Chapter Two:
Give 'Em Hell, Kid
—
Hikaru placed his first move on the lower left star point, then waited for Kouyo to place his stone. Kouyo took a moment to speculate the board, then grabbed a stone from his go-ke, placing it down on the goban.
Whoa, were his fingers just glowing? Hikaru didn't think such a thing was possible. Sure, he had played a real person before, but no other player was like this man.
Shindou shook his head, telling himself to concentrate, then took another black stone from the bowl and played the 16-10 spot.
Kouyo took another stone and placed it down, his fingers glowing again. "You know, Akira's a pro. It seems highly unlikely some unknown amateur would beat him in a game… So, that makes your victory hard to believe. Tell me, young man, did you have a master train you? That seems like the only logical explanation."
Hikaru placed another stone, then looked up at the Meijin. "I did, but he's gone. I'm not anywhere near as good as him, though. I'm barely about a fourth his skill when I'm playing seriously."
The Meijin, who was still looking at the board, smirked the tiniest bit. "Are you playing seriously now?"
"Oh, of course, Touya-Meijin, sir!" The older Touya raised an eyebrow, and Hikaru exhaled a bit, "My real specialty is speed-go, but I can play just as well with regular go."
"Really? Well, speed-go isn't a forte of mine, but if it gets you to play better, then let's do it." The Meijin placed a stone, and Hikaru placed one just as soon as his hand left the stone. Kouyo looked up, then narrowed his eyes a bit.
Gone was the boy he had talked to seconds ago, and in his place was a lion, caged, waiting to get out. As they were playing, the older man could see that this was not even a fifth of his potential. He was very rough, but the teen was a true diamond found among a pile of dirt.
The Meijin placed a stone, and as he expected, Hikaru placed one right on top of his hand. Touya examined the boy, then noticed that he had set a trap that any other go pro might not have noticed. It seemed impossible that the blonde had read so far ahead into the game to set a trap so complicated, but, in the example of his son, the title-holder knew not to underestimate an opponent by age.
But, Touya-Meijin was not just any other pro, so he successfully eluded the trap with a connection, thereby nullifying the effect.
Shindou smiled the tiniest bit. Of course the Meijin had seen through that trap, but what he did not know is that Hikaru had set up a far stealthier trap. All he had to do was play out three more hands, then Kouyo should play right into the trap.
As the blonde boy placed another stone, Touya-Meijin widened his eyes. The boy had played a far more complicated trap, one that had not been used in two hundred years. In fact—the only person known to have the talent and sheer ability to play it was Shuusaku. He had not seen this coming.
It was impossible; the teen had read deeper into the game than the Meijin, holder of four titles and the man closest to the Hand of God. The Meijin looked up to see the tiniest hint of a smile on the teen's face. The older man realized that placing a two-stone handicap while not playing at his full level was a mistake.
It was time for him to take the game seriously.
—
"Here," Touya-Meijin said, pointing to the trap Hikaru had sprung on him near the end of the beginning game, "this is where I started to play seriously. I have studied over Shuusaku's kifu, so I recognized the trap that you had set. It's far too complicated for the average pro to see, much less an amateur playing it, knowing full well what he was doing. So, Shindou Hikaru, who was your mentor?"
Shindou, whose head was hung, did not reply.
"I see, so you want to keep this person a secret… Ah, well. It will come out eventually." Touya looked away from the boy, then his eyes landed on his son, Akira, who was watching the game near the counter with heated eyes. "So, Shindou-san, how long have you been playing Go?"
"Two years," Shindou mumbled, and the oldest Touya had to widen his eyes once more. The boy had played for a mere two years and he was on equal footing as his son, who had played since he was a small child?
"Very well, Shindou-san, I will pay for your insei exam. All you have to do is take and pass the pro examination." Kouyo bargained, and Shindou raised his head and nodded.
"Arigatou, Touya-Meijin," he said as he stood up. He bowed to the older man, then left the salon, but not before glancing at Akira.
The Meijin saw Hikaru glance at Akira and smiled. It's not everyday when someone who was revered as a prodigy was beaten by some unknown player who was your age. Akira had a new rival.
—
"Hey mom! I got the money to pay for the exams! You'll never guess who either!"
"That's great, Hikaru-kun. Who gave you the money?" His mother asked, yelling from the kitchen. Hikaru kicked off his shoes and made his way to his mother.
"Touya Kouyo," he said, and his mother widened her eyes. She knew very little about the Go world; but she knew some of the big name pros out there—mainly because Hikaru would go on and on for hours if he even glimpsed one of their games—and Touya Kouyo was the one he went on about the most.
"How'd you even meet him?"
"He owns a salon downtown. I went in to bet the old men for money, and I found his son there. I beat him, and turns out, Kouyo was watching the whole time. He challenged me to a game, and if I was good enough, he would sponsor me in the exams." Hikaru drawled, then he grabbed the ramen his mother had made for him.
"Really? How'd you beat such a strong pro?" she asked, leaning against the counter.
He sighed, obviously a bit unhappy, "I didn't beat him. I lost by ten moku. He saw Shuusaku's trap that I laid, then started to play seriously."
"Oh, well, you should be happy. You made Touya-san play seriously. Not many people can do that, you know."
"I know, but he wasn't even playing me fully. Only a real match can bring out one's true skill. Kouyo is the same." Hikaru said, jabbing aimlessly at his ramen with his chopsticks. His mother sighed, then left the kitchen, leaving Hikaru alone with his thoughts.
—
"Excuse me, I'm here to take the Insei Exam," Hikaru said to the man behind the desk. The man smiled.
"The Exams are taking place on the fifth floor. From there, you can follow the sign to the right room." He said, pointing to the elevator in the process. Hikaru nodded, then gently pushed his mother to get her to move.
"Arigatou," she said before Hikaru pushed her off.
They made their way over to the elevator, then stepped in when the doors opened. Hikaru pressed the button for the fifth floor, then he and his mother waited while the elevator slowly ascended to their floor.
Finally, the elevator dinged, indicating that it had reached the fifth floor. Hikaru and his mother stepped out, walking to the place where they removed their shoes. Hikaru looked around for a sign, and spotted a small one saying 'Insei Examinations, Rm. 7.'
They walked to room seven, then entered. Hikaru spotted other children and their parents waiting to be called, so he sat next to his mother, waiting too.
"Shindou Hikaru," a voice called out. Hikaru looked up, then got up, his mother trailing behind him. Hikaru approached the door his name had been called through.
A man, no older than forty sat in the room, across from a goban. "Kifu," he almost sighed once Hikaru sat down.
"Right…" Hikaru pulled out a few pieces of folded paper and handed three to the examiner.
"NetGo, huh?"
"Yessir. I printed off some of my better games. I couldn't find my best ones, so I hope these are good enough." Hikaru admitted, and the man didn't hear him, he was too immersed in the kifu.
The boy was good. Unnaturally so for just an amateur. His opponents were okay, but the flow and solidity of his moves were that of a pro. He also noticed that he had set up traps and moves that required a deep insight into the game, deeper than that of most.
"Excuse me, Examiner-san? Hello?" Hikaru asked, waving his hands in the man's face.
"Oh, sorry about that. My name is Shigeru. Alright, how about we play even?" Shigeru asked, and Hikaru nodded.
"Do we use komi?"
"Yes, yes. Now, take out your stones."
—
"I resign."
Shigeru exhaled. The boy was too much for him to handle. He had the talent of Touya Akira, if not more. "Come to the Institute at this time, a month from now. That's when the sessions start."
"Arigatou, Shigeru-san." Hikaru got up and left the room with his mother.
Shindou Hikaru was going to make a bigger ripple than Touya Akira did. The new wave is approaching fast.
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Hola! First chapter in a while eh? I decided it's time I get out of the creative writing slump, (mainly to do something), and write a damn chapter.
Remember, this is Hikaru and Akira's levels before they get all 'I've got to defeat him!' sort of competition. They aren't super-strong yet, and there will be some struggles over the Go board, but it will all work itself out in the end.
Also, I'm not familiar with a Go board or the game, I only know what I've seen or read. So please, bear with me, I'm a beginner.
