Lost Memories

Chapter 13

While animated and excited chatters filled the huge reception hall as conversations continued among the go professionals and officials, deafening silence had fallen into the Korean table. Ever since they had settled down on their respective seats, they had focused all their attention on the food that was served in front of them. Considering that they had arrived so late for lunch, people wondered if they must have been so famished. But it wasn't hunger that seemed to have removed their ability to speak to one another. Not one dared open the topic; therefore they gave all their attention to the food as an excuse.

But after the food had been cleared up, An Teson, Imu Irafan, and three other Korean pros who had came to support the team cast anxiously glances at Ko Yongha while the young pro calmly ate his dessert. That incident a few moments ago had them worried at the young prodigy. But it seemed that he had gotten over it at such a short time and even more unfazed than they were. It was just so unbelievable that someone unknown managed to defeat him just like that. Maybe if they had heard about it through gossip, they would think that the game might be a fluke, that Yongha gave himself a huge handicap that he wasn't able to overcome. But they had seen the shape of the stones at the end of the game. And they knew it wasn't a fluke. It was pure skill that had defeated Yongha. And that had shaken them from their previous feeling of victory after winning the Hokuto Cup.

"Do you think he's really okay?" one of their companions whispered to An Teson, finally breaking the silence that had loomed over their table. But his question only earned a shrug as reply from the Korean team leader. Looking at Yongha right now, one would think that he was just his normal self. But they knew that nothing had been normal since he had left that room. Something had definitely changed in him. Only they, who had been with him for some time now, would know that behind that blank expression and arrogant attitude, there was clear anticipation and determination in his eyes.

Yoomin 2-dan narrowed his eyes as a thought came to him. "That was quite sneaky of them to let someone beat Yongha after he just finished his game."

"Stop talking nonsense," Imu frowned at him. "Yongha isn't that weak to be defeated just like that. Besides, even Amano-san didn't know about that kid. If that boy is a pro, he would have been part of the Japanese Team."

An Teson nodded in agreement. "I doubt the Japanese team or even the pros in here know much of the boy. They are a proud group. They won't put Touya as the first board if they honestly think there's someone way much stronger than him. They…" he suddenly stopped when he noticed two figures approaching their table.

The Chinese team members Yang Hai and Lu Lee greeted them when they reached the table.

"Congratulations," Yang Hai sincerely greeted. "Your team really showed great skills during that last game." Then he gave a sheepish smile. "I would have favoured the Japanese team to win to spite you for making us lose all our three games against Korea, but I guess their skills weren't enough to beat your team."

The Korean team leader smiled back. "Yeah, thanks. Congratulations too for winning second. I guess this result was kind of expected…" he then paused as his face turned serious. "But I never expected Japan to have such fearsome youngsters." He turned to his right and stared knowingly at Yongha. "And worse, there's still another one coming, huh?"

"What do you mean by that?" Yang Hai asked curiously.

"He's hidden in the shadows," An Teson simply said, which confused the Chinese pros even more, then he turned to Yongha. "But what if he chose to remain in that shadow?"

"He won't," Yongha simply answered. His eyes sharpened as he looked at his glass. Unable to have his rematch against that boy was unimaginable for him. One way or another, that boy will have to show up. And if possible, in the next Hokuto Cup.

"Japan is a different country from ours, Yongha," An Teson said. "How will you keep track of this boy?"

"Sorry, but we seem to be at lost at what you're discussing," Lu Lee commented trying to follow the conversation between Ko Yongha and An Teson. "Who is this boy you've been talking about?"

"My rival," Yongha replied curtly as his eyes landed on the stout man with glasses sitting in a table a few distance from them. Korean go world was not unaware of the happenings in the Japanese go. They keep track of all notable go players, regardless of what country he belonged to. But they don't concern themselves on appearances of new pros. So, if there was someone who could provide him information if ever that boy finally showed himself to the go world, it would be no other than the go journalist.

They were suddenly surprised when they heard a chair moved backwards and looked up just in time to see Yongha standing up.

An Teson stood out as well. "Yongha! Where are you going?" he called out to him.

"Just need a chat with someone," the Korean prodigy replied with a shrug then turned to Suyon. "Come with me."

"Hey, let's go first to Ochi. He might want to go with us," Isumi suggested.

Waya snorted at that. Ochi go with them? Hah! He lost all his games in this tournament, so he wouldn't have a face to gloat at them. True, somehow they were friends since they had been together since insei days. But with Ochi's stuck-up attitude, Waya was more tolerant to him, rather than being friends with him. And knowing his personality, he was sure that Ochi would prefer locking himself in the bathroom and make those weird tapping right now rather than go with them to meet with their insei friends. But since Isumi had already walked towards Ochi's table, he had no choice but to follow. He saw Isumi shared greetings with the other pros, then turned his attention to Ochi.

"Sorry, but I'm going home after this," he heard Ochi's reply. 'Typical.' He wanted to snort but not in front of the other pros seated in that particular table. 'I told you so,' he cast an amused look at Isumi.

Amano was talking to Touya Akira when he noticed the messy haired boy. "Ah, you're Waya-kun, aren't you?"

That surprised Waya. He didn't know that Amano-san actually knew his name. "H-hai," he responded with a stutter.

Amano gave him a polite smile. "I remembered you were in the Hokuto Cup eliminations."

"But he lost to me," Ochi interjected. Waya felt a nerve tick on his forehead as he glared at the arrogant boy with glasses.

The table then turned silent when all of a sudden they heard a call from the other table. Then, they saw Ko Yongha walking towards their table. Waya didn't know if he should laugh when he saw Touya Akira stiffened as his eyes followed the boy who had just defeated him.

"Yongha-san…" Amano mouthed as the young pro stood before him. Yongha gave a polite nod at Touya then turned to Suyon as if giving some instructions. Suyon nodded and turned to Amano.

"Amano-san, can you spare us a minute? There's something Yongha wants to ask of you," Suyon said.

"What was that all about?" Isumi asked, quite confused at the turn of events.

The people on the table just looked at each other, already arriving at the same conclusion. "Probably regarding that boy," Kurata sighed.

"Boy?" Waya asked curiously.

"Oh, you haven't heard it yet… Yongha got his ass kicked by some boy just after his game with Akira-kun," Ashiwara informed them cheerfully.

"What?!" Isumi couldn't believe it. Someone defeated Ko Yongha? That Ko Yongha who had just defeated Touya Akira?

Waya, on the other hand, considerably paled. 'A boy defeated Ko Yongha?' The scene that he had witnessed more than an hour ago flashed back into his mind. That boy… he went upstairs with Ko Yongha, right? Could he be the one?

"That boy with blond bangs…" he whispered so dazed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Yashiro, whose seat was just beside where he was standing, snapped his head at him in surprise.

"You said something, Waya?" Isumi asked. "Do you have any idea who that boy might be?"

Waya glanced up to the expectant faces looking his way. "That boy… I think I…YEOW!" he exclaimed as he felt hot liquid poured over his pants.

"Oops, sorry Waya-san," Yashiro apologized as he stood up and clumsily took a napkin to help Waya wipe over the spilt coffee on his pants. He then stood up and pulled Waya away from the table. "I have an extra pants in my room. I could lend it to you."

Waya shook his head, although he felt uncomfortable at the sticky liquid on his leg. "N-no, it's okay. We're going home anyway."

"I insist," Yashiro said with a determined face. "Excuse us," he turned to the other occupants of the table and pulled the reluctant Waya away.

"Now that was weird," Kurata mumbled.

"What was?" Akira asked as his eyes continued to glance at Yongha, Suyon, and Amano who were at the back still deep in discussion.

"Uhm… nothing," Kurata sighed and turned his attention to boy beside him. "Anyway Touya-kun, don't you find it disturbing? Regarding this mysterious boy and all?"

Akira glanced once again at threesome and turned to look at Kurata. "Rather than being disturbed, I'd rather prepare myself for the time he'll finally show himself up. If he's really as good as Amano-san said, in no time he'll show himself before us."

Kurata laughed. "Hah, that's the spirit Touya-kun."

Akira bit the inside of his mouth as he closed his eyes. 'If that boy is really Sai, it will take more than just hard work to beat him… if based only on the last game we've played, the difference in strength is still quite far apart…' He opened his eyes and scanned them over all people scattered in the room. 'I may have lost to Yongha today… but it will be me who will defeat Sai…someday…'

"Yashiro-san, I told you it's okay already," Waya told him as he followed the boy but Yashiro kept quiet and continued to proceed towards the room that was reserved for the team's representatives.

"Yashiro-san…"

"We need to talk," Yashiro said quietly when they were inside the room.

Waya looked at him curiously.

Yashiro stared back at him, as if trying to decide the best approach to discuss the matter with him. "When they were discussing about the boy who defeated Ko Yongha, I heard you mutter something about a boy with blond bangs," he started.

Waya's brows furrowed. "Yeah, so?" He didn't even realize he managed to voice out his thoughts back there. Then his eyes widened in realization. That boy was Yashiro's friend. "You know him," he whispered in surprise. "That boy with blond bangs. I heard him and his friends talking about you. He was the one who defeated Ko Yongha, wasn't he?"

Yashiro slapped his hand over his face and groaned. 'That damn Shindo… So it was him.' He already had an idea that it might be him. There was no other boy his age that he knew that could come close to Shino's strength. Not even Touya Akira. But part of his bargain with him when Shindo agreed to help him out was to keep his identity a secret. He didn't know the reason but he never tried to pry anyway. He had wondered about it a lot but since he was the one asking for a huge favour, he kept his silence.

Yashiro chose his words carefully. "I don't know what you're talking about. But I'm friends with a boy with blond bangs. What made you think he was the one who defeated Ko Yongha?"

Waya smirked. He knew well that this conversation was on his advantage. "I saw him talking with Ko Yongha and Hon Suyon. Then he went with them upstairs. Who else could it be?"

Yashiro remained silent, not knowing what to rebut. Waya had seen Shindo. He resigned to giving futile attempts on denying Shindo's involvement with the game against Yongha. He did the only thing that he could do – he bowed his head to Waya.

"Please keep it a secret."

Waya stared in astonishment at the boy in front of him. "Why?" he whispered. "If he's that strong, why does he hide?"

Yashiro straightened up to look at him, then sighed. "I don't know."

"I thought he's your friend."

"A friend?" Yashiro muttered, then shifted his leg uncomfortably. "H-he's more like my… teacher," Yashiro added in a low voice.

"What?!"

"He helped me train okay?" Yashiro grumbled, his voice sounded uneasy. "I played with him for three weeks in preparation for this tournament."

"You've got to be kidding," Waya mumbled in disbelief. "He's just about our age."

"He's actually my age," Yashiro replied as he leaned back against the wall. "It means he's younger than you."

"He's a goddamn prodigy!" Waya mouthed in amazement.

"You don't know what he's truly like," Yashiro scoffed. "Even I haven't seen how strong he can really be in a serious match." Then he turned his serious eyes towards the brown-haired boy. "But he helped me. And I owe him that much. Please, Waya-san…"

Waya looked at him trying to contemplate on everything he learned. He knew his instincts were right the first time he had cast his eyes on the Shusaku game that boy had recreated. There was some mystery on the boy that had intrigued him and he wanted to find out more about it. A slow smile curved on his mouth as he finally made a decision. "Okay… but I want to ask a favour in return."

"GOOAAALLLLLLL!!!!"

Two figures atop the bleachers watched in amusement as a certain teenager with blond bangs was joyously trampled by his teammates when he scored the goal.

"He's really a good soccer player if he wants to," Hiro commented.

"It's just practice. I wonder why they're so worked up," Akari said.

"I heard they're going to have a practice game against a fairly strong team," Hiro replied. "Of course, they're serious about it."

Hiro's lips lifted in amusement as his eyes scanned through the area and landed at a group of young girls, obviously first years, who were giggling by the side of the field. "He's pretty popular, don't you think?" he commented, nudging Akari to point at the girls.

"SHINDO SENPAI! GOODLUCK!"

The girls then scampered away in giggles, while the other soccer club members laughed at the flustered boy.

Hiro smiled as he shook his head. Hikaru had really matured in looks over the years. The start of this school year had indeed been good to him. He was given a regular spot on the soccer team, finally graduating from being a bench player. Though he was also officially a member of the go club starting that school year, he spent most of his club hours in the soccer club. There was nothing more they could do about it since soccer club was his first choice. Sometimes, he couldn't help but think how unfair it was for Kami-sama to grant both talents to Hikaru, when he or Akari could have been a much better recipient for such ability in go.

"Hiro-kun…" Akari called in a whisper.

"Hmmm?"

"Isn't that Yashiro-san?" Akari pointed at the gray haired boy standing near the football field.

"Damn, you're good Shindo!" Tsukasa, one of Hikaru's teammates, jokingly remarked. He was referring more on the bleached haired boy's charm on girls rather than his earlier score.

"More like dumb luck," Hikaru replied back cheekily, referring to his shot, but his face still flushed in embarrassment.

Another senpai rumpled his hair with an affectionate laugh. Hikaru had to stifle a groan at the way his teammates treated him. He was already a junior but his senpais still treated him like a first year. Aside from Hiro and Akari, he had close camaraderie with his soccer teammates. Maybe it was his character; he had always been easy going, which drawn people towards him. Despite his laziness and streak of absence during club activities, he still continued to get along with teammates.

"Oi," Sakai called as he tossed him a bottle of water which he easily caught. He said his thanks but Sakai's next words made him pause. "Is it true you also joined the go club?"

Tsukasa's eyes widened at that. "What? You're playing that old man's game?"

Hikaru frowned at him as he threw the empty bottle into the trash can. "Hey, don't insult go. Besides, my friends are crazy about it."

"You mean Tsutsui and Fujisaki?" Tsukasa asked. "Are they the reason you joined? Honestly, go doesn't suit you."

"Hah! You'll be surprised if you know," Hikaru gloated. "I'm quite a talented person."

"You cocky brat!" Tsukasa caught him in a headlock and rumpled his blond and black hair fiercely ignoring Hikaru's yelp of protest.

"Hey, who's that?"

Hikaru managed to turn his head from Tsukasa's hold to glance at the person his teammate had pointed.

"Who?" one of his senpai asked curiously.

"He doesn't look like he's from our school," Tsukasa commented noticing that the boy was wearing casual clothes.

"Maybe he's from other school scouting on us," another teammate joked. Though their soccer team was a decent one, they were only in mid-rank as against to the other teams in the prefecture so it was quite rare for other schools to scout on them.

"Huh?" Hikaru squinted his eyes, noticing how familiar that spiked gray hair looked. "Hey Tsukasa, let go of me. I know that guy. I think he's looking for me."

Tsukasa slapped him on the back before he gathered his things to the showers. Hikaru then dashed towards his friend.

"Oi, Yashiro!"

Yashiro nodded his head in greeting. "Yo."

Hikaru laughed and gave him a hard smack on the shoulder. "I forgot to congratulate you yesterday. It was a great game. You really improved a lot," he said cheerfully, failing to notice the seriousness in Yashiro's tone.

"Thanks. Uhm Shindo… Can I talk to you for a bit?"

"Yeah sure… You want another game?" Hikaru then paused as he looked down at his sweaty jersey. "But I guess I have to take a shower first. Is it okay if you'll wait for a while? I'll finish quickly then pack my things. We can go to the usual place."

"It's okay. I'll just wait outside," Yashiro said.

"Hey Shindo, wanna go to the arcade?"

"Nah. A friend is waiting for me outside," Hikaru said as he lazily swung the duffel bag over his right shoulder.

"Oi Shindo. Practice starts tomorrow starts at 4pm. Don't be late," the soccer captain told him sternly.

"Aye aye, bochu," Hikaru saluted at him then jogged towards the exit.

He grinned when he saw the familiar spiked head half covered by the pillar. He couldn't wait to recreate and discuss his games during the Hokuto Cup.

"Yashiro!"

Yashiro looked at him with unease, then took a short glance at his left.

Slightly confused, Hikaru followed where his eyes had looked at found himself under the intense observation of an older boy with messy brown locks and brown eyes.

"Shindo-kun, this is Waya Yoshitaka. Waya-san, meet my friend Shindo Hikaru," Yashiro introduced.

Uncomfortable silence followed as Hikaru tried to absorb what it all meant. The boy looked familiar. Then a sudden flash of memory made him remember the boy with the same features sitting one seat from him during the Hokuto Cup. "What is the meaning of this, Yashiro?" he asked quietly.

Yashiro gave another glance at Waya, then took a deep breathe.

"Shindo-kun, Waya-san here saw you with Ko Yongha and Hon Suyon yesterday. We were wondering…" Yashiro tried to explain but Waya walked forward and cut him off.

"Shindo Hikaru, I don't know if you're even aware of the fuss you've created. You were the one who defeated Ko Yongha, weren't you?"

Finally, I managed to finish this chapter. Sorry for the late update. I've been too busy these past weeks.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter. Please read & review.

Thanks for all your reviews:-)