Rebirth

Chapter 2

Hikaru was jolted awake by his nagging alarm clock. He groped for the device on his bedside table while his eyes adjusted to the bright rays of light shining through a gap between his pale curtains. The clock, knocked onto the floor by Hikaru's blind hands, stopped beeping abruptly. Hikaru picked up the clock and stared at its face for several seconds before the time actually registered in his foggy mind.

It was eleven fifteen. What time did Akari say she'd come over? Ten, sharp.

'K'so!' Hikaru cursed himself for spending too much time pondering about Sai and Ishikawa Sayoku the previous night; that had robbed him of more than two hours of precious sleep. He hopped out of bed hastily and nearly tripped over the mess of magazines, newspapers and kifu he had left behind the previous night. He made a beeline for his closet and grabbed some clothes; he was clad in only his boxers.

After making himself presentable enough, Hikaru opened his front door, and true enough, Akari was still leaning casually against the corridor wall, waiting patiently.

Her face lit up when she saw Hikaru emerge sheepishly from behind the door. 'Hikaru! I've made breakfast for you!' She held up the bento boxes proudly. Hikaru greeted her, and then apologised for making her wait so long.

Akari shook her head violently. 'Go professionals need to get lots of rest. come! Let's have breakfast!'

Hikaru smiled to himself. Akari hadn't changed much; she was still the bubbly girl he had known from childhood and she still made the best bento meals he had ever tasted.

He failed to notice the faint blush that crossed her face when his arm brushed her shoulder as she bounced into his room.

*****

Hikaru made his way casually to the cramped room allocated to the journalists and editors of Go Weekly. He wore a determined frown on his face, his brow deeply furrowed. He was a man on a mission, to find out more about the boy Ishikawa Sayoku, and perhaps take a look at his kifu, if possible.

Unfortunately, though, for Hikaru, the office was empty, save for a newcomer who didn't know nuts about Go. It took a few seconds for the reason for everyone's absence to register in his mind. This was the day of the highly-anticipated match between Touya Akira and Ogata-sensei, with Touya contending for the prized title of Meijin. Somehow, this had slipped Hikaru's mind, but this was hardly surprising, for his brain had been saturated with revived memories of Sai, as well as his growing curiosity about Ishikawa Sayoku.

In any case, he had to hurry if he wanted to catch them in action, so Hikaru too the stairs two at a time to the viewing room on the third floor of the Japanese Go Institute and found the small room packed with reporters, as well as several Go professionals. None of them turned when Hikaru opened the door, but Hikaru managed to spot a few familiar figures anyway.

He quietly settled himself into a chair near the back of the room and quickly assessed the progress of the game, which had barely started. Touya's chances were probably 50-50, he concluded, as Akira placed his black stone in a piece of white territory.

*****

The day's time was up and the envelope was sealed. Akira looked mentally and physically drained. Hikaru, wearing his typically gaudy clothing, was talking animatedly to his bunch of his ex-insei friends. He remembered the one with the brown spiky hair from some argument during his teenage days. And the one with the slightly ruffled hair, Isumi, if he wasn't mistaken, was supposed to be quite a good player. Strangely, Touya Akira hadn't played against him all these years, but he had heard that his talent and skills had impressed Kuwabara Honinbo.

Akira's mind wandered back to the unfinished game, and wondered what type of play Ogata had decided upon. He then reviewed all his moves slowly, assessing his chances. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice Hikaru standing before him until the person in question waved his hand in his face in an almost child-like manner.

Akira looked up and straight at Shindou Hikaru's face. It was evident that he was absolutely bursting to tell him something. The words shot out from Hikaru's mouth like a string of bullets,' IwanttotalktoyouaboutSai.' Excitement had made Hikaru's face flushed and his tongue knotted, but Akira heard him clearly enough. Being the polite person he was, he nodded understandingly and said,' Sure. Come let's go have a drink somewhere.'

Hikaru was, as usual, flustered by Akira's politeness, but eventually accepted his offer. Akira drove them to a small and quiet café so that they could speak without interruption about Sai.

Hikaru sipped his tea slowly to calm himself and then said clearly,' I think Sai has returned. I think he has reincarnated as one of the new Go professionals this year, as Ishikawa Sayoku.'

'How can you be sure?' Akira was evidently stunned by this new revelation made by Hikaru.

'Remember, I told you about that ghost Fujiwara no Sai who possessed me? I saw him day in, day out for nearly three years. How could I ever forget his face? Moreover, this Ishikawa Sayoku's resemblance to Sai is so uncanny, I feel as though I'm looking at a modern and younger version of Sai.'

'But.'

'Touya, my gut feeling says that Ishikawa Sayoku is Sai reincarnated. Anyway, we'd know if he's Sai when we play him. If he really is Sai, I believe we'll be meeting him soon.'

Akira was rendered speechless by Hikaru's impressive speech and nodded silently. He brought his cup to his lips and sipped his peppermint tea. The refreshing wave characteristic of the beverage washed over him, and he felt revitalised instantly. However, the thought of playing against the legendary Sai once more made his head feel light. It was pure euphoria that Akira felt at that very moment. The three games he had played with Sai were still deeply etched in his mind; twelve years had not eroded these memories at all.

Akira suppressed his excitement, although he felt like jumping around and dancing, and successfully maintained his composed countenance while he fantasised about his next game against 'Sai'.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a shout from Hikaru, who had jumped up from his seat, spilling his unfinished tea on the table. 'There! I see Ishikawa Sayoku! He's going inside the pachinko stall with a bunch of friends! Come! Let's go talk to him now!'







A/n: sorry about the long wait. I needed to find out more about the Japanese names for Ogata and Kuwabara since I'm reading the Chinese translation. XP I really appreciate your reviews, thanks a million for them. ^^ Oh yes, this fic is dedicated to Shao Feiya, who helped me with the character names. =)