Title: In memory of

Summary: When Hikaru was ten his grandfather died. The only thing he left to him was a box full of old dusty kifu and an old and faded book written by one Fujiwara no Sai.

Author: Guardian of fantasy

Fandom: Hikaru no Go

Paring: none

Prologue

Ten year old Hikaru sighed yet again. He was in the shed of his grandfather, searching some valuable stuff, but all he found was junk. He wiped some dust from another scroll and coughed again.

Nope, nothing valuable, just junk.

"How am I ever going to get money?" he asked himself aloud. His parents had cut his allowance. Again. Because he failed a test. Again. He couldn't believe this was happening. Not now when the long awaited manga's of his favorites series were coming out this very month.

And HE wouldn't be able to buy them. He started to search the stuff again, in the now faded hope to find a treasure among the clutter his grandfather had collected through the years.

"Hikaru, are you up there?" came a voice from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm here gramps." He yelled back loudly, inadvertently inhaling a cloud of dust and started to cough extremely loud.

"Hikaru, are you okay." Came the slightly worried voice of his grandfather. Before Hikaru could answer he heard the dull thud of the old man's footsteps against the wooden stairs.

"I'm okay" He yelled, but suddenly he heard a crash and a dull thud. He jumped up at the sudden and harsh sound.

"Grandpa?" he asked hesitantly. No answer, he yelled again, but when no answer came he went to the stairs and looked down. His grandfather was lying there in an awkward position. One of his legs bend at a strange angle and around his head was blood.

Hikaru did the only thing he could think of. He started to scream. It was an instinctive reaction to seeing someone he loved in that kind of position.

"Grandpa, are you okay? Please be okay." He kept on saying while screaming for help. Luckily one of the neighbors was currently home and heard the distraught boy making a fuss.

She knew Hikaru already for quite a while and knew that the energetic boy sometimes could get quite loud without really meaning to. But this was too much, even by his standards.

"What's going on?" the elderly woman from the house next door asked. But when she saw the body of her dear neighbor lying there on the floor she stopped dead in her tracks.

Then she saw Hikaru trying to shake his grandfather awake. She moved again.

She immediately took Hikaru's arm in her hand and pulled him away to where she knew the phone stood.

She held him close to her when she called the ambulance and quickly explained the situation. Luckily it did not take long for it to arrive. The medics came out immediately and declared the old men still breathing but in critical condition.

They took him to the hospital, leaving a tear stained Hikaru behind with the elderly woman to take care of him.

She tried her best to console him to tell everything was alright. It did not take long for the young once mother to arrive. She asked for them to call her when they got some news. After all, she liked the old male.

Late next night she got a phone call, but not the news she had hoped for. Heihachi Shindo died in the hospital not even an hour ago.

His grandfather was dead and he was responsible for it. That was all that Hikaru could think of since he heard the news three weeks ago.

The funeral was already long past gone, but Hikaru still couldn't deal with the loss. He had been still and reclusive the last few weeks. Barely talking or eating. Just whishing his grandfather was here with them.

He felt guilty, because if he hadn't been up in that shed, if he hadn't been coughing, than his grandfather would have never tried to come up, and he would have never slipped down again.

Or if he hadn't failed that test than he wouldn't had the need to search stuff to sell. He swore to himself that his studies would be taken more serious from now on.

His mother had tried to comfort him, telling him that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't believe her. He only believed that if he hadn't been there that his grandfather would still life. And he knew he was right.

He couldn't stand going to school, knowing that nothing had changed with the passing of the family member which he felt closest too.

They all had given him their condolescences but their world hadn't stopped, not even for a split second. He couldn't deal with them laughing, while he was so miserable.

Their hearts were still whole. He couldn't stand to be happy like them. He didn't even go to his soccer training anymore. The one thing where he used to go to every change he got. He hated it now.

It showed how much he missed his grandfather. The first week after his grandfather was dead he kept on being sick with grief. His teacher had to sent him home a few times. But Hikaru couldn't care.

It meant nothing to him anymore. He concentrated more on his studies, at least his grades went up. His teachers do not believe that it will last very long. That he will get over his loss and revert to his old ways soon.

But after three weeks it still did not happen. He turned more quiet with each day. Not going out at all.

No, instead he spent all his time watching a few boxes. A recent addition in the ten year olds' room. He was curious about them, but he hadn't mustered up the courage to open them yet.

Often times he had found him interested in their contents, his mind would wander from his studies about the inside of the box. But still he had not opened them.

The only thing that he already unpacked were some old trophies his grandfather had. Apparently he wasn't quite bad in go and had won some prices. Hikaru had set them on his manga shelf. He felt that it was necessary to display his grandfathers achievements.

They had been once, the property of his grandfather. They were the only things that were passed down to him, together with some boxes. He had many staring matches with the boxes, contemplating if he would open them or not?

He wasn't sure if he should. His grandfather may have given them to him, but would he have given them to him if he knew what Hikaru had done? If he knew what Hikaru his role had been in his dead?

After all, he felt like a murderer. But he knew his grandfather adored him when he still was alive. But would he now? Maybe if he could do something for his grandfather. And maybe there was something in those boxes that could give him a clue about his grandfathers last whishes?

But today he decided to open them. To see what his grandfather felt that he must have. What had to be so valuable to him? What could help Hikaru finally find redemption for the crime he thought he had committed?

He cut through the ribbon that tied off the first box. And what he saw was an old and faded book. It's soft green cover staring at him. He took the book out of the box, ignoring the papers underneath it. He blew the dust away and looked at it.

He opened the old book, being careful not to rip the fragile old pages, and then he started to read, hoping that there was a clue in this ancient book.

My name is Fujiwara no Sai and this is my story. The only story of my life that is ever written on paper. This is the story which I have to tell.

My name is Fujiwara no Sai and in the Heian period I held a position in the capital as Go instructor to the emperor. It was such a happy time for me, I was able to play Go every day.

In addition to myself, there was one other Go instructor. One day he approached the emperor with a suggestion.

"Sir." He said "I believe that you have need for only one Go instructor."

The emperor, in all his wisdom let us play a game to decide who shall keep his position.

Hikaru stared at the book. Somehow while reading this he got a bad feeling. He didn't know why, but he did. He continued to read the story.

The game was dead even. Everyone's attention was drawn to the board; it was only by a mere chance that I saw it. A single white stone lay in my opponent's Go bowl.

To have one of your opponent's stones mixed in with your own is highly unusual, it has been known to happen.

This of course has nothing to do with game play. A player need just to explain the situation and return the misplaced stone to his opponent's Go bowl, However that scoundrel…

The next few words were crossed out very sloppily. Hikaru grinned at this. It seemed that Fujiwara no Sai had trouble to keep his temper. And knew quite some cuss words too. But then his smile saddened when he read on.

He waited for an opportune moment and then he placed the stone in with his prisoners…

Hikaru looked in those pages with shock. The guy cheated? In front of the emperor?

And just when I was about to call him on his foul he rang the accusation. He told the whole court that he saw me add a black stone with my prisoners.

The only thing that I could do was deny it and accuse him. Just when it was about to get out of hand, the emperor called for silence.

He did not believe that someone would commit such an ugly offense in his presence and we had to play further.

Upset with the turn of events, I was unable to calm down myself.

I lost that game.

Hikaru had to swallow his anger at the injustice done to this stranger, but he read further. Curious about what happened to this Sai fellow. He could almost feel the raw wounds that this Go master had suffered from this one game.

To add insult to injury, my reputation is irreparably tarnished…I was banished from the capital for my alleged treachery.

Now, dearest reader, I have no other skills of Go, and now, in my time I cannot practice it anymore. When you read this it means that I am dead. Thrown in the river by myself.

But before I give my life away, I must make sure that my Go will live on.

The further pages in this book are dedicated to learn a complete starter at Go, everything I know about it. I hope that one day someone will reach the Hand Of God with this as his guide.

Stranger I thank you for letting my Go live on, forever.

Hikaru was shocked by the story. He couldn't believe that this guy killed himself over Go. He looked in the box again, wondering if it would be filled with other ancient book.

To his shock it wasn't. The only thing it was filled in was Kifu. Kifu of a person whose name was Hon'inbo shusaku. He looked at them, but couldn't understand them.

He knew nothing of Go. He opened the other boxes. More old Kifu that was ready to fall apart, all of Hon'inbo shusaku.

Maybe this was what his grandpa wanted of him. To learn Go and reach the Hand Of God.

Now that the ten year old thought about it, it made sense. His grandfather loved to help people, and somehow he wanted to help this Sai fellow. But couldn't.

And now it was Hikaru's turn to try and reach it. And for the first time in weeks Hikaru smiled. He had found a purpose again in his live. And he would make his grandfather proud of him.

The first time that he laid a stone on a go board, an old board that sat in one of the boxes, Hikaru was overcome with emotion. Since the first time that his grandfather was taken away he cried. And this was the first step to healing his broken spirit.

And in the past two years Hikaru studied Go, as if his life depended on it. And in a way it did. Because every moment he had free and didn't study for school or Go he felt guilty.

The guidelines in the book were very clear, and often times had small anecdotes about Sai's live. He learned that his teacher actually had a childish spirit and what he read often times made him laugh.

He studied the Kifu too. He noticed Sai's style in each and every one of them. This Shusaku Hon'inbo must have learned from Sai too. And as time went by Hikaru noticed how brilliant some of the moves were.

And Hikaru didn't notice when he started to play go, not for his grandfather, not for Sai, but for himself.

It took him the best of two years but Hikaru had finally finished the book of Sai. He sadly read the last words.

Now, my student, you are prepared to fight on the board, the battles I can't anymore. Learn more and achieve what I couldn't.

And it was then that Hikaru decided that he couldn't get better playing against himself. It was time to play against someone else. To see how strong he was, even though he didn't think he was quite that strong, but he had learned all that he could from his master.

The only things that he could study were the Kifu. But Hikaru felt as if they alone wouldn't be enough to achieve his goal, and he made his decision.

Today he would set his first step into the Go world.

TBC

Hello, I hope you all enjoyed the prologue. Next chapter we will see how far Hikaru has gotten in his path of Go.

I hope you all like the concept of the story. Next chapter will be a real killer (at least I think so, but then again, I wrote it myself…) I give you a small hint. Akira, game, Hikaru. Nothing more.

Well, until the next time.
Sincerely Gof. (Guardian of fantasy)