Stargazing

When Hikaru was asleep Sai liked to wander aimlessly through the city, carefully remembering his way to not get lost.

Sometimes he would stand awestruck in front of big, flashy advertisement signs, or just search for a place where he could see the stars. That was one of the things he missed in this time. The city was even at night far too bright to see the night sky.

One of those nights he found an old graveyard. It was very far away from Hikaru's home and he had some problems finding the place in the following nights, but since then he spend nearly every evening there.

He even met other spirits. A first in a very long time.

Sadly the graveyard and most of its inhabitants weren't nealy as old as he was and no one shared his passion for go. They mostly liked to gossip and left him to himself as soon as they realized he wasn't really interested in the dark secrets of the people staying in and around the graveyard. Living or dead.

He knew now what most of the humans around there liked to eat and who didn't wash his dirty underwear as often as it should be now, though. Some pointed out that even a samurai used to 'live' there, but was rarely seen anymore.

Sai thought it was a pity, but came back for the sight alone none the less.

Some weeks passed and Sai was sitting on one of the gravestones again. Hikaru didn't let him play go nearly enough, so he was stargazing once more.

"If she throws me around one more time I'll - I'll - ... I'll do nothing like always, but know that I really hate it! It's not my fault if Horo decides to be stupid again!"

"Ahaha... At least you don't have to walk right now but get to take your bike. You know what? I think I can't feel my feet anymore. ...Wait, alright, I can feel them. They're hurting."

Sai was thrown out of his thoughts by those two voices.

It didn't happen often that some humans used the graveyard as shortcut, but it wasn't particularly unusual.

"Yoh-donno, didn't Anna-san say to run all the way and to hurry?"

"Nah, chill, Amidamaru. We'll just tell her that it was really crowded and we had to wait."

"Yeah, she'll definitely believe it was full at two in the morning. What does she need those things for anyway in the middle of the night?"

These two humans being followed by and talking to a ghost was something Sai hadn't seen yet, though.

"At least we could visit this place again. We haven't been here for a while now."

"Hmm. I kind of missed it."

"Hey, look! There's someone new! You know him, Amidamaru?", the ghost shook his head, "Well then, hi!", the one walking waved. Sai blinked.

"Yoh! You can't just disturb every ghost you see! You don't even know him!", the smaller one nearly fell off his bike.

"You can see me?" Sai was shocked. Until now only Shuusaku and Hikaru had been able to see him.

"Live and in color! Well... as alive as you can get, I guess...", he laughed sheepishly, "I'm Yoh by the way. This is Manta and this Amidamaru."

"My name is Fujiwara no Sai.", he bowed. The others followed his gesture and bowed as well.

"I think I remember reading about you!", Manta piped up, "You were banished because of cheating at go."

"Isn't it pretty hard for something petty like that? I mean, you really got ba-"

"It's not petty! It's unforgivable! Everyone playing go should know that it's not acceptable. And I did not do that!"

"Yoh-donno, go is a game of great trust. Cheating means betraying this trust, so it is looked down on by every go player."

"Ah, sorry. I didn't know you knew anything about go, Amidamaru."

"You play go?" Yoh laughed and Manta took a step back at the sight of Sai's big, sparkling eyes.

"I learned a bit when I was still alive... and on this graveyard once stayed an old go-master who played with me sometimes, but he found his way in the next world already."

"Then let's play! Play~, play~"

"My grandfather showed me go when I was little. But I don't think I'm any good at it.", Yoh laughed, "I'll just place the stones for you then."

"I'll help you, too. It seems more realistic with two people placing stones anyway. I think I saw an old goban somewhere at your place, Yoh."

"Yeah, I think I remember cleaning it once. It should still be there. If Anna hasn't sold it already..."

So they made their way home again with Sai tagging along. When they arrived there was some screaming by Anna because they forgot to buy her things and they had to leave again to do that first. ("I told you to go shopping and you come back with another ghost! Haven't we enough homeless here already?" "Hey, I have a home!" "Then why are you still here?!")

But they found the goban and could play some games until dawn when Sai had to get back to Hikaru again.

Yoh had been right. He wasn't any good at it. Amidamaru wasn't bad though. So they agreed that Sai could come back at the weekends, they "had to sleep sometimes after all" like Manta put it.

When the sun started showing Manta was dead on his feet and Yoh asleep with his face lying on go stones. Amidamaru was probably the only one hearing Sai's goodbye. The other two didn't seem to notice he left at all.

Sai smiled on the whole way back. Yoh was even worse at go than Hikaru, which gave him some strange kind of hope.

Omake

"Hikaru, Hikaru!"

"Argh! How often do I have to tell you not to do that?!"

"Something amazing happened!"

"Why is it already so late? Sai, why didn't you wake me up sooner?!"

"Really, it's not my fault you sleep like the dead!"

"How does that make sense? You're dead and don't sleep at all!"

"Hikaru! You're going to be late!", his mother's voice could be heard even over his screaching.

Sai watched Hikaru fly down the stairs, wolf food down in record time and followed him as he darted out the door.

He'd tell him some other time.