Hi everyone :)

I would like to thank each and every one who posted a review.

Since there were some question, I devised this Q&A to answer them.

Is this story set further in the future or is Hikaru older?

ANSWER: Yes this story is further in the future. I can't really quite remember what the technology was like back in the day so I decided to stick to writing about what I do know. Furthermore, if I stuck with the original timeline, it would be hard to explain why a kid from a middle class family has a personal computer. As for the other half of the question, the answer is no. As I mentioned in the story, Hikaru is 12 years old at the moment.

Is this Akari/Hikaru or a gen story?

ANSWER: It seems some people misunderstood but no matter. Even my sister thought I was pairing them together when she read the last chapter much to my dismay. Even in the manga, it's abit obvious that Akari likes Hikaru but my story it will never happen. Mostly because at his current age, Hikaru does not even see her as a girl and when he gets older, he will most definitely see her as a sister. I'm considering making this a gen story but I haven't decided yet. Honestly, when I first thought of this story, it was a Akira/Hikaru story but that was never set in stone.

How did Sai get into the palace if he was from a Samurai Clan?

ANSWER: Since this is a part of the story in itself, you will find out in the following chapter to come ;) For those who are confused, it will be fully explained and I will try to make it as clear as possible.

Why art?

ANSWER: That question is actually very difficult to explain. One of the main reasons is because I am an artist myself why I decided to include this hobby. All authors put a little of themselves into their stories. The main reason however will give too much of the plot away. The fun of reading a story is wondering what will happen next so this answer will have to do for now.

Will Hikaru ever tell his mother about his problems?

ANSWER: Not likely anytime soon. Even in the manga, Hikaru did not seem like the type to actually sit down and have a heart to heart with his mom no matter how much he loves her. But don't worry, it will happen when I feel the time is right.

Now on to the third chapter, enjoy! ;)

I own nothing except maybe Satoshi...

THE ART OF GO

CHAPTER 3: RIVALRY

The last exam was finally finished. It was summer vacation now! Hikaru and many other boys started cheering as the rest of the class started talking about their future plans. He sobered up as he thought of his own. That day at the festival, Akari had seen him with the bags of painting supplies he had bought and confronted him. Not only did she tell his mom, she also insisted they take painting classes together.

Surprisingly, his mother agreed but thankfully, neither of them found out about his drawing hobby. They both probably assumed that it was a new phase. He knew he should have said something at that moment but the risk that she would tell his father stopped him before he could even confess to anything. Akari did not stop there however. Not matter how much he insisted he did not want to join any clubs at Haze middle school; she was determined to make sure that they joined the art club together.

As annoyed as he was, his bad mood only lasted a few minutes since for the first time in a long time he felt as though he had done well on his finals. He smiled at his ghost who was rejoicing the fact that after two weeks of reprieve, was finally going to play go again. His mom had disabled the internet so that he could not yield to any distractions while studying. Hikaru had promised the ghost that he would get 5 hours of go every day on the condition that Sai help him prepare for the upcoming exams.

Added incentive was the fact that his mother had threatened to take away the internet for the entire summer if he ended up needing summer classes again. Hikaru shuddered as he remembered Sai's teaching methods. Although Sai was a very strict teacher, they had found out the reason behind Hikaru's low grades.

The ghost noticed that he often mixed up his Kanji and that he could barely read any of his textbooks. With the Chinese ink that Sai had insisted they buy, he had taught Hikaru to write the old way. It was actually no different than drawing. Not only did everything make more sense, it had improved his handwriting.

Hikaru! Hikaru! Will we will finally be allowed to play go?

Yeah, mom said that she will reconnect the internet today. So as promised, you'll get five hours of go.

Ne, ne, Hikaru. I want to play you as well.

Huh! No way! I don't know how to play and I don't wanna know!

Come on Hikaru! You have to try it at least once before you pass judgement! I am sure that once you do, you will take a liking to it! Please Hikaru! Pleaaase!

Hikaru glared at the ghost but Sai was obviously not relenting. If it would save him from a headache maybe he should... NO! That was exactly what the conniving spirit wanted. He realized that over the past month with the ghost he had relented more often than not. He was spoiling him and now Sai was obviously under the impression that if he was annoying enough, he would eventually get what he wanted.

No! I already made it clear when we first started all this that I wanted nothing to do with go!

But-

No buts Sai! I don't want to learn go and no matter how you beg and cry that will NOT change.

They stared stubbornly at each other for several minutes before Sai sighed.

Alright... I will relent.

Good.

For now.

What do you mean for now?

Before Sai could dignify him with an answer, Hikaru's attention was suddenly drawn away by a hand on his shoulder. Sai and Hikaru both jumped in surprise. He turned to find the hand belonged to Satoshi.

"Shindou, finally got your attention? What's wrong with you? You've been spacing out a lot these days?"

"Nothing's wrong, Satoshi. Absolutely nothing." Hikaru replied laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

Hikaru! Cease rubbing your hair that way! It is already messy! You should have brushed your hair like I told you this morning! Being presentable is very important. Blah blah blah blah.

Hikaru chose to ignore Sai and continued to focus his attention on his friend.

"So you wanna join the guys and I in a game of football?" (AN : Soccer for people living in America. Seemed more authentic since only Americans use soccer)

"Can't, I have something that I promised to do. I can't delay anymore..." Hikaru replied sadly. No matter how tempting it was to ditch go for football, he knew better.

"Is it something you promised to do with your girlfriend?" Satoshi replied a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend? What are you talking about?" Hikaru said very confused at the strange allegations.

Sai, do you know what he's talking about?

No, Hikaru. I don't know. Sai replied too innocently. He obviously knew something but as he was about to turn his suspicions on the ghost, Satoshi replied:

"Akari, of course! I mean, who else could I be talking about? All the other girls in class avoid you like a plague!"

"Akari?" Hikaru could not believe his ear. Was that what everyone thought? Laughter that had been bubbling up, burst out uproariously.

"Akari!" he said between laughs as he wiped his tears of mirth. "Can you even consider THAT a girl? Where did you get the idea that she could be my girlfriend?"

Before he could continue, he yelped in pain as he was hit in the head by a very familiar fist. "STUPID, HIKARU!" she yelled as she hit him one more time before storming away.

"What the HELL Akari!" he yelled back. "Hey, where are you going? Aren't we going home together? Hey!"

He watched on as Akari walked away. She ignored him completely. He did not understand why she always left in a huff like that. What did he do this time?

"What the hell just happened?" Hikaru said to no one in particular.

"You're so clueless!" Satoshi said laughing. "Well, see you Shindou!"

His classmate ran off to catch up with the other boys. Hikaru's confusion only increased as he wondered what Satoshi meant. When he asked Sai, he felt even more mystified. The stupid ghost just hid his face behind his fan as he gave a very secretive smile and refused to give him a straight answer.

Hikaru decided to just class this incident as another unsolvable mystery as he left walked out of school. He had just finished the last of his final exams and he did not feel like breaking his head over this.

When Hikaru arrived home, he ran up the stairs after yelling a greeting to his mother. He threw his bag on his bed and turned on his computer.

"MOM! Did you reconnect the Internet like you promised!" He yelled through the open door. He was at the end of his patience. Sai had been obnoxious the whole way home. He knew the only thing that would shut him up was go. Although he had warmed up to the hyper-active ghost, he could not stand him when he was on go-withdrawal.

"Yes, dear!" she yelled back.

Thank god!

Go go go go go! Sai mindlessly sang in Hikaru's head as he bounced around the room.

He opened the internet browser, quickly typed the address to the go site. He sat there waiting for it to load. After a few minutes, he wondered what was going on.

Why is it taking so long to load? An error message! A chill ran down his spine. Oh crap. Thankfully Sai was too busy expressing his joy. He tried reloading several times but to no avail it still displayed the same message every time. Maybe, his mom had forgotten to reconnect the internet. No, that can't be right, his mom had a very good memory so if she said she did it then she did. He tried google and still nothing. He stole a glance at the ghost before he said:

Wait here, Sai. I just need to ask mom something then you can play go.

Ok! Sai beamed none the wiser. Thank god!

After doing everything possible to get back the internet connection, a call to their wireless provider uncovered that it would not be back before tomorrow morning. Apparently, they were performing maintenance checks on all their equipment.

"Why today! Why did they have to do this today! What am I going to do?" he yelled as he grabbed his hair in despair. He went back to his room ignoring his mother's questioning gaze.

Hikaru! Hikaru! Where aaare you?

I'm here!

Sai was giving him that expectant look. Hikaru felt bad for what he was about to do but it was not even his fault this time. How was he supposed to predict such an event? He swallowed with difficulty before saying:

Ah, Sai...

Hikaru, why are you stalling? Are we not going to play go on the magic box? Come on, Hikaru! I wanna play goooo! Let's play! The hyper-active ghost whined as he grabbed Hikaru's arm trying to pull him to the chair.

Sai. Hikaru took a deep breath before continuing. I'm sorry, but... We can't play go on the computer today.

Whaaaat! How could you Hikaru? You said if I helped you prepare for your examinations I would be able to play as soon as they were over! You're so meaaaan!

The rest of his tirade was unintelligible as the ghost started crying. If he did not do something quick, he was sure the ancient spirit would cry until morning. This would not do. He needed his sleep.

It's not my fault! I want to let you play but the internet is down and it won't come back until tomorrow morning.

In-teru-netto? Sai questioned as tears continue to stream down his face. What are you talking about? You're just talking gibberish so that you can distract me! Well it will not work!

Sai had started chanting 'I wanna play go' as he pulled the mother of all temper tantrums. He should have known trying to explain to Sai would never work. His ghost had barely any understanding of the modern world and he could barely remember any of the westernized words. It was no wonder he thought Hikaru was trying to confuse him since he still thought that a computer was a magic box. He had called it computer at least a thousand times since they met but it did not change anything

He felt a headache building up as he looked around frantically for a way out. His eyes widened as they narrowed on at the open go weekly that was strewn on the floor. He had go stuff all over the place.

When his mom had asked about it, he told her that his grandpa had told him he would give him money if he beat him at go. Thankfully, she believed him. He hoped she did not talk to his grandpa about it. If she did, there was no doubt that his lie would be uncovered and then the questions would begin. He took this risk because it was too much of a hassle to try and hide all the things he bought to appease Sai. After living with Sai for so long, he finally understood the plight of a parent.

He grabbed the copy as he read the ad at the top of the page. It was a for a go convention that was taking place today. If he left now, they could probably make it in time for the opening. Now, all he had to do was get Sai to stop crying and listen to him.

Sai. Sai! SAI! He yelled as loud as he could in his mind. Thankfully, Sai froze on the ground. Look at this!

What is it? Sai replied hoarsely.

There's a go convention today.

Go convention? But I asked you last time about it and you said we could not go!

Yeah, I know what I said Sai. Hikaru grumbled as he rolled his eyes. But since the 'magic box' is not working right now, why don't we go there instead? You might even get to play someone face to face.

Really! Thank you Hikaru! Thank you! Sai cheered and proceeded to envelop Hikaru in a bear hug.

Sai! Get off! Hikaru yelled. If you don't stop that we won't make it there on time.

Ah! Sai yelled in horror. No! Let us go Hikaru!

Wait! I just need to grab some things and we can go.

Hikaru grabbed the yellow cap that hung on his lamp and rummaged through his sock drawer looking for his sunglasses. He needed a disguise. There was no way he was letting anyone recognize him at a go convention. He knew for a fact that many of his grandpa's friends often attended these events. It was too risky.

As soon as he found his sunglasses, he put them on roughly and he wore the cap carefully so that his bleached hair was hidden safely underneath the cap.

Hikaru grabbed his backpack from where he had thrown it and left the room. Sai was chattered all the way to the subway. He was getting too good at filtering out his ghost's incessant nattering. He sincerely hoped that this convention would satisfy Sai's addiction.

#############

Touya Akira sighed in resignation. His father's student, Ogata Juudan, had decided to force him into going to this convention. The man was supposed to play some teaching games as well as an exhibition game with a lower dan. According to Ogata-san, his reason for dragging him along was to keep him from moping around in his room all day and he needed to socialize. He completely disagreed to the implication that studying go was seen as 'moping around'. Moreover, he did socialize. Just yesterday, at his father's go salon, he played several games of shidougo with the patrons and even got a game with the champion of the national go tournament.

Akira sighed again as he remembered the game. He had thought that maybe since the boy was the national champion he would prove to be what he had been searching for. A rival. It was true that he was surrounded by pros but none of them ever felt like true rivals. If anything, those pros, his father included, were a goal he was trying to reach.

When his father had asked why he had not taken the professional exam yet, he had tried to explain with great difficulty that something was missing. Akira had always had difficulties expressing himself when it came to subjects unrelated to go which was the biggest reason for his lack of friends his own age. His youngest friend was Ashiwara-san one of his father's student. Most of the children he met had no interest in go and the ones that did were either jealous of his proficiency at the board game or they assumed that he was arrogant.

He had ended up telling his father that he was signing up to the next exams. After months of searching, he was disheartened and had finally decided to give up on his futile attempts. He knew it was the sensible thing to do but he still felt a little depressed by this turn of events.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ogata-san suddenly said breaking through his deep thoughts. "You've been spacing out since we got in the car."

"I was just thinking."

"About?"

"The pro exams." Akira replied sputtering a bit as the wind blew his hair into his face. He had tried to convince the older man to pull the top of his convertible up but nothing he said could convince him. He pushed his long hair out of his face as Ogata-san laughed loudly.

"What are you worried about? I doubt anyone participating in the exams will prove to be much of a challenge. In fact, you could probably beat each and every one of the current inseis."

"I know..." Akira replied sullenly. Why did he have to bring that up? He already knew that and it did not make him feel better. He wanted a challenge, to play the type of game that made you sweat and made you tremble in anticipation at the thought of the next game.

"Oh, we've arrived." Ogata-san said as he parked his car in a VIP spot.

"Do you want to go to the washroom so that you can make yourself presentable?" The taller man asked mockingly while lighting a cigarette. Before he could reply, he continued: "See you inside then."

As Ogata-san walked away, Akira shook his head in exasperation at the man's antics. He had realized that the pro had intentionally left the top off. He liked trying to ruffle Akira's feathers but he did not let it bother him as long as Ogata did not do anything too malicious.

When he finally entered the convention area, Ogata-san was already playing his shidougo game with an elderly man. Akira knew it was probably a rich man who had paid for a teaching game. It was one part of being a pro that he found distasteful. He had heard from Ashiwara-san that sometimes pros were asked to lose games as good will to the customers. He hoped fervently that when he became a professional, this would never be asked of him. He was pretty certain that he would never be able to bring himself to agree.

The man facing Ogata-san was very good for an amateur but he was still not good enough to ever become a professional. There was no room for major improvement in his playing style. He was in no mood to play weaker players so he did not sit down at one of the free tables. Therefore while Ogata-san was concentrated on the game, he wondered off to one of the stands selling books.

They had a whole library of go related books at home but new books were released every month. He had not visited the usual library because of his exams so he was curious to see what new books he could purchase. As soon as he was close enough, a book at the forefront caught his attention. It was a new recompilation of Honinbo Shuzaku's games. He grasped it and was about to turn it to see the price when he realized that someone else was grabbing it.

The first thing he noticed was that this person looked very much out of place. He was wearing the brightest yellow cap he had ever seen and even sunglasses. That in itself was very confusing. Who wore sunglasses indoors apart from blind people? The other boy looked more like the type of person you would see in arcades and the likes. What is he doing at a go convention? He knew better than to judge a person by his looks so he decided to do the polite thing and hand him the book.

"Here. Take it. Are you a fan of Honinbo Shuzaku?"

"Oh, not really. This is supposed to be a gift to a friend. I kinda disappointed him today so I'm trying to get him something to cheer him up." The boy turned the book to the back and yelled: "Huh! Why is this book so expensive?"

"If this one is too expensive, I can help you look for a cheaper book if you'd like?" He said politely.

"Sure!" The other boy said as he stuck his hand out. "You can call me Fujiwara Sai."

"I am Touya Akira. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fujiwara-san."

"Don't be so stiff, buddy! Call me Hi- Ah, I mean Sai!"

Akira felt a bit uncomfortable as the other boy put his arm around his shoulder. He had seen other boys in his class do this to their friends but it was strange being in this situation himself. His classmates always gave him a wide berth. He had overheard several of them calling him names he would rather not repeat. It was nice and he felt his spirits lift.

By the time, they had found something within Fujiwara-san's budget an hour had already passed. They both left the stand with a bag of purchases.

"Would you care for a game of go?" Akira asked. He did not care for once that the match would probably be uneven. He waited for an answer while trying to gage what the boy was thinking. He had no luck since the sunglasses effectively hid his eyes from view.

"Oh, alright. Fine, then. Let's play a game." Strangely enough, he said this while cringing but he decided to dismiss it as normal for the boy since it was not the first time he observed such behavior.

As they headed for the game area, Akira noticed that Ogata-san was no longer there. He was probably mingling with he fellow pros. It was pretty crowded today so he could not catch a glimpse of him anywhere. He knew that in half an hour the exhibition match was going to start so he could meet up with him then.

"Here. You can play black." Akira said as he handed him the goke. "How many handicaps do you need?"

"We're that same age why would I need a handicap? I'm pretty strong anyways."

"If you insist, do you play go often?" He asked genuinely curious as he waited for the boy to make his first move.

"Every day." Fujiwara-san replied.

"Onegaishimasu" Akira said while bowing.

Fujiwara-san repeated the gesture awkwardly before he picked up his first stone and placed it on the board.

He holds the stone like a complete beginner! Akira was confused as to how someone who played every day still held his stones like that.

"You know this is the first time I play on an actual board. I usually play 'net go."

That explains it. I should go easy on him then. Akira decided to play Shidougo with like he did with the patrons of his father's go salon. However as the game progressed, he noticed that all his attacks were easily being thwarted. No matter what he tried, they were deflected.

If I keep playing like this, I will lose. I'll have to play seriously from now on. It was strange. This boy's playing style is very similar to Honinbo Shuzaku's but it has some modern hands mixed in. Akira thought as he glanced at his opponent. His frustration heightened at the sunglasses blocking that still hid Fujiwara-san's eyes.

His eyes widened when he saw the next move. This is not the best move! It's not even the worst move! It's almost as though... He's testing my abilities from high above.

Akira tried his best but even his defense was useless. In the end, he resigned. He could not believe it. How can anyone be so strong? He was taken out of his reverie as a hand came to his shoulder.

"Akira, there you are." Ogata-san said. "Who were you playing?"

Akira looked at the seat across from in dismay as he realized that his opponent was gone. How long has he been gone? Will I be able to catch up to him? He looked around trying to find a glimpse of a bright yellow cap.

"Did you see my opponent? Did you see a boy my age wearing bright yellow and sunglasses?"

"Sunglasses?" Ogata-san looked as confused as he felt. "No, I did not see such a person. You were alone when I found you. Why do you care anyway? You won didn't you?"

"No, I lost." Akira said dejected. He had lost and worst of all the other boy had been playing shidougo with him. He had only realized this after he lost the game. He had been re-evaluating his moves and strategies when he had noticed.

His eyes blurred as tears filled them when hands grasped his shoulders as he was forcefully turned around.

"Who was your opponent? Who was playing black!" Ogata-san yelled with a crazed look in his eyes.

"He said his name was Fujiwara Sai." He replied quickly feeling a bit intimidated by the man's sudden change in mood.

"Sai is a child… Impossible."

"Do you know him?" Akira asked very curious to how they were connected. "But he said that his was the first time he was playing on a real board. He usually plays on the internet."

After he finished his explanation, Ogata-san just ran off before he could say anymore.

"Ogata-san. Ogata-san! Where are you going? Your exhibition match is going to start in ten minutes." All his words fell to deaf ears as the older man disappeared into the crowd leaving a very confused Touya Akira.

###########

Are you happy now? Hikaru asked as they left the convention.

Yes. Sai sighed contentedly as they walked side by side. That was an incredible match.

But you won Sai and you were playing a teaching game. Hikaru could not believe that the ghost was satisfied with this game. He had been nervous since they left the convention because of this.

How did you know that I was playing Shidougo with him? Sai seemed surprised. Hikaru did not understand why though.

Isn't obvious? If you had been playing at your full strength, you would not have won by only 2.5 points. You usually completely crush opponents of his level. Why are looking at me like that?

You know Hikaru... I have finally realized why god has chosen you to be my companion. Sai said with a mysterious smile painted on his face.

END OF CHAPTER 3

Thank you for reading my fanfiction :) Not to be a nag... but Please review!

Unfortunately there's no telling what can happen so I won't make any promises about when chapter 4 will be out.

See you next time for CHAPTER 4: INVINCIBLE