Disclaimer: Nothing in this fic belongs to me. except maybe for the badminton racket. 3 tintin

Swish THWACK!

Satisfied, I allowed my racket to drop and watched as the shuttlecock flew through the air.

"Oi Shindou! Don't kill all the shuttlecocks, or we won't have any left!"

I just smiled back at the coach. As he shook his head at me, he shouted to the rest of the team, "OK, training's over! See you next week!"

I rushed with the wave of people to the changing rooms, and when I stepped out a few minutes later, Akari was already waiting for me.

"Sorry, changing rooms were mayhem."

"Let's just get back before dark."

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"Tadaima."

"Hikaru! Guten abend!" My grossmutter called from the kitchen. "Dinner's not ready yet, so just wait a while!"

"Okaeri, Hikaru," Oji-san sat down beside me on the couch. "How was training today?"

"Tough as usual," I shrugged casually. "But then, what's to expect from the top elementary school team in Tokyo?" I grinned, and my eyes lit up at the thought of the next inter-school tournament, which begins next month.

Oji-san smiled and attempted to ruffle my hair. I ducked, and oji-san stood up. "I'll go help your grossmutter make dinner." Left alone at the sofa, I stared up at the ceiling. "What do I do then?" I called back to the kitchen.

"Hikaru, if you're bored you can always try the piano…" I rolled my eyes. Grossmutter ALWAYS asked me to try out the piano… but the truth was I hated the piano! Give me a shuttlecock and a racket any day, and I'll smash you to the ground.

Wandering over, I lifted the cover (kami-sama, was it really that heavy? What was inside this thing?), then unrolled the cloth covering the keys quietly. Wouldn't want grossmutter to know that I had been checking out the piano. She'd probably overreact and sign me up for lessons straightaway.

Do. Re. Mi. I softly pressed down the keys, and I could vaguely recognise notes which I had learnt at school. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. There was this layer of dust over the keys… when was the last time grossmutter or oji-san had touched the piano anyway? I blew gently, and the dust spiraled through the air, catching the light from the setting sun and appearing like golden sparkles fluttering in the air. I watched, spellbound.

Can you hear me?

Ne? What was that? "Oji-san?" I asked, cautiously.

Can you hear my voice?

"Of course I can hear you. Oji-san! Stop playing tricks!"

I'm not your oji-san!

"Eh?"

You can hear me? You can hear my voice?

"Yeah…"

YES!

That was when I fell asleep.

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Hello…hello? Are you OK? Wake up…wake up…WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!

"Wha…?"

Yay you're awake! My name's Fujiwara no Sai, and you're Hikaru, right?

"Uh…?"

Great! You know music? Lemme play! Lemme play! Playplayplay!

Just who the heck was this voice in my head? And there was a…GUY in my room. Dressed in clothes that must have come from at least…1900s. At seven in the morning.

Something told me this was going to be a loooong day.

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So you'll let me play, right?

"Why the heck should I? I already have badminton team practice! Besides, I hate the piano! And I can't play music!"

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HIKARUUUUUUUU but I wanna PLAAAAAAAAY…

Suddenly a sense of nausea overcame me, and I felt the distinct urge to rush to the bathroom. Forcing it down, I leant my head against the table and pretended to doze in the midst of the teacher's lecture on DNA.

"Just what the hell are you doing to me! Get out of my head for heaven's sake! And why are you following me around! And why can't anyone else see you?"

Nevermind that now. I'm a ghost, and I came back to play. Music is my life, and I love the piano. I've been residing in that ancient piano for ages, and I have come into you such that I might play the piano through you. As for where I came from, I'm not telling you. Go figure out yourself.

"But I told you, I hate music!"

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA HIKARU YOU MEAAAAANIE!

"Augh!" I barlely managed to suppress my scream of pain as my head was suddenly filled with hammers, pounding against my skull. I could vaguely hear the teacher droning in the distance about chromatins and whatnots. Beside me, Sai wailed, blubbered and whined.

Yep, this was going to be a terribly long day.

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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY LET'S PLAY!

"Alright, alright! Just one time, OK?"

I cautiously stepped into the piano showroom. Pianos were everywhere; they were shiny and well…classy? Not exactly what the typical elementary badminton team guy was looking for. But nevertheless, I was here. In my team shirt, nonetheless. Perhaps that was why the woman was giving me strange looks.

"Excuse me, may I help you…"

"Sorry, could I perhaps try out the piano here?"

"Of course."

I sat down nervously. Before this, I had never played the piano. What was I going to do?

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A/N: In this fic, I've made Hikaru quarter-German, three-quarters Japanese (i.e. as you have seen in this chapter, Hikaru's grandmother is actually German.) This was mainly for conveniences' sake to allow for his grandmother's interest in playing the piano - the piano isn't exactly a very popular instrument in Japan. Another reason why i brought the time forward - i don't think they had pianos in the Heian era. So Sai actually lived around the 1900s? But yet I don't see anyone in Hikaru's family buying a piano for him anytime soon. shrugs ohwell, let's see how this fic goes. Comments are greatly appreciated, especially as to how this fic should develop. currently i have an extremely vague idea somewhere along the lines of the original story, but if anyone wants things to change, please do tell me! No pairings planned as of yet.