Not Just a Game
A/N: Aw… no reviews yet. But that's okay, here's the second chapter. Since I have nothing to do and it is summer vacation, I'll probably update at least once a week. Yes, I know, you think that's impossible but I'm in a writing phase now. I don't know when I'll be out of it but you'll know when I suddenly start getting very lazy. Let's hope that doesn't happen too soon.
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StrengthI was always more resolute, more independent, more stubborn and less picky, less obedient, and less gentle than my three sisters. For some reason, I saw that as strength. An unconquerable, wild strength. I thought I was free from all the fluttering, worthless lovebirds that flocked to my sisters.
It was far from it. Day and night, love letters stormed into my wastebasket. Random princes from faraway lands wrote poems with sweet and sickening verses that tried to defeat me. Of course, I refused every single one of them, hoping that their hopes would be crushed and that they would never return.
I didn't want to marry a filthy, egotistical noble. My refusals made them furious, and me more infamous. My parents were delighted that they received so much attention. Finally, I made a decision: Only somebody with enough intelligence and wit to defeat my hand at Go would be even considered as a husband.
Go. That was real strength. I was unbeatable.
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Hikaru walked into the Go Institute with his confidence shooting up at an irregular high. Sai trailed behind him, listening as Hikaru boasted his new goal: to get at elast 16th place in the first class of Inseis and to compete in the annual Wakajishen, where higher-ranking Insei got the chance to enter into a tournament with newer pros.
"Touya'd better be there," Hikaru said with a wide grin on his face. His eye glinted evily.
"Hikaru," Sai reminded him, "you're still in second class and—"
"And?" grunted Hikaru. Sai eyed him nervously.
"Well, you are, um…, you're still, I MEAN you're doing great but…"
"Yes?" Hikaru's voice rose dangerously.
"Eh… you're still in the, um…, lower half of the second class."
Hikaru drooped and sweatdropped. "I know… BUT."
"Yes?" Sai said quickly, surprised.
"I WILL MAKE IT TO THE WAKAJISHEN! A FEW IDIOTS FROM SECOND CLASS WON'T STOP ME!"
"Right!" Sai said, adopting Hikaru's confident tone. "It doesn't matter if you're still the worse Insei at the last place of the 2nd class! It'll be a piece of cake with me as your teacher!"
Hikaru sweatdropped and sighed. "I still have a long way to—"
He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Ogata round the corner. Quickly, he bowed down and greet politely, "Good morning Mr. Ogata."
Ogata acknowledged him with a smile slightly on the sinister side and muttered to himself, "Shindou…" (A/N: He ALWAYS does that.)
Hikaru just blinked in a very confused manner, shrugged, and moved on. He went before he could see a very hyperactive father point a finger excitedly at Ogata, scream something undecipherable in recognization, and attack him. (Mwahahahaha…)
As he walked through the hallway he stopped at an empty space in the wall. He stood there puzzled.
"Hey Sai… wasn't there a door here before?"
Sai thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, I'm almost certain of it. It was a small room with lots of books."
"Whatever." Hikaru shrugged and continued walking. "I don't want to be late."
Sai floated there and didn't move. He eyed the wall curiously, and tried to stick his head through it. He was met with nothingness. It gave him a strange empty feeling. There wasn't anything on the other side. He pulled away from it before the feeling consumed him.
"Sai!" Hikaru called his name impatiently and motioned for him to hurry up. Sai gave the wall one more cautious look and went.
Hikaru greeted Waya and Isumi, who were eyeing each other competitively because they were against each other first thing in the morning. They didn't get a chance to say much because the matches were almost about to begin. Hikaru studied his next opponent, a boy 2 years younger than him with a nerdy-looking haircut. They both kneeled in front of the Go board and muttered, "Good luck," to each other.
Hikaru immediately focused his energy on the board. He stared hard at it, analyzing the opponents every move and reading further into the game. He sighed. This guy went by the book. Almost every move he made looked as if it had come from one. Just to see, he threw down a stone in the most random place he could find.
"Hikaru! What are you doing?" Sai screamed at the outrageous move. "That move has no reasoning behind it at all!"
"Sai! I told you to be quiet!" Hikaru snapped after flying three feet into the air at the sudden noise.
"B-but… that move…" whined Sai. "You'd better start getting more serious about the games you play."
"I AM," Hikaru huffed. Sai sighed and decided to leave it at that.
The opponent scratched his head and glared at the piece Hikaru just put down. He kept looking up at Hikaru and then down at the stone and then back up and down and up and down (accompanied by the occasional scratch of the head.) At this Hikaru decided just to smile back as innocently as he could.
"Um… Hikaru?" Sai said softly. He was looking up and gazing at the walls and the ceiling in a weird way.
"I told you not to talk to…" Hikaru trailed off. "Sai?"
Sai was standing up now. "There's a presence…"
"Sai! What are you—"
"Hikaru!" Sai was officially worried. He kept glancing about as if expecting something. "Get away from here. It's not safe."
"What?"
"Something is about to—"
There was a loud explosion and part of the wall nearest to them collapsed. The clacking of stones onto the board immediately stopped. All the Inseis turned their attention to the wall.
Suddenly Go pieces on their side of the room that had been put down in a game flew, exploded, and cluttered. It was as if an invisible hand had struck them all away and scattered them. Hikaru visually remembered when Akira had angrily messed up the Go game when he first played Sai.
Hikaru raised his hand for protection as a Go piece cam whizzing at him from another direction. There were many screams and shouts and some of the Insei got up and ran.
Suddenly everything was silent as a brutally cold and chilling wind entered into the air. Everyone's voice was trapped in their throats. The wind died down eventually, but it was as if something else was creeping slowly into the room. Hikaru felt cold, colder than he'd ever been in his life. Abruptly he felt a single emotion sweep over him. Shame.
He sat there, cowering from the unknown presence. He was sweating hot… his limbs were about to turn to ice. All his senses were jumbled. He was paralyzed in that one unexplainable emotion.
"It's alright, Hikaru," Two shining and warm figures of his mom and Akari came and smiled gently at him. "Just go to sleep, and everything will be okay when you wake up."
He relaxed. The voices calmed him. He felt his eyelids drooping, little by little. All he wanted to do was slump over and snore his heart out. And he was just about to do that.
"Don't, Hikaru," Sai's voice broke the spell. The two figures gave a shriek and became deformed. Their anguished yells echoed in Hikaru's mind as the writhed around as if in panic while they were disappearing. Finally, he snapped back into reality. He panted as if he'd just ran a marathon,m and as he regained the breath he'd somehow just lost, he surveyed the room. There was rubble and dust everywhere. The bodies of the Insei, along with many Go stones and boards, were strewn everywhere. They all looked like they were sleeping peacefully.
"Waya! Isumi!" He gasped as he saw them. He ran towards them and tried to shake them awake. Waya moaned but thankfully opened his eyes. Isumi, on the other hand remained limp. He was out cold and there was a large gash on his arm.
"What happened?" panted Waya. Groggily, he sat up. His head pounded painfully in protest as he tried to recall the past few minutes. Hikaru waited until he regained his breath.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Waya checked himself over for any injuries.
"I… I think I am," he said hesitantly. He was still shaking a bit from the coldness he'd felt moments before. His golden-brown eyes surveyed the damage done. "What about Isumi? He was sitting closest to the wall when it just exploded."
"He's unconscious, but I think he's okay," said Hikaru. Sai nodded and agreed, "Yes, he was knocked out before the spell started so he wasn't affected."
Waya sighed in relief. "What about the others? Should we wake them?"
Sai answered, "No, the spell isn't strong enough to harm them. Yet. We should try to find the source of whatever's causing this." He waited as Hikaru relayed his answer to Waya.
"That makes sense… but wait, spell? Okay, I guess that's the only explanation…" Waya said, wincing. His head was still throbbing. "But how?"
Hikaru answered again with Sai's words, "Have you seen anything strange around here?"
"Hm… well, there was this freaky tourist guy," said Waya, "Oh! There was a person running around the hallway just after the games started."
"Yea," said Hikaru, "so?"
"Well… it was strange, you know?" said Waya. Hikaru gave him a raised eyebrow and he sighed, "Never mind…"
"I wonder if it's just the Inseis. Was anyone else affected?" asked Hikaru.
"Let's go check… but what about Isumi?"
"We should wait until he wakes up."
"Right."
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Outside the Go Institute life was progressing as normally as it ever had been. Passerby hardly even looked at the place. After all, it was just the Go Institute.
A long journalist writing for a popular Go magazine neared the building. She stopped before it, checking her hair and makeup one more time before entering. Sighing happily, she placed her hand on the doorknob, and was immobilized.
The building shuddered (A/N: don't ask me how this is possible) as if detecting the intruder. She turned her eyes upward, her face distorted in fear. She tried hard to pull away, but failed. Finally the response came. There was an unnatural zapping noise as jolts of electricity passed through her. There were screams and gasps as her body crumpled to the ground.
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A/N: Whoooot! Long chapter finished. Oh yes, and in case anybody is confused or curious, the little parts in the beginnings of the chapters are in the perspective of a ghost. And I'm also going to make a promise to everyone now: I will NOT kill ANYONE in this story. You see, in my last fma fic, all of my OCs died except for one. Mwahahahaha— er… I'm such an idiot.
Sai: Yay! Idiot!
Me: Hey…
Waya: So, who are ya going to pair the girl up with?
Me: How did you know I was going to do that?
Waya: Darkhand's writing her first fic with any pairings in it. I hope she fails miserably.
Me: (whimpers) You guys are supposed to help me, not hurt me…
Sai: Idiot! .
Me: (sighs) I give up.