Summary: The journey of Sai and Hikaru continues when Sai returns. Encompasses the point from when Sai disappears to the Hokuto Cup.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, etc. pertaining to the manga series, Hikaru no Go, by Yumi Hotta, and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.
Chapter Seven: Unsolved Mysteries
*Before the games*
It had been a while since Shindou and Sai had run into Ogata now, but Shindou knew better than to relax just yet. Ogata was relentless in his pursuit of Sai, though when faced with Shindou's now strengthened relationship with the Touyas, he had to maintain more dignity. He couldn't be seen losing his composure as he had that day at the hospital.
When he had noticed that Shindou now spent a considerable amount of time at the Touya residence instead of just at the Touya's Go Salon anymore, he had become suspicious. It also coincided with the time that the Meijin and Sai had had their last game of NetGo and everyone had been in an uproar about the Touya Kouyo possibly having a deeper connection to Sai, though the Meijin had denied all accusations.
Everything had died down after no more appearances or games had been conducted, but the suddenness of Shindou and Touya switching many of their games over to Touya's house bore more investigation in Ogata's mind. Of course, it would be a delicate operation since the Touyas were highly respected in the Go world, hence the reason no one had dared to hinder the Meijin too much with their questions.
Even if Ogata was a friend of the family, he too could not pry anything out of them if they did not wish to speak. His first observations that Shindou Hikaru was by no means a normal kid held true. To have the power of the most influential family in the Go World on his side was by no means a simple task, especially since the power was reinforced by bonds of friendship and good-hearted rivalry.
It was therefore that he decided an unexpected visit to the Touya residence was in order, on the pretence that he wanted to play a game against his former sensei. He had waited and observed for a while, knowing that Shindou would be on his guard, and had noticed after asking around, as he couldn't well stalk them, that the times that Touya and Shindou were at the Go Salons matched the times when the Meijin would have guests around to play with.
It was that that led Ogata to the conclusion that somehow, Shindou, Touya and his sensei were sneaking Sai into the Touya's house secretly so they could play together. It was obvious that Shindou had organized the first and second games between the Meijin and Sai on the net, but now that that had been discovered, they had found another solution. Under the veil of Shindou and Touya's new rivalry, no one would find it out of the ordinary if the two decided to spend more time together at each other's houses.
Everything had been set up perfectly. He had first gone to the Go Salon during a school day after classes and confirmed for himself that Touya wouldn't be coming in today. He knew for a fact that no one would be visiting the Touyas today. It was a perfect day for Sai to appear.
Indeed, Sai was playing Touya Kouyo right at that very moment. It had been obvious to all who had played the former Meijin since he had retired that his Go had only become stronger and better now that he had retired. Everyone attributed it to less stress and more freedom, but it was not only that. The joy of having an actual rival now to push him to greater heights had played a critical role in his improving Go. It seemed there was still a lot he had to learn and he was glad for it.
Touya and Shindou were closely playing attention to the game, Shindou again being able to notice things others could not, being in the actual game without playing it, as he played for Sai. Perhaps it had been for that reason that none of the four occupants in the room had registered Ogata's arrival. If it hadn't been for the fact that Touya Akiko had been at home and had announced his arrival, they would have surely been caught.
Akiko didn't know what was going on, of course, but she knew it had to do with Go and that was enough for her. She had long resigned herself to living and caring for two Go fanatics and the addition of Shindou Hikaru to that bunch hadn't changed that view at all, minus the fact that the boy she had met at the hospital a while ago had become a frequent visitor. She was glad that Akira had found a friend though. She had been worried for a while due to his prowess and complete devotion to Go, same as his father. It seemed he had found someone that complemented and understood him though, a great fortune indeed.
Since she didn't want whatever budding relationship that the two boys and her husband were nurturing to die for whatever reasons, since she could sense the secrecy of their actions, though she did not question them, she made sure to warn them of unexpected visitors, especially ones like Ogata Seiji, who she could feel would be a hindrance to the secret she was secretly helping to protect, even while knowing nothing about it.
When she spotted Ogata-san walking up the path to their house, she knocked quickly on the closed study room's sliding doors, not bothering to slide them open, knowing that there was a secret she was not privileged to be informed about and probably didn't want to know occurring inside that had to do with Go.
"Dear? Ogata-san seems to be making an unexpected visit. Is your session almost over?" Yes, since she was ignorant to the deeper meanings of Shindou-kun's visits, it was prudent to come to the conclusion that her husband had merely formed a personal study group with his son and his son's rival, to see how far they had come. She knew little about the Go world, but had noticed three years ago how the sudden emergence of one lone child had gained both her family members' attention immediately. It was logical that her husband would want to see how his true his predictions had been and how his expectations were being met.
The game stopped. It had been nearing the end, anyways, but it was still too early to tell who the victor would have been. Nonetheless, the game was of too high a skill to believe that either Touya or Shindou could have played it against the former Meijin just yet. It was with regret that Shindou started clearing the board as Sai pouted and Kouyo answered his wife. "Not quite, but could you please show him in? I'm sure his input would be appreciated as well." The Meijin did not give any indication that anything out of the ordinary had been interrupted, as expected.
As Akiko went to greet Ogata, the three occupants in the study room quickly rebuilt a game that had been played just last week between two pros. They pretended to be studying it as Ogata stepped into the room. Ogata gave the room a cursory once over, noticing that Touya Kouyo was facing one end of the goban, but that Touya Akira and Shindou Hikaru were at his sides, neither on the other end, facing him. There were also only three cups of tea set out, along with a tray of biscuits.
"Excuse the interruption. I didn't know you had a guest over already," Ogata greeted as he took a seat.
"There's no need," Kouyo waved it off. "I had just wanted to see how Akira and Shindou-kun were progressing and we just got off topic while discussing one of last week's games. You remember it?"
Ogata glanced at the board. "Yes, I do recognize it. It was well played, but not anything extraordinary."
"Yes, but there is always something to learn from every game," Kouyo reminded his former student sagely.
Ogata just nodded. Shindou and Touya were silent, he noticed and Shindou was gripping that fan that he had acquired recently in his hand. He didn't have long to ponder though, because Kouyo sidetracked him with another question. "What business did you have here today then?"
"I'm to play for the Honinbou title again this year and I was wondering if I could play a game against you to prepare myself," Ogata replied firmly, having already prepared a reason. "However, if this is an inconvenient time, I could come again."
"No, no," Kouyo objected. "Shindou-kun and Akira have matches of their own to play anyways."
Shindou and Touya took that as their cue to leave, though Ogata tracked the fan's movement, still held tightly by Shindou. He had a gut feeling that it held the answers to many, if not all, of his suspicions. He still had no evidence as to Sai's presence in this house, but Shindou had still been obviously rattled at the sight of him. He was definitely hiding something. For now, though, Ogata would let it go. However, he would find a way to get that fan, most definitely.
Shindou and Touya had moved to Touya's room after that. Shindou fell back on the bed as if it were his own. "Phew, I thought we were goners there for a moment. Lucky your mom was there, eh?"
Touya nodded. "Ogata-san seems to have toned down on the aggressive tactics and gone to stealthier ones now."
"Well, I'm not sure if I should be glad for that or not," Shindou stared at the ceiling. "On the one hand, he's now jumping out of nowhere when I least expect him, like you used to," Shindou teased, earning him a scowl, "but on the other, at least he isn't attacking me in the open anymore. Really, you at least had great timing then. I still don't know if I was happy to see you then or scared out of my mind. You were still after Sai too, so you could have just hounded me as well, but you did manage to distract Ogata-sensei so I could escape."
Touya frowned, remembering that particular scene. "I know that Ogata-san is very passionate about Go and especially determined to find Sai, but his actions were a bit extreme. He shouldn't have been treating you that way."
"Yeah, well, tell that to him," Shindou sat up. "Besides, you're one to talk. Before I told you everything, you practically did the same things."
"I did not," Touya denied, frowning even more. The fact that he could have been that harsh did not sit well with him, and the fact that Shindou believed he had been was even worse. "I wouldn't do that to you." He remembered the half-crazed look in Ogata-san's eyes as he held Shindou up against the wall and how Shindou's eyes had held a distinct look of panic in them. He would never treat Shindou that way.
Shindou obviously didn't know how seriously Touya was taking the issue at the moment, for he continued his teasing. "Oh yeah? Remember that second time we met? You practically dragged me through the streets just so I would play another game against you."
"That was because you insulted Pros everywhere and anyone else serious about Go," Touya argued. Shindou couldn't possibly hold a grudge against him for that, could he?
"I was just joking, remember," Shindou defended, taken aback.
"You can't just joke about things like that," Touya hissed incensed.
"I know that now," Shindou waved his hands at his friend's sudden vehemence. "I didn't know anything about Go back then, remember? You can't hold that against me. Geez, I didn't know you were going to be so serious about this. I was only joking about you being on par with Ogata on the creep-o-meter. You understood the situation a lot better and even if you didn't, I trust you wouldn't have done anything too crazy. Not that I expect you would have been able to hold me up against the wall anyways. We are about the same size."
Sai had already been shaking his head as soon as the conversation started and Hikaru had opened his mouth. His young apprentice really was clueless, though Touya Akira wasn't that much better. While Touya-kun may have already started venting some of his feelings, he still didn't recognize them, though that was much better than Hikaru who hadn't registered any of his own feelings at all. He was still too carefree and young for all of this, as Sai had expected.
It was his duty as Hikaru's protector and self-proclaimed older brother to make sure that Hikaru remained ignorant of such things until he was older. He had of course seen how Hikaru's childhood friend, Akari, looked at Hikaru, but had never done anything to open Hikaru's eyes to it, knowing that Hikaru was much too young for such things. Even if Hikaru may have been able to alter his feelings of friendship for the girl into something more after time, Sai had done nothing to encourage it, so it had never happened, since Hikaru couldn't be counted on to notice when it came to matters of the heart. He was just too oblivious, though Sai loved him for it.
Even after three years, it was still the case. Hikaru could probably easily grow to like Touya-kun as more than a friend if he tried, his carefree mind having no barriers as to gender when it came to love, but Sai didn't think it was the right time yet. Hikaru still had so much growing up to do and Touya-kun himself was almost as oblivious as Hikaru in this case. They were both interpreting their feelings in terms of friendship and rivalry, not even registering the possible third option.
It seemed, though, that Touya-kun, being the more mature individual of the two, had taken some notice first, if only a little. Sai would just have to sit and watch everything unfold. He wouldn't discourage Hikaru either, since he had said himself that Touya Akira was a worthy individual, and a perfect match for Hikaru, really, but if Hikaru was made to realise this before he was ready or Touya Akira managed to screw things up and make Hikaru sad, he didn't care if he was incorporeal, he would find a way to make him regret ever hurting Hikaru. No one messed with his little brother.
It seemed he didn't have to worry about Hikaru's feelings being hurt at the moment, since it was more Hikaru's callousness that was causing Touya pain at the moment, though neither knew exactly why and Sai wasn't about to enlighten either of them. Touya turned to Hikaru aghast. "How can you so easily joke about these sorts of things? First, what it means to be a Pro and then how I would treat you?"
Shindou was now confused at this sudden turn around. They had been fine before. Why was Touya getting so worked up about this? "I already told you I didn't know about the Go world when I said that. I would never say it now. You know that."
Touya bit his lip to prevent himself from blurting out something he knew he would regret later on. He knew that Go was important to Shindou, even moreso now that he knew about Sai and everything. He also knew that back during that second meeting, it was true that Shindou had been completely ignorant and probably not serious at all, so even though the memory wasn't pleasant, he couldn't blame Shindou just for that.
The second part of his argument though… "Well, what about thinking I would treat you like Ogata-san did? Even if you say you're joking, there are some things you don't joke about, Shindou. I can't believe you would even suggest that I would manhandle you like that."
Shindou was at a loss. Why was Touya so affected by this? He didn't have an answer, but he did know that he didn't want Touya like this. "Touya," he started softly, so as to not set his friend off again and to show his seriousness, "I know that you would never forcefully try to pry secrets from me. You backed off when we played our first official match, remember? You know my mouth runs off with me at times. You can't seriously believe I would think of you that way. There's absolutely no way."
Touya could feel all his earlier turmoil leaving him now. Why had he gotten so worked up? He knew Shindou's personality and had thought he was used to it by now. Off the goban, Shindou was so unlike the serious player he portrayed himself as, yet he had been playing Go so often with that Shindou that he had almost forgotten. Nonetheless, Shindou was right. He knew that Shindou would never think of him that way. It was just that his mind had completely stopped functioning when Shindou had jokingly stated that he may actually seem like such a bully just to get information. For some reason, he didn't want Shindou to think that he could act that way for any reason, especially not towards Shindou himself. He felt much more relieved now that he had heard it straight from Shindou's mouth.
He shook his head. "I know. I don't know what was up. Let's just forget about it. It must just be stress."
"Maybe it's a blue moon," Shindou suggested, lightening the mood, though he would make sure not to make such thoughtless statements in the future. He didn't want Touya to be angry with him.
Touya stared at him. "Maybe," he agreed, though his tone obviously indicated otherwise. Shindou just grinned at him.
"Anyways," Shindou changed the subject, "let's just play. I'm getting closer to beating you everyday."
Touya placed the goban in front of himself as Shindou got into position. "Getting closer means you're still behind."
Shindou stuck out his tongue childishly, earning himself a reprimand from Sai and a bland look from Touya at his actions. Those only made him pout more childishly though. "You two are no fun."
Touya just shook his head exasperated at how a fifteen year old teen could resort to five year old tactics of retaliation. "Just nigiri." And just like that, Shindou's demeanour changed as he got ready to play another serious game of Go against his eternal rival. Touya focused as well and soon, it was as if they were the only two people left in the universe as the world dissolved to only include them, the goban and the Go they were playing, with Sai watching over as always.