Okay, in this chapter, you get a bit of Sai's POV. I didn't mark where it switches, but if you can't tell… if you can't tell, I'm really sorry for you. Truly.

This is also the chapter with a character death, but again, it's Sai, and if you didn't know he died… I'm really sorry for you. Truly.

Finally, this chapter is dedicated to Song Min Dao, who was the only one willing to say, "NO, I was NOT scared off by your first chapter and waited for your second one!" Song Min Dao, if you're still reading this, I'm really grateful for you. Truly.


With His Luck

Honinbo came to him the next night, pulling him out of the river and enfolding him in another hug, nearly smothering him with the sheer amount of fabric in his sleeves alone. But Yuuki didn't complain. He just hugged back, realizing that Honinbo now knew his darkest secret, and still pulled him from the river and held him close. When Honinbo drew away, however, his face was serious and he beckoned for Yuuki to follow him.

The memory they wandered through this time was one of Honinbo's. Yuuki and Honinbo sat politely beside a goban, watching as another Honinbo entered and took his place on one side. Other Heian nobles filtered in, with one wearing a similar outfit to Honinbo's taking a place on the other side. Yuuki noted that the only real difference between his Honinbo and the one sitting at the board was the amount of sadness and wisdom his Honinbo showed.

The game commenced. It was one of the most intense matches Yuuki had ever witnessed. He watched in amazement as the two evenly-matched players went back and forth over the board. He knew Honinbo was good, but Yuuki had never been able to see him play against someone who actually challenged him. Honinbo suddenly nudged Yuuki and pointed to the other player's hand. With some horror, Yuuki watched Honinbo's opponent drop an extra stone in with his prisoners, then rise up and accuse Honinbo of cheating. Honinbo tried to defend himself, but the emperor would have none of it and insisted both continue the game. Yuuki didn't need to watch the game to know the outcome – he just needed to look over at his Honinbo's defeated posture. Honinbo had lost this game. Yuuki reached over and took Honinbo's hand, squeezing it slightly and offering a smile, trying to cheer him up. Honinbo's returned smile was weak and wavering.

The next night, Yuuki saw the reason why. He watched in horror as the other Go player confronted a crushed Honinbo, laughing at his incompetence before making an attempt to kiss him. Honinbo fled, but was soon trapped between the other player approaching him and a river. Honinbo didn't even pause to think, he just flung himself into the water. The amount of fabric in his clothes weighed him down, and Yuuki knew, from an odd sort of experience, that Honinbo would drown. The other Go player stood at the edge of the river with a scowl on his face.

Yuuki punched him.

> > > > >

Sai didn't know why Mitani was in his dreams whenever he managed to sleep. Nor did he know why Mitani was always drowning at the start. After many dreams, though, Sai no longer cared to know why. It was enough to have Mitani around. Sometimes… sometimes he felt like the red-headed boy could see him, even when they were both wide awake. More than once, he would swear that Mitani had looked straight at him, but only for a second, and only to be quickly distracted by something else.

Surely Mitani would have raised more of a fuss if he actually did see a Heian-era Go player trailing behind Hikaru everywhere.

So Sai settled for walking with him in dreams. Mitani was a better Go player than Hikaru, but still pretty weak. He had potential, but no one to sharpen his skills on. Sai was thrilled to indulge him in game after game whenever they had a chance – after all, it gave Sai a chance to play and actually hold the stones in his own hands for once. He didn't mind the necessary silence between the two of them. The shared dreams gave him an excellent way to relax after spending days with Hikaru.

Sai enjoyed the memory dreams even more than he enjoyed the random dreamscapes – usually in areas with beautiful sakura trees. He loved watching as Mitani discovered Go for the first time and chased his sister around the apartment, screaming at her to play with him. He found Mitani's reactions fascinating as well, watching the normally detached and aloof boy relax and smile genuinely at his antics, occasionally watching an older man, most likely his grandfather, with a fond expression. Sai remembered Mitani telling Hikaru, Tsutsui, and Akari once how his grandfather had taught him Go before he died.

Sai enjoyed taking Mitani on walks through his own memories as well. Mitani seemed just as fascinated by the Heian palaces and objects as Sai was by Mitani's childhood. But there was one thing Sai didn't understand, and so he devised a way to question Mitani. He recreated the game he had seen Mitani cheat at, and made the cheating slide very obvious – although the way Mitani had been scowling slightly, he could tell Mitani had already recognized the game and knew what he wanted. He didn't expect Mitani to change the dreamscape to a memory and didn't think Mitani realized he had done it until Sai shook his shoulder gently.

The way Mitani had recoiled when he looked around the Go salon and practically hid under Sai's robes should have told the ghost that this was not a pleasant memory like the others had been. But Sai was fascinated with the little boy in the corner playing Go with the much older man. He noted that Mitani did not cheat in this game, and ended up losing by one and a half moku. He sensed that the memory was not over by the time Mitani left the salon, and so he followed, wondering what drove Mitani to cheat.

He wished he had never asked. Mitani trembled beside him during the entire scene in the alley, and shame burned on his face after the memory figures had left. Sai did the only thing that seemed right at the time, gathering Mitani into his arms and shielding him from the cruel world. As Mitani clung to him, trying to swallow his tears and maintain his fierce pride, Sai just stroked his hair and his back, understanding now why Mitani would cheat. He still didn't approve of the cheating – Mitani should have just found a better Go salon to frequent, like the Touya's – but he understood the reasoning behind it. And as Mitani clung to him, he lowered his lips to Mitani's ear and whispered that, speaking to him for the first time. "I understand."

It was difficult for Sai, as a ghost, to sleep. He usually only managed a few hours rest every three or four days – often when Hikaru slept during English class – but he knew that he needed to return to the dreamworld that night, lest Mitani fear that he had deserted him in disgust. So he forced himself to sleep while Hikaru did, and sure enough, there was Mitani, sinking into the river again. Sai hauled him out and hugged him immediately, pleased when he felt Mitani return the embrace without as much desperation as he had the previous night. But now it was Sai's turn to share a painful memory.

Sai hadn't expected Mitani to react so violently toward his opponent, punching him in the face with enough force to break his nose – had he actually been there. But he was pleased with how defensive Mitani was over him, and when he smiled, he could feel the centuries of sadness over this memory falling away.

That summer, Sai and Mitani walked together in their dreams every night. Playing Go constantly over the internet managed to wear Sai down and allowed him to sleep much more frequently. He never told Hikaru what he did in his dreams though, choosing to keep this small section of his existence private and his own, just as he allowed Hikaru to have his own private moments. And as Mitani grew and matured before Sai's eyes, both in dreams and in waking, Sai began to fall in love with him.

> > > > >

Yuuki had known it would end. He just had hoped it wouldn't end so soon, so explosively. Shindou quit the Go club. He would move on, become a pro… and would take Honinbo with him.

Yuuki wouldn't stand for it. He tried everything he could think of to dissuade Shindou, yelling at him, insulting him, trying to make him feel guilty, and threatening to leave himself… It would have worked. Yuuki had complete confidence in his manipulative skills. It would have worked… if Kaga hadn't shown up. Kaga had complete confidence in Shindou's Go. So Yuuki tried to beat Shindou. He tried his hardest. He even ignored Honinbo's presence, crouching by his side to watch, as he threw everything he had at Shindou. In an even game, with no time to think for Shindou and black's advantage given to Yuuki, Yuuki was sure he had a good shot at winning. He needed to win, needed to show Shindou where he belonged, where Honinbo belonged.

Shindou won. By six and a half moku. And then Shindou turned away, concentrating solely on Kaga.

This loss stung Yuuki even worse than the defeat Kishimoto had handed him at the tournament last year. He clenched his hands into fists on the goban, feeling the smooth stones pressing against his palms, barely able to whisper, "I resign." For he had resigned. Shindou had won. Shindou would go on with his life, go on with Honinbo… and Honinbo would focus solely on Shindou. After all, Shindou was the better Go player. Shindou was the one with the bright, shining future. Yuuki was just a loud-mouthed brat with too much pride for his own good.

And yet… and yet Honinbo didn't move from his spot. The shade stayed crouched by Yuuki's side, silently offering what support he could, drawing Yuuki's pain in and trying to banish it away. But nothing Honinbo did would ease all of Yuuki's suffering. With his pride, Yuuki had loudly declared, in front of everyone, that he would quit the Go club. He couldn't go back on that without losing face. He would lose Honinbo, and he would lose the easy camaraderie with Tsutsui, Fujisaki, Shindou, Natsumi, and Kumiko. Naturally, with his luck, when Yuuki lost, he lost everything.

> > > > >

I am trying to figure out why my formatting was slightly messed up in the last chapter. Just now noticed that. sighs. Anyway… I'm thinking one more chapter, maybe two short ones, at the most. Depends on how I feel in a day or so.

Crawler