Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.

Chapter 25 : The Beginner Dan Series II

20 minutes later, The Yugen no Ma room

Everybody was waiting for Shindou Hikaru to play her 1st move while the said girl herself was waiting for Fujiwara no Sai to tell her where to lay down the stone.

Sai…

I know how risky it is to play under 15 komi….Sitting next to his student, Sai stared at the empty Goban before him. He's not an ordinary player in a Go salon, he's as good as me. If I want to win under this condition, I've no choice but to play a dangerous game. He gripped his fan tightly before he made a decision at last, " The star, at the upper-left," he finally declared.

/Pachi/ Shindou Hikaru eventually played her 1st hand.

Outside the Yugen no Ma room,

Fujioka sighed tiredly in relief as he and his senior left the game room, " It took me so long to get the picture,"

" Yeah," Amano agreed, " But Shindou-kun doesn't seem frightenor anything, Touya-kun is here too, Maybe we should ask him about this," he suggested. As he opened the door of the observation room, he was taken aback to see the 2 unexpected guests, " Ogata-Sensei? Kuwabara-Sensei too?"

" The game finally begins at last, right? Amano-san," Kuwabara spoke in a friendly tone. It was a complete different tone of voice, not a mocking tone that he preserved only for Ogata.

" She surprises me," the columnist said as he approached the Honinbo, " 20 minutes just for one move," Taking a seat by the thin man, he questioned, " So, Kuwabara-Sensei is here to check out Shindou?"

" Yup, I got high hopes for that girl," the Honinbo proudly answered with a wide grin, " I felt it when I walked by her,"

" Just walked by?" Amano exclaimed with same shocking surprise like Ogata had when he had heard the old man's words, " It can't be high hopes from just that?"

" It's IN-TU-I-TION, he says," the terrifying 9-Dans clarified with a hard sarcasm in his frosty voice.

" If you keep making fun of my intuition, you're never going to be able to beat me, Ogata-kun," Kuwabara warned.

Bringing out a pack of cigarette from his pocket, the senior reporter marked, " Even if it's just an intuition, To catch the eyes of Kuwabara-Honinbo and Ogata-Sensei is impressive enough. Plus, the Meijin even requested to play against her himself,"

" What? He requested it?" the title holder and the 2 rookies cried out loudly.

" Well, maybe he wants to test how good his future-daughter-in-law is," Ogata theorized.

" O..Ogata-san!" Blushing into deep-red, Akira shouted, " We are not…,"

" Haha, it's not just because of that!" Kuwabara thought that there was another reason why Kouyo kept his eyes on the blonde, " That man can feel it too," he said quietly.

" Eh?" the 2-Dans uttered as Hikaru struck his father's stone, " She attacks? Now? In the early stage?"

The Yugen no ma room,

" Defense at 13-14," Sai instructed.

/Pachi/

/Pachi/

" 13-17" If I don't attack now, I'll lose. First I've to lure him in, let him attack me there, and then I'll counter back.

/Pachi/ Decently placing his white stone on the board, Kouyo played his next hand.

He doesn't follow my move…Looking up, Sai studied his rival. He's more careful than I thought…The longer the game continues, the more chance to lose increases… " 18-19,"

The observation room,

" What's she doing?" Amano grumbled in frustration, " Aggressive but foolish, it's useless," he critiqued, " Isn't the black captured if it loses this stone here?" he pointed at the Goban.

" She played too hard here," Waya spoke up.

" The shape isn't good either," Ochi added.

" She challenges him," Ogata noted, " She wants him to hit here,"

" But Father doesn't accept the challenge," Akira marked.

" What do you think about it? Ogata-kun," Kuwabara asked.

" I think she doesn't play well as usual," the man with bronze hair answered openly, he had witnessed Hikaru's excellent performance in the Young Lion Tournament before, " But I don't know what Sensei thinks about it,"

" He's a good instinct," the veteran old pro told the younger man.

The Yugen no Ma room,

Observing the game, Kouyo thought in silence. This game, it seems like a wild Go but it's actually quite deep. Not only that… He looked up from the game to steal a look at Hikaru. Why? This girl is just a 1-Dan, only 14 years old of age. Yet…What is it?...This threatening piercing air….

The observation room,

" The fight has spread throughout the whole board," Ogata reported, " Did she try to expand the battle field for..,"

" But it won't work," Kuwabara cut in.

" The result is clear," Amano wrapped up, " Black is demolished. What's wrong with her? She is the one who passed the exam with no loss! What's happening to her? Or….," he looked suspiciously at Akira, " Touya-kun,"

" Yes?"

" You've a fight with her, haven't you?" he questioned.

A/N: It's January 2001, so technically Hikaru is still 14, but she will be 15 this year :)

Ah, I know, this is the shortest chapter in this fic with 850 words only, I intend to end this chapter here... Just like Kathy said, " you are giving us just a tiny sip and I get thirst for more" Yeah, I'm evil! How will Akira and the others react? Gotta find out, ne?