"I'm sorry to spring this on you without warning, Hikaru, but I have to go to the hospital and there really isn't anyone else I can ask—"

Hikaru grinned at Mitsuki reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Natsuki and I will do fine." He liked his neighbours, and surely looking after a seven year old for a few hours couldn't be a big task. He wasn't getting anywhere with his work anyway.

Mitsuki's face brightened in relief. "Thank you so much, Hikaru, I was completely at at a loss. Natsuki hates the hospital."

From their hallway conversations, Hikaru knew that Mitsuki's mother was in the hospital for hip surgery and healing up well, but bored out of her mind.

Hikaru gathered up his notes and his laptop and followed Mitsuki to her apartment.

"Natsuki, this is Hikaru from next door. You've met before, remember? He's going to keep you company for a little while."

Hikaru grinned at her and waved. "Yo."

Natsuki gave him a dubious look. "Hi." She was a serious sort of child, and Hikaru was never quite certain how he stood with her.

"Be good, okay? Daddy will be home in a few hours."

"Okay," said Natsuki. She gave Hikaru another measuring look.

Mitsuki kissed her goodbye and breezed out the door.

Hikaru's plans were to sit Natsuki in front of the television and catch up on some work. He was behind on his required readings and his supervisors were beginning to mutter about his suitability for the program. Again. Like he hadn't proven it over and over.

Academics took themselves too seriously.

Natsuki was perfectly happy with this plan for about forty-five minutes before she switched the television off and planted herself in his range of vision.

"Play a game with me," she said. It didn't sound optional.

Hikaru quickly saved his work. "A game?"

She nodded and disappeared into the hall closet. She came out bearing an achingly familiar wooden board and two plastic tubs of black and white stones.

Hikaru swallowed. "What game is this?" he asked.

Natsuki sat on her high chair and laid out the board. "You can play black," she said generously. "You play the stones on the board and you have to get five in a row."

Hikaru blinked. "Gomoku?" he suggested, not quite able to keep his disbelief out of his tone.

She glared at him. "Yes, silly! This is a gomoku board."

The stones were cheap plastic and felt wrong in his hands, even after all this time. He let her win, which she seemed to sense and consequently regard him with contempt for it. "Again," she told him, and this time he let himself win.

She frowned. "Swap." She handed him the pot of white stones.

"There's another game you can play on this board," said Hikaru, without really thinking about what he was saying.

Natsuki's expression brightened. "Show me," she demanded.

She was young, but she was quick to grasp the basic rules of the game. By the time Natsuki's father arrived home, Hikaru was half-convinced he'd created a monster.

"Daddy!" said Natsuki, running to her father and demanding to be swung up into a hug.

"Hello Natsuki, hello Hikaru," said Kentarou. He glanced at the table in amusement. "Did you make Hikaru play Gomoku?" he asked her, bopping her on the nose. "Her teacher taught the class that game last week and she wants to play all the time now," he told Hikaru.

"No," said Natsuki. "This is igo."

Kentarou raised his eyebrows. "Mrs Shigematsu taught the class igo?"

Hikaru coughed. "I taught her," he said.

"Oh, that's right, you're a go fan, aren't you?" said Kentarou.

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm studying go in the Heian period," he said. "But I don't play anymore."

"Except against seven year olds, apparently," laughed Kentarou.

"She seemed like she wanted a challenge," grinned Hikaru. "She made me play black in gomoku."

"Well, thank you for looking after her for us," said Kentarou. "Mitsuki and I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble," said Hikaru, walking away from the go board with a little twist of regret.

"I like igo," said Natsuki. "Hikaru can come again."

Kentarou and Hikaru both laughed.

—

Three Years Later

"It's very kind of you to invite me along," said Hikaru, wishing he'd had the presence of mind to invent an engagement so he could have politely refused.

Mitsuki waved the comment away. "Nonsense. You're half the reason Natsuki is even in the tournament."

Hikaru flushed. "Surely Natsuki's teacher can take most of the credit for that."

"You're the only one in the building Natsuki doesn't beat the pants off whenever she plays," said Mitsuki, ruffling her daughter's hair.

Natsuki frowned up at Hikaru. "One day I'll beat you too," she told him firmly.

He grinned, linking his hands behind his head. "It's nice to have goals. Aim high!"

She glared at him.

"Besides, it's your fault she's playing go in the first place," continued Mitsuki cheerfully.

"Oy," he said, although he couldn't really deny it.

They left Natsuki with the other contestants and joined the crowd of waiting parents.

"Everyone looks so serious," said Mitsuki, in a low voice. "Do you think we should have dressed up?" She bit her lip. "I hope Natsuki won't be scared off."

"She'll fit right in," Hikaru reassured her. Where her parents had a casual and relaxed attitude towards life, Natsuki took herself far too seriously. She was almost like a miniature—

Hikaru cut that line of thought off ruthlessly. "Natsuki won't let anybody intimidate her out of her game," he added.

"You said you used to play," said Mitsuki curiously. "Did you ever compete in a tournament like this?"

Hikaru shook his head. "N-no. Never like this." Not a children's tournament. Although he'd once had he and Sai thrown out of one... He clenched a fist and shook his head to clear it.

Several tense hours later, Natsuki hadn't earned a place in the finals but seemed pleased with her progress. "You'll go over my games with me later, Hikaru," she told him. "Tell me where I went wrong."

Mitsuki choked back a laugh. "Natsuki! Hikaru can't be expected to remember your games in such detail."

Hikaru gave her a sheepish grin. "Actually... I can do that."

"Eh?" Mitsuki said, surprised.

"I thought so," said Natsuki smugly. "Every go player needs to be able to memorise games, Mother. Otherwise you're never going to progress. My teacher can play games blindfolded."

"Is that so?" asked Mitsuki.

"I—" began Hikaru.

"Shindou?"

Hikaru was dimly aware that somebody who had just passed them had stopped. He should have pretended he hadn't heard; kept walking and talking. Instead, his feet faltered beneath him.

"It is you," said Touya Akira.

"Touya," said Hikaru, pasting on a smile. "What are you doing here?"

Touya gaped at him. "What am I doing here...!"

Hikaru had seen Touya on the television, of course. He didn't look noticeably different in person, but somehow the effect of his presence was magnified. Hikaru was finding it hard to keep his composure.

At university, Hikaru had dated a boy named Kyousuke for a while. Meeting him for the first time had been alarmingly like the first time he'd met Touya, although he had carefully ignored that realisation at the time. Seeing Touya now felt like the last time he'd seen Kyousuke, meeting randomly in a supermarket a year after their breakup.

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh, you're right, I suppose you're doing Meijin business," he said, deliberately getting Touya's current title wrong.

Touya's face reddened in anger. "Shindou, why—"

"I was cheering Natsuki here on," Hikaru told him. "She was competing today."

Touya looked behind Hikaru to where Mitsuki and Natsuki were politely waiting. "She's... your step-daughter?" he asked, his face a mask of neutrality.

Hikaru blanched and held up his hands. "No, no, my neighbour's daughter. I've been playing with her, a little, only occasionally I mean, she has an actual go teacher. I'm just moral support."

If Hikaru wasn't imagining things, Touya looked a little relieved. "Shindou, I read your article," he began.

"Gotta go," said Hikaru, waving cheerfully and backing off and turning away. He hustled Mitsuki and Natsuki out of the building as quickly as possible, although Touya didn't seem inclined to follow. "Ah, that was embarrassing!"

"Your ex?" asked Mitsuki delicately.

"Not exactly," said Hikaru.

"That was Touya Akira," said Natsuki. "I recognise him from sensei's magazines. He holds three titles and is one of Japan's best players."

"Oh?" said Mitsuki.

"We knew each other in high school," said Hikaru. "That's all."

Natsuki gave him a suspicious look. "You went to school with Touya Akira?"

"Not exactly," Hikaru repeated. "You really screwed up in that third game," he told her. At least kids were easy to distract.

She glared at him. "How?"

—

Two Years Later

Hikaru was expecting Natsuki to drop by and go over her latest tournament games, which was why he didn't think twice about opening the door when the buzzer rang.

He did think twice once his visitor turned out to not be a twelve year old girl, but by then it was too late.

"I read your book," said Touya Akira, somehow managing to enter the apartment without Hikaru consciously letting him in and without any hint of impoliteness.

"Eh?" said Hikaru. "It's only been out three days!"

"I read all your publications."

"Thank you for your support," Hikaru murmured, a little mystified.

Touya made a frustrated noise. "I've been trying to understand!" His eyes narrowed. "But with this one, I think I finally do." He had a copy of the offending book under his arm.

Hikaru blinked. "Do what?"

"You told me Sai was your mentor," said Touya. "You said he was agoraphobic—"

"Pretty certain I wouldn't have used that word—"

Touya glared at him. "And that those first games were Sai's games, not yours. So... he was passing you instructions somehow?"

"Umm," said Hikaru, thinking quickly. "A headset?"

"You wouldn't be able to take a headset into a game with my father!" snapped Touya. "And how was Sai seeing the board?"

"I... oh, a buttonhole camera!" said Hikaru triumphantly.

"They wouldn't let you take that in either!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying it doesn't make sense!" said Touya. "I'm saying... I'm saying the only way it makes sense is if this is Sai!"


Touya slammed his copy of The Life and Times of Fujiwara no Sai, Heian Go Master on the kitchen counter.

"Sai was a book?" asked Hikaru, because... If Touya had really figured it out...

"Sai was a ghost," said Touya, tiredly. "I'm saying Sai was a ghost that only you could hear. It's the only thing that makes sense."

Hikaru swallowed, then swallowed again. Somehow he wasn't able to get any words out around the lump in his throat.

Touya was starting to look annoyed again, although it had that edge of fear that hinted maybe he wasn't as certain as he was pretending. "Shindou?"

Hikaru looked away, sniffing and wiping at his eyes before he cleared his throat. "Ghosts only get a thousand years on earth before they disappear," said Hikaru. "Did you figure that part out too?"

Touya's expression softened. "Shindou..."

"I just wanted to prove that he existed," said Hikaru. "I wanted to share him with the world. That's all." He shook his head. "What do you want from me, Touya?"

"I want you to play go again," said Touya. "The book is good, but Sai... the Sai you described in that book would want you to share his go with the world. Through you, his student. I'm here to convince you to come back."

Hikaru gave him a shaky grin. "Well, you can't."

Touya gaped at him. "What do you mean, I can't?" he demanded. "You said—"

"You can't convince me," Hikaru continued triumphantly, "because I've already decided to come back."

"What?!"

"I told you it wasn't forever," said Hikaru, exasperated. "I just needed a break."

"That was ten years ago!" yelled Touya.

"It took me longer than I expected!" Hikaru yelled back. "I had to finish high school first, and then I had to get a doctorate before I could find all the information I needed!" Honestly, academics were such a pain.

"That's not an excuse!"

"Let's play a game," said Hikaru suddenly.

Touya blinked. "Now?"

"Yes, now, now! I'm out of practice. We'll need to play a lot if I'm going to catch up with you." He left the room to dig in the back of his closet for the silk-wrapped parcel he'd received from his grandfather.

"Why do I have to help you catch up to me?" demanded Touya.

"Because I'm your rival! We're going to find the hand of god together," he called back. "Sai told me we would."

Touya didn't seem to have a response to that.

Hikaru carried the antique kaya goban into the  room and set it carefully on the floor. "This was Sai's goban," he explained. "And after that it was Shuusaku's."

Touya sat down opposite with the grace of years of practice.

"Do you see any stains on it?" asked Hikaru. He thumbed the corner of the board wistfully. Maybe it really was bad luck... but he didn't believe it.

Touya shook his head.

"I did," said Hikaru. "A long time ago. I don't anymore." He reached into the pot of stones. "Nigiri?"