Just a Game

Chapter 8


"I r-resign."

That simple declaration of defeat was enough to cause people in the room to take a good look at the boy who had just defeated a player from Kaiou. Nothing really extraordinary, except for the distinctive bleached bangs that made him stand out from the other students in the room. But for go enthusiasts like the people who are in that tournament, Hikaru's win had made him a target for speculations, a recognition of his talent and potential, especially since winning a game against Kaiou is unusual. People surrounding him began wonder on the same thing. 'Who is this kid?'

"Wow, I couldn't believe anyone could beat one of Kaiou's players," one of the spectators whispered.

'Hehehe. You just don't know how strong Shindou really is,' Waya told them in his mind.

"Yeah, he's really good. But how come he lost the first game?" whispered another.

Waya grinned silently. 'Hehehe. That's expected. Anyone could lose against… what?!'

The silence and confusion was suddenly disrupted by a loud…

"NANI?!!!! WHO DID SHINDOU LOSE TO?!!"

Hikaru was surprised at the sound of that voice. He looked behind him to see Waya grabbing a person's collar, yelling at him.

"T-the third board from Kaitou Junior High," the boy answered nervously pointing at another boy who was seated looking at them.

"Hey Waya…" Isumi called out to him trying to restrain him.

Waya approached the player from Kaitou.

"You! Did you win against Shindou?" he asked with a furious expression on his face.

The poor boy nodded nervously.

A dark aura began to emit from Waya. "Then play against me," he said in a scary voice.

"Hey, what are you doing to my student?" the coach from Kaitou approached them. "If you outsiders just came here to make some trouble, it's better…huh?" the coach squinted his eyes to get a better look at Waya. "You… aren't you…?"

Suddenly Isumi appeared and grabbed Waya's arm. "Hey Waya. Will you stop this? It's really embarrassing. To think that you're already a…"

"Ah! You're Shinichiro Isumi! The one who topped this year's Pro Exam!" the coach exclaimed, then looked at Waya. "That means you're a pro too."

"Pro?"

"There's a Pro in here?"

Whispers of excitement began to close into the room. Isumi rubbed his forehead in exasperation. 'Stupid Waya.'

"Isumi-san, Waya, what are you two doing here?" Hikaru asked as he neared them.

"Shindou-kun, you know them?" Tsutsui asked as he neared Hikaru.

"Hai. I often play with them," Hikaru answered.

"Sorry Shindou. We have nothing to do today so we just went to check on your game," Isumi said. "Right, Waya?"

Waya walked towards Hikaru and grabbed his shirt. "Shindou! How can you let that kid beat you in a fair game when you never let me win?!" he whispered furiously, keeping his voice low so that people won't hear him.

"No wonder this boy beat the Kaiou's third board," the coach remarked. "He's being trained by pros."

Isumi smiled sheepishly.

Waya just sulked.

"Wow Hikaru! I never thought you were actually training with go professionals," Akari exclaimed, suddenly appearing on his side, together with the rest of the Haze Junior High Team.

"We were not actually training him," Isumi tried to explain. "We just happened to meet in a go salon and began to play with him."

"You play go really well. Why didn't you join the club before?" Mitani asked.

"Ah… y-you see I'm already with the soccer club," Hikaru replied.

"But you're just a bench player," Akari pointed out.

Hikaru got annoyed. "Shut up!"

"So how about officially joining the club, Shindou-kun?" Tsutsui asked.

"Nah," Waya interjected as he grabbed Hikaru in a headlock. "This kid… is going take the Pro exams."

"Eh?" Hikaru was surprised. "When did I decide that?"

"Since you agreed to attend my sensei's class."


Akira reached for the door, then hesitated. 'This is the room where the go tournament is being held, right?' he wondered.

He entered the room and noticed that the games were already finished.

"Touya-kun?"

Akira turned to face the person who called him. "Ah, Yun-sensei. The tournament is already finished? How was the result?"

"Kaiou still won the championship," he answered smiling. "But one of our players got a thorough beating during the final match."

"Really? So there's another good player from the other school?" Akira asked.

"Not just good," Yun-sensei answered. "He's amazing." He looked up trying to imagine the amazing game he had just witnessed. "Well, it seems he was trained by pros. No wonder he's good."

"Is that so?" Akira just commented, then his attention was caught by one of the tables that seemed to be packed by observers. He turned to Yun and asked, "Are they still having a game over there?"

Yun shook his head. "They're recreating the final game that was played in the third board," he explained.

"Third board?" Akira repeated, slightly confused. Normally, people would be more concerned about the game in the first board since the best players would be playing against each other.

"That was the game I told you that we lost," Yun said. He saw Akira's curious expression and smiled. "I think it would be better if you saw the game. Why don't you take a look at the game they're recreating?"

Akira wasn't really planning to stay long in the tournament. The principal just asked him to visit the tournament area if he have the time because he believed he might serve as an inspiration to the Kaiou Junior High Team. He was about to make an excuse when an irresistible urge began to gnaw at him. He just found himself nodding to Yun-sensei and following him to the table to watch the recreation of the third board's game.

"Well, what can you say?" Yun asked, watching as the coaches began clearing out the table and putting the stones back to the bowls.

Akira remained silent, too consumed in his own thoughts. 'That move… and the move…' he thought as he replayed the parts of the game that was recreated a while ago. 'It looks like a good game. Both players played really well… but there was something quite different…" Akira thought. To others, it looks like an even game, although black was obviously the better player. But if you look into it deeply, black has manipulated the flow of the stones since the game started. He lured white into attacking, then made his own attacks, then opened another opening for white to penetrate into black's territory, then makes a counter. Akira let out a frustrated breath. One thing that really bothered him was that there were several moves wherein the play reminded him of one person he has been looking for years now… Shouji Riku. Could it be…?

Akira suddenly turned to Yun, "Sensei…?!"

"Huh?"

"Who played in the third board for Haze Junior High?," Akira asked.

Yun smiled. "Shindou Hikaru."


Hikaru dropped his bag on the floor and slumped on the sofa. It had been a week after the tournament and he was so tired. The go club members were really after him. Well, who could blame him? After that game last week, his name became popular among the go teams from the other schools. Especially Kaiou Junior High. He heard from Akari that they are training really hard to defeat him next year.

He closed his eyes and remembered the games he played a while ago in Morishita sensei's discussion group. He had finally given in to Waya and attended the discussion group. There, he met the other pros whom he met during Waya's shodan game. The discussion had been interesting as they discussed the games played by high-ranking go players. Once in a while, Morishita sensei would ask his opinion on a move, as if trying to test his knowledge and ability. He even played some games with Waya and Saeki-san, and in both games, he emerged as the winner. When the discussion ended, Morishita-sensei asked him to stay for a game with him.

Hikaru sighed as Morishita-sensei's words came back to him. 'I don't know if I should consider you as a prodigy. But to be at this level after only 3 years of learning go is an accomplishment that very few people will likely achieve. But there is one aspect of a go player that you lack. You don't have the determination. You seem to be contented with the current skills that you have, without trying to make use of its full potential. I don't know what hinders you to take a step. But your go is not something that you should just keep. You will only grow if you play with players of the same or higher level than you are."

He lost the game. But it wasn't the game that bothered him, but Morishita-sensei's words. Yes, he was right. He doesn't have the determination. Playing with Sai helped him to improve a lot. And he played internet go and in the salon to test how much strength he had acquired. But he still kept on losing against Sai. Before, there was someone who he aimed to reach. He wanted to be able to play on par with Sai. But after Sai disappeared, he just kept on playing go because it made him feel that Sai is still with him. But there is no one left to aim for. He kept on winning on all his games, against players in the internet, the salon, the go tournament, and even against professional players. But after he lost against Morishita-sensei, he began to realize that his current skill is still not good enough. He felt a little uncomfortable. Sai's go is supposed to be his go also. But to be beaten that badly…

He stood up and went to his room. The computer caught his attention. It had been a while since he last played net go. He sat down and logged into his account. Here in the internet, he can forget that he is Shindou Hikaru. He is just Fuji, the internet go player.


"I'm surprised you're here."

"Father told me that you have copies of last year's final match in the Tengen tournament. So, I just thought to drop by and borrow them. Do you have them, Ogata-san?" Akira asked.

"No problem. Come inside," Ogata said as he opened the door and let Akira in.

"I'm sorry if I've disturbed you," Akira apologized. "Were you resting before I came?"

"It's okay. I was just watching a game on the net," Ogata replied.

"Net?" Akira repeated, slightly confused. "Are you into net go?" He followed Ogata as he took a book from the shelf then handed in to him.

"Not really. But from time to time, I would check the net if Sai is in it. He's the only worthy opponent on the net," Ogata answered. "Here's the book. You can return it whenever you want." He then went to his computer and looked into screen. A slight smile crossed his face. "A good move," he commented.

"Huh?" Akira went beside him and peered into the screen.

"I thought that Sai is only the worthy opponent on the net. But I guess, you couldn't underestimate amateurs," Ogata said.

Akira glanced at the screen. "Fuji vs Matt856," he read the players on the screen. He then began to analyze the game. "This Fuji is good. It's quite early in the game but he already dominates it," Akira commented.

"This is his second game. I happened to see that a lot of spectators during his first game, so I watched also." Ogata pulled the chair and sat on it. Both he and Akira silently watched the progress of the game. And as they had expected, Fuji won.

But there was something in his game that bothered him. Some of his moves reminded him of Sai, but he's sure that Fuji is not Sai. And he also reminded him of the boy who won against Kaiou – Shindou Hikaru. After Yun-sensei had told him the name of the third board player, he never gave much thought about him. He was quite disappointed that it wasn't Shouji Riku. It was days after when he remembered meeting a boy named Shindou Hikaru in the Go Institute. But that only explained why he won against Kaiou, because Shindou Hikaru was taking lessons from go professionals. There is only one person he considered as rival, and he is no other than Shouji Riku.

The clicking of the mouse brought Akira's attention back to the computer screen and he was surprised with what he saw.

"O-ogata-san…?"

Ogata smiled mysteriously. "I want to play against him."


Hiya! I finally updated. A lot of readers may be expecting that Akira and Hikaru are going to meet during the tournament. Hehe… sorry to disappoint you. Actually in my initial draft, Akira arrived in the scene when Hikaru just finished the game. And they did meet. However, it was so lame and awkward, that I deleted it and revised the whole chapter. I thought it's still a little premature for them to really meet again. Don't you think so?

Thank for all your reviews.

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