Chapter 4

"The Young Lions Tournament is certainly shaping up nicely this year."

"Yeah," Doi replied, "Looks like Akira Touya will win for the third straight year."

"I don't think so," Kosemura replied. "Shindo Beginner – Dan has been playing superbly, despite losing to Ko Yongha."

The Weekly Go pressroom was, as usual, alive with opinions and commentary. "You mean that kid who replaced Touya as the 1st Captain in the Hokuto Cup? Sure he played strong against Ko Yongha, but that just shows that had Kurata let Toya play then he would have won."

Sitting back in his chair and listening to the conversation, Amano smiled. It was good to be back here, covering the world of Go. Finally he added in, "While it does boil down to what each has accomplished, you're forgetting what really makes this interesting. Toya and Shindo see one another as rivals, a statement made only stronger by the fact that Koyo Toya, Kuwabara Honinbo, Ogata Judan, and Kurata 7 – Dan all have high opinions of Shindo. Who wins this Saturday is not as important as the knowledge that those two are the future of Go in Japan."

There's a silence after Amano finishes, then one of them says, "Well it'd be great if Shindo showed the same level of skill as Toya. His game against Ko Yongha was impressive and all, but I don't know. He did have that stint of forfeits last year."

Kosemura responded, "But Shindo is very determined now. He will give Toya a challenge, and I think he'll even win."

"Wow, so if Shindo and Toya keep going like this, then next year they could take the Hokuto Cup from Korea! Japan can be on the comeback internationally, and the young blood will continue what Ogata and Kurata have started!"

Amano chuckled. Yes, dreams are certainly nice to have, especially since you never know if they'll come true or not. That's what makes grasping for them so much fun, inspiration to get yourself up the next day. Checking his watch, Amano saw that the games should just be starting.

"Oh yeah, aren't both Toya and Shindo playing today?"

Someone reached for a copy of the game schedule. "Yeah, oh, Shindo has an Oteai game today. Come to think of it, if he wins today, doesn't that mean…"

Several people moved to check the Oteai point list. Amano meanwhile had already known. "Yes, if he wins today, Shindo will be promoted to 2 –Dan." With that Amano stood up and headed out. He had quite an interesting article to prepare for.

###

One thing was evidently clear to Hikaru: Nakayama was not making things easy for him at all. The two had never played a game before, the match they should have played before being one of Hikaru's many forfeits from last year.

He knew its significance of course, but honestly his rank meant less to him than his game against Akira did. True that the higher his rank, the stronger his opponents would become, especially once he broke 5 – Dan. That was a long ways away though, and Akira was right around the corner.

Taking a pause to read the board, Hikaru saw that he was behind. The game was of course still young, and there were many things he could do. The more pressing question though was why he was behind. Sure Nakayama was good, but Hikaru felt that he was stronger. His eyes flickered over to where Akira was playing his Third Round match of the Tengen preliminary. If he won then he'd advance to the final round of the 1st preliminary.

Akira, that was the problem. Here he was, playing a game, and he had his rival on his mind. It wasn't just unfair to himself to play Go like this; it was an insult to Nakayama for not giving him his full attention. If Sai were here now, what would he say to such a lack of mental discipline? Sai…

On the other side of the room Akira was having only a slightly less difficult time with his own opponent. He wasn't losing yet, but the game was certainly much closer than he knew it should have been. There was tenseness in his body today, an excitement that he was struggling to contain. Hikaru, soon he would face Hikaru. He knew he had to focus on the game at hand of course, but his rival continued to swim through his mind. While it was true that Akira took all his games seriously, this Saturday's game was special. A game with Hikaru always was…

The lunch bell sounded, and there was a low rumble as people began to rise and head for the lounge to relax and have a bite to eat. Both Hikaru and Akira waited for a moment though, examining the boards before them. Then taking a deep breath, one rose, followed by the other, and they exited the room as well.

Sitting at the table with several other players, Nakayama wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Tough game Nakayama?"

Nakayama turned to look at the man who'd spoken and said, "I suppose so. At first I was worried, but Shindo wasn't playing as I'd heard he could play, so I felt encouraged."

"That sounds good. So why the sweat?"

Nakayama sighed. "His last few moves before the break seemed to be much stronger. I think he's starting to come around, and it was making me sweat a little."

The man chuckled. "Keep thinking like that and you'll lose for sure."

Nakayama nodded. "What about you Kobayashi? Aren't you playing Akira Touya in your Tengen match?"

Kobayashi nodded. "Yeah, and mine is about the same as yours. He started out slow, but he's starting to really pick it up. You can really feel the intensity beginning to rise."

"Guess that just means we'll have to pick up our games as well." Glancing around, Nakayama tried to spot the pair. "Hmmm, I wonder where those two are anyway. Usually Shindo eats in here with everyone."

"Maybe he went out to eat with Toya? I heard that they're pretty good friends, that Shindo goes to Toya's family Go Salon a lot."

Nakayama nodded. "Yeah, Waya mentioned that to me before. If he was here today I'd ask him myself, but he's not playing today. From what I've heard Waya and Isumi say though, those two are rivals."

Kobayashi blanched. "Seriously? Is Shindo really that good?"

"I know," Nakayama replied, "it's hard to believe that there could be someone else out there with Toya's skills, but I'll know before today's over."

Just then Hikaru walked into the room and sat down by himself, eyes closed in deep thought and reflection. Watching him the whole time, Kobayashi then said, "I guess he wasn't with Toya. Strange though, you'd think that if they were friends and rivals, that they'd eat lunch together."

It was at those words that Nakayama remembered. The reason he had yet to really see Hikaru play in Waya's Saturday study group. "They're playing each other in the finals of the Young Lions Tournament on Saturday. Maybe they're staying away from one another as a way to prepare?"

Kobayashi paled. "If that's true, then they must be rivals. If Toya needs that kind of mental preparation for Shindo then…"

Nakayama began to sweat.

###

Three and a half points. Hikaru sighed. He'd been able to turn it around and win by three and a half points. So he was now a 2 – Dan. Rising from his seat, Hikaru turned just in time to see Kobayashi resign to Akira. So they had both won. Akira still had a game tomorrow in the 1st round of the Judan tournament's 2nd preliminary, but Hikaru now had the rest of the week to focus on his match with his rival on Saturday.

Heading out into the lobby and beginning to put his shoes on, he was joined moments later by Akira, who began to do the same. As Hikaru got his second shoe on, the pairs' eyes met, and they gave each other a sharp glare. Right now they weren't friends, they were rivals, preparing for an imminent clash on the battlefield.

As they broke their gaze from one another, Amano appeared out of the elevator. "Ahh, Shindo, so you won your game today? Congratulations on making 2 – Dan."

Shindo smiled and thanked him. Amano then turned to Akira and said, "Toya, well done on winning your match as well. I was wondering if I might be able to get an interview." Hikaru sighed with a smile. Akira was still the one who garnered all the attention. His rise in Dan was just a side note. Well, one day that would change. Moving to leave, Hikaru then heard from behind him, "Shindo, I was actually hoping to interview the two of you together."

Hikaru froze. Did he hear that correctly? Turning around, he saw the same surprised look on Akira's face that he was certain was on his own. "You want to interview me?"

Smiling broadly, Amano answered, "Yes, I would like to interview both of you. I'm thinking of an angle something along the lines of this. '21st Century Rivals.' What do the two of you think?"