Finally getting on with my Hikago/DF crossover which was originally supposed to be a pointless oneshot for my Unofficial Blind Go round #2. It kind of got out of hand - there'll be at least 10 chapters, probably some more. Took me a while to figure out what the heck is going on here. ^^;

In Dresden-verse, this takes place between Proven Guilty and White Night (to be more exact, after the flashback scene that's in White Night). Some spoilers up to that point. In Hikago, some time soon after Hikaru has turned pro.

I'll try to update weekly, most likely usually during the weekend.

Chapter 1

Sai paused to observe the alley they had turned to. The street was quiet. There were a few cars parked by it, and the parking lot ahead was almost full, but the only other person on the street was a lone man hurrying away a bit ahead of them.

Distant rumble of thunder carried to Sai's ears, partly explaining the man's hurry. He glanced up at the darkening sky just as the first raindrops hit the ground. A few fell at his face, and through it, and looking down he saw dark spots beginning to form on pavement under him. He turned to look at Hikaru. The boy was frowning at the map he was holding, oblivious to the rain, but as Sai watched, a big raindrop hit the paper map, and the boy swore.

Language, Hikaru, he said automatically, and the boy turned to glower at him instead of the map. He sighed. I don't think this is a shortcut. In fact… he started saying but fell silent at the look he got. I'm quite sure we are not where you think we are, he'd been about to continue.

"Well, yeah." Hikaru muttered after a short pause. He glanced up at the sky, and winced when a raindrop nearly hit him in the eye. "Damn," he said again. "It looks like—" At that moment the heavens opened, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. Hikaru gave a shriek, and bending over his map to protect it from water he gave a frantic look around. Something caught his eye, and he rushed quickly down a few stairs that lead to a door with English text on it.

Hikaru? Where are you going? Sai asked hurrying after him as the boy flung the door open.

"Out of the rain! I dunno, I think it's…" the boy paused, taking in the view in front of him. Sai peeked in over his shoulder.

A pub? Sai whispered to him. I don't think you should be going to pubs.

"Yeah?" Hikaru muttered and glanced over his shoulder. The downpour went on behind them and thunder cracked again, this time closer. "Easy for you to say, you don't get wet."

Maybe we can wait here for the rain to stop, Sai said, and the boy nodded. He closed the door behind them and shot a glance across the room, shaking a few water drops from his blond bangs.

"Funny place," he muttered under his breath.

Sai nodded, fully agreeing, but he suspected his reasons were different. There was something odd in the air of the place, though he found it difficult to put a finger on what it was. As it didn't feel dangerous, he said nothing about it.

The room they had entered was quite low, low enough that the ceiling fans might pose a danger to a very tall person. The place was dim, with windows high on the wall, on ground level. On this rainy evening the light in the room was created mainly by the many candles on tables and walls. Hikaru started walking through the room, and following him Sai instinctively dodged one fan that would have reached his hat, were his hat real – and was then very happy Hikaru hadn't seen his flinch and once again got a reason to laugh at him. You'd think in a thousand years he'd have gotten used to not having to care about things like that, but apparently not.

As they walked through the pub, Sai paused to watch the strange wooden pillars that were placed in the room seemingly randomly. There were carvings on them which reminded him of folktales and legends, though in general of somewhat creepy ones. He glanced at the boy and saw that he had paused to watch the sign hung above the bar desk, with the text Accorded neutral territory on it.

Hikaru's mouth moved a little as he tried to spell it out. Then he gave up. "Acc… what does that mean?"

I don't know, Sai replied very, very quietly. He turned back to the pillar closest to him. In the flickering light of the place the carvings seemed strangely hazy and indistinct, almost as if they were subtly changing. He shuddered a little, and the strange feeling he had intensified again. Maybe the rain wouldn't be that bad. Hikaru… I'm not sure if this is the kind of place where you should be going on your own… he said quietly.

The boy glanced at him, eyes hesitant. "I'm not going into that rain," he whispered aloud. "And hey, maybe someone here can tell us where we are." He glanced toward the bar desk, behind which a tall, bald man was watching him with a frowning expression. "Here goes nothing," muttered, and walked to the bar desk.

The man said something in English as Hikaru reached him. The boy grimaced. "Uh. I… I'm…" he tried to get started, but couldn't remember how to say 'lost' in English. Or 'rain'? What was that again? "Uh," he repeated, his mind drawing a blank. "You wouldn't happen to speak Japanese?" he said finally, a little exasperated.

Sai snorted, and then almost fell off his feet out of sheer surprise when the man replied shortly "Yes." Hikaru as well was so stunned he just stared at the man, apparently not having expected that answer either.

"This is a pub," the man went on after a short silence. "Not for minors." His sentences were short, but something in his manner and flawless pronunciation suggested to Sai that it was mainly because this was his way, not because he wouldn't have been good enough in Japanese.

"Yeah, well, I…" Hikaru ran fingers through his hair, still looking a bit surprised. "I know, but… it's raining real hard and I'm kinda lost…"

"Where you stay?" the man grunted, and Hikaru speedily spread out his map.

"Close to the harbor, umm, around here, I think…"

Not there, Sai whispered into his ear. Your mother marked it, remember? It's that red circle a bit left.

"Oh." Hikaru blushed. "Here."

The man nodded. He shot a sharp glance over Hikaru's shoulder, looked then at the boy. "Pretty far. With family?"

"Yeah. I kind of, I mean, we got separated, and I tried to follow them to that museum mom wanted to go to but I think I took the subway to wrong direction or something and then I thought it's better go back to the hotel but, well…" his voice trailed off. "And," he went on, "the battery of my phone died. Can I charge it here?"

"Sorry, no. There's landline. You have the hotel's number?"

Hikaru shook his head sadly. Sai, do you happen to remember mom's number…?

The ghost sighed. Sorry.

There was a moment's awkward silence. Then the man gestured with his head toward an empty table by the wall. "Wait here until the rain's over. Take a taxi to your hotel then. It's getting late." He paused for a moment. "You hungry?"

"Yea… or, uh." Hikaru bit his lip, and Sai knew the trouble: he was hungry, as always, but also broke. As always.

The man just nodded and turned away, saying nothing.

Hikaru and Sai headed to the table he had pointed them. "Taxi," Hikaru muttered as he sat down. "That costs a lot."

Maybe your parents are at the hotel? Sai said. They can pay. Or perhaps the hotel could pay for you and add it to the bill.

"I don't know." Hikaru slumped down, leaning on the table. "Mom's going to kill me. They'll never take me anywhere ever again…"

Sai deemed it best to say nothing. This was their second day in Chicago – that long it had taken Hikaru to get into trouble. Of course, he chided himself, he hadn't been paying much attention to the boy's parents either, and hadn't even noticed when they disappeared somewhere.

Hikaru spread his map on the table and sat there a long while quietly, staring at it. He gave a start when the man from the bar desk suddenly placed a plate with a toast and a mug with something that looked like beer in front of him.

"Nonalcoholic," the man grunted, and paused. "Don't tell people," he added then. "That I make stuff like that."

"Um, no, I…" Hikaru stared at the toast with slightly wide eyes, and his stomach made a rumbling sound. "Ah, I've… got no money…" he called out when the man was already walking away.

He just waved with his hand, dismissingly.

Hikaru stared a moment after him and grabbed then the toast. "This is good!" he exclaimed, mouth full, and took a gulp from his mug. "And so's this." He swallowed. "Amazing."

Sai shook his head, a little amused, as the boy attacked the toast with fervor. Right then he noticed someone rushing in much in the same way they had earlier, but much more wet. A tall man, tall enough to have to be wary of some of the fans, dressed in a long leather coat, spent a moment by the door shaking water from his dark hair before making a beeline to the bar desk. Sai watched him order something, saw the bartender give him an ale… and then say something that made the man turn to look toward their table.

Sai watched them, nervousness growing again, when a sudden flash of light almost blinded him. He made a startled noise and was about to say something to Hikaru who didn't seem to have noticed anything, when a rather beautiful – and rather scantily clad – young woman suddenly sat down by their table.

"Hello," she practically drawled, and Hikaru paused from his eating, looking up with widening eyes, mouth full of toast.

"Umgh," he said, and the woman laughed and said something that neither Hikaru nor Sai understood, but the tone made Sai frown.

I don't think your mother would approve of you conversing with ladies like this, Sai said quite disapprovingly.

Conversing? She's the one talking to me! Hikaru thought back.

The woman said something that sounded like a question, and tilted her head. Hikaru blinked. Sai, what should I do?

Before Sai could say anything, the newly arrived man as well came to their table, an ale mug in his hand. He said something to the woman whose expression darkened. She replied, tersely, and the man shrugged it off with a little laugh. What he said next made the woman's expression turn nearly stormy, but she glanced toward the bar desk, and seeing the bartender watching them rose up with slow, lazy movements.

She said yet something to the man, who without turning away from his ale simply snapped, "Get lost."

Hikaru's face brightened. "Lost!" he exclaimed, and everyone paused, staring at him. "I… am… lost," he said slowly in English, with careful pronunciation, blushing a little.

The man gave him a bit crooked smile and said something. Hikaru sighed.

Sai. Did you understand anything?

Not sure, Sai confessed. I think he might have said 'So I've heard', but I might be wrong.

Yeah. Hikaru sighed again. I… he started to say, but paused as he noticed the intense stare he was getting from the man. "Uh," he said aloud. "I… I'm sorry, I don't really speak English," he said in Japanese, a bit grumpily.

The man nodded. "Let's talk in Japanese, then," he said, and Hikaru coughed as his drink went the wrong way.

"Does everyone speak Japanese here?!" he exclaimed once he could talk again.

"Hardly," the man said, and left it at that. "So you're lost?"

"Yeah," Hikaru said. "Our hotel's here." He pointed at the map.

Ask him where we are, Hikaru, Sai whispered to him.

"Wh–" Hikaru started to say, but the man was already pointing at the map, too.

"We're here."

"Oh." Hikaru stared at the map, looking as uncomfortable as Sai was feeling. "I… thought… well. Never mind."

I wonder if it's still raining, Sai said nervously. Maybe you should finish eating and we could ask the bartender to call that taxi.

Yeah, Hikaru agreed and grasped the rest of his toast. The food's amazing but these people are creeping me out.

"The name's Harry Dresden," the man said suddenly. He gave a card to Hikaru who wiped his fingers into his jeans before taking it. The boy frowned, trying to spell out the word on the card, under the name.

"Uh, what does that mean…?" he finally asked.

"Wizard," the man said lightly, and gave Hikaru a wink as the boy blinked at him. "And don't now give me any bullshit about not believing in magic, what with being so chatty with a ghost."

Sai froze. So did Hikaru.

"Ghost…?" Hikaru finally asked, giving a laugh that was probably meant to be disbelieving but came out quite nervous instead. "What are you talking about?"

"The guy sitting next to you, with weird-ass clothes and a ridiculous hat. Or, at least I think that's a guy." He paused for a moment and seemed to be eyeing Sai's tall eboshi hat. "And not gonna say what that thing mostly reminds me of… Anyway, Mac noticed something off with you and asked me to take a look. And he was right, wasn't he? How long have you been haunted?"

Hikaru bit his lip and watched the self-declared wizard in silence. "What about it?" he said finally, a bit aggressively. "It's none of your business."

"This is my town," the man said, giving Hikaru a level look, "and under my protection. Anything supernatural going on here is literally my business."

"Why? Sai's not a danger to anyone! All he wants is to play go!"

"Go?" The man stared at him.

"Yeah, it's this board game where you…"

"I know what go is. Just… surprised me a bit. Though that's totally ghost-like behavior, to be completely focused on one thing, however random it is. And, if he is attached to you, maybe he's bending you to it too. Maybe others aren't in danger because of him, but you…"

"Sai's no danger to me!" Hikaru exclaimed so loudly the men at the next table turned to look at him. "He's my friend! And he's a really great person, you…"

The man was shaking his head. "Ghosts aren't real persons," he said, and Sai let out a very indignant What!? which went completely ignored. "They're shaped like the original, but they aren't it – they are a memory, an imprint, sometimes barely more than a pattern, created when someone with a strong mind dies, usually unjustly or prematurely. He might not mean you harm, but in the long run, there's bound to be trouble. Even a ghost needs a source of energy, it won't last forever."

"So?" Hikaru asked belligerently. "I have energy enough to share!"

"Now, maybe you have. It might not always be so, if you get sick, or old…"

"I...!" Hikaru started, but Sai cut him off. Do you really think I might harm him? he asked quietly.

"What?" Hikaru blinked at him. "Of course you don't!"

But, Hikaru… Sai swallowed. I did tell you about Torajiro…

The boy snorted. "What of him? It's not like you killed him or anything, you said he got sick cause he…" Then it sunk in and Hikaru blinked again. "Oh. But. But it was cholera! That's real bad, right? He would have probably died anyway!"

Sai said nothing, just sat in silence, eyes downcast. If he had truly brought about Torajiro's death… or in the slightest way played a part in it… what right did he have to be there, still playing his games? How could he go on, like this, if he had brought an end to that bright life?

The man, Dresden, the onmyouji (for Sai had no doubts that he was exactly what he claimed to be) was watching him thoughtfully, as Sai raised his eyes to him. I would rather die a true death than bring any harm to Hikaru, he said gravely. The man let out a long breath.

"Well. You definitely are an exceptional ghost. For one thing, aware of your death, and still here. Usually, ghosts dissolve the moment they truly realize they are dead. I've not come across something quite like this before…"

"So maybe you shouldn't be judging him when you know nothing," Hikaru said angrily.

Hikaru, Sai said reproachfully. Mind your manners.

"Yeah but…" The boy turned his glower to the ghost who faced it calmly.

You should speak respectfully to an onmyouji, Sai stated gravely. Even if, he shot a disapproving glance at the man, he has not been that's respectful to begin with.

"…for they are subtle and quick to anger," the man muttered, and both Hikaru and Sai blinked at him. "Oh, never mind. Not that respectful huh? Just telling you the truth, if you don't like it, that's tough." He was about to take a gulp of his ale, but frowned then, winced a little, and shaking his head muttered, "Got to stop this for a while."

Stop what? Sai asked, but got no reply and let out an annoyed breath. Just rude.

Meanwhile a couple of big gulps had emptied the ale mug. "Well." The man placed the mug on the table and wiped his mouth. "Come, I'll give you a ride to your hotel."

Hikaru blinked as the man stood up. "Wha… really? I, umm…" Sai could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he was weighing the risks of getting a lift from a stranger against the benefit of not having to pay for taxi. "Uh."

I am not sure if we should follow him, Sai said. We know nothing about him, really.

"Mmm…"

A free ride was winning, Sai could see that clearly on Hikaru's face. He gave a sigh.

If we do… I want your word, as an onmyouji, that you will take us straight to the hotel, safe and sound, he said firmly. Again there was no reply, not even a reaction, as the man was watching Hikaru expectantly.

Hello? Sai said, waving his fan. I'm talking to you! No reaction. He glanced at Hikaru. Doesn't he see me anymore?

The boy blinked. "Huh? Maybe?"

"So, let's start moving," Dresden said, apparently taking the 'maybe' as a reply to his offer.

Helloooo… Sai was calling. Boo! He waved his hand in front of the man's face.

"Um, don't you see him anymore…?" Hikaru apparently just had to ask.

"Oh, the ghost?" The man shook his head. "No…I closed the Sight. It was making me dizzy. The Third Sight, you know?" he added when Hikaru gave him a blank look. "Ever heard of the Third Eye?" Hikaru's expression brightened, but the man suddenly scowled. "And he'd better stop that right away, or I just might change my mind about an exorcism."

Sai, who had been pulling faces in front of him, suddenly froze and shot a panicked look at Hikaru.

"I… thought you didn't see him?" the boy repeated the ghost's question.

The man snorted. "No need to see everything to know what's going on. If you want a ride, get going. If you rather try to get a cab, fine for me. Not that easy to get one in this weather, though."

Hikaru hesitated a moment but nodded then, and they left the pub together.

Sai raised his eyebrows when he saw the car the onmyouji led them to. He was no expert on cars, but even he could see that it wasn't only an old one, but had definitely seen better days. It was small, and not sleek and long like modern cars tended to be, but with round shapes and only two doors… and a badly battered fender. It was mainly blue, except that the motor hood was grey, one door was white and the other red, and one of the fenders, the undamaged one, bright yellow.

Sai could practically feel what Hikaru was thinking, but wondrously enough, the boy remained quiet. Their driver seemed to sense Hikaru's attitude as well as they settled into the car. Of course, the look on the boy's face might have given him a hint.

"Hey," he said lightly, "this is the mighty Blue Beetle. Don't look down on it, it's carried me through many a scrape, and horrors unknown to most men."

Hikaru gave him a blank look and watched a moment in silence as he tried to coax the engine alive. "Wizarding doesn't pay much?" the boy finally said.

Dresden grimaced and gave one more turn to the key. The engine coughed, but finally began buzzing. "Wizarding doesn't go well with technology," he muttered. "I'm lucky to drive a few miles in a modern car without trouble."

"Oh." Hikaru watched the grey hood and bent then forward a bit to get a better look of the fender. Sai too gave it a look and noticed that in addition to the fender having hit something, quite hard, there were also long scrapes all over the hood – which wasn't really grey, he saw now, but just without paint. But those scrapes… were almost like claw marks. "What made those?" Hikaru asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Rats."

Hikaru blinked.

"They were big."

Sai and Hikaru shared a look.

"Horrors unknown to most, didn't I tell you?" Dresden saw the look on Hikaru's face and went on, "Come on, rats big as ponies are plenty horrifying. Even if they weren't… ah, never mind. But looking at the bright side: at least I'd not yet had the hood painted. Might as well just leave it unpainted, I guess… the rate I'm going it won't last long, anyway. But enough of Beetle… why don't you tell me how you two met?"

Sai and Hikaru shared another look. Then Sai nodded at the boy, who started telling of how he had come across a ghost in an old go board in his grandfather's attic, how they had become friends, and how Hikaru had now, finally, reached his goal and just become a professional go player. In fact, his father had taken him and his mother along on a business trip to celebrate him turning pro.

"Pro?" Dresden cut him off there. "But you're just a little kid!"

Hikaru glared at him. "I'm already fourteen! Besides, there's no lower age limit. Most of the best players turn pro when they're teenagers, and the youngest ever was eleven."

Dresden muttered something under his breath, shaking his head. The rest of the way to the hotel they drove in silence. Sai spent the time observing the man. Tall – too tall for this tiny car – lanky, shabby hair and short stubble giving him an unkempt look. There was more to him than met the eye, though. His aura was strong, stronger than any Sai had ever come across. A pentagram pendant hung around his neck, and Sai thought he could feel warm power in it too – well, that was only natural. The Seal of Seimei was a powerful magical symbol, even he knew that much. For a moment Sai's eyes stopped on his left hand, covered in a glove, which was slightly peculiar as he wore no glove on his other hand, but right then they arrived to the hotel. Dresden pulled to a stop in front of it and gave the boy a long look. Then he nodded, slowly, thoughtfully.

"Maybe you're okay," he said then. "How long will you stay in Chicago?"

"Oh, just a couple of days," Hikaru said as he opened the car door. It was again raining quite heavily, and he made ready to jump out and rush to the hotel doors. "Thanks for the ride," he said over his shoulder.

The man just nodded, still giving him that thoughtful look, and Hikaru gave a quick nod too and ran into the rain.

They paused at the doors to watch the multicolor car drive away.

Why did you lie to him? Sai asked. Aren't we staying here still over a week?

Yeah, well, I don't know. He just made me nervous.

They walked into the lobby. Hikaru kept on eyeing the hotel staff anxiously, but they didn't pay any special attention to him, just greeted him normally as he walked by.

"Well," he muttered. "Maybe they haven't yet called cops after me."

The elevator took them to the fifth floor. Sai could nearly taste Hikaru's nervousness as he opened the door to their hotel room – and his surprise, when they entered the room and found it empty. The cleaning service had been there and the beds had been made, but otherwise it didn't seem anyone had entered the room during the day; all the clothes and papers were lying exactly where they had left them.

"Well." Hikaru left out an exasperated sigh. "Maybe they're out looking for me." He quickly dug out the charger and turned his phone on. A couple of attempts later he frowned at the phone. Then he threw it angrily from his hand on the night table and flung himself on his bed.

What is it?

"Figures!" the boy exclaimed. "Their phones are out of battery too! It's going straight to the answering machine."

That's weird. I remember your father was charging his phone last night. And… Sai gave the phone a frowning look. Haven't they tried to call you? Sent a, what do you call it, a text message?

"Apparently not." Hikaru heaved out a great sigh. Then he reached for the remote controller and turned on the TV. "Whatever. I bet they'll be back soon."

But, Hikaru…

"What?" the boy snapped. "Here I am, getting lost and worrying how angry they'll be, and then they are out of reach! Whatever, who cares."

Sai watched him worriedly but said nothing.

...

Hikaru. Hikaru, wake up!

"Mmmh…" The boy gave a sleepy sound and rolled over. In the TV a pretty blond woman was advertising some kind of hair product. Sai ignored her annoyingly high pitched voice that was babbling things he didn't understand and shook the boy again. Wake up!

"What?" Hikaru blinked drowsily. Sai, what time is it? Why are you waking me this early…

It's 7 am, and your parents still aren't back. Something's wrong!

"What?" Hikaru repeated and sat up. He fumbled his phone to his hands and gave it a bleary look. 07:01. "Really? That's… weird."

To say the least! Sai exclaimed, flailing with his arms. Hikaru, what if something has happened to them?

This woke up the boy completely. He sat up and went on fumbling with his phone, now more frantically. After a while he shook his head. "Same as yesterday. Their phones are turned off or something…"

Sai met his troubled look. Should we go to talk with the hotel staff?

"Yeah." Hikaru swallowed. "Let's do that."