Epilogue

This epilogue was written in a dialogue style, with each new line representing a change in speaker.

(long pause) "14 – 6"

"13 – 5"

(long pause) "14 – 5"

"13 – 4"

"Sai, do you have to counter my move so quickly?" Hikaru whined.

"Sorry Hikaru," the former ghost said, his voice contrite.

(long pause) "14 – 4"

(medium pause) "15 – 4"

(longer pause) "15 – 3"

(short pause) "15 – 5"

(very long pause) "16 – 1"

(no pause at all) "16 – 2"

"Hey!"

"Sorry."

(long pause) "17 – 4"

(medium pause) "16 – 4"

(long pause) "18 – 4"

(shortish medium pause) "19 – 4"

(long pause) "12 – 4"

(shortish medium pause) "11 – 4"

"Geez, Sai, let up on me will ya? You're pounding me into the ground here!"

"Uh, sorry..."

(long pause) "11 – 3"

(medium pause) "11 – 2"

(very long pause) "So how am I supposed to defend against that? That's like, unfair!"

"Sorry."

"Sai, what's that you're doing under there anyway? Under the table?"

"Uh, well, nothing really..."

"Why you...! You're reading under there! You're sitting here with me playing Go and reading at the same time? I am not interesting enough for ya!"

"But Hikaru, of course you're interesting enough, it's just that the book is just getting to the exciting bit!"

"More exciting than Go? No way! Are you sick or something?"

"No, uh, I don't think so."

"Well, since I'm getting creamed here anyway, I think I'd better resign. I really don't know how you can play Go and read a book at the same time!"

"Well, I don't use my hands to play Go so they are free to read."

"That's no explanation; you do need your brain for both activities don't you?"

"I guess..."

"Man, you're just plain weird!"

"Sorry."

(sounds of Go stones being gathered and put in a /goke/)

"So what is that book about anyway?"

"Well, it's about a man who's not very nice really, and there are these ghosts, they try and fix him, so he'll be nice again!"

"This is a Japanese book?"

"Uh, no, I couldn't find a Japanese book with nice ghosts in it; they were all very scary and not at all nice! So the nice lady at the library recommended this one. It's English."

"It's in English?"

"Oh no, I don't read English! It's a translation. It's really quite good, it sets around an English festival called /Kurisumasu/. And it's very cold; there's lots of ice and snow. And the people are very poor, except for this one man who was not very nice but very rich. But he is very unhappy."

"Sounds a bit dreary to me."

"I guess. And I had hoped that the ghosts in the story would have been like me, so I could know more about my past, but they were never alive. They are more like /kami/ then the souls of departed people. They are certainly much wiser than I am."

"Nah, you were not too bad in the wisdom department."

"Oh thank you, Hikaru!"

"Think nothing of it, I aim to please!"

"You know, the story in this book, it may not be about me, but it really is a good story, even if I don't understand about /Kurisumasu/ and even if they are obsessed with food in it. Actually, I can understand their obsession; going hungry really is no fun."

"Oh man, you're depressing me!"

"Sorry."

"All this talk of cold and hunger is making me want to eat loads of hot Ramen, right now!"

"Right now? It's only 11 am.!"

"Yeah, Ramen sounds great right now, let's go!"

"Uh, okay."

xXxXx

Note1: This little epilogue was fist posted out of order, so as to at least coincide with the Holiday season.
Winter-time is never the best time for me, I'm afraid, so I was unable to get the few chapters before the epilogue up so the epilogue could have been up by Christmas. Upping it out of sequence was the best I could do at the time. Now it's all in its proper order, and I hope that those of you who read it for the first time right now, like it, even though it's not Christmas time anymore.

Note 2: The epilogue from BL1 still stands.

Note 3: As I've said at the end of chapter 19 Sai & co. will be back in BL part 3: 'The Ever Winding Road.' Author Alert me to get an automated notice of when I start uploading BL3.

Note 4: For the past year I've been trying to get somebody to Beta read for me, but I've had no luck, the services of my sister notwithstanding. She did a great job, but she's not a HnG fan, and she has her own life so I can't keep relying on her. So I think the time has come for me, however unwillingly, to go it alone, or else none of my fics will ever finish!
That does mean I will be missing a level of quality control, with all that entails. But it is that's or nothing at all. And maybe I have learned enough to do without a Beta from now on...

Again thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I've tried to answer every single review. Please give more review-luv!