My opponent finally placed a stone on the goban after struggling for a period of time. He was wearing something weird, or rather, something really old-fashioned. So was his hairdo. The room we were playing in was rather dim. However, I could feel that there were many in the room, concentrating on the game that we were playing. They all looked like they were from the past.

"5-8!" An echoing voice commanded. I did not look around for the source of the voice. It seemed like it was just a voice in my head. I picked up a stone from the container before my knees. Obeying the order, I placed the stone on the board professionally.

"I resign," the man across me lowered his head. His voice also seemed far away.

When I looked at the goban, I realized the game had been beautifully played. It was a blessing to be able to witness such a game. I smiled and thanked God for blessing me with this voice in my head. Then, suddenly, it occurred to me, When did I learn to play Go? I suck at Go! I could not find the answer, no matter how hard I tried. My head hurt.

His head hurt when Torichiro woke up, sweating. His hands rubbed his temples, hoping that it would help. The alarm clock beside his bed read 4:32a.m. He scanned the bedroom as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. A ghostly figure sat still on the floor, staring at some souvenirs and pictures he took from the Go convention last week. Ever since Sai appeared, he had been having headaches. Recently, he had been having weird visions and dreams about playing Go, like the one he just had.

"Torichiro! You are awake!" Sai smiled happily at him. "Let's play a game!"

"I don't have a goban," the boy fell back to bed.

"Are you not feeling well, Torichiro?" Sai asked with concerns, approaching the bed. He put his hand on the boy's forehead. "It's burning hot!"

"AH~ Get your freezing hand off me. I'm fine!" He brushed Sai's cold hand away.

"Sorry," Sai apologized, forgetting that ghosts were cold-blooded. Torichiro stole a glance of the pouting Sai, and sighed. "Just having bad dreams about playing Go."

"Go??" The ghost's face brightened up. "How was it? Can you replay the game for me?"

The boy could not believe this man. "I forgot already," he said. But then he realized that the game was still crystal clear in his mind. Every single move. It was as if it had been engraved onto his head. He turned to the disappointed Sai and smiled, "But it was awesome." A smile spread across the ghost's face.

* * * * * * *

*Pa-chi*

Hikaru stared at the goban. Then, as if awaking from a dream, he realized the situation. The game had been badly played. He couldn't believe himself. 'What was I thinking?' He asked himself, although he knew the answer. 'Concentrate! I can still turn this around!' He told himself.

*Pa-chi* Approximately ten hands later, his opponent surrendered. Hikaru bowed and stood up from the game calmly.

"That took you long!" Waya commented as he walked out to the hall. "What's going on? You are usually the first one done. Was your opponent that strong?" Most of the matches were done. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. It looked as if he had been waiting for a prolonged period. Beside him was Akira. It seemed like he was waiting for him too.

"Touya, you have a match today?" Hikaru wasn't aware.

"No, you didn't show up yesterday at the Go Salon, and you didn't call. I was just wondering why," the 5-dan paused, "Is something bothering you, Shindou? You did take a while today."

"No," The pro replied and looked away. "I was just...distracted."

"Distracted? That's the worst mistake a Go player could make!" The brunette warned. Hikaru responded with an awkward silence, Waya noticed the absence of the fan Hikaru always had with him whenever he had a match. "Was it because you didn't have your lucky fan with you?"

Hikaru opened his palm to looked at it for a moment, than closed it into a tight fist. "I don't need it anymore. I can play just as well without it."

When they walked out the building, Waya finally built up his courage to ask the question that had been wandering in his mind for a long time. "You've been acting strangely ever since the convention."

Hikaru stopped his pace, sensing there was more Waya had to say. "W-who was that friend Kuwabara-Sensei was talking about the other day?"

He thought for a moment as his friends watched him anxiously. Both held their breath as if they were about to enter a forbidden ground. The blond pro knew that if he remained silent again, their curiosity would come back to him again and again until an answer was given. He slowly turned to the brunette and replied, "Sai."

"SO YOU DO KNOW SAI!" Waya exclaimed, although he sort of knew that all along. Hikaru was a little stunned by his exclamation. So was Akira. He was in fact more surprised by Waya's reaction than Hikaru's answer. After all, the blond did hint several times about knowing Sai to him. Hikaru quickly put an index finger on his lips, signaling the 3-dan to keep it down. It wouldn't be fun at all if people find out his connection with Sai, especially when they were right outside the Japanese Go Institution. Hikaru couldn't help imagining hundreds or thousands of Ogata-Sensei forcing him to arrange a game with Sai.

Waya finally suppressed his excitement and apologized for his outburst. He then whispered, "Can I meet him?"

"No." The pro started walking again, and his friends followed.

"Can you get me an autograph?"

"No."

"Can you..." Hikaru stopped walking suddenly and glared at Waya, who shut up immediately.

"He left two years ago. I have lost contact with him since then."

"Why did he leave?"

"How would I know?" Hikaru's frustration rose. "I guess he chose to leave, because he wanted to leave? I did look for him afterwards, you know? But I guess he hid himself from me on purpose, because..." His voice started to waver, "...because...I was not a good enough challenge for him!" Anger turned into sorrow. Tears poured down his cheeks as his fists shook.

"Hikaru," Waya silently blamed himself for being so inquisitive.

"That was why you skipped all your matches during that time?" Akira asked the rhetorical question. The boy nodded once as he tried to stop the tears. Although Akira knew that there was a bigger mystery behind, he left it at that. They were starting to receive glances from by-passers. The two friends watched in silence as the pro sobbed quietly on the street.

* * * * * * *

"Dinner, Hikaru!" Mrs. Shindou called from downstairs.

"Hai," The pro responded, but remained seated in front of his newly brought laptop. He stared at the list of online players on the monitor for a moment longer before closing the browser.

For weeks, Hikaru had been waiting for Sai to reappear online. He even brought a laptop solely for this purpose. Everyday after his matches, he would hurry home and turn on his computer. Just to stare at the list being refreshed every once in a while. Mrs. Shindou even suspected her son of becoming an Internet addict, since he seemed to be more interested in his laptop than Go recently. Moreover, Hikaru missed his weekly visit to Touya's Go Salon the day before. Lucky that he hadn't missed an important match.

After dinner, he returned to his seat, waiting and staring. Sai, I miss you. Why did you leave me? Do I really suck that much? He wiped the tears from his eyes, not exactly sure if it was due to the constant staring at the monitor while forgetting to blink, or it was because of his desperation, or both.

	| Sai | JPN |
Hikaru's eyes widened. He blinked. He blinked again. Then he rubbed his eyes. Is he online? Is he really online? His heart pounded against his chest heavily as he invited Sai to a game.

A/N: This will probably last for another 3 or 4 chapters. Thanks for the positive reviews!! Keep them coming!