Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ The World Between Awake And Asleep ❯ Part III ( Chapter 3 )

Title: The World Between Awake and Asleep

Author: hostilecrayon

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go was created by Hotta and Obata and is distributed by Viz, Shogakuen and Shonen Jump.

Notes: So, you thought I died, right? Or that somehow my memory of this story was erased or something? Well, actually, I got pregnant and then I had a baby. He's super adorable and now I can get back to updating as much as is possible with a baby. You all should thank Lacygrey for this update, because though it's been on my mind, she actually kicked me into gear. I owed her a story, and when asked for a prompt, she gave me the tall order of the next chapter of this.

Thank you to the many many reviewers of this story, you guys flatter me too much. It's very appreciated - I even got goosebumps a few times! Some of you mentioned poor formatting on ff. net in the first two chapters, and that was not me - the website destroyed my story and I missed it somehow. I'll fix it eventually. It removed my italics and my scene breaks. Those of you who guessed about Sai - not telling! But I will say that one person somewhere had the right idea. Not saying where or who. I was also asked if this will be gen or romance - it's meant to be very canon-like, and as such, will probably not have overt romance in it. I guarantee nothing, but of course it will have a ridiculous amount of subtext, just like canon. Once it's finished, you may be able to persuade me to write romantic side stories, because I'm a sucker and a sap. But not until then!

If you have more questions or if I forgot something you already asked, let me know.

Dedicated to bookshop and svz_insanity, and many thanks go to schnickledoogr2 and verloren1983 (Ver-Bear!) for their epic help with random stuff.

Part III

Ogata Seiji wiped at an invisible speck of dust from the glass before leaning over slightly to take in the sight of the fish as they floated idly from one side of the tank to the other. There was something about the way their fins flared out, their eyes unblinking as they moved effortlessly through the water that had always been calming to him. It wasn't something he could readily explain, but it was peaceful nonetheless.

He liked owning his own store. It was a relatively new experience for him; having been an employee for Touya Kouyou for so long, he'd quit when the man retired and he'd needed something to pay the rent. He could have stayed at the bank, but without Touya Kouyou there, it just wasn't the same. He hated the fact that he'd have to start all over with a new superior. It didn't help matters much that Morishita had taken over Touya-sensei's position and had always considered himself to be rivals of a sort with the other man, even if his former employer had never harbored such feelings for Morishita. He considered the Touya family to be friends of his, and it would have felt strange working for someone else.

So he had opened his own shop where he sold pet fish and other aquatic life along with the accessories needed to keep them alive and comfortable. His shop, Koi Ai, was relatively small, but in the short time he'd had it, it had gained momentum. He was known for keeping his shop impeccably clean and for having rare, exotic fish. It was definitely a much finer sight than old man Kuwabara's up the way, and with as much as the man taunted the young, fledging Ogata, Ogata was determined to put him out of business.

Unfortunately, the man was unbelievably resilient.

Lost in his thoughts of a hostile take-over, he did not hear the chime ring. He was only aware of another presence when a startled cry of, “O-Ogata-sensei!” rang out, and he turned dutifully towards the voice, curious who would address him as sensei in this place.

A teenager with a wild hairstyle and casual clothes was staring at him, wide-eyed and frozen in place. And while Ogata was used to people being intimidated by him, he was at a bit of a loss here, since he had never seen this boy before. Not in person, anyway.

He debated calling the boy by his name - he knew it well enough from his many appearances in Weekly Go - but he decided against it, jumping instead right to the question he wanted the answer to. “Have we met?” Not because the boy had called him by his name, or even because the boy had called him sensei, but because he was incredibly familiar somehow in a way that had nothing to do with his appearances in Weekly Go.

Shindou shook his head, almost as if he were coming out of a dream. “Uh… no, but… a friend referred me…” he stammered, and even if Ogata hadn't been the sharp man that he was, he would have known the boy was lying.

Ogata`s eyes narrowed. “Is that so, Shindou?”

Shock registered across the boy's face, and Ogata smirked. Should he tell him he'd recognized him from Weekly Go? Perhaps he should drag it out just a little more. The boy was surprisingly fun to toy with, and easily ruffled.

“I heard that you met Akira,” because he indeed had heard about that from Touya-sensei.

The boy looked like he might die of shock. Ogata smirked. It was clear he wasn't sure if he should say something else or turn around and run away.

When Shindou finally decided speak, it certainly wasn't anything Ogata would have been able to predict. “…Does the name `Sai' mean anything to you?”

Ogata pressed his lips together, taking off his glasses to clean them, buying some time. Sai. The name resonated somewhere deep within him for reasons unknown.

“Ohohoho,” came suddenly from the front of the door, sounding in time with the quiet door chime. “I see you managed to get a customer, Ogata-kun.”

Ogata bowed politely to the much older man, but his eyes glinted dangerously. “What brings you out this way, Kuwabara?”

“I thought I'd see how the competition is doing. I know how much you'd love to get your hands on my store.” He smiled, full of mirth. Ogata watched the old man as he took in the boy looking more and more like he was ready to bolt. “Oh? What is a young Go pro like yourself doing here, Shindou-kun? Is the reoccurring star of Weekly Go interested in fish so much that he'd frequent such a small shop?”

Ogata was careful not to show that he took offense to that, and instead said, “It's time for the new wave of business men, don't you think?”

“Kuwabara looked back to Ogata from the boy trying valiantly not to faint and said, “Oh, I don't think so. I'll be around for some time yet.” His eyes moved back to the boy, some unexplainable knowledge in his gaze, and the boy could hold on no longer. He turned tail and fled, almost knocking over the old man in his haste.

Kuwabara watched him go with a grin. “Ohohoho… so energetic. Interesting boy, don't you think, Ogata-kun?”

He was loathe to agree with his competition, but, “Quite,” was really the only thing he could say to that.

---

Hikaru took several deep breaths, leaning against a wall a good five blocks away from the two men that were trying to give him a heart attack. He'd simply been walking home from the Go salon where he'd played Waya and Isumi when he'd seen a familiar shock of hair through the window. He regretted investigating now - he should have known better than to be unprepared for Ogata no matter what universe he was in.

He'd almost been fooled into saying more than he should have. Ogata was sly, but since he hadn't been chased down the street with frantic questions shouted after him about Sai, he was pretty sure that this Ogata didn't know any more than anyone else he'd run into. Which was perfectly okay with Hikaru - to have Ogata be the only one who remembered would have been a terrible fate.

They simply knew him from Weekly Go. It made sense. That comment about Touya made him think that just like in his dream, Ogata simply knew the Touyas in this life, too.

Touya… he'd only had the one encounter with him, but he was certain it wouldn't be long before he'd see him again. He'd chase him down if he had to, but for the time being, he would wait. He knew Touya. It didn't matter if it had been a dream or a parallel universe or even another life. They were rivals forever. Things like when and where didn't matter.

His breathing slowed and he continued on his way.

---

Familiar. It was so familiar. There were things calling out to him in this place. Games he never played seemed just beyond his recollection. Whispers of conversations that never took place were playing in muted tones in his head. He could almost see the boy with the ridiculous bleached bangs getting on an elevator. Could see himself standing next to him.

Akira shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't make sense. He'd never been to the Go Institute before. As he glanced around, he did not see any familiar faces. But still, he could feel something just beneath the surface trying to break through, like a memory lost somehow, trying to return. It was completely overwhelming and yet utterly beyond his grasp.

“Can I help you?” broke through his reverie, and he turned toward the voice of the clerk automatically. She was pretty, but not overly so, and he wondered if even the clerks played Go.

He stood there for a minute, unsure of what to do. Should he ask for a tour? Somehow, he didn't think he'd need one. Should he find the customer game room and watch? He didn't think it would satisfy him. Another strange flash of that obnoxious blond hair and he knew what he wanted to ask. “Yes, can regular customers access the records room?”

He wasn't sure how he knew there was a records room. Perhaps it was just common sense that there would be one. She nodded and started to give directions, but her pretty smile faltered when he walked away before she had finished.

He didn't need directions. He knew exactly where to go.

---

Yashiro was elated. He'd played spectacularly, and the little red stamp on the exam card proved it. There were three of them now. It was a far cry from securing his place as a Go pro, but it was a good start. He was confident, if not just a little cocky, and he wandered off to explore the Tokyo Go Institute. If he became a pro, he planned to move out of his parents' home and find a cheap little apartment here. This would be his Go Institute then, so he may as well learn a little about it.

He checked out the Room of Profound Darkness and imagined what it must feel like to play in it. He watched the games in the customer game room for a bit. He would have checked out the records room, but there was already someone in it who seemed loathe to be disturbed. Then he passed by the room with the Ootei matches, stopped and doubled back.

Was that Shindou Hikaru in the corner?

Though he'd been stamping a win for himself, he seemed lost in thought and nearly plowed right into the waiting Yashiro.

“Excuse me,” he mumbled before looking up. Shindou hesitated, looking at Yashiro warily.

Yashiro cut straight to the chase. “I'm Yashiro Kiyoharu and I'd like to challenge you to a game, Shindou Hikaru.”

---

Akira had no idea how much time had passed. He knew it had to have been hours, but in the little room with no windows, his sense of time was off.

By the time he left the closet sized room that smelled of old parchment, he'd reviewed all of Shindou's recorded games and the games of several others. Professional games, both new and old, were committed to memory with an ease that couldn't be explained.

As he'd gone through page after page of kifu, he'd come across one player in particular that resonated with him. There was something about Honinbou Shuusaku that made him think of the boy who had so rudely demanded he play Go with him. Their styles weren't exactly the same, but from what Akira had seen of Shindou's kifu, there was more than just a passing influence.

He was ready to leave. He wasn't sure if he'd gotten what he'd come for, but he really didn't know why he'd come in the first place. He was walking down the nearly deserted hall to the exit when he saw two people playing Go in the customer's game room.

One had silver hair, and the other, with his back to him, had black hair with just a touch of golden fringe showing towards the front.

He should leave. He had not come to confront this boy. He had only wanted some answers to questions he`d never asked.

Somehow, he knew he wouldn't get them by walking away.

He found himself standing behind the boy he couldn`t stop thinking about, behind Shindou, just out of his peripheral view without ever really having made the decision to do so. The game laid out before him was nearing its end, but even without having seen it, he knew it had been brilliant. It was, as far as flow went, a disaster. He doubted even a high level pro could have figured out how the game had progressed. It was messy and exciting and beautiful.

It took his breath away at the same time as it made him angry.

This game, with all its beauty, was not the game Shindou should be playing. None of the games he'd seen in black and white had been right for him, either. There was something very wrong with Shindou's Go.

“Shindou Hikaru.”

The boy turned with a start, eyes wide. “Touya!”

“Shindou,” Akira repeated darkly, “let's play.”