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/.../ = Yugi's thoughts
/ /.../ / = Yami's thoughts
\...\ = Hikaru's thoughts
\\...\\ = Sai's thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go or Yu-Gi-Oh. All I have is a muse with a crazy sense of imagination.


It's Time to Play a Game

Chapter 2: Let's Play a Game (Part 2)

There seemed to be an intense duel going on in the centre of the crowd, and when they got closer it was only then that Yugi recognised what they were playing. In the confusion of the 'kidnapping', he'd totally missed the sign of the place they passed by when they entered, but now he could see that he'd been brought to a Go salon.

He coughed discreetly into his free hand – he'd forgotten how much smoke could accumulate in places like this(1).

"Make way; comin' through!"

The taxi driver barged through the crowd, eliciting a few disgruntled sounds, but was let through regardless. Yugi, being so short of stature (curse that delayed growth spurt!), had a hard time trying to peer around the tall adults while mumbling apologies on Kawai-san's behalf, but when they reached the front, the older man spoke for the both of them.

"Yo, brat! When you're done, play this kid over here – he says he can beat you 'cos he's the 'King of Games!'"

"Wait, I didn't say—"

"Shhh!" A few glares were sent their way, and Yugi could see Kawai-san rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"Fine, fine. I'll wait 'til the games are over. Not that they'd take a long time anyway." He snickered, earning a few more glares. But he quietened down and stepped to the side, allowing Yugi to see what had everyone's attention.

His first thought was that it really didn't matter whether they were silent or not, as all four players radiated an aura so intense that it could be cut through with a knife.

His second thought was that of surprise at the scene in front of him – there were three middle-aged to older men, all facing off against one teen that seemed to be around his age. It was almost comical; like watching old men ganging up against a child, if it weren't for the light sheen of sweat he could see on the older men. There were three gobans between them, which also caught him by surprise – he didn't know that you could play more than one game at a time, but in retrospect, it did make sense, if the single player was a lot stronger.

He shuffled closer to get a better look at the teen, when he felt (rather than saw) Yami stiffen up next to him. He turned his head minutely in the direction of the pharaoh, wondering what caused his reaction.

/Yami? Is something wrong?/

/ /…/ /

He didn't reply, which worried Yugi a little more.

/Yami?/

The spirit shuffled to the side, as if trying to avoid something. Which was strange, as Yami was the type of person…spirit…that stood his ground, his stubbornness almost as big as his pride. He never tip-toed around anything, yet here he was, acting like Yugi.

/Yami?/ Yugi tried again, curious about his counterpart's strange behaviour.

/ /I thought…it's nothing, Aibou. Just…I thought I sensed something./ / Yami frowned. / /It's very faint though, so it might be nothing…/ /

He trailed off, and Yugi wondered if it was the spirit's paranoia acting up again. He shrugged mentally. He'd keep an eye out, but since he couldn't see or sense anything outright strange or dangerous, he didn't see the point in fretting over a huge 'maybe'. He'd leave that job to the spirit.

He turned his attention back to the teen, watching the almost invisible fire dancing behind the green eyes. They reminded him of something old; something nostalgic. The boy looked like any good duellist did during an intense duel, and Yugi already felt like they would get along. Apart from the blond bangs, the other kid looked like any normal teenager, even though Yugi was pretty sure that the bangs were bleached and not natural, like his own hair. At least he didn't have piercings all over his face, like that creepy pantomiming rare hunter he had to duel during the Battle City Tournament.

He shuddered at the memory. Turning his thoughts back to the current situation, he tried to follow the flow of the games being played. Even though he knew how to play Go on account of his jii-chan, he'd only played a few games here and there, quickly finding that the game didn't really suit him – not because the game itself was bad, but because no one his age seemed to play it. Well, his classmates had refused to play anything with him anyway (until Yami came along), but he hadn't wanted to completely turn other kids off from approaching him because he had a goban out. Plus, Go was a two-player game, and his jii-chan only had so much free time.

But even with his limited experience, he could see that this Shindou person was good; very good, not only because he was taking on three other people at the same time, but also because he could sense the overwhelming 'attack power' in the way Shindou placed his stones.

Soon, Yugi found himself being drawn into the intensity of the game, trying to read the strategies that were running through the players' minds.

He was so absorbed that he almost didn't even notice the first "I have nothing" and the harrumph of defeat that went with it, and when the other two soon followed after, he held back a sigh of disappointment. The games ended much too quickly, but they were well played nonetheless.

As soon as the last player resigned, Kawai-san pounced on the other teen and gave him a noogie.

"Whooohoo! Brat, you really creamed them this time! It might've been different if I'd been playing, but still."

"ARGH! Kawai-san, stop doing that! And when did you get here, anyway?"

Everyone burst into laughter, the lingering tension dissipating along with the smoke from forgotten cigarettes.

"Hmph! Concentrating so hard that you didn't even notice me come in, eh?" He rubbed the boy's head even harder before finally letting him go. Then he turned his glinting eyes to one so-called 'King of Games'. "But now that you're done, I want you to play this midget over here!"

/Uh-oh…/

Yugi gulped as Kawai-san dragged him over and forced him to sit in the chair across from Shindou. He fiddled with the puzzle to reassure himself, but it didn't help as he glanced about nervously: something he definitely shouldn't have done. Now the eyes of the entire crowd were on him. More specifically, his crazy hair. Not for the first time in his life, Yugi cursed himself for being born with such eye-catching hair.

His violet eyes met Shindou's green, and he cringed inwardly out of reflex.

"Ummmmm…hi?"

"Wow. Where'd you find this grade-schooler, Kawai-san?"

The old insult made his temper flare again.

"I'm fifteen!" He pouted, even though he knew it was far from intimidating.

"Woah; no way! You're older than me? Cool!" The serious, focused teenager was gone and was instantly replaced by a hyperactive boy, making Yugi do a double-take. Shindou had a big grin on his face, and his eyes were shining in excitement. "I mean, it gets really boring being surrounded by old geezers all the time, ya know? Plus you have awesome hair – blond bangs all the way(2)!" The boy's eyes lit up mischievously. "Nothing like these geezers, who hardly even have any hair left!"

"You brat! Being disrespectful again, are you?" Another noogie and more scuffling ensued, and Yugi was suddenly reminded of his friends Jonouchi and Honda. He grinned then, forgiving the other for the comment about his age. The boy exuded a cheerful aura that automatically made him feel at ease, which was much appreciated to a non-local.

"So what's your name? You don't look like you're from around here, and you're definitely not an insei(3)…"

Yugi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, repeating the same story he told the owner a few moments ago. But unlike the owner, Shindou merely laughed and elbowed Kawai-san.

"Kawai-san, you shouldn't go around kidnapping lost kids! Not that that's surprising; I totally knew you were the gangster-type!" He got bopped on the head by a miffed taxi driver, but continued to grin. "So, Yugi eh? What a weird name – I've never heard of anyone called 'game'."

"Like you have the right to say that, brat – you're Hikaru, which is even weirder since there's nothing 'light'-like about you!" They got into another argument, but Yugi wasn't listening. He saw the way Yami completely froze up when Shindou's name was mentioned, and he sent a worried thought to the spirit.

/Okay, now I know something's up. What's wrong Yami?/

/ /Aibou…I think we should switch./ /

Yugi frowned, getting even more worried at those words.

/What? Why? Do you sense something? Is it shadow power?/

/ /Well, not quite. Actually I don't know what it is, but I sense…something otherworldly about this boy. And his name is 'Hikaru'…/ /

/You think…you think he has a 'Yami'? Or a millennium item?/ Yugi shot a look at Shindou, his eyes roaming all around the other boy to check for anything that glittered with the slightest hint of gold.

/ /I'm not saying he has a millennium item, nor do I sense any dark energy, but there seems to be some sort of spiritual force surrounding the boy. It's very faint, mind you, and I thought I was imagining it when we were standing further away. But now that we're closer…/ / The pharaoh clenched his hands into fists – a sure sign of his nervousness. / /I think we should switch, just in case./ /

Meanwhile, Hikaru had calmed down enough to spot how Yugi had taken on a slightly blank look. It was almost unnerving, yet strangely familiar.

\Ne, Sai, what do you think he's doing?\

The Heian ghost looked at the newcomer, temporarily forgetting his excitement at the prospect of watching another game of Go.

\\Hm…Maybe he's in shock at seeing your poor manners towards your elders, Hikaru.\\

The boy glared daggers at his mentor.

\He's a teen like me, Sai. Not some old guy concerned with 'respecting the geezers' and all that stuff.\

Sai ignored Hikaru's rude comment, tapping his lips with the tip of his fan thoughtfully. It could be shock, but somehow, he felt like he'd seen such an expression before.

His eyes lit up, finding the answer he was looking for.

\\No, wait - I've seen this look before. It's what you look like when you talk to me in your mind, and you don't want other people to notice.\\

Hikaru blinked, and for a split second he wondered if it were possible for there to be two Sais in this world. Is that why this boy was here, asking for a game against him? He panicked for a moment, wondering if his secret had been discovered somehow. But then his logic caught up, and he scoffed at the idea, albeit a bit nervously.

\No way. I think I'd rather go with the 'he's in shock' explanation. Or maybe he's just spacing out.\

He waved a hand in front of Yugi to prove his point, and sure enough, the boy snapped out of his daze.

"Ah-haha…sorry about that. I was thinking about…something else." Yugi cringed inwardly at the poor lie, hoping that Hikaru wouldn't notice it. "You were saying?"

Shindou grinned, unfazed.

"So I hear you wanna play a game against me, Mr. 'King of Games'?"

"Kick his butt, Shindou!" Kawai-san encouraged. Apparently, the older man had explained everything to Shindou during their little argument. Most likely a very distorted version of what happened, if Yugi were to judge by the way Shindou was eyeing him the way a predator eyes its prey.

He held his hands up in a placating manner, wondering if there was any way he could get out of this without Yami going all overprotective on him or Shindou from taking his 'challenge' seriously. He wanted convince Yami that he could handle this one – he was a big boy now, and he'd duelled far more threatening people in the past.

"Ummm, please let me explain – the 'King of Games' thing is just a title I won for playing Duel Monsters, and even though I'm not too bad at other games either, it doesn't mean I'm the best at every single game! Besides, I've only played Go a few times before." He nibbled on his bottom lip, hoping they would believe him.

His innocent looks failed him for once, as Kawai-san draped a lazy arm around Hikaru's shoulders and said, "Yeah, right. I'm not letting you out that easy, brat! So Shindou? Are ya gonna whip his ass or what?"

The boy shook himself free from the driver's arm, clearly annoyed.

"Whatever, Kawai-san. It's clear he doesn't really want to play, so let him go." With that, Shindou began to look at the quiet crowd for any real challengers.

Sensing that his chance at seeing something interesting was slowly slipping away, he crossed his arms and glared at Yugi before a slow smile spread across his face.

"Yo, brat! If you wanna go home, you gotta play Shindou at least once! And if you win, I'll even drive you there for free! Unless, of course, your title is just exclusive to little kids…"

Yugi's eyes narrowed, feeling the competitive side of him rising up to the challenge. Plus the midget comments were getting annoying.

"Fine. I'll play a game because I need to get back before my jii-chan calls the police to look for me. And arresting you along the way."

Kawai-san just clapped a hand on his back and laughed.

"You're on! Shindou, clear the goban – we have a challenger!"

-To be continued-


(1) Go salons in Hikaru's world seem to be full of smokers all the time. I've never been to a Go salon myself, so I don't know whether this is true in real life.
(2) I was going to use the phrase "for the win" until I discovered that it wasn't invented until 2010!
(3) Insei are students who train in order to pass the Go pro exam in Japan. But you probably already knew that.

Some of you might be thinking, "Why doesn't Yugi remember playing Go with Akira?" Well, he hasn't forgotten, it's just that there's so much going on that he's not actively trying to remember that particular game.

Apart from that, if the 'thought system' is too confusing, please let me know. I've tried some symbols, but for some reason some of them disappear after I save the file. So review and/or comment, and part 3 will come soon!