minutes to get the poor guy of out his stupor, and then he couldn't even find out more from Hasegawa except for 'Shindou' and 'unbelievable'. He only had to hear the name 'Shindou' to conclude that Hasegawa had a game with the infamous prodigy and lost, and by the look of him, lost badly. There were no needs to even check the result slip to confirm his assumptions.
Kariudo sighed again, feeling more and more incompetent. He knew most of them, especially those that had gotten their professional licenses much earlier, could not acknowledge or even admit the new strength that came in the form of Shindou Hikaru. Already they had to put up with the ever present prodigy Touya Akira, and now with another in the scene, it seems that the rumors of a new wave of tide-changing are happening for sure. He could only hope that he will be a part of the wave and not left behind.
Without noticing, he had reached the Institute. Stopping right in front of the building, he stared blankly at the glass doors before giving himself a mental shake and walked into the building. All the while he was giving himself prep talks, to bring up his fighting spirit to go against his opponent. Yes, that is it. He shall only think of him as his opponent, not as the Shindou Hikaru. It's less nerve-wrecking that way.
Taking the elevator up, he finally managed to calm himself down to a certain extent, determined to at least give his opponent a good game. Worse come to worse, at least he will make a lasting impression… he hoped. Unfortunately his hard-built confidence crumbled as he stepped out of the elevator. For there was Shindou, eyes closed and leaning against the wall just right in front of him with a small gentle smile on his lips and seemingly deep in thoughts. Suddenly captivated by the youth in front of him, he hardly realized he was staring.
How could someone so young and gentle as he possessed such an incredible strength and yet still hold an air of innocence, but the aura of someone much older?
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Hikaru, for once, had decided to arrive earlier for his match. Mainly because he had too much on his mind, all thanks to a certain redhead Korean. Another is because he wanted to give Sai a treat. Being wherever he was for those missing months must had bored the genki ghost senseless, so a walk in the cool morning air is bound to make the hyper ghost happy and excited. And he was right, Sai is still rattling happily about all the old and new things he had seen along the way. Although most of the times he would consider the talkative Sai, as he is now, extremely noisy, he was contented just to listen to the dearly missed voice that only he could hear. At least until his match start, this would not be for another twenty minutes or so.
Suddenly he realized that Sai was no longer talking hundred miles per hour. Smirking in his mind, he surmised that the hyper ghost must have tire himself out. 'Not surprising, after all Sai had been talking non-stop long since before we enter the building… which I believe must have been almost an hour or so. Damn, I have forgotten how talkative he could be.'
Suddenly he felt a certain someone poking his shoulder with… a fan. Frowning slightly but almost unnoticed, he thought to Sai, 'Stop it Sai, or else I'll find some way to steal that fan of yours.' Hikaru would rather open his mouth to scream at Sai, but unfortunately he had learned the hard way that speaking to Sai in public areas would just be, to put it mildly, bad for him.
"Ne Hikaru. There a guy standing right in front of you. Do you know him? He has been staring at you for a while now…" Sai replied, ignoring the jibe thrown by Hikaru.
Shocked from Sai's statement, Hikaru immediately opened his eyes to see the said person, who according to Sai, had been staring at him for a while. Noticing Hamano Kariudo in front of him, he relaxed slightly.
'Kuso… That baka Korean really had me worked up! Wake up Hikaru! Get real, do you really think the Ko Yongha will appeared out of the blue in front of you? Calm down… breath in, breath out.'
As Hikaru was silently berating himself, he kept his eyes all the while trained on the elder youth in front of him. Thanks to Sai, he had learned a long time ago to be able to think or talk to Sai in his mind while his body does something else, which was now to regard the person in front of him silently. Normally Hikaru would just stared back coldly before ignoring them totally, but there were something different about the way the other youth was staring at him. Quickly Hikaru realized what was different about the other youth. Normally most Go pros would regard him with a calculating look or something equally challenging. Quite understandable really, since he realized that he is some-what of an enigma. Waya and Ochi and the rest had said so often enough anyway.
The guy in front of him was staring at him with some kind of awe. Inwardly, Hikaru smirked. Who would have guess that he would have someone to look at him with admiration mixed with fear in their eyes. Now that is amusing and… interesting. Finally noticing that the youth in front of him is still staring at him dumb-struck and does not even seem to realize it himself, he started to take pity on the guy. That and plus the fact that he was getting unnerved by the unwavering stare.
Smiling softly, he spoke to the elder youth. "Ohayo gozaimasu. Can I help you?"
At Hikaru soft greeting and inquiry, Kariudo startled, before catching himself. Suddenly realizing that he had been staring at Hikaru for Kami-knows how long, he quickly bowed apologetically, a delicate blush coloring his face.
"Gomen nasai Shindou-san. Forgive me for my horrendous behavior."
Silently laughing, Hikaru found himself quite amused and intrigued by the elder youth. Silently he also wondered if he was his opponent today. "No, it's quite all right. No harm done."
Hikaru continued to watch the elder youth before bowing slightly with a smile. "As you already knew, Shindou Hikaru desu."
Startled yet again, this time by Hikaru silent inquiry of his name, Kariudo bowed again. "Ha-Hamano Kariudo desu."
Hikaru smiled to himself. So he was right, this guy was his opponent, which was quite surprising. Normally his opponent would look at him with either malice or challenge, but Kariudo had not. This alone has seized his curiosity and he cocked his head to one side as he tried to figure out the person in front of him, which had Kariudo's blush heightened even more, to Hikaru's amazement and amusement.
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Hamano-san. I believe we are to be opponents today, are we not?"
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Sai stared at Hikaru in surprised. He knew that his leaving will have a great impact on Hikaru's life and that Hikaru will change… somehow. And that was proven when he first came back to Hikaru. What he had not expected was a polite and courteous Hikaru. Right now he is watching a brand new Shindou Hikaru interacting with his opponent. The old Hikaru he used to know would interact with others in either two ways, or both if the other person happened to be 'lucky' enough, which was loud and rude. Denseness was thrown in once in a while, but other than that nothing else.
If he were not mistaken, if Hikaru were to catch someone staring at him, Hikaru would retort with a loud 'WHAT?', or something equally rude, and stared back at the said person. Come to think of it… Hikaru caught a lot of people staring at him when he hugged Akari yesterday. All Hikaru did was to gave each and every one of them a cold piercing stare, a stare good enough to rival Touya Akira's stare. He was too busy laughing to notice then, but what happen to the more vocal Hikaru?
Staring critically at Hikaru, still unable to grasp any answer, Sai finally sighed. If it not for the connection he had with Hikaru, he would have not believed that this is the very same boy he had known since he was twelve.
Silently he wondered what had happened to the brash and rude boy he had known since he was twelve. The sixteen years old youth in front of him does not seem to resemble the boy he used to know. Come to think of it, he has yet to see the brash and rude side of Hikaru since he came back… not even against him. True, he was and still is immune to Hikaru's rude way of treating him, but now that he had come to realized it, Hikaru had not been rude to him at all. Sarcastic, yes. Annoyingly patient, yes. Hmm… he even recalled Hikaru even spoke to him as if he was a child…
With a start, he realized that he had not once encountered the brash, rude or even loud Hikaru that he was so used to.
'What happened to changed Hikaru so? Or maybe I should ask… what changed Hikaru so?'
Mentally, he hit himself over his head. It is not like he was not happy or glad at this… reformed Hikaru, it is just that it was way too unexpected. Weird even. Again silently he wondered if the loud and rude baka stills resided in Hikaru. Suddenly another thought entered Sai's soon-to-be-overloaded mind.
'Where on earth did Hikaru learned all these manners from?'
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To put it mildly, Kariudo was shocked that Hikaru had spoke to him at all, let alone start a conversation with him. He was aghast earlier to be caught by Hikaru while he was staring dumbly at him for Kami-knows what reasons. He was moaning to himself about his so-called lasting impression on the younger boy when he heard Hikaru introducing himself, indicating silently but surely that he wants a name in return.
He managed to get his voice back just to answer Hikaru, almost stuttering out his response. "Ha-Hamano Kariudo desu."
Dismayed that he was acting so embarrassingly in front of the Shindou Hikaru, he cringed slightly even more at the noticeable amusement in Hikaru's eyes. Silently he gave thanks to whatever or whichever Kami-sama that none of his friends or acquaintances were here to witness his, by no doubt, embarrassing moment.
Suddenly Hikaru gave him a smile, a small but genuine smile that captivated him once again, letting him forgets all his embarrassment.
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Hamano-san. I believe we are to be opponents today, are we not?"
Dumbly, Kariudo only nodded before catching himself yet again. "Ah-Hai. We are opponents for today, Shindou-san. Er- I mean, yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
Hikaru smiled again at him before straightening up and walked towards the vending machine. Kariudo sighed softly in relief while his shoulders drooped dolefully. He had just managed to make a complete fool of himself in front of a younger person. If that was not bad enough, it was in front of Shindou Hikaru, his opponent and someone he was starting to look up to even though he is younger. With such a powerful hand in Go, who wouldn't?
Then again, he could name quite a few who wouldn't acknowledge Shindou Hikaru. Mainly due to the fact that he is so much younger than most of them, being a mere sixteen years old only. Also because Hikaru had skipped all his matches for almost half a year with no explanations given, and then came back into the world of Go out of the blue. True that he had been winning every single game since then, but most pros are pig-headed. They refused to acknowledge Hikaru at all. Then again, it might due to the fact that most of them are afraid…
He was still standing rooted to the same place since he stepped out of the elevator with his eyes trained to the ground; now back to finding ways to console himself for an impression well-done. Suddenly a can of coffee was thrust in front of him, making him looked up with surprise. Hikaru was standing there smiling gently at him as he silently urged him to take the coffee.
"My treat. You looked like you could use a cup of coffee. And since these are the only types of coffee I can offer you here… take it."
Dumbly Kariudo accepted the can of coffee, muttering an almost inaudible 'arigato'. He watched as Hikaru smiled in return ('What a wonderful smile he had', though Kariudo distractedly.) before walking towards the nearby bench and opening his own can of coffee. As he sat down, Hikaru looked towards him and gestured for him to take the seat next to him.
Without knowing what else to do, he walked towards the seat and sat down, glancing at his watch at the same time. Ten minutes left before the matches start. Hikaru once again was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, hands wrapped around the can of coffee. He looked away and stared at the can of coffee in his hands, complementing on what he was doing and what is he to do now, when Hikaru spoke.
"You know, I believe the coffee would not disappear even if you stare harder at it."
"Huh?" Kariudo blinked dumbly at him, before the full implications of what Hikaru was saying hit him. "Ah-gomen! I-I… erm-"
"Relax, I was only teasing Hamano-san. I take it you don't like coffee?"
"Eh? No, no, not that. I mean I do enjoy coffee, especially good coffee. It's just that… I'm surprise you offered me a can…"
Kariudo's voice trailed off as he stared at his can of coffee yet again, before looking up to his companion. Hikaru was frowning confusedly at him as Kariudo realized that he just uttered one of his inner thoughts out loud without thinking. Silently whacking himself, he quickly apologized.
"Gomen nasai Shindou-san. I didn't mean to sound so ungrateful or anything. I'm just surprised. I mean, normally opponents don't even look at each other without a slight challenge in the eyes and here we are, drinking coffee together."
Hikaru's frown cleared away as he heard Kariudo's explanations, his face yet again falling into a smile.
"Is that so? Well, I couldn't help it, especially since my opponent did and still does not look at me with any challenge at all. Isn't that so, Hamano-san?"
Kariudo laughed awkwardly, sweat-dropping at the same time as he rubbed the back of his head. 'He caught me on that one. How am I going to explain to him? Better yet, why am I acting this way?'
"I-I supposed so, Shindou-san. I guess… I guess I wasn't in any mood to intimidate anybody today, opponent or not." Kariudo replied, popping open his can of coffee at the same time to hide his nervousness. 'Hopefully he will accept that excuse, lame as it is.'
Hikaru smiled again, a bit warmer this time as he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Is that so? If it is, then I'm glad… for neither am I in any mood to intimidate anyone…" Hikaru let his voice trailed off slightly, lost in his thoughts.
'I'm still too happy that Sai is back in my life again to seriously intimidate anyone. Hmm… intimidating your opponents seems to be a favorite pastime here… Isn't that so Sai?'
"I suppose you could call it a formality, Hikaru. Even back in the Heian period and the time where I used to be with Torajiro, intimidation is often used against opponents. It helps in judging your opponents. It can also be used as a form of attack… which I assumed was useless against you if you are asking me such a question…"
'Ah…haha. I suppose you assumed right. If that's an attack, it only geared me up even more to crush the said opponents.'
"Ah… enlightenment. How about this opponent of yours?"
'Hamano Kariudo? Wakaranai…he's odd, I give him that. And he has beautiful hair, Sai. It's purple and long, just like yours… though not as long as yours…'
"And you're not even intimidating him. Instead... huh? Hair? Oh! You're right Hikaru! His hair is just like mine, but he had them all tied up in a ponytail… Hey! You're side-tracking me! As I was saying, (a glare at Hikaru) you're being all nice to him, which I believe you normally don't, especially towards your opponents."
'Hey! I resent that, I'm not that cold. As for him… hmm…'
Suddenly, Hikaru's eyes snapped opened again to stare mischievously at Kariudo. "Besides, I believe it's such a shame to intimidate someone as cute as you, Hamano-san." Although Hikaru was addressing Kariudo, he was also replying Sai's unasked question.
"EH??!!" This was echoed by both Kariudo and Sai, incredulous being the main feature on their faces.
If those other times were just suspicions, then Kariudo was more than absolutely sure that he is blushing right now. He shrunk even more when he realized that Hikaru was laughing good-naturedly at him. From the other boy's demeanor, he knew that Hikaru was only teasing him, but it does not make it any better.
'Get a grip Hamano Kariudo! One would think you have a crush on Shindou Hikaru…'
Hikaru was laughing at the elder boy's reaction when he teased him. He did not know why, but the older boy is extremely nice, not to mentioned, easy to tease, especially when he start blushing like that. It's just so… kawaii! Besides, Sai's reaction when he told Kariudo that he is cute was priceless.
Beside him he could feel Sai's waves of disapproval and amusement hitting him, letting him know that the ghost was battling on giving him a talk about bullying people and joining his laughter. In the end, disapproval won.
"Ne, Hikaru… don't be so cruel."
'Sai… I wasn't being cruel. I was just telling the truth. He IS too kawaii to be intimidated. Even you have to agree with that.'
"True, he is kawaii… ah-wait! You're not putting me off track again. Hikaruuuuu. It's cruel to be enjoying his discomfort! And you just hurt his feelings! Apologize!"
And thus began the ghost's whining and nagging, which had Hikaru more amused than annoyed. Finally, Hikaru decided to give both his companions some relief.
'All right, all right you big spoil-sport. I'll apologize. Now stop whining.'
"Hamano-san? Gomen ne, I did not mean to hurt your feelings. Forgive me?"
Surprised, Kariudo looked towards him. "Eh? No, there is nothing to be sorry about. I mean I know you are only teasing. I supposed I'm just not used to such conversation. Daijoubu, Shindou-san."
"Nevertheless, I must insist you accept my apology. I may only be teasing, but I also laughed at you. Please accept my apology, otherwise I'll just perceive that you are unable to forgive me. And I'll have to hold onto the guilt for a long time to come…" A sad and soulful look came to Hikaru's face.
"Ah-no. Gomen gomen… I mean, I accept your apology. I forgive you, truly I do. Please don't…" Kariudo's babbles trailed off, as he caught sight of Hikaru's playful eyes and twitching lips. "You tricked me!"
Giving out a short bark of laughter, Hikaru broke out into a big grin. "I know. But you'll still forgive me right?" 'Ne… Sai, is that an acceptable enough apology?' Hikaru's only answer was a groan. He did not look at the gentle ghost as to not raise any curiosity from Kariudo, but he could imagine how the ghost looks like right now. Hikaru's grin widened as he imagined the ghost banging his head on the wall, or at least tried to.
"… Hai, you're right Shindou-san, I'll still forgive you. But that's because good manners demands me to." Kariudo grumbled out the last part, and Hikaru, being in close proximity with him, heard it. Hikaru laughed out loud again and stood up, walking towards the hall where the matches were to be held.
"Come on, Hamano-san. Our match is about to start… unless you care to forfeit?" Hikaru paused in his steps momentary to throw a devilish grin at Kariudo. Immediately Kariudo stood up with a loud protest.
"NO WAY! As a matter of fact, I'm going to give you a run for your money Shindou-san." With that, Kariudo walked determinedly towards the grinning Hikaru.
"Good. I'm glad to know that Hamano-san. Let's have a good game then. May the best man win."
Without waiting for Kariudo's answer, Hikaru turned and continued towards his destination. Kariudo smiled softly, in a way grateful towards the younger boy, his opponent. He came in here today, in a defeated mood ready to be totally crushed without even a worthy fight, thanks to his fallen confidence. Then he met his opponent and instead of the normal hard stares exchanges, they had sat down, drank coffee together and chat, or rather teasing on Hikaru's part. And somehow his opponent managed to cheer him up and even get his fighting spirits geared up and ready to go.
Indeed he had a lot to be thankful for, for how many people will take their time to cheer their opponent up? In fact most of them will just be ecstatic that they will have an easy win. And Shindou not only cheered him up, he even offered him a can of coffee after knowing for sure that they were to be opponents today. Shindou Hikaru is indeed someone else altogether.
But of course he still believed that he will lose to Hikaru, but at least he was looking forward towards their match now and determined to put up a worthy fight for victory. Shindou Hikaru's victory today will be hard won.
Just as they reached the doorway, Hikaru turned back to him again with a mischievous grin that Kariudo was starting to learn to be wary of.
"Ne Hamano-san, I do mean what I said earlier. You're too kawaii to be intimidated."
Kariudo's jaw dropped as Hikaru took off his shoes and walked into the hall. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he quickly removed his shoes and stumbled into the hall, muttering all the while about a certain crazy blond-bangs eccentric prodigy.
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Ko Yongha smirked smugly to himself as he walked toward the Tokyo Institute of Go. He could not help recalling a certain green-haired sixteen years old glaring death glares at him throughout the whole of breakfast today. A certain green-haired sixteen years old with bags under his eyes. But of course, it's only noticeable to those who really care to look carefully. And Ko Yongha is nothing but careful, especially when it concerned certain people.
Yongha chuckled softly as he thought about Touya Akira. Now that was entertaining. Who would have guess that the mere mention of Shindou Hikaru would put the other boy into such predicament. Then again… it was not just a mere mentioning of Shindou, it was a blatant challenge to Touya on the claims of Shindou's attention.
Of course, Yongha had just had to rub those raw wounds more. And what better way to do that than to inform all of them that he is going back to the Institute today to find someone to play Go with? To the rest of the occupants on the table, including his sempai, Yongha was bored and itching to play some Go, but he knew that Touya Akira took the announcement the way he wanted him to. Touya Akira's eyes had narrowed dangerously when the announcement was made.
'He looks almost like an enraged kitten. I'm surprised he didn't start hissing at me.'
Unable to contain his laughter, he let it out, gaining a few strange looks. Ignoring his surroundings, he looked at his watch, which set to follow the time in Japan, and noticed that it was just half past nine. The professional matches started at nine in the morning, which means, given Shindou's abilities, his match should finished in about another half an hour, if not less.
Whistling to himself softly, he finally reached the Institute and walked in confidently. Taking the elevator, he went straight to the floor where the matches were held. Peeking in, he saw Shindou concentrating in his game with another pro. He frowned as he noticed that Shindou was being over-familiar and definitely a lot less hostile toward his opponent. He shrugged it off, thinking that his opponent today must be a friend. At least he found out for sure that Shindou was still in the building.
Smiling, he backed out of the hall and went straight to the last bench at the corridor that was partially hidden by the vending machine and a short palm tree. As confident and cocky as he is, he still does not fancy people staring at him. And he being a famous Korean Go pro in a Japanese Go Institute will definitely drew more than just a few attentions. Besides, hiding out here will gives him an opportunity to observe Shindou before making his presence known.
Smiling to himself, he waited as time slowly passed by. After all, some things are worth waiting for.
He was almost asleep when he finally heard Shindou's voice. A warmer tone of a voice from what he was used to, but still unmistakably Shindou's. Slowly he straightened up and searched for the source of the voice. What he saw when he finally found Shindou did not go down well with him. Who would be when their object of obsessions was being extremely nice and friendly to another guy? Another guy who happened to be as good-looking as hell, with his long, soft purple hair and striking features.
He growled softly as he watched Shindou laughed at something the purple-haired man said mournfully before replying good-naturedly. Yongha fumed as he heard Shindou asking his companion whether he wanted a rematch whereby it was promptly accepted. There goes his chance of catching Shindou alone…
His eyes lighted up as he heard Shindou suggesting the public Go center on the ground floor that was set up by the Institute for the convenience of the pros, inseis and even the public to have an unofficial game. He almost clapped his hands together in glee when he heard Shindou's companion agreeing. Maybe his chance was not lost after all. He just has to wait until either one of them leaves… and hopefully they would not be leaving together.
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Hikaru and Kariudo was once again having a match of Go, this time in a less tense environment. And, as it was the same result of their one official match and two unofficial matches, Hikaru was winning. Hikaru smirked as he placed his winning stone, knowing full well that Kariudo had to admit defeat now, which he did, a minute later. Kariudo immediately slumped onto the table as Hikaru cleared up their goban cheerfully.
"Wai! Are you sure that you are only a 1-Dan? And you are merciless! At least have some pity on your sempai!" Kariudo had taken to whining pitifully after losing to Hikaru for the fourth time in a row. Hikaru laughed softly before he replied.
"Yes, I believe I'm only a 1-Dan, but I can always check it out for you if you want me to. By the way, who says you're my sempai? And as for some pity, have you not heard of 'All fair in love and war'? It applies to Go too."
"Wai! You demon reincarnate, you. I'm your sempai because I'm older and I was pro much earlier than you. So there." Kariudo almost stuck his tongue out at that but thankfully he has not been reduced being childish yet. So he settled for scowling at the younger boy. Instead of having the desired effect, it only served to amused the younger boy more.
"Ne Hikaru, I think you have tortured Hamano-san enough. By the way… can I have a game with him?"
'Asked the person who had just accused me of torturing Hamano. It's true that I beat Hamano in the last four games we played, but if you were to be the one playing with him, you'll be wiping the goban with him. And I believe that is an even worse form of torture than the one you just accused me of.'
"Ah… true… but but. WAH!!!! Hikaruuuuu!! I wanna play!"
'Wai!! Stop crying Sai. Please stop crying, onegai? Besides, we're meeting Waya and the rest later. I'll let you have a game or two with them, okay?'
"(Sniff sniff) Promise?"
Hearing the pouting voice, Hikaru mentally rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I promise.'
"Wai!! Arigato Hikaru!"
And thus, the fully restored happy ghost was seen dancing on the spot celebrating. Hikaru could only shake his head in wonder as he turned back to another sulking purple-haired person. Suddenly struck by how similar Kariudo and Sai were, Hikaru could only shake his head again. Hikaru grinned suddenly, not about to miss out another chance to tease the elder boy.
"Ne Hamano, sulking does not do your good looks any good you know."
Just as quickly as Sai switched from crying to pure happiness, Kariudo was blushing and stuttering all over again, his cause of sulking all forgotten. Hikaru could only laugh as his ploy worked.
"Shindou! You should stop teasing me! Mou… if I didn't know better, I would believe you enjoyed doing this to me… then again I suspect that you do."
Hikaru grinned widely. "No shit, Sherlock." Unable to help himself, Hikaru start laughing again and was soon joined by a still blushing Kariudo.
Somewhere during their games, Hikaru and Kariudo had dropped all formality between them and start calling each other like friends do. If Kariudo were to think back, he would be surprised. He was in awe of the boy, ready to worship him if he were to be defeated thoroughly in their official match today, for he was to experience Shindou Hikaru's strength first-hand. In fact, he ready to worship Hikaru just the instance he had laid eyes on him. Instead, he had ended up being friends with Shindou Hikaru.
And he would be a total idiot if he were to be complaining about it. Hikaru may be an eccentric prodigy, but Kariudo also found out that Hikaru is a great person to know and befriend. It was not often that Kariudo befriended someone so easily; after all he is someone who is very picky about his friends. And it seems, Hikaru had passed all of Kariudo's requirements for friendship.
Hikaru spared a look at his watch and was surprised that it was already reaching twelve o'clock. Kariudo, watching Hikaru's actions, mimicked it and nearly shouted out in dismay, surprising Hikaru and a few patrons nearby.
"Kuso! Gomen Shindou, but I really have to run. I have a lunch appointment in half an hour with my sister… she's going to so kill me. Hopefully I'll reached there on time, otherwise checked the obituary tomorrow, I'll be there."
Kariudo grimaced as he quickly stood up, grabbing his coat at the same time while Hikaru was chuckling amusedly opposite him. Unable to ignore him, Kariudo gave Hikaru a stare.
"Don't be so happy, if you have a sister like her you'll know what I mean. Better yet I'll introduce the two of you one day, and then you'll see what I mean."
Hikaru's only response was to laugh harder, which really annoyed the elder male. Sulkily he told Hikaru to shut up and he finally got ready to leave. Choking, Hikaru called Kariudo back.
"Hey Hamano! I'm really glad to have met you today. Thanks for all the games. I'll see you around yeah?"
Kariudo turned back and smiled happily at Hikaru. "You bet, Shindou. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Got to go. Ja ne!"
Hikaru smiled in return as he bade Kariudo farewell. He leaned back against his chair, relaxing as he called out to Sai.
'Sai, do you want to go for a walk? Or maybe you would like to have a game against me? We have more or less an hour to kill before we meet up with Waya and the gang.'
"Eh? An hour? Then we shall-"
What Sai was about to say was cut off abruptly as a cool and well-cultured voice suddenly addressed Hikaru, catching both boy and ghost off guard. Hikaru's heart nearly stopped as he heard the distinctly familiar voice and Sai was made aware of Hikaru's sudden fear.
"Hikaru? What's wrong?" But Hikaru hardly heard Sai, trying to calm himself and not freaked out.
'No… please tell me it could not be…'
Dreading the worse, Hikaru slowly opened his eyes, fearing the outcome. He came face to face with a smirking red-head, before closing his eyes back with an almost inaudible groan. He took his time to sit up slowly as he mentally told Sai that this is the very person that Sai had wanted to meet last night. Summoning all his perfect manners, he opened his eyes to stare at the intruder in the eye with a cool smile plastered on his face.
"Konbanwa, Ko Yongha-san. How may I help you?"
-owari-
--------------------------------
genki – happy (think of the normal Sai)
baka – erm, idiot? Or something like that… stupid works as well
ohayo gozaimasu – good morning
Kami – God
gomen (nasai) – I'm sorry
yoroshiku onegaishimasu – I'm pleased to make your acquaintance
hai – yes
arigato – thank you
wakaranai – I do not know
kawaii – cute
daijoubu – it's all right
sempai – upperclassman
onegai – please
kuso – Damn
Ja ne – Bye and see you again
Yay!!! I got another chapter up. Sorry for the long delay, but I'm not going to dish out excuses. Whatever excuses I dished out, it doesn't change the fact that I took my own sweet time putting out a new chapter. All I can say is I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. As for the… erm… nice ending, well, I just feel like leaving it there.
Mag Wise – Thank you, thank you, thank you! For your vote of confidence in my English. Unfortunately, I still think it's bad… sigh.
Muse, panatlantic, zeynel, GoldenRat, anime-earth, Zen Nat – Thank you so much for liking my fic! Blush… I'm so honored.
Kute Anime Kitty, Mika, Ashura Akuma , Luna, Night-Owl123, Melissa – Update is here! Please don't kill me or anything… hehehe.
Shinigami, Kodachi – Pairings? Hmm… I'm just going along with my mind. Truth to be told, I don't really know what kind of pairing I'm doing anyway, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.
There are a lot more people I should thank, but right now I'm just hit by another 'lazy-wave' as I called them. D So for those who had reviewed but whom I did not mentioned, please don't get mad at me (putting up my hands begging). I'm truly happy for all the reviews I gotten, it let me know that at least there were people reading my little fic. Kinda make me proud… something like that.
And of course, needless to say, please review. I know I had said earlier that I don't really need reviews, but it does make me happy receiving them… So please, please review? Pretty please, with cherry on top? Thank you!!
