Author's Note: So here is the long awaited second chapter. Sorry for the long wait everybody, but I had been at a place that was a bit…lacking in modern conveniences, at least in the ones that matter. But I've worked diligently, and I hope that after the prologue, this chapter meets everyone's expectation. If I disappoint anyone, I'm sorry! I know I'm not a very good writer, so if you're dissatisfied and want to see something more, just write to me. More criticisms and critiques are appreciated, but keep in mind that this story is unfinished, so the things I don't address now I may address later. If you wish to give me ideas or want to see something added, such as a game between Ko Yeong Ha and Sai like someone else suggested, then tell me too! I don't have an outline for this story. It's being written as ideas come to mind. This is meant to be a story that is supposed to satisfy my own personal feeling of lack in the original story, and I wouldn't mind satisfying someone else's lack in the process. The ending of Hikaru no Go as most can testify was certainly lacking in a little luster. This will provide hopefully better closure to the wonderful series.

I'd also like to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. They have been a delight to read, and the critiques helping me improve were wonderful. Keep them coming!

Now please read and enjoy!


Chapter One: The Internet Go Genius Sai

"S-Sai…" he choked, just barely able to voice the name of the one person he wanted to see more than anything else.

"It was a good game Hikaru," he said, the familiar gentle smile framing his face, "A good game."

At that point the painful sob he had been trying desperately to hold back broke out from his lungs. He ran forward into the man who had been so many things to him—teacher, friend, father, idol—and threw himself into his chest. He let out another cry, similar to that of a wounded animal, and from there followed heartbreaking, tearful sobs. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and Hikaru thought of nothing else but the arms that were now wrapped comfortingly around him.

The room burst into noise, but Hikaru didn't notice. His mind was focused on other things, his five senses discovering new aspects of the friend he'd thought he'd lost. Sai smelled like the sea; hints of sea foam tickled his nose. He could nearly taste the salt on his lips. The much older man was warm; his arms soft and yet finely muscled. There was an additional feeling of delicacy Hikaru had never noticed before, but he supposed the regal Heian period clothes Sai used to wear hid it all away. Now dressed in modern clothes, it was more than easy to feel the thin frame through the cotton shirt he wore. But best of all, Hikaru could hear breathing. Sai was alive, alive in a way he had never been before.

"I'm sorry…" Hikaru said after he calmed down a bit. "I'm so sorry…"

"Sorry?"

"For not letting you play, if I had let you play, you wouldn't have—"

"Even if you had let me play, I would have still left at the same time Hikaru," Sai told him, his voice suddenly hard. Hikaru looked up at him, startled. "But now is not the time to discuss that." Quietly he pulled back from Hikaru and pointed his fan at the game—his game. Hikaru turned around reluctantly, a hand still hanging onto a part of Sai's shirt as if trying to reassure himself that Sai was very real, and very solid.

"Shall we discuss the game…Touya?" he asked. He raised his left arm to wipe away the remaining tears.

Amazingly enough, the room had stayed quiet throughout the exchange. Perhaps the onlookers had felt something special and remained silent just for him. Now with the atmosphere returning to its original state, the noise level rose. Pros and insei whispered conversations at each other. Some were probably dutifully discussing the game, but no doubt most were discussing the new arrival.

From the looks of it, Touya was also dying for an explanation of what had just happened, but he remained politely silent. He wasn't the only one. There were other professional players giving flickering looks from Sai back to Hikaru and back again. From the corner of his eye, Waya was just barely containing himself. Of course, this was nothing compared to Ogata-san, who couldn't take his eyes of the violet-haired newcomer. The customary cigarette in his hand was held two centimeters away from his mouth, forgotten.

Slowly Hikaru released the tiny bit of cloth between his fingers, but as soon as he did, he cast another self reassuring look back at Sai.

"You're staying right?" he asked. "You won't go away anymore?" Then a sudden inspiration came to him. "Hey, Sai, do you want to join in the discussion? Just like old times, ne?"

"Hai!"

There wasn't even hesitation in the other man's voice. Sai came forward, his eyes shining enthusiastically. Immediately Hikaru sat back down at his former seat, his attention only directed at his mentor. The rest of the room was left in the background, their existence now reduced to nothing more substantial than shadows.

"Now, about this left side, if you hadn't been so eager, it might have actually worked, but you missed the timing," Sai immediately began, pointing to the same spot he had spoken of at the moment he had reentered Hikaru's life.

"But if I hadn't put it there, wouldn't Touya have attacked me here?" Hikaru pointed to the cluster of stones just spaces away.

"Yes, but that wouldn't have made a difference," Sai said, pointing to another part of the board. "You see…" and the two started to discuss the rest of the game, completely oblivious to the rest of the people around them.

"No! Don't you see? An ordinary keima would have worked much better here. That was much too reckless! You exposed this side here entirely…"

"That's what this move was for," Hikaru pointed out. "And besides," he added childishly, "I won the game anyways." His eyes glowed with satisfaction. "Right Touya? I told you I'd beat you in an official match sooner or later!"

For some odd reason Touya hesitated before speaking, something that he usually didn't do when it came to go discussions.

"Sai, when you pointed out this move here," he finally said, addressing Sai instead of Hikaru, "what did you mean? I felt that going here would be a much weaker move."

"Touya! Are you ignoring me?" Hikaru demanded loudly.

Akira looked up from the game and gave Hikaru a very cool look that spoke volumes. Even the loud, boisterous, generally insensitive boy caught the reproachful gaze in those turquoise eyes. However, catching it didn't necessarily mean he understood the reasons for the reproof. He was just about to open his mouth again when Sai cut him off.

"My most sincere apologies," Sai said, his eyes showing understanding and just a bit of amusement. The look of amusement was reserved for Hikaru, but not without a great deal of exasperation. "We didn't mean to leave you out of the discussion. Hikaru and I are very close. We haven't seen each other for a very long time." Akira remained quiet, but the reproachful look had softened. Now he mostly looked thoughtful. "Now, about your last question…" he began, this time taking care to include Akira in the conversation. The boy joined in readily, eager to learn all that could be learned.

It continued for nearly as long as the game, ending abruptly when Sai was forced to cut off both boys' rising voices prematurely. Those familiar with the two rivals' infamous 'discussions' let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Anymore discussion will be done at your own leisure, away from other people," Sai concluded firmly, giving Hikaru a quiet look before the boy could complain.

"And now that the discussion is over, would you like to introduce us to your friend, Shindou-kun?" Ogata said, interrupting the sudden uncomfortable silence that had settled over the table. He, like the rest of the crowd, had remained relatively quiet throughout the discussion, silently observing Sai's interaction with the two young go prodigies. The moment Shindou had called out the man's name, Ogata Jyudan had had his suspicions. Once the discussion ensued, there was no question about it. There was only one man with such genius who could yet somehow remain relatively unknown to the go world. Sai. It had to be him. The mysterious name on the computer screen now belonged to a real live human being. It was all Ogata Jyudan could do to keep himself from grabbing the surprisingly young and beautiful man and demanding a game right there and then.

"Ah…" Shindou began, grinning sheepishly.

"My name is Fujiwarano Sai," the tall young man said, stepping forward. "You are Ogata Jyudan."

Despite himself, Ogata couldn't help but feel his heart speed up in excitement. Sai knew who he was. Did that mean…?

"Is that so? Fujiwarano Sai…" he repeated, clinging to the last vestiges of dignity he had. "Are you familiar with the internet, Fujiwarano Sai?" The words were out before he could stop himself. So much for dignity, but if he was right—Ogata had to know!

"Hikaru introduced it to me several years ago. I'm afraid I haven't been on there much as of late. Perhaps I should go online more often," Sai said, clearly very amused. At the side, Hikaru was grinning at him, the light of mischief in his eyes matching Sai's. Ogata felt his hands ball into fists in frustration. So he had been right all along. The dratted Shindou did have a connection to Sai, and from the looks of things, a very close one at that. So why had the boy repeatedly denied it when he had asked so many years ago?

Eventually Shindou seemed to feel pity for Ogata's predicament, for his eyes softened in an understanding that was completely unlike him.

"Sai, Ogata Jyudan had been asking to play a game with you for quite a while now, but at the time you weren't in the…condition to give him a game. Would you like to play him now?"

Ogata's heart skipped a beat. Finally, after all this time…

"Sai-san! After you play Ogata Jyudan, could you play me?" a voice loudly exclaimed. Waya had finally lost any self control and blurted out what he had been longing to say.

"Mou, Waya, you've already played him once!" Shindou said.

"As an insei, an insei. Now I'm a pro! And remember Shindou when I asked you once if you were Sai's disciple and you lied to me?"

"I didn't lie!"

"Yes you did! I knew you knew Sai! Why'd you keep denying it?"

Shindou opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead the wide mouth snapped shut and the boy chose to grace Waya's look with a glare of his own.

"I will play you Waya-kun after I've played Ogata Jyudan," Sai said.

Waya's eyes widened and his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

"You know who I am?" he said with delight.

"Hikaru speaks of you often," Sai answered. "Now, Ogata Jyudan, when would you like to play?"

Ogata's throat had become dry. Much to his chagrin, it was taking forever to moisten his mouth so that he could speak properly.

"Uh…"

"Sai, I'm hungry, how about you?" Shindou interrupted.

The look on Sai's face became unfathomable. "H-hungry?" Sai nearly choked on the word.

"Yeah. Are you?" Shindou had once again softened his voice uncharacteristically. Something deep passed between the two, something that only they could understand, and Ogata marveled at the connection between the two of them. But seeing them together only raised more questions. Why didn't Shindou ever talk about Sai, if they were so close? Why couldn't Sai play with anyone but on the internet? Why had the man only appeared now?

"How about a game tomorrow morning around nine Ogata Jyudan? We'll meet at the lobby of the Go Institute for a game then, okay?" Shindou said. "You too Waya."

"S-sure," Ogata said. He had been planning to attend a discussion, but that could wait!

"So Sai, how about ramen?" Shindou gave Waya a grin. He knew that the other boy loved sushi far more than ramen, and wouldn't be joining them for lunch as a result. Waya rolled his eyes.

Sai sighed exasperatedly. "You really love ramen don't you? Don't you think you eat it a bit too much?"

"No. Besides, you haven't eaten ramen in a long time anyways."

"Indeed," Sai said, his voice become strangely thoughtful, "it has been a long time since I've eaten ramen."

"Then let's go!" Hikaru shouted excitedly. "Hey, Touya! Do you want to come along?"

A smiling, excited face met Touya's grave one, and the latter once again hesitated.

"No. I have other things to do," he finally said carefully.

"You sure?" Hikaru asked, disappointed. "Well, all right then. Let's go Sai."

Dragging the man by the hand, he pushed his way through the crowd, not noticing how he was pushing them rudely away. They might have been as substantial as air for all the attention Hikaru gave them. Sai followed the boy silently, but he didn't look back either. They disappeared through the double doors, leaving nothing but more questions in their wake.

With the game and discussion over the crowd gradually followed Shindou's suit, leaving only two around the still uncleared goban.

"Akira-kun, you don't have anything to do after this, why did you refuse to go with Shindou?" Ogata asked quietly.

Akira looked up at the man, and Ogata saw extreme longing in those eyes, yet…

"I see. You sense it too then."