The Never-ending Road: Chapter 37 – Two Princes

By Leitbur

Stepping off the elevator and glancing about, Ochi saw no sign of his opponent. Either he was already waiting for him in the game room or else had yet to arrive. But then what need had Hikaru Shindo to show up early to a game like this? Even down in the 1st floor lobby he had heard conversations around him discussing Hikaru's most recent victory over Ogata Judan.

As he walked into the 6th Floor lobby Ochi quickly discovered that what had been occurring on the 1st Floor was just as popular amongst the pro players here. Glancing off to his right he spotted a large crowd gathered around the counter looking over what he could only assume was either a game record or some sort of makeshift board. Right in the thick of it he spotted Isumi, Waya, and Kadowaki, two of whom had actually been there to witness the match firsthand.

"Yeah, at this point while the game was going on I was thinking that Shindo would make a play for this stone here, but then he played his stone here instead."

A collective 'ooh' filled the air causing a scoff from Ochi who moved on to check the game listings. If he wasn't mistaken then Isumi was also playing today in the Honinbo 1st Preliminary Final… yes, there he was, against the newly promoted Miyashima 4 – Dan. Then there was Waya who was playing… there he was, in the Kisei Tournament bracket. Hmm, so it appeared that he was playing Toyama 2 – Dan in his 1st Round match in that tournament. Kadowaki was likewise playing his Kisei match, his opponent being Tsujioka 2 – Dan.

Tsujioka had been one of the players to pass with Akira Toya, although his pro career had been marred by far more struggles than Toya's had thus far, as he had failed this year to gain promotion to 3 – Dan. Now that the Oteai was gone it would be even more difficult to move up quickly. Not that such things bothered Ochi; he'd outdo all the other 3 – Dans under the new system. Waya would be no challenge if their last game had shown anything, in fact his only challenge likely lay in his opponent today.

The sound of the elevator door opening along with the sudden silence from those around him piqued Ochi's curiosity as he turned around from his examination of the schedule board to see what had caused such a response. For an instant Ochi felt his blood freeze and his eyes widen before both returned to normal as he looked upon the figure of Akira Toya 4 – Dan exiting the elevator. Moments later conversations picked up again as Ochi watched on a few seconds longer then turned back to check the schedule once more. He hadn't thought that Akira had a game today but… no there it was, against Kawasaki 3 – Dan in the Meijin tournament.

"Hey Toya-sensei, come over here please! We're looking over Shindo's game against Ogata and we'd really appreciate your opinion on this position!"

Out of the crowd from which that voice had arisen Ochi made out Waya's irritated voices shouting back, "We don't need him in this!"

With a soft chuckle that seemed so innocent Toya smiled and began to move over toward the group. "All right, but just for a minute. I want to head to the game room shortly."

Frowning contemptuously as he watched Akira make his way over to the counter, Ochi snorted in disgust. Others might have seen that innocent smile as just that, but Ochi knew better. Underneath that sheep clothing was an arrogant brat with a major superiority complex. Just watching him walk annoyed him, acting as if he actually was the young Prince of Go that so many others made him out to be. Akira would probably have to leave the country to find a Go Salon or school Go Club member that hadn't heard his name.

While Akira might have been one of only a handful of young pros that Ochi respected, his overwhelming popularity due from what people expected of him rather than what he had done was quite irksome. How he would love to wipe that smile off Akira's face, to make him look upon him with the serious, focused expression that Akira gave to those players he truly respected himself. Unfortunately Ochi's strength was not enough to answer such a challenge and he knew it. Right now there was only one other Japanese lower Dan pro with the strength to answer such a call, the other young Prince of Go.

"Thank you Mr. Amano for letting me cut the interview short. I promise we can talk again after my game today."

Once again silence hit the room as a voice Ochi knew well emanated out of the opening elevator doors. "Not at all Shindo, I can't have you be late for your match today, not with your 19-game streak on the line."

As Hikaru Shindo stepped off the elevator followed by Amano, Ochi felt his frown increase. Unlike the others here today, he had not taken the time yet to look over this now infamous match between Hikaru and Ogata, preferring to wait until it was printed in the next Weekly Go. Under normal circumstances he likely would have taken a look in preparation for this match, but not with Hikaru, he knew this opponent well enough already.

He didn't hate Hikaru, didn't even dislike him really, it was the way Akira Toya looked at Hikaru and not him that Ochi couldn't stand. They may have been equals as pros, colleagues on the job, but Akira Toya did not see Ochi as a rival the way Ochi saw him. Akira had eyes for only one person as a rival, the teenager that Ochi watched now, the Upstart Prince, Hikaru Shindo 2 – Dan.

"Hey Shindo!" Isumi called out, "We're discussing your match, can you explain this move here? We're divided on why you chose this move over this other move."

Smiling brightly as he altered his path, Hikaru nodded as he replied, "Hey Isumi, Waya, Kadowaki, nice to see you. Sure I'll take a look, don't know how useful I'll be though."

Several members of the crowd broke into laughter as they parted to allow Hikaru and Amano, who seemed quite interested in hearing the game commentary as well, access to what was now revealed to be a small magnetic Go board. As he was about to reach the counter however Hikaru suddenly stopped as his eyes met Akira's. For a long moment the two princes stared at one another, a slight tension in the air, but then it was gone as Hikaru cracked a wry grin and said, "Good morning Akira."

A coy smile sliding across Akira's own face at those words, he returned, "Good morning Hikaru. You played a brilliant game against Ogata last week. A truly classic match."

"Yes it was," Amano added, "at times toward the end Toya I almost felt like I was watching your father play. Ha ha, I probably shouldn't speak like that though. By the way Toya, I'm looking forward to seeing your match against Zama Oza tomorrow as well. Now that Shindo here has defeated Ogata you must keep up."

"Akira will do just fine Mr. Amano," Hikaru interjected, "I'm quite sure of it. I'll of course be there tomorrow too."

"Thank you Hikaru, Mr. Amano," Akira added with a slight bow, "I certainly attend to do my best."

At those words a muffled comment came from off to one side and turning to see who had said it Amano smiled brightly and said, "Waya! It's good to see you again. Shindo here has just been telling me about your battles in the Tengen 2nd Preliminary. He says you play your 2nd Round match tomorrow right?"

His face flushing from the sudden attention, Waya replied, "Umm, yes I am, against Kamimaezu 7 – Dan actually. Shindo, you were talking to Mr. Amano about me?"

Nodding with a smile, Hikaru answered, "Yep, he was asking me about my advancement in the Tengen Tournament and I told him he should talk to you too since both you and Ochi are also in the second preliminary. We all passed the Pro Exam together and now we're all playing in the Tengen 2nd Prelim together."

"Speaking of Ochi…" Isumi chimed in, his eyes scanning over to the schedule board where Ochi still stood. Staring back at the crowd that had now followed Isumi's eyes to Ochi, the short Go pro pressed his glasses back up against his face and with a taut face turned and headed for the game room. He had no intention of joining in on their fawning of the so-called 'two princes'.

Removing his shoes and stashing them away before heading into the playing area, Ochi moved to the bulletin board to check where he would be seated and upon finding it made his way off to the third row of boards. Taking a seat on the far side of the goban Ochi took a deep breath and then exhaled, his eyes focusing down on the board before him.

He had won five straight games since his loss to Akira in the 1st Round of the Meijin Tournament's 1st Preliminary back in August, but such a streak paled in comparison to the nineteen game streak Hikaru had accumulated. Unlike Akira, Ochi did not feel fear and intimidation when playing Hikaru, despite having yet to defeat either one as a pro player. Everyone hyped Hikaru, top pros like Ogata and Kuwabara took interest in him, but for Ochi Hikaru was still just one of the two players that had passed with him. He might have been in the Kisei League, but as Waya had said before, Hikaru was his classmate, his rival… and he supposed his friend. Even so, he had no intention of becoming the twentieth straight notch on Hikaru Shindo's belt, even if it meant his notch would be next to Ogata Judan's notch.

A few minutes later Ochi spotted Hikaru entering the room followed immediately by Akira, then a good five seconds after that by Waya and Isumi. While three of them made their way to the bulletin board, Hikaru instead scanned the room until his eyes locked onto Ochi, at which point he began to make his way over.

As he took his seat across from his opponent, Hikaru said, "Good morning Ochi. Feeling good today?"

Snorting at Hikaru's remark, Ochi replied, "Good morning. Does it really matter to you, it's not like we're playing in the Kisei League after all."

Cocking an eyebrow at that, Hikaru shook his head and grinned broadly. "True enough, but it's not everyday that the two of us get to face a quality opponent in the 1st Preliminary now is it? So I hope you don't think I'm taking this game lightly Ochi, because I have too much respect for your strength to do something that foolish."

His eyes widening slightly, Ochi replied, "Hmph, well just as long as you don't think I'm going to just let you make it into the 2nd Preliminary."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Moments later Waya walked by behind Hikaru and took a seat next to him on his right. "Hey, we're next to each other again."

Turning and nodding with a smile, Hikaru replied, "Yep, this ought to be fun, the whole passing class together like this. Oh Waya, thanks for putting down my lunch order for me."

Replying with a friendly wink, Waya responded, "No problem Shindo. I understand you have to do those interviews and such. Hey, once the three of us make it into the Tengen Main Tournament maybe they'll want to do an interview with all three of us huh?"

Laughing at that, Hikaru just added, "Yeah, maybe."

"Sorry about that guys, hopefully they won't follow us here."

Waving him off as he took a seat at the booth of the burger joint down the street from the Go Association building, Waya replied, "It's ok. We'll just order some drinks and have our lunch here. Not like you asked all those people to bother us like that. Idiots."

"Yeah. But while the other players interrupting to ask about Shindo's match was bad enough," Isumi responded as he took a seat across from Waya, "compared to the amateur players on the 2nd and 1st floors the pros were considerate."

Chuckling as he glanced over at Hikaru who was taking a seat next to him in the booth, Waya added, "Did you ever give that cute girl your autograph Shindo?"

"Oh shut up Waya." Hikaru shot back contemptuously. "I hope this stuff settles down though by next Thursday, I have to face Sasaki 6 – Dan in my Tengen match then."

"Well hopefully it will," Waya commented as he began to reopen the wrapping on his pork bun, "since it'd suck if only one of us made it to the Tengen Main Tournament."

"Don't get cocky Waya, you still have to beat Kamimaezu 7 – Dan tomorrow and then… who do you play after that?"

Waya shrugged. "I don't know, I never checked the schedule. Seemed silly to do that until after I played Kamimaezu. After all, if I lose it won't matter and even if I don't it's better not to think about who I might have to face next before I face my current opponent."

Turning to look at Hikaru, Isumi said, "Shindo, did you see who Waya's playing next?"

Hikaru shook his head. "Nope, I didn't even check to see who I'd play after Sasaki in the Tengen 2nd Prelim. Guess I was just focusing on the Kisei League more."

Sighing, Isumi just shrugged his own shoulders. "Well I guess you're entitled to that Shindo. Must be nice."

Frowning at Isumi's remark, Hikaru retorted, "Hey, being in the Kisei League isn't all fun and games Isumi. The pressure is intense, not to mention the distractions, or did you already forget why we're eating here now? Man, I don't remember Akira having this kind of thing happen to him after he beat Ichiryu, why just me?"

"Probably because Toya came in with so much hype that stuff like beating Ichiryu was expected of him." Waya answered between bites of his lunch. "Besides, Toya's pretty isolated, I mean do you ever see him having lunch with anyone? You're more approachable. Then there's the fact that he's Koyo Toya's son. Not many people want to upset the former Meijin."

"Besides," Isumi added, "If they talk to you now then it seems cooler for them that they knew you before you won the Kisei title."

"But I haven't even won the right to play in the challenger, let alone challenge for the title." Hikaru rebutted.

Chuckling at Hikaru's remark, Waya replied, "Yeah but you're the upstart that just pulled into the lead by bumping off Ogata. You should do more than just play Go online. I was reading over some online Go message boards the other night and several of the… 'experts' I guess is the word, on those boards are picking you to run the table. One guy even said that the betting odds on you just shifted dramatically."

"What am I, a race horse?"

"Come on Hikaru," Isumi chimed in, "you should know that if it can be bet on, people will do it. Look at all the people who lose betting on the Nihon Series. That's just how things are."

His eyes widening as sudden recollection hit him, Waya swallowed his food and then said, "Oh Shindo, speaking of titles and final series, did you hear about Ko Yeong Ha?"

Cocking an eyebrow as he turned to look at Waya, Hikaru answered, "Huh? Ko Yeong Ha? What about him?"

His excitement starting to build, Waya replied, "I just remembered but I saw an article about it online the other day. It said that Ko Yeong Ha had won the right to play for the Ch'eonweon title!"

Shock and confusion beginning to cover Hikaru's face, he responded, "The Cheo-what?"

"The Ch'eonweon title," Isumi provided. "It's basically the Korean equivalent to the Tengen title, although I believe their tournament is somewhat different. This is interesting news, ought to make the next Hokuto Cup quite interesting, especially if both of you have a title by then."

His eyes glancing up out the window as he stared off into nothing in particular, Hikaru repeated, "The Chunwon title huh? Hmmm."

"Heh, I can't wait for the Hokuto Cup," Waya interjected, "this time I'm going to be one of the three Japanese representatives. I won't let Ochi or that Kansai guy beat me!"

"Yashiro" Hikaru added.

"What?"

"His name is Yashiro."

"Oh," Waya responded. "Well this time I'll be sitting next to you Shindo when you beat the pants off Ko Yeong Ha."

"You might not have to wait that long to see Shindo face him again Waya." Isumi chimed in. These words were enough to draw both Hikaru and Waya's full, undivided attention. Realizing that the pair were waiting for him to continue, Isumi continued, "The preliminary matches for the Toyota Cup will be starting in January with the main tournament in March."

Recognition appearing across Waya's face, he replied, "Oh yeah, the Toyota Cup. I'd forgotten that one was coming up."

Recognition however, had not been so kind to Hikaru. "Umm guys… what's the Toyota Cup?"

Chuckling at this, Waya then replied, "Well I guess it is pretty new, so I'll let you off on this one."

Confusion still plastered upon Hikaru's face, Isumi answered, "The Toyota-Denso Cup, it's a big international tournament that takes place every two years here in Japan. This will only be the second tournament. Participation is determined through a preliminary tournament. Only the top four players from last time are seeded."

"Oh." Hikaru replied, comprehension beginning to dawn on him.

"Trust me Shindo, it's big, Ko Yeong Ha will definitely be in it," Waya added with a grin. "After all, they don't call it the World Oza Championship for nothing."

Klak.

Placing his stone firmly on the board without the slightest waver or doubt, Hikaru scanned over the board even as he removed his finger from the stone. Ochi had certainly gained strength since he had last played him back in May. The Ochi from before would not have been able to see through his attack to the upper left so easily. When it came to analytical thinking, there were few lower Dans as talented as Ochi, giving careful thought to the whole board.

Klak.

His expression unmoving as he observed Ochi's latest move, Hikaru quickly reached for his own bowl. Unfortunately for Ochi, Hikaru had also improved since that time.

Klak.

That move ought to hurt, taking advantage of the separation that Ochi had failed to defend previously and threatening to cut through his opponent's shape completely. Of course that move alone would not have been troubling if it wasn't for the fact that Hikaru would soon secure the center and right side of the board. Ochi could gain the lower left corner if he wanted, but in doing so it would allow Hikaru to finish sealing up the rest of his position.

Really though, while the outcome itself was no longer really in question, what was in question was how much longer Ochi would continue before resigning. He had fought well at the beginning, but Hikaru had brought answers to each stone Ochi had played. This is what he had promised his classmate and friend, his full concentration and strength, and he had delivered. Anything less than this would have been an insult to Ochi's pride, and in fact would have likely hurt worse than this crushing defeat would. It all just came down to…

"I… resign."

A warm smile sliding across Hikaru's face at his opponent's concession, he then added, "Thank you for the game." Before he could say anything else however Ochi had risen from his seat and begun to make his way out of the room, leaving Hikaru to clean up. Oh well, he supposed if the roles were reversed he might have done the same thing.

As he finished putting away the stones, Hikaru glanced to his right to take a look at Waya's match. From the look of it Waya was leading by a fair margin, and as long as his friend played his usual game, Hikaru was quite confident that Waya would prevail. Sadly he couldn't stay to watch the rest of the match, as he had promised Amano a chance to continue the interview, even if he'd prefer to watch the match instead.

Rising from his seat, Hikaru turned and spotted Akira doing the same as the crushed expression across the face of his opponent told the entire story of the match. Making his way toward the door, he was met by Akira who paused a moment to allow Hikaru to pass, then without even a second glance back into the room, Akira followed the other prince out of the room.

Author's Notes:

Well some of you have been requesting that I update soon; was this fast enough? Actually I started work on this one on Thursday and got almost the entire thing written then. Despite a little trouble opening up the lunch scene, most everything else just flowed right out, leaving basically just the end of the chapter and a few sessions of proofreading. Sadly the odds of you getting one this fast again ANYTIME in the near or middle future is highly unlikely. In fact barring a miracle there will likely only be one more chapter before New Years, with the possibility of a second one warily still looming. Sorry but I do have lots of stuff to do for the holidays (I'm hosting Christmas with my family after all). While I suppose I could have sat on this one for a few more days I decided that it was best if I just release it now.

Well we certainly got back to Go with this chapter, and I don't really mean to be jumping back and forth from chapter to chapter with romance and Go, but I really did need to at least try to deal with the Akari situation. That still leaves Nase, but she still had Pro Exam matches over the weekend so I figured it best to leave her alone. Please note that the title of this chapter and the corresponding idea for it did not come from the song, "Two Princes" but rather out of the Batman Begins line, "You're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gothom. You'd have to go 3,000 miles to find someone who didn't know your name." Given the context of Hikaru's sudden boost in recognition amongst his peers, this line seemed to click with me some so I ran with it.

Terms:

New Promotion Rules: This is just a quick one to explain what Ochi was referring to with Hikaru. Should Hikaru not gain instant promotion to 7 – Dan, then as the player with the most winnings amongst 2 – Dans Hikaru would be promoted to 3 – Dan, at which point Ochi would be competing directly with Hikaru (barring any other instant promotion) for the top prize money for promotion. Note also, 40 wins as a 2 – Dan in any major, international, and select minor tournaments also grants a promotion to 3 – Dan. At 20 straight wins, Hikaru is on his way already.

Nihon Series: What Isumi is referring to is basically the Japanese equivalent of the baseball World Series, placed between the Central and Pacific Leagues in Japan's Puro Yakyu (Professional Baseball). Yakyu by the way is a combination of the Japanese words for 'field' and 'ball'. While some of you may be familiar with Japanese baseball due to such players as Hideki Matsui, Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki and lately Daisuke Matsuzaka, I will point out that of all the western sports played in Japan, baseball is the only one to have an original name not copied from the West. The game was introduced to Japan in 1872 and in 1878 the first formal team was established. Interestingly, until 1906 attending or viewing a baseball game in Japan was free of charge. This is because it was seen as shameful to take money from people for something the players liked to do.

Most teams are named after corporate sponsors rather than their location, and until 1993 with the arrival of a professional football (soccer) league there was almost no heavy corporate fighting over advertising due to baseball's unrivaled popularity. I will point out also that many of the teams, based in metropolitan areas mainly, are having economic difficulties. The word Nihon means Japan, as this is what the Japanese, or Nihonjin, call themselves. If you're wondering, when Marco Polo traveled to China he asked the Chinese people there what the island to the east was called, and they called it Japan, so that's what he wrote on his map, and so that's how the West knew it as.

Ch'eonweon Title: As mentioned in the chapter, this is the Korean equivalent of the Tengen Title. Unlike the Japanese version however, there is no titleholder waiting at the end, but rather the current titleholder plays through the tournament as well. This of course makes it much harder to hold onto the title. Sometimes also called the Chunwon Title (as Hikaru did to help with pronunciation) it is currently held by Ko Geuntae 5 – Dan and the prize is 13 million Won ($11,300).

Toyota-Denso Cup: This international tournament, which takes place once every two years, is a 32 player single elimination knockout tournament. Held in Japan and sponsored by Toyota-Denso Corporation, the tournament includes 13 players from Japan, 7 players from China, 7 players from Korea, 2 from Asia, Oseania, and Africa, 1 from Europe, 1 from North American and one from Central/South America. The first player to win the tournament was Korea's Lee Chang Ho 9 – Dan, "The Stone Buddha", who is considered by many to be the best player in the world right now. The current champion is Korea's Lee Sedol 9 – Dan (23 years old), quite possibly the next best player in the world after Lee Chang Ho. The winner receives 30 million Yen ($285,000) plus a luxury car from Toyota worth about another 10 million Yen ($95,000). It is also known as the World Oza Championship, and ranks above all other international tournaments save the Ing Cup.

Note: I am aware that there were discussions on changing the number of players for each country, likely upping Europe and N. America, but I am not sure of any official numbers.

On a side note, there has been talk that Lee Chang Ho is beginning to fall from the top of the Go world and may soon be surpassed by Lee Sedol. The dominating style that Chang Ho once played with has since been broken down by the new generation of players, forcing a drastic change in his playing style that he is still perfecting. This is likely the closest comparison to the Hikaru/Akira rivalry in the real world of Go at the moment.

Now to answer your questions. No word on Waya beating Kamimaezu 7 – Dan yet as he has yet to play him. As for my thoughts on writing professionally, I have indeed given it some consideration, and have several stories of varying length and genre in the works. However due to a long hiatus in writing due to my computer dying I got rusty, so I started writing this story to try and get my rhythm back. Never thought I'd end up going off like this, but I have every intention of finishing this story. Writing professionally would probably be my dream job.

Ok, Akari did not make up any lies to the Go Club. If you have read Chapter 2 of the Pro Exam side story you may recall that the club refused to believe that her and Hikaru were not dating regardless of what she said. All Akari did was show up at the club very upset and told them about the scene she walked in on and the rest of the club simply drew their own conclusions from that. Is he owed an apology, probably, but Akari is not to blame for this.

A match between Hikaru and Koyo Toya you say? Well… that might be coming sometime in the future… maybe.

Sadly no, I was not disclosing a secret there, or at least I don't believe I was. You see when I write quite often I don't plan out the he said she said of it, but rather just let myself be immersed into the scene and allow the words and actions to naturally flow. I knew I needed to get from point A to point B where she kissed him, but as I wrote different outcomes kept veering off the path. In one case Hikaru did confess his love. Another time when I went back Akari told Hikaru to be with Nase, that she'd cheer for them, and another time Hikaru got frustrated and dropped Akari like a stone. Eventually I got what you now see. I am not suggesting however that Akari and Hikaru will pair up. For more examples, Hikaru's thoughts on the kiss and such before the Ogata match varied from what you now see to suggest that he realized he had feelings for Nase, so a scene can run away from me, but I always reel it back in.

I don't think that Hikaru is lame for talking to his grandfather about this at all. In terms of family I just couldn't see him talking to his mother about this and his father is never around, as is common amongst middle class Japanese families. This left Grandpa, whom he had already talked to about Nase previously. It was the best source available.

Note: I have decided to change Hikaru's speech so that he now refers to Amano as Mr. Amano in dialog to show more proper respect. I have also corrected this in previous chapters as well. Thank you.

So, what happens next you ask? Well before we get the answer to that I will be writing the last chapter of the Pro Exam Side Story. While the three passers will be revealed there, it will also be featured in the next chapter of this story, as well as the results to Akira's match against Zama Oza (I will not be writing this match, the last time I wrote Akira's match Hikaru almost ended up having to arrange a match against a dead guy). Also revealed, the outcome of Waya's Tengen match, and the final details on the new promotion rules.

Well less reviews, but I suppose I didn't really give you that much time to review so it's still quite a few. I know it probably gets redundant but I really do appreciate all the reviews I receive. Thank you and R&R!