Chapter Text
Reincarnation, he reflected, was accepted, and expected, in many religions and cultures. How exactly he managed to get reincarnated 3 years before Hikaru was born was something that troubled him briefly in the time he spent waiting for Hikaru to leave the convention.
He had two theories: it was the will of Kami, or that somehow part of his soul kept getting reincarnated after he died, and when he disappeared from Hikaru's side, he got pulled back to the moment of his current reincarnation birth which was, ironically enough the 5th of May... Now that he thought about it, he was finally shipped to his grandfather around the same time of Hikaru's birth, because he started to act too weird for his parents to handle... whether that was a coincidence or not was something he would never know.
Either way, the exact mechanics of how he got reincarnated as he did was something he thought mortals weren't allowed to know, and so he stopped wondering about it some five minutes after he started. By the time Hikaru arrived, it was already behind him.
When Hikaru suggested food, he was more than glad, since the last time he ate was dinner the day before, and he was quite hungry. And when Hikaru said they were getting ramen he couldn't help to remember the preference the boy, young man really, had for it. His favorite food was grilled salmon, with rice and soup, something he could remember eating, and enjoying, when he was alive. He ate ramen more than once since he reincarnated, sometimes he got this strange craving for it. He didn't know why before, but now he had a pretty good idea of the answer to that mystery.
Sai is back! He was sure that he still hadn't completely processed that fact, and the actual reality of it would crash into him later, but Sai is back! And all that time he had been living in Kyoto! And he was still older than him, how unfair is that! If he was reincarnated wasn't he supposed to be, like, 3 years old or something like that? And he was still taller than him... he still had to look up to see his face... he was exactly as he remembered him, clothes and all. It would have been weird anyway, seeing Sai in modern clothes... it would be like... like... flashing multicolored neon lights decorating the outside of the Matsumoto Castle, totally out of place! Hell, it was weird being able to see the top of Sai's head as it was!
But who cared if the funny looking hat Sai always wore in his memories was missing, because Sai is back at his side, and there was no way he was going to let Sai out of his sight... speaking of which...
"Sai, you're not going to go back to Kyoto today, right? Where are you staying?"
"Huh? Staying?"_the clueless look on Sai's face was exactly as he remembered it too.
"Yes, you know, if you're staying in Tokyo, where are you going to sleep?"
"Waaah Hikaru, what should I do? I just left home without planning anything ahead! And I don't have money for an hotel!"_Sai's anxious face was also just as he remembered it.
It was good to see some things never changed.
"Father has a friend who owns and inn here in Tokyo, maybe I could ask for a room for you there, you can pay me back later, Fujiwara-san"
"Really Touya-kun! I would be so gratef..."_Ohhh, no he wouldn't!
"Nah ah! No way! You're staying with me Sai! You're soooo not staying anywhere else!"_ Besides, he wanted time to speak with Sai, alone.
"Huh? But Hikaru, don't you live with your parents?"
Apparently, Hikaru didn't, in fact, live with his parents anymore, as the expensive looking apartment building came to view. He also owned a car, which made him think that Hikaru had a very productive pro life so far, after all, not many in Tokyo owned a car, much less had a drivers license, the public transportation being what it is.
The apartment itself came as a surprise. He really couldn't see Hikaru in this kind of environment. The apartment was decorated to look like completely traditional house after all: tatami on the floor, fusuma instead of wooden doors and shoji screens at the windows, scrolls hanging off the walls. It also had a kitchen, a living/dining room, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, 2 bathrooms (one had an actual ofuro in it), an office, it even had it's own private balcony, being on the 5 floor as it was. It was, altogether, too big for a single person, and he wondered how exactly Hikaru managed to get it in a place like Tokyo. And also too out of character for someone like Hikaru.
He turned too Hikaru, a question on the tip of his tongue, but he must have noticed the look on his face, or perhaps their connection was returning, because he answered before he could even properly ask.
"I guess I was kind of hoping you would come back, you know? And I thought that when you did you would like living in a more traditional place, because, well... anyway, do you like it Sai?"_ he looked so embarassed, for a moment he reminded me of the boy he used to be.
"Ummhmm! I like it very much Hikaru!"_he said, nodding enthusiastically.
As a matter of fact he liked everything about his current situation. Everything felt like it was as it was supposed to be, and he was happy and feeling more like himself than ever... only one thing would make things completely and totally perfect would be...
"Hikaru! Hikaru! Lets play!"_he said, his eyes falling on the goban that had a place of honor in the living room.
"Yes, lets play"_ Hikaru says, moving to sit on one side of the board, while he rush behind him to take his place on the other side.
"Nigiri"_ at the end, Hikaru got black and the game was ready to start.
"Onegaishimasu"_ they both said.
"I resign"_ he said. He lost, but at the very least, he wasn't cut down as brutally as before, and that, more than anything, was prove of how much he had improved since Sai disappeared. It wasn't enough to beat him, but it was a lot non the less. He nodded to himself, he had decided_ "Sai, you're moving in with me."
The moment Hikaru made his first move, it was like everything had fallen into place. This was it. This was the reason he came back, the reason he reincarnated. As the game progressed he became more and more sure of it. Playing with Hikaru, being with Hikaru, made him feel complete: nothing was missing anymore. Go and Hikaru, he thought, was all what he really needed.
As his game with Touya showed, his Hikaru had grown. He may not be quite as his level yet, but taking into account his rate of growth, it wouldn't take all that long for him to reach it, and when he did... when he did the Hand of God he always wanted to reach would be closer than ever... reaching it with Hikaru would be perfection itself.
That was why, when Hikaru asked him to move in with him, he didn't hesitate to answer.
"Yes."
Sai called his grandfather, so his things could be delivered to his place. Apparently he didn't ask questions, to his surprise, although Sai seemed to find it normal enough. Sai said he only asked for the address and assured him that he would send his things over as soon as possible.
What arrived next morning though, was not, in fact, Sai's things. It was too early when the pounding on his front door woke him up, forcing him to untangle himself from Sai's form (when he said he wouldn't let Sai out of his sight he meant it. It was funny though, even when they had only a little time since their reunion they had adapted without a hitch to their old rhythm. It didn't even occur to them to sleep in different rooms, to be honest.), and sleepily stagger his way to it. Sai didn't wake up, the events from the day before had rent him exhausted.
The open door revealed Touya's face, set in a resolute and stubborn frown.
"I want a match with Sai."
… figures.
He still wasn't up to Sai's level, he thought, but he had improved since the last time he played him, and that still brought a satisfied smile to his face, even after he left Shindou's apartment to attend the exhibition game he had that afternoon against Waya.
That morning had been very productive, and he had enjoyed very much the games he played against Sai, even when the mental image he had of him was forever skewed when Sai came out of Shindou's bederoom, hair mussed, sleepy eyed and wearing the sleep yukata that had been his birthday gift to Shindou last year, half of it hanging down his shoulder.
The dazed look on Shindou's eyes was terribly amusing though.
After Hikaru managed to snap out of it, he made him wait, arguing neither him nor Sai had breakfast yet. While Sai eated his breakfast, and he drank his tea, he could hear Hikaru calling the Go Association and asking for a leave of absence, citing personal reasons. The satisfied smile on Shindou's face when he ended the call said enough of how things went.
Going back to the present, he had finished clearing up the goban after his game with Waya (which he won, but Waya was getting better) and was about to propose an after game discussion while they had some tea when a commotion to his left called his attention.
It seemed that Ogata-san was storming his way towards them, the crowd parting in front of him by the force of his stormy face.
Wait... didn't Shindou have a game against Ogata-san at that Amateur Tournament today?
"Touya-kun! Do you know that Shindou had the gall to not show up for our game? They sent some 6-dan in his place!, and when I called the Association they told me he asked for some time off do to "personal reasons"! And you know what? When I was on my way here I saw him entering a mall with a long haired girl on a kimono hanging off him! Those are "personal reasons" alright! And he isn't answering his phone either!"
It seemed that Ogata was trying to reign in his tongue in front of so many expectators, but I could see all the swearing he was doing inside his mind on his eyes. How amusing. He started to walk away from the crowd.
"Hmmmm really? Well I do guess that poor Sai-san needed some clothes, coming all the way from Kyoto without anything but a wallet... And since Shindou did ask Sai-san to move in with him he should provide for all the things Sai needs..."_ I wonder how long it will take for the "S" word to filter inside the anger fog inside Ogata's mind... It seemed that Waya was listening in, and he could see the cogs starting to turn inside his head.
"Wait, that little shit actually asked a girl to move in with him?" And there it was, the insult he was waiting to hear, he was starting to worry, an angry Ogata that didn't swear...
"Well, Sai-san did disappear for some time, and Shindou is feeling possessive at the moment, he absolutely refused to let Sai-san stay anywhere else while in Tokyo, and it seems that sometime last night he asked Sai-san to move in, and got a positive answer..."_ He was saying the "S" word three times each time he spoke, even Waya seemed to start getting it, if the widening of his eyes was any clue.
"So that Sai chick disappeared for a bit and now Shindou's gone all... wait did you say Sai?"_ Bingo.
"Well I believe I did, yes."_ Waya was choking on air now.
"As in sai Sai? NetGo sai that dissapeared 3 years ago sai?"
"That's the only Sai I know, do you know others?"_ Ohhh this was just too funny.
"Are you sure?"_ That was Waya now, it seemed he had stopped choking.
"Played him this morning, I'm pretty sure it is him, no one else has a hand like that one."
"So Shindou did know who sai was! He actually lied to me! In my face!"_ Ogata was outraged, it seemed.
"So sai is a girl? And she's moving in with Shindou?"_ Waya again, funny that that was what he noticed.
"Hmm? No Sai is a guy, a little feminine looking for a 21 year old, perhaps, but a guy non the less
"He's younger than me?"_ He was hard pressed not to burst out laughing now, Ogata's face was, as he suspected, priceless.
"Shindou is going to live with a guy?"_ Waya's face was a nice bonus as well.
Perhaps he was hanging out with Shindou too much, but he had to give it to him, messing with people's minds was actually funny.
Who ever said he didn't have a sense of humor?
He had taken Sai shopping, completely disregarding his complaints on the matter. He had the money, and if he wanted to spend it spoiling Sai he could damn well do it! Besides it isn't like he had anything to wear until his things arrived, did he? He couldn't wear his priest clothes everyday, after all. So, he gave him a purple kimono his grandpa gave him ("You're a professional Go player now Hikaru, you should at least have one set of traditional clothing"_ he had said) and asked him to put it one so they could go out. Sai seemes surprised he even owned one, but put it on anyway. It wasn't like he could let him borrow some of his clothes, since Sai was taller than him.
So he had taken Sai shopping, ignored the multiple calls from Ogata and Waya, had a nice dinner out and came back to the sight of both the before mentioned persons camping out on his front door. They obviously wanted (demanded) games from Sai, which the go maniac happily agreed with. He ended up kicking both of them out when it was getting to late and it looked that they weren't slowing down any time soon.
The next two days passed peacefully, only interrupted by a call from Touya ("My father is wondering if Sai is available for a game, he says that NetGo is alright."_ Sai looked like he could explode from sheer giddiness).
Early on the morning of the third day he opened up his door, with Sai hanging from his neck, coincidentally wearing the same yukata he wore on his first night on his apartment. He was whining like he always did when he wanted something. ("Hikaruuuuuu, play with me").
On the other side of the door was a priest, his clothes different from Sai's more ceremonial ones, buy still identifiable as priest clothes. His eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He had the look of a man who's entire world view was taken apart, scrambled, and put back together in a completely unfamiliar way, like he was just told, and given proof, that everything he believed in was actually wrong.
"Huh? Ohhh Fujimoto-san! Did grandfather sent you with my things?"
The person now identified as Fujimoto-san still looked blankly ahead.
"Fujimoto-san? Are you alright?"
Still nothing.
"I think you broke him Sai..."
"Well, I guess that I am acting more like myself than I did at the temple, but still..."
"How did you act around the temple?"_ He was curious about that actually.
"Well, I was the heir to the head priest, so I had to act the part..."
A sound that sounded somewhere between a pained moan and a gurgle came from Fujimoto-san.
"You broke him alright. I think that the shock was too much for him."
"Well, he shouldn't be so melodramatic about it."_ Sai pouted.