Chapter 2: Sai Returns
There was darkness covering the expanse in every direction. He tried to hold his hand up in front of this face, but even this act could not be seen. No light, no sound, no feeling, besides a small tingling on the back of Shindou's neck. Hikaru tried to move forward, but he couldn't tell where he was going or if he was even moving at all. There seemed to be nothing there, not even the resistance of air. Fear dripped into Shindou's heart as he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Am I dead?" No response. "Is this supposed to be heaven or hell?" Again, there was no response. "Is there anyone who can hear me?" Shindou could barely hear even himself, as there was no echo to the sound, nothing for it to bounce off of and return to him. He only felt the vibrations of the noise leaving his mouth that told him he was generating sound. It was similar to screaming while wearing giant earmuffs, he supposed.
The tingling on the back of his neck slowly spread through his body, until it seemed to almost engulf him entirely. At that exact instant, the feeling went away and a light could be seen in the distance. With the speed of a fighter jet, Shindou seemed to fly towards the light until it was so bright that he had to close his eyes. After a few moments the light began to dim and a lone figure stood before Hikaru. It was Fujiwarano Sai, the 1,000 year old ghost of the greatest Go player of all time.
However, this Sai did not appear to be a ghost at all, but perfectly real. Shindou reached out his hand to touch the former ghost, and was startled to find Sai was most definitely solid. "Hello, Shindou. It's been a long time." The voice was one that Hikaru hadn't heard for many years, but was still as familiar to him as his own voice. Tears formed at the sound of Sai's words, and Shindou was left speechless.
"I bet you are wondering where you are and why I am here." All Hikaru could do is nod. "It is a complicated matter, but I will try to explain it to you." Sai cleared his throat and began his story. "After I showed you the match between Akira's father and myself, I had achieved the goal that had eluded me for over a thousand years. I had thought that my goal was to obtain the "Hand of God", but I was wrong. I did not commit suicide because I could not gain the Hand of God, but because I could no longer teach Go to anyone. With my name tarnished for cheating, I died without being able to help another by passing on my knowledge."
"The first time I returned, I did not teach Shuusaku my Go, he already was a good player and therefore just let me play. When he died I still had not passed on my Go, so I returned to you. It took many years to teach you, but once you saw that match I knew that my Go had been passed on, and that I had finally completed the unfinished business that kept me a ghost for so long. Then I disappeared. I traveled here, a special place between the real world and heaven that only former ghosts can enter. Here I was able to meet others and learn many things from many people. I would teach them Go and they would teach me things that they had mastered. Everyone here had a certain gift, and I learned many things about both the world and myself. For you it has been only a few years, but here time has no such meaning. I have been here for all eternity and yet it was only a blink of an eye."
"Once a ghost travels to this realm he is no longer a ghost, but another kind of spirit. We can still return to the real world if we have a strong connection to anchor us there, and if enough spirit energy has built up. I wanted to visit you, but after months of saving my energy I was only able to appear to you in a dream. This Goban in which I was trapped is the point at which I crossed over; therefore it is only at this point that I could go back. When you touched the Goban I became your anchor, allowing you to enter this realm for a short while. Now that you are here I can put the spirit energy I stored up in the Goban into your body, allowing me to connect with you once more."
"There are many things I have to teach you now. Things I did not understand because of my narrow mind whose only concern was with playing Go. I taught you Go without teaching you the balance between Go and normal life. I feel that I must help you Shindou, so therefore I will return with you to your realm for as long as it takes for you to learn. Prepare yourself Shindou, this might hurt a bit." Sai then smiled and began to glow very brightly.
A large burst of light came from the place Sai was standing and hit Shindou, sending him flying backwards. If Hikaru wasn't surprised by the force of the blast, he was definitely surprised by the feeling of his back hitting the wall of the attic. The moment he made contact with the solid wood, the light diminished and Shindou fell to the ground. The pain in his body reduced to a light aching, Hikaru managed to crawl towards the stairs and descend out of the attic.
Shindou had made it all the way out the front door and down the driveway before he noticed the giddy spirit with purple hair and baggy white clothes walking with him. "SAI!!!" Hikaru yelled, remembering his "dream" but not believing it was real until now. "Hikaru, it worked. I am back. There are many things we need to do, but first return to the attic and retrieve my Goban. If I remember correctly we still have an unfinished game."
A huge smile appeared on Hikaru's face as he ran and grabbed Sai's Goban. In what could be considered by some a world record, Shindou and Sai raced back to the train station and then to Shindou's apartment. Hikaru immediately cleared a space on his floor and dropped the Goban down. With speed that would shock even Touya Kouyo, Hikaru recreated the game that he started with Sai while near the brink of exhaustion. With his fan outstretched, Sai pointed out his next move, restarting a game that had been on hold for years. The familiar sound of the stone touching the Goban brought smiles to both of the player's faces, knowing that the battle had begun once more.
End Chapter
A/N: I am going to do small chapters (1,000-2,000 words) but hopefully post often. I know how to play Go, but I will not give specific moves or anything in any of the games played in the story. If you like the story so far, I encourage you to review. Any questions, comments, or suggestions would be appreciatedJ
