PHALANX – the Shadow Chronicles

Year 160-162: Go!

 

Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Shadow’s rhythm was perfect as she swam across the lake at the bottom of the hill her ShadowZone house was located on. On one of the up-strokes, her head shot out of the water to grab some air, and Shadow’s green eyes locked with the solitary figure dressed in white robes standing on the shore.

Guardian, Shadow realized. Her breast-stroke changed to crawl, her arms flailing as she propelled herself through the water. In under five seconds she crossed the hundred or so meters that separated her from the shore. The moment she reached the shore, Shadow gave a push with her legs, lifting her body out of the water like a dolphin’s body would.

The naked warrior landed next to the Guardian of the Crossroads. “Hello, Guardian. Good to see you,” Shadow said evenly as she toweled herself dry. She could use her ki, of course, but somehow toweling felt more… comfortable to the warrior.

“I have a new assignment for you, Child. But this one may require…unconventional methods. Let us talk inside,” Guardian replied in a way of greeting.

Shadow toweled her raven hair as she followed the white-robed figure up the hill and into the house. Finally, both were seated in Shadow’s living room: Guardian sitting upright and Shadow sitting relaxed, and still naked, into her own seat.

“I want you to learn a game called ‘Go’, Child. It is extremely suited to build your tactical and strategic mind,” Guardian started.

Shadow nodded. “I read up on it during my years at the library. The object of the game is to secure as much territory as possible through capturing your opponent’s stones, or by securing territories with your own.”

“Good. Then you know the rules, Child,” Guardian said. “You will be transported to a universe, and that is where the unconventional ways start.”

“I can hardly wait,” Shadow muttered sarcastically. “How bad is it?”

Guardian chuckled slightly. “It isn’t that you will be paired to an unconventional teacher, Child. You are so used to that situation that I would hardly call it out anymore. No, the reason this training is different is because that the best teachers, those you can learn most from, are younger than yourself.”

Shadow lifted an eyebrow. “My teachers will be children?” she asked. “How old are those children?”

“Thirteen,” Guardian replied deadpan. Shadow’s eyes went wide, and her jaw hit the ground.

“T…Thirteen,” Shadow replied with only a slight hesitation.

“Yes, Child. You see, this is where the problems start. In order for you to learn from these players, you need to join them.”

Shadow swallowed. “I see…” She lifted her right hand, and looked at it. “My physical form is about twenty. I may be able to knock a few years off it with artful make-up. Thankfully, I am not very tall, but still… for me to look thirteen… it will be quite a challenge.”

“I will temporarily reconstitute your body, Child. You will have the physical form of a thirteen-year-old girl, and you will age along with your peer group so you don’t attract attention.”

“A good way of handling things,” Shadow said with a nod. After a moment’s thought, she added, “How realistic will the simulation be?”

“It will not be a simulation, Child. Your body will be thirteen years of age, physically and emotionally.”

Shadow swallowed. “You do realize that thirteen is about the worst age for hormones and emotional outbursts, Guardian?” the raven-haired warrior with trepidation.

Guardian nodded. “Unfortunately, it can’t be helped. But, that will be the least of your concerns. You will look thirteen. You will thus be required to go to school…”

“Hey now! Hold on!” Shadow interjected. “You’re telling me you want me to go to school like some snotty kid? Me? Who spent eight years at the Universal Library?”

“Then you won’t have any problems, won’t you, Child?” Guardian asked with a chuckle. “The region is Japan. You will be enlisted into a school called Kaiou Junior High. It is a private school with high emphasis on scholastic prowess. They have the best Go Club available, and it will be the ideal place for you to start learning the basics. After that, I am giving you complete freedom in the development of your skills. Chose your own path, your own teachers. There are many who can teach you well.”

 “Ja…Japan?” Shadow asked, now totally against the idea, and not afraid of showing it. “You mean, the country where they put schoolgirls in those silly uniforms?”

“That country, yes, Child,” Guardian answered. “It will be a good learning experience. Not only will you develop your tactics and strategies, but you will also learn about handling social occurrences with people of your own age.”

“There will be people there of one-hundred sixty years of age?” Shadow asked doubtfully.

Guardian sighed. “People your physical age, Child,” she replied with an admonishing tone. “Now, the cover you will be using is the following. I pulled strings, and have you enlisted in Kaiou as a scholarship student. You will be an orphan, placed in an institution. Don’t worry, Child, after only a week, you will be taken into foster care by a family called ‘Shindo’. Their son, Hikaru, has talent at Go, but has yet to realize or utilize his potential.”

Shadow sighed. “I can’t believe you’re going to put me through this, Guardian,” Shadow whispered quietly. She closed her eyes, and Guardian remained quiet, allowing the woman to battle herself. She had the utmost confidence in her charge, knowing that the raven-haired warrior would do anything to gain strength.

“Very well,” Shadow whispered. “I will go to Kaiou, dress up like a schoolgirl, and learn Go.” She looked up at Guardian. “I will gain the strength, and I will beat the competition. And I will succeed.”

Guardian smiled. This was her Shadow, and she was proud of her. “I knew you would do it, Child,” Guardian said, standing. “Come along. I will reconstitute your body, and we’ll get you some clothes… not much, since you’re an orphan who’s new at the orphanage you’ll be staying.”

Shadow stood up, and followed the Guardian. For the first time since long, she felt trepidation about an assignment. How will I do? Thirteen years old… I still can’t believe it. I’ll be a school kid. Forced to take tests that are meaningless, do exams that hold no challenge, and keep my guard up all the time as to not give myself away. Shadow eyes widened slightly. But that can work to my advantage! I have all this knowledge, so I don’t need to study! I can focus completely on Go! As to the others, oh well. I’ll better get used to them, Shadow finished her thought with a chuckle.

About an hour later, Chibi-Shadow turned around to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing that uniform of the school she was going to attend: Kaiou private school. The uniform consisted out of a knee-length blue skirt, a dark-blue blouse and a blue vest with white collar that matched the skirt. The emblem of Kaiou Jr. High was embroidered on her chest, over her heart.

“I’ve seen worse,” thirteen-year-old Shadow commented to the Guardian, who was standing behind her. “A lot worse, in fact.” She still felt uncomfortable with her new body, as if her limbs were no longer of the correct size in relation to her body, and her emotional control wasn’t anywhere near what she was used to. Hormones, Shadow had decided. And then, there was her voice. Her voice had changed, too, more little-girl than cold-warrior, and it irked Shadow.

“But Guardian, I still don’t feel comfortable with this. My body’s out of proportion, my emotional control has been shot to hell, and then there’s this stupid uniform that restricts my movements. As if I didn’t have enough problems moving gracefully with this pubescent body you’ve given me,” Chibi-Shadow complained.

“You’ll do fine, Child,” Guardian said, and for the first time, Shadow really felt like a child. “You’ve already mastered the art of whining.”

Thirteen-year-old Shadow balled her fists in anger. She could feel her ki rise. Guardian, seeing her charge reach boiling point, decided that it was not wise to tease her right now. “Just joking, Child,” the Guardian said, turning the girl around so she faced her. “You’ll do fine, Shadow. I know you will.”

Shadow relaxed marginally. “It just doesn’t feel right, Guardian. As if my mind, my emotions, and my body all disagree. I feel on-edge… and that’s not a good thing. If I snap, I can really hurt someone.”

“If you snap, they won’t have the time to feel hurt, Child,” Guardian replied. “Don’t worry about that so much. I have yet to see you lash out at someone without serious provocation, and once you’re used to your body, it’ll fit you just as snugly as your normal one. Trust me, in a week or two, you will have settled into a routine, and this will all feel as normal to you.”

Shadow sighed.  “I really hope so, Guardian. I really do.”

 

The next day, Shadow looked at the bulletin board that hung in the spacious lobby of Kaiou private school. Thanks to her uniform, she fit right in, as long as people didn’t know that she was just the scholarship girl. Shadow sighed as she thought of the day, and how people treated her because she was an orphan, and didn’t come from a rich family, like the rest was. Taking a breath, Shadow pushed the social problems to the back of her mind.

“I’d better go see about the Go club,” Shadow said quietly to herself. After a few more moments of studying the poster, she said, “Let’s see… it’s that way,” with a small motion in a certain direction. “I think,” she added, looking around the hall she was now in. “Oh, well. Might as well go exploring, then.”

Shadow set off in a certain direction, making sure to look like she had business there, and knew exactly where she was going while keeping her eyes and ears wide open. A sound entered her sensitive ears, and Shadow snapped to a halt. She would recognize that sound anywhere. She had heard it hundreds of thousands of times herself: the sound of someone hitting the floor. Or, in this case, a practice mat.

Shadow felt her body call out to her. Shadow resisted the urge to run, and instead walked briskly to the place the sound had originated from. Soon, she was standing in front of a door which label read ‘Martial Arts club’.

Shadow swallowed. “No. I can’t. I will attract attention with my abilities. But…on the other hand…this might be a good place to keep myself in shape.” Shadow shook her head. “First the Go club. That’s why I’m here. Martial Arts can come later.”

Shadow set out in a leggy pace, and was soon face-to-face with the Go club. Carefully, she opened the door, and stepped in.

A man immediately approached her. He seemed vaguely neutral, yet Shadow saw a genuine passion for the game in him as he looked at the boards as he passed them on his way to her. She cataloged him as ‘friendly’, until she knew him better.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted her.

“Good afternoon, Yun-Sensei,” thirteen-year-old Shadow replied respectfully. She knew that this was the Go-teacher of the Kaiou Go Club, and that respect was thus in place. “I would like to join the Go club, if that is possible.”

“Of course. Right this way… we’ll first get you registered. I usually let new players play against each other to establish how strong they are.” he said amicably, guiding her towards the back of the room, where he registered her supposed name, Sakamoto Hikage. (Note: Japanese style name. Hikage is the first name of Shadow.)

Five minutes later, she was seated across from a nice upperclassman whose name was Aoki. He had a kind smile and an even kinder personality, Shadow noted. Involuntarily, she had begun to like him.

“Because this is a test game, we’ll play an even match, Hikage-chan,” he told her.

“Of course, Sempai,” Shadow answered, grabbing two black stones from the container of black stones. Her companion grabbed some stones form his container of whites, and placed them on the board, making sure they were hidden under his hand. Shadow dropped two stones on the board. Aoki lifted his hand, and counted the stones. Even, Shadow thought. That means I get black.

“Good luck,” they wished each other at the same time, and Shadow placed her first stone on the board, on her four-by-four mark, a move called ‘Hoshi’. Her opponent replied by going Hoshi himself. The game slowly built up, yet Shadow soon realized that she stood no chance. She knew enough about tactics and war to know that her territories were continuously growing smaller while she herself was doing very little to her opponent.

Finally, Shadow sighed. “I resign,” she said with a bow.

“Thank you for the game,” her opponent answered her, and Shadow finished by repeating the same words.

“You are quite good, Hikage-chan,” the upperclassman finally said.

“Thank you, Aoki-Sempai,” Shadow said. He smiled. Yun, who had been watching the entire match, nodded.

“Aoki is right. You posses a good insight into strategy, yet it will still require quite a lot of work for you to be able to fully utilize that ability,” the teacher said.

Unfortunately for Shadow, word spread through the school pretty quickly, and by the time day three rolled around, she found herself alone, facing a goban*, with nothing but a stack of kifu**, or tsumego*** to keep her company. She had given up trying to make friends, and now solely concentrated on what she was here to do: learn Go. She put in the absolute minimum of effort into school, only doing the required homework.

(*goban: the board on which Go is played. There are a number of set sizes, although for competitions only the 19x19 board is used.)

(** Kifu: sheets on which matches are recorded. They are often used to replay the games of great players.)

(*** tsumego: Go problems that need to be solved.)

Today, however, Shadow noticed that something was brewing in the club. People were agitated, snapping nervously at each other as they played… or attempted to play. Shadow closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. The nervous mood seemed contagious, and the last thing Shadow wanted was nervousness to throw off her most recent attempt at getting this tsumego right.

Her sensitive ears reached out over the room, picking up the snapped whispers amongst the other players. He doesn’t think highly of us, does he? She heard one person whisper. Shadow blinked. Who are they talking about? Soon, she got her answer. Touya Akira…so THAT is why they’re so agitated.

Shadow smiled. As the son of the person who was without a doubt the best Go player in the world, Touya played a very good game of Go himself. Shadow’s mind pulled information she had read from Go-magazines. He’s been working on it since he was two, and he’s rumored to play at a level that would put most professional players through the wringer. That’s why they’re scared… they’ve got the best of the best in his age group joining their club, and can’t handle the competition. Shadow chuckled quietly to herself, and placed another stone on the goban. I wonder what he’s like on a personal level.

Shadow decided not to let it concern her, and placed a white stone to offset the black one she had just placed. No, that not the answer either. She returned the board to the original problem, took a breath, and forced herself to concentrate.

Five minutes later, the boy in question finally appeared, and immediately apologized for being late. He apologizes. I like him already, Shadow commented silently. And he looks cute, too. Immediately, Shadow’s eyes went wide, and she cursed herself. Is THAT a way for a Universal Savior to think about a possible future teacher? She scolded herself. It’s just the hormones talking, Shadow decided, and let the thought go.

Yun-sensei told Touya about the rule of him playing someone to determine his strength, and then decided to play the boy himself. Shadow shook her head warily as she returned to her problem. Poor sensei. If the Go-magazines are correct he’ll slaughter you. Shadow’s mouth grew a small smile as she thought of the Kifu she had seen of one of Touya’s matches. He played brilliantly. So brilliant, in fact, that Shadow still had no idea how he managed to read ahead that far.

She could vaguely hear Yun-sensei stopping the match claiming that he now knew Touya’s strength. She tuned out immediately after a trio of girls asked Touya for a game of tutoring Go*.

(Tutoring Go is a sort of ‘instructional Go’, if you wish. The better player plays in such a way that he/she guides the lesser player to make the correct moves.)

Shadow tuned out all the rest, turning up her concentration to its full level. She needed to crack the problem, and she needed to crack it NOW. Touya seemed to finish his game of tutoring Go early as he sat down next to her. The movement made her startle.

“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized at seeing her jump slightly. He smiled slightly, and Shadow found herself liking him. He didn’t appear to be the cocky or self-assured brat the others had made him out to be.

“No problem. I was just in really deep on this problem,” she explained, frowning as she looked back at the board. “Sometimes, my focus gets the better of me.”

“I can get that way myself,” he said with that same smile, turning to his own board, and opening a small booklet. Shadow returned to her problem, yet didn’t miss the fact that he wasn’t laying out the stones to replicate the problem.

“May I ask you a question?” he finally said, turning back to her.

Shadow looked up form her problem, and looked at him. “Go ahead,” she said, a little unsurely. Here it comes. Another one of those snotty comments about my past, she thought sadly. He’s probably going to ask why I’m here at all.

“Why are you here by yourself? Everybody else discusses these problems amongst themselves,” he asked, causing Shadow’s heart to drop at the first four words, a sadness that was soon replaced by curiosity, which turned to sadness once again.

He doesn’t know who I am, she realized. Sadly, she let out a breath. “My name is Sakamoto Hikage,” she answered him. She expected him to reply with some sharp remark, or something similarly painful.

“I am Touya Akira,” he replied, bowing in her direction. “Pleased to meet you.”

Shadow blinked in confusion at him. So confused was she that she barely managed a barely respectful “pleased to meet you” in return.

“Now, why are you here alone, Sakamoto-chan?” he asked once again. For a brief time, Shadow’s mind went into full ‘war-mode’. The suffix he used was one used toward young girls, and Shadow’s 160 years of age made her reel against the implications of being called –chan. The next instant, she realized that she was just a young girl, and that Touya was probably trying to be nice. The entire debate had lasted less than a second, and it was highly unlikely that Touya had picked it up. Taking a breath, she forced her mind into the role of the thirteen-year-old orphaned schoolgirl that was being rejected.

“You must be the only one in school who doesn’t know, Touya-kun,” she replied earnestly, returning the suffix in an attempt to be friendly with him. “I…I am a scholarship student. I have neither parents, money, or social standing… most other students would rather have me gone.”

She became aware of the silence next to her, and it was with a heavy heart that she lifted her gaze from the board to look at him. She found him staring at the empty goban in front of him. “The club members would rather have me gone as well,” he finally said quietly. “But I am here for a reason, and I will not quit until I fulfill that reason.”

Shadow nodded. “I am here to learn to play Go to the best of my abilities. I will not leave here either. And, for what it matters; I don’t mind having you here, Touya-kun. Quite the contrary.”

He looked at her, not really understanding.

“I have always studied…that’s how I got this scholarship. I learn from those who know better. Having someone like you…with your abilities…will help me greatly. That is, if you don’t mind helping me out with the occasional problem.”

Touya smiled. “That’s actually one of the nicest things someone has said to me since I entered the club. And no, I don’t mind helping you.”

“Thank you,” Shadow whispered, and actually formed a smile. “And thank you for not caring about my past.”

“Thank you for not caring about how good I am,” he replied with a smile. Both young people returned to their respective problems, heart a little lighter now that they found a friendly face.

Ten minutes later, Shadow let out a grunt, both her hands well under way to hitting the table. She halted herself at the last moment, so she made no noise at all, yet Touya next to her caught the sharp movement. Shadow immediately berated herself for losing her patience. She cursed her new body that made her feel all these sensations she had thought she had eliminated a long time ago.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I just can’t get the solution to this problem. Everything I do seems the wrong move.”

He pulled his chair a little closer to hers, and looked at the goban. “I see,” he said. “What is the objective?”

“Capture the white formation in the upper right corner in four moves,” Shadow replied. “No matter what I do, white always escapes.”

“Allow me to help you,” he said, standing up, walking around the table, and taking his position on the other side of the board. “I’ll play white. Having someone to move against you rather than doing it yourself may help.”

“Thank you,” Shadow replied, actually feeling better to have someone actually care. Two minutes later, white had escaped.

“That’s what I mean. I think I tried just about anything,” she said sadly.

“I think I know the problem”, Touya told her. “You think in a way that is very defensive, as if you’re afraid to show a lot of aggression, or to attack your opponent. Your first move, this one,” he said, laying out the first stone of Shadow’s movement, “is a continuation of your wall instead of invading your opponent’s territory. Try showing aggressiveness, Sakamoto-chan.”

Shadow swallowed. This is the first time I’m told to really go for it, she thought. Usually, my teachers tell me that I shouldn’t attack unless provoked, and that you should always try and use any means possible before using aggression. Now I see why Guardian wanted me to learn Go… to learn how to take the offensive side, when necessary.

Shadow dipped her head. “I shall try,” she said, resetting the board to the original problem. Her mind worked overtime when she took the stone in the standard Go-grip: between her index and middle fingers. I always kept the invasion for last. Okay. This time, I’ll start with that, and take it from there.

She slammed the stone in the middle of the white formation. Touya made his move. Three black moves later, Shadow removed the six white stones in the upper right corner, smiling widely.

“Thank you for your help, Touya-kun. And thanks for not just giving me the right answer,” she added with a smile.

“Simply giving the right answer wouldn’t have taught you anything. So I gave you the thoughts behind the move, and let you think it out for yourself. I’m glad to see you’re not one of those people who want to get the right answer,” he replied.

Shadow’s smile grew a little wider. “I prefer the theory behind a thing and then tackle the problem by myself. I’ve always been that way. Not fast or easy, but a sure way to get results.”

“I’m sure it does. Kaiou doesn’t give out much scholarships. It must have been hard work.”

Shadow nodded quietly. I didn’t exactly earn it, she thought quietly to herself. Seeing that the subject made her uncomfortable, Touya decided to let the topic drop.

“How about a game?” he asked, motioning for the board. “You look like you could use a break from tsumego.”

Shadow chuckled slightly. “I probably look better than I feel,” she replied honestly. “But I really don’t want to take up too much of your time. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than play against someone like me.”

“Not really,” he said. “I like playing Go, and one of the benefits of the game is that it can be made challenging for both players.”

“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Shadow replied with a smile as she and Touya cleaned the board of stones, placing them back in their containers. After the board had been cleared, Shadow’s hand went into the container with the black stones. “How much of a handicap do I get?” she asked.

“How about we try four stones, and see from there?” he suggested.

“Okay,” Shadow said, placing a stone in each of the four Hoshi points. (Hoshi point: a ‘star point’ that is 4x4 lines removed from the corner.)

Shadow could feel Touya’s strength in each of his moves, and it didn’t take very long for her to realize that, even with her four-stone advantage, the game would be next to impossible for her to win. She played a couple more moves, could see her formations crumble, and decided that resigning was the best option.

“You played very defensively,” Touya said after the ‘thank you for the game’ that was common for Go players. He set up one of the formations of the game. “You played this move, literally avoiding a contest over this territory instead of trying to defend it.”

“It’s one of the martial arts lessons,” Shadow explained. “Avoid a fight at all costs.”

Touya chuckled. “In Go, playing very defensively will not get you the best outcome. Instead, you must find a balance between offense and defense. Playing only offensively will make your formation crumble. Playing defensively will result in too small territories to win the game. The solution is a combination of the two, which you get through experience,” he explained to her.

“I see,” Shadow said, looking at the board where the formation was still present. “So, if I had played here, instead of moving to strengthen my wall, I would have contested for the territory you were trying to claim.”

“Exactly,” Touya said, looking at the board. “Now you’ve played the ball back to me, so to speak. I have a couple of solutions. I can fight over the territory, pull back and acknowledge it lost, or I can strengthen my offensive stone with a defensive one, building up its strength.” He placed his stone next to the first attacking one.

Shadow smiled, strengthened her own stone. She was beginning to see why this game was so addictive. At first, it had been an assignment. Shadow had resented her body, the emotionality it caused, and it had reflected on the game. She had wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. Now that she was beginning to see the intricacies, what it demanded of the players, the mindset required for it, she was beginning to love it. That, and Touya was great to have around and learn from. Once again, she had found a teacher she liked.

“You know,” she said after one of her more bold moves, “This is much more fun than martial arts… I don’t have to be scared of hurting someone.”

Touya smiled as he made a counter-move. “Exactly. Stones on a board. The worst you can do is hurt someone’s pride.”

Shadow chuckled over this, and focused on her next move. Yes, she had decided this could be a fun assignment after all.

 

“Try-outs today”, a notice on the door of the Martial Arts club read. Shadow stood at indecision, her eyes going over the sign over and over again. Finally, she dipped her head. I’ll keep myself down. If I’m here for a while, I need to find a way to keep my physical strength up, and this might just do the trick.

Shadow slid open the door, and slipped inside. Soon, she was seated along with about two dozen others in a semi-circle, facing a Sensei. Shadow noted that he was quite good… for a normal.

“Which ones of you have prior experience?” the Sensei asked. Shadow lifted her hand along with three-quarters of the people present.

“Good,” the man said. “Now, one by one, I will test your abilities. When I call you forward, please give me your name, your rank, and the martial art you have experience in. You go first,” he said, pointing to the boy next to Shadow.

Thanks to some psychological maneuvering of Shadow, she managed to keep herself for last. Finally, she stood up and approached the Sensei.

“Sakamoto Hikage. Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Aikido, Tae-kwon-do, Tai Chi, Muy Tai (Tai Kickboxing), Kung Fu.”

The semi-circle fell silent. So did the rest of the students already in the club, who had been practicing up until now. The Sensei stared at her. “All introductions, I take it?”

“Certainly not, Sensei,” Shadow replied.

“What belts,” the Sensei asked curtly, thinking her not only a liar, but a bragger as well.

“I was trained unconventionally, Sensei. My teachers always instilled into me ‘If you want a belt, go buy one in a shop’,” Shadow replied respectfully. She had met teachers who didn’t believe her before.

“Very well, then,” the Sensei said, getting into a Karate pose. “Show me.”

“Which style do you prefer, Sensei?” Shadow asked, taking a few steps back and getting into a lose pose.

“Whatever,” the Sensei replied. “If you can not back up your words, you should have chosen not to out them.”

Now Shadow reached ‘pissed off’. No-one dared call her a liar. “Very well. Make your first move,” she said coldly, standing in Kickboxing pose.

The Sensei didn’t hesitate, and immediately threw a vicious spinning roundhouse kick to her head. Shadow ducked under it, rolled forward, swept his supporting leg from under him, and rolled to the side to avoid his falling body. She jumped to her feet Kung Fu style, and get into the Praying Mantis pose of Kung Fu.

The Sensei also jumped to his legs, and this time he studied her pose carefully. He could see no flaws in the Mantis pose. He knew enough of it to know that it took years and years of training to get it down… and he instantly realized that Shadow had not been kidding.

The Sensei released his pose. Shadow did the same. The entire crowd gulped when the Sensei bowed to her. “I humbly apologize for my words. I see now that you were telling the truth.”

Shadow dipped her head. “I accept your apology, Sensei. I am at fault as well, however. I should not have come forward in this manner.”

“Let us declare us both at fault, and move on,” the Sensei suggested.

“Let us,” Shadow acceded, bowing to the man as he did the same.

“May I ask how you learned that many styles?” the Sensei asked when the two of them started walking towards his office. As they approached the other students, they split apart, making a corridor for them to walk through. Shadow could hear the hushed whispers of the other students, the amount of respect she had created for herself with just that one move.

“As you no doubt know, Sensei…I am an orphan. I found teachers… wise men… who would show me to utilize my body and my mind. I learned… because it is all I have. That is why I have now joined the Go Club. I wish to better my mind and my abilities,” Shadow replied.

“I understand,” the Sensei told her. “There is not much the Martial Arts club can do to better you… I am not sure why you wanted to join it.”

“I may be good, Sensei, but I am by no means above human. I will need to practice to keep my skills and my body trained,” Shadow answered his question.

“It would be my honor to help you in that regard,” the Sensei said. “If you would allow me one small favor?”

“Which is, Sensei?” Shadow asked, looking up from her thirteen-year-old perspective to the grown man.

“A special class every now and then,” the Sensei answered. “For those students that did exceptionally well. A bonus, so to speak, taught by someone who is, without a doubt, one of the strongest martial artists in the club.”

Shadow closed her eyes. “As long as it does not conflict with the Go club, I am willing to teach such a class,” Shadow answered. “It would be my honor, Sensei.”

“Very well. Thank you,” the Sensei said, bowing deep. Shadow returned the bow, and he guided her to the door of the club, where they said their goodbyes. From now on, Shadow had a place to train, should she need it, and she had someone who was willing to play punching bag … err sparring partner… for her.

 

“Today is the day, isn’t it, Sakamoto-chan?” Touya asked as he and Shadow walked side-by side towards the exit of the building. It was Saturday, so they only had half a day of school today.

“Yes,” Shadow replied nervously. She swallowed. “I have to admit that I’m nervous, Touya-kun.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Touya replied. “I can’t begin to imagine how it feels like for you, finally having someone to live with rather than some institution.”

“The orphanage was good to me, Touya-kun. Granted, it wasn’t a family, but then again, I’ve never had a family, so I wouldn’t know how it feels to be in one,” Shadow replied, finding it necessary to defend the place she had supposedly lived for her entire life.

“Well, starting today, you’ll find out what it’s like,” Touya told her. “I hope for you that they’re really nice people.”

“So do I, Touya-kun. So do I. I don’t know much of them, apart from the fact that they’re known as the Shindo family, and have one son,” Shadow said unevenly. She still wasn’t used to her new body, and the intensity of the emotions it made her feel. She was fully planning to strangle the Guardian the moment she showed her face. But, for the moment, Shadow was determined to get on with things. “Touya-kun? What’s wrong?” Shadow asked, turning around to look at him when she realized he had frozen.

“Shindo,” he brought out, his usually gentle voice strangely emotional. To Shadow, it sounded somewhere halfway between rage and terror, as if Touya was both angry at and afraid of someone. “As in Shindo Hikaru?”

Shadow gulped. Looks like I’m in the middle of quite a mess. My new friend and my new brother already hate each other. This is not going to be good. “Eh… I think so, yes. Why? Touya-kun, are you alright? You look like you’re going to be sick!”

“I’m fine,” he said, voice strangely level, with just a bare hint of anger in it.

“What’s wrong with Hikaru?” Shadow asked, hoping by whatever forces looked out for her that she wasn’t on the verge of losing her only friend she had made so far.

“Nothing,” he replied coldly. “Please drop the subject, Sakamoto-chan.”

Shadow sighed, and nodded. “Okay, Touya-kun. I…I need to get going anyway. See you on Monday?”

“Yes. See you on Monday, Sakamoto-chan,” Touya replied as she walked off, reassuring Shadow that they were still friends. Taking a breath, Shadow resumed her way to the orphanage, where she would be picked up by her new family this afternoon. The girl had no idea how this would turn out, and she hoped furiously that they would be alright.

 

Shadow was sitting, cross-legged, on the top bunk of the room she shared with four other girls. She had an open book over her crossed legs, a notepad on her right and one on her left. She flipped the page with her left hand, and made some notes with the right. With her left hand she then took a pen and answered a question on the notepad on her left.

“I still don’t know how you do that, Hi-chan,” a fifteen-year-old girl named Kumiko said. “Writing with both hands at the same time… especially on a day like this!”

“Let the girl do as she wants, Kumi,” a fourteen-year-old girl named Su butted in. “You just never forget us, you hear?” the girl addressed to Shadow.

“Yeah. You’re incredibly lucky, Hi-chan,” the last girl, also about thirteen, said. Her name was Michiko.

“I won’t forget you,” Shadow said, looking around the group. “You’ve all been really nice to me. As to this, I just want to get it over with. First impressions, you know?” She looked at the notepads, and sighed. “But it looks like I’m too nervous,” she said, starting to put away her stuff.

Shadow nearly shed her skin as the door suddenly opened, and one of the caretakers stepped in. “Hikage-chan, your new family is here,” she said gently. Shadow gulped, and let herself fall from the top bunk.

“Leave you things here, Hikage-chan. We’ll pick them later,” the caretaker said as she saw Shadow at indecision as to whether or not take anything.

“You take care of yourself,” Kumiko told Shadow. “And don’t forget to let us know how your new family is turning out.”

Su just smiled, and dipped her head in Shadow’s direction. “I showed you the good Go salons to go to, girlfriend. If you ever see me, don’t hesitate to say ‘hello’, you hear?”

“I’ll do that, Su,” Shadow said honestly.

Michiko’s advice was different. “Just enjoy yourself,” she advised. “And know that you’ve got someone to help you now… just like us.”

Shadow dipped her head, actually beginning to feel tears. I’ve only known them for a week! Damn this body… she cursed silently as she followed the caretaker out of the room. Shadow threw one last melancholic look behind her as she closed the door.

“T…Taura-san… how…what should I do?” Shadow asked the caretaker as they approached the door behind which lay the office of the head of the orphanage. Shadow usually didn’t have problems like this, but now… this…it was an entirely new experience for her. She was on hundred sixty, yet stuck in the body of a thirteen-year-old. She was well aware of the fact that she acted too mature for her age, and the last thing she wanted to do was scare off the people who were supposed to take care of her for her stay here.

“Just be yourself, Hikage-chan,” the caretaker assured the girl, stopping at the door. The woman bent over to be at eye-level with the thirteen-year-old girl. “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine, and your new family will love you.”

Shadow actually felt better. “Thank you, Taura-san. For everything,” she said, taking a deep breath, and turning to the door. Taura erected herself, and pushed open the door.

Shadow forced herself to remain calm, her entire force of will literally grabbing hold of a body it was unaccustomed to, and forcing it to do its bidding. Shadow felt eerily calm as she stepped into the room.

“Hikage-chan!” the man behind the desk greeted her. “Come further, and meet your new parents.”

“Yes, sir,” Shadow said with a small bow, approaching the desk. Inwardly, her keen eyes scanned the new people in the room. Shadow catalogued the parents as ‘nice’, and that was it. The son, however… there was something about him. Whether it was his unusual hair-color, Shadow wasn’t entirely sure. His hair was black at the back, and turned to blonde at the front, which threw Shadow off. She had grown used to people having the strangest hair-colors, but she had never seen someone who had black-and-blonde hair.

She didn’t exactly hear what the man had been saying, but she just felt it when she needed to bow, and say “Pleased to meet you.”

“Well, all the papers are in order, so you can take her home now,” the principal said to the man and woman as he turned to Shadow. “Good luck, Hikage-chan.”

“Thank you, sir,” Shadow said, bowing to him. “Thank you…for everything…”

The man smiled. “That’s what we’re here for. Come now, join your new family, before we’re here all afternoon.”

“Yes,” Shadow said, smiling faintly and turning to the three people that would now be her family.

“Let’s first get your luggage, Hikage-chan,” the father said. She hadn’t caught his name during the introductions, engrossed as she had been in the strange feelings she got from the boy.

“Of course, sir,” Shadow said respectfully. “This way, please.”

“So, Hikage-chan, the headmaster told us that you’re going to Kaiou Jr. High. That is a very elite school,” the mother said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Shadow answered. “I…I was very lucky. I am good at school, and I was offered a scholarship. It’s a new and interesting experience.”

“Kaiou!?” the boy shouted, dropping to a halt. The two parents stopped as well, and Shadow curiously turned around. Shadow remembered his name. Hikaru.

“Yes,” Shadow answered. “It is hard work… I can not afford to drop my grades, or I will lose my scholarship.”

“Do you…do you know someone named Touya? Touya Akira?” Hikaru shouted/asked, running towards her and coming to a direct stop in front of her.

“Eh…” Shadow stammered, a little thrown by the energetic movements of Hikaru. “Yes…” she tried.

“Did he say anything about me!?” Hikaru shouted.

“Hikaru! You’re scaring her!” his mother berated him, and immediately, Hikaru’s face fell.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“He didn’t say,” Shadow answered anyway. “He just seemed…different… when I told him you would be my foster parents.”

“Hikage-chan, why don’t we go pick up your luggage, and you can talk in the car?” the mother offered. “We can stand here all day otherwise.”

“Of course, ma’am. My apologies,” Shadow said, bowing and resuming the way. Hikaru stayed right next to her.

“He seemed different? How?” Hikaru asked. Mother and father looked at each other, throwing a mixed look at each other. Hikage seems to have found a common ground with Hikaru. At least they don’t instantly hate each other.

“Like…angry, sad, and determined at the same time,” Shadow replied honestly. “This is…was… my room,” she said, pushing open the door. The three other girls who occupied the room were gone, probably off in some quit corner, watching her leave.

Shadow took her book bag in one arm, and swung the duffel over her shoulder. “I am ready,” Shadow said quietly. The two parents looked around the small room containing two bunk beds.

“This was your room?” Hikaru asked. “It’s so small!”

“Hikaru!” his mother berated him again.

“It is alright, ma’am,” Shadow told her new mother. Turning to Hikaru who was once again next to her as she led them to the outside, she said, “This is only an orphanage, Shindo-kun… there are over two hundred and fifty children here, so we don’t have much room.”

“We’re your parents now, Hikage-chan. You can call us something else then ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’, if you want,” the father told her after she was done with her sentence.

“I…if you prefer, Shindo-san,” Shadow answered a little shakily. She was still using the necessary forms of respect.

The entire drive home, Shadow forced herself to answer the questions her new family asked her. Somewhere along the halfway point, the questions dropped off, and Shadow allowed herself to think. She looked out the rear window, letting her thoughts drift. I am getting too deep into my roles, Shadow’s mind noted quietly. I am really feeling as if I have been an orphan all my life, who’s finally found a home and a family.

Shadow blinked, her mystical green eyes glowing in a surprising fluidity. I HAVE been an orphan all my life, who’s finally found a home! I have been the Savior for 160 years, I’ve never had a real family, and I’ve only had the Guardian… and the occasional friend during my teachings. She sighed sadly. But usually, I was treated like a student, someone to pump information into. I’ve been beaten, put through the emotional, psychological and physical wringer on dozens of occasions… all in the name of the Savior. I needed to be strong. Powerful. The Savior. Shadow’s misting eyes glanced from the outside to the people in the car.

But they…they don’t know me as the Savior. They know me as Hikage Sakamoto, a thirteen-year-old orphan. They care for me for who I am, rather than what I am. Shadow sat up straight with a sudden movement, and wiped at her eyes. I’ve never had a real family, and I will make sure that this one chance I have is not wasted.

If the others noticed her wiping at her eyes, they didn’t let on, and soon the car pulled up to the driveway of a nice and spacious house. With much feel for dramatics, the family showed her around their house, and Shadow actually smiled as she allowed her new family to pull her along on a wonderful new voyage of discovery through what was to be her new home.

The last room they showed her was her bedroom, and Shadow’s eyes lit up as she looked around it. She was used to sparse accommodations with her teachers, a trend that had continued in her room in the ShadowZone. The room at the orphanage fell somewhere in the upper region of the places she was used to, which ranged from sheds over tents, to barely anything at all.

The room was large, with a desk pushed against a wall, facing a window, and a very comfortable-looking bed against the side wall. The room also contained a large closet, too large for what little clothing she possessed, a nightstand on each side of her bed, and nice carpeting on the floor.

“This…this is my room?” she asked, carefully stepping inside to look around the room fully. She turned around to face her new family, which was smiling at her. “Whom do I have to share it with?” she asked, fully expecting it to be both hers and Hikaru’s.

“With no-one,” the nice woman answered her, stepping up to her, and pulling her into a hug. At first, Shadow tensed up at the unexpected contact, but soon relaxed into the hold. “Poor child. Come, we’ll give you some privacy while you get settled in.”

“T-thank you, Shindo-san,” Shadow answered as the lady and her husband left the room. Hikaru stayed behind, receiving no indication that she minded his presence. Still carrying the duffel and book bag, she carefully made her way to the closet, opened it, and simply let her duffel slide off her shoulder into it.

“So, you play Go?” Hikaru asked, sounding every bit as exuberant as when she had first met him. Shadow found it amusing to see someone who took life on the bright side, and always seemed to try and make the best of any situation. Or, at least, that’s how he seemed to her.

“Yes, Shindo-kun,” Shadow answered. “I joined the Kaiou Go club the day I started going there. That is where I met Touya, since we are not in the same class.”

“Touya…” Hikaru whispered, sounding strangely determined about the name.

“If I may… what is there going on between you and Touya, Shindo-kun?” Shadow asked. “You seem to have quite a history together, yet Touya asked me to drop the subject when I brought it up.”

“Oh. Heheh,” Hikaru said, laughing slightly as he stuck his right hand behind his head. “Well, you see…it’s like this…”

Shadow’s inbred lie-detector system went haywire. She took a breath. Do NOT fight, Shadow! Her mind scolded, using the English language for the first time since she got to this world. She forced herself to remain calm, and sat down on her bed after putting her books on the desk. Now that her eyes locked with him, something inside of her mind told her that this boy was not what he seemed at first glance.

Her body had altered, and her mind had difficulty with it. So much Shadow knew. As Hikaru stumbled a few more words and finally fell silent, she kept looking at him with those strangely penetrating green eyes of her. Something inside of her vast array of senses clicked, and Hikaru glowed slightly for an instant, before it vanished, only to be replaced by a semi-transparent apparition right next to him. Her eyes left Hikaru, and settled on the apparition.

Hikaru looked at her, to his side, and back to her. The apparition locked eyes with Hikaru before both looked back at her. “So you know him,” Shadow stated levelly, her eyes locked with the apparition’s.

“What a minute! You mean, you can see him?” Hikaru shouted, looking wildly at Shadow.

“Yes,” Shadow replied, and grew a small smile. “And unless you want your parents to find out, maybe you shouldn’t shout like this… unless, they already know.”

Hikaru slapped his hand in front of his mouth, and grew red. “No…no, they don’t know,” he answered, shaking his head after he finally dropped his hand.

“Hikaru, ask how she can see me,” the ghost asked of the boy. Shadow immediately noted his archaic mode of speech. Coupled to his strange dress-code consisting out of a tall hat and a widely robed garment Shadow didn’t recognize, the man seemed to come from a long-ago period.

“I will answer your questions… if you will answer mine,” Shadow told the ghost directly, without waiting for Hikaru to relay the message.

“You… you can hear me, too?” he asked, his refined-looking eyes wide.

Shadow chuckled. “Apparently,” she answered with a chuckle. “Who are you, and how come you are linked to Hikaru?” she asked the ghost.

“My name is Fujiwara no Sai,” the man began. “A thousand years ago, during the Heian Period, I was the Go instructor for the Emperor. However, a rival told the Emperor there was no room for two Go tutors… and a game was held. My opponent cheated. The moment I was to call him out, he accused me of the crime. The Emperor was disdained with us both, and told us to continue the game. I eventually lost, and was dismissed. I drowned myself a couple of days later, unable to bear the shame.”

Sai took a breath, and Shadow could see how much this was taking of him. She was about to ask him whether or not he really wanted to continue his story when he continued.

“Dead, but not at peace, my soul could not go to the afterlife. My spirit entered a goban, where it remained for 860 years. Then, 140 years ago, my spirit was set free for the first time by a boy named Honinbo Shusaku. He loved Go, and accepted me… together, we became one of the best. People came from all over Japan to challenge us. But… it was not to be. Honinbo died at the age of 34, and I once again entered the goban… where I remained until Hikaru set me free once more.”

“But you must remain with the person who sets you free?” Shadow asked.

“I exist in their minds,” Sai replied. “Which leads us to the question… how come you can see me?”

Shadow closed her eyes. “Please…please do not tell anyone about this,” Shadow said, getting up, and walking to the desk, so she could look out the window. “My name…my name is Shadow. I too, am dead.”

“Not funny, Hikage,” Hikaru said angrily, getting up.

“I am dead,” Shadow answered. “Which is why I can see Sai. What you see before you in the physical representation of my soul. I am being guided by the forces of the afterlife, to accomplish a great task… which has yet to be revealed to me. I am being prepared for that task, and that is why I am here. I was sent here to learn the game of Go, to learn to think with tactical and strategic accuracy.”

Hikaru was about to say something when Sai beat him to it. “I believe you, Hikage-chan. I can feel the intensity, the strength in your soul.”

“Sai…” Hikaru whispered, looking at the ghost, and finally at Shadow. “I…” he closed his mouth, and took a breath through his nose. “Sai is here because he still wants to play Go. He wants to master the ‘Hand of God’… I guess it’s not that far from you, who is tasked to gain strength and accomplish a great task,” Hikaru said.

“Thank you…thank you both,” Shadow answered. “Please… I must ask you…to…” she felt something inside of her give. “I’ve never…actually had…a family,” she went on, the words hacked through the strange intensity of the sadness that permeated her heart. “Please…don’t tell,” she whispered, sobbing.

Hikaru looked, unable to utter a word. It was Sai who sat down on the bed next to Shadow. “Don’t worry, Shadow…I will make sure Hikaru keeps your secret. Isn’t that right, Hikaru?” Hikaru remained frozen in place. “HIKARU!” Sai said more forcefully, snapping the boy out of his stupor. He sat down on her other side.

“Of course we’ll keep your secret, Hikage-chan”, Hikaru said. “On one condition.”

“HIKARU!” Sai yelled, angry.

“What is it?” Shadow asked dejectedly, her new body’s emotionally fragile state completely overwhelming her.

“You call me by my first name, so we’re really like brother and sister, and I’ll be a good brother and keep your secrets,” Hikaru said, smiling broadly. Said smiled as well, and shook his head. Shadow simply stared at him.

“Of course,” she finally answered through her tears. “Thank you…Hikaru-kun.”

“No problem…sis,” Hikaru answered, chuckling.

“I don’t think anyone ever called me that,” Shadow answered thoughtfully. “Has a strange ring to it when you’ve been alone all your life,” she finished with a chuckle.

Hikaru just laughed. “So, now that we’re being honest with each other, Hikaru-kun… just what happened between you and Touya that got you both so worked up?”

“Well, when me and Sai first met, he wanted to play Go really badly, so I want to this Go salon. Touya was there, only I didn’t know it was Touya, or how strong he was. On the first match, Sai beat Touya. Only, since Sai can’t touch the physical world, I made the moves he told me to make, and Touya…”

“He thought you were the one playing,” Shadow finished for him. “A defeat like that… I can imagine why he would be upset.”

“That’s not all,” Hikaru went on. “A couple of days later, we ran into each other again, and I kinda made a joke about being pro and earning lots of money, and Touya went nuts over it. We ended up playing again, and this time, he was determined to defeat Sai.”

“Unfortunately, I had no other choice but to defeat him utterly,” Sai said.

“Poor Touya,” Shadow said quietly. “No wonder he chases after you… he’s chasing Sai, and his strength.”

 “That’s why I told him I wouldn’t play him anymore,” Hikaru told her resolutely. “I want to catch up to him, and play him with my own strength.”

“That’s commendable,” Shadow answered. “To be willing to face a stronger opponent with one’s own strength is a worthy cause.”

“Say, Hikage-chan, you’re in the same Go club as Touya? Do you play him?” Hikaru asked.

Shadow smiled a little sadly. “We don’t have many friends,” she replied sadly. “I am an outcast because of my heritage. He’s an outcast for being the strongest player in the club. So, when we’re not doing tsumego, we’re playing each other. We’ve become friends, bonding through the shared adversity we’re subjected to.”

“Then you’re pretty good?” Hikaru asked.

Shadow shrugged. “Touya-kun tells me I have been increasing steadily, but I don’t think I am considered to be anything nowhere near ‘strong’. Yet.”

“I am working hard, too,” Hikaru said. “At the Go club of the school I go to. I want to catch up to Touya.”

“I’m sure you will, Hikaru-kun. I’m sure you will. If there is one thing I have learned on my travels, it’s that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it,” Shadow answered him, looking straight ahead, her eyes unseeing, her mind going over the things she had learned and done.

“You must have learned a lot of things, Hikage-chan,” Hikaru wistfully said. “What is it like? To be…whatever it is you are?”

Shadow scooted a little backwards, and lay down on top of the pink covers of the bed. She put her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes. A strange look came on her face, as if the thirteen-year-old features had trouble displaying what they were meant to display. She looked old.

“It’s a very…strange existence,” Shadow began. “It’s called a Universal Savior, by the way. That’s what I am to be trained for: to be the Universal Savior. There is this woman, called the Guardian of the Crossroads. She is the one who guides me on my path towards my destiny. She tells me my next assignment, and I go… I am usually away between one and four years… although once I was gone for nearly a decade. Then, after I have learned what I was sent to learn, I return to my temporary home in the afterlife, a residence called the ‘ShadowZone’. There is where I wait for the Guardian to make her next visit, usually between one and three months after I return.”

“It sounds to me like you’re visiting a lot of different places. Sounds like a lot of fun, meeting new people, doing new things…” Hikaru said with his usual boldness.

“The trainings are very hard, Hikaru-kun”, Shadow answered. “I have been on the brink of death many times… and once I die, it is over. My soul is gone. It does not age, but it can be hurt. And if I am hurt too much, my soul will disappear, into nothingness, for ever. I used to make friends, grow attached to my teachers, but after a while…you learn not to. You have to leave them each and every time. It hurts just too much.”

“You speak of years and decades as if they are nothing. How long have you been doing this, Hikage?” Sai asked.

“About 160 years,” Shadow answered, her sensitive ears picking up the silent gasps of her human and ghostly companions.  “The offset is that I have a knack for learning things quickly, both knowledge and physical skills, and that I have become very knowledgeable in many fields. I have learned many interesting skills, and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more before I’m finished.”

“Like what? Hikaru asked. “Could you show us something? Please?” he looked at her with pleading eyes, and Shadow couldn’t help herself. Smiling, she sat up straight on the bed.

“Just this once, okay? I don’t want anyone else to find out,” Shadow warned him as she sat cross-legged, and elevated off the bed, floating on her invisible ki.

“You can fly?” Hikaru asked. “That is so cool!” he crowed. Shadow extended her legs as she floated over the ground, and rolled her shoulders slightly.

“That was called bu-jutsu, the art of flying. This one is called ‘Divine Speed’, and enabled me to move faster than the human eye can detect.” The next moment, she was standing at her desk. Then the nightstand. And then back in front of Hikaru and Sai, both looking flabbergasted.

“That is so cool!” Hikaru shouted again, laughing.

“Glad you’re enjoying my little parlor tricks,” Shadow said with a chuckle as she sat down in between Hikaru and Sai. “I’ve learned many other things as well. I can speak every language known to man. Which means I can curse to everyone I meet.”

Hikaru burst out laughing, and Shadow soon joined in, glad to be able to talk freely about who she is, and what she can do.

Hikaru’s mother pushed the door open slightly. “Glad to see that you two are becoming good friends,” she said. “It’s time for dinner.”

“Thanks, mom,” Hikaru answered, getting up. Shadow got up as well, a smile lingering on her face.

“Thank you, Shindo-san,” she said with a small bow, before following Hikaru downstairs.

 

“Sensei! Why aren’t you going to make me third board? You said yourself only I stand a chance against him! I…I…joined to fight!” Touya’s voice rang clearly in Shadow’s enhanced hearing. She was standing against the wall of the Go Club, where only Touya and Yun-sensei were still present after the hours. Shadow had dreaded this moment the moment Yun-sensei had announced the boards. Touya was to play first board. Hikaru was the third of Haze, and thus they would never play each other. Shadow could understand Touya’s hurt. Sai, through Hikaru, was Touya’s adversary. Touya aimed for Sai’s strength. He needed it, even if he didn’t realize it himself.

Shadow sighed sadly as she leaned against the wall. The bullying of Touya had increased the last few weeks. She had tried her best to be there, to help her friend through the difficult times. She knew she couldn’t interfere. Both for her own protection of her identity, and for Touya. Japan was a very honor-driven society. If she butted in and saved him, he would never live it down… and he would probably resent her for the rest of his life. Shadow had seen no other option but to let her friend be picked on… and offer her support and presence.

Not that he had needed it. Shadow could see the smoldering fire of pure passion in Touya’s eyes every time things got hard. He strove for Hikaru, with Sai’s strength, and his goal gave him strength. Shadow held a huge respect for people who could draw such strength from their goals. Touya was striving for something, and he would not be diverted. It reminded her of herself, how she drove herself relentlessly to become the very best of the very best. She too, would not be diverted.

“Touya!” Shadow heard Yun-sensei interrupt her friend. His tone was berating, sounding like a whiplash with each word it spoke. Shadow’s fists balled. “This is a Jr. High club activity,” he said gentler after a few seconds of calming. “I believe that the strongest person should play first board,” he finally said, after yet a few more seconds. Shadow relaxed her hands. Yun-sensei was a reasonable man, and a good educator, and Shadow knew that he would do his best to resolve the situation.

“Sensei!!?” Touya’s voice was shaking in disbelief, anger, and sadness. Shadow gritted her teeth, and berated her emotional state. She forced herself to calmness.

“That’s not all! The Go club of Kaiou is a model for other schools,” Yun-sensei went on. “I did say that you’re the only one who stands a chance against Shindo Hikaru of Haze. But…this is a place of education! I will not bend my will as an educator. You are the first board,” Yun-sensei finished. Shadow could feel herself start to shake slightly. Her new body still acted very strangely to her, swamping her mind with hormones she never would have guessed existed. She would have to learn to live with them, but for now…she felt anger. Sadness. But above all, Shadow felt sorry for her friend, to be denied in such a manner what he strove so hard for.

“But… Just once…Just this one tournament…is all…” Touya brought out with his sad-suffocated voice.  “Once the tournament is over, I’ll quit the club!” Touya suddenly shouted, causing Shadow’s eyes to open widely. “Sensei! I…” Touya managed, falling silent. When Yun-sensei didn’t respond, Touya shouted, “SENSEI!”

“Touya…” Yun-sensei said, sadly.

Shadow looked down at the board. Touya was third board. So was Hikaru, and Sai was standing right behind him, giving the boy directions as to play at what location. Touya had gotten his wish. Shadow, after that faithful night, had quickly made her way home, avoiding Touya. After that, she had been preoccupied.

Touya…will leave the Go Club? But…who will keep me company, then? Who will help me with the difficult Go-problems? Who will…who will be my friend? Shadow was looking at the board, but not seeing it. She heard a gasp, which caused her to look up, then look down at the board again.

Her eyes went wide open. Touya’s had gone open as well, wide in surprise. Shadow looked at Sai. The apparition looked back, and said, “Hikaru decided to play by himself… he didn’t hear my last move, and made one of his own. Hikaru decided to face Touya with his own strength.”

Shadow looked at the board, where Hikaru made another move. Even she could see that it wasn’t a very good one. Even she could defeat Hikaru.

“Stop messing around!” Touya shouted, jumping semi-upright form his chair, leaning over the board. Everyone in the room stared at him. Only Shadow didn’t look at him with stunned surprise, but with a curious mixture of sadness and understanding in her green eyes. She understood. She was probably the only one who understood what Touya was going through. She understood it better than he did himself… the person he had looked for… the strength he had aimed for… it was not to be his.

He was breathing deeply, staring angrily at the boy in front of him, his eyes smoldering pits of suppressed rage.

“I am not messing around!” Hikaru shouted in return. Yes! We’re very serious! Sai said. Touya is too busy chasing after me to see Hikaru’s real strength. He can’t feel him approaching step by step…

“Touya-kun,” Shadow said gently. “Please… you have to keep playing… or are you going to resign?” she asked gently, her eyes level.

Touya stared at her, the anger still visible in his eyes. Shadow looked at her adoptive brother. “Your game isn’t over yet,” she whispered gently, returning her gaze to his. “Now you know… now you know… the strength you’ve been asking for,” she said. “Yun-sensei told you that you would know once you played him.”

Touya took a breath and calmed himself. He angrily sat down in his seat, grabbed a stone from him cup, and slammed it onto the board. “Damn it,” he grunted, and hit the poor game clock with enough force to make it swivel back and forth.

Hikaru held a sort of neutrally fearful expression, when he calmly got a stone, placed it on the board, and pressed the clock. Touya responded by immediately grabbed a stone, slamming it on the board and hitting the clock. Hikaru looked at Touya with fear and sadness.

Touya sat behind the board with shaking shoulders, fighting back against the emotions raging inside of him.

He is breaking… this is a defining moment in his life. His opponent isn’t, Shadow told herself, closing her eyes sadly. She heard the tick of Hikaru’s stone and the TACK of Touya’s.

“Touya…” Shadow whispered quietly at the sight of her friend in such turmoil. She walked behind him, and calmly placed one hand between his shoulders. “Touya… I know this isn’t much, but…I know how you feel. I have felt it, too. Know that you are not alone in this, and that you will always have me to talk to.”

She could felt his shaking muscles under her hand, before they relaxed slightly. He looked over his shoulder at her worried expression. “Thank you,” he whispered. “But I…”

“I know. It hurts,” Shadow replied. “Your goal eluded you. But know that there are other goals and other challenges,” she said gently, her face smiling slightly.

Touya took a breath, and actually seemed to relax. She lifted her hand from between his shoulder blades. “And now…now you must finish the game.”

He dipped his head at her. “You are right, Hikage-chan. Thank you.” He turned around, grabbed a stone, and calmly placed it on the board. He pressed the clock normally. And Shadow stared.

When did we get on first-name basis? That’s only for family and close friends, she thought, staring at the game.

It took only five more minutes before Hikaru was forced to resign. Touya managed that words ‘thank you for the game’, somehow finding the strength within himself to do so. He cleaned up the board, got to his feet, and obviously headed towards the door. He only managed a few steps.

“I thought…I thought I saw the Hand of God in you,” he said emotionally, voice shaking. Hikaru was obviously feeling just as bad as Touya was, shaking and fighting back tears. Without a further word, Touya left the room.

Shadow looked from her friend to her adoptive brother, and back to her friend’s retreating back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to Hikaru, before setting out a small running pace to chase after Touya. She had some ideas as to what she could say, but nothing concrete. She had dealt with similar situations, situations in which her goals didn’t weren’t as clear-cut as they had first seemed.

She managed to convince Touya to finish the tournament, if for nothing else but for the Kaiou club. Touya had finished the tournament, yet his heart wasn’t in it. His play was methodical, but uninspired and emotionless. Even with the handicap, Touya beat his opponents without much effort. Kaiou won the championship.

Shadow was seated behind a goban, her mind going over the game she had witnessed between Touya and Hikaru. The game was at a point about ten moves after Hikaru had taken over playing.

“Huh. What a stupid move,” she heard a voice announce behind her. A boy, with red spiky hair and dressed in a Haze Jr. High uniform jammed his chewing gum onto the board. “That’s where he should have played.”

Shadow’s hand swiped at the gum, managing to remove it without leaving marks. She looked up at the boy, baring her teeth, and her furious-green eyes drilling into his. “You…!” she snarled.

He sat down on the other side, grinning. “The name’s Kaga. You’re Hikage, Hikaru’s sister, right?”

“So?” Shadow growled dangerously at him. How DARE he disrespect Go like this? she thought furiously. I will CRUSH him!

“You’re pretty, you know that?” he went on, making Shadow’s eyes open. “Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll play you. If I win, you go out on a date with me.”

“And if I crush you like the inferior insect that you are?” she asked on her most-dangerous tone of voice. This was the voice of the Universal Savior Shadow, the voice that impressed the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, the voice that had struck fear into Thor’s heart, and the voice that made whole armies tremble. Only, Kaga didn’t know that she was the Savior. He just saw her as a thirteen-year-old with a really major attitude problem. And he liked that. After all, he had a similar problem.

Kaga chuckled. “I’ll be your slave for a week,” he replied. “But don’t count on collecting. Take three handicap stones, and let’s play.”

Shadow scowled. “You don’t even know how strong I am!” she shouted, almost jumping over the table and grabbing him.

“Heh. Just take the three stones, Beautiful. A pretty head like yours shouldn’t be so occupied with go-problems. Why don’t you play Shigou? (Japanese chess) I’m president of the Shigou club at Haze. If you were to join your Shigou-team, we might end up at the same tournaments.”

Shadow balled her fists, swiped the board clean, grabbed three black stones and slammed them down. “Fine. Let’s play, spike-boy.”

Kaga chuckled, and put down a white stone. The game went on for close to ten minutes, Hikaru and the two others from his team gathering around the board pretty quickly. The game didn’t last that long.

 

Touya had just gotten some fresh air outside when he approached the room where the tournament was being held. He could bring himself to leaving without telling Hikage first. When he was about to open the door, it was brutally pushed open by a running Hikage. Touya looked at her as she ran through the hallway and disappeared into the girl’s washroom.

Concern for a friend who had helped him made its presence known in his mind, and Touya set out after her. He knocked gently on the door of the girls’ bathroom.

“Hikage? What’s wrong?” he asked through the door. There was no answer, and Touya stepped back, a look of genuine concern on his face. He had never known her to act like this, and it made him uncomfortably concerned for his friend. He turned and ran to the tournament hall. He wanted to know what had happened.

He pushed open the door, his earlier problem a far thing in his mind. He could see the Haze team standing together, with Hikaru shouting at a boy with spiky red hair who was a couple of years older. The boy didn’t seem to care. In fact, he had a big smile plastered on his face, and seemed to be in a really braggy sort of pose. Seeing Hikaru triggered the disappointment in Touya, but the concern he still felt for Hikage was stronger.

Touya took a breath as he approached them. He knew that Hikaru was Hikage’s adopted brother. If anyone knew what happened to his friend, Hikaru would be that one. Still feeling hurt, embarrassed, and cheated, Touya made his way to Hikage’s adopted-brother.

“Shindo,” Touya spoke as he was near the group. Hikaru spun around and stared at Touya.

“Touya…” the boy whispered unevenly.

“Do you…What happened to Hikage?” Touya managed.

Hikaru’s face hardened, and he turned to look at the older boy. “Kaga challenged Hikage. He got her angry by sticking a piece of gum to the board, then challenged her. If she lost, she would have to go out with him.”

Touya’s hands clenched. An indescribable feeling made its way through his stomach, over his spine, to the very nerve-endings everywhere in his body. It felt as if someone delivered a punch to his stomach. He turned pale, and started sweating when his mind conjured up an image of Hikage and this…vermin. Touya fell into the chair on the other side of the board.

“I will take over that bet,” he said, dangerously level. “If I win, she will be released of her bet to you. And if you win, you will have the right to tell everyone that you beat Touya Akira in an even match.”

Kaga laughed. “I did it before, brat!” the boy snarled, “And I will do it again! But fine. I accept your challenge. I’ve seen you play today. I wasn’t impressed. This will be a piece of cake. I’ll have both a beautiful girl and the right to brag about a victory against the great Touya Akira.” He made it sound so insulting that Touya’s resolve increased even further. He was going to beat this person, and he was going to beat him so completely he would never touch another goban in his life.

Touya won black, and the match began.

 

Shadow took a couple of deep breaths as she left the girl’s washroom, and made her way back to the tournament hall. When she entered, she could see a large group gathering around a table.

That’s the table I left Kaga, Shadow realized, and immediately set out a short sprint to it. She managed her way to the front, where she could see. Her heart stopped cold. Touya was there, playing with a cold finality she hadn’t yet seen in his friend. And Kaga…Kaga was fighting for his life, obviously. His eyes were wide, his skin pale and sweaty, and his mouth hung open as he tried to gasp in breath.

Touya threw a stone at the board. Kaga’s eyes frantically searched for a way out. He grabbed a stone, placed it on the board, and it was immediately apparent that he didn’t think it was a good move. Neither did Touya as he pushed another stone down.

“You intend to keep playing?” Touya asked, not caring about either answer, as he slammed his stone on the board. “You’re already behind 20 Moku.”

(Moku = points)

“I…I…resign,” Kaga grunted, getting up and leaving the room without a further word. He glanced briefly at Shadow as he walked past her. The crowd dispersed, chattering amongst themselves.

“What happened, Akira-kun?” Shadow asked, remember his earlier use of her first name.

“You can be easy, Hikage-chan. I…relieved you of your obligation towards that…person,” Touya said as he steadily cleaned the board of the stones.

Shadow sat down on the other side. “What?” she stammered.

“I took over the bet,” Touya whispered. “I could not let this continue. Hikaru told me what happened…I…just couldn’t let this continue.”

“Am I some piece of property?” Shadow asked neutrally, her voice devoid of all emotion. “I can be betted away as if I were a commodity?”

Touya stared at the table, unable to lift his eyes and look at her. “I…just couldn’t leave this,” he whispered. He took a breath. “I won’t force you into anything. How about we make this a meeting between friends instead of a date? My father has tickets to the Pro Go match next Saturday. Would you care to go with me?”

Shadow looked at her friend, her features relaxing slightly. She closed her eyes, and slumped. “This…this is the first time I was unable to defend myself,” she whispered sadly. “I find it…strange…” Touya looked up at her.

“I understand, Hikage-chan,” he replied. “I really didn’t mean any disrespect. I just felt so…so…angry when Hikaru told me what happened. Before I knew, I was playing him…fighting him…in the game he so disrespects, over my friend.”

Shadow sighed, and looked at the ground, lost in thought. He was trying to look out for me. Recent events weren’t easy on him…yet he chose to ask the person who hurt him so much out of concern for me, and he decided to play someone in defense of me. “Thank you, Touya-kun,” she finally said quietly, as she looked up. “I would be honored to go with you to the Pro Go match.”

Touya smiled. “I am glad to hear that. I’ll tell my father about that.”

Shadow dipped her head. “I’ll be looking forward to it, Akira-kun.”

Touya dipped his head, and got up. “Maybe it’s best if I went now,” he said, looking around. “I’ve made a fool of myself today…” he added in a whisper.

Shadow got up as well as he walked past, following her friend. She knew which subway trains he caught to get to his house. She also knew that, conveniently, the first part of the route to their respective houses was identical.

As the duo walked to the nearest subway station, there was one more question that was on Shadow’s mind.

“Akira-kun?” she asked, managing to keep her voice neutral. She did feel concern and trepidation about the answer, but managed to keep the emotions locked down deep inside of her heart. It took her more concentration than it normally should.

“Hm?” he asked, looking up from his thoughts.

“What will happen now?” she asked carefully. “I mean… are you going to quite the Go Club at Kaiou?”

Touya nodded. “I joined it to play Hikaru,” he answered with barely contained disappointment. “I thought…I thought I saw something in him. Something that isn’t there. Now I’ll focus on become a Pro Go player. I’m taking the exams in a month… and you know that Pro players can’t be in a High School club.”

Shadow nodded, barely managing to contain her disappointment. “I understand,” she whispered, not entirely managing to keep herself from sounding defeated.

Touya stopped, making her stop as well, and look at him quizzically. “What’s wrong, Hikage-chan?” he asked concernedly.

“It’s nothing, Akira-kun. You should fulfill your dreams,” Shadow said, forcing herself to think of him before her. He was here. This was his life. She would be gone in a couple of years anyway. It wouldn’t be fair of her to talk him into anything but what was best for him. If that meant that she was losing him… so be it. Shadow drew a shaky breath at that last thought. She was about to lose the first real friend she had made in ages. The first friend who was first a friend and then a teacher.

Touya crossed the two steps that separated them. “What’s wrong, Hikage-chan?” he asked again.

Shadow looked at the ground, her thirteen-year-old body defeated her attempts to control her emotions. Then again, with the raw intensity of emotions Shadow was feeling right now, normal thirteen-year-old girls would be crying their eyes out instead of staring sadly at the ground. “I will still be in the Go Club,” Shadow replied sadly. “Alone… it is the only place where I can learn about Go… and without you being there…it will just be lonely, that’s all.”

Touya’s eyes went open as he looked at her. Really looked at her. “I…see…” he said. Both remained there, silent. He was looking at her with concern. She was staring sadly at the ground. Neither spoke as the people passed around them, going their ways, ignoring the two teenagers who simply stood there, off to the side.

“We will still be going to the same school, won’t we?” Touya asked suddenly.

Shadow looked up at him, a question in her eyes. “Yes, Akira-kun. That we will,” she answered, managing to put some trace of positive emotions into that.

He smiled. “So we will still see each other, and be able to talk to each other.” He stood a little closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. For a Japanese person, where physical contact was an extremely intimate affair, it clearly conveyed how much her friendship meant to him. “Don’t worry, Hikage-chan. We will still be friends… at least, I hope we will still be friends.”

Shadow looked up at him, clearly understanding the contact and the words, with the sincerity behind them. “Of course we will!” she answered, her voice rising. “We will always be friends! I will never forget that you didn’t care about who and what I was, that you reached out to me even if it made you more into a target than you already were!”

“And I will never forget that you didn’t care about the fact that I was better than you at Go. To the contrary, it seemed that you reveled in it, wanting me to show you where you made mistakes, so you could learn from them,” Touya spoke, subconsciously repeating her words, “You reached out to me when nobody else wanted to have anything to do with me.”

“I liked your strength,” Shadow answered in a whisper again. “It’s part of who you are… Go is part of your life’s dream, Akira-kun… and since we met, it’s been part of mine. I drew upon your strength to better myself… just like I drew on the strength of my martial arts teachers…” she looked up at him. “Yet you also taught me…taught me that I should look beyond that…look at the person, not just the skill…”

Touya nodded slightly. “We shared many interesting conversations over the Go board, didn’t we?” he asked rhetorically, looking into her eyes. “You taught me many things as well, Hikage-chan. Things like life… you had such a hard life, and it showed me that I should be grateful for what I have…a good home being one of them…”

Shadow simply looked at the ground. “I will miss those games at the Club,” she whispered.

“So will I,” Touya replied, sad. He looked up, his face changing. Shadow knew that he had something in mind. “We can’t stand here all evening,” he said. “Let’s get going… I have something I need to think on… something that might resolve our problems.”

“Really?” Shadow asked, sounding hopeful. “What is it, Akira-kun?”

“It’s a long shot,” he answered her. “It might not pay off. I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

Shadow nodded, accepting. “Okay…” she answered. “I understand.”

In comfortable silence, the duo took the subway until the time they had to go their separate ways. Each was lost in their own thoughts as they said their goodbyes.

 

“Please, father,” Touya finished.

Touya Koyo, Akira’s father and one of the best Go players in the world, rubbed his chin. “I have doubts, my son,” he answered. “My study sessions are quite advanced, and I doubt they will really improve a new player. You yourself said that she had only been playing a month. Most of the things we discuss will be too advanced for her, and I can not justify slowing down to explain everything to the other students who come.”

“I understand that, father,” Touya answered levelly, bowing his head. “But really…you should meet her. I’ve known her for a little over a month. At first, she was struggling with the easiest problems, and was barely able to hold the stones correctly… yet now, after only a month, she has progressed to the point where we regularly hold games with only three stones handicap, and she almost matches me. Her progress is nothing short of remarkable!”

Touya Koyo, known to most people as Touya-Meijin, after one of the titles he held, opened his eyes a little wider. “That is indeed great progress… but still, it doesn’t warrant her joining my study sessions.”

Touya Akira sighed in defeat. “Very well, father… I will respect your judgment.” He looked up again. “But please… allow me to continue teaching her here, after school. And I would also like you to meet her. She’s a remarkable person. She’s guarded, but what little she told me… she went through a lot, father. She has learned half a dozen martial arts forms, from the strongest teachers she could find. She told me herself… that’s the way she always learns. The stronger her teacher, the harder he or she beats her, the more she learns.”

“And she has lost quite a lot to you, I would assume?” Touya-Meijin asked.

Touya Akira nodded, and looked at the ground. “And each time, her play improved because of it. I can feel her strength increasing with each game we play.”

Touya-Meijin remained quiet for a few seconds. “It is obvious that teaching her means a lot to you, my son,” he answered. “Very well. You can bring her here after the classes end.” With those words he stood.

“Thank you, father,” Touya Akira replied, bowing.

“Just have her out of here by the time the study session starts,” the older man rumbled as he walked to the sliding door. Touya Akira could feel there was no malice behind those words, just a simple request. To anyone else, it would have sounded brutal, but Akira had grown used to the short, almost emotionless tone of conversation of his father.

 

“Hikage-chan? You’re back so soon?”  Mrs. Shindo asked as Shadow entered through the front door. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for another half an hour or so?”

“I joined Touya, Shindo-san. There was something personal, and he had to leave earlier… so I joined him on the first part of the voyage,” Shadow told the woman.

“You made the last part of the journey by yourself? Alone?” Mrs. Shindo asked, suddenly sounding worried. “You shouldn’t do that… a girl alone, using the subways... it’s not safe.”

Shadow, who was about to walk up the stairs, turned and cocked her head to one side, looking at the woman that was now her ‘mother’. “I am capable of taking care of myself, Shindo-san. Do not let it worry you. I have learned many things on how to defend myself.”

“I know, dear… I just can’t help it if I worry. You are my little girl now. I care for you, and so I worry about your safety,” the woman replied, looking at Shadow with an uncertain expression on her face. Something in Shadow’s deep green eyes had warned her that she was treading on something dangerous. But, as she finished her last sentence, Shadow’s eyes returned to neutral, what little hostility had been there at first now gone.

She…she really cares for me, Shadow thought. Not as a student… most teachers didn’t care about me going out by myself… they just assumed I could take care of myself. But this woman… she worries for my safety, even though I have assured her time and time again that I am perfectly capable of defending myself. Is that…is that how people feel? Worry for their children, even those not of their own blood? Shadow closed her eyes, feeling emotions well up. She cares for me… me, Shadow, even if it’s not my real name… not for the Universal Savior, but for Shadow.

“I…” Shadow whispered. “I…thank you, Shindo-san…” she whispered further, then shook her head. She looked from the stairs to the woman, and felt tears well up. Shadow swallowed them back. She hadn’t cried since the first day she met Thor. She had sworn never to cry again. For 160 years, she had kept up that vow. “Shindo-mama,” Shadow whispered quietly, before turning and running up the stairs. Mrs. Shindo stared at the retreating form of the girl, twin tears making small tracks over her cheeks. 

“You’re welcome…Hikage-chan.”

Half an hour later, Shadow was in her room, doing two-fingered push-ups. Her eyes were closed, her mind replaying various events of what had been an emotionally intense day.

Touya…Akira-kun. Shindo-mama… I’ve never had real friends…or a real family…it’s so strange. People who look out for me, even if they know it’s absolutely unnecessary. They care for me, watch my back, try to help and protect… and worry about me when I’m not doing what they thought I should do. It’s so…so…new.

Unknown to her, Hikaru had by now entered her room, and stared at the girl, who was clad only in blue shorts and a white t-shirt. He stared at the powerful muscles that rippled beneath her skin as she continued her two-fingered push-ups.

As his brain started working again, after only a few seconds, he dropped to his knees next to her head, and shouted, “Hikage-chan?”

As the warrior was drawn from her mental replay, her instincts took over. She pushed up into the air, rolled to one side, and landed in a crouched combat-form, hands and arms in defensive positions, eyes staring wildly at him. From fear, Hikaru had flung himself half a meter backward, against the bed. Shadow immediately relaxed.

“Don’t scare me like that!” Shadow exploded as she stood up, grabbed Hikaru’s hand, and lifted him effortlessly to his feet.

“Sure, sure… whatever you say, Universal Savior-sama,” Hikaru said with a goofy grin.

Shadow chuckled, and shook her head. “So, what was it you needed from me, Hikaru-kun? Because I doubt you would have barged in here unless it was necessary.”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot! Touya’s at the phone for you-” Hikaru didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Shadow literally vanished from the room.

As the girl bolted down the stairs, Mrs. Shindo said, “Hikage-chan, there’s telephone for you…” her speech trailing off as it became apparent that the girl wasn’t listening.

“Akira-kun?” Shadow asked as the phone met her ear.

Hikaru, not far behind his adoptive sister, looked a little strangely at his mother and mouthed ‘Akira-kun?’. Mrs. Shindo merely shrugged.

“Hikage-chan,” Touya answered her. “I’ve go some good news for you. Father agreed to let us practice at our house after school… as long as we’re done by the time the study session starts. If that’s okay with you?”

“Of course, Akira-kun,” Shadow answered with a smile. “I’d be glad to come with you after school for go-practice. You don’t have to ask.”

“Well, I thought I would ask anyway. One never knows,” he answered with a smile in his voice. Shadow could hear it.

“I’m just glad we can continue to practice, Akira-kun. I would have missed our games.”

“As would I, Hikage-chan. As would I,” he assured her.

“Well…” Shadow said, still smiling, yet unsure what to say further.

“Well…” Touya answered, obviously having the same problem. “I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow, then, Hikage-chan?”

“Yes,” Shadow replied. “See you tomorrow, Akira-kun.”

“Good-bye, Hikage-chan,” he wished her, before she returned the sentiment, and he hung up.

Shadow hung up the phone, and made her way back to her room, a smile plastered on her face. Hikaru was right behind her.

“You’re going to Touya’s house after school?” Hikaru asked as they made their way up the stairs. Well, actually, he was making his way up the stairs. Shadow was floating.

“Yes,” she replied. “We’ll continue our Go-games there. Touya-Meijin gracefully allowed us to play at his house, on the condition that we don’t hinder the study sessions he holds there.”

Hikaru stared flabbergasted at the door Shadow closed behind her.

“She gets to play at Touya’s house,” Hikaru whispered as he walked to his own room.

“They have become good friends,” Sai told his young friend. “Really good friends.”

Shadow was on her bed, staring at the ceiling, allowing her mind to relax. She felt relieved now that she knew that her friendship with Touya wouldn’t be interrupted by certain events. Her learning of Go from him was only the second thing on her mind, and as soon as she realized that she put her friendship over her duty, Shadow’s eyes went wide. I need to change my priorities! I am here to learn go, not to make friends! Thanks to her 160 years of experience, Shadow realized one thing. When I have to leave, this is going to hurt… I should know better than to grow attached to people on my journeys.

Shadow rolled to her side, and sighed. But everyone here cares for who I am… they care for Sakamoto Hikage, not the Universal Savior Shadow. It’s so new… to have someone actually care on a personal level… a soft knock at the door interrupted Shadow’s thoughts.

“Yes?” she asked, pretty sure it was either Mr. or Mrs. Shindo. Hikaru usually just barged in. Not that she minded him barging in, that is… she was smart enough to lock her door while she was changing.

“Hikage-chan?” Mrs. Shindo asked as she pushed open the door. “Honey, we need to talk about something.”

“About what, Shindo-mama?” Shadow asked, having ordered her mind to make the change in name.

“About you going to Touya’s after school,” the woman said, sitting down next on the bed, next to the girl. “I know it means a lot to you to meet your friend, but…you’re just a girl, alone, Hikage-chan. We can’t let you go on the subway by yourself.”

Shadow blinked. “You let Hikaru use the subway by himself,” Shadow answered, gaze neutral, voice level. Dangerously level. Mrs. Shindo, having never heard that tone of voice before, was taking aback slightly. “You let him go by himself,” she repeated, “while I, who have used the subway extensively all my life, and am far more capable of defending myself, would not be allowed to use it, simply because of my sex?”

“Hikage-chan, I know you think that, but… you’re just a young girl. What would you do against a grown man? Or a group of grown men?”

“What would Hikaru do?” Shadow asked, getting up from the bed, taking a few steps, and turned, leaning her back against the wall, crossing her arms, and staring at Mrs. Shindo. “I have told you… I have black belt or equivalent in half a dozen martial arts styles, and I know a lot more than just those. I can, and have had to in the past, taken out a gang of a dozen grown men… armed with knives and guns.”

“Now you’re just making this up,” Mrs. Shindo replied angrily, getting up as well, deploying her height over the diminutive 13-year-old Shadow. The exact moment she finished her sentence, she knew she had said the wrong thing.

Shadow detached herself from the wall. There was something…dark…in those deep green eyes of the girl that told the woman she had crossed some sort of invisible line. “You would dare to presume to call me a liar, Shindo-san?” the girl asked dangerously, advancing on the grown woman with a cold finality that made the grown-up stumble back, and fall down onto the bed. “You would call me, Sakamoto Hikage, who has never been known to tell a single mistruth, a liar?” Her fists balled at her sides, and her arms shaking, Shadow’s teeth became bared.

“I…eh…well, you have to admit,” Mrs. Shindo stammered, “it sounds incredible… for a thirteen-year-old…”

“My life was one of many hardships, Shindo-san. I have suffered though physical and emotional pain, loneliness, and isolation. For years, I had teachers, but no friends. Now that I do have friends, like Hikaru and Akira, I will not allow them to be separated from me,” Shadow went on, advancing upon the half-sitting woman. Just then, she got right into the grown-up’s face. “By ANYONE,” she finished with cold finality, and Mrs. Shindo could see pits of fire radiated in those green orbs that were Shadow’s eyes.

“I…I…”

Shadow took a couple deep breaths, and relaxed. “I know you care… that’s why you worry…and that’s why I am grateful,” Shadow whispered sadly, sitting down on the bed, right next to the woman. “But you have to realize… I have never had friends…not for a long, long time… and now that I finally do have a couple, I don’t…can’t…let them be taken away.” She looked up at Mrs. Shindo, who was staring at the girl with tears in her eyes. “Believe me, Mrs. Shindo, I can take care of myself. It’s one of the few benefits I have thanks to my lifestyle. I can ask you not to worry, but I realize that is moot. I can only ask you not to stop me.”

Mrs. Shindo sighed, and nodded. “I understand, honey… but still…” when she could feel Shadow tense up next to her, Mrs. Shindo stopped. “Are you sure you will be alright?” she asked.

Shadow chuckled. “I have been using the subway by myself for a lot longer than just today, Shindo-san,” the girl answered. “I will be fine,” she assured the woman.

Mrs. Shindo sighed, and nodded. As she got up, she said, “Okay, honey… if you say so. I just want you to know that we’re not happy with this, your father and I.”

Shadow looked up at the woman, and smiled. “I know. I’ve never had someone care for me like this before…and I love you for it, Shindo-mama.”

Mrs. Shindo smiled a little, and walked to the door. After she was about to close it after getting out of the room, she heard, “I’m sorry for yelling like that.”

The smile on her face grew slightly, and Mrs. Shindo told Shadow, “I understand, honey. Those we love are the closest to us, and can bring out the worst in us.”

Shadow stared at the closed door. Well, that proves that you don’t need to be the wise teacher to be able to spout wise words, the girl thought to herself.

 

The next day, as Shadow and Touya approached his house side-by-side, it came to Touya’s attention that shadow was acting…different.

“Is there something wrong, Hikage-chan?” he asked gently. Shadow jumped slightly.

“Nothing’s wrong, Akira-kun,” she assured him, shaking her head slightly, making her black hair float around her like a halo. “Why would there be something wrong?”

“You seem unusually jumpy,” Touya replied. “When I just asked you if something was wrong, you almost shed your skin.”

Shadow sighed, and stopped, Touya stopping with her. “I…I feel nervous, Akira-kun,” she confessed. Shadow hated this part. She did feel nervous, and she knew exactly what kind of nervousness it was. She was meeting a possible future teacher, and she was desperate to make a good impression. She knew from TV and newspapers that Touya-Meijin was a stoic kind of person, the type she had met before. She knew it would be extremely hard for her to impress him. However, she had to. For Shadow, this was a matter of honor.

“Nervous? What for?” he asked, before light dawned on him. “My father,” he answered his own question. Shadow nodded once.

“Yes. I…I am meeting one of the greatest Go-minds in the world, and the last thing I want is to do or say something that will make him not fond of me,” she explained.

Touya was till for a couple of seconds. “Just be yourself, Hikage-chan. I have seen your progress, how you learn,… my father will, as well. As long as you don’t jump all over him, and remain your usual self, the quiet Hikage I have grown to like, there won’t be a problem.” He smiled slightly. “I know my father comes across coldly sometimes, but that’s just who he is. He is a good man.”

Shadow sighed, and nodded. Touya smiled. “Come on, we need to go… or we’re not going to get to play tonight.”

Shadow chuckled, and ran after her friend. Moments later, they were inside.

“Hikage-chan, this is my father. Father, this is Hikage,” Touya introduced.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Touya-sensei,” Shadow said, bowing respectfully. Inside, she was crossing her fingers, hoping that he wouldn’t simply dismiss her out of hand.

“So you are the girl Touya has such high hopes for,” the man said coolly. He looked her over, and dipped his head once. “I would like to see just what he sees in you. I am going to watch you first match.”

Shadow swallowed silently as she followed Touya and his father into the room that had obviously been designated ‘go-room’ in the house. The room as barred, except for the tatami matting on the floor, and the goban that stood almost in the middle. Touya-Meijin simply sat down at the side. Touya took place at one player’s end.

Shadow sat down on the other side, trying very much to hide her nervousness. Why am I shaking? The warrior thought to herself. I have been tested before, and I‘ve never felt like this… the only time was with Himura… Himura Kenshin, who almost killed me in his teaching of Hiten Mitsurugi.

“Three stones?” Touya asked her, breaking Shadow out of her revere. She swallowed, and nodded.

“Three stones will be fine, Akira-kun,” she answered, trying to calm her nerves. I have been tested before, the warrior repeated. There is no reason for me to be nervous. This is only a game. She looked up at Touya-Meijin, who seemed to be studying her. Her gaze snapped back to the goban, as she took the first handicap stone, and placed it at the spot she desired. This is more than just a game, Shadow’s mind went on. This is my mission as Universal Savior. This is the only goal of my life for the next years, and I can not fail in my duty! Shadow placed her second stone. She took a breath, her hand reaching into the container to retrieve her third and final handicap-stone. Who am I kidding? Shadow berated herself. This isn’t about the Universal Savior. This is about Akira and me. He was kind to me, gave me his friendship. I don’t want to lose that. And if that means that I have to impress his father, than that is how it shall be! Shadow placed the third stone, a little louder than she had first intended.

I can’t play in this condition. I need to focus.

Shadow placed her first stone. Touya placed his first.

Focus, Shadow. Use the exercises you have been doing for decades. Use the Yoga! Focus on the goban, and nothing but the goban!

Shadow placed stone number fifteen. Touya replied by making his own move. Shadow took her next stone, clamping it between her index finger and her middle finger, the official go-hold. Her finger vibrated, making the stone tingle a couple of times as she placed it. The sound reverberated through Shadow, making her close her eyes, and try to ignore just how much Touya and his father must be staring at her.

Finally, she opened her eyes. Touya was simply looking at the goban. His father was doing the same. Shadow let out her breath, feeling somewhat relieved that they weren’t berating her for her nervousness. Touya placed his stone, on a location she had totally forgot to think about.

No…my entire strategy is moot! Shadow realized immediately. I made a grave tactical error, thank to this nervousness, and Akira took advantage of it! I am so stupid! Shadow stared at the goban, her hand digging deep into her knees. This can not continue! She took a breath, focusing her mind on the goban. Shadow wasn’t aware of her surrounding anymore, which slowly faded to black in her mind. She was still distinctly aware of Touya and his father, and thus the nervousness this entailed.

She focused deeper, placing her hands together, palms and fingers flat against each other. Her thumbs traveled up to be placed next to her nose, where it met her forehead, her fingers pointing upwards along her forehead. Shadow leaned into her hands, her eyes closed. Everything fell away as she removed her hands and opened her eyes.

The goban was all that existed. It seemed alight in the inky darkness that constituted Shadow’s inner-eye surroundings. I just lost control over the upper-right quadrant with that last move, Shadow thought. Am I at the point of losing any more territory in any of the other quadrants if I engage into the fight? Shadow’s inner eyes flickered over the board. No. I didn’t go totally overboard. Okay, Akira-kun, now you will meet…The Universal Savior.

Shadow took her stone, lifted it, and placed it on the board, her hand and arm steady as a rock. Touya startled slightly at her composure, and looked up. His eyes went wide as he looked at her. Shadow seemed so…different. He smiled slightly when he contemplated her last move.

Good. She’s finally playing at her full power. I’m glad you recomposed so early in the game, Hikage-chan… I realize that it must be unnerving for you to have my father here, but I’m glad you’re finding the strength within yourself to play normally.

 

Shadow was sitting in the almost empty train cart of the subway, contemplating the game she had played in front of Touya-Meijin. She hadn’t done so bad, she thought of herself. Granted, she had been unable to counter the mistakes she had made in the beginning of the game, not against a player like Touya Akira. After she and Touya had finished, he and his father and gone over her game, showing Shadow her mistakes. She had learned much, she realized. So much, in fact, that she was now looking forward to tomorrow, hoping that Touya-Meijin would be there again.

She smiled slightly, and looked out the window to the tunnel floating by. She almost didn’t realize that a man had sat down next to her. Suddenly, she felt his hand on her knee, under the skirt of her uniform. With a snap, her hand reached out, snapped shut around his wrist, and roughly pulled it away.

“Come on, sweetheart,” the heard a voice in her ear. The hand returned to her leg, this time touched her thigh, thankfully on top of her skirt. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be sitting her alone… let me show you some companionship.”

Shadow bared her teeth slightly, and she turned to face the man to give him the snapping of a lifetime. As she turned, his second hand reached out, grabbed her head, and pressed her lips firmly against his. At the same time, the hand on her leg disappeared, shooting out to go under her skirt, and touch something that it shouldn’t touch.

 

Shadow was sitting at the table, tastelessly shoveling ramen into her mouth. The rest of the family, having seen her arrive home in less than a happy mood, had staid away from her. Conversation at the dinner table was thus a sole affair between Hikaru and his parents, with Shadow just shoveling the food into her mouth.

“Our top story tonight, a subway train mysteriously derailed today. The train in question was the number 49alpha towards Tokyo center,” the newscaster on TV said. Shadow nearly choked on her ramen. She managed to clear her windpipe fast, and turned to stare at the TV as if she wished it to explode. “With us is Hojiwata-san, the conductor of the train. Hojiwata-san, can you tell us what happened?”

“Well, it was about five thirty, and everything was going well. Then, I heard this scream, and it felt as if the entire train lifted into the air, before crashing down onto the ground,” the conductor answered.

“Other passengers have reported similar things,” the interviewer said. “Has there been established what caused this strange phenomenon?”

The conductor shook his head. “Unfortunately not.”

“Can you shed any light as to why there was only one passenger with injuries?”

The hapless conductor had to shake his head. “No-one understands,” he replied. “All the other passengers, including me, escaped with little to no injuries, but this one man had two legs broken in four locations, his arms were broken in three different locations, he had a fractured jaw, two broken ribs, and a broken nose… yet his life was never threatened. The medical staff said they had never seen anything like it.”

“That concludes our top story. Other topics on the news…” Shadow tuned it out and returned to her meal. As her head turned to look back at her food, she caught Hikaru’s eyes, focused on her, with a knowing expression in them. She hurriedly looked at her ramen, and managed to hide most of her blush. Mr. and Mrs. Shindo seemed oblivious.

Shadow finished her food as quickly as possible, and fled to her room. It didn’t take long before Hikaru was there as well. Ramen was his favorite. He didn’t need an incentive to finish it quickly. Shadow’s mind immediately picked up Sai as well.

“What happened, Shadow?” he asked, knowing very well that this had something to do with the Savior, rather than with his adoptive sister. Sai remained quiet.

“A pervert tried to rape me,” Shadow answered coldly. “I taught him it’s a very bad idea.”

“But…but…the train? His injuries?”

Shadow sighed, and stared embarrassed at the ground. “He…grabbed…something he shouldn’t have… I startled… screamed…the train derailed because of it. But I didn’t realize it at that time… so I started on him.”

“You broke his legs, his arms, his nose, his jawbone, and two of his ribs?” Hikaru asked, dumbfounded.

“I knew exactly what I was doing. Nothing I did threatened his life… although it will take him quite a while before he will even be good enough to try something like that again. Oh, and by the way, the report was wrong.”

“Wrong? How?” Hikaru asked.

“I broke three of his ribs,” Shadow answered calmly. Hikaru stared at her. As did Sai.

“Cool!” Hikaru finally shouted. Shadow stared at him. So did Sai.

“Cool?” Shadow and Sai asked at the same time.

“Yeah,” Hikaru said, smiling goofily. “Cool.”

 

Shadow evolved fast. Far more quickly than her three teachers realized, Shadow picked up on the intricacies of the strategies behind the Go game, and frequently, she surprised them with an especially inventive move that hinted at the tree genius that lay within the young warrior’s potential.

So her next step was a logical one: she joined Hikaru at the Japanese Go institute, taking lessons from real professional Go players, preparing for the next exam. Shadow wanted… needed to become a professional player in order to be able to play against the strongest players in the world. So, she became an Insei, studying the tactics and strategies until late at night, drawing upon the reserves gathered at the Universal Library, surviving on four hours of sleep a night.

One day, Shadow was sitting behind a goban by herself, staring intently at the latest tactical exercise, hr vision turned inward as she tried to visualize each and every possible move and its consequences. Again and again she looked into the future, going over dozens, hundreds, even thousands of possibilities.

Hikaru was sitting a couple of gobans further, talking to a couple of his friends, Isumi and Waya. While Waya was Hikaru’s age, Isumi was a couple of years older, and he had actually been ranked first for the last two years, yet he had yet to pass the exam to become a pro player.

“She’s at it alone again,” Hikaru whispered to his friends as he looked at his ‘sister’, who was staring at the goban as if willing it to disintegrate by the look alone.

“Yeah, but she does keep getting better,” Waya remarked. “Each and every time, she gets stronger…”

Isumi nodded. “If this keeps up, she will be number one among the Insei in no time,” he said, just a small hint of nervousness in his voice. Shadow was a powerful opponent, and with her competing, his chances for becoming a Pro were diminishing.

“She does it at home, too… stare at the board, trying to read as far as she can,” Hikaru told his friends. “Sometimes, even until late at night… hey, isn’t that Touya!?” he asked, catching someone from the corner of his eye, and noticing the primus go-player. Hushed whispers among the Insei spread through the room as Touya calmly, eyes locked in front, made his way to Shadow.

Without saying anything to anybody, he halted at Shadow’s goban, and threw a look at the problem she had up on the board. “You should have solved this a while ago,” he stated calmly.

“I have,” Shadow replied, just as calmly, looking up, making eye-contact. “But I am merely trying to determine if there’s a faster way to end this game, Akira-kun” she added, returning her gaze to the board. “I’m surprised that you came… you’re always trying to avoid Hikaru.”

Touya Akira smiled only slightly as he took place at the opposite place of the board. “I finished my lessons earlier today. Father said I could come,” he replied, joining her in looking at the board. “He is still very interested in your progress… you made quite an impression in that first game.”

Shadow felt herself smile despite herself, and was dismayed to actually feel a blush creep up on her cheeks. She cursed her hormonal body and its emotionally imbalanced state. “It would be my honor to play in front of him again,” she replied. “It taught me a great deal…”

“Let’s finish this exercise, and maybe he will honor your request,” Touya said, mysteriously. Shadow startled; looking up from the exercise.

“He has expressed interest in playing you,” Touya finished, smiling slightly. Again, hushed whispers permeated the room. Touya Koyo wants to play Hikage? Just how strong IS she? Touya Akira comes by just to invite Hikage for a game?

“He wants… to play me?” Shadow whispered, ignoring the frequent use of her hide-name by the other Insei.

“First, let’s finish this game,” Touya said, motioning for the board. Shadow just nodded, dumbly picked up a black stone, and placed it at the strategically best position. Immediately, Touya grabbed a white one. Just as fast, Shadow took a black one. The sound of rapidly hitting stones drew the attention of the other Insei, which were soon crowding around the goban where both Shadow and Touya aimed stones at with ever-increasing frequency.

They loved it. Speed-go wasn’t the most strategic or beautiful forms of the game, but it was fun, and both teens barely managed to contain their smiles as they continuously aimed stones at the board. A hushed silence descended over the group as Shadow’s time thinking through the exercise paid off against a fresh Touya Akira… in the form that it was a pretty even match until the end, and she lost by a point and a half.

“Close one,” Shadow whispered.

“Looks like your time thinking through the exercise was well spent, Hikage-chan,” Touya said, standing up. Shadow dipped her thirteen-year-old head.

“That it was,” she said as she left, talking to him about go-strategies, ignoring the others who cleared a hurried path for her.

 

Shadow looked up at her opponent. She had made it through the exams without too much difficulty, and this was her first game against a pro… as a pro. She looked at the board. She hadn’t needed the reverse handicap that advantaged her. Even though she was playing black, her first game, she would be given five and a half moku handicap.

Thanks to Sai, Hikaru, Akira, and Touya-Sensei, I am more than a match for this man, Shadow thought to herself as her opponent placed a stone on the board. Shadow analyzed the move immediately. It was a good move. Not the best, but a good one.

Shadow grabbed her stone, and answered. She heard her opponent’s breath stop for just a fraction of a second, and she knew she had just made the move she had hoped she’d made… the one he hadn’t anticipated, the one move that brought down his entire strategy.

She could see a single drop of sweat form on his brow, and the man wiped it away without thinking. He grabbed a white stone, and replied. Shadow once more focused on the goban. She didn’t need to read ahead very far… her opponent was a pro, but he wasn’t that high in level. She felt like she had played stronger games while in the Insei, and during the exams.

There! Shadow decided, grabbing her stone, and bringing it down enthusiastically. Her opponent wasn’t startled this time, showing Shadow that her move hadn’t been as good as she had hoped it would be. Then, a small smile crept up on his face, and he made his move. Shadow remained stoic as she analyzed the board.

He’s attacking? What am I missing…? Shadow looked at the board, thinking ahead. What is he thinking… why is he attacking while he’s so far behi… oh shit. Realization came to her, and a smile spread across her features as she determined his strategy. Now that she knew what it was, she would counter it. Thanks to the lessons of Touya Koyo and of Sai, Shadow had learned a great deal about Go.

First, determine your opponent’s strategy. Once you know what he wants, and how he plans to get there, you can bring him down! Lure him in a trap, let his greed consume him.

Shadow placed her stone carefully. Her opponent replied without thinking too much. As long as she didn’t startle him, she could gain a large territory, and force him to admit defeat. She made another move. Again, carefully. She didn’t want him to start thinking. She wanted to appear innocent, let him bring himself down. It was easier to let the opponent defeat himself.

He replied practically instantly. Shadow took her stone after what appeared to be careful deliberation. Only one more…

He moved. Into the trap. Shadow smiled, and placed her deciding stone. It was as if electricity connected her entire wall together, and the man that was her opponent startled briskly, mouth opening as he gasped for air like a fish out of water. Frantically, he looked at every corner of the board, trying to find a way out of things. He found none.

Bowing his head in defeat, he muttered dejectedly, “I surrender…”

 

Shadow, aged fourteen, was sitting opposite Touya Koyo at a goban. She was playing white. Nothing existed outside the board. Not Akira sitting at the side, not Touya Koyo sitting opposite her. Only her, the goban, the white stones, and the black stones. The hand of Touya Koyo placed a stone, his nimble fingers making the stone drop on the wooden table in what was almost a shower of light to Shadow.

Ki… this man’s life is Go, and his very life-force reacts to it, Shadow thought to herself. She grabbed her stone, placing it opposite her teacher’s, her own life-force reacting identically to Touya Koyo’s. Over the year and a half since she was training at Go, her own life had become the board and the stones, just as much as all her previous teachings had become her own. Once more, Shadow was completely immerged in her lessons.

As he made his move, Shadow’s mind started placing stones once more, reading ahead. Fifty moved ahead. One hundred moves ahead. She saw a path to victory, and placed her stone. Touya remained silent for quite a while, then replied with a move of his own. Shadow analyzed, and started thinking again. He’s going for the upper right corner… I can give it to him, and defend in the center, cutting him off… or I can fight him for it, in which case I am in danger of being attacked on the lower left.

Making her decision based on tactical analyses and reading ahead, Shadow placed her stone, contesting Touya’s attack on her upper right corner. The battle raged on, spreading across the board as neither player wanted to admit a single point without fighting for it.

Touya Akira watched the fight with almost nail-biting nervousness. It was a sight to behold… his father was playing his usual logical style, while Shadow was using her own curious mix of styles, a fact he had always found strangely fascinating about her. Her entire manner of play was powerful, showing hidden depths when contested, yet seemed to consist of cold logic mixed with a burning desire. It was curious and fascinating.

Touya looked at Shadow’s concentrated face, and knew that she was going all-out on his father. And the game was turning slowly and unstoppably in the young girl’s favor, a fact that astonished Touya, never having thought that the girl he had taken under his wing a mere year and a half ago would not only outgrow him, but also his father, in such a short period of time.

Shadow concentrated to the last move, and finally placed her stone. Again, the curious tingle crept across her fingers as she connected her defenses, cutting Touya Koyo’s attack in half. The old man stared at the board for a while, and actually… surrendered.

“Thank you for the game,” Shadow answered with barely contained enthusiasm.

“Thank you for the game,” Touya Koyo replied, sounding vaguely amused at the fact that his son’s protégé beat him this fast. “Would you allow me a rematch? Tomorrow, same time, during the lessons I hold?”

Shadow beamed a smile at him. “Sure!” she replied, smiling broadly, before catching herself. “Of course, sir… it would be my honor,” Shadow replied, clamping down on the hormones that seemed to get worse every day.

 

Shadow, back to her twenty-year-old normal form, was lying on her back, staring at the air of the ShadowZone.

“Child…”

“Get out,” Shadow grunted coldly.

“Child, it was time…”

“I don’t care, Guardian,” Shadow growled, getting up and turning to the Guardian. “What you did…” the woman shook in her boots.

“It was necessary. You are the Savior! We can’t have you…”

“Yes. Yes, I’m the Universal Savior. That’s what it all comes down to, doesn’t it, Guardian? I am the Savior. A weapon. That’s everything I’ll ever be…” the woman turned to the lake, and looked at the air reflecting down in it. “I’m a weapon… not allowed to have a life…”

“Child…”

“If I see you within the next four years, it’s too soon,” Shadow stated, looking up from the lake into the far distance. “Just a fair warning. After the crap you pulled, I do not want to see you within the next four years. Got it?”

Guardian swallowed. “But the path…”

“The path can WAIT, DAMMIT!” Shadow howled, turning around, staring the Guardian of the Crossroads. “And now, get the FUCK out of here!”

Guardian, never having heard Shadow like this, understood one thing clearly. She had gone too far… she had tried to do well for her charge, but sometimes, it just didn’t work. And the last mission had really been too much. Of course, after 160 years, her charge was entitled to become just a little tired of it all.

“Very well… I will see you in exactly four years from today,” the Guardian whispered. “But before I go… Shadow…”

“What?” the raven-haired warrior demanded, turning around to glare at the Guardian.

“I truly am sorry for what happened.”

Shadow sighed, nodded, and turned to the lake. “Get out,” she whispered, voice broken.

 

 

Just what has Shadow so angry with the Guardian? What happened in the Go universe? Further on in the series, the answer will be given!