Hello, readers!
I'm sorry again for the late update. I've written this chapter, editing it, deleting it, and rewriting it again for so many time. The fact that I just broke up with my fiancé shortly after the latest update didn't help in terms of creativity and imagination, but I'm glad I survive that phrase. Caring for broken heart really saps away almost all of my energy. Your reviews are what kept my spirit up :) so thank you, thank you very much for your support. Please drop any suggestion or question if you have one or more. It really helps fueling the next update, but reviews are appreciated nonetheless.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.
Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go
The rain began to thin outside in the street of Tokyo, allowing the last ray of sunlight to mingle in the still cloudy sky with light shower. The rich, earthy smell of dirt mixing with the scent of moistened concrete pavement in front of the train station drew out the strain in the shoulders of the tiring pedestrians. Summer, it seemed, was almost here.
However, the early summer breeze didn't seem to reach one corner of the Go salon which situated just right across the station. While it was obvious that all other patrons were enjoying themselves with the games on their boards just as they usually did on any other days, no one noticed the suffocating atmosphere surrounding the two youngest players in the salon.
They could blame it on the wonderful view of sun shower outside the street, saying that such a refreshing sight was distracting them away from walking over to the dimmer side of the room to watch the game, but they knew better. They all knew that it was their beliefs, their unwavering confidences in the young Touya that kept them from witnessing the game first hand.
But truly, who could blame them for holding such a high faith in their grandson figure when Akira had never lost a game to any of his opponents in the past years, safe for one game which they all thought it was a hoax since it was unthinkable that any boy his age would be able to achieve such a feat as to win against Touya Akira in a Go game.
So it wasn't out of their expectation that the new boy stood up abruptly after ending the game and slung his heavy looking duffle bag back on his shoulder before leaving their table with a resigning smile upon his face.
"I think I'm too tired to concentrate today. He's one tough opponent." They heard him replied to Ichikawa, the shopkeeper, as he ruffled the back of his head and gave her a sheepish smile before plopping his cheesy looking sport cap over his raven locks. As if he could win against the prodigious Touya Akira even on his best day. "But it was a good game. I'm glad I got to play him." he added.
Those who were sitting close enough to hear the conversation between the shopkeeper and the boy tried their best to ignore their little chitchat, choosing to focus on the young Touya who seemed to be sitting very still in his seat. It was no doubt that the Meijin's son was once again disappointed with the level of skills that his peers possessed and it saddened them to see him withered away every time he picked up some casual games with other young fellow players. This was why they were pushing him to take the pro exam. It was better for him to rid himself of this misery and move on to the more advanced players who could give him challenges that were more appropriate for his level.
"To compete against Touya sensei, he is fifty years too early for that." One bespectacled middle age patron snorted at the boy after his form completely disappeared behind the automatic sliding doors, but it wasn't long until his attention was snapped away from the departing youngster to the small commotion that began to grow in the back of the salon. "Huh? Did something happen?"
"What? He lost?"
That quiet statement rang clearly in the eerily silent space of the Go salon. Every click of stones against the wooden Go board was immediately halted before the crowd broke down into chaos.
"It's impossible! For Akira-kun to have…"
"There was a handicap, right?"
"The other kid did have black,"
"Akira-kun's strength is near that of a pro. That kid couldn't have been a beginner!"
"He won by two mokus! If you count the komi, Akira-kun won!"
Although Akira wanted to believe that the boy's strength was of his own level, he couldn't shake off his hunch that there was something more about the boy's talent: something he intentionally kept hidden, something that made him held back his real strength. Because, if the boy really did match him in the skills, why couldn't Akira break away from his control? It was plain obvious that despite his struggle with the match earlier, he was still under the boy's spell. Every move he made, every hand he placed, he knew he had played right into the boy's plan from the very beginning.
'How is this even possible? How can someone like him exist?' Akira's hands balled into tight fists as he bit the inside of his cheeks nervously. 'It was as if I was back playing against…'
Akira didn't finish his muse as his thought strayed over to a certain famous pro whom he had spent his early years gaining strength under their wings. He shook his head to drive away the thought. His opponent was only a boy, a fellow player who was studying in the same grade as him. There was no way that the boy would possess the same level of skills as that person. Even that pro had been seventeen at the time when he performed this level of proficiency before the Go world.
'There is just no way…' He repeated to himself as the patrons' murmured hum fell into the background.
~o0O0o~
"Bring him back," a stern voice echoed into the ear of Fujiwara Mitsuko through the phone's receiver, sending cold chill down her spine. Her cheeks were burning from her barely contained frustration while the heat spread across both of her ears as humiliation gradually replaced her anger.
"I've done nothing wrong this time. It is your fault that he ran away." She replied levelly, carefully trying not to raise her voice as she spoke.
"No, you have done nothing at all." The voice spoke quietly. "You have neglected every possible duties ever since you were still the heiress of our family, pushing away your responsibilities onto the first outsider who happened to catch your pathetic romantic interest and insisting on marrying him before moving away from the place where your root lies." The voice paused and Mitsuko heard the quiet, sarcastic snort from the other end of the line. The image of her father sneering at her like he always did when they still lived together suddenly appeared in the front of her mind. "Now your son takes after you, and you're blaming us for everything that goes wrong in family's affair?"
She went silent at her father's words. Mitsuko had never found it in herself to talk back at them with a sounding support to back her own argument. However, the task they had given her this time wasn't a small matter. It was either going up against her parents' wish or facing the very stern Shindou family and try her best luck at righting the case.
And she was to accomplish this task on her own.
She couldn't risk asking her older son for his assistance when she wasn't even certain what his reaction would be if he knew that his dear brother was back among them in Tokyo. Although he had never mentioned it to her directly, she knew that Sai always wanted his brother back with him. What was the point of setting up another well decorated bedroom in his mansion if he wasn't expecting another resident to take up the space? What could be his purpose in buying household utensils in pairs even though he was living by himself for years? Mitsuko must have been very blind to not notice the hints from Sai, but she stubbornly stood firm in the decision which she made for Hikaru years ago when she sent him away.
Only when Hikaru carried his throne, was Sai allowed to continue his path in Go.
It saddened her to be forced to choose between her two sons. Sending Hikaru to live with her parents had torn her hearts to pieces, but to send Sai away from her arms knowing that she would have to destroy his dream in the process was worse than dying. Since Hikaru's dream was only stemming from his brother's as he tried to mimic his idol figure in the family, wasn't it easier for him to forget his fantasy when he still could?
Why couldn't Sai understand that, by bringing his brother back in Tokyo, it would be the end of his career?
"But the Shindous, it's not like they will let him go without a fight." She gritted her teeth at the thought that she would have to get her hands dirty again, but if it was for Sai, she thought she could do it.
"You could leave them to fend for him. With their meager pensions, I doubt they can afford to feed him three meals a day. But still, I advise you to try talking them out of it. After all, the sooner he comes back, the better."
~o0O0o~
Hikaru growled irritatingly at the Edo ghost sitting in front of him who had been hysterically snickering at his new hairstyle every time that he got a glimpse of his student's bleached bang. Hikaru was stopped by a hairdresser on his way back from the school during previous evening and was offered a paid hairdo in exchange of letting the guy experimenting the new hairstyle project with his hair. However, what the ex-young master certainly didn't expect to see was the front half of his head transforming into a mop of golden lock as the end result of the process. Thus warranting the burst of laughter from his master as soon as the hairdresser rotated the chair backward, allowing Hikaru to leave the shop with his earning and glaring blond hair.
"Would you stop it already!?" Hikaru barked as he furiously snatched up his heavily filled Go bowl and hurled it at Torajirou who merely ducked his head down to avoid the painful crash on his forehead. However, instead of properly sitting back up on his cushion, the cheerful Go master toppled onto the ground in his fit of laughter after the spectacle which his student made of himself.
"Gah~ the face you made that time!" The Go master howled.
"Geez! Whatever!" Hikaru huffed and flopped down on his seat, his face was burning from a mild humiliation which he received from the hellish teasing of his master. "You can laugh all you want, but since I am the one who earn the money, I'm still the cooler guy out of us both!"
"You can keep the title. I'll keep my hair black and shine." Torajirou managed between his coughs.
It had almost been a month into the new life with his grandparents in Tokyo and although he enjoyed the fact that he was no longer the centre of attention, Hikaru couldn't exactly say that it was a blissful time for him. For a first, he knew that his boarding with the Shindous was the reason that forced his grandparents into selling their precious family heirlooms,one after the other, behind his back, just so they could cover for an extra mouth under the roof. It was the kind of fact that probably would never reach his ears if not because of the report he heard from his personal mentor in the occasion of a certain ancient Goban was on the verge of being pawned for extra cash. For a second, most likely the situation related to the first case, was his steadily decreasing sleep time. He had problem slipping into his own dreamland to have a Go session with his master ever since, knowing his grandparents were currently suffering on his behalf. Needless to say, Torajirou wasn't pleased with how things had turn out for the both of them, and he didn't hesitate to let Hikaru tasted the depth of his bitterness as he forcefully pulled his only student into his own dominion at the first chance he had.
That first chance happened to be the moment when Hikaru dozed off in one of his tedious afternoon classes.
"Shindou Hikaru,"
"...just sit down," the former young master mumbled incoherently in his sleep.
"SHINDOU HIKARU!"
"!" An echo of scraping chair against the tiles rang through the whole classroom as Hikaru bolted up in surprise, his cheeks were tinted the lightest pink as his classmates giggled softly at his antics. The force of his own jolt sent his desk staggering dangerously towards his neighbor in front of him. He managed to halt it from tumbling completely onto the floor, but the same couldn't be said about the contents of the desk's under space.
"Your test is still blank yet you feel the urge to sleep on it?" The middle age math teacher clicked his tongue at Hikaru before he bent down to pick up a stray pamphlet that was crushed under his foot. "What confidence you have, playing around day in and day out while your middle school's entrance exam is just around the corner. Do you believe that you could breeze your way into a good school by playing Go, perhaps?" He sneered, crumpling a Go tournament pamphlet in his hand.
Hikaru felt a vein popped up on his temple. This nerdy looking psycho who was lovingly dubbed 'twitchy' by the class (going by his habit of twitching his nose and lips every time some students annoyed him) had single him out since his first day at this new school, and with his new hair style that spelled 'rebel', their grudging relationship just took a turn for worst.
"Well, it's not like you'd recommend me to one of those schools even if I ace the whole exams anyway." He shrugged at the teacher while scratching his head groggily, wiping the drool at the corner of his mouth as the disgusted scowl appeared on the man's face. "So why should I bother?"
"That is a whole other story." The middle age teacher said with a sneer. "Recommendations asides, it seems like you have enough confidence in your knowledge to tackle the tests, boasting about acing your exams even before we enter second term. So I doubt you will need an extra time to finish all the problems?" At this, the math teacher narrowed his eyes, a hint of madness gleaming in its depths. "Last five minutes, class!" He bellowed and turned to walk away from Hikaru. The class groaned in unison as the majority of them hadn't finish all of their questions.
Hikaru sat down quietly while suppressing his grunt. He wasn't going to give the freak the satisfaction of seeing him frustrated. He was lucky enough that his former school had already gone through most of the materials that his current classes were teaching, otherwise he would probably found himself failing the tests more often than not.
Oh, how he missed the days when the teachers had to suck up to him.
Despite the odds against him, Hikaru managed to answer all of the question at the end of the last five minutes, much to the math teacher's chagrin. The quiet giggles of the students who witness the embarrassing blushes on their teacher's cheeks combined with the ring of the school's bell urged the middle age man to flee the classroom as soon as he was done collecting their exam papers.
"Oi, Shindou! That was awesome! I seriously thought that you were doom with how little time we had left before the end of class. So the rumor that you went to some elite school before you move here is true after all?" Murata Takeshi, Hikaru's cheerful classmate who often dragged him out for a short soccer match during lunchtime, happily thumped him on the back.
"Give me a break, Murata. If a sloppy guy like him manage to survive in such a prestige school for so long, I would be going to some top class school by now." Wakatsuki Aya, the role model class rep, spoke up. "With all the dozing off and slacking behind in his schoolworks, he'd be lucky if any school accept him at all." She rolled her eyes at Hikaru.
"I'll take my chance." The former young master slung his backpack over one shoulder as he feinted disinterest. It wasn't as if he had any other choice than going to a cheap public school in the area, given the financial state he was in. The thought of imposing on his grandparents for future school fees bothered him greatly. Thus, he decided to escape from the small group of his new classmates and avoided the conversation altogether.
But not before he found that Go tournament leaflet which contained the direction to the Go Association where he planned to visit during the coming weekend.
"Are you looking for this?" Hikaru looked up at a female classmate who held out a crumpled piece of flyer for him.
"Er, thanks, I'll be lost without it." He reached out to grab the pamphlet but the girl snatched it back out of his grasp, causing him to frown in confusion.
"It's good to see that you're still playing Go, Fujiwara-kun." She smiled. Hikaru's eyes widened for a second before he forced himself into his usual calm facade.
"My name is Shindou." He tried to suppressed the tremble in his voice. Nothing good ever came out of those who knew him by his former surname, and this girl was less likely to be good news.
"Are you planning to check it out? The tournament, I mean." She ignored him and continued to beam at him in her bubbly manner. "I'm going there too. Let's go together?"
"No," Hikaru's face stiffened into a blank mask. Only those who spent years growing up with him would know that the act was his polite front which he usually pulled up when he was irritated with someone. "I prefer to go alone, sorry." He said flatly as he snatched back the flyer from her hand.
"Does your mom know that you ran away from Kyoto?" This time Hikaru didn't even try to hide his surprise. His head snapped back with a lightning fast reflex and his emerald eyes glinted dangerously at the girl, daring her to continue. "Does your brother know?"
"What do you want? Who are you?" Hikaru growled. The girl's lips turned slightly downward after hearing his less-than-friendly tone but she didn't back down from their confrontation.
"Hmmp! If you can't remember the face of your childhood friend, at least remember the name of your classmate!" She folded her arms in front of her chest defensively while staring down at him, forcing Hikaru to notice the slight different in their heights. "Fujisaki Akari, and all I want from you is a trip together to the Go tournament."
"You sure sounded like you'd rather want to blackmail me with what you've just said." Hikaru narrowed his eyes at her, not trusting the girl to completely come clean about any possible hidden motive.
"Well, that's what I was planing to do if you reject me. But I was hoping that I don't have to resort to that tactic, you know?" Akari grinned apologetically. "Come on, we haven't seen each other for years! You don't seem to have any trouble hanging out with the boys from soccer team, so why can't you do the same with me?"
Hikaru kept his eyes on her while considering his options. It would be troublesome if she ran her mouth about his current situation with his Fujiwara side of the family. His mother would surely became incensed and his brother...who knew what cunning plan his brother would cook up this time if he knew that his only substitute had ran away from the duty as an heir. Hikaru wouldn't put it pass that person to sell him out just so he could continue pursuing his glorious career.
"Fine, meet me in front of Go Association at 2pm sharp. I'll ditch you if you're late." He growled.
~o0O0o~
"Good afternoon," Ichikawa looked up from the magazine in her hands to greet her customer. But there was no trace of the usual bright smile on her face.
"Is Akira-sensei here?" Another middle age customer approached her, asking for a tutorial session with their favorite grandson figure.
Ichikawa stifled a sigh. It was like that time when he was defeated by another boy his age. Only this time, the lost seemed to deeply affect the pride he held in his skills more than the last time it happened. The young Touya never showed the recent game which he accounted as his own lost to any of the customers despite their claims that the victory was his, fair and square. He even went so far as to turn down any requested teaching games from the customers so that he could drowned himself in his own study.
"Well...he is...but" she frowned.
"That game again?" The customer sighed in defeat. It was no secret that their Akira was slowly becoming a recluse. There was still a fire in his eyes, and that flame was the only hint that kept the shop's patrons from getting in between the board and the boy. The unhealthy obsession that he wore like his second skin had spread the tension into the air and all of them had their thanks to the gods that it seemed to be the boy's fierce determination that was intoxicating the place rather than a defeated despair that seemed to linger underneath his calm composure.
Akira couldn't understand it. It didn't matter how many times he replayed the game, the motive behind his opponent's moves would still be of the same result. A Shidougo. Why would god allow such a child to exist? Was this truly his ability? What was his intention in toying around with a Shidougo when he could place the hands with the best of his strength?
Akira didn't want to accuse the boy of mocking him nor did he wanted to believe that the boy held such confidence in his own skills, so much that he didn't feel the need to consider playing a serious game with Akira. He was certainly strong, stronger than any opponents he had faced so far. But it wasn't just that. His level wasn't that of a good player but a pro with a vast experience under his belt.
'No, it can't be. No such child could exist,'
"Akira-kun, Hirose-san would like to play Shidougo with you." Ichikawa walked up behind him.
"Well, not if he is busy," the middle age customer added hastily.
"I'm sorry..." He knew he was being impolite but he wasn't in the mood to play against any other opponents safe for the boy himself.
"Are you still waiting for that child?" Ichikawa looked at him worriedly before a sudden idea came up in her mind. "Oh, that's right! I gave him the flyer to the children Go tournament. He didn't seem very interested but he might be there."
It seemed her words managed to perk up his interest for the first time in weeks because Akira suddenly shot up from his seat and bolted towards the door.
"Ichikawa-san, please, if he comes here, don't let him leave!"
"Ah! Wait! Akira-kun!" Ichikawa called after him, her voice was filled with worry. "It looks like it's going to rain!"
~o0O0o~
It was nostalgic. The competition was a heart-clenching reminder of that one time when he sneaked out from under his mother's watchful gaze to take part in the event himself. All that he could remember from that last competition was the sense of satisfaction from acquiring a fan for his brother and maybe a little bit of an adventure from challenging an opponent who was old enough to be his uncle.
However, today was another entirely different experience for him. He came here as one of the spectators, mingling among the crowd of nervous parents and worried guardians. While he was no stranger to the excitement and anticipation of those participating, the tension among the audiences was something completely new to him.
"Fujiwara-kun, which book should I buy?" Akari turned to him with two different books in her hands, both of them were Go related.
"It's Shindou to you. How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Hikaru grunted at the girl as he closed the distance between them. This idea of walking around the event together with his female classmate was quickly turning into a bad idea. He didn't even have time to stop and watch the kids competed against each other as Akari always demanded his full attention whenever he caught a glimpse of something interesting.
"Oh, alright, it's quite a hard habit to break, you know? I've been calling you by your former last name ever since we were in kindergarten after all." She pouted.
"I don't care whether you like it or not. I don't go by that name anymore. So unless you want to split up now, I suggest fixing that tongue slip of yours." He told her coldly as her habit finally got on his nerve. Before Akari had a chance to retort back for his brashness, Hikaru turned away from her and walked off in the opposite direction. "Let's go see the tournament. You'll be surprise how much you can learn just from watching."
His suggestion brightened her mood up instantly and Akari skipped over to Hikaru's side, albeit with a bit of difficulty since there were quite a lot of hopeful parents loitering down the hall. After a few bumps and some handful apologies later, she finally caught up to her bi-colored hair childhood friend.
"See that game over there?" Hikaru whispered to Akari, tilting his head to the board nearest to both of them. "Look at the upper left corner, if black isn't careful with his move, he'll die."
"Really? How?" Akari pulled her brows together, not really following Hikaru's train of thought.
"Urgh, really, how long have you been playing Go? It's not that hard of a problem." He scolded her, causing Akari to wince at his irritated tone. "The only spot black can play is at 1-2, any point other than that, it will be white's advantage. Either white can take black's stone out immediately because black plays himself into Atari or white can make two eyes so she can survive."
"Oh, I see." Akari's eyes widened as the boy who played black placed his stone into 1-3 position. In her gleeful state, as she already knew the correct solution to the shape, Akari blurted out in disappointment as the boy's hand left his stone. "Ah! You should have gone one point above!"
"Idiot! Why did you..." But Hikaru never quite managed to muffle his classmate's burst of excitement as one of the pros who oversaw the event roughly yanked on his shoulder and accused him for interrupting the game.
"What are you thinking, interfering with the match? This is a serious event!"
"No! Wait! It wasn't me!" Hikaru snapped his head back to see the spot next to him was suddenly unoccupied and he couldn't help letting a low, guttural groan to escape his throat at the looming string of problems that would sure to follow the incident.
"What is the problem, Mori-san?" A pro in a white suit approached them. He eyed them both carefully from behind his silver framed glasses.
"O-Ogata-sensei, this boy,"
"We'll deal with this in the back. There are matches in the play and both of you are distracting the contestants." The pro said calmly.
"I'll take him to the back then."
"Please,"
And so, Hikaru found himself, once again, apologizing profusely for the trouble that he wasn't responsible. What was it with him and taking the blame for someone else? It was a good thing that Torajirou was whining on his behalf (even though no one else in the break room could hear his protest), or else Hikaru might have a few biting comments to say to the nagging pros.
"I'll take my leave then. Again, I'm terribly sorry for the interruption." Hikaru closed the door as softly as he could before hastily making his leave. He didn't want to idle around and see if that guy with the glasses and perfect white suit would want another jab at him like the rest of his colleagues. The pro certainly looked positively psychopathic that Hikaru didn't even want to risk a chance to prove himself wrong in his doubt.
"Bah! I'll get back at that girl for this!" Hikaru ground his teeth. In his terrible mood and frustration, he didn't even see a shadowy figure emerging from the corner in front of him and collided into the chest of a Kimono cladded pro with full force.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't being careful." The pro bent down and offered him a hand. "Are you alright?" He asked gently.
Hikaru, however, was stiff frozen in his place. How could he forget the voice that had been instructing him on how to play Go from his earlier days? What was this person doing here attending a mundane event like this? Wasn't he suppose to make an appearance for a finer setting, like grand title matches, perhaps?
He swatted away a hand that was about to land on him, causing the long hair pro who had his raven locks done in a braid to gasped in surprise before he collected himself and sprinted away from the older male as fast as he could. He didn't know if the guy had seen his face or not, but if that was the case, Hikaru was sure that the pro would be chasing after him by now.
"Stupid!, stupid!, stupid!, stupid!, stupid!" Hikaru rant out loud as soon as his feet hit the pavement outside the Association. "Could this day get any worse?" He turned to glare at the quiet Go master whose thought seemed to be anywhere else but there. "Torajirou!"
"Eh? What?" The legendary player was snapped out of his stupor.
"Urgh! Never mind! Just go back to your daydreaming. I'll be fine!" Hikaru stomped down his feet heatedly, heading for the nearest subway platform.
"Now, wait a minute. That is no way to talk to your master!" Torajirou narrowed his eyes at him while cracking his knuckles menacingly. "I'm not the one who got us kicked out. Don't you dare put it out on me!"
"Oh, I'm sorry your highness," Hikaru drawled. "Would you like me to polish your shoes for you as an apology then? Oh, wait! You don't need one. You don't even have feet!"
"That's it, brat! You're going get it!" Torajirou fetched his puddle fan from his sleeve and swatted Hikaru on the head with a wide swing. The latter yelped in pain but tried to jump up and grab the Kimono of his master, swaying his hands messily in hope that they would somehow connect with the ghost's body. Both master and student completely disregarded the horrified looks that were directing at them from the passing pedestrians.
"SHINDOU!" A short figure surfaced from the subway station, just a few feet away from the quarreling pair, but neither one of them stopped nor paid attention to the person calling. "SHINDOU HIKARU!" The voice tried again.
"WHAT!?" Both of them roared at the person interrupting their fight. It turned out to be one Touya Akira, and the boy prodigy couldn't help staggering back at the intense bark flying at him. Did he imagine another person shouting in the fray with Shindou just now?
"...S-sorry. You don't seem to realize that I was calling." A boy in a feminine haircut blushed furiously after catching Hikaru's burst. Despite being on the receiving end of the other prodigy's questioning glare, Akira didn't even try to utter a word. He waited awkwardly for Hikaru to calm down from his bout with...whoever involved in a shouting match with the boy earlier, and kept staring at the boy with his determined stare.
That was the moment he noticed the two different colors on the boy's head.
"Don't you dare say anything about it." Hikaru grumbled with a blush as he followed the other boy's line of sight, a booming laughter of his master immediately penetrated his eardrums.
"Were you in the competition?" Akira started, eager to get distracted from Hikaru's new hairstyle.
"No, I wasn't. Just came here to check it out with a friend," Hikaru started to walk, and Akira who wanted to keep the conversation going was forced to move along with him. "They are so tensed in there, especially the parents. I couldn't stand it so I left." He lied.
"Tensed? I think that is rather normal since they are serious about their matches. It's a competition after all." Akira threw a confused glance at the bleached bang genius who wore a bored look on his face when he mentioned about the competitive atmosphere. "You said it like you've never been serious before." It was then that the sinking feeling within his stomach rushed back into his being with a vengeance. Had the first time they played against each other been a game just for fun? Didn't Shindou take him on with all his strength?
"What's the point of being serious? Aren't we suppose to play Go because it is fun?" Shindou lifted a perfect eyebrow at him.
"That's not quite what I mean. It's the drive to win. Have you never play a game where you want to give it your all so that you can win against your opponent?"
Hikaru paused at that. "Hmm, if that is the case, I think I have those moments too. Still, there's no need to look like you're at war with yourself, right? It's just a small competition after all."
Akira couldn't help but frowning this time. The competition that Shindou was talking about was nowhere near small. Selected children from all over the country had gathered here to compete for the title of the best within their age gap. Some of them were younger where the rest were of his age or even older than himself. Yet Shindou saw them as nothing more than a group of children who came to play a child's game. It might be that Akira felt the need to compete against him, to surpass such strong opponent that he felt a rivalry with the boy and wanted him to look at Go from a more serious perspective, but Shindou's unconvinced attitude and his lack of seriousness was starting to get him thinking that maybe the boy was merely looking down on them,
Because he thought that no one could compete against him.
"...Can I see your hand?" He finally asked after glaring at Hikaru's hands for a short moment. The latter obediently complied. Akira carefully traced his gaze on the tips of the boy's fingers but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a single dent on the boy's nails. There was no sign that these fingers were worn down from handling the stones. "Was that day really your first time playing in a salon?" The Meijin's son asked quietly.
"Oh, are you talking about that time I stopped by your father's salon?" The bleached bang prodigy added with a small chuckle. "I thought I clearly said that it was my first time in that salon." He said with a small, teasing grin on his lips. "Did you think it was my first time playing the game? That's silly!"
Touya's cheeks were painted a hot shade of pink at the other boy's playful jab. "But still...you barely have a dent on your nails. I take it you're not playing very often?" Akira quickly recovered.
"Daily? No," Shindou just gave him a small shrug as a reply, the corners of his lips turned slightly upward as if he was enjoying some private joke by himself. "Nightly, maybe," he added quietly, more to himself rather than intending for Akira to hear his mumble.
"Do you plan on becoming a pro?" Akira stopped walking as he stared down into the boy's emerald eyes, his lips pressed together into a very thin line, hinting at how serious his intention was behind that question.
At this, Shindo's face completely went blank. He merely stared back at him with an unreadable gaze before his lips turned upward into a small grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Honestly, I don't know if I can at this point." He retracted his hand back and began to walked off. "But I guess you do?"
"I do." Akira answered firmly. Although he couldn't help getting confused with the other boy's reply. What did he mean by 'I don't know if I can'? If the boy possessed such skills that could rival him, why didn't he aim higher?
"Good for you then!" Shindou said in a singsong voice that sounded strangely sarcastic. "I might actually consider it, if comes the time when I think I'm ready. Too bad, I could use a title or two right now. I'm desperately in need of money, you know?" He added with a shrug.
"A title...or two..." Akira felt his blood began to boil. Shindou's words were an undeniable proof of how little the boy thought of his fellow Go players. What angered him more, however, was the way he disrespected those in the professional world. How could someone who barely had a dent on his nails degraded them with such an insult? Was he so confident in his skill that it allowed him to think he was above all those who had worked harder than him?
"Those words are the insult to all the current pros!" Akira raised his voice, his lips were trembling with barely contained rage. "There is no way you could be a Go player. A real Go player would never say something like that!"
If Akira was trying to get a rise out of the other boy, he did a remarkable job at it. Shindou stopped in his track before sending his piercing stare from behind the mob of golden locks at him while his lips stretched out into a sinister sneer. Akira didn't know what kind reaction he was expecting from Shindou, but it certainly wasn't the taunting smile on the boy's face. For a person who seemed so carefree and cheerful just a moment ago to summon that kind of expression, it was as if the friendly side of him never existed.
"Oya?" Shindou lifted a brow defiantly, his hands snugged comfortably into the pockets of his jacket as his face inched closer to Akira. "I take it that you consider yourself worthy enough to be one then? That's rich coming from someone who could barely keep up against the shitty me."
Akira never felt so angry before in his life. He had to bit his tongue in order to stop himself from lunging at the boy. "How about another game, then? If you're so confident that you can easily become a pro and take a few titles, then you can't possibly lose to me here!"
Shindou only looked mildly amused at Akira's burst. His emerald eyes shone an ominous shade of jade as he snorted in reply to Akira's challenge. "As you wish," he chuckled darkly before letting Akira lead the way.
~o0O0o~
The automatic door slid open, allowing two short figures to enter into a high-end Go salon. The arrival of the two prodigies didn't go by unnoticed. Most of the patrons directed their glances towards the first boy, the one they knew and familiar with, but it was the boy who was following leisurely behind the prodigious Touya Akira that really made them sprung up from their seats in great anticipation.
"Hey...that kid..."
"Is he the one from that time!?"
"Yeah! That's the kid!"
The men rushed after him. Some of them were already waiting at the table where Akira had settled. They weren't going to miss this match even if the game cost them to miss their dinner at home.
"Please sit down." Akira told him sternly.
"Yeah, yeah," Hikaru pulled out his chair and lowered himself onto the cushion, ignoring some of the hostile looks throwing his way. Some of these guys must be Akira's sworn followers, Hikaru thought with a smirk. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when the match ended.
"Tsk, tsk, thinking that you will win this game already? Aren't you arrogant?" Torajirou shook his head in disapproval.
"Dare to tell me you think otherwise?" Hikaru almost turned to hiss at his master but held himself back from doing so. There were too many eyes on him right now. He'd risk them thinking he was mad if he was as much as glancing back to look at his mentor. "Don't you interfere." Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"Never going to happen," Torajirou snorted.
"The game is five and a half moku." Akira told the other boy coldly as he poured the white stones back into its bowl after they Nigiri before keeping the white stones for himself. "Please start."
And the game begun.
The first black stone was placed on the upper right corner of the board. Akira narrowed his eyes cautiously. He only lost to the boy last time because he had underestimated him. But I will be careful this time, he chewed on his lower lip as his brain alternated the paths that Shindou might take. If he goes there, then I can ignore it and play here. But if he plays at that corner again, then I'll have to lure him out and start a fight. I will get him this time!
The second black stone went to the lower right corner, just the exact spot where Akira predicted earlier. Before, when they had their first game, Akira thought that the boy's opening moves were rather old. However, it became obvious now that Shindou might actually prefer to use the old opening tactics instead of more modern moves. It would have been a disadvantage if someone else were to play the same style as him during the first stage of the game; with komi rule, it would be difficult for black to acquire more territory later. However, the boy certainly had the skill to even out the minor setback. The few mokus lost wouldn't even deter him from the paths he had chosen. Then again, maybe this was his plan in the past to get his opponents to let their guards down.
Either way, Akira refused to be one of them, not this time.
I have already seen through your plan. You can't use the same trick on me twice!
He ignored black's move and placed his white stone onto an opposite side of the board, claiming the left side. Shindou went on and placed another black stone to close the corner, seemingly unaffected by the fact that white was trying to claim the whole left side for himself.
How far can you go on ignoring my moves? Akira gritted his teeth tightly. He would not allow himself to be led around like last time. This time, he would break away. He slammed his white stone onto the middle right side of the board, roughly cutting off his opponent from forming a steady shape with his black. Shindou responded with another quiet click of stone on the lower right corner, strengthening his smaller area instead of righting the bigger frame where Akira had just divided.
I will make you regret not saving this side of the board. Akira slapped another white in the same area, just a few points apart from his own last move before glancing up towards his opponent. This should deal some blow to Shindou's mentality. It was obvious that white now had the left side roughly secured and some of the right area in his possession, safe for the corners that were now belonged to black, but there was no argue that the shapes were more favorable for Akira at this point in game.
But Shindou just calmly stared down at the board. His eyes glinting in amusement before those emerald orbs leveled up at Akira.
"I see you've finally noticed what I did last time. Should I give you a reward then?" Shindou taunted him.
"Just play the game!" Akira creased his brows together. Was this boy trying to rile him up so he could make a mistake?
However, it became clear to Akira that Shindou was above using those petty tricks that he accused him of doing. For the hands that followed spoke louder than his mocking words could ever do. It wasn't the same subtle guiding as that occurred in their first game. As they entered the Chuban, Shindou had also became more aggressive with his moves. Those of Akira's shapes where he managed to form on the board were slowly crumbling down into strangled heaps. Akira took a longing glance at a few clusters that barely survived Shindou's onslaught and gritted his teeth. There was still hope to retake his territories back, this he knew, but would it be enough to let him win against the boy or would the boy finish killing him off completely before he managed to come back?
"I...I have nothing." Akira hung his head low, desperately hiding his fallen tears that traced down upon his cheeks. Why did he have to lose to a guy like him? Shindou had insulted him and the pros in the ugliest, dirtiest way possible. He insulted Ogata-san, Fujiwara-san, and even his father with his careless words yet someone like him was allowed to taste the victory he certainly didn't deserve.
A scrape of a chair against the squeaky cleaned tiles pierced through the uncomfortable silent of the salon. Shindou stood up from his seat and was about to leave.
"Oi! Brat! Where's your formality?" A patron named Kitajima heatedly bellowed after him, forcing Shindou to pause in his steps.
"I was going to say 'thank you for the game' but that guy over there would know that I am merely lying." The boy tilted his chin towards Akira, not caring if his manner or his words provoked a few low grunts from the crowd of middle age men. "You see, I can't help feeling disappointed with this game. After all what he said to me earlier, he sure doesn't prove himself to be one promising Go player as he claimed to be."
"What the hell did you just say?" Kitajima roared at the boy.
"Not all of us can afford to have someone supporting us from behind, you know?" Shindou looked passed the man and directly at Akira. His eyes took a darker shade of green as he stubbornly stared into the eyes of another prodigy in the room. "There are those who have to face another kind of struggle. The kind that you would never imagine happening to yourself or even those fortunate enough to be in the same circle as you. Saying that you have to endure trainings and studying Go for hours on end as you grow up, is that suppose to be a struggle for you? Don't make me laugh!"
The patrons were in an uproar but Hikaru didn't move an inch away from where he was standing. He finally had it with this boy. What would the great Touya Akira know about suffering when he had everything a Go player would hope for since the day he was born? To Hikaru, those words which Akira was spouting while they traveled here were nothing more than whining comparing to what he and his friends had been put through all those years.
However, before the both of them could say anything further, Kitajima took the matter into his own hand and reached out for Hikaru's collar before throwing him out of the salon. His face was boiling red with barely contained rage when he came back in.
"I will personally kick him out myself next time if he ever dares showing his face around here again!" The man bellowed as the other patrons joined in with their nods.
It seemed, by provoking and talking down to the patrons' grandson figure, Hikaru had successfully and permanently put his own face under the scrutinizing radar of these hardcore customers.
It was a good thing that Hikaru didn't plan on returning to this salon ever again.
Reviews
greymouser : sorry for the long wait (and cliff hanger). I didn't originally plan to disappear for this long :(
ding : thank you! Hope you love this chapter too
reesessweetie : I'm so so so sorry to make you wait on the cliffhanger for so long but I still hope you can find this chapter worth the wait. I had rewrite this chapter countless time since I finished the last update but it still wasn't good enough to post until recently. I'll go ahead and put the blame on my ex-fiancé for my lack of imagination then.
allek-k : again, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. I don't really like the pace where I'm going so I will try to do better with my next update (fingers crossed). Glad you love my story and hope to see you again.
Demon-Slasher : To answer your question thoroughly would be a major spoiler for other so I can only hint at the more obvious points in the story. I plan to have Hikaru take over some of the games that should belong to Sai in the canon, just like what I did in this chapter. The reverse is also highly, likely going to happen ;)
JesterOfDeath: I thank you for your patient and review :)
HonestPuck10 : Thank you for your review and sorry for the wait!
asdfghjklzxcvbnm : lol They sure deserve that, didn't they? But I don't think anyone would have the mind to record the whole thing when it actually happens since most of us would be more likely to get busy at yelling and shouting at the other party anyway...so there! That's my version of what should really happen if Hikaru were in that situation.
RustedEagleWings : thank you for loving it and thanks again for your review!
KK : I'm happy that you like it. The twist is intentional ;)
CynthiaRosenDale: hmm...yeah, it was a rough start since I'd hate it more if it turns out to be a typical cheesy romance. I guess my OC is not exactly the nice type but I still like to put her that way. I'm evil :)
S : sorry for the errors. I just got my beta reader recently and we didn't exactly go over the old updates. I will try to go back and fix them later. Hope this chapter goes smoother for you.
flame55 : oh~ you bet he will!
Guest : the answer to your question depends on which character you are directing your question to. If you ask Akira, his answer will be different than that of Hikaru's. I can't tell you more than this or it'll turn into a spoiler :D
XienRue : I'm sorry for making you wait. I'm quite afraid that I would have to abandon this story myself but I'll try my best not to let it happens (fingers crossed). I will come out and admit that your suggestion in your review helps me write faster. I mean I at least got the plot line all planned out but it's the journey to the end that is so hard to make it interesting. Thank you for dropping by and I hope to see you again.
YazzyFic : Glad you like the twist there! I've been planing this scene ever since I started this story. Getting to this point in the story has been hard but extremely fun. Thank you for your review and please stop by again.
Guest : Yay! For Hikaru's freedom, though it won't be the end of his struggle but things should start looking up from now ;)
ecl1ps3 : and here's the update as you requested :)