Summary: The journey of Sai and Hikaru continues when Sai returns. Encompasses the point from when Sai disappears to the Hokuto Cup.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, etc. pertaining to the manga series, Hikaru no Go, by Yumi Hotta, and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.
Chapter Eight: Endings
Go had been the most dominant part of Hikaru's life for so long now as his education fell to the wayside that he almost forgot about his graduation. His mom was there to remind him though. It was lucky he didn't have any matches that day. Touya had already informed him that he would be skipping his for that exact reason, not that either of them really cared either way. School wasn't something professional Go players really needed after all.
Hikaru also wasn't attending high school despite his mother's concerns, seeing as he had never excelled at academics anyhow. He was attending his graduation ceremony to pacify his mother though and see the classmates that he barely recognized anymore one last time. He lived in a totally different world than they did now and was only drifting further from them as time passed. It may be depressing, but it was also true and he couldn't do anything about it; probably wouldn't do anything about it, even if he could. Go had been the direction his life had been pointing him towards all along and he wouldn't turn from that path.
The ceremony was boring, to say the least, but he got his diploma like everyone else, and suffered through the many speeches and other farewells until the reception where all the graduates, faculty and parents gathered together. It was hard to find people in the crowd, but his mind was also on other subjects. He knew that Touya was in a match against Serizawa-9-dan for game 6 of the Honinbou league and he wanted to know how it was playing out.
He spotted his mother talking to Akari's mother and turned away before he was spotted and dragged into a conversation. He wondered where Akari was anyways. She was the only person in this school that he still talked to, since they were childhood friends as were their mothers. They had drifted apart as well ever since Hikaru had discovered Go and it seemed too late now to try to recover the distance. From here on, their paths would be truly separate. He would continue pursuing the Hand of God with others she did not know and she would continue her regular life with ordinary friends who did not already have fulltime jobs, going to school like a teen their age would usually be doing.
He wondered if it would be okay if he just left now as he was feeling really awkward just standing outside on the school grounds with no one to talk to. That was when Akari spotted him. She had been taking pictures with all her friends from the Go club, though if they all passed the entrance exams, they would still be attending the same public high school.
"Hikaru," Akari waved him over with her camera in the air.
Hikaru wandered over to her, recognizing the faces of Akari's friends that were just leaving. He didn't see Mitani though, but shrugged it off. "Hey. Our mothers are still talking over there somewhere," he said as he pointed in a general direction, having lost them in the crowd again.
"Well, they must have a lot to talk about, having known each other since preschool," Akari smiled. "Adult life is probably a lot busier than ours." Her smile faded a little at the remembrance that Hikaru was pretty much leading an adult life now. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "So, you're not going to high school right?"
Hikaru nodded affirmatively. "Do you know where you're going yet?"
Akari shook her head. "We still have to take the placement exams." Hikaru nodded in understanding.
"Well, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that."
Akari glared at him playfully. "It would have been easier if you had just taken the time to study a little, you know."
"Nah," Hikaru made a face. "School was just too boring. It was never for me."
Akari shook her head, exasperated, but it was probably true. She was glad Hikaru had found what was really meant for him in the end, even though it had taken him from her. To keep the depressing thoughts away she started the conversation on another tangent. "I'm still planning to continue playing Go, so I'll definitely join the Go club at whichever high school I get into."
"What if they don't have one though?" Hikaru asked. He knew regular kids usually weren't interested in such mind wracking games. It took too much patience, thought and concentration for most of them, especially with school getting harder to manage.
"Then I'll just start one," Akari stated firmly. That brought back memories of how they had helped build up Haze Junior High's Go Club from when it had only had a lone member, Tsutsui-san. Hikaru had no doubt that Akari would be able to do it though.
"Good luck then," he smiled a little.
Akari had another thing on her mind though and she fidgeted as she tried to gather the courage to get the request out. Hikaru just waited patiently, not wanting to rush her. His friend had always been a little on the shy side, though when she wanted to and had to be, she could be assertive as well.
"I'll definitely be in a Go club when I start high school," Akari started slowly, not looking at him, "so when that happens, I was wondering," she paused before starting again, "I was wondering if you could come teach us, as in me and the others in the club?"
She turned towards him again, surprising Hikaru at the sudden movement. "I know it's a little selfish of me to request that after I told you I didn't want you around at our Go club anymore because of Mitani, but even if he ends up at the same high school now, I don't think it matters anymore. We've all missed you, Hikaru and we barely see you anymore, as it is. Now that you're not even going to high school anymore…"
Tears were starting to well up in her eyes and Hikaru was starting to panic. Sai swatted him with his fan to calm him down and Hikaru rubbed the back of his head, pouting. He did calm down enough to register his current predicament though, watching Akari wipe her eyes discreetly.
"Hey, it's okay. I understand, really," Hikaru assured her. "Of course I'll come by to teach. I think it'd be nice to spend some time teaching others my age. Usually when I have to play shidougo, it's against old men." It wasn't that Hikaru minded anymore, now that he understood Go better, but it was nice to spend time around kids still. He still liked being able to be carefree and not so serious all the time.
"Oh, that's right," Akari suddenly remembered. "You're a professional. Are you allowed to just come and teach us like that? Do we have to pay? I don't think we can afford it…"
"Woah!" Hikaru held his hands up before she could fret any more. "You don't have to pay anything. I just want to come and have fun. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while, Akari."
Akari smiled sadly. That was because they hadn't seen each other in a long time now. She hadn't wanted to bother him, knowing that he was always up late into the night studying his Go, though she didn't know just like most of the world didn't, that he stayed up late at night playing a ghost, also known as his friend and mentor.
"Oh, I can't come whenever I have games, jobs or study meetings with anyone, though," Hikaru added and Akari nodded understandingly.
"As long as you can come even once, it'll be enough," she smiled. It would just be nice to see him again. Their conversation was stopped at the arrival of their parents, so Hikaru could finally leave. He wanted to see if he could catch the end of Touya's match. Akari stayed longer to continue taking more pictures, though.
Well, Hikaru didn't end up making it to see Touya's game, being held up by his mother and having to carry his and Akari's bags from the graduation ceremony, but that was okay since he and Touya ended up discussing it anyways. Touya had resigned in the end, but it had been very close. He was still young after all and the fact that he could push 9-dans this far already was testimony to his skill.
Either way, it was Hikaru's turn now as the true preliminaries to decide the other two members of Team Japan for the North Star Cup arrived. Hikaru and Waya were looking over the match-ups. "It's seems all the guys from Tokyo have been separated," Hikaru noted.
"Well, that's reasonable," Waya said. "We do know each other better, so it would be a better test of our skill to make us go against new players.
Hikaru agreed. "It seems the other four players are comprised of one each from the Japanese Go Institute's West and Central branches," he noted as he continued scanning the list, "as well as two players from the Kansai Go Institute. It seems the second round for the four winners of the first round will be played at 3:00 pm and then the two winners from there will be the members chosen for the tournament."
Waya looked at the match-ups more closely. "Well, we're not playing against each other either way, so we can all eat lunch together." They had been put in separate blocks so no matter how the ladder went up, they wouldn't meet. Waya was actually grateful for that fact, though he hated to think that way. Shouldn't he want to play stronger players to improve his own skills?
However, his mind didn't seem to think that way. He didn't want to have to experience Shindou's strength again firsthand after that time during the Pro exams when he had lost. He knew that he had gotten better since then, but Shindou's growth had far exceeded his. He could tell just by observing Shindou's play and observations at Morishita's study sessions as well as the ones at his apartment. Shindou's ability to read the board and think more deeply, going tens to twenty steps ahead of the game blew him away. He just couldn't keep up.
It was really frustrating to him at times because though he wanted to be stronger, the more he experienced Shindou's own rapid growth the weaker it made him look and feel. He could physically sense the distance growing between them as Shindou flew past him, heading straight for Touya Akira. When they had been insei and Shindou had first announced his goal was Touya, he had thought that it had just been all talk, but now he knew it wasn't. Shindou was going farther than Waya could ever manage to reach and his goal was right in front of him. It was no wonder Touya was also moving as far ahead as he could. If he stopped or stumbled even once, it was obvious that Shindou would then have the advantage and the young Go star would not allow that.
Morishita-sensei had always told Waya not to think of others as too incredible, else he lose his confidence entirely, because once he did, he would have already lost the match. It was too bad that Waya couldn't seem to stop the thought though and it was making him depressed. That was why he was glad he wouldn't have to play Shindou. Against him, he had a sense of doubt of whether he could really win when faced with Shindou's strength, but against others like Ochi, he knew he still had a chance. He really hated thinking that way though and was terribly ashamed of it.
He didn't have any more time to berate his own weakness though as they entered the playing room. The other players from the other branches hadn't arrived yet, but both Ochi and Iganaki were already present. They exchanged morning greetings and pretty soon, only the two players from the Kansai Go Institute were left to come.
Waya was lost in his thoughts again as he reviewed the match-ups. If he won his first match, his second round opponent could be either Ochi or a 3-dan from the Kansai Institute. Ochi he could face, having beaten him once, but he didn't know the 3-dan's strength. Of course, either way, he knew it would be a tough match, but he still had to focus on his first round opponent first. He would be a beginner-dan from the Western branch. He doubted any beginner-dan could have the same strength as Shindou, dubbed the strongest beginner-dan ever by all lower dans that had faced him, but he would still have to be careful.
Soon, the referee came in to give them their appointed seats. Waya and his opponent, Akiyama were at the back of the room, with Ochi and Tsusaka from the Kansai Institute, who had just arrived with the other missing player, beside the first pair. In front of them would be Yashiro and Iganaki, and then Shindou and Shibata beside them.
Every game would have 90 minutes of allotted time for each player, with one minute per hand after that. The komi would be five and a half. The second round would take place at three in the afternoon, so the four players from the first round would have to finish lunch and return to the playing area by that time. With that said, the games began.
Everyone exchanged formalities and started. Tension was high in the small room as everyone had a lot riding on this one game. As soon as you lost, you were eliminated from the choosing. It would be wise to tread cautiously. Sai watched Hikaru's game as he paused at one point. His opponent seemed impatient, obviously wondering how he could take so long for one hand. It had been nearly twenty minutes, like the shodan match against Touya Kouyo, though this time it wasn't a starting hand.
Sai smiled. He knew that Hikaru as always was already unravelling the game and seeing it all play out in his mind; he was checking for traps, setting them and figuring out how to best attack and defend so he would win. His opponent may not see it, but Sai could. Even as Hikaru's opponent looked positively scandalized that Hikaru had wasted all that time to play a regular hand, Sai knew the game had already been won. His opponent didn't even realise what Hikaru was doing. Hikaru tapped his fan into his hand decisively. He knew what he had to do.
Iganaki, just like Honda had, was struggling with Yashiro, confused with his strange hands, so unlike the traditional moves one would expect in a game. He watched as his opponent attached one of his stones below his own for a reason Iganaki could not seem to figure out. Was it a plausible strategy to play out? In his opponent's next move, he found it was. The game was lost there and then. He bowed his head in defeat, muttering the closing words. No good. He totally outread me. To think this guy was an insei not too long ago…
They cleaned up and Yashiro moved to check out Shindou and Shibata's game, seeing as one of them would be his next opponent. The first thing he noticed was Shibata clutching his head in apparent distress, so he looked at the game. It was clear who the winner was. They were currently fighting over the centre, but Shibata had already been attacked devestatedly and Shindou's game plan was dominating the board effortlessly.
Yashiro looked at the match-ups to determine their levels, discovering with shock that Shindou, who was winning, was only a beginner-dan just like him, as well as his own age. He crumbled the sheet and put it away, staring at Shindou who didn't even notice, engrossed in the game. He's strong.
Sai did notice the attention though and he could tell that the boy watching could see Hikaru's strength. He would be a much more fitting opponent for Hikaru than his present one who could not recognize it. It would be an interesting match to be sure if the two would be playing, he could tell.
Meanwhile, Waya had just won his first round match. He only needed to win one more and he would be guaranteed a spot in the North Star Cup. He slowly moved over so he could observe Ochi's match to see who his next opponent would be. On his way, he noticed that Iganaki's match had already concluded and it seemed that Yashiro had won and was doing the same thing he was: observing his possible next opponent. He remembered that he should be more worried about himself though and turned back to Ochi's game.
It was a pretty standard game, but it seemed Ochi was ahead in territory at the moment and they were entering the last stage of the game, yose. Waya knew that Ochi was strong at yose, so he would most likely be playing him. True to his predictions, Ochi won by two and a half moku. Shindou's game was also ending now, not having even reached yose, since his opponent had finally admitted defeat.
It was finally lunch time and as Waya and Shindou had agreed, they were having lunch together at McDonalds, a place they both liked to eat at, since Shindou didn't like sushi and Waya didn't want to eat ramen so frequently. They were discussing their next games.
Shindou hummed thoughtfully. "So you're going up against Ochi. I guess it was inevitable that we were going to meet up again even if they did try to separate us. We didn't have many players to start with."
Waya took a bite of his burger. "It doesn't matter. Ochi's strong, but I've matched up well with him since we were Insei. He beat me during the Pro exams, but I won our Pro game, so we're equal, even if he has a better record than I do. As long as I keep cool, I should be able to win. I don't want to lose."
Shindou stared at Waya for a moment, but didn't say anything else. Instead he focused on his own opponent. "My opponent is going to be Yashiro." He stirred his drink absentmindedly.
Waya nodded. "He's the guy Honda-san was talking about," he spoke while taking another bite.
Shindou nodded. "Yeah, the guy who played Tengen on his first hand. Honda-san showed me the game and I could tell he was a strong player, so I've been wanting to play him. It should be fun." Shindou smiled and Sai did too, agreeing. He had a feeling this was going to be a good match.
Waya, on the other hand, had very different thoughts from Shindou. He wouldn't want to play either Yashiro or Shindou, knowing how strong they were, yet the two of them seemed to be itching to play each other. Was that how truly strong players were, being able to play and test without worry or fear of losing, as long as they got a good game? It would be nice, even though he knew there was still that underlying importance of what this game meant that they couldn't forget. Oh well. It didn't concern him anyways.
Meanwhile, in another area, the two players from the Kansai Go Institute were having lunch together. Tsusaka was bemoaning his lost game, wondering where he had gone wrong. "It sucks. I wasn't able to play at my normal level," he complained to Yashiro. "You think it was because we came in at the last second?"
Yashirou just drank some tea, unperturbed by his friend's whining. "You were the one who said we should come in at the last second so we wouldn't get nervous while waiting," he reminded.
"Yeah," Tsusaka sighed. Then he faced Yashiro seriously. "But Yashiro, even though I don't think you'll lose, please make sure you win, because it'll look bad if both of the Kansai Go Institute players lose. You've seen your next opponent's – Shindou – game right? How was it?"
Yashiro placed his arms on the table. "I don't care who my opponent is and I don't care about marring the Kansai Institute's reputation. I just know that if I want to be a representative of the Japanese Team, I can't lose…so I won't." Tsusaka could only stare at that, wondering if he should be impressed with his determination or angry that he didn't care about the Institute. In the end, he only sighed and shook his head. Yashiro always did as he pleased and his harsh words were just a part of his personality, so Tsusaka would let it go.
Back at the Tokyo Go Institute, Waya and Shindou ran into Iganaki again, who waved. "I came to watch the second round matches," he explained his presence. "How did you guys do?"
"I won," Waya smiled.
"I did too," Shindou followed, "and so did Ochi."
Iganaki groaned, covering his eyes. "You mean I was the only Tokyo guy to lose? Aw, man." Shindou and Waya grinned at his antics. "But, my opponent, Yashiro, was really strong," Iganaki continued, addressing Shindou only this time. "You're playing him next, right?"
"Yeah," Shindou answered. "Hey, Iganaki-san, when you played against Yashiro, who went first?" He was curious as to what kind of game they may have played. If Yashiro had, it would have been unconventional most likely, but if not, then it may have actually been quite like a regular game.
"Who went first?" Iganaki thought back. "I did."
Shindou nodded. That meant that Yashiro's game strength was not only from his unconventional moves at the start that threw people off. He also had tricks for when things didn't work out in his favour. That would be expected from a good player. Shindou couldn't wait to play him. Waya interrupted his excitement though, because they had to get to the playing room.
They would be playing side by side in the middle of the room since there were only two matches going on, so everyone could watch them from around the small room. They were reminded by the overseer of the matches that the two winners would be chosen as members of the Japanese Team for the North Star Cup, though no one really needed reminding. The rules were the same, so they just began.
Shindou nigiri-ed while Yashiro guessed odd correctly, so he would be black and starting, while Shindou got the five and a half komi advantage. Shindou wondered if Yashiro would play Tengen as he had with Honda-san or if he had another plan in mind. The tengen game had been fun, but it would be fun to play with other risks as well.
Shindou and Yashiro stared at each other and Shindou wondered if he would really play it. From what he had gathered from Honda-san of his match against Yashiro, it had been only for fun, so perhaps Yashiro didn't take such risks during serious matches? He wanted to see it though, someone who could play it skilfully, no offence to Honda-san. However, it couldn't be denied that since he had just learned it, Honda shouldn't have been playing it recklessly so soon, even if he had studied its kifu.
Yashiro seemed to be in the mood for surprises though because he gave everyone a shock by playing his first hand at 5-5. Shindou stared at the board and then at Yashiro who was already looking at him in challenge. Shindou could feel excitement boiling up in him. Nice one. Sai mentally agreed. This would definitely be a match to see. He had been right.
The overseer was shocked. 5-5 was a hand that could only be played if the player had great confidence in their ability. Tsusaka was panicked. He knew this move was just like Yashiro's personality, but did he have to play it during such an important game? It wasn't that first hand 5-5 was never used, but it was probably an even less likely hand than Tengen was and that was saying something.
Shindou knew what he wanted to do now. He may be a serious Go player, but he liked risks a lot too and was also known for his unconventional moves, which set him apart from Sai, who was always elegant, sharp and straight-forward. He would meet Yashiro's challenge how he wanted: in a battle of risks. He was the only one who could. He put down his fan and got ready.
Sai knew that this game was meant for Shindou. He couldn't help Shindou here even if he wanted to. This game would help both players grow certainly, but it was a game only these two could accomplish; two who could take risks without thinking of the consequences behind it and bring the game to a dangling precipice where the slightest move would knock you over into an abyss of unforeseen darkness.
Shindou played and everyone in the room was shocked for a second time: second hand Tengen?! Now even the overseer was sitting down to observe their game better even though it was only at the second hand. Yashiro was surprised by the move, but he knew it wasn't a bad one. While his 5-5 had attacked the board, Shindou's Tengen stifled the attack lines, lessening his move's effectiveness. Nonetheless, it was a shocking move, no matter its effects. Tsusaka was speechless. He couldn't believe there was a guy out there who loved taking risks more than his friend, Yashiro Kiyoharu, did.
Yashiro wasn't going to back down though, since he had been the one to issue the challenge. He would meet it head on with the third hand. Shindou and everyone in the room were shocked again. The third hand was 5-5 again?! The spectators were in a state of shock. What were the two players doing?
Shindou and Yashiro were oblivious to everything but each other and their game though. Shindou smirked at Yashiro. Cheeky kid. Shindou didn't even register that they were technically the same age and the same could be said for himself.
Yashiro met his gaze evenly and smirked right back. Let's see if you have the guts to play the same as you did before, Yashiro's expression said, because he definitely did. Shindou's expression grew sharper in response. Of course he did.
Tsusaka was freaked out. The atmosphere in the room had changed so suddenly. Why was his friend so reckless? Yashiro, how can you be so confident all the time?
Now the game began in earnest. Both Shindou and Yashiro suddenly started attacking the corners of the goban. However, Yashiro knew that he needed to find a way to counter Shindou's earlier move with Tengen that had blocked his attack. He moved in to attack directly. Shindou was determined not to budge an inch though. He wouldn't fall to Yashiro's attacks, defending and blocking Yashiro's last move.
Yashiro was also stubborn though. He wouldn't let Shindou keep blocking him forever. He would slip past his defences sometime. He knew that from the unconventional way they had started out, the middle territory was different from the rest. At that point, you could both expand your territory and retreat. He now waited for Shindou's next move and Shindou didn't disappoint, heading straight in.
Meanwhile, Waya and Ochi were in a battle of their own. Waya had lain down a trap for Ochi that it seemed he still had yet to see. There was only one person watching their game: Waya's opponent from his first round match. It seemed to him that Ochi had walked straight into the trap, giving Waya the opportunity to surround him.
White was controlling one part of the board and that was Waya, so he was doing very well now. Ochi had also been playing well, but he had stepped into a trap in a very important area. Nonetheless, he still hadn't given up yet. On the contrary, it looked as if his playing was only getting more complicated, which was confusing.
Akiyama then noticed that while he had been focused on one game, the other game going on that had been surrounded by people before was suddenly devoid of spectators. Curious as to why no one was watching the other game he decided to go see what was going on. What he saw gave him the shock of his life. He couldn't tell what was going on in the game at all.
You couldn't tell the order in which each of the hands had been placed nor the shape that was forming. Iganaki entered the room again, looking at their game, only to exit shortly after. Akiyama got up hurriedly to rush after him. He had to know what was going on with that game.
"Wait!" he called as they were on their way to the next room where games were discussed. "What's going on with that game you were just watching?"
"You mean you didn't see?" Iganaki couldn't believe someone had missed what had happened in the beginning of the game. "Yashiro Kiyoharu went first. His first hand was at 5-5."
"5-5?!" Akiyama repeated, dumbstruck. That was outrageous.
"Shindou Hikaru then went to Tengen," Iganaki started heading towards the discussion room again.
Akiyama was sure he had heard wrong. He didn't just hear second hand Tengen did he? "W-Where was the second hand?" he asked for clarification, but was ignored. He had heard perfectly well. It was just the sheer disbelief that people would actually play such moves, especially in such an important game.
"On the third hand, Yashiro went to 5-5 again," Iganaki finished as he entered the discussion room, Akiyama scrambling behind him. Everyone turned towards Iganaki as he re-entered the room.
"Well?" the overseer asked, impatient.
"They are both playing very dangerously at the moment," Iganaki reported as he sat down. "No territory is safe anymore." He moved to set down the stones of moves they had made since the group had moved to the discussion room. "They are both attacking their opponent's territory relentlessly. For every move one of them makes, the other retaliates accordingly. Neither of them is giving an inch of breathing room. They're all over the place."
Tsusaka studied the new moves as well as the whole game. "Both of them are going all out with their moves. It's like a warzone. They're not holding back at all. The game's intensity is scary." He pointed out one spot. "White's move here is great," indicating Shindou's turn.
Iganaki nodded in agreement. "It perfectly positions the upper corner and surrounds the opponent's stones."
"That's true, but Yashiro hasn't lost yet," the overseer pointed out. "It's remarkable. I never thought players so young could possess such strength." He sighed. "It's sad. No matter who wins, it will be a pity. If both were able to play in the North Star Cup, it would be truly exciting to watch."
The other spectators looked at the overseer in silence as he continued almost wistfully, thinking at the greatness that could come from it. "Shindou Hikaru and Yashiro Kiyoharu; with these two players, in addition to Touya Akira…now that would be a tournament to see." Everyone agreed, but it wouldn't work out that way since from that one match, one of those two great players would be eliminated from the choosing.