Author's Note: I'm glad that so many people are enjoying this fic of mine. Please remember that I have other priorities (life, for example), so be patient. I would like to reinforce my decision in making this gen, and not slash. I'm a big fan of HikaAki slash, but this fic will not have it.

Comment, flame, criticise to your heart's content. Please enjoy!

Chapter Two: The Importance of Rivalry

It was just like Shindou. It was just like him to make things difficult right when things were going smoothly. Touya Akira was starting to think that the boy had done it on purpose just to irritate him. Then again, Shindou always did things at the worst time. There was that infamous time period for instance; just thinking about it darkened Touya Akira's mood.

It had been shortly after Shindou's career as a go professional began. Akira had thought that their rivalry would finally be able develop at a much quicker pace, but then Shindou suddenly refused to play. It had all been greatly baffling then to Akira, who couldn't conceive of a world without go, never mind refusing to play when it did. It was probably why he didn't have much of a social life outside go circles, but go was the center of his life, and Shindou, as his destined rival, made up a great deal of that center. Shindou not playing had been the greatest upset in his life; it had disrupted his game, although no one but him noticed.

What made it worse however was seeing his rival refuse to play even when it was blatantly obvious that he loved the game. Shindou's gray-green eyes—usually so brilliant—had been both dull and colorless as he looked at him. Dry, colorless lips moved, and Akira had stared at him, disbelieving, as Shindou told him that although he hadn't lost interest in go, he was going to deliberately give it up. Nothing had frightened him more than that moment, when he found out that the idea of their rivalry collapsing wasn't the key to bringing him back to go. At that point Akira wondered how strong their rivalry was. He questioned Shindou, questioned himself. Perhaps he was mistaken; perhaps Shindou wasn't his destined rival after all.

"Shindou, didn't you become a professional to play me?" he had called out desperately to the disappearing figure. Shindou had ran, ran away from him, never answering that question, at least, not verbally.

Then mysteriously, a couple months later, Shindou met him after one of his games, telling him that he wasn't going to quit after all. Then they played their first game since three years, and wordlessly Shindou answered him that question—or at least Akira thought he did.

It was with hesitation and confusion that Akira once again went over that game in his mind. He had used Shindou's skill to judge…Shindou's go. Should he have done that?

He believed Shindou was his destined rival, had believed it from the first time he played him that fateful day in the go salon, but the question now is, did Shindou believe that too?

Because after the reappearance of Sai, Touya Akira was starting to put two and two together. The only thing that could have upset Shindou enough to want to quit go was Sai; he had sensed that when he saw their interaction. Conversely, the only thing that could have brought him back to go was Sai. Was Sai Shindou's goal then? Had Shindou's passionate efforts to reach him only been the stepping stone to a much larger goal?

Touya paused in the middle of the street, the question temporarily paralyzing him with fear. Shindou had beaten him today, and it was at that moment Sai decided to show up. Perhaps it indicated something…or maybe it didn't. He walked forward a couple of steps, and paused once more. What if it did? He took a couple steps backwards again. Did Sai show up to take his place as Shindou's rival, or was it for some other reason? No it couldn't possibly be. Sai's level in go was at a completely different level. Shindou, even as Akira's equal, was still no match for Sai. Akira turned and leaned against the wall of a convenience store, still deep in thought. He didn't realize that he was getting odd looks from people who passed him, but then again, Touya Akira wasn't the type to notice anything that wasn't go related.

But Shindou had been has rival, even when he was far from his level of go at the time. Perhaps Sai knew this, knew that Shindou had the talent to surpass everybody else, and had been waiting for the moment when Shindou had taken his first step in that direction.

This wasn't a possibility Akira liked to contemplate. He didn't like the idea of just being a stepping stone either, but those two possibilities loomed largely in his mind and gave his stomach an uncharacteristic jump. Then it did another uncharacteristic thing—it decided to growl. Akira normally didn't eat immediately after a game—the adrenaline from it took a while to leave, making it impossible to even think of eating—but his thoughts had taken up so much energy that his body was now demanding that he make up for the lack. As if to further encourage him, his legs propelled him in the direction of the nearest restaurant. With his mind too worried to fight, Akira walked into the restaurant, deciding that he could continue to think about this problem while taking care of his bodily needs. But it appeared that his subconscious had something else in mind.

"Another bowl of ramen please!"

"Hikaru, that's the fifth bowl you're having," a new yet familiar voice said.

"That doesn't matter. You had four! Besides, I need to celebrate Touya's defeat!"

"Hikaru! That was inappropriate."

"Aw, but it's not like it would matter. Touya's not here anyways."

For some reason Shindou's words irritated him to no end, and Touya Akira stepped forward, tapping the obnoxious boy resolutely on the shoulder.

"Who isn't here?" he asked, his words quiet, but containing just the barest hint of annoyance.

"Gah! T-T-T-T-Touya! Man, why do you always have to pop up out of nowhere and frighten the heck outa me?"

Touya looked at him coolly, ignoring the question like he usually did.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," Sai said, no doubt sensing the tension around Akira. "Are you hungry? The beef ramen is good."

"Yeah, seeing as you ate so much of it," Hikaru quipped, grinning smugly at Sai.

Akira sat down next to them, quietly observing the two. There was no point wasting his time worrying when the answers were close by. In go, Akira never let himself into the position where he could only defend. He preferred to attack, and Akira intended to keep it that way in real life too. There were answers. All he had to do was look.

When they arrived at the Japanese Go Institute early the next morning, Ogata was already there waiting for him, as was Waya. Word of Sai's match with Ogata must have spread rapidly, because in addition to those two, there were countless other spectators as well, including, Sai noted quietly, news reporters.

"Ogata Jyudan," he greeted politely, bowing slightly as he did so.

"Fujiwarano Sai," Ogata said, just as polite, but Sai could sense the energy and eagerness in his tone, just as Ogata could sense his, no doubt. It will be his first game since…when? Hikaru had told them while they were eating that he had disappeared shortly before last year's Young Lion's Tournament, which made it just a little over a year. Too long then. It wasn't as long as it had been the first two times, but it was still too long. Sai followed Ogata into the general playing area, where professionals and amateurs could both play go. Well, that made sense. This wasn't an official game after all, but Sai thought that Ogata would have wanted to keep the game private.

"Wow…look at all the people who've come to see you play, Sai," Hikaru whispered. He looked up at his mentor and met his eyes. "Are you happy, Sai?"

"How could I not be?" Sai replied, just as softly. "Kami-sama has given me the ultimate gift. A body."

Hikaru turned to look at him again, but the moving crowd prevented him from replying. They had arrived at a place near the end of the table, far away from the door, back in the corner. So Ogata had wanted to keep this game out of the way after all, but with the number of people watching, it was probably going to do the opposite. Sai smiled to himself. To play again! To feel the go stones beneath his fingertips, to hear the sound as it hit the board and have people know that it was him playing, to have them acknowledge Sai—not Torajirou, not Hikaru—it was a wonderful feeling, and one he looked forward to.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, while Ogata mirrored his movement in front of him. Someone shifted behind him, and Sai realized that Hikaru had moved slightly to allow others to see. In front of him, Akira copied Hikaru's movements. This caused him to smile again. Akira had been watching the two of them like a hawk last evening, probably looking for answers. Luckily he hadn't come earlier, otherwise the poor young man would have more questions than he could handle!

"So why are you back now Sai? Why did Kami-sama allow you to return with a body?"

"I am not quite sure, but I was under the impression that the time to reach the Hand of God was drawing close."

"So you are going to make the Divine Move!"

"That's…not certain. I think I'm back for another purpose as well."

"What?"

"For your rival, Hikaru. Touya Akira. I think I've come back for him."

Sai remembered the old adage: Kami-sama works in mysterious ways. Sai only had feelings of what he thinks Kami-sama wants him to do, but how to accomplish that…that, he had no idea. After all, it hadn't been until the moment Hikaru had pointed out the game determining move between him and the Meijin that he finally realized what his purpose had been. Whatever it was he was supposed to do, Sai supposed that he should just be himself. Kami-sama will let him know at the right time, through flashes of intuition and hunches—and knowing what he knew, he probably wouldn't be aware that that was what they were. Kami-sama working in mysterious ways indeed!

Giving him a body had been a first though. Sai was not sure why Kami-sama was being so generous, but he intended to savor every moment of it before the inevitable end drew near. It didn't matter how Kami-sama had done it. The great Being had, and that was all that mattered. It wouldn't do to question his motives, as the only reward from that would probably be an aching head from knowing more than he wanted to know.

He sat down in a straight, dignified posture, and smiled. The chairs of the Go Institute had just enough padding to prevent an aching rear, but Sai wouldn't have minded an aching rear at the moment. After coming back to this world, he found himself wanting to reaffirm his new life in every way possible, even if the process was slightly uncomfortable. An aching rear was welcome.

"Shall we begin?" Ogata Jyudan asked.

"Hai. Nigiri?" Sai replied, his hands motioning toward the closed gokke in the center.

"All right, nigiri."

Ogata dug his hands into his gokke to draw out a fistful of white stones without hesitation, and held them over the board, waiting for Sai to pick his one or two stones. But as Sai reached to touch the lid, he found his hands shaking. It took effort to pick up the one stone he had been intending to hold, and when he finally managed to do so, he dropped it ungracefully onto the board with a loud clatter. It skittered across the table and hit the ground near Ogata, Sai's face pale and white as it did so.

Ogata gave him a surprised look, but picked it up without question. He held it out to him.

"Sumimasen," Sai said softly.

"Sai? Daijoubu? Sai," Hikaru said from behind. The young boy was worried. "Do…do you want me to hold the stones for you?" he asked hesitantly, quietly. It was doubtful that anyone else but him had heard it.

Hold the stones for him! Was this Kami-sama's price then? Was he to still be unable to touch a go stone, even though he now possessed a physical body? That was almost too much to bear.

"I'll try again," he said softly back, and felt Hikaru's hand on his shoulder. The boy had either matured, or he was feeling uncertain and wanted reassurance by touching him. Either way, the touch was just what he needed. It was the physical reassurance that he was in the realm of the living as one of them, and Sai reached to take the one stone from Ogata's still outstretched hand. This time his hand did not shake, and he felt the tension from both him and Hikaru disappear.

Sai watched Ogata count the stones. It was odd, which meant Sai had guessed right.

"Komi is now 6.5 moku," Ogata told him. Sai nodded. So komi had increased again, which would make it difficult, but Sai had never lost with black, and didn't intend to.

"Onegaishimasu."

Sai placed his stone firmly in the upper right komoku, and the game began.

Pachi

Hikaru watched the game play out between the two men with bright, glowing eyes. As a beautiful pattern of black and white stones appeared, Hikaru noticed the joy on his mentor's face, an aura of light that outshone everybody else's. No one loved go more than Sai, just as no one could possibly understand the depth of his love more than Hikaru.

Ogata played a brilliant move on the board; it was a well-calculated move that attacked and protected at the same time, cutting Sai's group of stones in the center from the rest. Now Sai will have to take great care in his next moves to create life for himself, lest all the stones he had taken pains to place will all die. Hikaru took a deep breath in admiration for the Jyudan title holder. Ogata was playing very well against Sai, almost as challenging as the former Meijin himself. But Hikaru knew Sai well, and knew that the man would not take such a move sitting down.

Sai brought the fan he carried to his lips, smiling in quiet delight. No doubt it was both because he was playing what he loved most, and had such a wonderful opponent to hone his skills against. His lids of his eyes lowered in contemplation for the next move, and several minutes past as he thought out the next several series of moves.

Pachi

The emotion on Sai's face didn't change in the slightest, but for everyone else, theirs changed plenty. Sai had done the one thing that Ogata Jyudan hadn't foreseen, and that was a move that effectively attacked another group of Ogata's stones—a group too important for the man to ignore. While Ogata tries to protect, Sai will whittle away at the Jyudan's territory, and save his own threatened group in the center by connecting to the left side. It was the perfect move, and nothing short of amazing.

"It's like Shuusaku's Illuminating Move," Hikaru heard two go players behind him converse in quiet awe.

"Why haven't any of us ever heard of him before?" another whispered.

"Why isn't he a pro?"

Hikaru turned his attention back on the game, but silently pleased. It was about time Sai deserved some recognition, and after this game, he was probably going to get even more. Because he, like every other pro, could tell that Sai had made the move that determined the result of the game. All Ogata could do now was try to shorten the difference in points, and that was assuming he wanted to. If Hikaru had been the one Sai had made such a move against, Hikaru knew that he'd probably lose all will to continue, knowing the vast difference in skill between them. Ogata was showing a great deal of mettle however, and although the knuckles on his hands became a little whiter, and his face a little more strained, he continued to play.

Pachi

Pachi

Thirty moves later, the game was finished. Ogata Jyudan had impressively tried closed the gap, but it wasn't enough. He lost be 4.5 moku, including komi.

"Makemashita," he said, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.

"Arigatou gozaimashita," Sai replied, smiling. "It was a wonderful game. You made so many thoughtful, beautiful moves. I've never been happier." The sincerity in his voice silenced whatever Ogata was about to say, and he took off his glasses to ease through the silence.

"You say that my moves are beautiful, but compared to yours…" he finally said. And he made a motion over the board as if to prove his point. "I feel like an inexperienced child. That one move…"

"Came by as a stroke of intuition and pure luck, nothing more," Sai said humbly.

"If only I had such intuition and luck," Ogata replied with a wry smile. He fixed his frames back on the bridge of his nose, and leaned forward. "Shall we discuss the game?"

"Certainly. Shall we start from the beginning?"

The crowd, if it was possible, tightened even further. Now that they knew the extent of Sai's ability, they were all eager to listen in, excited to hear the insight this mysterious young man had to offer. And Sai was probably the happiest of them all.

"Waya, shall we play after lunch?" Sai asked when the discussion came to a brief end. It was, as far as discussions went, not a very long one, but in front of so many people, such a thing would be hard to do. Most of the spectators will separate to discuss the game in further detail after lunch. Perhaps some will stay hoping to catch a glimpse of Sai's second game, but from the way Waya was starting to turn a faint shade of green, that was unlikely. Now that Waya had seen the extent of Sai's ability, he was rapidly losing his young-boy enthusiasm, it now being replaced with nervousness and a generous dose of fear.

"Uuuuuh…" the young pro stammered, paling.

Sai chuckled, but made it plain that it wasn't at Waya's expense, but more at something Waya reminded him of. Waya returned Sai's chuckle with a strained smile of his own.

"We can do it somewhere private if you want," he offered. "Think of it as a lesson from Morishita-sensei," he added.

Color returned in an instant, as Waya gave Sai a look of incredulity.

"How do you know who Morishita-sensei is?" he asked.

"Hikaru goes with you to Morishita Nine-dan's study group doesn't he? Of course I know who he is," Sai answered, giving Hikaru a warning look. Hikaru looked ready to snicker.

"Oh," Waya said. "Well, how about playing at my place? It's not much, but…"

"I'd be happy to," Sai said.

"R-really? All right then."

The look of relief on Waya's face was so explicit that warning or no, Hikaru couldn't resist any longer.

"Heheh…not afraid of Sai are you, Waya?" he goaded. The smug look on his face was not something the elder pro could tolerate. More color returned to Waya's face, until he was flushed pink from head to toe.

"U-urusai!" he snapped.

"Which reminds me," Hikaru said, now contentedly ignoring Waya's flushed face, "Where did Touya go? He might want to watch this too."

"Touya…? Shindou don't you dare…!" came Waya's indignant shouts, but Hikaru was already walking away, wondering where Touya had gone.

He caught up to him just as the serious young man was about to reach the elevator.

"Touya! Oi! Touya! Wait up!"

Touya turned around, his face cold and unreadable.

"Shindou," he said politely, something that turned Hikaru off at once. He hated it when the other pro was like this. It was already hard enough to talk to him—he didn't have to make it worse!

But he persisted in asking Touya anyways.

"Hey, do you want to meet up at Waya's after lunch? Sai's going to play him then, and there's sure to be a discussion after that," Hikaru said, stubbornly disregarding Touya's cold expression.

"Waya? Is he the other boy who became a pro along with you and Ochi?" Touya asked, his coldness not lessening a bit.

"Uh…yeah."

"He doesn't like me very much does he?" Touya answered. The tone of his voice indicated that it wasn't a question.

"Well…yeah, but…" Touya gave him an even colder look at his admittance. "Look, he just doesn't know you very well, and I'm you'll like him after getting to know him too," he said obstinately, a childish pout forming on his face. What was Touya's problem? Why was he trying to be so difficult for no reason whatsoever? "And besides, Sai's going to be there too. He'll make sure nothing will happen," he finally added.

Touya now became unreadable.

"You know him very well…Sai," he finally said. "How long have you known him?"

"Uhhh…a long time," Hikaru answered, not sure where this was going.

"Do you play him often?"

"Well, I haven't played him in a year, but before that, yeah, I played him every night," Hikaru said honestly.

"I see. So you're telling me that you played him until last year before the Young Lion's Tournament?" Touya asked.

That wasn't what Hikaru had said, but it was the truth, so he nodded.

"Why?"

"Why…Wha—?"

"Why did you stop playing with him last year?"

"Because I couldn't!" Hikaru said frustratedly. Honestly, what was Touya's problem? He was being really weird today. Actually, he'd been weird every since Sai arrived, and Hikaru couldn't imagine why. Surely, Touya as enthusiastic about go as he was, would be happy to meet a great player like Sai. Then what…"

"All right," Touya said, giving away nothing. "I'll see you tomorrow at the second preliminaries for the Kisei match."

He walked into the elevator that had just opened, leaving Hikaru to stare open-mouthed at the other boy.

"Oi! Touya! Wait! You never said…!" he shouted.

But the elevator doors had closed, shutting Touya away from view. And much to Hikaru's confusion, the boy hadn't even faced him.

Really, what was Touya's problem?