Hikago Oneshots

Fandom: Hikaru no Go.

Rating: T

Pairing: Hint of Hikaru/Sai.

Warning: Shounen-ai. Related to "Love Affair" and "Wisteria" from previous chapters.

Summary: People never know what life has in store for them. Mitani's life in particular takes an unexpected turn that leads him to meet a special someone from the past. With a twist of fate and a little faith, he makes a miracle.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no go, neither do I making any profit from this fic. This story is for fun only.

Author Note: Is there anyone interested to beta my Hikago Oneshots? My other beta is too busy to help with this one and she also seems to not know about Hikago at all so she's kind of uninterested in the story. Send me a PM if anyone interested. Preferably, someone with experience. Thank you.

Beta Reader:

-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-

The Medium

-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-

If someone asked him years ago what he wanted to be in the future, a medium would never be included in the short list he could think of. But, alas, life was full of surprises. He should have known that. He was friend with one Shindou Hikaru after all. And he was also born with this special…ability. He refused to call it a gift but it also wasn't so much a curse to be called one.

He never told anyone before and he never tried to talk about it to the person, Shindou himself. But the first time they met, he knew the boy was different and he saw the silhouette of his "companion". He was young at the time and his ability wasn't as strong but he still could see them. That was one of the reasons he refused to join the Go Club at first.

Because of Shindou and his invisible friend.

He had gotten into nothing but troubles since he was a kid because of his ability to see those that weren't belong to the living world anymore. The last thing he wanted and needed was to have a haunted kid dragging him to play an unprofitable board game with his friends when there was a chance it could end up in disaster for him.

Later, when he finally joined the club for reasons unknown to him, he realized that the ghost that was hovering over his friend was harmless, something that was surprising to him since it was rare for a haunting ghost to be anything but harmful for the longer a ghost stayed in the living world the higher chance they would turn into a vengeful spirit. Or that was how it was in his experience, at least.

The more he spent time with the Go Club, the more he could see the ghost and he was a very beautiful guy that looked like he came out of an ancient world full of wonders and magic. He looked like a noble lord, but acted very childishly sometimes. The interaction between the ghost and Shindou was very amusing sometimes that he had a hard time to keep his laughter in. Without realizing it, he began to look forward to see them at the club. And the comments and lessons the ghost slipped to Shindou between club discussions were really useful and educating. It seemed the ghost was some kind of a Go tutor when he was alive.

He wondered if it was the ghost that made Shindou interested in playing Go.

The Go Club, with its unknown and unseen member, became very precious to him. He cherished the bonds that were formed between all of the members, including him. That was why he was furious when Shindou, the one who dragged him forcefully to join the club, decided to quit and leaving them to be an insei, taking his ghostly friend with him.

After that, he was so angry he quitted the club as well. He avoided all the members at all cost, Shindou especially, though he wasn't a member anymore. But secretly, and he felt very foolish for this, he always tried to steal a glance at Shindou, to see him and the ghost again.

They were still together.

He didn't know why he kept watching them, why he tried to catch a glimpse of them at any chance he could find. He just did. It was just the way they moved around each other, the way they looked at each other, the way they interacted with each other, so synchronize and in harmony and it was like they didn't even realize it. There was something special there and he didn't want to miss it, even if he didn't understand it at all.

After some time passed, he didn't get so many chances to see them anymore. Shindou stopped visiting the Go Club because he didn't want to vex him and therefore preventing him from coming back to the club. He felt guilty about it now, but at the time, he was too angry and childish to care. And then school life got them busy, everyone started thinking about which high school they wanted to go after graduation and preparing for exams. Even as lazy and uncaring as he was, he still had to make some efforts if he wanted to have a relatively good future.

During the hectic of things, he heard from Fujisaki that Shindou didn't plan to attend any high school. Everyone was shocked but then again he already passed the pro exam at the time, he didn't have to worry about his future because he already had a job and if the rumors were right, he would have a very bright future at the level of Touya Akira and the other top pros.

Soon after, Shindou shocked everyone again by declaring that he was going to quit Go.

He knew then that something had happened because there was no way that Shindou would quit Go because of his love for the game and because of his companion. He still didn't know what the ghost's name was.

A few days later, he found Shindou walking alone with a very depressed look.

Alone.

It took him only a second to realize the reason of his depressed look and why he wanted to quit Go. The ghost wasn't there anymore. He probably had moved on and with how close their relationship was, Shindou couldn't take it.

He wanted to talk to Shindou but he didn't know how. He had spent so much time avoiding him that he felt guilty and awkward to approach him now. Before he could make up his mind, Touya Akira beat him to the punch and approached Shindou at the library. He left them to their talk or argument from the look of it.

Something happened again.

As suddenly as his decision to quit Go, he announced that he would play again and one day he would definitely beat his rival, Touya Akira. Everyone was so happy that he pulled out of whatever funk he was in and came back with more spirit this time. He didn't lose any of his matches after he came back and soon he was declared as the strongest beginner Dan player.

After that, years had passed. The Go Club had reunion every year. He and Shindou had finally come to a truce. They decided to forget about their one-sided feud and were soon friends again. He watched Shindou every time they got a chance for gathering or reunion. He knew the guy was doing well with his life. He was a very successful Go player with a very generous income and a string of beautiful lovers that made most of his friends green with envy but also very proud of him.

Despite that, he never felt jealous or anything about Shindou's accomplishment because he watched him and he watched how Shindou went on his life like he was walking with no direction. He seemed lost. He had been like that ever since he lost his ghostly friend and he didn't stop looking like that even though it had been years.

All these years, he learnt there were certain people that acted and behaved certain ways with another person. Most of them were very close to and loved each other so much they always ended up as lovers, most of the time. There were some different cases like parent and child or between siblings or best friends with abnormal amount of love and closeness but never in the sexual way. He learnt that those people were soul mates, people with souls that loved deeply for each other that they understood each other and could communicate with only the briefest glance of their eyes or a single gesture, souls that would be entirely lost without their other half and ended up with miserable life if they lost their soul mate.

When he learnt about this little fact, he was reminded of Shindou and his ghost. The way they acted and behaved around each other, the way they looked and talked at each other and the way Shindou had been since he lost the ghost.

It was so sad really. Finding your soul mate was something that was very rare and so far he only met two pairs of that kind of people including Shindou and his ghost, other cases he knew he only heard or read about them. It was a gift of the rarest form and Shindou had to meet his other half after said other half had died for…who knows how many years and then lost him to the afterlife. No wonder Shindou was just a shadow of his former self now, though very few people noticed the change. Shindou was just that good at hiding what he didn't want people to see. But not to him. He was, after all, born with the ability to see what others couldn't see.

"Mitani," Shindou called him suddenly, looking at the embarrassing and loud crowd that was their friends as he took a sip of his beer.

"Hum?"

"I want to ask you something weird," he said.

"Everything you ask is weird because you're weird, Shindou," he drawled.

"Oh, shut up," Shindou grumbled but there was a smile on his face.

"What do you wanna ask?"

"When we were kids…did you ever see something...unusual?"

He could feel his heart skip a beat before racing with anticipation. "What do you mean with unusual? Like what?"

"You know…when we were at Tsutsui-senpai's last festival at Haze."

"You mean that horror house at the old building? The one where you and Fujisaki went missing when you go to the toilet?" He lifted an eyebrow at the question.

"Yeah…I remember you said about a girl behind that senpai…"

"If you wanna ask if I ever saw your ghost friend that looked like he was coming out of ancient history, Shindou…the answer is yes."

Shindou sent him a startled look before his face softened into a smile. "So you know about that, huh? We had suspicion about that but never really knew how to bring that up with you…"

"Yeah, same here. I haven't seen him for years, though. Since not long before our graduation from Haze. I take it he had moved on?"

"I hope so…I don't know. It's just…one minute he was there and the next…," Shindou smiled sadly complete with pain and bitterness in it. That was a first. He rarely saw Shindou showed his true feelings before.

"What was his name? I never learnt about that one. You never talked to him verbally but he always talked to you like you're having a conversation…I take it you guys can communicate with your mind?"

"Yeah. His name was Sai. Fujiwara no Sai."

"…He really was some ancient noble?" He couldn't help but feel impressed. Fujiwara was a big name back then in the ancient history.

"He was a Go tutor for the Emperor at Heian Era," Shindou replied.

"Impressive. And he came from the Fujiwara Family, huh? That meant he was also part of the Emperor's family."

"I guess so, what with how many of the emperors' in the past had mothers from that family. He never told me any of his family's history, though. It was always Go and Go he talked about."

"And you never asked?"

Shindou shook his head slowly, a deep regret, shame and grief craved into his face.

"So, do you always can see this kind of things or…?"

"I was born like this," he answered. "I always see and before you become impressed or envious, not all of these things are as beautiful as your Sai, I'm telling ya. I used to have nightmares because of the things I could see. Not to mention this ability makes me a desirable target to them."

"Whoa…target? You mean like possesion or something? How do you handle that?" Shindou looked at him wide-eyed.

"Training. It wasn't so bad when I was a kid but it kept getting stronger as I got older…I've had to train with a head priest my grandparents introduced me to. I sometimes help at the temple as medium or something like that these days."

"Whoa, that's kinda cool …People love that kind of things nowadays, you can make a career out of it," Shindou grinned.

He chuckled. "Perhaps I'd think about it, if my current path doesn't work out in the future."

Shindou laughed.

"So tell me more about Sai. How did you meet him?"

And then they spent the next hours talking about Sai. The talk wasn't easy. Shindou still looked hurt at some point of the story but they also laughed together at the funny parts. By the end of it, though, Shindou stood a little taller than before, like some weight had been lifted from his shoulder and he felt lighter. He knew the man needed this. To share this special story with someone. It was long overdue.

He didn't tell Shindou of his thoughts about the relationship between him and Sai, that they were soul mates. The man didn't need that kind of burden when he finally been able to lift some of it, but he had a feeling…that Shindou already knew about it.

From what he learnt, people who lost their soul mate usually couldn't live a normal life. They were so deep in their grief they couldn't be bother with anything else and practically fall apart, they either drink their grief to oblivion or kill themselves to follow their other half. But not Shindou. He was a very strong person and he admired him for it. He wished that he would find someone in the future, maybe it wouldn't be his mate but at least he could have some kind of happiness until they could meet again. Shindou deserved at least that.

-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-

Years later, he really became a pretty well-known medium in the paranormal world, something that surprised their friends and amused Shindou to no end. They still met sometimes, just alone and without their other friends. Ever since the revelation of his ability and Sai's story, some kind of bond was formed between them. A secret that only the two of them knew about.

He was visiting a shrine in Kyoto one day. Someone needed help and the head priest of the temple asked his mentor for some advice. He couldn't refuse when his mentor asked him to help, so he promised he would come. Looking up at the seemingly never ending stairs, though, he kind of regretted it, but, oh well, he was already here. Might as well get it over with. He took a breather when he finally reached the gate of the shrine, cursing his lack of stamina. He needed to get back in shape. It had been a while since he had some exercise. He was too lazy to do it. Well, no more. Then again, it wasn't like he did this every day, so maybe…

Looking around the yard, he didn't see anyone. The place was a little deserted. The shrine wasn't large. In fact, it was quite small but felt nice and homey. He immediately felt comfortable as he stepped passed the gate. He had been on many holy grounds before, but none that felt like this. There was something special to this place. He tried to remember anything his mentor told him about this place but he couldn't remember anything other than the head priest's name. Then again, the head priest's name was Fujiwara. Maybe that was why it felt special. Actually, the name itself was half the reason he agreed to come to help. He was reminded of Shindou's ghostly friend and kind of felt like he needed to do this, that he owed…he didn't know what or whom he owed to but still he agreed to come.

He walked straight towards the main building of the shrine as that was where the head priest most likely would be. He saw an old man that was clearly the head priest talking to a woman. The woman had a beautiful long hair and sitting in seiza with her back to him. The head priest noticed him and smiled brightly. He got up to greet him. The woman turned to look at him but he didn't pay much attention to her as he greeted the head priest.

"I'm grateful that you agree to help us, Mitani-sensei. I hope your journey here is pleasant," Fujiwara greeted.

"I'm glad to be able to help, Fujiwara-sensei," he bowed respectfully. He heard a soft gasp and then a soft and somehow familiar voice called to them.

"Father?"

Fujiwara-sensei turned towards what he at first thought a woman was actually a tall kid, probably just at the begining of puberty. And when he looked at the other person, he couldn't help his jolt of surprise either. The porcelain pale skin, the familiar indigo eyes, the long dark hair, the red lips were unfamiliar, the kimono was different than the old white kariginu and he looked much younger than before but it was unmistakable. They looked at each other with wide eyes, him in shock and the other in wonderment.

"Ah, let me introduce you to my son, Mitani-sensei," Fujiwara-sensei. "Sai, this is Mitani Yuuki-sensei. The medium my friend in Tokyo sent over here to help a client. Remember the old lady from the other day? Nishimura-san with the haunted house?"

Sai nodded in response and smiled politely at him. "It's nice to meet you Mitani-sensei. I'm Fujiwara Sai," he introduced himself with a polite bow of his head.

"Aah…" Mitani was speechless. He cleared his throat and then returned the favor, "It's nice to meet you too, Fujiwara-kun."

Sai turned towards Fujiwara-sensei, his father. "Since Mitani-sensei has arrived, I'll go back to the house, Father. I don't want to impose on your job. I'll make dinner. Do you want anything in particular?"

Fujiwara-sensei shook his head with a fond smile. "Not really. You can cook anything you want," then Fujiwara-sensei glanced at him who hadn't leave his sight on Sai since he first got a good look on him, "perhaps Mitani-sensei would like to join us for dinner. It's the least we can do for his help."

"Huh?" he blinked in surprise. The Fujiwara father and son looked at him expectantly. "Oh, I would love to. Thank you."

"That's great," Sai smiled. "Do you have anything you want for dinner, Mitani-sensei? Or something you're allergic to so I can avoid serving them? Father is allergic to shrimp and crab so we never cook them."

"Ah, no, no allergy and I'd eat anything that is placed in front of me, so anything is good," Mitani grinned.

Sai laughed lightly, the melodic laugh that sounded so familiar that his eyes couldn't help but glazed over in memories. Fujiwara-sensei smiled fondly again at his son. Soon, the young teen left, leaving the two older men alone.

"Can I ask you a question, Fujiwara-sensei?" he asked.

"Of course. But first, let's take a seat first," Fujiwara-sensei motioned to him.

It was then that he noticed the goban between the spots Fujiwara-sensei and his son sat previously. The disbelief but hopeful feeling in him grew at the sight. He took Sai's spot and sat.

"You play, Fujiwara-sensei?" he asked, caressing the side of goban in front of him, taking in the half-finish game. White was winning, no, it completely dominated the whole board. He can guess who played the white stones.

"A little, but my son is the one who's in love with the game and he's really good too. I think he could be a pro if he wanted to be," Fujiwara-sensei said with prideful tone in his voice.

He hummed and nodded. "I'm sure. He's the white stones, right? He's not just really good. He's a master."

"Do you play, Mitani-sensei?"

"Please, you can drop the sensei. It feels weird being called that by someone older and more experienced like you, Fujiwara-sensei," he requested.

"Mitani-kun, then?" Fujiwara-sensei chuckled.

"Yes, thank you. And yeah, sometimes I play. I was a member of Go club when I was in school and a friend of mine is a pro," he replied.

"What a coincidence," Fujiwara-sensei said cheerfully. "So, what do you want to ask, Mitani-kun?"

"Oh, right! It's about your son, actually…" he said sheepishly, "How old is he? If you don't mind me asking?"

"He's thirteen. He would turn fourteen in a few months," Fujiwara-sensei replied.

He felt his heart skipped a beat before returning to normal. Almost fourteen… It had been almost fourteen years ago when Fujiwara no Sai disappeared from Shindou's side. He swallowed the lump in his throat and asked another question.

"I thought he's older. When is his birthday?"

"Yeah, he does look older, probably because he's pretty tall for a kid his age. And for his birthday…It's May fifth," Fujiwara-sensei answered again, this time more tentatively. His brows furrowed a little.

"You don't sound sure, Sensei…" he commented while his mind racing wildly. Fifth of May. He knew the significant of the date to a certain someone. Could he really hope? What if he was wrong?

"Do you know something, Mitani-kun? You looked surprised when you saw Sai earlier," Fujiwara-sensei was frowning now.

"I…not really, he just reminds me of someone I used to know… And his skill in Go amazes me. I mean, I'm no pro but even I can see that…a skill like his…it takes a lifetime to have a skill like this. My friend, the Go player, would love to meet him," he said, forcing a smile.

The frown on Fujiwara-sensei's face lessened, but the wariness was still there. "Yes…Sai is an amazing kid. I don't even know where he learned to play. I never saw him near a goban before the day I brought one to the house with some neighbors from around here and then suddenly he just played amazingly well. Our neighbors love to come here every weekend and play with him now; sometimes they ask him to tutor them on the game."

"He just played?"

"Yes, it was weird…like he didn't really even know what he was doing but also understand what he was doing at the same time...if you get what I mean…"

"I guess…"

"That kid…he's destined for great things," Fujiwara-sensei looked at the goban sadly.

"You said it like it's a bad thing," he observed the older man.

"Not really…it's just…he's destined for great things…that means he would leave and go to a faraway place someday. Oh, don't mind me. It's just a silly old man's sentiment about his kid growing up and leaving the nest," Fujiwara-sensei shook his head and chuckled.

"I think all parents feel like that at some points in their kid's life, Sensei. It's natural to feel like that."

"Yes, yes, you're right, of course… but I think we've been distracted from the real reason we're here for," Fujiwara-sensei said again.

"Ah, of course. So this Nishimura-san you mentioned before…"

-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-

Dinner with at the Fujiwara household was pleasant. They had finished at Nishimura-san place earlier than expected so when they returned to the shrine, Fujiwara-sensei decided to help his son with dinner preparation. He insisted on helping setting the table for them since he felt guilty for letting them doing all the work despite being a guest himself.

All through dinner, he couldn't help but watch as both father and son interacted. They were close even though it was obvious they had different personality. Fujiwara-sensei was a more open and cheerful person, though he still carried the calmness and serenity of a priest. It was also obvious he was full of fatherly pride at everything his son did and said.

Sai, on the other hand, was a very calm kid. He moved and spoke politely though more informal towards his father. There was something delicate to him, but he thought that was probably because he was a very beautiful person, even as a kid. He wore light yukata in the house, and he suspected outside the house also, instead of modern casual clothes. He had the same voice as a certain ghost from the past, only a little higher in pitch since he hadn't done going through puberty yet. For all appearances, he was sure this kid was the same as the ghost but there was also something missing from him and not because of the lack of Shindou on his side either. He didn't have the openly cheerful and bouncy personality from before. His eyes looked darker as if the light had dimmed…light… Of course. In the end, it was because Shindou wasn't there with him and he probably didn't even know he was missing something, someone…that was why the boy gave out a distinct feeling of a lost kid.

They talked during dinner, but mostly it was him and Fujiwara-sensei who were talking. Sai added his own words every now and then when he was addressed directly but other than that, he was mostly quiet. He did notice that the kid stole glances at him a couple of times, though, and looked confused or uncertain every time afterward.

By the end of dinner, he came to the conclusion that the kid didn't remember anything from his past life, or afterlife, he didn't know which one was more accurate. He thanked them for the meals and excused himself to return to the hotel. Fujiwara-sensei insisted to walk him to the gate of the shrine while Sai took care of the dishes.

"Mitani-kun, I need you to be honest with me…do you know something about my son?" he asked stiffly, worriedly.

"What do you mean?" he felt confused.

"My son…he's…you keep looking at him like you've seen him before or seeing someone else…I…"

"Sensei?"

"My son…he's adopted, you see…" Fujiwara-sensei confessed, surprising him. "I found him when he was a baby at the riverbank under a wisteria tree…"

"On May Fifth?" he guessed carefully.

The older man nodded. "Do you know his parents? Do you think they would…"

"I don't know his parents, Sensei. I just looked at him because…he reminds me of someone from the past. That someone had been dead for quite awhile now," he quickly assured the other man. Suddenly understand the odd way the man had been acting. He was worried that someone would come to take his beloved son away.

"Oh…I'm sorry for your loss," Fujiwara-sensei said sincerely, but there was also relief in his eyes when he realized no one was going to steal his son.

"It's not my loss…but thank you." A pause. "Ne, Sensei… Fujiwara-kun, your son…he loves Go, right?"

"Yes."

"I happen to know there would be a Go convention in a few months here in Kyoto. On May Fifth to be exact. Maybe it would be a good birthday gift for Fujiwara-kun?"

Fujiwara-sensei smiled. "Yeah, I think that's a great idea. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I just happen to remember about it anyway because…my friend, Shindou, was supposed to be one of the invited pros from Tokyo to the event but he refused and replaced by someone…Kuroda or Kurata or something…May Fifth is a very important day to him and he always take a day off on that day every year."

"Oh?"

"The person that your son reminds me of? He was very important to Shindou…and he lost him on that day years ago."

"I see…I'm so sorry to hear that. From the way you talk about it, I take it that your friend is still mourning for this person?"

"He is, but he's fine. He a very strong person," he waved the older man's concern off, "Besides, I have a good feeling that things would get better for him soon."

"Indeed?"

He grinned and shrugged. "Well, excuse me, Sensei. I'll take my leave now," he said with a bow.

"Ah yes. Thank you for your help once again, Mitani-san. I wish you well on your journey back to Tokyo tomorrow," Fujiwara-sensei said, returning his bow.

"And I'll send you the tickets for the Go convention to you later. I'm sure Shindou can get some for me as a favor. Goodbye~"

And before the older man could say anything to refuse his offer, he skipped down the staircases as quickly as he dare in the dark night.

At least now he knew why Shindou could hold on for so long all this time. It was because his mate was still here. Now…did he have to tell him about this or not? Maybe he could convince Shindou to attend the convention, but he was doubtful he could do that without giving him a very good reason. The date was too important and Shindou was too stubborn to change his routine. Besides, the kid didn't remember anything and he didn't want to open old wounds when there was no guarantee.

Oh well, maybe he should let Fate run its course. For some reason, he had faith it would be on the right course.

-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-

A little over a year later, he nearly keeled over with laughter at the headline of the Go Weekly. Shindou-pro was accused of being a pedophile. He had been caught in scandalous hug with a young pro that had just passed the exam recently, Fujiwara Sai.

~Fin~