Author's Note: Okay, this is my first Hikago fic. The following is my own interpretation of the characters, so no OOC-ness as far as I'm aware of. This is a story about Sai, but also about Hikaru and Akira. No pairings as of yet, I don't know if I plan to put in any. The beginning is a bit dark (literally) and angsty, but don't worry, I'll soon add in my usual sense of humor. Nothing is quite as fun to read as something that makes you laugh in my opinion.

I'd also like to further thank those who were kind enough to send me sentence by sentence critiques of this chapter, and yes this is a chapter, which means there will be (hopefully) many more chapters following this. I have corrected the prologue of mistakes readers have pointed out to me, so reread it if you want. This is what happens when I write things at three in the morning, dammit!

Insert whatever disclaimer you'd like. Don't sue me, the characters aren't mine. They belong to Hotta Yumi and co. There. Comments and criticisms are welcome, goodness knows I need a bit of those. Please read and enjoy!

Prologue: A Voice in the Darkness

He could hear something calling him from the distance. It was a voice, a voice full of sorrow, full of pain and agony. For a moment he felt himself awakened from deep slumber. A pale, ghostly transparent hand reached toward the sound. He wanted to reassure it…whoever it was that was suffering so.

Moments later, the noise grew louder, and he could distinctly hear the crying accompanying that voice. For a brief instant he thought he recognized who the wailing belonged to, but he could no longer remember his name…yes that's right, he was positive now. The owner of the voice was a young boy. But as he tried once again to remember, a wave of lethargy overcame him, and he felt himself falling back asleep. This was death after all, and a part of death was to forget…

But the sadness of that voice would not leave him, even when he was in the true slumber of death. Flashes at a time, he will find himself awakening, only to be put back to sleep again.

You must not interfere…he heard someone say to him. The boy must learn his true strength…to fall, and climb back up again. He must realize who his true rival is.

Rival? Boy? Who was this boy? The name was on the tip of his tongue, but he could not speak it. Once again weariness overcame him, and as he fell back into the dreamless sleep of death, he heard that someone add one last thing for him and him alone.

…the key to his strength must be realized now. When he has, the final road to the Hand of God will be complete.

The Hand of God. He could barely recall what it was, but it was enough. The spark to light up his dormant memories began to seep through, and for the first time since death, he dreamed…

Suddenly he was awake. Wide awake. Around him he could feel the joy reverberating in the darkness. Then…light! He remembered who he was, and what he was here for. Information of the living, of one specific boy, entered his mind. The boy had overcome his trial; he had stood up, and was once again walking the path that had been set for him.

He smiled. He had known that the boy would not fail. After all…

You may meet him in this form one last time.

And before he knew it, he saw him, the boy he had wanted to comfort when he could not. The boy he had not wanted to be parted from.

"Sai! You appeared in my dream!"

He eyed the boy affectionately. How he had grown in such a short time!

"Sai, I played Touya today!" he chattered excitedly. "Against him! In the first prelim to the Meijin Tournament. It was a great game…even though I lost." A slight frown appeared on his face at that.

He however, simply smiled happily in response. It had been so long since he'd heard the boy's young, lively voice.

"But Touya and I are going to play hundreds and thousands of games from now on. I agreed to play him at his go salon from time to time. Don't tell Morishita sensei that though," he added, laughing. "Oh yeah! Isumi-san passed the pro exam! Oh! And then Mitani entered the tournament…oh man. So much as happened since you disappeared. There's so much….I want tell you…Sai." At this the boy's happy tone died down, and a melancholy feeling spread across his face.

"Why did you disappear?"

There it was. The question he wanted to answer, but couldn't.

"You said you wanted to play forever! Why did you disappear?! I don't understand!"

He continued to smile. Questions such as that will be answered later.

"How did you feel when you disappeared? Were you sad? Or were you smiling, like you are now? I hope…I hope you were smiling."

If only he could speak! Then he could tell the boy what he was thinking!

"Oh yeah, Sai, Touya said that there was another person inside of me. I got all nervous. But I was kind of happy that he realized it. Sai. Sai?"

A ray of light had flashed behind him, and he turned around to watch. The time was up.

You will be able to see him again…Kami-sama reassured him.

"Sai, don't go! Say something!"

He couldn't of course, but he could do one last thing before he went. Hands reached into his robes, and he held it out for the boy to receive. Silently, the boy took the fan from his hands.

The second he did, the world returned to darkness. But this time, Sai returned to it happily, because he knew that the darkness was now but a temporary thing.

There were only two true contenders for the Young Lion's Tournament this year. One was not much of a surprise. Ever since he had entered the world of professional go, Touya Akira had been the winner for both of the Young Lion's Tournaments he had participated in. This was his third. It was therefore, no surprise to see him sitting down at the table in the second round. The first had hardly been worth his attention, his opponent an insei barely of sixteenth rank.

The other contender was a surprise to most of those who were not intimately involved with the Go world. Shindou Hikaru, still a Shodan, and therefore relatively unknown, sat on the opposite of the already famous Third Dan. His complexion did not match at all that of what is to be expected of a Go player, but more like any ordinary boy on the streets of Tokyo. His bleached yellow bangs would have looked more in place in front a video arcade store instead of a goban. The lively, dancing eyes on his face did not match the grave, serious look Touya returned him.

He was not without his own bit of fame however. After all, he was one of the players in the North Star cup. However, most people remembered that he lost both his matches. Others with better memory recalled him as the boy who skipped all his matches early on in his career. Only the higher level players, Touya, and people who knew him well, understood the extent of his talents. As a result, quite a number of the observers watched Shindou Hikaru just as closely as Touya Akira. This was a match they had been waiting for, although secretly, some people felt that it would have been better had the two been matched in the final round, instead of the second. Nevertheless, whoever won this round was going to be the winner. There was no one else who could compete with either of them.

The crowd around the two boys thickened, until it became impossible for anyone at the back to push through for a better look. The soft murmuring lowered until the room became respectfully silent.

"Onegaishimasu."

With the ritualistic beginning over with, the two contenders for the tournament win began to play.

Pachi

An intensive battle for the upper left corner started to begin within minutes of the match. The onlookers watched in surprise. Why were the two boys starting a battle so early in the game?

Pachi

Pachi

As the game moved elsewhere, the crowd watched, silent, tense, and in awe as a beautiful pattern of black and white stones began to form across the board.

Pachi

Touya Akira placed his stone on the board, effectively connecting all the stones on the left side. There was no way they could die now, but that was hardly the main point of worry. In addition to protecting his stones, it also attacked the center, where Shindou held for the most part at the moment.

Pachi

Shindou responded magnificently to his moves. The game slowly played out. Neither boy gave anything less than their best. Neither would the give the other an opening, but…

Touya suddenly realized that in the process of attacking the center, he'd lost initiative in the right side. He stared at the stones. So that was what that odd maneuver had been for—trust Shindou to think of it. For a moment he marveled at the other boy's ingenuity. Shindou Hikaru was after all, his destined rival, right? It was nothing he shouldn't have expected. As they continued to play, Touya realized that he'd lost too much with that slight miscalculation, but still, he played on, until finally, he could do nothing more.

"Arimasen."

"Arigatou gozaimashita."

Cameras flashed in the background, and the silent room immediately burst into noise.

As the room continued to place their attention on the two boys and the game that had just been completed, no one noticed a new figure entering the room. A rich glow of afternoon sun shone through the outside windows to cast a soft light around his figure just before he stepped past the doors. The man was slender, and taller than most people. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, with a light, sky blue top just barely peeking out from underneath. His dress pants were a dark blue, ending with glossy black shoes. Dark, rich purple hair flowed just past his shoulders, and upon his face he wore a slight smile. Long feminine lashes framed soft, gentle eyes, giving him an odd look. At first glance, he looked not over twenty, but the eyes somehow showed that he was much, much older. Hundreds of years older. Clutching a fan gently with one hand, he made his way slowly through the onlookers. Despite themselves, the people parted way for him, closing again tighter than ever as he left. It was not unusual to have people want to press their way toward a game after all, although this stranger seemed to dance gracefully through the crowd, rather than pushing clumsily forward.

"Shall we discuss the game?" Touya asked Shindou, until he noticed that the boy was still staring fixatedly on the board. "Shindou?"

A soft voice chuckled above them. Touya looked up, thinking that it might be Ogata-san, but no…the man stood behind him. Indeed, the older handsome pro was also turning his voice toward the soft chuckle.

A stranger bent over Shindou, placing a hand on his shoulder familiarly. His other hand—holding a fan that looked oddly like the one Shindou carries around—reached toward the go board and prodded at a spot near the edge of the left side.

"If you had taken this spot here," he said softly, "You wouldn't have lost the left side Hikaru."

Shindou began to stir, and stared at the fan pointing at the spot as if awakening from a deep dream. Slowly the eyes trailed from the fan past the arm, until his head and body was turned completely around. He stiffened, and then, in a whirl of action, stood up from his seat. The chair he had sat on previously clattered noisily to the floor.

Nobody could believe it. Tears suddenly flowed down the boy's cheeks. The violet haired man smiled, and straightened to his full height. He was obviously Asian, and yet he was unusually tall. Shindou, just beginning his growth spurt, still barely managed to reach his shoulder.

For a long time the two stared at each other, while everyone else held their breath, sensing that an important interaction was occurring. Touya looked confusedly at the stranger who had caught Shindou's attention. Who was this man? Did Shindou know him from some where? Or was it…a revolutionary thought occurred to him. It couldn't be!

"S-Sai…" a choked, pain, and tear wracked voice said from Shindou.

"It was a good game, Hikaru," the man named Sai said, smiling with pride, "A good game."