"That's Master Shindou," a child-like voice fluted in an awed tone, somehow completely clear over the general chaos of the hall. "He's going to achieve the Hand of God."

Hikaru slowed his pace and looked around to find the speaker. His gaze latched onto a small boy, pulling on his mother's hand with one arm and pointing at Hikaru with another.

"I'm going over there," he told a very surprised Akira.

The boy didn't look at all awed as Hikaru approached, just excited. He bowed, very formal. "It's an honour to meet you, Master Shindou."

Hikaru repeated the formal greeting, then realised he had no idea what he wanted to say. "I don't get a lot of kid fans these days." Newer young prodigies had risen to fill the gaps when he and Akira had ascended, and now most of Hikaru's fans were his own age.

"He watches every game of yours he can find on television," said the boy's mother, baffled but indulgent. "I really can't explain it."

"I told you," the boy said. "He's going to achieve the Hand of God."

"Where did you hear that?" asked Hikaru, forcing his tone to be casual.

The boy screwed up his face in thought. "I don't know. Isn't it true?"

"Of course it is!" said Hikaru, grinning at the boy conspiratorially. "Although I'll have help."

"Touya," said the boy positively.

"If he's up to it," said Hikaru. Akira had walked up beside him.

Akira was a lot better with fans than Hikaru. He smiled at the boy's mother, introduced himself, and managed to get both of their names, all in the space of about a minute.

"Do you play?" asked Akira, glancing between the mother and child.

"Me? Not at all," she said. "But Shun takes lessons. He's always been a fan, since he was very small."

"Go is the best game in the world," said Shun, seriously. "I want to play it forever."

Hikaru brightened. "How about I give you my email address?" he asked Shun. "Maybe we can play a round of NetGo sometime."

Shun beamed at him. "Yay! I'd love to play with Master Shindou."

Akira excused them both, and they walked in silence for a moment. Hikaru mulled that phrase over and over. 'The Hand of God'. It wasn't like it was unique at all - it was commonly used in teaching go. But something about the boy's insistence that Hikaru would achieve it...

"You never talk to your fans," said Akira slowly.

Hikaru glanced at him. "Huh? My fans are the best."

"Not ones like that. Not children. You don't chat to them, you just sign things or grin at them."

Hikaru linked his hands behind his head. "Hmm. I suppose you're right."

Silence fell between them again. Akira made a frustrated noise. "So why that child?"

Hikaru glanced at him sidelong. "Sai used to talk about the Hand of God a lot. I was surprised to hear a child talking about it, that's all."

Sai was still something of a point of contention between them, so he wasn't surprised when Akira fell silent again.

Hikaru's phone pinged to let him know he had a new message, and he grinned to see Shun was already taking advantage of Hikaru's email address. "Look," he said to Akira. "Shun wants to play NetGo with me now. I guess he liked me better."

Akira rolled his eyes.

--

The floor of Hikaru's apartment was covered in kifu, but Akira navigated through it with ease. "I shouldn't be surprised you don't tidy up before you have guests," he said acidly. "I've barely seen you in a month, what have you been doing?"

"You're not a guest, you're my rival," said Hikaru absently. "Here, look at this."

"I thought we were friends now," snapped Akira, then he bit his lip and looked guilty.

"I thought we were dating," said Hikaru. He waved a hand at Akira's dumbstruck expression. "Just come here and look at this." He shook one of the pages in the air.

Akira lowered himself carefully to the floor and took the kifu. "What am I looking for?"

"I'm not telling you. Just look."

Akira finished the first sheet, then looked around for the second. Once he was done with that, without Hikaru saying anything he reached for the next set closest to him.

Hikaru got up and went to look out the grimy window that provided his only natural light. The view wasn't terribly interesting, but it was easier than watching Akira.

If Hikaru was only seeing what he wanted to see, Akira would be able to tell him for sure. Nobody else knew Sai's go as well as Akira did.

"One of these players is you," said Akira, after some time. "I don't recognise the other - they're inexperienced, clearly not on your level, but..."

"But?" prompted Hikaru.

"It reminds me of Sai," said Akira, slowly. "Sai, and you, when you were a beginner."

Hikaru let out his breath in a steady stream. "These are NetGo games I played with Shun."

"The child from last month?" Akira's gaze snapped to his. "You think Sai is teaching him?"

"When I told you Sai was a ghost," said Hikaru slowly. "You thought I was being metaphorical."

Akira frowned. "You mean..."

"Sai was the ghost of a Heian court noble and he taught me how to play go, before he disappeared. Ghosts only get one thousand years on earth before they move on."

Akira absorbed this in silence. "Well, it makes more sense than the reclusive genius nonsense you told me about before."

"In fairness, that was your interpretation. I told you the truth."

Akira frowned.

Hikaru took a shuddering breath. "I-- I think if Sai had come back, as a spirit, I-- I want to believe he would have tried to say something specific, through Shun." He didn't want to think Shun was a replacement Hikaru. That Hikaru hadn't been... good enough.

He started as he felt Akira's hand on his shoulder -- a warm, comforting weight. He hadn't even realised Akira had moved.

"I think Shun is Sai. Reborn Sai. It's not just his go, we chat a bit online as well. I don't think he remembers everything, just... bits and pieces. Go. Me. Shuusaku. The Hand of God."

Akira's hand squeezed his shoulder gently.

Hikaru smiled, his gaze focussed somewhere on the ceiling. "So if we don't get there, at least I know Sai's legacy won't die with me."

"I'm not letting him reach the Hand of God first," said Akira, fiercely competitive. "Stop playing with him and keep playing with me."

Hikaru gave a startled bark of laughter.

Akira took his hand from Hikaru's shoulder and stood in front of him awkwardly. "Hikaru... You said we were dating earlier." Akira blushed furiously, but he didn't look away.

"That's what Waya keeps telling me," said Hikaru, back-pedalling quickly. "I was making a joke!"

"I think we should," said Akira, with his trademark 'I am ignoring you because you're being an idiot' expression.

Hikaru hesitated for a moment, studying Akira's look of stubborn determination and how it contrasted with the bright pink of his cheeks. He tangled his fingers with Akira's and nodded. "Okay."