Different Roads, Same Destination

by Lady Addiction

As a child, Hikaru was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative condition known as MS. What impact would this have in Hikaru and his family? Where does Akira, Akari, and Waya come in? AU, GEN, WIP

7. Chapter 7

Title: DIFFERENT ROADS, SAME DESTINATION
Author: Lady Addiction
Fandom: Hikaru no Go
Pairings: None
Warnings: GEN, AU, angst, people with disabilities
Dedication: In thanks to the Lord for his many mercies in my own life.

Wow, thank you so very much all of you for taking the time to review and let me know what you think! It's a definite encouragement to know that you guys are reading it! I hope that you will like the next chapter. Please be warned for errors---it's unbeta-ed and if you notice any, please let me know so I can fix it.

I hope you have fun and please continue your reviews!

WWW

Money.

That was the root of all his family's problems.

Hikaru shoved his fists into his jeans pockets as he wandered around the Akenoyama shopping district. He passed by the small storefronts with their multitude of displays, stopping now and again at one of the sporting goods stores or at an electronics shop to check out their wares. Sai followed behind him, eagerly running back and forth as he marvelled at the new things the world had invented since Torajirou's time. Hikaru only grunted and nodded at the ghost's bubbling comments, more concerned with the problem of money.

Too often now, he would find himself huddling against his bedroom door, listening to the loud voices coming from his parents' room.

Most of the time the arguments were over minor things, like dinner.

["Mitsuko, what was that you fed us? You've burned the food! Don't you know how expensive beef is?"

"It's only just a little burnt, anata! I was helping Hikaru with his homework and forgot to check it! It's fine!"

"Mitsuko, when I come home from work, I expect to be able to relax and eat a good dinner. How can I relax with food like this?"

"Anata, I'm sorry I'll be more careful next time."

However, there was the occasional quarrel that revealed there was something more deeply wrong than what was shown on the surface.

["Mitsuko, why are you spending so much on the groceries? Do we really need all these?"

"Anata, you know the doctor said that Hikaru-chan has to eat properly or he may get sick again! Besides, I was very careful to buy these on sale!"

"And what about these classes Hikaru's taking? Swimming lessons? Meditation? They're too expensive! Why can't he just go out and play basketball and soccer like the other boys? He's doing fine, isn't he?"

"No, he can't! Have you seen how rough those games are?! What if Hikaru-chan gets injured? The last thing he needs right now is a broken leg or something worse!"

"Well, what's wrong with just buying him a DVD of these classes? He doesn't have to go to a class!"

"But Hikaru-chan's having fun with his classes! He was telling me the other day about how his swimming teacher was telling him that he's getting much better! He wouldn't need swimming lessons soon! Anata, can't we just give him another month of these lessons? I'll find some way to cut back on the groceries," his mother pleaded.

"Mitsuko, you know these classes are useless anyway! It's not as if Hikaru's going to get better…"

"Masao, why are you acting like this? He's your son! Don't you want him to live a healthy life? Why are you putting money over your son's health?!"

"That is because we are not rich, Mitsuko! My salary can only cover so much! I don't see the point of wasting money on medicines that are not going to do any good!"

"You're wrong, anata! The doctor says it will help Hikaru become well!"

Whenever they began to hear the loud voices, Sai would jump up and begin to pester him. Hikaru would turn his back against the door, swipe angrily at his face, and do his best to concentrate on the ghost, rather than his parents or his condition. Sai would at times draw his attention by singing ancient songs that were popular in his time, or ask Hikaru about all the sports games they watched on TV. Most of the time, they played Go, with Sai patiently correcting him and teaching him better moves.

But no matter how hard the ghost tried to distract him, Hikaru never forgot that he was a burden in his father's eyes.

It was obvious to him that because of his disease, their family was having financial difficulties. Before his mother would let him buy new clothes or a game every so often; now, she kept telling him that he had more than enough clothes and toys whenever he brought it up. His pocket money had not diminished but Hikaru saw his grandfather giving his mother a suspicious envelope during one of his visits; Jii-chan had never done that before. They began to eat more and more tofu and beancurd substitutes instead of fish or red-meat, and the only time Hikaru managed to eat Pocky or drink soda was when he bought it off a vending machine himself.

One time, while he was over at Akari's house, Hikaru had even thought to ask his friend about jobs.

["Ne, Akari, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

The girl who was flipping through their History text while Hikaru was flipping through channels looked up. She frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm. I think I want to be a journalist like Onishi Youko-san! I love reading her stories about what's happening with idols and movie stars and people like that! It'd be interesting if I could travel a lot, wouldn't it, Hikaru?"

"Ehhh, do journalists make a lot of money?"

"Huh, I don't really think so. My dad used to say that if you want to make a lot of money, you should become a lawyer or doctor or businessman. But I don't want to be one of those!" She stuck out her tongue in distaste. "Besides, being a lawyer or doctor means that you have to have high grades all the time and go to the best schools. You probably have to be at the top ten all the time at school!"

"Do you really need high grades to make a lot of money, Akari?"

The girl shook her head. "Well, I think a lot of the really good jobs do. I know that's why Okaa-san and Otou-san are always telling me to get good grades and go to university. Otou-san even told me once that if I'm not a good student, I might find myself sweeping the floors at the NcDonald's restaurant by the mall! I'd hate that!"

Hikaru continued to flick through channels, though he paid no attention to what was on the screen. Instead, he was gnawing his lower lip as he thought hard about Akari's words. He knew she must be right – his mother had frequently tried to tell him that he needed to get better grades or he's going to ruin his life. It had just seemed too stupid. After all, he didn't need high grades if he could become the star forward at one of the J-League teams, did he?

The boy inhaled sharply. But he couldn't be a pro player now, could he? Nobody wants a crippled player in their team! He began to feel that all-too familiar burning sensation at the pit of his stomach.

"Ne, Hikaru, what about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I want to be healthy, he wanted to say. Instead, what came out was "I don't know. I've always thought I'd be a professional soccer player or something."

"But, Hikaru, how can you be a professional soccer player now when you don't play soccer anymore?" she asked in a puzzled tone. She moved from the bed to sit beside him, her wide eyes clear and piercing. Hikaru looked away.

"Well, hehehe," he replied, nervously rubbing his knee, "I've changed my mind. Soccer's stupid anyway! But now I don't know what I'm going to do. The only thing I know is whatever job it is, it has to pay lots and lots of money."

"I don't really think soccer's stupid," Akari said doubtfully, "but, Hikaru, it's going to be hard to get a job that pays a lot of money. My mom says my dad's in a really good position at his company but we're not rich or anything like that."

"You're rich!" Hikaru protested, whipping his head to stare accusingly at her. "Your family went on a trip to England last summer, didn't you? And you went to Thailand the year before that!"

"But Yatsuhiko-kun, Jessica-chan, Emiko-chan, and Yuushi-kun has gone to many places like that before too and they're not really rich!" she disputed. "The only rich person in school is Tatsuya-kun. He has his own driver, doesn't he? We only have one car and it's pretty old!"

"Hmm, yeah, Kunimoshi is rich. I wonder how they became rich?" Hikaru pondered. Kunimoshi Tatsuya was in the top class and he was also in the kendo club. However, the two of them only knew each other in passing, unlike Akari who was class representative like Kunimoshi and so attended meetings with the other boy.

"Well, Tatsuya-kun says that his father runs a big company with factories abroad. He even said that his father's thinking of sending him to America to go to one of the private schools there rather than stay here in Japan," Akari said authoritatively. "His father wants him to become a lawyer so Tatsuya-kun is always complaining at the meetings about how his father's always telling him to get better and better scores at exams."

Hikaru poked at the carpet. "That's so stupid. He's already at the top ten in the school. What does it matter if he's number five or number one?"

Akari shrugged. "It probably has something to do with family honour and being rich and all that. You know, Hikaru, before you think about jobs, you should think about Junior High. We'll be moving onto sixth grade in two months."

"Yeah, that's right." Hikaru was about to ask another question when Sai coughed politely. He turned to where the ghost had been sitting beside him throughout the conversation.

:Hikaru, I think it's time to return home for dinner.:

:Okay, Sai.: "Oi, Akari, I need to get back home now." He tossed the remote control aside and stood up, stretching. Sai stood up more gracefully and walked over to the door. Hikaru hesitated.

"Akari?"

"Hmmm?"

"I still have to do a lot of homework and…uh…" He looked away, scratching his chin with his index finger.

"Do you want my help, Hikaru?" He peeked over his shoulder where Akari was standing with a smile. "I know you missed so many classes because you were in the hospital. It's alright, I don't mind."

His shoulders slumped in relief as he grinned at her. "Ah, that would be great. Thanks, Akari. Can I come over tomorrow night?"

"Sure."

:Hikaru, look out!:

At the ghost's sudden yell, Hikaru's head came up. To his shock, he saw that he had accidentally wandered off the sidewalk and was now right in the middle of the road. A car was coming towards him and he found himself completely frozen.

Suddenly, he was engulfed by a strong force that took him to the other side of the street. Something heavy landed on top of him, causing him to wheeze and gasp. Hikaru began to struggle, trying to push whatever it was off him.

It moved on its own and Hikaru scrambled away. Sai had ran after him and was now kneeling at his side, panic-stricken lavender eyes scanning him for any injuries.

"Oi, kid, are you alright?"

Hikaru looked to see a boy a few years older than him dusting his clothes off. He was tall and broad, with spiky red-streaked hair and wild, ferocious eyes. This boy, Hikaru suddenly realized, was the one who saved him. He tried to get up on his feet and stopped when a large, callused hand moved in front of him. Tentatively, Hikaru took it and allowed the other boy to pull him up. "Um, thanks," he said, flushing and looking down. He busily whacked at his clothes.

"Hey, no problem. Just watch where you're going next time, okay? I might not be here to save you." The boy smirked at him.

Hikaru found himself scowling. He ignored Sai who was fretting beside him. "I don't need anyone to save me," he retorted proudly, "I can save myself!"

"Heh, good attitude. What's your name, squirt?"

"Don't call me a squirt! My name's Hikaru! Shindou Hikaru!"

"Where's your mother, squirt? You shouldn't be wandering around Akenoyama on your own." Kaga began looking around. "And stay on the west end of the district, the east is bad for kids like you."

"I'm not a child!" Hikaru argued fiercely. He glowered right into Kaga's animal-like eyes. "I don't need my mom to walk around Akenoyama! Hey, you should introduce yourself!"

"The name's Kaga Tetsuo! You can call me Kaga-sama," the older boy replied magnanimously. He ignored the face the sixth-grader made. "Now go home before something else happens to you!" Kaga shouldered his bookbag and started walking down one of the side alleys away from Akenoyama's main street. Hikaru hesitated, seeing the old tenement apartments, the street courts with their chainlink fences and graffiti-covered walls, and the dangerous-looking youths who came in and out of the pool halls and arcades.

Akenoyama was his grandfather's district and Hikaru refused to let somebody chase him off. While Sai futilely tried to tug him away, Hikaru marched defiantly after the older boy. Kaga let him follow for a few more minutes before he confronted him.

"Kid, look, I know you're grateful I saved you and all but really, I don't like kids so buzz off before I do something nasty," Kaga told him, leaning down to sneer into Hikaru's face. The younger boy stood his ground.

"I'm bored," Hikaru announced.

"So? Do I look like I care?"

"I want to know what you're doing here and I'm going to follow you until I find out!"

Their eyes met in a fearless staring contest. Hikaru refused to blink or look away --- he may be sick but he was not a coward!

"You're not going to go away until I beat you, are you?" Kaga finally stated, still holding his stare unblinking.

"Not even if you beat me," he answered.

Suddenly, the older teen broke off the contest and chuckled. He reached out to ruffle Hikaru's hair. "You're a brat, squirt, but I like you anyway. So, wanna hang out and play some games then?"

"Sure. But you pay," Hikaru stated, falling into step beside the older teen. He turned his head to glare at Sai who was despondently following after them.

"Oi, oi! You're the one tagging along, squirt! Okay, here's what we're going to do---I pick a game and if you can beat me, I'll pay for all the games you play."

"It's a deal!"

Kaga grinned widely and led the way into a small doorway. Hikaru looked in and stared. It was a pachinko parlour.

Rows and rows of colourful machines were somehow crammed inside the tight space. The ceiling was hung with eye-catching banners and advertisements. In between rows there were barely enough room for the chairs and people to walk through.

Since it was close to dusk, the parlour was half-filled with teenagers and dark-suited salarymen. Loud noises, both mechanical and human, rang through the air, accompanied by annoying marching-band music. Kaga slipped through the narrow aisles, leaving Hikaru to slither his way in.

:Hikaru, where are we?!: Sai asked, astonished at the intense atmosphere around them. :What are all these people doing?:

:It's a pachinko parlour, Sai.: Hikaru racked his brain for what little he knew and understood about pachinko. Like Go, he had always thought of it more as an adult's gameand boring besides. Still, there was a parlour in his own neighbourhood and he was classmates with the son of the owner of the parlour. : Sawada's dad runs a pachinko parlour and he told us all about it. Remember him, he's always cleaning out his nose? Basically, people exchange money for those little balls, which they then put into the machines. What you want to do is try and get those small metal balls to go into special holes so that you get even more balls. The more ball bearings you get back, the more things you can get when you exchange the ball bearings at the counter.: Hikaru pushed his way through and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally made it to where Kaga was standing. A teenager was standing behind the counter where a display of various goods were held. Hikaru nodded his head towards a machine where an old man was feeding his collection of ball bearings. : Sawada said that those machines give you a special ticket depending on how many balls you collected. Then you can exchange the ticket for candy or drinks or stuff at the counter. Once he got a pretty cool keychain.: Hikaru snickered and continued, :Sawada also said that some people exchange their drinks or cigarettes or whatever at another counter somewhere outside for money.:

:That's, that's gambling!: Hikaru covered his face as he laughed harder at his friend's shocked and disapproving expression. :That's it! Hikaru, we should leave this place!:

:Aw, Sai, come on! It's a new game! Don't you want to see what happens? Besides, what am I going to do? Go home and listen to Otou-san yell at Okaa-san again?: He looked away from the ghost and came to Kaga's side. The other boy had been impatiently tapping his feet, having already obtained a bucket of pachinko balls.

:…I'm sorry, Hikaru…:

He heaved a mental sigh at the spirit's woebegone expression. :It's alright, Sai. It's not your fault. Come on, let's just have some fun for a bit, okay?:

:…alright…:

"Oi, squirt! What are you taking so long for? I don't have all day, you know," Kaga told him.

"Hey, Kaga, you didn't tell me you have a kid in here," the teenager behind the counter complained. "He's not allowed to play or it'll cost me my job."

"Don't worry, Keigo," Kaga assured him. "I'm playing. I just have to watch him. Neighbour's kid, you know." Hikaru scowled at that, crossing his arms in his chest. He was ten-years-old, not a kid!

"Hah, like anyone'd ever let you babysit. Fine but get out of here quick."

Kaga waved and herded Hikaru into one of the pachinko machines. "Okay," he said, leaning down to whisper in Hikaru's ear. "I'm going to give you one ball. If you manage to win a prize, I'll take you to the arcade and you can all the games you want for the next three hours. If you lose the ball, you have to pay on your own. Deal?"

Hikaru stared at the tall machine with its brightly-flashing display. "Deal." He dug into the bucket, took a ball, and fed it into the machine. All three watched as the ball made its hypnotic progress, causing the centerslots to spin, just like in a casino slot-machine. Slowly, the slots began to stop spinning. They held their breath: 7-7-7! It was a jackpot!

Jaws dropped and people turned to stare as the machine poured out hundreds of the tiny balls. Kaga even had to run and fetch another bucket. The teen was chuckling and rubbing his hands as he eagerly fed the balls into the ticket machine.

Hikaru and Sai were forced to wait in front of a convenience store while Kaga ducked out of sight behind the parlour. When he came back, the other boy was broadly grinning. "You, squirt, are the luckiest beginner alive! You just won me 50,000 yen! And because I'm a good guy, I'm splitting it with you."

The fifth-grader could only stare at the handful of bills shoved in his face. "Are you serious?" he breathed. "We won this?!" He took the bills and began numbly flipping through them. 25,000 yen right there in his hands, all because of one 4-yen ball.

Kaga winked. "Too bad you're under-aged! With your luck, we can make millions at the parlours!"

"Millions?" Hikaru's eyes were sparkling. Was this the answer to his family's money problem?

The older teen took one look at him and began to frown. "Hey, Shindou, I was just joking, you know," Kaga said seriously. "Pachinko parlours are not for kids. They're bad news."

"Hey, then why did you take me there?!"

"It was a whim." He shrugged. "I don't like pachinko. I've heard of kids whose parents had lost so much money in those places that it was ridiculous. Even worse, I heard people can get addicted to crap like that --- easy money, you know. But I thought one time wasn't a big deal and I wasn't expecting you to win big. My advice is stay out of places like that, yakuza and gangs are always connected to pachinko parlours."

Hikaru shoved the money into his wallet. "But what if I need money?"

"If you need money, find another way," the other boy replied bluntly. "First, you're way too young. Second, although playing pachinko is not really illegal, exchanging your prizes for money is and you don't want to get involved in illegal stuff. Third, you're going to lose more than you're going to win after enough time. It's not worth it in the long run and besides, you got to have pride, kid. You can do better than hang around smelly, noisy pachinko parlours going blind pushing balls into machines."

:He's right, Hikaru,: Sai affirmed. :Do you think your parents or your Jii-chan would be happy if they found out you're getting money from illegal activities?:

:But, Sai, look how much we got! If we had stayed there for a few more hours, maybe we could have had over 100,000 yen!:

:Or lose everything we just earned. No, Hikaru. I refuse to be a party to gambling. It is a pastime for criminals.: Hikaru stared at that set face and sighed, scuffing his toe on the street.

:I know, Sai, but…:

:Hikaru, I promise you Kami-sama has better things in mind for you than gambling at these metal-ball places. Have patience.: The ghost hugged the boy. :Everything will be fine.:

"So what do you want to do now? I did promise to treat you to arcade games." Kaga hooked his thumb and pointed at another storefront.

"Nah, I've had enough of those places for today, I think," the younger boy replied, disheartened. Sometimes he hated being so young. It made him feel so helpless. "I think I'm going over to Jii-chan's and ask him if he wants to play Go or not."

"You play Go?" Kaga exclaimed.

"Yeah. Why, do you?"

The older teen hesitated. "Once. I'm more into shougi now. Hey, so do you want to go to the recreation centre and see if we can play a game?"

Sai began jumping, chanting happily. Hikaru felt the heaviness in his chest lift and he smiled faintly. "If you're ready to be defeated, any time!"

"Hah! I might be the king of Shougi now, squirt, but there's no way a squirt like you is ready to beat GrandMaster Kaga!"

"Biii-da!" Hikaru pulled down an eyelid and stuck his nose at the older boy. "GrandMaster of what? Nose-picking?!"

"Why you!"

The two raced towards the recreation centre, teasing each other all the way.

WWWW

"A half-moku," Kaga whispered, staring at the evidence of his defeat.

Hikaru slumped back in his seat, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Kaga had been a tough opponent, fierce and wily, but he had played dozens of games with Sai. Maybe thousands if he could believe what Sai said about the two of them playing games in some kind of secret paradise. Still, he couldn't believe the thrill and exhilaration that seemed to shiver down his bones.

The game was a real eye-opener. Unlike Sai, Kaga was much weaker. This gave Hikaru an opportunity to see how much he had improved over the three months he had been learning to play, as well as see the mistakes other players made. Although Hikaru played with his grandfather, he was always forced to act as if he was a rank-beginner in order not to let his Jii-chan suspect something was wrong. As a result, the games were mainly unsatisfactory and he preferred to do other activities with his grandfather than Go.

Games with Sai, however, tested him to the very limits. Unfortunately, there was never a chance for Hikaru to win. Hikaru didn't think he could win even if he had 20 or more stone as handicap. Not that Sai would ever let him win, anyway; the ghost called slaughtering him 'shidougo'.

Kaga-san was strong, a true challenge, but it was the first challenge Hikaru had ever had where in he had a good chance of winning. Hikaru, who approached Go games with a mixture of more dread than excitement, found himself becoming more engrossed in the game. Glowing embers within him began to fan into full flame as he noticed more and more mistakes and took ruthless advantage of them. For the first time in an even game, Hikaru was able to make it all the way to seichi. He won by only a half-moku. It was his first ever win, and it was a win that had taken everything he had. Hikaru couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"I told you I was strong, Kaga!" he boasted. :I won, Sai! I won!:

Sai bopped him on the head with his fan, warning him not to be overconfident.

"Shindou, how old did you say you were?" Kaga asked abruptly, spearing him with an intense, dark gaze.

"Ten. I'm in fifth-grade. Why?"

"Have you ever considered becoming an insei?"

"An insei?" Both he and Sai echoed blankly.

Kaga frowned. "How can you play this well and not know what an insei is? Come to think of it, did you know you play in a very old-fashioned style?" The older boy studied the board. "Hmmm, I'd bet a you that your teacher is a Shusaku fan. A big one!"

"Eh-what? Shu-who?"

His new friend sighed and smacked himself in the forehead. "Right, let's start from the beginning. Shusaku is Honinbou-Shusaku, one of the greatest Go masters in Japan. He lived around the Edo period. The way you play uses a lot of Shusaku's favourite jouseki and tesuji."

:That's because /I/ was Honinbou-Shusaku,: Sai claimed proudly, a bright smile on his face. Hikaru gave him an incredulous stare.

:You said you came from the Heian era!:

:I do but remember I told you about Torajirou? When I was with Torajirou, he often let me play Go games through him and together we were able to attain the name and rank of Honinbou-Shusaku.:

:Huh.:

"Anyway, Go's change a lot since then. For one thing, there's komi, which is a handicap on black," continued Kaga. "Basically, here in Japan, when people play even games, white gets a handicap of five-and-a-half. This means that black must get six moku more than white in order to win."

"That's unfair," Hikaru exclaimed, frowning. "Doesn't that put a lot of pressure on black?"

"Komi was created to make it more fair," the older boy countered. "The ability to play first is a powerful advantage when you're playing with someone of equal skill so being black gives any player a lead. That's why beginners always play black while their teachers play white."

:I told you that, Hikaru, remember?:

:Hush, Sai, I'm listening!:

"So, anyway, having komi puts white on a more even ground with black but because of komi, a lot of the old jouseki don't work well anymore. Take a look at this." Kaga pointed at a pattern on the upper right. "This is Shusaku's kosumi, one of his favourite moves. Without komi, this hand is very strong. However, with komi, it doesn't gain you as much territory so people have stopped using it." He stroked his chin, tapping the board with his own fan which arrogantly boasted the kanji for "king". "It's odd that a modern player uses such an old style."

Hikaru rubbed his hair, laughing nervously. "Oh, my teacher's very old-fashioned! So, what's an insei?"

"Insei are for the really serious Go students. They can be really little kids, about six or so, and they go to the Nihon Ki-in about twice a week after school to play and learn Go from professionals there. You have to take a test to go in and your parents have to pay a fee to keep you there, but it's the best chance you have to become a professional player," Kaga concluded. His face darkened. "Of course, places like that you end up with some really arrogant kids who think they're too good for you," he spat out.

"You were an insei, Kaga?"

"Nah. My dad forced me to go to lessons when I was younger, about five or so. Did it for a few years but I got tired of it." The older boy stretched. "I like shougi better anyway. But, Shindou, you should looked into taking insei classes."

Hikaru frowned down at the board and slowly started clearing it off. "I can't," he replied reluctantly. "I'm in trouble with school and I'm really behind in my class. My parents also won't pay for me to take Go lessons. They'll all just think it's stupid and buy me a book or something instead." :Jii-chan's the only one who'll be willing to pay,: he said to Sai mentally, :but Jii-chan already gives me too many things.:

The spirit sighed. :That is true. Oh well,: Sai grinned happily, :this means you can just play me!:

"What's the big deal about being a Go pro, anyway?" he asked Kaga as they walked out of the recreation centre.

"It's the goal of every strong Go player, idiot! But, okay, what it means is that you don't have to finish school or get a job once you become a Go pro. The Nihon Ki-in pays you to play Go, or go to conventions to do demonstrations, or to teach and publish. Being a Go pro is as serious a career as anything, and it's also quite well-respected," Kaga explained, clasping the back of his head. "People call pros 'sensei', they pay you to teach them to play or to hold exhibitions, and if you're a title-holder, you get old folks' asking for your autographs. You can also win a lot of money in the tournaments."

"Really?" Hikaru asked, wrinkling his nose. He had never thought anybody would ever want to hold a tournament for money for an old-fashioned, dull game like Igo before.

"Yeah. A major tournament can have a prize money of several million yen and title tournaments have more than that. Corporate sponsorship and all that, you know."

The fifth-grader goggled. "You can get a million yen playing Go?" he repeated in a strangled voice.

"Yep, or more. Of course, most Go pros never become title-holders. But still, being a Go pro is a relaxing way to make a living. Beats having to work eighteen hours at some dead-end company, trying to climb the ladder by being the boss' pet," the older boy stated.

Hikaru stopped walking. He swallowed and looked down at his feet. "Can, can someone with a health condition become pro?" he asked nervously.

"You mean like a heart problem or a wheelchair or something like that? I don't see why not," Kaga said, rubbing his nose. "Go players are always just sitting in front of gobans anyway. Plus, a lot of the title-holders are old men, which means they're more likely to have a stroke or something."

Kaga paused thoughtfully, thwacking his fan on the palm of his other hand. "One thing about Go is that the most important thing is ability," he stated softly, "if you can show people that you are strong in your game, I don't think the Nihon Ki-in really cares about anything else. It's the only profession I know where junior high kids can become pro and compete with seventy-year-old men. In Go, all that matters is strength."

"In Go, strength is everything, huh?" Hikaru repeated thoughtfully. He looked Kaga straight in the eye. "Ne, Kaga, do you think I can be a pro?"

"Hmmm, you definitely could. You're strong, squirt, very strong for someone your age. But the pro exams is long and hard, filled with a lot of strong, desperate players and the Nihon Ki-in only accepts three pros per exam. I'd recommend you join the insei class for at least a few months before trying to tackle the pro exam. Besides, you said you're behind in class, right? Go to salons and play with people there," Kaga suggested. "Go requires a lot of experience. You may be strong, but someone who has played Go ten years or more has a good advantage over you and many people who try to go to the pro exams have been playing Go for most of their lives."

They reached a bus station off the side of Akenoyama's main street. "So I'm taking the bus here," the older teen said, "what do you want to do?"

"My Jii-chan's house is just a few blocks away from here. I'll walk. Hey, Kaga, do you want to hang around again sometime?"

The older boy grinned and took out a piece of paper from his bag. He scribbled on it before handing it to Hikaru. "Call me if you want to do something! Next time we play, though, we'll play shougi!"

"Alright!" Hikaru yelled out. He turned and walked towards his grandfather's house.

:Hikaru, what are you going to do?:

The boy shrugged. :I can't do anything about it right now, Sai,: he replied. :I got to get Akari to help me with my homework so I can move on to sixth-grade. We only have about two months left.

:But,: the ten-year-old's eyes narrowed. :I'm going to become a Go pro, Sai. I will prove to my dad that I'm not a burden.:

WWWW

So what did you think? I'm a little nervous about posting this chapter because it's so definitive a plot point and the end is still a little murky. Here's to hoping that it'll all work out!

And please, let me know what you think.