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Fujiwara no Sai has two regrets in this beautiful afterlife. The first was leaving Hikaru without a proper goodbye, and the second...well the second was, as always, his desire for more Go.
That wasn’t to say that there wasn’t Go in the afterlife. He could play with the masters who resided here, but that was never enough.
He watched over Hikaru often, he had wanted to reach out to the teen during the pain his leaving had caused, but he couldn’t. All he could do was stand there and wait. He knew Hikaru would take up Go again. He had to, the game had taken over his heart the way it had Sai’s.
It had taken too long, Sai was worried, guilt rising in him as Hikaru continued to refuse to play. He needed to get through, and Hikaru needed to realize that it wasn’t his fault. Sai hadn’t left because he wanted to, he hadn’t left because Hikaru hadn’t let him play.
Sai had found himself at a massive golden gate, a pale palm pressed against its doors, but they wouldn’t budge.
“You can’t open them from this side.”
The soft voice startled Sai, he looked up to see a familiar face looking at him. Far more healthy than the last time he had seen him stood
—
“Torajiro?” Sai felt his eyes fill with tears. “ But I have to tell him…”
Torajiro bowed. “Master, the gates only open to let one out if one is to be reincarnated. They do not open on a whim. Come, play with me. It has been a long time.”
Sai shook his head, eyes closing. He could still see Hikaru in his old school. His friends were worried. “I can’t.”
“I will wait then.”
Sai waited faithfully by the gate, speaking to Hikaru as if he were there. As if he was the one who couldn’t see Hikaru. He wasn’t sure if his words had gotten through.
He had expected Touya Akira to be the one to snap him out of it, instead, it had been Isumi.
Sai had danced for joy that day. Ruining Hikaru’s enjoyment of Go with his “death” would have been devastating. He would never have forgiven himself.
And his perseverance had earned him a chance to see Hikaru. Only one, and he couldn’t say anything. But it was enough.
Hikaru had said enough for both of them—Sai was proud of him.
He hoped giving him his fan would convey that, even if it was simply in spirit.
It seemed that he had
—
Hikaru had found his Go again and Sai was happy to cheer him on. Seeing how much Hikaru had improved only made him want to play more.
So he did. He played with Torajiro, he played with the many masters that had come before him, and some who had come after. One day he played someone he had longed to play when he was with Hikaru.
“Oh ho ho, I know you.”
An older gentleman was playing Torajiro at the go-ban when Sai came to visit one day. He looked familiar, but Sai couldn’t place him.
“You feel like him.” Canny eyes met Sai’s and he blinked in confusion.
“You were with that kid, Shindou.” The man laid a finger to the side of his nose and Sai’s eyes widened. Add a thousand more wrinkles, and he knew who this man was.
“Kuwabara-Honinbo.”
“God, you know me. Well then...I look forward to playing you.”
That wasn’t the first person he played whom he’d met in Hikaru’s life.
It was a bittersweet day when Touya Meijin came for their long-overdue rematch because he could feel Hikaru’s pain for his rival and friend.
It still held the joy that it had in life and he hoped he would never lose that. If he was ever called from beyond the gate for reincarnation, he wanted to play Hikaru again.
Sai felt a tug in his chest, years later.
It was time.
He quietly said goodbye to the friends he had made, people who had shared his passion for Go in life, and walked towards the Gate. This time, the door opened for him. Sai brushed back his hair and tucked his fan into his sleeve.
Fujiwara no Sai had two wishes in his rebirth. One, to see Hikaru again, and the second...
“I hope I can play Go in this life...even if only once.”
His voice was a whisper but it seemed to carry on the breeze as he walked through the gate into light and warmth.
***
“So, are you named after the legendary Net Go player?”
Kinomoto Sai, fifteen-year-old Insei waved his hand and laughed. “My parents had never heard of Go in their lives until I started playing. It’s just a coincidence.” The boy pulled his long hair out of its ponytail as they walked through the Go institute, shaking it out after keeping it trapped all day. He bounced on his toes and gave his friends wide puppy-dog eyes
“Anyway! Are you guys going to watch the New pro series with me? I heard Sh-” There was a laugh as he was pushed by one of his friends.
“We know, we know. Your idol Shindou-Honinbo is playing.” The teen pouted.
“I like his playing style! And he’s not my idol, I just want to play him someday!” They paused and bowed respectfully as a group of pros passed them. Sai felt a shock of fond familiarity run down his spine as he looked up into familiar green eyes. Shindou Hikaru, the holder of the Honinbo title, was staring at him intensely. Sai lifted his head and held eye contact until the elevator door closed. “That was so weird, he looked right at you, Sai. Sai?”
Something inside him told him that they would be meeting again.
***
“What caught your attention, Shindou?” The pro shook his head, unable to explain the feeling that had come over him when he had passed that insei. It had been a nostalgic feeling, like seeing an old friend once more. He’d thought he’d heard the kid called “Sai.” Old feelings he’d thought long buried rose within him in a bittersweet wave.
“I don’t know…” he thought for a moment then grinned. “But I want to keep an eye on that kid. There’s something about him...” Touya Akira, his longtime rival, raised his eyebrow. “Must be a Honinbo thing...Kuwabara-san said that about you once upon a time.”
Hikaru laughed as he stepped off the elevator “ He was right, wasn’t he?” Hikaru knew that he would meet that kid someday, and the feeling would be explained.
For now, he had a match.