Oh my God, I thought this chapter would be the end of me. I've gone through an interval of writer's block in the past few days and as a result, I've discovered I have problems writing Akira kun T^T. Can any one suggest a good fic that based on him? I need to do more research about his characters.

This chapter will be the last chapter of this arch. I hope to develop my characters further more in the next arch (Kyoto arch). I expect the plot line will get a little more complicated as I introduced more characters into the story. But I'll do my best not to make this fic confusing. I hope you readers continue to support me.

As an apology for my late update, this chapter has a thousand more words to the usual length. I intended to make it 5,000 in total so I could upload two chapters at once but my brain has finally shut down for the day. I'm sorry you have to wait for the new chapter for continuation.

Here's the favorite part of my A/N. Thank you for reviews, readers! Although I cannot follow some of your expectations because the long plot line forced the story down that way. But the characters' development will become more exciting in the future.

With the help of your reviews, I was able to skip the discussion with potential beta-readers. Thank you reesessweetie for your constant reviews which help me improve my works greatly. Thank you Kanrei for pointing out story milestones that I wasn't able to see from the reader POV. Thank you Anonymous and Amaya93 for your praises and encouragements. I hope to see you again in the next arch too.

Also thank you all the followers and favs. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well or if you don't, leave critics (I love them too)

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go

It had been months since Hikaru first welcomed a century old guest into his dream. Since that fateful encounter, this particular guest had visited Hikaru night after night without fail, but only at nighttimes when Hikaru was asleep.

"Urgh! Why can't I get out of your dream? This is ridiculous! Playing with you is boring!" Torajirou whined. He had his hands on his hair, pulling on it in the way that it would have come off if he were alive. Hikaru eyes turned darkened as he imagined what damage he could deal to the man in front of him with the help of the Go bowl in his hand.

"Like I said, the only way you can enjoy playing is by teaching me to be as good as you. Then we can start playing equally!" Hikaru shouted back. His face was red from the rising anger, one that he barely contained within his emotional depth.

"And how long have I been teaching you, half a year? Oh, heaven forbid. My first and only student since the day I have lived turned out to be this sloppy brat? What grave deed had I done wrong in my previous life?" Torajirou mock sobbed as he skillfully duck the fully loaded Go bowl that flied in his direction. His 'student' had snapped, yet again.

"Five months! Learn how to count, you idiot! And what kind of teacher would crush his student to the ground in Shidou Go like you did?" Hikaru barked.

"It's because you annoyed me." The Go master sighed before his expression turned somber. "All these months and I can't see much change in your Go except the same old style you had before and a little bit of my Go. Can you imagine how frustrating that is? Tell me something, you lazy brat, have you ever study other players' games since I came to live within your dreams?"

Hikaru was silenced with that last blow from his teacher. "But I don't have anyone to help explaining those games. My brother has always been busy as of late. We only get to play a few games before I go to bed. And those books are just too hard to read by myself. I can't sneak out to grandpa and have him read for me everyday!"

Torajirou snorted but his eyes had softened as he looked at his seven-year-old student. "Those are just excuses. You can just memorized those games before coming to see me at nights."

"But!" Hikaru protested. The boy had also calmed down when he heard the change in his teacher's tone "How can I memorize the games when I can't even understand them?" the young Fujiwara frowned.

"Don't always rely on other people's explanation then. Sit and play the sequences out if it helps you to see the better pictures. Try to understand by yourself, the motives behind each and every move. There is not a single move that is meaningless. If you don't think carefully before placing your stone, you're throwing away your victory." Torajirou brought out his paddle fan and started fanning himself. For some unknown reason, Hikaru dreams were always in summer, even if it was spring in the actual world.

"Say, Torajirou, why is it always summer here in my dreams?" Hikaru asked his instructor mindlessly as he gazed out from the terrace to the village by the sea below.

"Sensei" Torajirou stressed on the word "And it seems like I have control over everything here. It is summer because I wish for it. And seeing as you cannot leave when I don't dismiss you or until someone wakes you, that is quite a solid prove in itself." The Go master, on the other hand, eyed the scattered stones on the tatami floor with narrowed eyes, a mischievous glint flashed across those light brown orbs for a second before it completely vanished and replaced by a smirk on his face.

"Now to prove my point, I order you to pick up those stones or sit and listen to my preaching until someone comes and pulls you out from my world." Hikaru grumpily kneeled and started picking up stone after stone as he heard a satisfying snicker behind his back.

~o0O0o~

"Good afternoon, Fujiwara-san" Ichikawa greeted her new acquaintance. She still remembered the first time when Akira-kun had introduced the boy as the salon's part-time instructor. Her heart raced like it was about to burst from her chest as she met the boy's alluring gaze on that day, not that she felt any different now that it was three months later.

"Good afternoon, Ichikawa-san. Is Touya-kun here?" Sai placed his bag on the counter as he signed his name on his employee card, starting his evening part time job. "I think he booked an extra lesson with me today but I'm not sure about the time. Can you check my schedule for me, please?" Ichikawa nodded. She hoped her fellow part-timer would begin warming up to her as they had been working together for quite sometime but the boy still acted formal and polite around her (actually he was polite around everyone except for those customers who were younger than him safe for Akira kun).

"Yes, he has. And your lesson with him will start in about five minutes. Do you want anything to drink? I can bring it to you later." She smiled back at him.

"Thank you very much. I'll have iced green tea then." Sai smiled as he handed her his blazer. Ichikawa noted that his unique light flowery scent was lingered on its fabric and not the smell of his sweat, even though it was a hot day outside.

Sai walked to the back of the Salon. His eyes fell onto a seven-year-old boy who was staring intently at the board in front of him. It was a game which Touya sensei had played against Ichiryu sensei in the recent Honinbou league.

"Should we review that game together?" Sai greeted the boy when he was in the range of hearing. The young Touya looked up just in time to see the new pro taking his seat on the opposite side of the Goban. His eyes lit up instantly as he realized what the teen had just offered.

"I want to hear your thought on this move my father made, here," Akira pointed to the center of the board where white (Kouyo) had suddenly jumped into black's area (Ichiryu). Sai paused for a moment before he grabbed a few stones, mixed in colors.

"I think Touya sensei was playing along for the moment," he placed a few stones down the board.

"See, here is tricky. He turned Ichiryu sensei's trapped into his defense. If Ichiryu sensei was to take white over here, black's shape on the side will begin to fall." Sai placed his last stone. He glanced to the boy when he didn't hear any reaction in reply. "It was a good game but I think it's still a little too hard for your self-study. What do you say we review some lower level games together and if you still want to discuss about this game, we can come back to it later?"

Akira kept quiet as he sat still. His face was stern and serious "Fujiwara san, did you talk to your brother about us playing a game?" Akira asked him in return as his hands moved to clear the board. He desperately hoped the young pro did.

"I did but he still hasn't give me the answer," Sai didn't have a heart to tell the young Touya that his brother just brashly refused the game, saying that he didn't know the boy thus he felt creepy playing a boy who seek him out personally for just one game. Akira looked dejected as soon as he heard Sai's reply.

"You know, Touya-kun, we can always play together in the meantime. I promise I'll set up a match for you two very soon. So please don't put on that sad look, alright?" Sai couldn't stand seeing the young Touya looking depressed. The boy was at the same age as Hikaru and that reminded him of his younger brother after all. Akira wasn't quite cheered up but he did his best putting on a forlorn smile. At least he felt somewhat contented, playing games with the very person who had been teaching the mysterious boy until recently. At least, the boy's overwhelming skill was not a surprise to him any more.

~o0O0o~

It was one fine Saturday when Sai found himself waking up late in the morning. He walked down to the living room and saw Hikaru laid flat on his stomach, his elbows supported his upper body as his right hand cupped around his face. He was nonchalantly studying a Go game, chewing a salty Japanese cracker in his mouth all the while flipping the page of Go weekly magazine with his left hand.

"What a disgraceful manner you have there, Hikaru! Eating or studying or napping, choose one!" Sai frowned as his brother glanced up at him casually. The boy didn't even move an inch despite his nagging. Sai noted with dismay that his little brother had become even more tolerant to any type of preaching as of late.

"Nii-chan, come see this for a bit," Hikaru waggled his hand, urging his brother to come closer.

/He ignored me./ Sai grunted mentally while stomping his feet onto tatami mats. His manner lesson was cut off as he saw the game on the board, a Go weekly magazine laid opened next to the boy. Sai's eyes widen as he recognized whose game it belonged.

"What happened to the kids nowadays?" he mumbled before kneeling down beside his dear brother who was poking the center area of the board repeatedly in frustration.

"This move over here, what was this guy thinking?" Hikaru huffed as Sai eyed the lone white stone that had jumped into black's dominated area. He grinned to himself, thinking that he had just answer the same question a few days ago. He was about to explain to Hikaru when he was cut off for the second time.

"You see, if black (Ichiryu) made his next move here instead of where he had played then that should force white (Kouyo)to response differently." Hikaru pointed to the other two spots where he thought white would fall back into. "So isn't it better for white to play here, next to black stone instead of jumping into black's trap. He'd have had a moku more as the result too." Hikaru looked up with a frown. He had been frustrating for days with this game. Surely, his brother must have felt the same.

But unexpectedly, he had met with Sai's stunned expression. Hikaru quickly switched his gaze back to the game. Am I wrong? Nii-chan must have thought of some different moves that I didn't see. Man, I feel so stupid now that I asked!

What Hikaru didn't know was that Sai hadn't try playing those moves himself. Would he see them if Hikaru didn't point them out, he was certain that he could. He only felt disappoint with himself since he realized that he was satisfied with only reading the moves the way he thought was best when there were other moves, better moves, waiting to be discovered.

"Nii-chan, did I say something wrong?" Hikaru woke him out of his trance. Sai shook his head slowly as he didn't know how he should response. Before the two brothers could go on with their conversation, the door bell rang.

"Father, mother, aren't you suppose to arrive tomorrow?" Mitsuko was the one to get the door. The two brothers had gone quiet as they strained their ears for any following conversation. Why are they here? Their mother didn't mention anything about their grandparents coming to visit. The two brothers didn't like seeing the relatives from their mother side. The Kyoto folks were well known for their aristocratic characters in addition of being strictly conservative. For the young Fujiwaras, the old couple was too stiff to be around.

"We wish to visit our Tokyo branch today since we will only come here to pick up Hikaru tomorrow." Mitsuko's mother said with her best cheerful tone while her Husband remained silent. Hikaru turned sharply in the direction of the voice, his face filled with terror.

"Oh, I haven't mention Hikaru's training to any of them because I thought you'd stay over for tomorrow night. I was hoping for your help, talking to the children." Mitsuko's voice sounded muffled but that didn't escaped Hikaru's ears.

"My training, what are they talking about nii-chan?" Hikaru's head had gone blanked as he looked to Sai for help. His hollowed face turned to the very pale Sai who was about to collapse from his uncontrollable shudder.

"This is exactly why your children don't listen to you, Mitsuko. You're too soft. All of this mess wouldn't happen in the first place if you were firm on having Sai taking over our business. Now we have to train the younger one all over again." The oldest Fujiwara bellowed in his low, grumpy voice.

"What is this? Mom, what is grandfather talking about?" Hikaru was on the verge of tears. Was his family about to send him away to Kyoto? Did Sai know about this? When it was apparent that no one in the house would want to be the one breaking the news, his grandfather volunteered.

"You'll be coming with us to Kyoto for your training to take over the business." Hikaru was stunned as he listened to his stern grandfather. He didn't know what their business is but he had always known that it was Sai who would be the owner once he was old enough. Why was he the one receiving training now? He turned to Sai for the third time. His brother was clutching on the doorframe, his lips pressed tightly together as he avoided Hikaru's direct gaze.

"I didn't mean for it to turn out like this, Hikaru. I'm sorry." Sai choked on those terrible words quietly as Hikaru went into panic.

"But I want to play Go. I want to be a pro. Sai promised me that we'll play together," he yelled at his grandparents who did not look too appreciate with his boisterous manner.

"Stop your childish act at once! How can a young master of Erizen behave so wild? We won't stop you from playing Go but you can forget about being a pro."

That vanishing last straw of hope stabbed painfully into the heart of the two brothers. Sai was now sobbing into his fist. Hikaru was…

"Why now? You folks never care about me until nii-chan refuses to take over the shop. Or am I just his replacement?" Hikaru's tone was quiet but the bitterness was apparent. His fists clenched tightly as he glared at the Fujiwara elders.

"Hikaru, you've got it wrong" Sai blurted out. He tried to reach for his brother but the boy wrestled him off. His face contorted with anger.

"I hate you, nii-chan!" He gritted his teeth as he ran away from the house, leaving behind his shoes in his rush.

~o0O0o~

"Weird weather," Hikaru glanced up to the bright sky when the raindrops fell onto his eyes. It was a light shower but it kept pouring down for quite sometime, without any sign of stopping. Some people on the street stared at him openly, some left a considerable distance away from him. Hikaru suspected it was because they noticed that he was walking only with his socks on. Nonetheless, the dirty stares were the least worrisome issue that plagued his mind at the moment.

His feet finally stopped at the sign of a Go salon hanging over the pavement. Hikaru stared blankly at it for a long moment before he decided to go in. 'It would be interesting if they let me in for a game instead of handing me to the police.' He chuckled bitterly. 'My luck is out anyway, why not trying my worst?'

The doorbell rang brightly, calling the receptionist behind the counter into view. Ichikawa bent down slightly over the build-in desk to see a boy in a black and yellow t-shirt, fetching his wallet from his pants. His hair and shoulders were sprayed with raindrops "How much for a student fee?" he asked glumly.

"That'd be 500 yen," she replied while sliding a register to the boy "It's not your first time playing in a salon, right? Please write your name and level here. I'll go find some towel to dry you up then we can look for someone to play with you together." but the boy didn't seem to be listening as he discarded the register and walked to one of the tables by the dimly lit aquarium.

"I think we've met before," Akira looked up from the board to the boy who was standing an arm away from him. He tilted his head slightly as he stared at the boy's face. "Oh, it's you from the competition. I couldn't make it there on the second day. Did you make it to the final?" Akira could not recall the boy's name but he knew that the winner in that competition wasn't him. The boy shook his head slowly. The young Touya thought he heard a faint chuckle coming from the boy's direction.

"Would be great if I did," he smiled sarcastically. Somehow, the air around this boy wasn't so relaxed comparing to the day they first met. Akira shrugged it off, choosing to blame the low lighting of the area for causing such eerie atmosphere.

"How about a game?" the boy requested, the upper half of his face was barely visible in the shadow. Only those green eyes seemed to flash maliciously as he stared intently into Akira's pair. The boy moved to sit across him without waiting for his reply.

"How many handicaps do you want?" Akira pushed the bowl with black stones to the boy. He unintentionally added some edge in his tone. It could not be help that the boy's rudeness finally got a hold of him.

"How many handicaps do you want?" the boy narrowed his eyes dangerously. It seemed that Akira had offended him by offering handicaps.

"You take black then," the young Touya said indifferently.

"It's your lost." the boy smirked as he rolled a black stone between his fingers. His first hand came down strong as he slammed his first stone on the upper right star point. Akira blinked at the lack of formalities but he could not say he expected much from the boy who barged in and forced a game out of him. He gracefully placed his own stone on the upper left corner, 4-5, just below the star point. The boy played a one-point jump into the right side of the board. Akira claimed the lower right star point.

They started an early fight as Akira responded to the boy's 4-5 at the lower left corner, playing a one-point approach below the black stone. The boy placed a knight move to block his corner but Akira stubbornly wrestled his way into the area. A few hands later, Akira roughly owned the lower left corner.

He went on to strengthen his upper right when the boy attacked his lower left again.

'You don't really know when to give up, do you?' He attached another stone to form a wall against the boy's attack. However, the boy's next move came down instantly, slamming the black stone to position keima (knight's move) to Akira's right corner. The young Touya's eyes widen as he realized the boy's intention after that last stone.

'He's claiming the lower side of the board! But it's still too big of a jump. I don't need to be alarmed' He placed his own white on the wide jump, outlining his territories on the left side. The boy continued with his own pace, imitating Akira's last move on the upper side of the board. Akira approached black's last stone carefully as he sneaked his glance up to the boy's face. His eyes were drawn back to the board as the boy began extending his area to the center.

'He plays as if he doesn't have any fear. How rare for the boy my age.' then his hand stopped midway in the air, still holding a white stone between his fingers 'The boy my age' He repeated the line in his mind as he looked back to the board, carefully replayed the sequences inside his head. His eyes widened as the familiarity of the boy's style began to match up with that of the new teenage pro. Akira bit his lips to suppress the excitement that riled up inside his body. He clenched the stone in his hand as he started coming up with a new plan.

'There's only one way to find out.' he mused. His hand darted to the boy's black stone on the lower right corner, placing his white stone in black's supposed area. Black had evaded leisurely to the right side of the board but Akira wouldn't let him run away. After eighteen more hands into the fight, the boy managed to come out with the stronger wall for the lower side of the board, leaving the lower right corner to Akira. 'Don't think you can get away from me. The real game starts now!'

Akira daringly placed a stone inside black's upper right followed by another stone to threat the boy's jump to the center but it didn't seem to effect the boy's attention as he calmly blocked the threatening stone and made another jump. Akira frowned deeply 'Fine, keep running away. We'll see how far you can go.' He chased the boy with his own parallel jump to the center.

It worked. The boy took a long paused after that block Akira made. His eyes scanned the board from left to right, top to bottom, and finally rest on Akira's upper left corner for several minutes. The green irises flashed viciously as the boy came down with another slapped on the board. That gesture didn't bode well with Akira but it was not enough to make him cowered in fear.

They continued to exchange hands as black made a small area out of Akira's upper left but the boy had paid the big price for it. His formation in the center was now broken by white's progressive attacks. Beads of sweat appeared along the boy's hairline.

Akira noted that the boy had been breathing heavily for quite some time. Well, he would probable had felt the same if he was in the boy's position. The boy had underestimated him and as a result, Akira was able to form a solid wall along the whole left side of the board. 'Your moves are not enough to fend me off. I know your style.' Akira grimaced.

Hands after hands came down on the board. They had finally reached yose without any significant changes to the side area. Black had a big chunk out of his upper right corner but claimed less than fifteen mokus on the lower side of the board while white dominated the whole left side in addition of a considerably large part on the right side. It was apparent whose victory this game belongs…

Akira's eyes widened in shock as his gaze fell onto the center area of the board. The previously dead group of black stones that was surrounded by white when they were playing in chuban (middle game) was revived without him realizing. Black had managed to connect his large group in the middle to his lower board. This miraculous come back was now haunting Akira's shape in the center which had been killed efficiently. There was no other way for him to secure more points at this state of the game. His eyes nervously switched from one corner to another as he recalculated his points.

But Hikaru didn't care about the victory anymore. All those words of praise from his grandpa (Heihachi) and his elderly friends, those admiring smiles from his brother, and those impressed looks on the amateur players kept circulating in his head like some poor written song with cliché phrases that hard to get rid from the head. The once treasured experiences had been turned into nightmares as he realized there was a boy his own age who could fight him on an equal ground. Suddenly, Hikaru wasn't so special like he had been told. Suddenly, his existence didn't feel necessary in the Go world any longer.

"Congratulation" Hikaru muttered quietly as he stood on his feet, preparing to leave. Akira's face shot up from the board, a frown reappeared between his brows "What do you-"

"Hope you have fun playing Go" a tear rolled down his cheeks as Hikaru bolted for the door. Akira rushed out after him, leaving behind the game he had lost.

The actual score?

White (Akira) has

85 surrounded points

10 prisoners (5.5 points komi rule)

95 points total (100 1/2 points total with komi)

Black (Hikaru) has

85 surrounded points

16 prisoners

101 points total

Hikaru won by 6 moku without komi, (or by half moku with 5 1/2 komi).

The actual Kifu is from Gokifu dot com. A match between Go Seigen (3dan/B) VS Murashima Yoshikatsu (4dan/W)