I do not own HikaGo.

There, there's the disclaimer.


The Appearing Fox

When Hikaru had walked out of the bathroom, having already relieved his bodily needs and done the typical stuff done inside a bathroom every single morning in Japan [unless you have a completely different schedule?], seeing Sai in a dead faint on the floor, a sight Hikaru had never seen prior to this, was enough to introduce a lot more adrenaline into his system than should be healthy or appropriate. Needless to say, not knowing what to do, he called one person who might have any semblance of an idea what to do when Sai was suddenly unconscious: Touya.

Of course, that meant putting up with the slurs of Touya bright and early in the morning. Hikaru, in his panic, had completely forgotten that Touya was hardly at his best in the morning, having been rudely awoken by what Hikaru had no doubt to be the cellphone's ringing. At least Touya didn't sound like a sleep-deprived zombie, and had given coherent directions on how to deal with Sai.

When Sai had woken up, the first thing that came out was a torrent of words spoken so fast as to be completely incoherent even to Hikaru's practised ears, even as Hikaru knelt to be level with Sai. And Hikaru had had a lot of practice with incoherently, quickly spoken conversations, mostly in spoken Go games with Waya to and from the Go Institute. Rapid-fire of stone coordinates must be well-backed by rapid percipient of said coordinates that could be garbled to the point of near misunderstanding but would also be crucial to the hypothetical game between them.

'Sai, don't do that again!' Hikaru yelled as he pummelled his teacher's heaving chest.

Sai winced. 'Hikaru, what are you...?'

When Sai had appeared, the dam that had stopped Hikaru from lashing out at Sai had already been built. Over the course of the days, the emotions of a normally active boy who was also a Go pro had coalesced, the initial base of confusion and relief, added with the worry, concern and panic when Sai was run over, or almost run over, then left to stew over for more than a day, a potent mix that erupted with the final catalyst of Sai's having fainted. The torrent of emotions poured out there...

'First you disappeared without a warning at all, and I couldn't find you, and I even ran all the way to Innoshima and to all the Shuusaku sites in Japan just on the off chance that I could find you again, and then it lasted for so long I almost quit Go, I didn't want to play without you around, and then two years later you return, and then you get run over by a car, and you even landed in hospital, and even after that you just suddenly fainted!' Hikaru all but screamed. That is to say, one could probably hear it from, oh say, the kitchen. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen.

Sai could only watch Hikaru manhandle, or at least attempt to manhandle his body around, as Hikaru continued to yell at him about some of the most random things. He could not remember being involved in some things, like having given Hikaru schizophrenia, but he could understand, to a small extent, what Hikaru must have felt. Regardless of how much potential Hikaru had, never mind how good a game Hikaru played, he still knew that Hikaru was young, and the young were temperamental and would, of course, react something like this. In truth, this was a tantrum very like Hikaru. Right up to the point where Hikaru began to cry, right in front of him.

Sai had had not much experience with this, but he did the only thing he could: he pulled himself up into a kneeling position and placed what he hoped was a consoling hand on his student's shoulder. 'Hikaru, look at me,' the soft voice now turned slightly harder, with a sharp edge to it. The student obeyed.

'I...cannot make any promises on whether I will disappear. I do not know how much time I was granted.'Sai heard himself say. 'I may have a body now, but then time will pass on, and someday, I will have to leave again, but that someday would be slightly longer in the future. However, what I do know, is that for now, and for the foreseeable future, I am not going anywhere. Even if I am, I will give prior warning,if I can.'

'Hikaru,' the voice of Sai was gentler now, backed with the infinite patience that could only belong to a saint, 'I am not going to leave you alone now.'

And the student, at that, could only nod his head in agreement.


Two hours later, the pair of them descended the steps to the lower floors of the Shindo house and made their way into the kitchen. Sai notes that almost nothing had changed since the last time he was...here, as a spirit. There was a new ...coffee-maker, and perhaps a new addition such as that ...blender. On the whole, the details had changed, but the place had still remained.

Sometimes Sai hated these new lexicon. It was just so...unusual sometimes. Chiaki had only mentioned it somewhat in passing, as none of the foxes really drank coffee, and he really couldn't recall his peer, Seimei, actually touching coffee before. Of course, he'd only just met Seimei after about a thousand years, and coffee surely didn't come to Japan during the Heian era then. Seimei, if he actually drank anything, would be more of the type for alcohol. Sai had never actually met anyone else in the old court who actually gave minors alcohol except for Seimei.

Seimei...If he forgot to tell me anything about my 'condition', senior or not, I will retaliate, Sai decided.

Never anger the Fujiwara, even the weaker ones.

'Tea?' Hikaru suggested, pulling a mug from the ...drying rack besides the sink. And this era still offered such useful amenities. Having been acquainted with the Heian era facilities, or lack of them, Sai was inclined to think of plumbing as the next best thing to Go occasionally. Indeed, life has changed from a thousand years ago.

'Yes, thank you,' Sai replied, taking a seat at the table the Shindo family had. Almost immediately, he wondered what to do today. Generally, as a ghost, he would have followed Hikaru everywhere as his student went about on his daily life, clamouring for more games to watch and to play. Then he would probably bug Hikaru for another game, and when Hikaru accepted, Sai would play Shidougo against Hikaru, if slaughtering his student again and again was counted as Shidougo. But that had been when he was a ghost; he seriously doubted that he could do all that now with a body. Hikaru would get bored, he knew, and he himself needed an occasional break from Go now and then. His was a long-term romance, not a short-term passion for the game.

But he digresses. What to do for the rest of the day? Perhaps he should have a look at this Shimano he was supposed to play against the upcoming week. Maybe he could find some of this person's kifu. Yes, that was a good idea. Now, as to where he could probably find a collection of kifu...

'Sai? Sai, are you okay? Damn, you had that intense look on your face again,' Hikaru commented as he set a mug of hot water with the string of a teabag sticking out of it in front of Sai. 'Sorry, I don't know how to make tea. Do you want anything? There's some bread, if you like, and there's something in the fridge I could probably make...' It looks like Hikaru was trying to be a good host, and failing.

'Uh, no, it's all right,' Sai hastily replied. 'I was just deciding what I should do now.'

'Huh?' Hikaru had froze instantly at that.

'I don't have a job, Hikaru. The only reason I've managed was with help from the Kami who claimed to have been rehabilitating me,' Sai patiently explained. 'Hikaru, I can't just play Go all day, even I need a break from it sometimes.'

'Then what about last time, when you kept bugging me to let you play?' Hikaru retorted, a shadow of the brat still apparent.

'I never knew when my next game was coming, so of course I wanted more to play, more people to play with,' Sai replied slowly. 'On hindsight, it was quite selfish of me, forcing a child to play a game he didn't want to, but now...some things have changed.' The apologetic look Sai gave to Hikaru immediately persuaded the student to forgive any and all transgressions. 'I have a physical body, and with it the bodily needs. Although sometimes I do forget to eat,' Sai sheepishly admitted.

'Sai, you're weird,' Hikaru told him, slotting two pieces of the white thing Sai supposed was bread into the...what was that? Oh, a toaster.

How odd.

'Oh, maybe I'll check if the newspaper is here,' Sai said, carefully pronouncing the word for 'newspaper' as he got up.

'I don't suppose that featured much in you life for the past two years either,' he heard Hikaru mutter.

There was nothing very substantial in the papers, but Sai didn't care much anyway. What he did mind was the numbers section.

'Sai, what are you doing?' Hikaru asked nervously as he watched his sensei with the same expression normally reserved with a tough opponent, slowly studying the newspaper with a pen in one hand, and the cup of tea in the other.

'Guessing numbers,' Sai replied. 'Chiaki San taught me the rules of this game. The newspaper would print this whole list with numbers, and then with it we guess how the numbers rise and fall depending on a number of factors. It's a bit fun, but only for a while.' Then somehow it would always move on to a Go game, which Sai would win. Chiaki was a good player, but not much of a challenge.

Hikaru crossed over to see the 'numbers section'. 'Sai,' he sounded scandalised, 'that's the stock exchange page.'

'Was that the name for it?' Sai innocuously replied, not paying much attention. 'Looks like the yen would rise some more, and so would this...' As Sai pointed at the newspaper, Hikaru noticed a gleaming bracelet on his hand. 'What's that?'

'What? Oh, this,' Sai waved the bracelet. 'It's a medical bracelet, I think. Seimei Sama told me that since I had to pass off my condition as a brain tumour, I might as well wear a bracelet that declares me as epileptic so that my lie would fit in better. Also, he told me to fake a swallow reflex if I couldn't answer any question posed. He also told me to keep the fiction up as long as possible, seeing as no one else knows I'm actually from the Heian era...'

'Sai, there's a study session at Morishita sensei's place today. Do you want to come along?' Hikaru really knew his teacher well, stopping Sai before he could ramble on and reveal more details about the Heian era than what was written in the history books.

'Yatta! Can I play more Go?' Sai once again looked more like a child than what would normally be an adult.

'Of course. I think,' Hikaru drawled, 'everyone would want to play you.'


'Konnichiwa, Morishita sensei,' Hikaru was greeting just after a sumptuous lunch with Sai [which he'd paid], as the house of Morishita Shigeo 9-dan. 'I brought a friend with me today. Can he join our discussion?'

The older man just laughed. Morishita was one of the old-school Japanese and came with the sense of humour that differentiated him from the rest of them. 'Come on right in, then! What's your name, kid?'

Sai decided not to take offence at being called a kid. 'I am Fujiwara Sai, pleased to meet you,' he decided to say.

A few months ago, Chiaki had declared his speech too archaic and had proceeded to drill him with more modern speech patterns. Now, Sai sounded just mildly like Touya Akira. It was a great improvement from the last time, where he would continue on with a poem hastily jotted on the spot. Sai reflected that some things were much simpler than court life so many years ago now.

He still used keigo occasionally though. It was polite.

Morishita led them through the hallways before coming to the study. Waya, Honda and Isumi were already present. Upon seeing Sai behind, Waya leapt up and pointed at him, shouting, 'You!'

'Waya! Don't be rude!' Morishita smacked his disciple on the head with his fan. 'Okay, we have a newcomer today. Fujiwara, meet my student, Waya, his friends Honda and Isumi. This is Fujiwara, a friend of Shindo's whom he invited today.'

'I have met them before. Waya 3-dan, Isumi 4-dan, and Honda 3-dan, correct?' Sai playfully asked.

'Er, yes. You read Go Weekly, huh? Do you have a ranking?' Morishita scratched his head as he asked.

'No, I'm so sorry, I am an amateur. However, I should be quite good...' Sai looked doubtful.

'Oh? Waya, gage this guy's strength while I find those kifu we were supposed to go over today...' Morishita grumbled as he walked out of the room.

Almost immediately Waya grabbed Hikaru by the shirt. 'Why is Sai here,' Waya growled into Hikaru's face, 'when he wasn't before?'

'He could finally attend this study session by himself,' Hikaru defended.

'Well, why don't you give us the run-down now, huh?' Waya grumbled as Isumi pulled his hands off Hikaru and the pair settled. 'No, better, let Sai tell his story.'

Hikaru looked worriedly as Sai carefully arranged himself on the cushion before the Go prodigy began his assumed tale:

'Erm...where should I begin?' Sai sheepishly asked.

'Let's start with about...five years ago.' Waya conceded. 'Around the time Shindo met Touya.'

Hikaru had to admit that Sai looked nervous as his sensei continued:

'Five years ago, when I was...about fourteen or fifteen, I came down with severe headaches. Upon medical examination, I found out that I had a brain tumour. In my case, my tumour was around the spinal cord, which thus led to motor difficulties as the tumour advanced. I was so weak at that time, I couldn't even hold a single stone...I couldn't play Go, the game I love...

Around that time, I was beginning medical treatment when I met Hikaru in the hospital. Apparently, Hikaru was there because he had apparently fallen unconscious while moving a goban. He heard about my...story and offered to play with me, with him placing the stones for us. Of course, I soon realised that Hikaru had not the least idea how to play, but I taught him how to play.'

Hikaru shot a dirty look at his teacher that was missed by the rest of them, so intent to hear Sai's story.

'A few months later, I believe Hikaru met Akira San. The first time was without regard for Komi, and we played Black, winning by two moku. The second time... the outcome should be best left unknown.'

'Huh! Why!' Waya whined. Waya wasn't the only brat around.

'We should respect Akira San's privacy concerning that second game,' Sai admonished. Hikaru saw the brilliance of that move; direct Waya's further enquiries to Akira. Touya wouldn't want everyone to know how a beginner somehow managed to cut his head off, and would therefore keep quiet there.

'After that, we continued to play again and again for a few months until Hikaru found this website advertising Net Go at a Go convention. Hikaru helped me to set up an account on it and moved the mouse to place the stones where I dictated. During the summer holidays, we played many people online under the name Sai...'

'I knew Shindo had a connection to Sai!' Waya triumphantly whispered loudly. Hikaru could only dumbly admire how Sai managed to fit that into his story.

'And that was the end of that chapter of the tale. During the times in between, my condition grew steadily more serious. The doctors recommended that I undergo surgery overseas, having no surgeon experienced enough to operate on me. I...had kept my condition secret from Hikaru as he was preparing for the Pro examinations to chase after Akira San.'

Don't pull me into this, stupid Sai! Hikaru mentally yelled.

'Hikaru, as a favour to me, helped me to arrange a game with Touya Koyo, the man whom I had always wanted to play,' Sai continued wistfully. 'It was a good game, a very good game, one that was everything I expected, and more... sadly, two days after, I disappeared on Kodomo no Hi.'

Very nice, Sai. It's too vague.

'I had to go overseas for my operation, and before that I couldn't contact Hikaru,' Sai's eyes were almost brimming with tears. Or it was a trick of the light. 'I left Hikaru alone for the past two years, without any warning at all...'

Suddenly, it didn't matter that Isumi's face had softened, that Honda almost looked like he was crying, or that Waya's was staring in astonishment and...maybe a bit of uneasiness at Sai. Hikaru had just realised one thing:

Sai was not only good at Go, but also can be really convincing, if given incentive. If he hadn't lived it, he wouldn't have believed that Sai was a ghost now returned...Sai's lie had not only helped to explain many things like how his Go was similar to Sai's, and why Sai never became a pro, and even why he couldn't play Sai face to face. And he thought he was good at lying; Sai's lying was phenomenal.


'Shindo, I never knew you were such a noble person,' Honda commented as they set up the gobans after that.

'You should have seen Sai that time, he was so weak, he could barely hold a stone,' Hikaru remarked. 'Anyway, I owe it to that guy that I met Go and Touya in the first place.'

'Heh? So maybe we'll see how strong your sensei really is,' Morishita remarked as he walked in. ' Waya, play him. Use White.'

'Yes sir,' Waya cheerfully replied, both players taking their places at the goban. 'Komi is six point five moku, okay, Sai? I'm going at this with my full strength!'

'It has increased again, I see,' Sai remarked, placing the first stone at 17-4.

Waya was pretty sure that he had improved. Sure, he had played this character before, but it wasn't like he was actually expecting this young man to really be Sai, and most probably a hoax. Also, he'd comforted himself by mentally convincing himself that he wasn't playing at his best. Now, with the spectre of Morishita sensei, perhaps he could be more motivated...although he knew it was unhealthy to develop this attitude.

Sai was a strange character too, he thought. He was holding a fan such that the lower half of his face was hidden, and the man Waya had pegged as the type to show his feelings openly had become as serene and unreadable as a Buddha. Waya could actually feel the intensity emanating off Sai, and he felt small, insignificant almost, before the man with the fan.

The mask of Sai, he joked to himself as he placed another white stone, and Sai replied almost instantly. That single stone had spelled Waya's defeat already.


Morishita sucked in a breath of air. 'Whoa,' he uttered, 'what skill...are you really an amateur?'

'The last time I remember, I had not taken the exam due to my condition,' Sai replied. 'I am still an amateur, yes.'

'What talent, then,' Morishita commented.

Honda and Isumi were, simply put, amazed and humbled by Sai. 'So this is Shindo's teacher...' Honda breathed. What a game...

'You did good, Waya,' Morishita told his student. 'Really good.'

'I know,' the red-haired pro managed to stutter. 'Wow, Sai has improved, and in only a few days.'

'Oh, you know this guy, Waya?' Morishita asked.

'Duh, all the pros online know Sai,' Waya shrugged. 'He beat Touya Koyo after all.'


Oh shit, Hikaru could tell, things were about to get bad.

Morishita's face had gone white, his jaw dropping out, as he struggled with the next words. 'You're telling me, that an amateur beat Touya Koyo?' he all but yelled. Oh hindsight, Morishita's yell would be louder than his students'.

'Sure, it was on Net Go. I saw that game. I think the insei still use the kifu as part of the curriculum. Half the pros are on Net Go today because of Sai. Morishita sensei, you still remember the International Amateur Tournament, when I was still an insei, and I was there and I mentioned Sai, then all the amateurs there were so excited, they all thought Sai was going to be here in Japan? He's a strong player, sensei.' Waya continued, oblivious to the scene he had created with his declaration.

Stronger than you, Waya silently added.


Two hours later, Morishita Shigeo had to admit that yes, Sai had fantastic skill, such that the battle in end-game was close, but the result was that Morishita lost by five moku, even with the new Komi rule. Even as he tried to convince himself that it was a fluke, the truth still remained that Sai had won against a 9-dan pro without prior notice.

It's like playing against the Go Saint Shuusaku himself, Morishita acknowledged. Honinbo Shuusaku having learnt modern joseki. Waya wasn't joking there, this guy's like the 'invincible' Shuusaku.

'Arimasen,' Morishita acknowledged. Sai properly closed the game, and the pair of them then realised that not only had the kifu lay forgotten, but their students were avidly tracking the game, Waya scribbling what looked like the game just now on kifu paper.

'Waya, you're right...for once,' Morishita sighed. 'This guy really is like Shuusaku having learned modern joseki. This is talent that really should belong among the pros, not on the Internet. Hey, Shindo, why hasn't this friend of yours joined the pros yet?'

'Dakara, Morishita sensei, his condition didn't allow him to play!' Hikaru yelled at him. 'Didn't we tell you just now?'

'Oh fine, fine. Fujiwara, if you ever want to go pro, I'll sponsor you!' Morishita offered.

'Thank you, Morishita sensei, I'll bear that in mind,' Sai replied, bowing as he got up. 'I'm sorry, but I may have an acquaintance coming over right now.'

'Oh, you're leaving already? It's this late?' Waya sullenly asked as both pairs of teacher and student got up. 'I'll see you out.'

'Don't worry, I'll be fine. It was enjoyable to play with you again, zelda Kun,' Sai playfully said as the group walked to the door.

Waya gulped. 'Y-You...'

'Of course I know you,' Sai added as the two left. 'You're why I started Net Go.'

And Waya could only stare in confusion as the pair of them got into a strange car waiting for them outside Morishita's house and left.


'Of all the things you drive in, why on earth a Jeep?' Hikaru almost yelled at the driver.

'Shut up,' Chiaki growled as he gunned the old post-Korean War Jeep through the relatively peaceful traffic of Tokyo at five or so in the afternoon. 'This is perfectly good for Abe here. I could run into twenty cars with it and still continue driving without a single scratch.'

'PIGEON!' Sai screamed as the Jeep gunned its way through.

'Well, who told the bird to stand on the road?' Seimei, riding shotgun, commented. 'Chiaki, go faster.'

'Speed demon!' Hikaru yelled, clinging onto the car seat for dear life.

'Thank you,' Seimei replied happily. 'Is that a phone ringing?'

Indeed, it was Hikaru's phone ringing. Hikaru decided to change the specially allocated tone that indicated that the caller was Touya. As if he wanted to hear what sounded like partially laryngitic cats being dipped in boiling oil every time Touya called. Why on earth had he chosen that particular song...

'Moshi moshi?' Hikaru managed to say into the phone.

'Shindo, where are you?' Akira quietly asked.

Hikaru internally gulped. When Akira took that voice, it meant that his rival was in for hell. 'Er...I'm in a friend's Jeep...TREE!'

'What? Anyway, Shindo, you're late for our game,' Akira continued as if Hikaru hadn't almost run into a tree due to two speed demons driving the car which he was currently in.

'Aw, come on! I'm only five minutes late! And that was 'cause Sai had a game with Morishita sensei!' Hikaru complained, still somewhat fearing for his life as the driver held the clutch in a way that seemed very threatening...

'Sai? Shindo, I forgot to say this, but my father is here and he wants to meet Sai.' Akira continued at the Touyas' Go salon. 'Are you coming over right now...?'

Hikaru was just about to reply yes when a long-fingered hand appeared before him, motioning for the phone. Hikaru looked up to see that the hand was Seimei's. Quietly, he handed the phone over to the other man from the Heian era.

'Good day, Touya San,' Seimei cheerfully said into the phone. 'No, Fujiwara San is not on his way to your Go salon, but would you mind putting Touya sensei on the phone? I have something to say to him.'

While speaking, Seimei raised a finger with his other hand and pressed it to his lips. Hikaru got the message.

'Touya Koyo sensei? Ah, good day, I am Abe Seimei, one of Sai's caretakers. Would you care to meet Sai at a certain place today? No, it's not too far from your current position...'

As Seimei continued to give Touya senior directions to a certain game salon, Hikaru could only stare in wonder. He was just about to talk when suddenly, it was like he'd lost his voice, and he could hardly make a sound.

'Well, excellent! See you then.' As Seimei hung up, Hikaru found that he was able to talk again.

'What was that, you...?'

'Calm down, child. You will get your game,' Seimei sighed. 'Fujiwara San, do you remember what I said about you not being the only exception?'

'Eh?' Sai nodded. 'Yes, Seimei Sama. But we are the only ones...'

'I said that we were the only ones from the Heian era. I never said that no other era's players have forgotten their love of Go and passed on,' Seimei snapped. 'There are four...no, three, now that Hattori has passed on, players from the Edo era. They were all looking forward to seeing the power of one of their own.'

'Huh? You mean like that ghost Sai was playing...?' Hikaru almost squeaked.

'Something like that.' Seimei cheerfully replied. 'They're all pretty strong. I think even Fujiwara San would have a hard time against them.'

'Guys who can match up against Sai?' Hikaru asked blankly. 'What kind of monsters are those?'

Sai would have chastised his student if it wasn't that the two at the front of the car laughed out loud. 'How...very accurate,' Chiaki finished lamely as the driver tried to contain his laughter, ignoring Hikaru's cries of 'CAR!'

'Yes, I think it's quite accurate to categorise them as monsters,' Seimei giggled. 'They are strong at the game, backed by almost centuries of playing Go, and a deep love for it. In fact, their love for the game is such that I had problems exorcising them.'

'So who are they?' Sai asked, confused. 'What should I do?'

'The place we're going to is co-owned by the three of them,' Seimei chuckled. 'They belong to the house of Honinbo, and lived around the time of Shuusaku. That should be quite obvious, right? And for that question...why, you are going to exorcise them.'


There are quite a few famous Honinbo players who lived around this time. Who Ihave in mind is related to Shuusaku.

Konnichiwa is Japanese for 'good afternoon'/ 'good day'

'Moshi moshi' means 'hello hello' this is used only in phone conversations [sort of, I don't know].

'Yatta!' is the Japanese version of 'Yay!'

'Arimasen' is another way of resigning. It means 'no more' or 'I can't take any more'. Something like that.

Joseki is a set pattern of moves in Go.

You can read up Shuusaku yourself on the Net.

The next chapter, we meet the three people Sai is supposed to exorcise ...and we see how Hikaru manages to tell the Touya pair about Sai.

Please read and review!