It was a chilly gray morning when the young man arrived at the gates to the Touya residence, just as the curling fingers of fog were reluctantly retreating from the edges of the village to the mountain slopes above. The house was a majestic two-story building, nestled against a grove of dark, gnarled pine trees. It stood on a hill, immediately visible from the village center, wearing its age and dignity in calm, resolute silence.

He stood a few paces away from the gates, gazing at the house with a frown on his face. His clothes were worn and stained, and he carried most of his belongings with him in a ratty old pack. To the untutored eye, the only indication that he was not another wandering mendicant was the large white fan he carried closed in his hands. He sighed visibly and made an ineffectual effort to wipe his face on his sleeve, before he tightened his grip on the fan and marched forward with a determined expression on his face.

"Who are you?" a retainer asked, eyeing him skeptically, when he presented himself at the entrance to the house.

"You sent for a mushishi?"

Her expression changed immediately from wariness to relief. "Oh thank goodness, you're finally here." She opened the door and ushered him in.

"He's awake and ready to receive you," the servant announced in hushed tones before escorting him through a labyrinth of hallways and sliding doors to the center of the house. As they passed, the mushishi could see servants moving back and forth at the periphery of his vision, making not a sound beyond the quiet patter of their feet on the wooden floors.

"Young master," the servant said, when they were just outside the door. "The mushishi has arrived."

"Please, send him in," said a clear, musical voice.

She slid open the door and bowed, gesturing for him to enter. The room inside was spacious and elegant. On the opposite side, another door was slid half-open, looking out onto an inner garden. A man, about the same age as the mushishi, was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room, his posture very straight, seemingly engrossed in a book. He was dressed in a sober blue yukata and had his hands buried in its sleeves. His face was pale and thin, half-hidden by his chin-length hair, before he looked up to gaze inquiringly at the mushishi, who was still fidgeting uncomfortably at the room's threshold.

"Come in and take a seat. Thank you for traveling so far to see me. My name is Touya Akira."

"I'm called Shindou Hikaru." He set down his pack and took a seat at the other side of the desk. He wondered briefly if he should kneel, but his legs ached too much from the journey, and he sat cross-legged instead. He put one elbow on the desk and leaned forward, studying Touya intently with narrowed eyes. The man didn't react to the scrutiny.

Finally, Shindou said, "So I hear you need a mushishi."

"Yes."

"I take 50 yen for an initial consultation and an extra ten for each day it takes for me to solve your problem. Of course, if I can't find a solution, I won't charge you anything."

Touya blinked. "I see."

"If you don't have the coins, you can pay me in anything equivalent. Extra food, clothing, anything that can be traded."

"I'm...quite certain that we can afford to pay you your fees in full," Touya said, the corner of his mouth quirking.

Shindou nodded in satisfaction. "All right then. What's the problem?"

"Well," Touya started then hesitated. He turned his head away for a moment and took a deep breath, before facing Shindou again. "It's easier to show you than to explain in words."

He awkwardly lifted his right hand and placed it on his desk, wincing as he did so, as if he were struggling with a great weight. He looked up and met Shindou's eyes squarely as he pulled up the sleeve of his yukata and bared his right arm.

Instead of flesh, there was hard gray stone, flecked with bits of glittering mica. The fingers were half curled over the palm in a somewhat contorted position, and the stone itself stretched past the wrist and halfway up the forearm before it dissolved back into Touya's pale skin.

Shindou sucked in a breath. He asked, very simply, "May I?"

At Touya's nod, he gently reached forward to touch the hand of stone. It was solid and smooth, like a well-polished rock found at the seashore.

"Can you feel anything?"

"No. I've lost all sensation."

"What about here?" Shindou pressed the area where the stone returned to flesh-or rather, where the flesh had not yet turned into stone.

"A little, but it feels very faint and faraway, as if it's not really my arm anymore."

Shindou tried to lift the hand. It was indeed quite heavy. He hastily pulled back, and without a word, Touya pulled his sleeve down and hid his hand in the fabric again.

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a month. First, it was just my very fingertips. I thought I had perhaps bruised myself but the color was so unnatural, and I couldn't feel any pain. I couldn't feel anything soon enough, as it moved upward. My hand became frozen within a week, and it's been continuing to spread ever since."

"Hm." Frowning a little, Shindou continued to look at Touya's now cloth-covered hand resting on the desk.

"My father sent for the village doctor as soon as the condition became obvious. But he was baffled by the problem. Since then, I've seen many physicians, including some from the capital. The last one who came told me that medicine was powerless against such a disease, and he recommended that we consult a mushishi instead."

"And here I am," Shindou said, with a rueful smile. His eyes were still focused on the hand, as he tapped the tip of his fan against the floor.

"I have never heard of a mushishi before. Pardon me, but may I ask...what is it that you do? Are you an exorcist? Or some other kind of shaman?"

Startled, Shindou jerked and straightened up in his seat, with a look of dismay on his face. "Of course not! It's nothing like exorcism or anything weird like that."

"Oh, I'm very sorry-"

"It's true that mushi often do things that make people think they're being possessed by ghosts or spirits or even some sort of kami. But they're just living beings, like we are." Shindou gestured and waved his closed fan about as he explained. "The difference is that they're more alive than anything else in the world. Closer to the source of life than plants or animals. Not many people have the ability to see them, but they're everywhere, all the time: in the sky, in the ground, in the water we drink, in the food we eat. Some of them even live on or around people...and cause mysterious things to happen. We think it's supernatural, but it's actually just mushi."

"So you can see these creatures, these...mushi?"

"Yes. And I go about helping people figure out what to do when mushi end up causing problems. I mean, they don't intend any harm. They can't think or feel-well, most of them, anyway-and they're just trying to live like the rest of us. But sometimes that ends up hurting people, and in those cases I help them either get rid of the problem or deal with it somehow."

Touya nodded, his eyes wide. "Fascinating. So do you think this hand is the work of mushi?"

Shindou squinted at the hand. "I think so, though I don't know for sure. I see something in there, though I don't know whether it's the mushi that caused your hand to turn to stone or another type of mushi that just happened to make its home there. I'll need to examine the house and everything that you came into contact with before this all began to happen."

"If it means that I may have a chance of regaining the use of this hand," Touya said, his voice quiet but intense, "you may do anything you wish."

By the end of the day, Shindou had combed through every inch of the house, with the help of two servants who had, on young master Touya's orders, obligingly led him through every room, opening locked cabinets and trunks and holding up fragile objects for him to examine with his lens. Despite the cool temperature of the day, Shindou's clothes were damp with sweat. When he returned to Touya's room, he collapsed on the floor, too exhausted to give more than a thought to his sprawling limbs and disheveled appearance.

The door looking out on the garden was now fully open, letting in the last of the red light from the setting sun. The mountains, etched against the horizon, were lit up as in flames. Touya was sitting, not at his desk, but by the door, where he had been gazing at the sunset before Shindou came in.

"Any progress?" Touya asked hopefully, as he motioned-with his left hand, of course-for the servants to bring them some refreshments.

"None whatsoever. The house has all the usual sort of mushi that hang around old homes like this one, but nothing that would cause people's hands to start suddenly turning into stone." Shindou sighed.

There was a sudden clatter. "Damn it," Touya muttered under his breath.

Surprised, Shindou glanced over at Touya and noticed that next to him was a small wooden table, marked with gridded lines. Next to it were two wooden bowls, one open, and some round black stones fallen on the floor.

"That's a go board, isn't it?"

Touya, who had been scowling as he gathered up the fallen stones on the floor, didn't look up. "Yes. You've seen one before?"

"My old teacher," Shindou began, then swallowed. He took out his fan and turned it over and over in his hands, as he continued, "My old teacher used to play."

"I see." Touya poured the stones back into the bowl and then awkwardly began to try to pick one up with his left hand, balancing it between two fingers. It clattered again to the floor, and he stifled an huff of frustration. "Do you know how to play?"

"He taught me a little. Whenever we were at a place that had a spare board. I wasn't any good though. And I haven't tried to play since he...since he left."

Touya continued to try to pick up the stones between his left index and middle fingers, with stiff and clumsy movements, while the stones continued to fall to the floor. He said, "I learned to play from my father when I was a very young child. I've been playing go for most of my life. It's...quite important to me."

"You could probably pick up the stones more easily if you just used your thumb," Shindou pointed out.

Touya exhaled and didn't respond for a while. "It's not the right way to hold the stones. But I've resorted to that in order to keep playing. My left hand though-I don't know, it seems to get harder and harder to move my fingers properly. And I only have this one hand left to me."

Shindou's eyes narrowed. "Really? That's interesting." He got up and approached the go board to take a closer look.

Touya, noticing his scrutiny, asked, in a somewhat hopeful tone of voice. "Would you like to play a game?"

Shindou didn't answer immediately. He gripped his fan tightly and frowned, his eyes darting back betwen the board and the stones.

Finally, he sat down with great deliberation on the other side and said, "Please."

Shindou took black and placed his first hand on the board. At the beginning, they played very cautiously, taking the time to assess each other's strength. Shindou immediately realized that Touya had rather understated the role of the game in his life; this level of play could only belong to a master, and Touya must have devoted most of his waking moments practicing the game to have achieved such proficiency at a young age.

He dug his hands into the bowl as he waited for Touya to play his next hand. After some struggle, Touya carefully placed the stone on the board, and Shindou couldn't help wincing. It was a brilliant move, one he had failed to anticipate, and it immediately foiled the trap he had been carefully setting up on the left side of the board.

Frustrated, he concentrated on the board but also noticed the way that Touya winced and flexed the fingers of his left hand after each move.

"You mentioned that your left hand-"

Touya didn't meet his eyes. "Yes. It's not my dominant hand to begin with, but I've lost a lot of dexterity in it as well."

"Ah." Shindou nodded to himself. "May I take a look?"

Touya held out his hand over the board, palm facing up. Shindou took it by the wrist and carefully moved each finger back and forth, noting the stiffness of the joints. Touya was silent, but his breathing had quickened and his teeth were gritted.

"Not surprising," Shindou said as he released Touya's hand. "It's starting in your left hand as well."

Touya's eyes widened. His left hand clenched-or tried at least, though the fingers jerked unsteadily before they curled into a fist. "No. I can't...I won't...it's possible to live with one hand for the rest of my life, but with none?"

"You have more things to worry about than just the use of your hands," Shindou said dryly. "With the stone spreading in both your arms, it's only a matter of time before it reaches your lungs. Imagine what will happen then."

Touya inhaled sharply. He turned his head away and closed his eyes tightly, but Shindou could still see a tear trace its way down his cheek.

Shindou quietly returned his attention to the board and played his next hand. The stone made a soft click against the wood.

"Can anything...be done?" Touya asked, in a low voice.

"I don't know. But I do know what's causing it now."

Touya stared, his face both hopeful and desperate. "What is it?"

"I'm betting you got this set of go stones pretty recently. Say, a little over a month ago?"

Touya nodded. "Then, you mean-"

"There are mushi living inside the slate." Shindou held up one of the black stones. "You probably can't see it. They're actually pretty hard to see even if you had the ability to see mushi. But if you angle them just right in the light," and he rotated the stone to angle it towards the lingering sunlight in the room, "they look like little snails, all curled up into small coils."

Touya stared at the stone with some amazement. "So, they're living inside the stones?"

"They're usually dormant, but I imagine being turned into go stones woke them up a little. And they move really slowly, so if you were only a casual player, they would not have, well, infected you so dramatically. At best, you might have felt your fingers grow number, after the course of years. But you...you're not a casual player, are you?"

Touya shook his head ruefully.

"You touched the stones so often that they moved into your fingers. Now they're moving into your left hand as well because you continued to play even after your right hand became completely paralyzed."

"I see." Touya uncovered his right hand and lifted it up. "I had no idea. I mean, I never would have known, obviously, but that's...fascinating. I always fancied that go stones were alive, in a way, and these ones really are." He lowered his hand. "So...is there a cure?"

"Well, first, you must stop using this set of stones. At the very least, that will slow down the spreading. But in order to reverse the transformation...well, there's no guarantee that it will work. But the only thing I can think of is for you to go to where these stones were originally made. If the mushi are returned to the slate deposits they came from, then maybe they will leave you to go back home."

Touya said slowly, "You mean...I need to go to Wakayama."

"Yes." Shindou hesitated a little, then added, "And there's a chance that you might have to stay there for a while as well. You'd have to travel around to figure out exactly where the mushi came from."

Touya nodded. "I'll do it." He had a determined expression on his face, without a trace of fear or doubt. He suddenly smiled. "Isn't Wakayama on the coast? I've never seen the ocean before."

"Yes. I've traveled there a few times before. If you'd like," Shindou said a bit shyly, "I could come with you and show you the way."

At that, Touya gave him such a look of gratitude, that Shindou could not quite quell the faint blush that rose to his cheeks. "I would like that more than anything."

Shindou smiled. "Maybe you could teach me more about go, along the way."

Touya's face brightened at that, and he gave a little laugh. "I would like that too. You're quite talented, actually. You'd become very strong, if you practiced. Your old teacher must have been rather good."

"Yes. He...loved the game too. Like you."

Touya said, in a hushed, respectful voice, "Did he pass away recently?"

"Something like that," Shindou said. Then he looked up and gave a rueful smile. "Shall we finish this game?"

When the next morning dawned, Shindou and Touya were standing at the gates, taking one final look at the Touya residence as they prepared to depart. Touya had his stone arm in a sling around his neck to help bear the weight, and two well-stuffed packs stood on the ground at their feet.

Touya said, his voice a little hoarse, "I've lived all my life in this house, within these mountains. I've traveled to the nearest town, but never beyond the valley."

Shindou grinned. "Well, you're going with someone who's been on the road all his life. Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Touya gave a short laugh and looked down the path that they were about to take, leading to the village and then away through the valley and beyond. "Thank you, for journeying with me."

Shindou picked up his pack and settled it on his shoulders. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly, as Touya gave one more glance back at his home. "It may be a long while before you see this place again."

Lit by the rising sun, the house looked even more beautiful and impressive than it had the day before. They could hear the faint traces of bird song and the slight rustle of a morning breeze passing through the trees. They stood for a long moment, Shindou respectfully remaining silent as he waited for Touya to speak.

Touya exhaled and picked up his own pack. "I'm ready."

As they began walking toward the village, Touya added, "By the way, that move you made in the middle of the game yesterday was a very ill-advised response. In such a situation it would have been better to protect your territory on the right first."

"What? But without that move I would never have been able to make the attack on the center later, and I would have lost to you by more moku than I did-"

Their voices filled the air as they began their journey.