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. :)

My thanks to Iskabod who edited my story for me. So please readers, an applause for the wonderful lady…

Okay! Enough nonsense from me. Enjoy the new chapter!

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Chapter 11: Forgiveness

Yongha lay on his bed, an arm behind his head as he stared at his cell phone in front of him. More accurately, he was staring at a certain phonebook entry in his cell phone. A certain entry with the name Shindou Hikaru.

Yongha sighed as his eyelids fluttered, gently closing as he tried to lose himself in nothingness. It had been a few days since he last saw Shindou.

Days spent doing nothing except wandering around town alone or with his sempai. Days of playing Go in salons and the Tokyo Go institute. Days often used to antagonize Touya Akira. Of course that stopped when he found out that Shindou met Touya yesterday at Touya-sensei's salon.

Yongha's hand tightened on his cell phone as a dark scowl came to his earlier bland features. Suppressing the urge to throw his phone against the wall, he lowered his arm and let the cell phone drop onto the bed. Even though he had been at the institute from time to time, he had not managed to even catch a glimpse of Shindou. And somehow he could find neither the courage nor the incentive to call Shindou.

His now free arm used to drape across his eyes, Yongha thought about Shindou. He could not understand his fascination… his obsession with Shindou Hikaru. Sure, Shindou is a strong, eccentric player. Furthermore he is extremely passionate about Go. True, all professional Go players and insei and of the like are passionate about the game. But for Shindou, it seemed like Go was his very life and death. For someone as young as Shindou, that is extremely rare.

Rare, but not unheard of. There were many others whose skills could turn one's head. Shindou was not the only one. So why this obsession with him?

Why had he wormed his way into coming Japan the second he had heard his sempai was planning to go Japan with Touya-sensei? Why had he thought of nothing else but to seek out Shindou by any means possible? Why had he hated the fact that Touya Akira was in more contact with Shindou than him?

Why is he still thinking about Shindou even though he had met him?

And why, even though he had Shindou's number and a promise for a game, he still hesitates in contacting him?

Gritting his teeth in anger, Yongha vaulted up in a sudden motion. Straightening up from his bed, he ransacked his cupboard before pulling out a dark green pullover and donned it. Tying his hair into a ponytail, he walked out of his room in the Touya's residence, grabbing his wallet and cell phone at the same time. His sempai had long since gone out with Touya-sensei to some temple or another. At least Seon-kuen is enjoying this trip more than he is.

True, he had known of his obsession with Shindou Hikaru since the Hokuto Cup… but his obsession is starting to get more and more ridiculous. Getting obsessed over a Go player was something of a norm for the Korean, which usually dies out after a while or so. But to get jealous and angry over petty things concerning his obsession, this was definitely a first.

With Shindou Hikaru, it was like he could not get enough of the young Japanese no matter what. Then again, Shindou Hikaru was his first obsession that had hated him.

Maybe… maybe if they had a game, this obsession would go away. Then he would not have that awful feeling of jealousy, eating him from inside, driving him crazy. Yes, he finally admitted it was jealousy. It is absurd really, to associate jealousy with Ko Yongha, but that was exactly what he was feeling.

But how and why would he feel jealousy? After all, Shindou is nothing but an exceptional Go player to him. Although he taunted Touya mercilessly, he does not have any claims on Shindou, and he seriously doubted he ever would. All he wanted right now from the blond banged pro is recognition. Not as a Go player though, for Shindou must have recognized him as a Go player… he did win against Shindou in the Hokuto Cup after all.

No, the kind of recognition he wanted from Shindou was not just as a Go player. He wants Shindou to recognize him as a person as well.

"Ah, Yongha-kun."

Startled, Yongha stopped in his tracks and turned his head to the direction of the voice. Upon spotting the owner of the voice, Yongha's lips turned into a genuine smile.

"Akiko-san. Wonderful afternoon."

"Ah, yes. Are you going out?"

Yongha shrugged lightly. He was not exactly sure what he was about to do, he had just wanted to get out of the room then. It was getting too stuffy.

"I suppose so. After all this is not my own country as I'm just a visitor here so I might as well enjoy it as while I can."

Akira's mother smiled sweetly at Yongha's reply and told him to be careful. Yongha smiled and nodded in reply as he walked toward the front door. As a thought entered his mind, Yongha turned back to his hostess.

"Akiko-san, I think I will have pick up something to eat while I'm out so please don't trouble yourself. And could you please inform my sempai as well? That is if he returns and asks for me. He is quite a worry-wart."

Getting a confirmation in reply, Yongha nodded his head in thanks as he walked out of the house. Not knowing where to go, he simply picked a direction and walked down that road. He did not pay attention to his destination nor direction, lost as he is in his own mind with the thoughts of Shindou and his own peculiar feelings.

A number of blind turns and aimless walking later, Yongha found himself in a totaly unfamiliar district. 'Oh, great, now I'm lost in both the physical and mental sense. Where am I? Better yet, how the hell did I get here?'

Blinking and scowling at the unfamiliar location, Yongha finally decided to make the most of it and wander around. If worse comes to worse, he can always call for help, right? Mood slightly lighter, Yongha was quickly engrossed with the picturesque area. In fact he seemed to have wandered into a district that was mostly into traditional stuff. The perfect place for souvenire shopping.

At least it was to him. He absolutely abhorred buying silly trinkets like the majority of the people usually do as souvenirs. The things here are much more meaningful and definitely a lot more useful as souvenirs. He decided to start buying those souvenirs now instead of leaving it to the last minute, he took his time strolling along the streets.

A few packages later, his ever sharp eyesight found a shop that was even more pleasing to him; a shop specializing in Go materials. Entering the shop, he quickly became lost in what he would call heaven on earth.

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Sai was skipping ahead of Hikaru, looking into shop after shop. Once a while he would stop and hurried Hikaru, whining all the while about the slow pace Hikaru was keeping.

Hikaru only smile in response to Sai's whining; he was too used to it. Besides he was feeling quite mellow… no possible way would Sai be able to annoy him.

Hikaru had decided this morning that today will be spent together with Sai only. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he remembered that he and Sai often do nothing but play Go together. In fact, they had hardly spent time doing anything else but things that were related to Go and studies. Hikaru doubted that Sai had even seen half of Tokyo. So Hikaru had decided to remedy that today.

So that was how they had come to this particular district. It was not a particularly famous district, as most of the shops are specialized, therefore marking it as a place where only those who had certain needs will come. It was not exactly a place where most would do window-shopping, either.

"Hikaru, Hikaru! Look, look! A shop selling a lot of Go materials… there are books there too. It must be kifus! Can we go in? Please, please?"

Hikaru only chuckled at the overexcited, puppy-look that Sai had on his face before nodding his head in assent. As he watched Sai bounce into the shop, he remarked that the phrase of making your loved ones happy was self-satisfying was indeed true. Seeing Sai so happy gave him a warm feeling all over.

Hikaru chuckled again when he heard his name called out in a whining tone. Shaking his head wryly, he walked into the shop, eyes widening when he saw the amount of Go-related bits and pieces all over the place. It was a place that serious Go players like him and Sai would definitely go crazy over. He could not believe that he had not even heard of this shop before. As a matter of fact, he could not believe none of his acquaintances had never ever mentioned this shop before.

Scanning the room, he noticed that Sai was currently drooling over some articles about Go hanging on the wall. Reckoning that Sai will be kept busy for some time, he walked towards the kifus. Maybe he could find some Shuusaku's kifus there. This shop is authentic enough.

Totally immersed in scanning the title on the backbone of the books along the selves, Hikaru did not notice the young man standing just at the darkened corner of the shelves. Of course, Hikaru's concentration was shattered immediately when the person called out his name.

Yongha could not believed it when he saw Hikaru walking towards him, fingers trailing along the books lining on the shelves. After blinking several times only would he dare to believe that Hikaru was indeed in front of him and not a figment of his imaginations. Though it seemed that Hikaru had not realize his presence yet, seeing that he was so absorbed with the books in front of him.

Yongha watched as Hikaru's eyes narrowed with concentration as he studied the titles, once in a while taking out a book to flip through it, before putting it back in place. All this was done with gentle fingers, the same way Hikaru held his Go stones. The respect and reverence was there in his every move and touches.

Those actions seemed at odd with the person housing them. Gentle actions of one who knew the value and understand the significance of such things are not often found in the body of one as young as the boy in front of him. Captivated, Yongha could only watch as Hikaru continued his actions, eyes sometimes showing amusement and reverence, frowning every once a while which was replaced by a gentle smile each time as Hikaru slowly advanced towards him.

Finally realizing that he should at least say something, Yongha called out Hikaru's name softly, a genuine smile playing on his lips and shining through his eyes. Even so, Hikaru was startled upon hearing his voice. He watched, amused, as Hikaru's eyes widened when he turned to face him, before a hesitant and unsure smile came upon Hikaru's lips in answer to the smile on himself.

"Hello, fancy meeting you here."

"Yes, Yongha-san, indeed it is. Well, as they say, the world is small. How do you do?"

A wry smile replaced the smile on Yongha's lips. He wanted much more than this stilted atmosphere between them. He realized it was his fault, since he did insulted Shuusaku deliberately. He had wanted to stir up a bit of fire in the boy he had first saw glaring at him. And now he truly regrets his actions. Knowing that he could not do worse than this, Yongha decided to throw caution into the wind.

"Still so formal I see. Well, I can't really blame you I suppose…"

"… No?"

Yongha hummed an agreement. "After all I had done nothing but antagonize you when we first met. And I even put down Honinbou Shuusaku during the opening ceremony. It must have been a deep insult to you, especially since I heard you were somehow entwined with Shuusaku somehow or another. I even heard that you were a Shuusaku calligraphy expert."

For a moment, Hikaru's eyes flashed with anger and confusion. "Then why did you do it?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did you insult Shuusaku?"

"… the case with your reporter, it was a misunderstanding. It appeared that your reporter came a day earlier than the agreed date, therefore there were no proper translators available. Suyon, who was supposed to speak on our behalf, was not there as well. And I'm sure you noticed that I couldn't speak a single word of Japanese at all during that time. Therefore… I suppose you could call it a miscommunication."

"So I was told… but that was not exactly what I was asking about."

Yongha gave Hikaru a bittersweet smile. "You know, I actually admire and respect Shuusaku a lot. He was a remarkable player, one worthy of the title bestowed on him. He is one of the non-Korean Go players I respected most. What I did say was that the standard of most Japanese Go players had drop and it was such a shame since Japan had previously produced great figures such as Shuusaku. Don't you agree?"

When no forth-coming answer came from Hikaru, Yongha continued in a dry, self-mocking tone. "I'm sure that peace-maker Suyon told you that I said all those things during the opening ceremony to rile you up, and I have to admit it is true. When I first heard from Suyon what the incompetent reporter and translator managed to cook up, I cleared up everything with Suyon. At that time I couldn't care less, it was just a misunderstanding after all. But seeing you later on, glaring at me for all you're worth, it annoyed me. It was childish, now that I think of it, but it gave me some satisfaction to wipe that glare of your face."

Hikaru only looked more confuse, standing there listening to Yongha. Hearing those things from Suyon and Touya, he could accept it at face-value and yet not forgive Yongha, but to hear it from Yongha himself… Hikaru was torn. Somehow he wanted to believe Yongha, after all Yongha was here giving all but the word 'sorry'. Yongha watched silently as emotions warred inside Hikaru's eyes.

"Who is Shuusaku to you, Shindou?"

Yet again, startled by the Korean, Hikaru looked up at Yongha with disbelief.

"I know what I said was frowned upon by many, even angered some, but you seemed to take it personally. Furthermore all those things I heard from around... Why? Shuusaku must have meant something to you."

Hikaru could only stare at Yongha as he fumbled around for something to say.

"Hikaru…"

Hikaru blinked in surprise as he turned away from the Korean to see Sai standing behind him, giving him one of his rare melancholy smiles.

'Sai…'

"I heard most of everything, Hikaru. Are you still angry at him? True, what he did was immature, but it did indeed start with a misunderstanding, otherwise he wouldn't have known that Shuusaku… that I, was such important figure to you."

'I…' turning sharply away from Sai, Hikaru stared into Yongha's eyes with a searching look, surprising the Korean slightly. 'I suppose you are right. But the fact that he insulted you remains.'

"And he is more or less apologizing for it, otherwise he won't be here standing right in front of you, personally explaining his actions and is still standing there waiting for your response. And the most important thing of all, I'm back… isn't it?"

'I know… but I guess I had held onto this... this anger for so long that I don't quite know how to let go.'

"Hikaru… Don't hold such a grudge, Hikaru. Let it go. Focus instead on beating him in Go. Surely that is more important than holding on to your anger towards him, making him an enemy when it's clear he's not willing to?"

'Is that what you really think? How could you be so sure that he is not willing to be an enemy? After all, he did start this whole fiasco.'

"Isn't it so? Ever since he came back to Japan, had he once insulted you or Shuusaku? Had he once be anything but civil and polite to you? If anything, I think he is asking for a chance."

'A chance?'

"Yes, a chance. To start anew with no antagonism, no misunderstanding."

'And you believe that he deserve a chance like that?'

"Hikaru… everyone deserve a chance for everything and anything. Especially a person who is regretful of his past actions to be asking for a chance, don't you think so?"

Sighing, Hikaru finally gave Yongha a tentative smile, deciding to heed Sai's advice.

"Thank you, Yongha-san, for explaining everything to me. You are right, if it was not for the miscommunication, I wouldn't have glared at you, thus provoking you. The only reason I can give you is that to me, you had not only insulted a great figure of Go in Japan. I suppose, you could say you had dishonored my master's image."

Yongha's brows drew together in confusion. "Master?"

Hikaru only smiled mysteriously with a tint of wry amusement as Yongha continued to stare at him confusedly. Seeing that Hikaru was not about to give any explanations to his strange reply, Yongha smiled. As much as he wanted to find out the meaning behind Hikaru's words, Yongha was not willing to give up this slight improvement in their relationship. Besides, he is not one who would demand for explanations or answers from those who were not willing to give it.

"A truce then? I did not come here to fight with you." Yongha braved himself to ask.

Hikaru, being the naturally good-natured person, smiled brightly. "Sure. Although there is still my 'revenge', I don't have to have you as my enemy to beat you in Go, right?"

Yongha's mouth dropped open at Hikaru's bold words before shaking his head in wry amusement. "You know, you do, do wonders for a person's self-confidence."

"Yeah, aren't I fantastic?"

Yongha only shook his head smilingly in reply, shrugging his shoulders at the same time. Hikaru's eyes caught the sight of books that Yongha was holding apart from his several purchases from that action.

"What do you have there?"

"Oh, a few souvenirs for a few close friends and my family back in Korea. There is a couple of interesting shops around here. I got a yukata for Suyon, though…"

"For Suyon? That's original, I'm sure he'll like it. But what I was interested in are those books you are holding."

Yongha took a glance at the books in his hand as he raised them slightly for Hikaru's benefit. "These? Not too sure. Found them on the shelves. I mean they had some kifus I had never seen before, and some of them are quite good games… but I, er, the Japanese words are a bit confusing."

"Confusing? As in how? At what level is your Japanese is anyway?"

"…"

Hikaru look at Yongha skeptically. "You meant to tell me that you can speak Japanese fluently but have trouble reading the characters?"

A light flush colored Yongha's cheeks. "Suyon is the one who taught me Japanese. He only taught me spoken Japanese… you can't exactly blame me for not being able to read them."

"Since you can't read them, why are you holding so many of those books as if you meant to buy them? Wait… don't tell me you are buying them? For the sake of the kifus only? Like a picture book?"

Yongha refuses to answer, if nothing else, his flush darken slightly, clashing with his hair. Hikaru stared bewildered at Yongha before bursting out into laughter. Yongha's flush only gotten deeper at the younger boy's action as he scowled darkly at him. Sai could see that the Korean was holding himself back from bonking the younger boy on his head or doing something equally childish to stop Hikaru from laughing.

Sai smiled as Hikaru tried to stop himself from laughing. Shaking his head, Sai walked away from the two boys who are now discussing the books Yongha had. He had not known what had prompted him to look for Hikaru earlier. Sometimes was nagging in his mind, making him slightly disoriented. But whatever higher forces were at work, he was glad he found Hikaru and heard Yongha's explanations.

Sai still remembered the first day he met the young Korean and what reaction he had caused Hikaru to have. Sai could still recall all the things Hikaru had told him about Ko Yongha and how he had insulted Shuusaku, but he could not fit that image of Yongha with the Yongha he had finally met face to face. But the violent reaction that Hikaru had after meeting Yongha caused Sai to think otherwise. Today he finally seen the difference between the Yongha Hikaru had first met and the Yongha in front of them now.

The Ko Yongha in front of them now recognizes Hikaru as a worthy Go player and opponent. Therefore, he was truly genuine in his interactions with Hikaru. Maybe this will be good for Hikaru, after all it is not healthy for such a young person to be filled with so much anger.

And maybe… maybe they could draw Hikaru out of the melancholy and painful shell that Hikaru seemed to have built around him. Sai wandered around the shop aimlessly, having lost interest in it the second he felt Hikaru's discomfort.

'Sai? Sai! Where are you?'

"I'm here!"

'Where's here? Oh, never mind. Do you remember me telling you once about Shuusaku's grave in Tokyo itself at the Honmyo Temple? Want to go there now? We could give Yongha a tour. He said he had never been there yet.'

"All right! Lets go, lets go!"

Laughter was heard through the link that Sai share with Hikaru as he waited patiently at the entrance for the two young men to come over. Yes, maybe this time he could finally draw Hikaru out of his depressed shell, for the one who had placed more grievance and anger in Hikaru's heart had apologize genuinely. And he is here, interacting with Hikaru like how a normal acquaintance would.

If nothing else, it was a brand new beginning.

-owari-

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My dear wonderful readers… here's a new chapter! Thanks for being so patient with me (big grin). And big, big thanks to those who reviewed, you know who you are. I received so many compliment that I, myself was left floundering. My mother loves telling me my English is bad (her English is superb since she was schooled when the British still have control of my country) that I believes so. Thank you very much for all those wonderful reviews and encouragements. Those are the best inspiration a writer could ever have.

And like usual, please review and comments are welcome.

Until next chapter! (Which would not be too long, since it's already written and currently being edit. D )