Childhood Sweethearts

[Slowly revising the story. Revised chapters will be marked. The changes are substantial, so I strongly recommend not reading it just yet. Please wait until all the revisions are finished before reading. A deep bow of thanks.]

Hikaru and Akira have a secret.

When they were twelve, Akira followed in Hikaru's footsteps, and together they entered the attic of destiny.

At the time, the two boys had never met, but they both touched the bloodstained Go board and encountered the soul who had crossed a thousand years to reach them: Sai.

Hikaru: This is great! An adventure like this proves I'm the protagonist of a manga!

Wait a second, why did that ghost follow someone else?

Akira: Since you don't know how to play Go, of course Mr. Sai should follow me.

Hikaru: Why should you get him?!

For an elementary school student, it doesn't matter whether something was what he wanted in the first place. If someone else is trying to take it, there's no way he's going to give even an inch.

Hikaru silently made up his mind. It's only Go, right?

Then I'll learn.

What's so great about Touya, anyway?

I'll beat him into the ground sooner or later!

*

And so, Hikaru and Sai had a secret of their own.

Sai would teach Hikaru how to play Go, and Akira mustn't find out.

With a goal to work toward and Sai's guidance, Hikaru raced along the path of Go, and everything went smoothly.

Except, well, perhaps a little too smoothly.

Not only was his skill steadily improving, and not only was he winning one match after another, but because he and Akira had agreed to exchange Sai's "ownership" once a week, the two of them somehow became good friends before they knew it.

Being nothing more than straightforward rivals would have been one thing, but as their relationship grew closer, it became even harder for Hikaru to tell Akira that he was secretly learning Go.

But the world of Go can be both vast and very small.

Once he became a professional Go player, there would be no avoiding it.

How long could he keep this secret?

*

Akira and Sai also have a secret.

It's a secret hidden even from others, one Sai only learned because he could sense Akira's emotions while possessing him.

But Akira isn't ready to say anything yet, so of course Sai must keep it secret for him.

Warning:

Sai will disappear, just as in the original!

But this time, Akira will be there with Hikaru as they face Sai's disappearance together.

"A Beautiful New World" is currently being serialized. Please add it to your collection!

What would happen if a professional Go player who trained in the AI Go era transmigrated back to the early 1990s, when even computers were not yet commonplace?

Let Hikaru show you what this beautiful new world looks like.

A grand slam of titles, sponsorships raining down, and the unchallenged status of Go Sage.

Strength, fame, status, money: every one of them is in the palm of his hand. His life is dazzling, filled with flowers and applause at every turn.

How happy he must be.

And yet only Hikaru knows that this seemingly golden finger-like situation will only leave him feeling more and more empty as time goes by.

Just then, he meets Akira.

An Akira who doesn't play Go and devotes himself to his studies.

But how could he not play Go?

Hikaru won't allow that to happen.

Come play Go, Touya. Enter my world. This is the destiny that belongs to you.

Even if it's a destiny I force upon you.

"The Rival's Prerequisites" is complete. Please add it to your collection!

Hikaru differentiated as an omega.

But the rival who had been his lifelong match had differentiated as an alpha just months earlier.

In a society where omega players are barred from the major title matches,

how can he maintain his relationship with his rival?!

Theme: Learning never ends