Chapter 1: The Task at Hand
Shindou knew he should have expected this phone call sometime soon, but he often lost track of time in the world of Go. Such a game that allowed one man to last a thousand years as a ghost was not a game that cared about time. Regardless, time had passed and Hikaru had been an adult, eighteen years old, for many months now. That means that she was eighteen as well. So like most eighteen year olds right before the summer, it was reasonable to assume that she would graduate high school soon. However, hindsight is always clearer than foresight, and Hikaru was left speechless when his childhood friend asked Shindou to come to her graduation party in three days.
'Has it really been almost two years since I saw Akari?' Shindou pondered where the time went until his eyes came upon the Goban in the middle of his room. It was the Goban that his grandfather bought him as a present for improving in his Go years ago. It was also the board that he and Sai played countless games on, including their final, unfinished game. It was also the Goban where he found that Sai still lived in his Go by playing Isumi. The board had been used hundreds of times since then, but it would always have special meaning.
Besides the Goban, there wasn't much else to Shindou's small apartment. While it did have a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom, it was still a small place that a normal kid living on his own would have. He had moved into the apartment just last year so that he would be closer to the train station and major Go parlors in the area. As one of the higher level pros, he would often take need to take trips to tournaments and matches, and would also be challenged by weaker pros constantly. Over the three years since Sai disappeared, Shindou had gotten much stronger than before, now able to rival the top pros like Ogata, Kuwabara, and Kurata. Now considered almost to be equal to Touya Akira's strength, the buzz in the Go world was that Hikaru would soon be taking a title or two for himself.
When Shindou wasn't playing professional Go, he was normally hanging out with his fellow young Go players like Waya and Touya. However, their idea of hanging out almost always involved playing Go or discussing older Go matches. With the exception of his mother and love for Ramen, Hikaru's entire life seemed to revolve around Go. It had never bothered him before, but Akari's phone call seemed to remind him of his past before Go.
'Six years of Go. That's a long time. It's amazing to think how much my life changed because of Sai. Unfortunately it seems that I have become more and more like him over the past few years. As my Go ability approaches his level, so does my love and devotion for the game. At this rate I will end up as a ghost myself for a thousand years.' Hikaru gave himself a moment to wipe his eyes, which would often become blurry when thinking of his old mentor.
"Well, its time to go find Akari a present. I'm gonna have to make it a big one since I sorta forgot her last two birthdays. What kinda friend I am." Hikaru quickly got dressed in his standard T-shirt and shorts look and went to the nearby train station. 'A quick visit home is in order. My mom will know what to get a girl for graduation. Besides, it's been almost two weeks since I stopped in and I haven't had a good home cooked meal since.'
About half an hour later, Hikaru used his old home key to enter his former home. He only made it a few steps before his mother ran to the door and hugged him tightly. Shindou was now almost a foot taller than his mother, but her hugs still seemed overwhelming at times. After being released from the giant bear hug, Shindou's mother took a step back to look at her son.
"I'm happy you came to visit. It gets kinda lonely sometimes without you home, even if you did spend most of your time in your room. Knowing you, I can guess that you haven't eaten yet, so just sit yourself at the table and wait for me to make you some breakfast!" Hikaru followed his mother into the kitchen and took a seat there at the table. The sound of eggs being cracked open then fried on a pan could soon be heard.
"So, why are you home this time? I know that you shouldn't be having any trouble at your new place. The landlord is a very nice man especially to someone with lots of money like you. I also know that there are good places to eat all around your apartment, so why did you come? Something tells me it wasn't just to see me either." Shindou knew that his mother's reaction to his reason for visiting would be embarrassing, especially since she seemed to think that he and Akari belonged together.
"It has to do with Akari." Shindou decided to get that fact out of the way quickly and then continue before his mother could make an embarrassing comment. "She is going to be graduating in three days and she invited me to her graduation and party. I was wondering what kind of gift I should get her, especially since I missed her last couple of birthdays as well." A small smile appeared on his mother's face at the mention of his childhood friend.
"A gift, huh? Well you can't just buy her something, since she knows you have money it will look like you haven't given this much effort. I would advise that you make something, but I know you aren't very good at that kind of thing. The best bet would be to find her a rare gift, something that can't be bought in a store but you don't have to make it yourself. I know just the place to find such a thing!" Hikaru's mother left the eggs to grab a key off the wall and hand it to Shindou.
"This is the master key to your grandfather's attic. I know you have been up there before, but there are many trunks and chests that are locked and can only be opened with this key. Since you grandfather moved out a few months ago to Okinawa Resorts, no one has really gone in the place since. I'm sure he wouldn't mind it if you looked around for something up there." Shindou stared at the key in wonder as he remembered exactly what was in the attic, the Goban on which he first met Sai. It was also the last time he had done something with Akari that didn't have anything to do with Go. Regardless of whether he could find the gift or not, Hikaru wanted to have the board that was the home of Sai for over a century.
With reflexes tuned by years of placing stones in speed Go, Shindou snatched the key from her hand and bolted to the door. "What about your breakfast, Shindou?" Hikaru stopped in his tracks, grabbed the place of eggs from his mother's hands and gulped the eggs down in just a few seconds. "Thanks mom, that was great. See you later!" With that, Shindou flew out of his old home and down the sidewalk to his grandfather's house. Once he reached the property, Hikaru made a trail of dust as he ran at top speed through the house up to the attic.
It was just as he remembered it the last time he was here. Sai had recently disappeared and he went to see if his companion ghost returned to the Goban where he was originally found. Instead of finding Sai, Shindou only found a Goban without a stain, further proof that Sai was completely gone. He decided to tempt fate and take a look at the Goban again in hopes that the blood stain would return, but it was just as gone as before. In fact, dust had collected on the top of the Goban in an incredible amount. An almost unseen force seemed to push his hand to the Goban and slide it across, remove a line of dust.
Shindou continued to remove the dust from the Goban until his hand passed over the place where the blood stains once were. As he did he felt a sharp pain at the ends of his fingers and immediately retracted them. Looking at the tips of his fingers now he could see several small cuts, each just enough to cause a few drops of blood. Shindou's eyes returned to where his hand just was to see that his blood had dripped and was now being absorbed by the Goban. A strange feeling passed over Shindou, much like the time he first found Sai in this Goban. Within a few seconds Hikaru's vision went black and he fell onto the Goban in an almost trance like state.