Hello, again readers
Firstly, I apologize for finally making a mistake. Hikaru, Akira, and Yashiro should have been fourth grader going fifth in the last chapter (and my OC, Kouta, a third grader to fourth). I will promptly go back and change this info. My deepest apology.
I have changed the method of letting you know the progress of my work. The update rate has turned into a percentage gauge in my profile page. It's another convenient way to tell you the bad news that I can no longer keep up with the regular updating pace but I still try my best to upload a new chapter as soon as possible. And please do believe me that Reviews (with detailed suggestions) tremendously help with my inspiration, even with the ones with questions because I can write something in story format and tell you what should happen next.
ATTENTION! Please read this and make your guess. You might win a chapter written solely for you.
Right, enough with that, this time I actually have a really good bargain to convince you readers to write me back some reviews. At the end of this chapter, I have introduced a character from HNG canon. He is the minor character in the manga but played a bigger part here in my fic. If you can guess his nationality and his name correctly, then please send your answer in your review. The first reviewer who gets it right will have a chapter written for them (based on their theme and ideas). Whether or not I will include this particular chapter in my main plot line is another story that can be discussed later. If no participation or no one answer correctly (hope not), I'll reveal him in the next chapter.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update. I admit it is less exciting than the last one but that is because it is the preparation for the closure of this arc. Many of my OCs in this chapter play important roles in driving Hikaru into the direction I want him to be. If you find this chapter not to your liking, please rant (nicely) at review page.
Some translation for specific vocabs in this chapter
Geta = Traditional Japanese Slippers
Yukata = Japanese traditional clothing, litghter version of Kimono (They also have summer Kimono which I don't even know where can I begin to explain so I'll leave it to your research.)
Yoshiwara = Red light district in Edo period
Kouhai = Underclass man (Upperclass men- Underclass men relationship)
Seonbae = Senpai, Upperclass man
All reviews are replied at the end of the chapter. See you next update.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go
Yashiro looked down at the writing pad in his hands and sighed in defeat. It had been more than two weeks since Hikaru had been absent from the evening practices. Their coach told them at the beginning of the month that their captain would be excused from their after school activities for a period of time so that he could help running errands for his family's business until the upcoming festival had come to an end. So far, none of the team members had any complaint, thanks to the diligent appearance of their captain during morning practices. However, if any of them would discover that Hikaru sometimes sneaked out to play Go at some random salons in town...
"It's just for a few hours before I go to the shop, it's not like I skip work altogether." Hikaru defended himself when Yashiro happened to run into him just outside of the Go salon in front of a train station.
"Well, that, I understand but what about the other team members? What if someone else sees you walk out of that salon instead of walking onto the field, will they believe that you are just dropping by before going to work?" Yashiro hissed at him.
"Oh, come on, you know I'm not serious about soccer. I'm just here because they give us weekend breaks so we can go around and play Go instead of sitting in a room and stuck with my grandparents' training session all day long."
"But things had changed since then," Yashiro almost raised his voice after he had heard Hikaru's inconsiderate thought. "You are not the first grader rookie any more and I am no longer an outsider who watched the team practice from the sideline. We have people who depend on us now."
Hikaru fell silent as he watched Yashiro stared back at him determinedly. He admitted that he had his fun joining the team. He had made friends, true friends who overlooked his family's status and accepted him for who he really was, and he was thankful for them. What he did not expect when he first signed up for the club was the responsibility that followed. He had no idea how he managed to earn the title of captain team when all he had ever done was playing the way he knew how. He even thought Yashiro was more suited for the job, considering his mentality. It was a shame his best friend had no interest in playing the sport or else the title would surely belong to him.
"Look, I, too originally joined the team so we could sneak out on the weekends together," Yashiro sighed deeply. "But it's time you realize that this is also serious business for some people in our team."
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Hikaru said quietly as he turned away from his best friend, hiding his face from the other's view, "I'll try to get my head straight before I return to the team after the festival."
Yashiro sighed again for the umpteenth times that day. That talk was the first serious one he had with Hikaru. The weight of his own words was still tying him down mentally. He did not think he had said anything wrong to warrant an apology to his friend but he could not deny that it felt so terrible after witnessing such a depressing look on Hikaru's face that day. Should he go see how Hikaru had been doing at the shop? Would he even be there or would he be out running errand for his grandparents?
Before Yashiro could indulge in his musing even further, a hand came striking down on his shoulder. He immediately jolted up in his spot, looking around wildly to get the sight of the culprit.
"Hahaha, what in the world was that? I have never seen you day dreaming before. You have quite a look on your face, drooling and all." Hikaru burst out laughing along with a few other teammates behind him. They had all changed back into their school uniforms, looking ready for a day full of class works.
"Since when did you..." Yashiro's eyes widened at the person he was previously concerned about suddenly appeared before him. However, the other boy cut him off before he could finish his whole sentence.
"Never mind that, I was trying to ask if you are still coming to my house next Saturday." Hikaru stared at him with a knowing look in his eyes. Yashiro immediately felt stupid for drowning in his own worries moments earlier. Since when was Hikaru so narrow-minded that he would deny seeing reasons in favor for taking his own side. What made him think for a second that Hikaru would not consider other people's feeling? If there was someone who would sympathize their teammates with the matter concerning their hopes and dreams, the first person he could think of would be Hikaru.
After all, he was the first in their group of friends to know how bitter it was to have his dream shattered.
"Yeah, sure, if the plan is still on," Yashiro grinned widely, all thoughts of Hikaru being angry with him quickly faded away.
~oO0Oo~
Hikaru fumbled around in his Geta* as he walked down the old district of Kyoto. It had been around two weeks since he started running around in the shop's Yukata* and doing errands for his grandparents but no matter how many time he put these clothes on, the traditional attire did not seem to be on agreeing term with him.
"Hey, put some smile on that face. You're doing a delivery for your customers here." Torajirou urged him from behind. The ghost who had managed to wring himself out of his own dreamland territory and lived with him for the past three years had been in a high spirit ever since his grandfather instructed him about this particular delivery he had to complete this evening. Hikaru eyed the line of paper lanterns around the darkened street with interest as some shop owners carefully lit the wicks inside them, illuminating parts of the alleyway with different shades of colorful lights.
"How about you try to look a little gloomier? You look far too giddy for a Go obsessed ghost who didn't get to play a single game today." Hikaru quipped back with much less enthusiasm.
"What? You expect me to look sulky when we about to have a rendez-vous with a group of Geishas from Gion?" The ghost asked with dramatically widened eyes as if he dared Hikaru to say otherwise.
"They are called 'Geikos' here." Hikaru corrected blandly. "And they're our customers, not the other way around so, behave."
"Tsch, you're such a spoil. I'll have you know that I was quite a looker during my days in Edo. All those women in Yoshiwara* (red light district in historical Tokyo) never managed to pull their gazes away from me." The Go master puffed out his chest with pride.
"So you slept around..." Hikaru glanced at his master, the corner of his lips twitched in amusement.
"Of course, I...Hey! I did no such thing!" He quickly recovered. His cheeks seemed a little tinted despite being nothing but a spirit. "Oh, fine! I had some experience, alright. A sheltered brat like you would never get it even if I try my best to convince you otherwise. How can I expect such a child to understand the alluring scent of the evening flowers?" Torajirou shook his head in disapprove as he floated pass Hikaru and made a beeline to the famous entertainment district.
However, before the both of them had gone too far down the street, Hikaru spotted the signboard with the name of the Okiya (geisha house) which had been assigned to him. He immediately made a move to press a doorbell, eager to finish his last delivery of the day.
'Alluring scent? As if they could look pretty without their make ups,' Hikaru secretly grinned to himself. He had never met a single girl who successfully managed to make him blush just by merely looking at her face. All the pretty girls he had seen so far were paled in comparison to his brother's chiseled face. He even wondered if he could fall in love with a girl at all if he did not find them attractive or would he, perhaps, more inclined towards his own gender...
Hikaru's worry turned out to be a short-lived one as soon as the door slid open. Behind the polished wooden doorframe stood a girl around his age, her almond shape eyes curiously stared back at him.
"Are you lookin' for someone?" Hikaru blinked stupidly at her accent. It was the first time since he settled down in Kyoto that he felt the local dialect was strangely melodious to his ears. His spine began to tickle in a way he had never experienced before and for the first time in his life, he felt his cheeks heat up that he was certain they could rival the shining lanterns around him.
"I...I'm," Hikaru's stutter quickly earned him a swat on his head, courtesy of his master. He ignored the dull pain and tried his best to collect himself. "I'm here to deliver your order from Erizen." He slurred.
And everything happened after that went on in a blur.
~oO0Oo~
Gotou Mikiya was sweating profusely despite having the cool breeze from the air conditioner blowing down on him. It was also true that Kyoto's weather during the month of July was gradually getting hotter as the end of the semester crept near. But the natural occurrence was not the reason why his shirt was soaking wet, rather, he blamed it on his nerve which was getting thinner as he listened to his coach briefed the game plan.
"Alright boys, just to be on the safe side before we reach Sayama Elementary, we are NOT to win today." Their coach stretched on the word. "If you get one goal ahead that is fine, if the score is tied then that's fine too. What I really want to see today is how our midfields and defenders will fare against Sayama's forwards under the pressure. If we can fend them off for the whole game, then I think we can relax a little during the summer break. If not, well, let's just hope you boys have free time during the days." He grinned meaningfully.
What the coach forgot to mention was that this plan would also put him on the test as well. It was not that he did not trust the midfielders since he knew Captain Fujiwara would be there to save his rear if worst should come to worst. But the possibilities that the Sayama would successfully breach through the wall of their defense made him shudder. After all, their opponent acquired the nickname 'Rifter' for a reason.
And it did not help him relax in the least when their regular goalie could not make it to the game with them today.
"What kind of an idiot catch a cold in Summer?" he mumbled begrudgingly.
"The kind that moves like a monkey." Gotou turned swiftly in the direction of the voice. Behind him stood the last person on the bus he would want to overhear his grumpy remark. His captain chuckled lightheartedly as he saw the surprised look on his face.
"Come on, Gotou-senpai, Arata-senpai was pretty upset that he can't play today. He was even worried that you'll get a chance to show off and steal his spot from him." The young captain casually sat on the armrest across from his seat; his eyes twinkled in amusement as if he did not think that getting nervous in this situation was sensible at all. It puzzled Gotou how his captain still possessed such confident look when the team was missing their star keeper and that position had been replaced by someone like him, a second string goalie who got a chance to play in the inter-school practice match for the first time.
"He was just saying that to boost my confidence. I'm nothing like him after all." Gotou frowned as he took a glanced at his captain who was now had a blank look on his face, his lips pressed together as if he was trying to suppress a grin.
"Will it help you feel better if I tell you that I also voted for your position today?" He said while lightly rocking back and forth in his spot and Gotou's eyes widened immediately.
"It was a land slide kind of victory too since everyone on this bus chose you to play in today's game, well, everyone except Arata-senpai anyway. He is such a sore loser." The captain laughed. Gotou still stared at him in mild disbelieve before he finally allowed himself to grin back.
"Well, I'll show you how the true goalie safe the day then." Gotou felt his grin turned into a smirk.
"I'll be looking forward to it." His captain smirked back.
~oO0Oo~
"Well then make it quick!" Yashiro told their clumsy rookie sternly as the boy bolted in the direction of the restroom before he could finish his sentence. For some reason beyond his understanding, Hayashi Kouta seemed to be shaking with anxiety even though he would not likely be playing at all during this match. The fourth grader almost hurled his breakfast out on the bus this morning but managed to force it down aka with great difficulty due to the fear of dirtying their ferocious striker's uniform who happened to be his seat-mate for the ride.
"Take it easy on him, Yashiro. It was a miracle he didn't puke on me this morning." Kamio Yuichi grinned with amusement as his gaze followed his kouhai*. "At least some of us are getting more relaxed now that they had seen him in that state."
Yashiro stared dumbly at the handsome striker. "It sounds really mean when you put it that way, senpai. Having a nervous breakdown the first thing in the morning is surely not a pleasant event one can hope to experience. I don't think it is right that anyone find this entertaining by watching his sorry state." He sighed. Even though everyone on the team knew that their ace was a good nature person, they all agreed that he was one of those people who were easily misunderstood with the way he worded his thoughts aloud.
The ace let out a laugh. "Woah! Cool down! I was only joking. You know most of us have soft spots for him. Only that we cannot all turn to our captain for a peace of mind before the game start so we have to find a way to calm our nerves. Speaking of whom, I don't see him around ever since we got off the bus." He turned around to look at the rest of the team. Yashiro pulled another frown, a dawning realization hit the back of his mind.
"That idiot!" He fumed.
~oO0Oo~
There was many things Fujiwara Hikaru was good at. He was ranked 3rd in his year on the last final exam after his best friend Yashiro who ranked 1st and a nerdy looking student who took the place in between. He was the first fifth grader in the school's history who acquired the position of the soccer team captain with his accurate game reading skill and precisive decision-making. And even though Hikaru tried to keep a low profile about his favorite hobby, every souls in the school suspected that he was the mysterious student who challenged and defeated their famous Go club members without putting in serious effort.
However, human beings were the creatures of imperfection.
And one of Hikaru's weaknesses, or maybe his most fatal flaw even, was the incapability that prevented him to discover the location of his own team.
His defective sense of direction.
His teammates usually made a jest of him every time he wandered about some new, unfamiliar places and took a long time to get back to them. Even Yashiro himself had once sarcastically suggested that he replace his watch for a compass. Hikaru sighed as he thought of how annoyed he felt at the time and now he began to regret discarding Yashiro's playful advice without giving it some thought.
"We've been walking in a circle for god knows how long. Can you shut it and let me deal with this the way living people do?" He yelled out to thin air by his right side as he once again came face to face with the restroom entrance where he had miraculously discover the place just fifteen minutes ago when his bladder was about to give in. One of his perfect brows twitched dangerously as he turned on his heels and readied himself for another attempt to reunite with his team.
"We'll definitely beat the hell out of you! Just you wait!" A familiar muffled snarl came from behind the restroom door, causing Hikaru to turn back at the breakneck speed.
"Look who's dreaming! I heard your school's rank almost hit solid bottom last year. Is it the last place you're aiming this year?" A sneer came in reply and Hikaru did not miss the scornful laugh that followed.
"We have never lost a game since the start of this tournament and we are not going to lose it now, not to the likes of you!" Hikaru realized that the voice belonged to Hayashi Kouta, one of his Kouhais who came with the team today to observe the match.
"Heh, listen to this midget, he thinks his team is above us." The guy droned on, his tone mocking. "And it doesn't look like this brat knows how to show respect for people older than him. You should be thankful that you meet us today, you little wanker, for we are kind enough to give you manner lessons for free." He chuckled darkly as his partner began to crack his knuckles in anticipation.
The fourth grader took a step back as the other two boys stepped forward. His heart drummed against his ribcages as he watch their smirks stretched out to form maniacal grins. He winced and his arms jerked upward to guard his front as the nearest boy suddenly charged at him. The older boy's right arm swung back in preparation to release a blow with his fist. But just before he made a contact with Hayashi's jaw, the entrance door burst opened with a loud bang as it crashed into the opposite wall.
~oO0Oo~
They all turned to stare at the newcomer.
He could feel the fourth grader squirmed, trying to wrestle his tight grip from his own collar. "Senpai!" The prat chirped out to the newly arrived boy, no doubt trying to get a help from him.
"What are you doing here, Kouta? The match is starting. Go help Kiyoharu prepare the drinks." The boy's voice wasn't stern but his tone carried authority and while he and his teammate were still in daze of what happened, the brat had successfully freed himself from his slackened grip.
And the boy had the nerve to turn and followed his kouhai without even sparing a second glance at them.
"Oi! Where do you think you're going?" He bellowed heatedly. The end of his brow twitched dangerously when the boy didn't seem to pay him any attention or even show any sign that he had noticed them being in the same room earlier. "Oi!" He reached out his hand and didn't even bother suppressing the urge to crush the boy's shoulder when unexpectedly, the boy moved away and swatted at his hand as if he saw it coming.
He almost let out a surprise gasp as the boy finally tilted his head to glare up at him from behind the mop of his raven fringe. The dark green irises glinted menacingly as the boy surveyed his face.
"We're here for a match with your team and not for a mindless fight. If you think throwing your fist at weaklings entertain you more than playing a fair game on the field then I suggest you stop wasting my time and get lost from my sight." The boy looked straight into his eyes as if challenging him to say otherwise and he felt his already boiling temper soared toward a breaking point at those words. That was when he took notice of the boy's jersey.
"A regular? So you will be playing in the match then." He felt the corners of his lips curled upward in pleasure. His teammate seemed to catch on quickly as he began to chuckle along with him. "Well, I'll take your suggestion and we'll play on the field instead. Let's go, Sugawara."
They walked pass him and, from the reflection in the mirror, he saw his teammate thumped into the boy's shoulder before the door slammed shut.
~oO0Oo~
Something was wrong with him.
Yashiro narrowed his eyes at Hikaru who had arrived not long after Hayashi. His best friend was still chuckling and laughing at other team members' antics as they were warming up for the match that was about to start. But his smile did not quite reach his eyes and when Yashiro took a quick glance at Hayashi, the usually energetic kouhai seemed to be on edge as well.
"What happened between you and Fujiwara?" He sat down beside the fourth grader who was preparing their regulars' drinks in the corner of the bench area. Yashiro noted the subtle flinch before the kouhai hastily turned, readying himself to leave for another prep work.
"I-nothing happened! He was getting lost when I found him so we came back together."
Yashiro scowled. One didn't need to be an academic excellence to know that the boy was lying. But he knew he was not Hikaru. He didn't have that demanding presence to command the truth out of the unwilling so he needed to manage the other way around if he still wanted to find out what made his friend put on that happy go lucky facade at a time like this. He followed Hikaru's line of sight to the other team's bench and was confused at the sinister look on two of their players' faces.
"Is everything alright?" He turned to Hikaru who was glaring into the same direction.
But Hikaru did not reply. He determinedly walked onto the field, prompting the others to follow. It wasn't until ten minutes into the game that Yashiro got his reply.
He watched on in horror as Hikaru collapsed onto the ground after he had successfully fended off the other team's forward.
"Fujiwara!" Yashiro stood up and bolted toward the field.
"Don't come into the field! The ball is still playing!" Hikaru barked. Their other players quickly went back to their positions, their faces hardened at his command.
The ball was sent flying deep into Sayama's area by Gotou Mikiya, their goalie for the day, and the referee had no choice but to blow his whistle since Hikaru did not seem to be recovering from the earlier contact as he was still coiling on the ground, his hands pressing down on his middle.
"Do you think you can keep going?" The referee asked him with only mild interest showed on his face.
"I'm getting up now." Hikaru said, gritting his teeth as he tried to straighten his back. The hem of his jersey flapped open for a moment when he was trying to smooth out the grasses that stuck on his form. That was when Yashiro spotted a fresh bruise on Hikaru's waist.
"Fujiwara, that is-"
But Hikaru casually brushed away his concern and swiftly turned to face other players that had gathered around him. He waved at his teammates dismissively and prompted them to get to their own positions before running off to situated himself not so far away from their goal. Yashiro frowned at this before his eyes connected with Gotou who had yet to leave for his defending post.
"Don't worry, we will keep our eyes on him." He patted Yashiro's shoulder, trying to make his promise sound assuring but a look on the manager's face did not show any sign that he had been convinced.
"I know you will. It is them that I don't trust." Yashiro glanced at the two forwards who had been sneering as they looked at Hikaru. He could only hope that nothing bad would happen to any of the players during this match. Try as he had, he could not get rid of the uneasy feeling that had been building up in the back of his mind since before the match had started.
~oO0Oo~
The Sayama players were all panting with exhaustion but no one on their team seemed to pay much attention to their receding stamina as they observed Ritsumeikan players running around the field as if they were still playing their first half.
"How did they train to have such bottomless stamina?" Sugawara, the boy who tagged along with his teammate to the restroom earlier that morning, wheezed for air. "They cut our passes as if they saw it coming."
"It was that damn snobbish guy we met in the toilet. He is controlling everyone just like they are his pawns. Those off side traps are some nasty stamina waster." Mitsunari coughed as his throat went dry due to the huge amount of oxygen that he greedily heaved in.
"Such a pesky little shit! Remind me why didn't you take him out when we were in the toilet again?" Sugawara sent him a dirty glare.
Mitsunari did not response. He was not going to come out and admit that the pest was over his head in the matter of skills. Instead, he glanced at the fast approaching teammate who was no doubt delivering a message for him from the bench. He listened quietly before a chilling sneer appeared on his face.
"Because he needs a more lasting, painful lesson," Came his late reply, "and we are going to give him just that."
~oO0Oo~
Hikaru let out a breath he was unconsciously holding as he saw his midfielders stole a ball away from the other team's player. The Sayama seemed to change their playing to zone press after the break and although his team still managed to hold them out, it would not be long until one of them let slip one of their marks under the pressure.
"The whole team has move up. They are all over our side of the field." Imai, one of the midfielders who jogged back to him from his position slurred with haste. The stress of playing a defensive game had finally gotten a hold of him. Most of his teammates seemed to be sharing that sentiment as well, judging from the way they looked at their coach with their pleading eyes.
"It doesn't look like he will have a change of mind anytime soon." Hikaru said, a little annoyed at their ever so oblivious coach. However, Imai did not stay long enough to hear what Hikaru had to say as he saw the ball spilling out towards the sideline with the other team's winger advancing after it. He did not rush in to help the midfielders but chose to ready himself in case the ball had escaped from his teammate's defense. A short moment later, exactly as he predicted, the opponent's winger could not break pass Imai's block but the ball was bounced upward and started dropping a few feet in front of him. Hikaru spotted the Sayama's forward splinted in his direction, no doubt aiming to fight for the ball. So instead of waiting for the ball to reach the ground, Hikaru decided to jump and prepared for a header.
"I've got it!" Hikaru bellowed as he leapt into the air. He was the first to reach the ball while his opponent seemed to lose interest in the aerial fight and settled for waiting quietly on the ground. So it was quite a surprise for him when Sayama's forward abruptly came up after him, trying his jump for the ball, and tackled him in the side with an elbow.
"Urgh!" He felt a piercing pain shot through his ribs as he rolled onto the ground. His eyes immediately searched for the ball and he found it in the arms of their goal keeper who was also crouching down on all four with his face quickly turning blue.
"Gotou-senpai!" Hikaru shouted as he staggered onto his feet. The rest of his teammates began to gather as well. He saw his coach ran forward, Yashiro tailing not too far behind. However before Hikaru could step away from his spot, the forward who jabbed him in the side suddenly thrust a hand in front of him.
"I don't believe I have introduced myself when we met in the toilet. Mitsunari Shibata, Sayama's forward." He smiled sweetly while offering his hand which Hikaru did not return the gesture but merely glared at it in open disgust.
"Oh? It seems you're offended by our team's 'play'. I am disappointed you don't find us entertaining. Or rather..." He trailed, his smile was twisted into a sickening smirk. "Should I say I am utterly disgusted with your clean and honest style?"
"Was it intentional? That charge against our keeper," Hikaru asked calmly while keeping his eye contact with the other player.
"Yuck! How caring of you to be worrying about your teammate. Saintly people like you never fail to make my skin crawl. Yeah, it was on purpose, both you and that overly-serious goalkeeper, the same as everyone in between." Hikaru's eyes widened in horror as the forward licked his lips in excitement at the sight of Hikaru's paled face. "Did you really think that you had successfully protected them from our reach? That you alone can stop our team from tramping and squashing you weaklings like some bugs under our feet? You elite kids should go back and hide inside your castle with your ugly faces six inches deep in your beloved books." He chuckled darkly as he began to walk away. "That is my heartfelt warning."
However, the forward did not stay long enough to witness the shift in Hikaru's expression. He did not see the brightness in his jade eyes vanished and replaced by something cold and ominous; the look that even his best friend had seen only once since their first encounter.
"Clean and honest, you say?" He mumbled coldly.
~oO0Oo~
It was such a grey summer day; with the dark cloud looming over his traditional style manor and the lack of usual guests in his study parlor, the vocational house that was once belong to his grandparents was eerily quiet.
Sai had moved into this place only a few weeks ago after news of his victorious title match reached his grandparents in Kyoto. His mother had been in a celebrating mood when she made the call and could not stop boasting about how proud she was and that her decision of letting Sai turned professional had been right all along.
However, her face quickly turned grim when Sai brought up his desire to move out due to his wish to set up his private study group which required his own space to accommodate a group of Go students.
"Do you have to do it now? Why not wait a few more years? The other pros usually form their study groups once they are quite old, aren't they?" Mitsuko pleaded desperately. The idea of her golden son moving out had never been occur to her before and she was certainly not willing to consider it now if she could help it.
"Not necessarily, mother." He smiled apologetically at her obvious distress state. "Most of the pros starts their own group when they made their names somewhat known in the Go world. I merely think this is the good chance to finally start mine." Truth be told, Sai thought his chance had been dangling in front of him for quite sometime but he kept on postponing for fear of seeing his mother's frantic reaction about the matter.
"If it is the space that you are worried about, then I don't have a problem sharing the living room with your students. There are only two of us living here. Your father rarely comes home anyway." Mitsuko struggled even more as she caught the finality in her son's tone.
"Mother," Sai put his steady hands on her shoulders. "I am of age. Besides, why don't you call Hikaru back here to live with you. You can still send him to extra classes and keep his training with our branch here in Tokyo. I did that too when I was his age and no one had any trouble with my training back then." Sai smiled at her sweetly.
The young pro was worried about his mother's living arrangement. It was the fact that could not be denied. However, he would never confess that he had another motive behind his decision to get his own place.
It was to force his mother into bringing back his brother.
How many years had it been since they last met. Even his memory of Hikaru's voice was starting to blur as his brother had always avoid talking to him whenever he called. Sai might have been putting on a cheerful front but only he knew, deep down inside, how badly he longed for their happy old days to return. And the more he put on that seemingly carefree smile of his, the lonelier his soul had become.
But today he could smile happily again despite the depressing summer sky outside and it was not because he just had a great game with Touya Meijin, his idol figure who he had admired for years but because of an unexpected visit from a boy who he had missed for three lonely years.
His baby brother, Hikaru.
As if he was not blessed enough with Hikaru's surprise arrival, his brother also offered to play a game with him.
It felt like he just won another title.
"How have you been doing? I can see that you have improved a lot within these past years." Sai beamed at his brother as he took a sip from his cup of green tea.
"Shouldn't you be concentrating on the game?" Hikaru did not break his stare from the board. "You will lose to me if you're not careful." His tone was heavy and serious.
Sai felt his breath had been caught in his throat. The air around him suddenly thickened with foreboding tension. It was absurd to think that Hikaru of all people would dare to say such unthinkable word to him when the top contender like his colleague, Ogata, or even the Meijin himself did not have the confidence to do so. Strangely however, Hikaru's warning possessed a mysterious weight and Sai found himself believing it without much convincing.
"Hikaru..." Sai whispered softly as incomprehensible fear crept into his heart.
The both of them played the game without uttering another word and Sai took notice of Hikaru's beautifully planned and complex patterns, the style that miraculously evolved without the help and guidances of professional players. Although it was plenty to see that the game would not progress any further than the middle game, he felt as if he was radiating with joy and pride.
"You're really good, Hikaru! I even played seriously this time." Sai reached out his hand to pat on his younger brother's hair. But it was halted in midair when he heard a dry cough coming from Hikaru. "Hikaru, do you have a cold?" Sai's tone was filled with worry.
"No, it's not a cold. Can we keep playing?" Hikaru replied coldly.
"But the game is already-"
"JUST PLAY!" Sai was taken aback by the harshness in his brother's voice. Never in their whole lives, no matter how angry they were at each other, that one of them would employ that tone in their fights. Instead of rising to match the heated young teen, Sai obediently comply to his brother's request.
But the flow of the game had changed as was Hikaru's style. Hand after hand, Hikaru managed to match his defense and attack equally. More importantly, his brother began to gain back his lost territories as the game progressed into the Yose. But his game was not the only thing that became more progressive as time ticked away.
"Are you really alright? You've been coughing every other minute since we picked up the game. We should stop for now and continue tomorrow. It's a long trip from Kyoto and you need your rest now, Hikaru." Sai hastily stood from his cushion, preparing to head outside to find a cough medicine for his brother but a chilling voice stopped him in his track.
"Stop calling me with that name! How could you forget who I am?" It was rough and croak unlike Hikaru's voice yet it was strangely familiar to his ears. "After all those years, after how I died!"
"What? But you-" Sai did not finished his sentence as he swiftly turned and his eyes met with the watery pair of dark brown orbs. In the place where his brother previously sat was the man with a hair knot whom he saw three years ago in Kyoto Go convention. But instead of the healthy looking man he was that day, the guy was crouching down on the floor, his hands supporting his wobbly body, a stream of crimson blood spilling out of his mouth.
"Ahhhhhh!" The young Kisei sprung up from the leather sofa in the break room where his fellow pros started to gather. He now remembered that he purposefully came here for a short nap before meeting up with Amano-san, the reporter from Go Weekly who had scheduled an interview with him that late afternoon. Sai blinked repeatedly, trying to drive away the horror theater of his own mind. He did not notice the cold sweat that slowly tricker down the side of his temple. His neat kimono was also crumpled up due to his restless nap.
"Summer heat finally got you?" Ogata Seiji walked up to him after he fetched his drink from a vending machine, his glasses glinted as if he was amused with the title holder's earlier antic.
"Just a little tired from the moving." He replied with creased brows. "How is your game doing?"
"Better than your nap," Ogata smirked. "It's very unbecoming of the youngest Kisei in the history, dozing off here and flailing in his dream to boot. It makes me want to know what kind of dream you were having."
Sai only glanced up in resign, too exhausted to even try telling his dreamland story. "If it is a bad dream, then it was certainly chilling." He sighed as he ran his hand through his dark indigo bang. "If it is a good dream..." He trailed off, his eyes looked distance. "Then it probably too good to be true."
~oO0Oo~
The Sayamas were trying hard not to falter behind Ritsumeikans' sudden counter. It was already such a grand feat that they were still running around and did their best at fending off their opponents' offense. It was not that they were lack of stamina either as they were the team which normally played with their starting players from start to finish. Something was definitely going on behind the scene since they changed their style from defending to offensive, and Mitsunari had an inkling suspicion that all of this mess his team was in had something to do with that arrogant, stuck-up little captain.
"What the hell did you do? You nasty little shit!" Mitsunari did not bother hiding his ire.
"Just a little change of plan, sometimes we need to act a little rebellious like the angsty teenagers we are." Hikaru quickly came up to his side and tried to take the ball from his feet. "We can't obediently keep taking orders from grown ups if it puts us all in tight corner, can we?"
"I don't give a damn about you lot! Why don't you save yourself some trouble and fuck off before I bash that little head of yours." Mitsunari hissed his threat menacingly but instead of seeing his annoying opponent cowered in fear, his blood suddenly turned cold from catching a glimpse of a nauseating smile on the younger captain's face.
"Talking about some real nasty skills," Hikaru smirked evilly as he calmly stepped on Mitsunari stud shoe, sending them both toppled over each other and onto the grassy lawn with the latter sprawling on top of the former. "I have one of my own that can easily rival your dirty set of vocabularies." Hikaru chuckled darkly as he heard the sound of the whistle rang throughout the field, a foul clearly issued to the uncouth ace.
"You better give it up now before you're in for more pain." Hikaru stood up gracefully, his hands lightly brushed down his uniform. "My team is going to keep on scoring and I can honestly guarantee that none of your pathetic teammates will ever set foot inside the shooting range." He glanced down at Sayama's forward in loathing satisfaction. "The more you struggle, the wider the gap of our score. After all, I always make sure that those who stand against me never gets away without paying their price."
Mitsunari Shibata did his best not to flinch away from the murderous glare directing his way by the Ritsumeikan's captain but it was all he could muster in the face of looming danger hanging threateningly in the air.
~oO0Oo~
Sometime during that late afternoon, Kyoto
A young man in his late teenager staggered onto the train platform. His backpack slid off from his shoulder as other passengers rushed out and bumped into him from behind, a loud crash echoing from the inside before his bag finally laid still on the floor.
"Watch where yer goin'!" A rough looking hoodlum yelled at him before disappeared into the crowded platform. The young man only managed to huff angrily as he glared at the retreating back of his assaulter. His pointy eyes darted back to his belonging as he schooled his face into annoyed passiveness.
"And I thought people here would be quite refined," his brows tucked together. "Not even a single apology, so much for the well manner Kyoto people,"
However, it seemed his bad day had just begun as he peered inside his bag and saw the state of his newly bought laptop, a congratulatory present from his parents for passing the highly competitive pro exam. He brought it with him so he could stay connected with his family while traveling and it was also the only way to contact his Seonbae who had recently started his life as a teacher for a prestige school somewhere in Tokyo.
He stared blankly at the fatal crack around the edge of his laptop, pondering about what he should do next. He would try to get a taxi first then check-in at his hotel and maybe if he still had some luck on his side, there might be some computers available at the lobby area. If not, he would hope that the reception could understand English and try asking the front desk if there was an Internet cafe nearby.
He paled at his own idea. It was not as if his English was any better than those of average Japanese's and his Japanese was broken at best. The fact that people of this region spoke with an accent did little to none at encouraging him to engage in any verbal communication with the locals.
How naive of him to think that he was content with having his laptop for a companion and did not need his talking dictionary with him when he left his country for a trip.
He lift his hand, gesturing for the approaching taxi to stop but none of the cars had slow down for him. After a few minutes of waiting in vain, he decided it was probably more effective to fetch a digital version of Kyoto map from his dying laptop.
"Let's see, I need to go to Kyoto Sunline hotel..." He sat as comfortable as he could on the hip-length garden wall just outside of Kyoto station, his fingers typing down hotel's name and its address with an unbelievable speed. Unfortunately, his focus was too great to notice the oncoming group of high spirit boys and as they were about to walk pass him, one of them suddenly jumped out from the group and vocalized his excitement.
"And he was like SCREEECH~ FWUAPPP~ then he shot and then KABOOOM!" A small boy who looked a lot like baby monkey in his school uniform did his best to imitate a soccer shooting pose, successfully drawing a loud laughter from other boys.
"That sounds like a bombing session rather than a wining goal." One very good looking boy slapped the back of the boy with good spirit. "Hey, Hayashi, try acting out Fujiwara next!" The rest of the group cheered him on.
"Ahem!" The boy cleared his throat in preparation. "HORAAAH! Forwards keep your hands on their ugly bums and squeeze them down if they dare to headbutt your ass." And the boys immediately howled. He swung his hand back excitedly as he tried to continue. However, his physical entertainment came to an abrupt end as the back of his hand strongly collided with the already cracking laptop in the hand of a desperate young man who already had a year worth of bad day.
His laptop dutifully landed on the floor, its light blinking miserably before it switched off on its own accord.
And the screen fell off from its hinges.
The chilling silent spread over the area as the young man glared up at the boys with pure rage. However before he could snatched on the baby monkey's collar, they all dispersed into the crowd platform above, leaving behind only the two oblivious boys (one tall and lanky, the other with average height) who were busy conversing quietly without realizing the impending trouble brewing behind them.
"Hey, Kouta, enough with your lousy jokes. You'll bump into people if you keep it up." The shorter boy calmly turned to lecture the culprit. Too bad he was a few seconds too late.
"He already did." The young tourist did not care if the two boys could not understand his language, someone needed to fix his doomsday for him.
Reviews:
KK: I like the time skip too. I don't know what possessed to write the half of the story in one sitting but I have been dying to write that last part with the time skip the most. Thx for your review and enjoy my update
Rieyama Yuuko: Congrats with your brother's wedding and your sister's engagement(?). I can't even imagine my sister getting married and leave the house, I mean she gets more chance than I have that's why it's so hard to cope when it'll be only me living my lonely life by myself :'(
Anyways, I'll be patient about your drawing. About Hikaru in elementary school, hmm, he's almost in junior anyway so I think the last part of the last update should fit him alright. I do try not to make him overly talented although people might think that he's too overpower in chapter 11. That Ogata was still a teenager. He just got promoted to the first dan so he shouldn't be too good. It would be another story if Hikaru go up against the Ogata in this chapter.
P.s. My sister is back from abroad so I was stuck entertaining her for a while. Sorry for late update.
Infinitechage: Thank you
Guest: :)
greymouser: Nope, not an ounce of that idea in his head. Other people (in my fic) might have a different idea for him though
MilleCrepe069: I'm itching to write about their meeting as well. Thanks for the wait!
Catcrazzed: No Prob!
mikan-chan21: Sorry for my lack of description. I mean I wanted to talk more about his appearance but I just can't find the scene to fit those words in without making it sound cheesy. I'll definitely try harder with my next update. Thank you for your review, Merci beaucoup :)
Kanrei: Thanks!
Guest(s): Sorry I'm late!
BloodyRose-97: This aspect of Hikaru takes a big chunk of inspiration out of me but it is a work worth bleeding for. I'm so glad I've got a new fan. Thank you for your support!
kooksthekook: I do hope that I won't abandon this fic too. I'll do my best in keeping up with this story. I'm aware of my mistakes and I can't deny that I'm in great need of beta reader. If you wish to help, it'll be a great relief to me. Thank you for the wait. Sorry it took so long.
Lilsilverphoenix: There are too few of a brotherly love stories out there so I decided to write mine. I'm glad you like this story.
HonestPuck10: Thanks for your review and bookmark. I'll try updating faster for the next chapter.
HonestPuck10: Oh, Wow, Wait! I just notice you review twice! Lol, your first question is answered in this chapter, your other two will have to wait in the next update. I really appreciate your questions in your review because it points me to the direction I seek for months. I'll start listing my plot in a question form from now on. Thank you so much!