((I've actually been meaning to do a story like this for a while. It was supposed to be for HikaGo Day, but I got a migrane in the evening and ended up sleeping for several hours and then was up all the rest of the night, so I didn't finish it until this morning. Ah well, better late than never, right?
Sai and Hikaru are so fun to write, I might try doing some more HikaGo fics if I can get ideas~ By the way, this takes place fairly early on in the series, when Hikaru is attending Haze Middle School.))
Hikaru woke up slowly, yawning and glancing at the clock. He stood up and stretched, nearly tripping over Sai, who was sound asleep on the floor.
"Geez, Sai, wake up already," Hikaru mumbled annoyedly, prodding his ghostly mentor gently with his foot.
"Hmhmm… attach at 4 – 8," Sai mumbled, rolling over.
"Hey, I said wake up!" Hikaru shouted, kicking him this time. Sai blinked and slowly sat up.
"Good morning, Hikaru," he said innocently.
"Yeah, yeah, good morning," Hikaru replied, rolling his eyes. "You know, you sure sleep a lot for someone who's dead." Sai huffed and crossed his arms.
"I wouldn't sleep so late if you wouldn't keep me up with the glowing box!" he insisted. "You're a growing boy, you know. You need your rest."
"Whatever," Hikaru said dismissively, "I'm going to get dressed now so you go wait outside."
Sai nodded and went into the hall, and Hikaru shut the door behind him.
Sai waited patiently for a few moments, sitting cross-legged against the door and humming quietly to himself. After a moment, Hikaru's mom walked in from the kitchen.
"Good morning, Mrs. Shindou," Sai said politely, nodding in greeting. To his surprise, she did not respond; Instead, she walked right through him, knocking on Hikaru's door without any regard to the horrified ghost.
"Hikaru? Are you awake?" she asked.
"Yeah mom, I'm just getting dressed," Hikaru replied from the other side of the door.
"Alright. Breakfast is on the table," his mom announced, and returned to the kitchen.
Soon after, Hikaru opened the door, now dressed in a layered tee and cargo shorts rather than his pajamas.
"Hikaru, your mother is ignoring me again," Sai informed him, appearing offended. "She walked right through me without even saying good morning!"
"Well, duh. You're a ghost, remember? I'm the only one who can see you," Hikaru pointed out.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Sai agreed, sighing sadly.
The two go players headed to the kitchen, where Hikaru's mom was already eating. Hikaru quickly sat down and began shoveling in his food, while Sai occupied himself by watching the news on the small TV on the counter.
"Hikaru, the woman in the TV says a British prime minister is coming to Tokyo," Sai observed, poking Hikaru.
"Oh really," Hikaru replied boredly, not paying attention.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," his mother scolded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Hikaru made a face and attempted to get away.
"It was always a big occasion when foreign dignitaries came to the palace," Sai mused. "I wonder if there will be any festivals?"
"Ok, time for school," Hikaru announced loudly, throwing his dishes in the sink and grabbing his backpack. "Bye mom!"
"Bye," his mother replied, sighing and cleaning up the mess.
"Hikaru! Wait for me!" Sai exclaimed, and hurried to catch up with him.
It was about 3:30 as Japan and England exited the building, stepping into the open city air.
"I'm glad they finally let us out, that meeting seemed like it was going to go on forever," England admitted, stretching.
"Yes, it was a bit more tiresome than usual," Japan agreed. "Shall we get something to eat?"
"Sounds lovely, I'm starving," England replied. "Convention in town?" he asked suddenly.
"Not that I know of, why?" Japan replied confusedly.
"Really? Then what's with that cosplayer over there?" England asked, pointing.
"What cosplayer?" Japan repeated, looking in the direction England was pointing. All he saw was a bunch of middle school kids crossing the street.
"There, in the white robe and tall hat," England explained.
"O-oh yes, that one. Must be a maid café around somewhere," Japan lied awkwardly, too polite to let his European friend know he was seeing things.
"Strangest maid I've ever seen…" England mumbled. "Anyway, where shall we go for lunch?"
"Where would you like to go?" Japan asked politely.
"Hmm, I suppose I could go for some-"
"Ah, I just remembered there's an excellent ramen house around here," Japan interrupted hastily, quickly realizing that letting England pick where to go for lunch was probably not a good idea.
"Alright then, lead on," England decided.
Meanwhile, Sai tapped Hikaru on the shoulder, glancing around nervously.
"Hikaruuuu… That man keeps staring at me," he whispered. "It's making me nervous."
"What? Don't be ridiculous," Hikaru argued. "I told you, nobody can see you but me. It's probably just a tourist or something."
"No, really! He was looking right at me!" Sai insisted. "He even pointed at me! Look, that man over there with the big eyebrows! Look!"
Hikaru looked where Sai was pointing and saw only a foreigner talking to a young man with black hair. He shook his head at the ridiculousness.
"You're crazy, Sai," he mumbled. Sai looked rather dejected.
"Did you say something, Hikaru?" Akari asked innocently.
"Huh? Oh, no, I was just talking to myself, that's all,"Hikaru insisted quickly, shaking his head and grinning awkwardly.
"Oh, ok then," Akari replied, frowning confusedly. "Anyway, Kaneko and I are going to the book store. Wanna come?"
"No thanks, I think I'm gonna get some ramen," Hikaru replied.
"Aww, ok," Akari said reluctantly, attempting to hide her disappointment. "See you later, then."
"Yeah, see ya," Hikaru agreed, waving casually and heading towards the ramen house.
After having gotten his ramen, Hikaru sat down at the counter and began eating voraciously, while Sai sat in an empty seat and stared out the window, a distant look on his face.
"Something wrong, Sai?" Hikaru asked, slightly worried. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so dismissive to his ghostly friend.
"No, I'm fine," Sai lied, smiling in an attempt to appear cheerful. "How's your ramen?"
"It's really good! It's too bad you can't have some, it-"
"Oh! It's that man from before!" Sai exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and pointing with his fan, his tone being accusatory, shocked, and excited all at once.
"Hm?" Hikaru looked up. Sure enough, there was the blonde man with the bushy eyebrows, sitting a few seats away. Something seemed to have gotten his attention, as he looked up suddenly.
Swallowing his food, the man stood up and walked towards Hikaru. Hikaru gulped and quickly scrambled to recall any words he had learned in English class, only to be surprised when the man instead walked right past him and stopped in front of Sai.
"Excuse me," he began in perfect Japanese (If slightly accented), "I hate to be rude, but I was wondering-"
"…You… can see me..?" Sai interrupted, his voice barely a whisper. His lavender eyes were wide with shock.
"Er, yes," the man replied awkwardly, looking rather confused.
"Wait, what?" Hikaru said, his face twisted in confusion, as well as covered in soy sauce. "That shouldn't be possible…"
"See, Hikaru? I told you!" Sai insisted, sticking his tongue out at the boy. Hikaru blushed.
"Hold on… Why wouldn't I be able to see you?" the blonde man asked tentatively. There was an air of mutual confusion around everyone.
"Only Hikaru can," Sai explained. "At least, that's what we thought."
"Alright…" He still didn't seem to get it.
Hikaru sighed. "He's a ghost," he mumbled quietly, hiding his face in embarrassment.
"Oh, that explains it!" the man declared, strangely unfazed by this revelation. "Well, nice to meet you. My name is England, though most people call me Britain."
"Fujiwara no Sai," Sai replied, bowing respectfully. "I am honored to make your acquaintance. And this is my student, Shindou Hikaru."
"Britain like the country?" Hikaru asked, looking slightly weirded out.
"W-well it's more like a group of countries really, but yes," England replied, blushing and adjusting his tie. "If you don't mind me asking, Sai, how old are you?"
Sai thought about it for a moment. "I'll be 1,374 in June," he decided, nodding. Hikaru nearly choked on his ramen.
"Oh, well that explains the clothes," England mused. "Here I thought you were some sort of cosplayer."
"Koz… pleiyer?" Sai repeated confusedly. "Hikaru, what's a 'cause-player'?"
"I think it's something nerds do," Hikaru replied, shrugging.
"Oh." Sai paused. "Is that an insult?"
England laughed. "Forget I said anything, alright?"
Sai nodded, and then suddenly began dancing in excitement.
"Hikaru, Hikaru! It's someone else who can see me! Isn't that wonderful?!" he exclaimed happily.
"To be honest, I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing," Hikaru mumbled awkwardly. Sai ignored him.
"Hey, do you play go?" he asked England, bouncing up and down excitedly.
"I'm not really one for video games, sorry," England replied, causing Sai to stop bouncing and instead frown in confusion as he attempted to figure out what that meant.
"No, it's a board game," Hikaru explained.
"Oh. I don't think I've heard of it before," England admitted. Sai looked disappointed.
"Well, that's alright! We can teach you!" he decided optimistically.
"We can?" Hikaru questioned, giving him an annoyed look.
"Mmhmm!" Sai replied, nodding and smiling cutely. "Let's take him to the go salon! Let's go, let's go!"
"Ok, ok, geez," Hikaru gave in, standing up and putting his money on the counter. England turned around and also paid for his ramen.
"Japan, I hate to run but I've got something to do. I'll meet you at the hotel later," he explained, waving goodbye to the shorter man.
"Um, alright, goodbye then," Japan replied awkwardly. The three others rushed out the door, Sai excitedly leading the way to the go salon.
As soon as they were gone, Japan took out his cell phone and put in America's number.
"Hello?"
"Hello America, it's Japan," Japan said quickly. "I'm worried about Britain. He was talking to thin air and now he's suddenly run off with no explanation."
"Hahahahaha!" Japan held the phone away from his ear as America's obnoxiously loud laugh boomed through the speaker. "He does that like, all the time! I think he's crazy. Or maybe just old or something."
"I… see," Japan replied awkwardly.
"Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure he doesn't try to relive his pirate days and it should be cool."
"Alright, w-well, thanks," Japan mumbled, looking rather unwell. "Goodbye."
"Bye!"
Japan let out an exhausted sigh as he put his phone back in his pocket. Westerners are so strange, he thought to himself and leaned against the counter.
"Excuse me," he called to the man behind the counter, "Could I have some sake, please?"
"Right away, sir!"
Hikaru entered the go salon, followed by England and a very excited Sai.
"Oh, hello Hikaru," Harumi, the manager of the go salon, said cheerfully. "If you're looking for Akira, he's not here today."
"That's ok. I brought a friend," Hikaru replied, handing her the children's fee as well as the adult fee for England.
"Oh, that's nice of you! Always good to see new players," Harumi decided, smiling and winking at England. England blushed and pretended to check his phone.
"Come on, let's go," Sai demanded impatiently, running to a table in the back. Hikaru and England followed him and sat down at the table.
"So is this like Othello, then? Or maybe checkers?" England asked curiously as Hikaru took the lids off the stone bowls.
"Neither," Hikaru replied vaguely. "Choose for color."
"Alright… Um, how exactly do I do that?" England asked awkwardly.
"Take a handful of white stones," Sai prompted him. England hesitantly did so. As soon as he did, Hikaru placed two black stones on the board.
"Since Hikaru put down two stones, it's even," Sai explained. "Count the stones in your hand and see how many you have. If the number is even, Hikaru and I will play black, and if it's odd, we'll play white."
England counted out the number of stones. "It's odd," he declared.
"That means you go first," Hikaru said, passing him the black stones.
"Hmm, let's see here… Got it," England announced, putting a stone in one of the squares near the edge. Hikaru and Sai both started giggling.
"Wh-what's so funny?!" England demanded, his face blushing bright red.
"In go you don't put your stones between the lines," Hikaru explained, trying to stop laughing. "You put them on the intersections."
"Oh, like this?" England asked, moving it over to the right slightly. Hikaru nodded.
"Although you're holding your stones wrong," Sai pointed out. "Hikaru, show him how to do it properly."
"Ok," Hikaru replied. He picked up a stone, holding it between his middle and index finger. "You hold them between your two fingers like this, see? And then you put it on the board and slide it a bit, like this." He demonstrated.
"That's… kind of odd, but alright," England muttered, imitating Hikaru with clumsy hands. Sai nodded in approval.
"Also, playing on the edge is usually not good," Sai continued. "Your stones don't have as many liberties there."
"Liberties? What are those?"
"Those are the points around a stone. When they're all filled, a stone is dead," Sai explained. Hikaru demonstrated by placing three of his white stones around England's black one, and then removed the black stone.
"The goal of the game is to get as much territory as possible," Hikaru added. "So capturing stones is one way to do that."
"I see," England observed. "So would this be a better move, then?" he asked, placing a stone on one of the star points.
"Yes, that's good!" Sai announced, nodding and smiling. "Star points are a decent opening."
They continued like this for some time, teaching England the basics. Once he had the concept down, they played a real game.
It was over in minutes.
"Sai wins," Hikaru declared. "Of course, Sai can beat anyone, and you're really bad at this." Sai gave Hikaru a disapproving look.
"First games are always awkward," he assured England.
"I don't get this at all," England admitted, scratching his head. "I think I'll stick to chess, if you don't mind."
"But go is such a wonderful game!" Sai insisted, not understanding why anyone would choose another game over go. "Why don't you watch me play Hikaru? It might be more interesting to watch an actual game," he suggested.
"Alright, I don't see why not," England decided, standing up. Sai smiled and took England's seat.
Several hours later, England met up with Japan at a nearby hotel.
"Say, Japan, do you know anything about go?" England asked curiously.
"You mean the game? Yes, I've played it many times," Japan replied, nodding. "Why do you ask?"
"I just played for the first time," England explained. "I'm terrible at it," he admitted, grinning awkwardly.
"It takes some practice," Japan agreed.
"Though the person teaching me seemed quite skilled," England continued. "His name was Fujiwara's Sai, or something like that."
"Fujiwara no Sai?" Japan repeated, frowning in confusion. Why did that name sound so familiar..?
"Yes, that was it!" England decided, nodding. "Lovely fellow. Quite excitable, it seems."
Japan said nothing, lost in thought. He vaguely remembered a person by that name from many centuries before, one of his boss's teachers who had been banned from the capital after having cheated at a game.
No, that's impossible, he decided, shaking his head. It must be someone else.
"I still like chess better, though," England added.
Hikaru sat at his desk, playing a CD game on the computer. He paid no mind to the ancient ghost who sat calmly on the bed, a thoughtful, serene expression on his face. Hikaru continued to play his game for several minutes, until finally Sai spoke.
"Today was a good day," he announced.
"Well that was random," Hikaru commented, pausing his game and turning to face Sai.
"Hm," Sai hummed thoughtfully, glancing out the window. "I'm… still not entirely sure who that Britain was or where he came from, but it was nice being seen for once," he said quietly.
For once Hikaru was silent, merely watching Sai. He had an expression Hikaru had never seen on him before.
"I do enjoy talking to you, Hikaru," Sai continued, "But… it gets lonely sometimes, only being able to talk to one person. Especially when you're in school," he admitted.
"I'm sorry, Sai," Hikaru said, and he meant it sincerely. Even if he didn't always show it, he cared about Sai a great deal more than he would admit, and he felt guilty for not paying enough attention to him.
"Don't feel bad, Hikaru," Sai insisted, giving him a warm smile. "I'm happy as long as I can play go!"
"Well then, wanna play?" Hikaru asked, grinning.
Sai's face lit up excitedly. "I would love that!"
And so began another game in the endless cycle of go.