Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ One Day Together ❯ The Game of Awakening ( Chapter 9 )

The hotel brought back memories of the North Star Cup to Hikaru, everything from the pine front desk to the white and black tiled floors. He remembered how he felt when he first climbed the steps towards the lobby, the knot in his stomach slowly grower tighter until it felt like it was a tornado. All the other effects were there as well: his mouth dry, his palms starting to clam up, his mind getting that strange hazy feeling. Hikaru's will to win was perhaps stronger now than it was before the North Star Cup, almost like a palpable aura surrounding the young boy. Sai had never felt Hikaru' emotions so strongly as he had now.

“But Hikaru I really don't think I should…” said Sai, lifting his fan to his lips.

“Sai, I want you to play this game and that's that. You don't know what this guy is like. He insulted you, he insulted Shuusaku, he insulted the game of Go itself…”

“But Hikaru you should be the one…”

“I had my chance to fight and….I lost. I'm not letting him get off so easy, but I want him to suffer under your power.”

“But Hikaru…”

“Sai! I said you play. That's all there is to it. Let's go.”

Sai could feel that Hikaru was on the verge of tears, but somehow the boy had found the resolve to hold them back. With the door swinging closed behind him, Hikaru looked down the hallway and caught sight of his adversary. Yongha was standing at the end of the hallway wearing the same suit he had during the North Star Cup. He stood there with one hand in his pocket, only without his usual self congratulating air.

“Well I'm here, as your note said. But why are we…”

“I have a board and stones prepared in my room. There'll be a witness for our match. This way,” interrupted Yongha, trying to kill of any conversation.

“I'm not playing until you give me an explanation for all this. Why call me out her to play you?” Hikaru was using every ounce of willpower he had to keep from lashing out and decking Yongha out on the floor. He'd save his anger for gloating after Sai won.

“I suppose one is in order. No, you deserve one, so here it is. When I first arrived here in Japan to play at the North Star Cup, I really looked forward to playing the star of Japanese Go.”

“Touya you mean?”

“Of course. The son of the Meijin is quite well known in professional Go all over, and I wanted to test my mettle against the best. No offense, but I didn't think much of you or that Yashiro character. As far as I was concerned you were both nobodies who got lucky.” Hikaru gritted his teeth in anger and clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. Yongha simply grinned and continued on with his little soliloquy.

“Touya was my opponent. I would prove to everyone at the North Star Cup that I stood atop the world of Go and would soon take my rightful place among the stars. I was King of the Go world…” remarked Yongha, crossing his arms and smiling arrogantly.

“How full of yourself can you be…” thought Hikaru, embarrassed for Yongha.

“But then Kurata switched the order and made you first board. At first I thought we were being tricked and that your team was trying to con a win. But then I played you and I saw just why Kurata picked you for first board. But as it stood I couldn't prove I was the best because you were sitting in Touya's seat! This time I will beat you unequivocally and then I will wait for my chance to play Touya. I can't move on until I've made up in my mind where I stand.,” said Yongha, his cool and calm exterior melted away with each word, his eyes narrowing in frustration. He was the kind of person who fed off of being “the best” and now was like a fish out of water.

“Who cares about that? I can't believe you drug me all the way out here because you're so in love with yourself,” sneered Hikaru, crossing his arms and holding up his nose and Yongha.

“Running away then?” retorted Yongha, raising an eyebrow. If there was one thing Yongha loved, it was baiting people.

“Oh I'll play you Yongha, but for reasons of my own. You spend so much of your time building yourself up at the expense of others. You underestimated Shuusaku's power, the power of Japanese Go, and my own strength. After this game, Yongha, you most definitely will know where you stand. I assure you, you won't like it,” retorted Hikaru, with a fierce gaze that could burn a hole through concrete. Yongha, not expecting such a confident answer, stepped back and balled his fist. Collecting himself, he adjusted his tie and turned around.

“As I said before, this way…” Yongha stated as he started to walk up the stairs in the lobby.

“Let's go Sai…” quietly thought Hikaru to his mentor, following behind Yongha at a good distance.

Sai did not say anything to Hikaru as they solemnly climbed up the stairs, feeling that trying to interject might just make things worse.

“Ever since I returned to the world of the living this morning, I've been asking myself why did I come back today of all days? I have always wondered what Kami-sama's grand design is, but even during the sleep of death I never asked him. I was content with the fact that I have seen his hand at work so far and that everything would continue towards a goal. I'm glad I'm here for Hikaru today, but this is not truly my battle. I can sense something in Hikaru. My thoughts have become more intertwined with his as the day has gone on. He's….hurt.”

Winding through several hallways, Yongha eventually led Hikaru to his hotel room. Unlocking it with his key card, Yongha opened the door to reveal Suyon sitting at the table in front of a go board. Hikaru's eyes widened in surprise.

“Suyon?”

“Shindou, I…”

“Enough Suyon. You're just here to witness, not gab. Besides, wouldn't want Shindou here to not fess up to losing to me,” said Yongha, trying to puff himself up.

“Oh believe me Yongha, that's not happening,” quickly retorted Hikaru, taking his seat and giving Suyon a quick glance. Suyon's eyes seemed to say “I'm sorry for all this”, but his mouth certainly didn't open after the reprimand from Yonga. The arrogant Korean Go star took his seat and reached for a handful of white stones.

“Nigiru.”

Hikaru guessed incorrectly and took white, placing the go ke to his side. Yongha placed his first move on the 5,3 point and waited for Hikaru to go.

“Mokuhazushi, the 5,3 point. That's a rather aggressive move to begin with…all right…Sai what is your first move?”

“Hikaru…”

“What is your first move,” Hikaru demanded immediately, closing his eyes to help him control his emotions. Sai knew there was no use in trying to argue with his student. This was not a game he wanted to play, and Sai quietly questioned why Kami-sama would ever put him in such a position.

“4,16 Hoshi…” said Sai, painfully uttering the words. When Hikaru reached into the go ke to draw his first stone, Sai noticed something incredible. Staring at his hand in shock, Sai felt something he hadn't felt for 1000 years.

“I could feel the cold touch of the stones…” Sai felt himself to see if anything was different. His mind was being flooded with long forgotten sensations, physical sensations. Hikaru deftly placed the first stone on the board, only to have Yongha quickly lay down his next move.

“Another mokuhazushi? You think aggressiveness will win this game? Thought it all out have you? You've really been waiting for a rematch…” thought Hikaru, eager to have Sai crush Yongha and get his much needed revenge.

Sai couldn't quite deal with what was happening to him; after all it had been 1000 years since he could sense anything. He could feel as Hikaru felt, the touch of the stones, the chill of the room, the smell of some type of food. He was also more in tune with Hikaru's innermost thoughts and feelings, as if some sort of barrier had just been lifted. Collecting himself, Sai continued to play.

“4,4 Hoshi…”

The game got off to a very violent start, when Sai immediately pincered Yongha's approach stone and started off a very complicated line of play. Yongha stopped himself midway through playing, and clutched the go ke. Despite not showing it on his face, the self appointed “King of the Go World” was clearly having a hard time.

“Who is this? This isn't the kid I played at the North Star Cup! The style is similar but his moves are unnervingly strong. Get a hold of yourself Yongha; you're probably just psyching yourself out. The opening has gone well for you. Just play calmly, and don't get over excited. You will win this…” thought Yongha to himself, steeling his self confidence.

The opening of the game had come to a close, and the middle game fighting was about to begin. Sai's strength eluded all of Yongha's attempts to control the board thus far, but the ancient Go master was not going to underestimate the boy's strength. Sai focused his full power on the game itself, his mind plunging into the deepest depths of the Go board. Hikaru could feel it, his skin goosebumping with each move that Sai made.

“There's no way you can make fun of Shuusaku now, Yongha…” Hikaru saw the lay of Yongha's stones, the shape they made. With each move he could see Yongha slowly coming unglued, despite what his stone like composure would have the world to believe. Hikaru also noticed how close he was to Sai's mind, how much of his masters consciousness he could somehow feel.

“I wonder if he's experiencing what I'm feeling…Sai is sure powerful…I've only recently been able to truly appreciate him for what he is…” Hikaru's mind wandered back to his first Go tournament when he, Tsutsui, and Kaga decided to take on Kaiou Middle School. The universe of the Go board that Hikaru created in his first game was still fresh in his mind. He caught the first true glimpse of what Go was all about. His mind also wandered back to the next game, the all important game…

Hikaru lifted up his stone to place it on the board, but the pain he felt made it seem as if his arm was on fire. What kind of game was this, where you could somehow put your soul in each move and yet still be beaten back? Hikaru had just begun, but looking at the board he could see he was losing badly. “If I lose they'll never forgive Tsutsui…and I was the one all excited for the tournament. Why do I have to let them down. I…

“Sai…I…I can't win…You…play”

“I thought you told me to keep quiet” playfully replied Sai, only to have Hikaru break down into tears.

“Oh, I'm…I'm sorry Hikaru! I didn't mean to make you cry. You're angry aren't you? Angry that you can't win on your own strength? Wipe your tears, and be sure not to put the stone in the wrong spot…”

Snapping back into reality, the landscape of the game with Yongha seemed like some sort of distant dream to Hikaru. The young boy's will to win had resurfaced, bubbling up in him out of some unknown corner. Hikaru played his next stone on the board with a loud click. Sai looked down at Hikaru in surprise, as he did not call out where he wanted to place a stone. Amazingly, Hikaru played in the spot Sai was about to call out.

“How did he know where to put it? I didn't say anything yet,” thought Sai in total shock.

The master and pupil's minds had become one, they're thoughts and experiences intertwining in a way it had never before. Hikaru's will to win, his will to be the best, his will to truly become the master of the game he loved was rising. As the young boy reached for the next white stone, his vision went white, the room melting away into nothingness around him.

The sound of a water drop….

“Where am I?”

Another…louder…

“Sai? Yongha? Suyon? Where is everyone?"

“Please play Hikaru…”

Hikaru looked upwards towards a blinding staircase of light that seemed to reach into some dizzying height. The sky above was a flurry of swirling purples and magentas, and some hues that defied description. Sai was standing on one of the steps, looking down towards his pupil with a loving gaze.

“I want to play Sai…Me…”

“I do as well…do you feel it Hikaru…?”

“I…understand…somehow…” replied Hikaru, looking straight into Sai's eyes. They both understood each other fully for the first time, as if they were one being instead of two. Sai looked up towards the glowing staircase and disappeared in a flash of blinding light. Hikaru was sad to see his mentor go, but this time he could feel Sai's experience and knowledge ebb and flow in his mind. Hikaru's heart felt unburdened for the first time since Sai left.

“Goodbye…Sai…” remarked Hikaru looking up towards the dazzling light of the sky above him. Everything, from the night he found the goban in his grandfathers attic to the day he played Touya in their first official match, suddenly made sense to the young man. Kami-sama's hand was skillfully guiding it all, along some great river no one could fully see. Just then, Hikaru felt a surge of power, as he returned to the room, staring at his game with Yongha. It had felt like an eternity, but it had only been about 5 minutes according to the clock in the hotel room. Hikaru clutched a stone, and saw the game with new eyes.

“It's so clear to me…” thought the young boy as he saw the stones and the game for what they really were. The secret lying between the formations was now made clear, and for once Hikaru truly felt he had stepped up another playing level into another realm he had never imagined. Placing a stone down, play resumed, but this time Hikaru was playing. Each move of Yongha's was countered in full by Hikaru. No matter how he tried, Yongha could never again gain the advantage. In fact his game crumbled against Hikaru's new found strength. Every move was a skillful swipe of Hikaru's sword deep into Yongha. Sweat drops began to form on the side of Yongha's forehead, his eyes twitching from the stress of the game. Suyon sat speechless, he too was aware of just how much Yongha was being beaten.

“No…if he cuts here my groups will be in shambles. He'll invade the lower part of the board at his leisure…I won't have close to enough territory to have any hope of winning. How did his game change right before my eyes? What happened? Who is this guy!”

Exhaling deeply and shrugging his shoulders, Yongha did what all Go players must eventually do.

“Makemashita…” choked Yongha, his eyes welling with tears as he practically collapsed in on himself. The tears could not be held back, as they flowed down his shirt and hands. Hikaru knew he had won due to his new found strength, and simply stood up and looked at his friend Suyon. Suyon reached out his hand towards Yongha, but his hand was swiped away. Hikaru looked down at the game, and turned to leave. Gloating was the furthest thing from his mind, after all the boy felt a new type of serenity. Hikaru simply left the room, leaving the beaten and broken Yongha lying in his chair. Stepping outside, Hikaru put his hands in his pockets and looked up towards the night sky, silently trying to count the stars.

“Sai…you've given me the greatest gift of all. This world of Go, I've finally made my way into it. I thank you,” thought Hikaru, a tear forming in his eye.

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A lone leaf lifted into the wind, gently flying across an infinite field of tall green grass. The sky was locked in eternal daybreak, the heavens on fire. In the distance were majestic mountains with snow capped peaks, adding a dash of majesty to the scenery. Beside a lone tree in the great expanse of grass, sat Sai in front of an exquisite goban. He was sitting Seiza style atop a purple pillow, two go ke laying atop the goban waiting for skillful hands to take them. Across from Sai was an empty pillow, the space for the opponent he would be destined to play in this heavenly arena…

The End