Standing in the elevator as it took him up towards the fifth floor, Hikaru waited with nervous anticipation. The butterflies were dancing in his stomach this morning and he had to admit that his confidence was not at the same level it had been during the Hagiwara match. In some ways the pressure in this match was a little less in that it was not a life and death match where the loser was eliminated. Still, the round robin format actually was rather worse than a normal knockout format in that it not only relied on the player's own skill, but also on the skill of all the other players in the other matches. While he could lose a match and still continue on, he then had to rely on other players losing as well to keep himself in contention. It was the Pro Exam all over again, except this time those participating were far more dangerous.
The elevator doors opened and Hikaru stepped out and looked around. As he did so he spotted a familiar mustached man rising from his seat and begin to move towards him. "Shindo, I was hoping to catch you."
Smiling weakly, Hikaru groaned inwardly and replied, "Good morning Mr. Amano."
"I was hoping to discuss a few things with you, being that you made it into the Kisei League and all. Would you mind giving me a few minutes?"
Not wanting his focus distracted, as it was hardly firm anyway, Hikaru sighed then answered, "Perhaps after my game today? I'd really like to get to the match room."
Smiling and nodding, Amano replied, "Of course Shindo. I understand. After the match then."
"Thank you." Moving into the lobby more on his way to order in lunch, something he was doing more and more these days since he didn't have the opportunity to spend time with his friends at lunch on Thursdays, Hikaru noticed that the eyes of the others in the room were watching him. It had occurred the day before as well when he'd played his first Meijin Tournament match, and now again today with the higher Dans.
It was questionable whether the sudden interest that the other players had in him was due to the fact that Amano's article had finally come out or if it was due to his making it into the Kisei League. The article had been pretty much what he had expected, although it had focused far more on Hikaru than it had Akira. Discussing his quick rise up into the pro ranks, comparing him to Kurata at times, it discussed heavily the rivalry shared between Akira and Hikaru. He had concluded it by pointing out that not only had both he and Akira made it into the Kisei League, but that they were scheduled to play at the end of it as well. Part of him even wondered if the Association had gotten wind of the rivalry and rigged the match to be that way in the first place. The group and player pairings were supposed to be random, but then Hikaru also understood that the Japanese Go Association only existed due to sponsors, and flaunting a young rivalry like the one he had with Akira was a good way to catch the interest of potential sponsors. Even Amano's title to the article seemed to suggest that, Eternal Rivals: The 21st Century's Elite Stars? It certainly sounded impressive.
Of course not all of the pro players paid much attention to anything but strength shown on the board, and making it into the Kisei League the way he had was certainly one way to catch everyone's attention. His game against Hagiwara had been shown, and even analyzed in a side column by some pro player he didn't recognize, and he had certainly made Hikaru sound like a genius at times. If only they knew that Sai was the true genius, he was nothing in comparison. One day though, he might well be, but not now. The more likely reason for all the glances though came from a combination of the two, not that it really mattered to Hikaru at this moment, he had other things to worry about.
Ordering his lunch, Hikaru moved towards the game board to see where his match was scheduled to be played, and finding it moved off in that direction, stopping to take off his shoes. Over the last week and a half he'd started to receive an unusual amount of phone calls from the Go Association with requests by customers asking for him to play teaching games, lecture at Go events, one even asking him to do a commentary at a televised Go match. Was this what Akira had to endure as well, this sort of attention? He'd declined them all, and informed the Go Association that he would be busy until August 20th, and they had agreed to leave him be until that time.
As he placed his shoes on the shelf, Hikaru heard a voice from behind him call out, "Hey Shindo!"
Turning towards the voice, Hikaru smiled as Saeki made his way over, slipping out of his own shoes as he did so. "So today's the day huh? How are you feeling?"
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Hikaru replied, "All right I guess, a little nervous. This will be my first official game against a titleholder."
Chuckling at that, Saeki responded, "No kidding. I wish I had some advice for you, but honestly I've never made it into a League or anything before so I have no idea what it will be like. Kuwabara may be old, but he's no pushover. Still it's not like I have it much better off today."
Cocking his eyebrow, Hikaru then said, "Why? Who are you playing today?"
Frowning at the thought, Saeki replied, "I'm playing Toya in the 1st Round of the Tengen 2nd Preliminary. I'm gonna have to give it my best if I want to win."
Nodding, Hikaru added, "Yeah, you and me both." Giving one more look, Hikaru then took his leave of Saeki and began making his way back towards the game room. So Akira was here as well. Unlike the last time though, he would have his own game and thus not be present to watch him play today. Honestly, Hikaru was not really sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he really didn't need to feel the added pressure of his rival watching him, and after losing his Judan match against Morishita three weeks ago Akira really didn't need distractions today either lest he be knocked out of two tournaments inside a month. Yet at the same time it had been Akira's presence during the Final Kisei Prelim match that had pushed him to fight on at times, and this time it would be absent. Could I win without that? Well either way, he'd just have to persevere without Akira present.
###
As he entered the game room Hikaru discovered that his opponent had already arrived. With a devilish smile across his lips, Kuwabara lifted his arm in greeting and boisterously called out, "Well Shindo, how nice of you to come. How are you today? Sleep well? Kids your age need their rest after all."
Nodding with a slight smile of his own as his mind began to shift slightly into game mode, Hikaru answered, "Good Morning Kuwabara-sensei. I did sleep well last night. I hope the same can be said for you. My grandfather says old men need their sleep too."
Cackling at Hikaru's remark, Kuwabara eyed him with a grin as Hikaru took his seat on the chair cushion and replied, "Ha, that's the spirit kid. I had a feeling about you ever since I first saw you. Now here you sit, Toya's rival. You must be enjoying that publicity huh?"
Adjusting himself in the strange chair, basically a floor cushion with a back and an armrest to one side, Hikaru stared down at the empty board. "Not really. I didn't decide to walk this path for fame after all."
Nodding knowingly, Kuwabara continued, "Yes yes, of course. You did it to face Toya right? Well I must say that I've been looking forward to witnessing your true potential for some time, and that's why I'm not surprised in the least that you've made it here to the Kisei League."
Cocking an eyebrow at this statement, Hikaru replied, "Are you saying that you expected me to make it this far?"
Cackling again, Kuwabara answered, "No, not expected. Let's just say that I had a feeling that you could make it here if you really put out the effort. Once your rival made it in though I was fairly certain you'd follow him here. Ogata's been talking about the new wave that you and Toya are now making for some time, even before you got here. To tell you the truth though, I'm rather disappointed." Brushing a hair out of his face Kuwabara leaned a little closer to his opponent and grinning finished, "You see, I had hoped our first meeting like this would be in the Honinbo Finals."
Shock slid across Hikaru's face at those words. Kuwabara had expected to face him first in the Honinbo Finals? What sort of warped thinking was that? To think that he would not just get into the Honinbo League, but win it before arriving into any of the other tournaments that the two might appear in. Or was it merely a ploy to distract him? Kurata had once mentioned that while Kuwabara acted confident he was actually desperate, trying any trick or mind game to gain an advantage. That must be what he was doing here. But then again, if it was true…
"You know, a young energetic kid like you should get out and exercise more. Next time I go golfing you should caddy for me. How about it?" As he continued to speak Kuwabara watched the boy before him with great interest. It was true that he had been keeping an eye on him for some time now, and though many others had failed to see it, let alone acknowledge it until recently, this kid's strength was largely untapped. While it was true that the boy had risen quickly into the pro world after he first learned to play, Amano's article having filled in many of the gaps from Akira Toya's story of a year ago, it was hard to believe that he could have tapped into all that talent so quickly. That only left one answer, that this boy, despite the talent he currently showed, was still a budding flower, a cherry blossom that had yet to reach full bloom. Truly, it was likely that his potential talent was greater than his current talent.
And against all that potential talent and skill here he sat before him, ready to do battle with the young lion who was growing with every move he made. Just looking at him now it was easy to think that his calm demeanor and small frame made him weak before the holder of the Honinbo title, but Kuwabara was not so naïve. He could feel it, hidden beneath the surface, the intensity and anticipation of this game seething through the boy, waiting to be unleashed. It made the hair on the back of his hand stand on end, and he couldn't wait to see what the boy could do.
The game recorder entered the room now along with the timekeeper and made their way over to the table off on the side. A minute later two more people appeared at the door and Serizawa 9 – Dan and Hatanaka Meijin made their way into the room. Even though Hikaru was not in their group, if what they had heard and read about him were true, it was a good idea to observe Akira Toya's rival with care and see how he measured up. An opponent like Kuwabara Honinbo ought to be a good way to measure him.
At last the buzzer sounded and each player removed the tops of their go bowl and reached for their stones. Taking a deep breath Hikaru dropped two black stones onto the board. As he did so numerous white stones sprinkled onto the board. Counting the stones out, there were ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen white stones. So he would go first.
Glancing at his hand, Hikaru's brow furrowed for a moment. He had felt the difference in the stones. These were slate stones; only once before had he played a game with such quality stones, and that was in the Yugen no Ma. It certainly spoke to the level of this game. Placing the stones back into the mulberry go bowls Hikaru lowered his head and as Kuwabara mimicked the same they both said, "Onegaishimasu."
As they raised their heads Kuwabara gazed up into his opponent's eyes and saw that the calm, small child was gone. Those hellfire eyes burned with a heat that he had seen so often before. Yes, this was what he had been waiting for, ever since Ogata had suggested a new wave was coming. A chance to take on that wave, to show them the strength of those that had come before, so that they might burn it into their minds as surely as Hikaru's very soul now burned. Show me what you can do boy.
Taking a stone in hand, Hikaru placed it down at the 3-4 point in the upper right corner. This was the opening he favored most, and he needed to feel as comfortable as possible just now.
KA-CHI!
The timekeeper jumped as Kuwabara smacked the stone down on the board with an unusually great force. Hikaru though had not moved at all, his face stoic and calm. He had been expecting something like that, and he was not about to fall for such an obvious trick.
Ka-chi.
More interesting though was that for the most part, Hikaru had shown no sign of being intimidated by his ploys, or by the fact that he was playing a titleholder. He had played Koyo Toya in the Shinshodan match, but this match was different, the pressure to succeed higher. Almost all the other young pros he had played, especially in the Shinshodan matches, were quite intimidated and nervous even before he started putting pressure on them, yet this boy seemed to be as calm as if he were playing a game with a friend. This would be an interesting game. Continuing to ponder the board, Kuwabara suddenly heard a noise.
Ton. Ton.
Hikaru had begun to tap his Go bowl with his fan. Looking up at Hikaru, Kuwabara grinned inwardly. So he wasn't the only person who was willing to try and play mind games. Cheeky kid. Still, it's a good response. Taking a stone in hand, Kuwabara then placed his stone down in his upper right corner at 3-4 and leaned back in his chair. Yes, this was going to be an interesting game indeed.
