Rebirth

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I can't remember if I already put a disclaimer, but here it is, anyway. Don't own, don't sue.

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Chapter 5

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Sayoku walked in the vague direction of his home, deep in thought. He was overwhelmed by his discovery of his past, and he pondered the reliability of his dream. he had never been a staunchly superstitious boy, but he did express his faith in Buddhism by visiting temples with his parents weekly.

So it was, to him, a very logical possibility that he was the reincarnate of that Heian courtier he saw in his dream, Sai. However, something told him that it was rather unusual, if not strange, that he should remember bits and pieces of his past life. What was more, it seemed that these recollections were coming to him through his dreams. Perhaps, more would be revealed to him as he slept that night...

'Oof!' Sayoku felt all the breath being knocked out of his lungs as he bumped into a tall and thin man, who wore his hair in a rather foolish-looking bowl haircut. After all, how often was it that one saw a modern young man, decked in a suit and tie, with such a silly looking hairdo?

Sayoku looked up into a pair of shrewd green eyes that were tinged with concern. 'Are you okay? I'm so sorry... I should have been looking where I was going...' The man's voice was deep and mature, and sounded disturbingly familiar.

'Oh, I'm okay. Thanks for your concern,' Sayoku said, adjusting his windbreaker.

As Sayoku looked closely at the man's fine features, he discovered, much to his horror, that he had bumped into Touya-sensei! Embarrassed that he had not recognised him earlier, Sayoku bowed deeply and greeted Akira, while apologising for his rudeness.

Akira smiled broadly at the flustered Sayoku. But he hadn't heard Sayoku's muttered apologies. All he could think of right then was how to express his eagerness to have a game of Go with the young prodigy, without sounding too anxious at the same time.

'Ishikawa-kun, would you like to play a quick game with me?' Akira cringed inwardly at the abruptness of his invitation. This wasn't surprising, however, since he had been awaiting a chance to play with this boy for weeks. Here was his chance, and of course he had snatched at it, albeit a tad too eagerly.

Sayoku stared at Akira, visibly stunned by the unexpected invitation. First, he had played against Shindou-sensei, and now, Touya-sensei was requesting to have a game of Go with him! Dizzy with excitement, he blurted out, 'Hai!' , and wondered why the two most outstanding young Go professionals had graciously extended their invitations to such an unknown and lowly player like him.

Suddenly remembering that Touya-sensei was Shindou-sensei's close friend, he decided that he could drill Touya-sensei about 'Sai' once their game was over.

*****

Sayoku and Akira heaved a huge sigh of relief once the game was over. It had been a close match, since both players had put in their all for the game, particularly Sayoku, who was anxious to impress Touya-sensei.

Akira, on the other hand, was deep in thought, and he analysed every one of Sayoku's moves. After some time, he decided that the answer to his question was rather obvious-- Ishikawa Sayoku was Fujiwara no Sai.

Of course, he had no clue as to how Sai looked, spoke or behaved. Even though he had managed to persuade Hikaru to sketch Sai, it wasn't of much help, since Hikaru was hopeless at drawing. But Ishikawa Sayoku's moves on the Go board reeked of Sai's power and strategy.

Akira had learnt from Hikaru that Sai was from the Heian period, and was a victim of court politics. He had an undying passion for Go, and lived and died for the sake of the game. He was indeed an honourable man, and really ought to have his name etched deeply into the history books. Unfortunately for him, he died too early, and only began to make his mark on the Go world when he was a ghost.

Sayoku watched Touya-sensei's brows furrow with concentration, and waited patiently for his chance to ask the long awaited question: Who was Sai? And what was his relation to Shindou-sensei?

A pregnant pause ensued, and Sayoku watched Touya-sensei respectfully, not wanting to interrupt his flow of thought. He stared silently at the Goban, not daring to inspect his surroundings, fearing that it would be deemed rude by his host.

However, after some time, Sayoku, being the restless and overly curious teenager he was, began to look around him, albeit out of the corner of his eye. He was currently in a traditionally decorated room, tatami mats, screen doors and all. Well, besides that, there wasn't much to see in this room besides the few calligraphy scrolls hanging from the wall, since it was probably specially designated as a room to play Go in.

At long last, Akira looked up from the board, and he was immediately met by the eager gaze of Sayoku. 'Anou... Touya-sensei, who was Sai?'

Akira started, surprised by the unexpected question. Then he took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell Sayoku all about Sai.

'Ishikawa-kun, Sai, otherwise known as Fujiwara no Sai, possessed Shindou Hikaru from the span of time when Shindou was twelve, until he was fifteen. He was the one who made Shindou the genius he is now, and perhaps, without Sai, Shindou might be holding some other job instead of this one now...'

Sayoku stared in wonder, as Akira continued telling him about Sai, as the sun began to slip behind the western horizon.

*****

Shindou Hikaru groaned lazily and stretched, momentarily forgetting about the sleeping figure beside him. Akari sighed as she shifted beside Hikaru. Worried that he might rouse her, Hikaru stopped moving unnecessarily, and then settled for a rather uncomfortable position, while holding Akari's slender body close to his own.

Staring out the window into a starry sky, Hikaru began to wonder about Ishikawa Sayoku once more, all this while still stroking Akari's hair absently.

Was Sayoku indeed Sai? Or was it simply a coincidence? Did Sayoku play like Sai because he had studied Honinbo's kifu?

Perhaps he should go seek Sayoku out one day...

Then the truth might be revealed...

Perhaps... Just perhaps...

Hikaru tightened his hold on Akari's slim waist, and pressed his lips to her forehead, as she moaned softly in her sleep.

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A/n: Hello. *Dodges rotting vegetables* I'm so terribly sorry I took, what, 3 months to update this fic. I'm really really really really sorry about this, and I hope you haven't forgotten about me XP I've been bogged down by homework and tests and projects and competitions and homework and tests and projects. Bweh. This is horrible. I hope this chapter will be enough to satisfy you until, uh, September, hopefully. And at the end of the year, I hope and swear that I'll update more often.

Uh, and I'm trying to end the fic as soon as I possibly can without being abrupt so you readers out there won't have to suffer much longer. XP

Patience is a virtue.