"So Nase lost huh?"
"Yeah," Hikaru confirmed as he and Waya made their way down the sidewalk. "Lost by two and a half points to Komiya. I told her that it was only one loss, that she shouldn't let it get to her that much, but since it sort of drops her back into the pack with the other four front runners, she seemed a little nervous."
Shaking his head with a grunt, Waya shot back, "Heh, she needs to be careful or she'll start second guessing herself and lose the way Isumi did two years ago. She still has five games left, she should just focus on that."
Shrugging as he and Waya turned a corner, Hikaru replied, "Well… I guess."
Frowning contemptuously at his friend, Waya quipped, "What do you mean, 'I guess'? Of course she needs to get it out of her head and focus on the matches ahead!"
"I know I know," Hikaru responded, "I just meant that I don't think it really matters what either of us think or say. It's her mental battle now, and nothing we say to the contrary will help if she doesn't already believe it."
"Feh," Waya scowled, "Since when did you get so smart? You've been hanging around Touya too much."
Chuckling lightly, Hikaru shot back, "It's not Touya, it's just common sense. No one can fight your mental battles for you in Go, or in anything really. That's just how it is."
Shrugging his shoulders, Waya just sighed. It was rather difficult for him to argue the point given that Hikaru was in the Kisei League with a perfect record thus far while he was still struggling just to make it into 2nd preliminaries.
"So, where is this place we're getting lunch from?" Hikaru asked, breaking up Waya's train of thought. "I haven't seen any Ramen shops around."
Chuckling at that, Waya answered, "That's because we're not going to a ramen shop to pick up lunch for everyone, we're getting sushi."
"WHAT!" Hikaru all but screamed back, "But I want ramen!"
Shaking his finger at Hikaru as he stood straighter, giving the illusion that he was taller than he was, Waya retorted, "Just because you won today faster than anyone else in my study group doesn't mean you get to decide what we all have for lunch. That just gives you the privilege of going to pick up the lunch with me."
Glancing at Waya with an exasperated frown, Hikaru responded, "What you mean is that because I kicked your butt today in our match so quickly that you decided to make me come with you to get the meals while everyone else finished up their own games."
His jaw slacking for a moment at that remark, Waya shot back, "Hey, don't bring that into it. It's become tradition that the first pair to finish goes to get lunch. You didn't have a choice. Now because you won you're treating of course, but other than that…"
"Why am I treating?" Hikaru interjected. "I won, you should be the one to pay Waya."
Stopping suddenly at those words, Waya grabbed his chest and replied, "Shindou, that hurts. You dominate me like that today and then insist on gloating by asking me to pay? So much for the mighty Kisei League player, can't even pay for lunch."
Rolling his eyes, Hikaru exhaled and responded, "Oh come on Waya, at least let me decide what we have if I have to pay. Besides, it's not like I make all that much money either. You do a lot more teaching jobs and Go events than I do."
His brow contorting at this, Waya answered back, "What the heck do you mean by that? It's not like you have to pay to live at your place. Besides, you make way more than I do, so it shouldn't be that difficult for you to pay."
Cocking an eyebrow at this, Hikaru gave Waya a puzzled look. "How do I make way more than you do Waya? Sure I've played in a few more games since I made it to a few second preliminaries and such, but we only make about 10,000 Yen every time we win. Sure that's not chump change, but with all those extra teaching jobs you do, it has to even out."
They had begun to walk again, but at those words Waya froze, his eyes gazing at Hikaru in shock and disbelief. Could it be that Hikaru didn't know, that he had never even bothered to check his bank account? At last he said, "Hikaru, sure we make 10,000 Yen or so a win, but that's like for the Honinbo 1st Preliminary. Haven't you looked at your bank account lately?"
"Not since Mid July. My mom gives me a regular allowance of a few thousand Yen every week or two for lunch and stuff. I pulled a little money out of it to buy my computer back at the end of July, but I just used my bank card for that. Why do you…"
Shaking his head, Waya answered back, "No Hikaru, the game fee for the winner and the loser depends on the level of the match, and you're playing in the Kisei League buddy."
Gulping again, Hikaru inquired, "Well, how much does that pay then?"
Scratching his head as he glanced away slightly, Waya answered, "Wow. I'd… well I'd just assumed you knew. Guess that was kind of silly given all the other holes in your Go world knowledge. The game fee to the winner of a Kisei League match gets paid a little over one million Yen. The loser gets paid about 650,000 Yen, give or take. You've won two matches so far, so that's like two million Yen."
Had there been a bird in the sky at that moment in need of a statue to stand on, Hikaru would have seemed quite suitable for the task. Standing dumbfounded like someone who had just spent an hour trying to get into his locked car where he'd foolishly left the keys only to discover that there was a spare tucked away in his wallet the whole time, Hikaru stared off into space. Finally Waya began to pick up the sound of, "T-t-t-t-two m-m-m-mil-l-l-llion Yen…" being repeated over an over, muttered just barely above a whisper by Hikaru.
"But Waya… a million Yen for every win! I've won two matches already, do you realize how many millions of Yen that is?"
With a rather worried expression across his face as he was beginning to regret having brought this up at all, Waya replied, "Two?"
To be making so much money this fast, it was… dumbfounding. And to think he'd been taking an allowance from his parents still. His mother was even more ignorant than he was on this matter, not from a lack of interest in his income like he was, but rather from a complete lack of information on the subject of Go in general. She worried, fussed over his future, afraid that he'd find neither happiness nor be able to sustain himself on his own. In her ignorance she'd even fussed over the computer he'd bought. He'd have to tell her now, as soon as he truly came to grips with it himself.
Chuckling to himself slightly, Hikaru looked over, grinned at his friend and said, "Waya, I guess I will pay for lunch then."
###
Waya glanced over at Hikaru then back in front of him and said, "Shindou, what's that about your bet with Ogata?"
At these words Hikaru's head shot over to look at Waya. Somehow Waya had found out about the bet. Did he know the details, did he know that… "How'd you hear about that?"
Still looking forward, Waya answered, "I read about it in Weekly Go. They had a small article in the back mentioning the bet between you and Ogata over the outcome of your next match. There weren't any details on the exact terms of the bet though, just that it had something to do with Ogata acknowledging Akira, or you, or something like that. I guess Ogata refused to comment on it, and so I was going to just throw it out as garbage, but the whole thing about acknowledging you sounded like something you'd say. So I guess then that there is a bet?"
Looking back ahead himself, Hikaru then lowered his gaze slightly and nodded. "Yeah, it's true. If I win then Ogata said that he'd acknowledge that both Touyaand I are on his level."
"Why is Ogata acknowledging Touya so important to you? It's not he's your friend or something, isn't he? I meant….I know he's your rival and all, still…"
"Waya, I'm not sure myself either. After Touya's lost I just saw him so sad, so despaired. It hurt me badly somehow…"
"Hey, Shindou, Nase won't like this, I'll bet…"
"What does Nase have to do with this anyway? WAYA!"
"Anyway, I'll throw a small birthday party at my apartment next Saturday. If you like, ask Touya if he'd like to come over."
"Are you sure? Waya, you never seem to like Touya much."
"I don't either. But since you call him a friend…I guess I could endure him too."
"Okay, I'll ask him then."
Turning his head slightly to glance over at his friend, Waya asked, "So what's Ogata get then? Money, or an apology? Maybe you have to admit that you're below him?"
Not bothering to look up, Hikaru just shook his head.
"Cocking an eyebrow, Waya inquired further, "Then what?"
What did he do now? Did he tell Waya the truth, inform him on the conditions of the bet, or lie to him? His initial thought was to do the latter as he'd become quite good at it over the years, but then Waya had always been there to give him advice on how to handle something when he was stuck. Perhaps, on this, he could trust him a little.
"If I lose… then I have to let him play Sai."
While Waya had only been watching his friend out of the corner of his eye, at this statement not only did his head whip around completely towards Hikaru, but Waya froze in his steps. "Hikaru… d-do you know Sai?"
Taking a deep breath, Hikaru exhaled deeply. Yes Waya, of course I know Sai. He's the one who taught me to play, got me interested in the game. He's my teacher, mentor… my best friend. Not that I can tell you that. Shaking his head, Hikaru answered, "No, I don't know him."
This answer though only brought about further confusion for Waya. "But then, if you don't know him… how can you let Ogata play Sai?"
Hikaru shot back, turning his head down and away in frustration. "Look, it all happened fast. I was angry at what he'd said to Touya, I wasn't really thinking and then he laid out his terms and before I knew it he was gone and…"
Shifting the pair of bags in his one hand over to the other, Waya reached up and scratched the back of his head then said, "Man Shindo, that's a pretty sucky situation. So what are you going to do about it if you lose?"
Chuckling at Waya's statement, Hikaru looked over at his friend, the person who was so much like an older brother to him. "I can't lose. I just have to win, then it won't matter."
Waya remained silent.
###
Reaching the building entrance, Waya waited as Hikaru opened the door before beginning to move through. As he did so, Waya said, "So, you want me to stop by next Wednesday so we can play and get you ready for Ogata?"
Shaking his head, Hikaru answered, "No, my friend Akari is coming over. She's not that good, but playing her really helps calm my nerves."
"Ok." Glancing back at Hikaru, Waya then added, "Akari huh? Are you two timing Nase now?"
Frowning as he rolled his eyes, Hikaru replied contemptuously, "I am not dating Nase! How many times do I have to tell you again?"
At that Waya broke into laughter. "Isumi was right, your face is hilarious when you say that."
