Chap1
"Stupid jii-san, giving me this stupid board." A ten year old Shindou Hikaru grumbled as he lugged a goban up to his bedroom.
Reaching his room, he could not help but smile. His room is his sanctuary, one of the only places he can fully relax in. Looking at his room; one would never believe that it is a room for a child.
Numerous paintings and sketches filled the walls. Brushes, pencils, pens, watercolour paint, inks, tons of sketch books, palettes, scrolls and fans littered the floor on the left side of his room. The right consists of his bed and the go books that his grandfather forced on him. The room looked like a room for an artist.
At the age of 8, Hikaru's mother, Mitsuko (1), discovered her son's amazing talent for art. She signed him up for art lessons and after a few sessions, the teacher was simply amazed by him.
Preferring the traditional Japanese style of brush painting, Hikaru used more watercolour and ink than oil colours and also used traditional Medias for his paintings; hence the scrolls and fans.
Also, Hikaru gained a 'manager' that helped him sell his paintings. Many people were interested by the traditional yet new style of painting that they sold like hot cakes, although he decided to remain unknown. However, Hikaru is very, very rich.
Looking down at the dusty goban and goke in his hands, he finally decided to place in the right side of the room.
Taking a piece of rag, he proceeded to wipe it clean when he came upon a very stubborn stain. "Why won't these stains come off?!" he growled.
Looking at it closely, he realized, "Why do these stains look like blood?" rubbing his eyes, he said to himself, "There is no way this board can get those blood stains in jii-san's attic."
'You can see those stains?' a rather deep feminine voice asked. Standing up, Hikaru asked (more like screamed) "Who's there?!" 'I can finally come back to the world of the living, all powerful kami-sama, I thank you.'
The last thing Hikaru saw was an effeminate purpled haired male in a white kariginu holding a fan, hovering over the board.
Dreamscape
Ne, daijoubu ka?" Hikaru turned and saw a man standing behind him with a smile. He has long purple (2) tied loosely at the back and beautiful violet eyes. Dressed in a white kariginu, he looked elegant and beautiful.
"Ano, who are you?" with a slight bow, the stranger answered, "Im Fujiwara no Sai, yoroshiku." "Uh, I'm Shindou Hikaru" he replied with a curt nod.
"I was a go instructor to the Emperor in the capital during the Heian era." Sai said abruptly. "I was so happy, being able to play go every single day…"
"So…" Hikaru interrupted. Sai did not seem to care and continued.
"There was another go instructor as well. One day, he suggested to the Emperor that only one instructor was needed. The Emperor agreed and a match was held- the winner gets to stay while the loser has to leave.
The game was pretty much even, nobody noticed it besides me; a white stone among his black ones in his goke.
That man… he cheated and placed that stone among his captured stones. I was about to reveal him when he said that I was the one who did the deed. Of course, I protested.
The Emperor did not believe something as shameful as that happened before his eyes and just continued the match. Distracted by the turn of events, I lost.
Branded as a cheated and banished from the capital, I could no longer play go. Two days later, I drowned myself in the river.
However, I could not find peace… I still wanted to play go! My soul lingered on a goban, waiting for another chance.
One day, after many decades, I heard the voice of a boy, 'Why is this goban stained with so many tears?' upon hearing that, I was overjoyed! I can play again!
His name was Torajirou. He was an accomplished player and happily offered me a place in his soul. He renamed himself Shusaku and was later awarded the title of the 14th Honibou.
However, Torajirou passed away at the tender age of 34 due to an illness…" "The blood on the board is Torajirou's, right?" Sai nodded.
Hikaru looked at Sai for another moment before fading away.
Hikaru's eyes snapped open, waking from his dream. Groaning in pain, he cursed himself for falling asleep on the goban. He stretched and yawned… "Ahhhhhhhh!" there is this weird person sitting in front of him!? Then, memories of his dreams came rushing back.
"You're Fujiwara no Sai?" Sai nodded cheerfully, Hikaru remembered him!
"Do you play go? Can you let me play as well? How good are you...?" Hikaru waved his hand in front of Sai to stop the onslaught of questions.
"To answer your questions, no, I don't play go. I don't intend to start playing so no, you can't play. Since I obviously don't play go… I have no idea how good I am."
Sai started sobbing. All of a sudden, Hikaru felt sick and really depressed… "Alright, I'll play! But I will still need time to paint, okay?" "Yatta! Yatta!'
Shaking his head, an idea struck Hikaru, "Hey, Sai" he continued when he got Sai's attention, "If I let you play go, will you be my model for my paintings?"
Sai nodded, willing to model just to play go. Grinning, Hikaru finally found an appropriate model for his traditional paintings.
TBC
(1): I have no idea what is Hikaru's mother's name.
(2): is Sai's hair purple?
Hikaru is an artist at the age of 10 whose paintings are really popular. He is sort of famous. I won't go into detail for the next two years but Sai will disappear when Hikaru is 12. Hikaru will also love go and will be damn good at it. He will be a famous painter who is also a strong go player.