Hikaru was thrilled with his acquisition of a fourth team member, even if he was a little strange, and so it was in high spirits that Hikaru led Yuki to the empty clearing where the festival used to stand and waited for the others.

Tsutsui had told him he would be staying close to the meeting place at all times so they wouldn't miss each other, which he informed him was the worst thing one could do in a place like this, because you might just start thinking you had hallucinated the other and your entire meeting.

Hikaru was beginning to question the reality of Tsutsui himself; it had been thirty minutes and neither him nor Kaga had shown up. He was beginning to get nervous, worried that Yuki would leave if he got too bored.

"Are you sure this is the meeting place?" Yuki drawled for the third time. "You didn't forget?"

"I'm sure I didn't forget!" Hikaru snapped at him. "This is the place!"

Yuki sighed and went back to pacing in his clump of shade. Hikaru had learned through observation that Yuki was the calmest when he was in the woods or a cave, somewhere away from the sun. It was just one of his quirks they had to work with on the journey, Yuki's hissing fury whenever he walked in direct sunlight.

"Don't think this is over. You haven't won. I'm just taking a break." He would mutter darkly, glaring at the sky, and would continue to walk.

Maybe Yuki had an allergy to sunlight, because he seemed to appear more and more agitated the more he stayed in it. Sai suggested the idea that there might be something wrong in his head, and Hikaru should ask what it was. Hikaru beat down the idea, asking whether he would like to try asking a fox if it had brain damage, and Sai rolled his eyes but agreed.

Whatever kind of weirdness Yuki had, he would adapt to it.

There was a snap in the tree above him, and Hikaru looked up to see Tsutsui crouched on a branch above him, nervously adjusting his glasses and keeping an eye on Yuki.

"Tsutsui!" Hikaru called, delighted. "I've missed you!"

The Squirrel jumped down and smiled at the little boy, his eyes still flickering to Yuki occasionally. "And I have missed you, Hikaru. My apologies for being late."

"As long as you're here, I don't mind." Hikaru gestured to Yuki, who was crouched in his shade, eyes narrowed. "I found a fourth member! His name is Yuki Mitani. Yuki, this is your teammate, Tsutsui."

They just stared at each other for a second. Then Tsutsui stepped forward and offered his hand (paw?) to shake, beaming. "I'm so happy we have enough people! It's very nice to make your acquaintance, Yuki. Not many people would accompany complete strangers across the woods for something like this!"

"Are you good?" Yuki said after a pause, shaking Tsutsui's hand (Paw?)

"I like to think so." He chirped jokingly.

"That won't be enough." Yuki stared dead-eyed at him. "The players over at the mountain have nothing to do but play Go underground. They'll be hard to beat."

"I'm aware of that." Tsutsui frowned. "I'm by no means a weak opponent."

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "You sure? 'Cause you look like a pushover to me."

Sai gasped. Hikaru gritted his teeth. There was a silence. Tsutsui grinned, baring his teeth more than showing mirth, and said, "I'm sure I may look like one to you, but I'm confident in my abilities. Is that also something you can say for yourself?"

"You saying I'm weak, four-eyes?!" Yuki snarled immediately.

Tsutsui nodded slowly, a pleasant, even sweet smile back on his face. "I mean nothing other than what I say. Do you think you can handle our opponents?"

"I can handle a lot more than you can, I'm sure." Yuki sent back waspishly.

"Oh, dear. I'm not sure this was a very good idea." Sai sighed. Hikaru couldn't help agreeing with him.

"So the squirt thinks he's a hotshot, eh?" They heard from one end of the clearing.

Hikaru turned to see Kaga unhurriedly emerge out of the forest, his eyes narrowed at the little fox. His tone was like it was dripped in honey, his tail stiff, his teeth bared. "Are we going to have a problem?"

Yuki surveyed him for a moment, sizing him up. "No." He said finally.

Kaga sat down no closer than two feet in front of him and gave his paw a leisurely lick, inspecting it closely. "Good. Because I don't like it when some two-pound sack of fur tries to intimidate my friends." He looked up from his paw and grinned at the stunned Yuki, showing off his canines. "That's my job."

There was five seconds ringing silence. Yuki was breathing hard, Tsutsui seemied touched at being called a friend, Sai was worriedly twisting his fan in his grip, and Hikaru was at a loss for what to do, if anything could be done.

"Um, Yuki, this is Kaga." He began, pulling himself together. "Kaga, Yuki. He's the fourth member."

"All right, Yuki." Kaga abruptly put down his paw and sat up straighter. The tense atmosphere seemed to dissipate slightly. "You're probably aware of everything we're going up against, correct?"

Yuki nodded.

"Hang on, what we're going up against?" Hikaru interjected.

"It's not exactly an easy journey from here to the mountains." Kaga rolled his eyes like Hikaru was the most foolish boy on the planet. "We have to cross a river or two, as well as a gorge, but we're planning on going around that."

Hikaru groaned. A gorge? How long is this going to take?

"As long as it will need to." Sai scolded him. "This is something of the upmost importance!"

"It will be long, treacherous, sometimes boring, and we might be seriously injured." Kaga was rattling off, pacing up and down in front of the little group. "We will get wet, cold, hot, possibly even eaten."

"Eaten?" Hikaru repeated nervously.

Kaga continued as though he hadn't heard him speak. "Once we get there, the competition will be stiff. Very stiff. I hope you all have skills enough, because now you're going to need them."

He stopped and thumped his tail against the ground. "So. Let us depart."

"What, now?" Tsutsui spluttered. "We haven't had time to prepare, we need to be ready-"

Kaga rolled his eyes. "We should have started walking a day ago, Tsutsui. We don't have time for preparations."

Yuki shrugged. "I'm all for it."

"All right!" Kaga turned abruptly. "Let's go!"

Sai, if I die, it's your fault!

Hikaru felt like he had just fallen off his Grandpa's ladder again. Traveling in this strange place was terrifying as much as it was wondrous. At least before, there had been trees, something familiar. But giant mushrooms? Hikaru thought that was nothing short of unfair!

They had managed to make it out of the forest in only two hours, which Tsutsui said was good time, but Hikaru wasn't sure how he could keep track of anything at all when there was so much to be distracted by; Kaga had to pull him away from a flower the size of his head before it snapped closed on his neck, and he kept veering off the path to look at rocks. Whenever this happened, Yuki would scoff and roll his eyes, and Kaga would immediately snarl that if they were inconveniencing him in any way, he was free to take his bushy tail back to his hill.

They waded through a river that almost swept Yuki away, but he managed to clamp his teeth down on a passing branch so the group could come save him.

Once they breached the other side of the forest, Hikaru was in awe and dread of what lay ahead of them. Mountains as far as the eye could see, some tall and imposing and snow capped like a wizened gentleman, others shorter and grassier and misty. He hadn't ever seen so many hills and mountains so close together in his life.

He was momentarily knocked off his feet in wonder. That was quickly swept away when he realized he had to climb all of them.

"Kagaaaaaaaaa," He whined, tipping his head back. "Do you mean to tell me that we're crossing that...that ocean of rock?!"

"They live underneath a mountain, boy." Kaga shouted over his shoulder as he began climbing the first hill. "What do you think we're doing?"

Sai energetically bounded forward. "Come on, Hikaru, it's not that bad!"

Hikaru muttered darkly and began climbing the first hill. Easy for you to say, you technically don't have feet.

The sun was setting by the time Kaga finally gave in to Hikaru's repeated complaints and requests for a break, and it was most likely because everybody else had begun to complain as well. They stopped on a grassier mountainside, sitting for the first time in hours of constant walking.

It didn't take long for each of them to fall asleep. The grass was soft and the sound of crickets lulling.

And yet, when Hikaru woke up it was midnight, with two big blue eyes staring into his.

He didn't notice them at first; he had kept his eyes shut, wondering what could have woken him up and intending to go back to sleep, when someone poked him in the side. He'd still ignored it, thinking it was Kaga trying to get him to continue walking. He turned on his back, looking for a more comfortable place in the grass.

"Hikaru!" Sai yelled in his ear. "Get up!"

Hikaru opened his eyes, and saw something bending over him in the dark, glittering blue eyes reflecting the moonlight. His heart slammed against his chest, jumping into his throat, and he sat bolt upright with a yell. A scaly hand covered his mouth, and Hikaru struggled briefly before hearing a hushed, "Quiet!"

He blinked a few times, his initial terror slowly ebbing away. He recognized the shadowy figure now; claws, blue eyes, softly shimmering scales in the starlight...The Dragonling. He was somehow bigger, taller than the last time he'd seen him.

Hikaru roughly grabbed The Dragonling's wrist. "What are you doing here?!" He whispered. He found that he didn't want to wake his friends for the time-being. Kaga would probably yell and attack The Dragonling, and who knew what Yuki would do.

"I'm here to ask for a game." The Dragonling replied soberly, his expression never changing. "I've been looking for you."

Hikaru was baffled that anybody would chase him this far, and this long, only to play a silly recreational game. The Dragonling must have been out of his mind.

"He wants to play again!" Sai whooped in joy. "Oh, Hikaru, please!?"

Hikaru ignored Sai and plowed on. "Hang on, how did you find me?"

"It wasn't hard." The Dragonling shrugged. "I heard from a minx that the first little boy she's ever seen is playing on a team of wild animals in the mountains. I have to admit, I am...surprised that you are here."

"What do you mean, 'surprised'?" Hikaru mocked. "You practically followed me here like a stalker!"

"Why are you here with them?" Akira pointed at the sleeping forms of Hikaru's friends. "You're good enough to be a professional. Why are here, on an amateur Go team?"

Hikaru scowled at him, folding his arms. "Who are you to ridicule me on my choice in company? I thought all you wanted was a game."

The Dragonling's eyes hardened. "Yes. Do you accept?"

Sai was now wrapping his arms around Hikaru's head like a Boa Constrictor. "Please, Hikaru, Please, just this once!"

Fine. If it will make him go away.

"I accept." Hikaru said slowly, getting to his feet. "But let's do this somewhere else. I don't want to wake-"

The Dragonling snatched Hikaru's arm and began pulling him down the hillside with surprising strength, tail swishing from side to side. Hikaru tried in vain to pull against him simply because it annoyed him when people tried to tell him where to go, but it did nothing.

"We can play up there." The Dragonling pointed to a nearby hillside, not too far from the team's impromptu campsite, still dragging on the boy's arm.

Hikaru didn't bother answering, preparing himself for another long, draining Go.

I hope I don't fall asleep in the middle of it...Sai wouldn't be pleased. Would The Dragonling bite me out of anger? I've never met a dragon before, so I'm not sure, but maybe if he were mad enough…

They had reached the top of the hill, and The Dragonling immediately sat down, staring expectantly at Hikaru with those burning eyes.

Hikaru collapsed more than sat, his eyes itching with tiredness, and lazily crossed his arms, looking up at the sky.

'Kay, are you ready, Sai?

"Yes, yes of course." Sai responded impatiently.

Sai reached out and tried to use Hikaru's hand to pluck a star from the sky, but Hikaru moved before he did, taking one himself. It pulsed gently in his palm as his glazed eyes focused on The Dragonling once more, who was holding up the palm of his hand in a silent offer. The star quivered for a moment, as though indecisive, and hopped into The Dragonling's open hand.

"All right." The Dragonling said quietly. "I'm white."

Hikaru shrugged helplessly, sat back, and let Sai take control.

The Dragonling started out, creating a grid and flinging the star into the sky with such fire that Hikaru began to wonder if he really would bite him. Sai responded curiously, excitedly, like a child opening their first present on Christmas Eve. He quickly grew more serious as their game progressed, eyes narrowing, hand clenching on his paper fan as he tracked the drifting journeys of the stars on the board. The Dragonling was much the same, sitting rigid as a board, breathing harsh, his eyes burning and never leaving the sky.

Hikaru was simply so tired he could have passed out right then and there.

"I...I resign."

Hikaru startled, looking to his left at The Dragonling. No way could the calm, collected, stoic Dragon Hikaru had spoken to have a tone like that: grating, bitter, frustrated.

His head was bowed, shivering slightly, and his hands were clenched in his lap.

"You...resign?" Hikaru said slowly, uncrossing his legs uncomfortably.

The Dragonling didn't say anything; he didn't even nod. He only extended a claw, and in a single harsh motion, the game they had so carefully crafted was scattered throughout the galaxy. Sai was staring down at him with a frown, sighing. If The Dragonling could see him, would he be disgusted at this sign of...what? Pity? Sympathy?

This was boggling to Hikaru. So many emotions he didn't understand, so many actions and words fueled by this confusing game that so many had poured their hearts into. Hikaru wasn't important, so why did this animal keep chasing after him? Why did it matter if he was beaten? He should have moved on like a normal person would, forget and move on.

But nothing is normal here, is it?

He got to his feet, slightly off balance. The Dragonling was still bowed over, silent, a furious storm swirling around him. He wanted to say something that would help him, do something to ease his apparent pain, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came.

"I-I'm going to leave, okay?" He said eventually.

Nothing.

Hikaru slowly turned around and began the trek back to camp. He might have been imagining things, but he thought he felt a bit heavier as he left.

The next morning, Hikaru looked around instinctively for The Dragonling, half expecting him to swoop out of the sky and drag him off to his mountainous lair for another game, but he was nowhere to be seen. Kaga barely allowed them time to wake up properly before continuing on as though he hadn't spent all day yesterday traveling.

"Kagaaaaa!" Hikaru called from the back of the little group. He had had a difficult time getting back to sleep after The Dragonling's ambush, and was forced to call upon every bit of strength and energy he had to keep walking. Sai tried to help now and then, but it was hard for him to hold Hikaru up for more than a few seconds, and his constant encouragement was reaching annoying levels. "Can we stop and look for some food? I'm hungry."

Kaga looked over his shoulder, sneering. "Weakling. We don't need to stop."

"Kaga," Tsutsui panted, catching up to this friend, a determined look on his face. "Hikaru's hungry. I am hungry. I'm sure Yuki is, too. We need to stop now and then, you know."

Kaga scowled, but looked from Tsutsui, who had bags underneath his eyes, to Yuki, who was glaring hatefully at the sun and muttering so fast it was almost like he was humming, to Hikaru, who had slumped over in the grass and was sitting on the ground staring dully at the horizon.

"Fine." Kaga growled. "We can eat. But we will have to take a detour!"

"Even a detour is better than starvation." Yuki muttered under his breath.

Hikaru didn't know where they were going, but decided to put his faith in Kaga and stumbled along after him. Tsutsui began walking towards a rather imposing looking mountain, high and mighty against the cloud streaked sky.

"Are we going to climb that?" Hikaru asked nervously, pointing towards the impressively tall mound.

"No," Tsutsui responded cheerily. "We're going to the base of it."

"Perhaps there are wild mushrooms there that we can eat." Sai hazarded a guess.

I'm rather sick of mushrooms, but anything at all would be a blessing.

They arrived at the bottom of the mountain, and Tsutsui began going around, looking intensely at the wall as though searching for something. Soon, his eyes lit up in discovery, and he swiped at a tangle of vines and weeds that had clung to the side of a rock, covering what was revealed to be a door, rotting and falling apart, a tarnished knocker of an eagle on it's front.

Tsutsui turned to the rest of the group, hands clasped in front of him. "Now, the proprietor of this establishment is a little odd-"

Kaga gave an audible snort. "Even by our standards."

Tsutsui ignored him and continued. "But he has good food, and if you can ignore the smell, it's actually a nice little place."

Hikaru and Yuki glanced at each other warily. What could Tsutsui possibly be bracing us for?

Tsutsui turned around and, without hesitation, opened the rotting door. The scent of mold and smoke wafted out, and they filed into the doorway, not knowing what to expect.

It was a small, cramped, one-roomed pub of sorts, with a bar filling up most of the space along the wall. It seemed completely empty save for a few rotting tables and chairs. If this was a place to get food, Hikaru thought it would be better to leave before they poisoned themselves.

Wouldn't that make a stunning end to my adventure? Death not by starvation, but by food poisoning.

"This looks disgusting." Yuki said bluntly, unimpressed.

"Disgusting, you say?!"

They jumped at the unfamiliar voice, looking around for who it could be.

"I'm up here."

They craned their necks to look at the ceiling, where Hikaru was shocked to see a caterpillar hanging from a hook drilled into the rock, staring down at them imperiously. Sai shrieked and hid behind Hikaru despite his invisibility, but Hikaru couldn't blame him; the green, furry bug was almost as big as he was!

Hikaru could do nothing but gape, but Tsutsui quickly stepped in. "Hello, we've been traveling for quite a long time. Do you have anything to eat?"

The caterpillar stared at them a moment as though wondering whether or not to say anything. Eventually, he dropped down from the ceiling, making them all jump when he landed, and crawled behind the bar. Taking that as a yes, Tsutsui waved them over to stools at the bar, though Hikaru thought a ruler would have supported him better than the wobbling furniture.

They watched the caterpillar retrieve bowls of soup from under the bar with his stubby feelers, pushing them to the boys across the table. Hikaru didn't want to know why the caterpillar kept these things just under a bar, and didn't want to how long they'd been sitting there, and so he listened to his stomach more than his mind and tentatively took a sip.

"And how is it?" Yuki said from next to him, peering at his face nervously.

Hikaru shrugged. "It's not bad, per say...I've had worse."

That was all Yuki needed before digging in to his own bowl.

"Excuse me, sir," Tsutsui said to the caterpillar, pointing to a lone bowl of soup. "You've given us one extra."

The caterpillar blinked and turned his shiny black orbs to Sai, who was standing at Hikaru's side, glancing around at the dingy room. "Oh. Will he not have anything?"

Hikaru almost choked on his soup; Sai gasped; Kaga rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Don't listen to anything he says," Tsutsui murmured, nudging Kaga reprimandingly. "The caterpillar here is rather...delusional."

Hikaru nodded and grinned weakly. "...Ah, okay, got it."

"Can he see me?" Sai hissed in his ear, staring at the bug.

The caterpillar didn't react, but merely looked away and shuffled down the bar to get drinks.

I'm not sure. Perhaps he can see you, but he can't hear you? In any case, he doesn't know you're a ghost, because he offered you soup.

Hikaru's spoon paused halfway to his mouth. Sai, you cannot eat, right?

"No." He replied gloomily. "I have no need to."

Yuki got Hikaru's attention by flicking his ear. "Hey, do you smell something?"

"Just mold, why?"

Yuki's tiny fox nose twitched. "I mean something else. Like something's burning."

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Fire?"

"No...like incense, or sage. That kind of thing."

Kaga gave a gruff laugh, leaning in on their conversation. "Sage, right. I'm guessing it's something much less medicinal."

Tsutsui elbowed Kaga again. "Don't be rude!" He hissed, gesturing to the apparently oblivious caterpillar cleaning a glass. "He's right there!"

"It's not rude if it's true! I've never met a caterpillar that didn't have an addiction of one kind or another."

Yuki looked suspiciously at his bowl of soup, but shrugged and continued to eat. Eventually, the four finished their meal and quickly filed out, mumbling goodbyes and thank-yous to their strange host. Hikaru, however, stopped in the open doorway, discreetly looking behind him at Sai, who was still standing by the bar, fan loosely gripped in hand.

Sai, come on. We're going.

But he didn't move.

"Will you wait for me?" Hikaru called ahead of him. "I think I lost something behind the bar."

He heard Kaga's vague yells about traveling on time but ignored him and shut the door. There was a muffled silence that seemed to coat the room like feathery down, enclosing them in their own space.

"Can you see me?" Sai said tentatively to the caterpillar, who was looking directly at him. "Can you hear me?"

The caterpillar turned to Hikaru. "Gentle yet vicious, the wind blows ever faster."

"Um..." Hikaru wasn't sure what to say, but the caterpillar interrupted him.

"Precious and terrible, the clock bleeds, the birds cease their singing, and always, for everybody," He turned his milky gaze on Sai again. "the great silence, the final nothing, the terrifying and restful, that which may be a gift or a curse, will swallow them whole and claim what was always rightfully it's own."

Sai shivered, enraptured by his words. "...I have seen life, and death, but nobody such as you."

The caterpillar swayed to one side, as though off balance. "Even in whirlwinds and color, there must be quiet. Even in great swirling lakes and oceans, one must sink to the depths."

He suddenly snapped upright and swung to face Hikaru, who jumped, his heart racing and blood boiling. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth, neeeever, or it may bite your head off and drink your blood."

Hikaru swallowed, his hands shaking. The smell of mold was strong in his nostrils, making his head spin and his stomach queasy. "Let's go, Sai."

Sai slowly went to his side, and they left the pub, keeping their eyes on the giant, swaying, unfathomable insect that was staring right back at them.

He shut the door, and suddenly the musty, dank, smoky world they had been a part of was cut off, and they were back on the hills.

After two days of travel, much complaining, and much yelling on Kaga's part, they had arrived at the mountain in which the match would be held. Yuki was the one that found the entrance, a hole in the ground on the side of the mountain. The last thing Hikaru wanted to do after the journey was climb into a dirty tunnel, but Kaga wasted no time and pushed him in before he could object. It was a long, steep descent, made more risky for Hikaru by the fact that he didn't have claws or paws with which to ground himself.

"Now, Hikaru," Tsutsui said from behind him. "Don't be alarmed when you see how many animals there are down here. We're not the only ones that have a bone to pick with them."

Hikaru nodded waveringly. There was a light coming up ahead, a glowing pinprick that got larger the closer they got. Yuki went through first with a hushed 'Wow.' Hikaru stepped out after him, blinking in the bright lights.

They were in a high-ceilinged hallway, with torches lining the walls, casting everything in sharp relief against the darker wood floors and walls. The torches flickered and danced this way and that, sometimes bending two feet away from their bracket to whisper and snicker with their neighbor. Down the hall, they could hear voices, some gravelly and low, others louder and more indignant.

"Quit your lollygagging," Kaga hissed, cleaning some dirt from his paw with his tongue. "I think they're holding it down there."

They didn't speak as they walked down the imposing underground hallway, seeing a door thrown wide open on one side of it. Hikaru's heart was almost beating out of his chest, and he prayed with all his might that none of the animals there would be carnivores.

They entered the door, and stepped into the crowded room. Animals of all shapes and sizes milled about the room, mammals and reptiles, birds and frogs. Hikaru was again reminded that he was still very small; all the mice and frogs came up to his knees. Nobody paid them any attention, hardly noticing the oddly mish-mashed group.

"I didn't know there would be this many." Yuki remarked quietly, the fur on the back of his neck raising slightly.

"Yeah." Tsutsui frowned. "I'm guessing lots of people aren't happy."

"Hello, there!" A field mice squeaked from next to Hikaru's leg. "Where do you hail from?"

"I...We're..." Hikaru stammered, but Tsutsui rescued him.

"We're from the Haze forest region." He explained. "Tell me, where is your team?"

"Oh, they're over there." The mouse pointed to the far side of the room, where a clump of mice was standing, skittishly looking around at the crowd. "We're trying to get the stars back from the Kaio mountain region."

"Say, so are we." Tsutsui smiled.

The mouse cleaned its whiskers as it spoke. "Ah, well you're going to have some competition, then. From what I hear, Kaio has been hoarding the region's stars for a long time, now. The situation might get rather gnarly."

Kaga turned a sharp-toothed smile to the rodent. "If that's the case, then I know who I'm picking off first."

The mouse gave a terrified squeak and rushed off to join it's group. Tsutsui elbowed him in the ribs, hissing something about being polite, but Hikaru didn't pay attention to their bickering; he had learned to tune them out a long time ago. He was aware of Sai bouncing up and down in anticipation beside him.

"Do you think we'll get to play all of them?" He said excitedly.

I don't know. Who knows, perhaps the stars will be divided equally between the regions and we won't have to scuffle for every last one.

He heard the door behind them open again, and everybody turned to see who had entered. It was a mole, squinty-eyed and furry, glaring around at the room at large.

"I see you've all come." He had a snooty, cold voice.

"If you can even see anything at all with those eyes of yours." Kaga drawled, smirking slightly.

The mole ignored him. "Please follow me to where you will be playing your games."

The crowd followed him out of the room and down the hall.

"So we are going to be competing against each other?" Hikaru whispered to Tsutsui, who shrugged helplessly, biting his lip. He could tell the squirrel was losing his edge after all this time. He hoped he wouldn't have a breakdown in the middle of such an important match.

The mole opened a huge set of double doors, and Hikaru stifled a gasp. There were in a chamber, a chamber so much bigger than the one they had just left. It was all cast in shadow, the only light creeping in through the door they had used to enter. Hikaru could imagine hundreds of stars in this pitch-black confinement. Sai shivered with joy.

When he stopped gaping at the surroundings, he realized there were other people in this room, or rather, more moles, huddled in groups. But one figure in particular stood out against the rest. Tall, glittering, and menacing as he turned his electric-blues eyes on Hikaru.

The Dragonling. Of course.

Hikaru shook his head slowly in awe. "He's still here." He whispered under his breath.

Yuki looked over to see what Hikaru had talking about, and gaped. "Is that The Dragonling?!" He hissed in Hikaru's ear.

Kaga's head swiveled so fast, it was almost scary. "Where?" He growled.

Hikaru suddenly remembered that he'd never gotten the story of why Kaga hated The Dragonling so much.

"Why do you care?" He said curiously. "You never told me."

If looks could kill, The Dragonling would have been dead on the spot. "I just don't like him. And now here he is, just shows up at one of the most important events..."

"Come on, Kaga." Tsutsui reprimanded, though he himself was staring. "Just ignore him."

"I wonder why he's here?" Yuki mumbled to Hikaru, barely making himself heard over the muttering and shuffling going on around them. "The mountain he lives in is far away from here, he would have no need to come."

Hikaru swallowed. Sai...do you think it's because of me?

Sai nodded, flexing his grip on his fan.

"In any case, it's kind of selfish." Yuki continued. "If he's here for the thrill, he might be taking away some other region's chance on getting more of their stars back."

Hikaru nodded absent-mindedly.

There was a disturbance behind them; the moles have come in with bowls of glistening stars, and an electric current carries throughout the room, conversations quieting, bodies stilling.

"Please find a group to play against. They will be your first match." One of the moles said loudly to be heard. "When you are finished, find a spot in the room."

Hikaru's group ended up with a team of lizards. Their creepy eyes almost had Hikaru running away in fear, but he didn't dare object, sensing that The Dragonling was trying to catch his eye. They chose a spot in the middle, each team holding their own bowl of stars. Hikaru swallowed back the nerves. He wouldn't be doing this. Sai would. There was no reason to be nervous.

Are you ready, Sai?

He shouldn't have asked; Sai was practically vibrating. "Yes! Yes! I'm ready."

They chose for color. As Hikaru (or rather, Sai) drew his tiny star out of the bowl and it stayed in his fist, he thought he saw just a hint of color around it. Nothing much, just blurry shadow at the edges.

"I'm black!" He said excitedly.

"Good work, Hikaru!" Sai exclaimed. "You're learning to tell the difference between the colors!"

The lizard across from him merely blinked his lamplike eyes and waited for Hikaru to place the first stone.

Hikaru won his first match, with the help of Sai, and Kaga and Yuki both won as well. The only odd one out was Tsutsui, who had unfortunately lost his head completely in the middle of the match and lost by a wide margin. Kaga was still scolding him about it as they moved on to their next set group.

"I can't help it!" Tsutsui was moaning. "I get so nervous!"

"Then stop getting nervous," Kaga shouted. "It's just that easy."

"Think of something else, Tsutsui." Yuki suggested. "Think about what will happen after you win the match. It helps for me."

Tsutsui hung his head. "But I don't know if I'll win."

"Have some confidence in yourself!" Kaga hissed. "It's embarrassing!"

Their argument was put on hold when they found their next group, and commenced with the game.

Sai...I want to try this time. Hikaru told him as he sat down.

Sai smiled happily, but didn't speak.

"I think that went well." Yuki said, pleased, as they filed out of the dark room for a break.

"Me too." Hikaru said.

"Really, because you lost your game!" Kaga verbally pounced on him immediately. "I thought you were an excellent player? But you lost!"

"One can't win all the time, Kaga." Hikaru snapped back, disgruntled.

"I do." Kaga preened.

"Don't listen to him, Hikaru." Sai soothed. "It is impossible for someone to always win. You played well."

But I didn't win. It doesn't matter if I played well or not, I still lost.

"I'm going outside." Tsutsui reported from the back of the group. "I need the sunlight."

Hikaru volunteered to join him and crawled through the claustrophobic tunnel to the outside. The sun hurt his eyes after hours of playing underground, but the air was crisp and fresh in his lungs as he inhaled, relishing the feeling of the wind on his skin.

I really don't know how one can live underground their entire lives. I would die if I couldn't go outside all the time.

He watched Tsutsui retreat down the hill to sit by himself, but didn't go after him; they all needed a break from each other at the moment.

"Why do you think The Dragonling's here?" He overheard a bird say to her friend, a seagull.

"I haven't the foggiest." The seagull replied. "But do you know what I heard? I heard that The Dragonling practically begged the moles that live in the mountains to take him onto their team."

"What? Why would somebody as talented as he seek out such a meeting?"

"I'm not sure. He could be The Dragonling's twin brother, or he might just be possessed. Or maybe he's not as talented as we think, and all the hubbub about him is just rumors."

"Of course it's not rumors, come on now."

"All I know is that he's received quite a hard time about it. They only accepted him because he's...well, you know...him."

"I'm just worried about what that means for the rest of us. What if those moles really do win?"

"I suppose it will be a bleak sky tonight, then."

Hikaru stood there, processing what he'd just heard. The Dragonling had come here for him, obviously. But at such a cost as to be harassed over it?

He sat down in the grass, thinking. What did it feel like, loving something so much you would run to the ends of the earth to fulfill your craving for it? That you would train yourself your entire life to be the best?

Sai...I think I want to play him myself…

That's me, the late updater. I honestly try to cut down on the length of the chapters, but I have too much content in my brain.