I do not own anything nor do I make any money from this story. All rights apply.

Set during the manga insei arc.

I am using the names that I like the sound of rather than what is considered correct.

MY GHOST

"It was creepy."

Hikaru walked in as Waya finished talking.

"What was creepy?" he asked as he tossed his bag onto the table in the eating area at the Go Institute.

Waya leaned back in his chair.

"Well, yesterday-" he started but Isumi cut him off.

"Waya saw a ghost."

"I didn't see a ghost," corrected Waya. "There was just…"

Hikaru kept his attention on Waya refusing to glance at Sai who stood next to him throwing questions at Waya. Naturally Waya couldn't hear them. After a few seconds of Waya spluttering for words and Sai pestering him, Hikaru asked what sort of ghost hadn't Waya seen.

"I didn't see anything – it was more of a feeling… as if someone was standing next to me," explained Waya.

"Yeserday?" asked Hikaru sitting down.

"Yeah, it the morning," said Waya.

Hikaru pulled his water bottle out of his bag. He was unconcerned, he had not seen Waya yesterday morning so felt confident that it was not Sai.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Waya's question brought Hikaru back to the present. His instinct was to say no but with Sai standing next to him…

"I suppose," he offered offhandedly.

"What? I'm right here!"

This really wasn't a conversation Hikaru wanted Sai to hear.

"Maybe you've been watching too many horror movies," suggested Izumi. "Isn't there a new one out now?"

"Yeah," remembered Hikaru. "It has ghosts in it."

"Ghosts that kill and eat people," muttered Waya. "That's gross not scary."

"I can't eat anything…"

Hikaru coughed and tried to bring the conversation back to Go.

"Who are you playing today?" he asked Waya.

"I wonder if there is a Go ghost stories," wondered Izumi effectively crushing Hikaru's conversation attempts and sending Sai into a frenzy of excitement.

"Yeah," said Waya getting excited. "Like haunted gobans."

Hikaru almost told Sai to be quiet out loud but covered it with another cough.

"That's hardly scary," said Izumi.

"Hmm…" Waya thought for a second. "But once you start playing you just can't stop," started Waya leaning forward and speaking in hushed tones, "- you become obsessed and it drives you to your death."

"HOW HORRIBLE!"

"It could be a friendly ghost," suggested Hikaru attempting to placate Sai.

"Nah," said Waya.

"There are friendly ghosts," tried Hikaru.

Waya looked at Hikaru.

"What? Are you like a ghost expert?" he asked teasingly.

"YES!"

"No," said Hikaru.

"Remember a few years ago there was that movie that everyone when to see that was so scary – um, it was called Black Night* wasn't it?" said Izumi.

Waya nodded.

"I remember watching it. It was kind of scary," he admitted.

"I didn't see it," said Hikaru.

"It was about this guy that moved in to this really old house and every night the electricity would go off leaving him in the dark for a few minutes and when it came back on something would be missing but he thinks he has packed somewhere in the house and he only really takes note when he looses one of his fingers," explained Waya.

Hikaru made a face.

"What happened then?" he asked for Sai who was hovering over Hikaur's shoulder, his sleeve covering the lower half of his face.

"Well, he keeps losing bits of himself and at the end, he's busy eating his supper and there in his soup is the first item he lost," concluded Waya.

"That is gross," said Hikaru.

"You never know what happens in the dark," said Waya philosophically. "Haven't you ever just lost something and not been able to find it again?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"I've never lost a part of my body," said Hikaru trying to not visibly shake Sai off his shoulder. The Go spirit was staring at Waya with wide eyes and something that could have been… fear.

"All I'm saying is that you should be wary of the dark," said Waya causing Izumi to laugh lightly.

"Could be talk about something else?" asked Hikaru.

"Are you scared?" asked Waya.

"Not me," said Hikaru truthfully but he did sneak a glance at Sai. He couldn't believe that Sai actually believed the rubbish Waya was sprouting. How could a ghost be scared of ghosts?

END

* I made this up – title and plot.