My deepest apologies for not updating earlier. Not that it's any excuse, but I was kind of in a funk in my writing, not just this story, but all my stories, original and fanfiction, I was bogged down by homework, and now I have a time consuming job, and rehearsals for a play. So, yeah. Not an excuse, but an explanation.

There were a few perceptive reviewers who mentioned that even Hikaru wouldn't get that good that fast. This was entirely my fault. In the concept for my story, I had Hikaru and Sai meet a couple of years before they do in the manga, and so Hikaru actually does have more time than I apparently portrayed. My plans were to have him grow better for a couple of years, and then he meets Akira the same time as cannon. I apologize, dear readers, that this was not made clear, and thank those kind enough to point that out. It can be completely attributed to my lacking skills in writing, and I will endeavor to improve in the future. Thank you for your time, attention, and reviews. Also, sorry for the bad pun in the title for chapter 2. I had named the first chapter, and so felt kind of obligated to name the second, and that was all that would come to mind. Thank you for bearing with me. My dad's jokes must be rubbing off on me.

And now Akira joins us in this journey. Remember children, I do not own Hikaru no Go.

The rain was sudden and ferocious. Sai and Hikaru had been playing in the park, and were heading home when it hit. Hikaru clutched the bag to his chest, desperately trying to shield the goban from the rain. He and Sai found themselves outside of a go salon they had never really noticed before, and without thinking twice, they dashed inside.

They stood in the entrance, Hikaru gasping for breath, and caught a look at the salon. It was different from the others they had been to before. Everything seemed newer, and more sophisticated. This made Hikaru a little uncomfortable, as he wasn't used to high class places, but the 'no smoking' sigh near the entrance was encouraging.

"Hi," said a pleasant voice, and they turned to see a young woman behind the counter. She was frowning slightly at Hikaru's wet and disheveled appearance, but remained polite. "Our children's rate is 500 yen."

"Oh," Hikaru said running his fingers through his dripping hair. "Thanks." He glanced around the room and said, "Do you mind if I look around first? I promise not to get anything wet." He grinned roguishly.

She smiled slightly in return and said, "Of course." He bowed slightly and swung his pack back over his shoulder and headed in. As he and Sai walked farther into the salon, his mind calmed as he heard the sound of stones striking the boards. He admired the room, the boards, and the concentration of the players.

Near the back of the room, Hikaru spotted a boy playing an older gentleman.

"Look Sai, it's a kid my age. Let's check this out." Excitedly, Hikaru wove his way between the tables. Careful to remain quiet, so as to not disturb the game, Hikaru looked down at the board. His eyes widened. "Sai, this kid's playing a teaching game with the old man."

'So he is,' Sai agreed, pleased Hikaru had noticed so quickly. Silently, they watched the game, and as it went on, a grin spread across Hikaru's face.

"He's good," Hikaru said to Sai in awe. "Real good."

Sai turned to see Hikaru shaking with excitement. Ah, Sai thought, he is finally feeling the rush of the challenge of someone as good as you.

"I want to play him." Hikaru was impatient for the game to end, but once it did, the boy went through and patiently pointed out all the mistakes and turning points. Hikaru was a little frustrated, but he knew how important after game discussions were.

When they were done, the man bowed and said, "Thank you, Akira-sensei. You always explain it so well."

"It was my pleasure," the boy said, returning the bow.

Akira was cleaning up the stones on the board when he looked up to see a boy his own age standing next to the table with a grin on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Yeah," the boy said. "Play a game with me?" Akira was a bit taken aback. The boy certainly didn't look like a go player, with his mischievous smile, disheveled appearance and dripping water everywhere.

"All right," he said cautiously.

"Great!" said the boy. "Wait here a moment." Akira watched the boy dash to the front counter and excitedly hand over the entrance fee. He came jogging back with that odd bag on his back. The boy sat down with a smile on his lips and a glint in his eye.

"How many stones would you like to put down?" Akira asked politely. The boy waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't need a handicap," he said. "I mean, we're both kids." Akira frowned. The boy was either arrogant, or ignorant. Either way, Akira decided he would play a teaching game.

"Nigiri?" the boy asked. Akira reluctantly nodded, and they chose for color.

"I'm black then," the boy said. "Well, Onegaishimasu!" the boy said enthusiastically.

"Onegaishimasu," Akira repeated more quietly. Hikaru placed his first stone and the game began.

A short while into the game, Hikaru grimaced. "He's playing a teaching game with me, Sai," he complained. "Phooey." Sai was disappointed as well. If the two boys would play at their full potential, it would be an amazing game. He watched, and saw that Hikaru was frustrated with this boy and had decided to return the favor. If the boy wouldn't play seriously, neither would he. Both boys had almost unnatural concentration, but Akira was almost bored, while Hikaru was concentrating on goading his opponent into taking him seriously.

Halfway through the game, Hikaru placed a stone that made Akira pause. The move was neither good nor bad. He looked back at the rest of the game and saw similar moves the boy had made. His eyes widened. This boy was toying with him. Well, he had been truthful when he said he needed no handicap. He took a breath and looked up. He saw the boy looking down at the board intently. Slowly the boy raised his head and caught Akira's gaze. A smirk played on his lips.

"Ready to play seriously now?"

Akira's eyes flashed. He was angry, but excited as well. This boy was the first child who had proved to be any kind of a challenge. He would give this boy what he asked for and play seriously from now on. Without saying a word, he dove back into the game.

Hikaru couldn't have been more delighted. He knew the boy was good, but it was hard to judge someone's true strength from a single teaching game. He had never played someone his own age before, and was excited to find out how he would fare.

Sai almost laughed out loud as he watched the game progress. Hikaru had forced Akira to play seriously, but even though Hikaru played more seriously himself, he continued to throw in moves to test the other boy.

At the very end of the game, Hikaru sprung his elaborate trap and scraped a win by half a moku. Akira stared numbly at the board. He hadn't even considered that trap might be there. This boy had had the gall to tell him to play seriously, then hadn't done so himself.

"That was an incredible game."

Akira looked up to see his opponent grinning.

"The best I've played in a long time."

'But what about our games, Hikaru,' Sai said pouting. 'Aren't they any good?'

"Of course they're good. You're an amazing player, but I know I have no chance of winning."

'Hikaru, look.'

He looked out the window to see the rain had stopped. "Oh man!" Hikaru exclaimed. "I've gotta go." He got up and swung his bag onto his back. "Thank you for the game," he said bowing to Akira whose eyes were still fixed on the board. Hikaru shrugged slightly, then turned and jogged to the exit.

The young woman at the counter smiled at him and asked, "Is your game over?"

"Yeah," Hikaru said grinning. "It was awesome." Charmed by the boy's smile and his praise of Akira she smiled in return. Before Hikaru reached the door he saw a stack of flyers on the receptionist's counter.

"What's this?" he asked, picking one up.

"That's a Children's Go Competition where strong young players come from all around to compete."

"Really?" Hikaru said with excitement. "There are more kids like us who play Go? By the way," he continued before the woman could answer. "What's the name of the boy I played?"

"Toya Akira," the woman said, a little perplexed that he didn't know Akira's name.

"Toya Akira, hmm." Hikaru said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "I've gotta remember that name," he said. "He's the best player I've come across for a long time by far. Can I keep this?" he said waving the flyer.

"Sure," she said. He folded it and stuck it in his pocket then turned to go. The woman looked down at the paper where the customers signed in and realized that in his eagerness to play the game, the boy had neglected to write down his name, let alone the rest of the information after he paid. "Wait!" she said. "What's your name?"

"Hikaru," he said grinning one more. And then he was gone.

"What?" someone shouted and she turned to see what the commotion was about. "Master Akira lost?" Her eyes opened wide.

"He must have had a handicap," one man said.

"No, it was even," said another. "They chose for color and everything."

"Master Akira must have gone easy on him."

But Akira knew that had not been the case. At the beginning when he had thought to play a teaching game, his opponent had responded in kind, and even when Akira had played seriously, the boy had toyed with him. He looked up in shock as he suddenly realized he didn't know the boy's name. "Ichikawa-san," he called out to the young woman at the front desk. "What was that boy's name? What did he write when he paid?"

"He didn't write anything," she said hopelessly. "But I did get his name. Or at least part of it," muttering the last part.

"What was it?" Akira said impatiently.

"Hikaru."

"You were right, Sai," Hikaru said as he jogged down the street.

'I usually am, but what about this time?'

Hikaru snorted at the smug ghost, but continued. "There are a whole lot of players out there who are much better than I am. That kid back there," he jerked a thumb back the way they had come. "If he had played seriously from the beginning, I would have been crushed."

'But Hikaru,' Sai said. 'He may not have been playing seriously, but neither were you.'

"What do you mean?" Hikaru said, wrinkling his nose slightly.

'You weren't playing to win.'

"What?" Hikaru said in surprise. "Of course I was. Don't you always play to win?"

'No,' Sai said. 'You were only testing him, trying to see how strong he was, and in doing so you neglected to show your own strength.'

Hikaru snorted again. "I'm telling you, Sai, my skills can't compare to his. The only reason I wan was because he wasn't even trying for the first half of the game."

Sai shook his head at the obliviousness of his young friend. The boy couldn't even tell his own strength. Perhaps his perception of his skill was warped because he played against Sai every night.

"That reminds me," Hikaru said digging in his pocket and pulling out the folded flyer. "This kid's competition. I think we should go." Completely distracted form his train of thought, Sai began to jump up and down. 'Yes yes yes yes! Let's go let's go!' he said as he clung to Hikaru's neck.

"Okay, okay" Hikaru said. "Calm down" He unfolded the flyer and held it up. "Yeah," he said out loud. "This'll be a lot of fun."