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.
Last time: 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.
Chapter Nine: Beginnings
None of them were aware that at the very moment the overseer had announced Touya's name, he had walked into the Tokyo Go Institute to see if Shindou had really kept his word. He didn't doubt him, of course, but he wanted to know nonetheless. Besides, he should be there to show his friend his support, though many people only knew of their rivalry and not their friendship.
On his way to the room where the games were being played though, he was waylaid by Kurata-san, who would be the manager for the Japanese Team during the North Star Cup. Of course, many didn't know if he was truly qualified for the role, seeing as he was taking the job for rather immature reasons just because his rival was the manager for Korea's team, but they didn't argue with him.
"Touya," Kurata greeted joyfully. "So you came to see who qualified for the North Star Cup as well?"
"Kurata-san," Touya greeted politely back. "Yes. I wanted to see my teammates," he answered. Of course, that was only part of the reason, but he didn't want to offend anyone by stating that he had come here to see Shindou. He knew Ochi was one of the participants here and didn't want to set him off just because he had come to see how Shindou had done. The younger Go Pro already had enough ideas stuck in his head because of what had happened during the Pro exams.
Touya admitted it had been rather rude of him to use Ochi as a measuring stick for Shindou's abilities, especially since the plan had backfired anyhow, but he also knew that Ochi wouldn't have been able to beat Shindou with or without his help. It wouldn't have made a difference either way. Ochi was just sore about the fact that he could never reach their level, even though in terms of statistics, he had a better record. He just didn't understand that statistics didn't mean anything but a bunch of everchanging numbers, in the end.
"Anyways," Kurata said, "you're going to be First board, Touya, so your opponent is obviously going to be Korea's number one Pro, Ko Yongha. Don't lose to him."
Touya blinked. "Uh, Kurata-san, you do know that Ko Yongha is currently playing in the fifth round of Korea's top national tournament and that he has a good chance of winning right? I don't think he's someone I can easily beat just because you say I can't lose." Not that Touya planned on losing, not when Shindou was playing in the same tournament, but Kurata's encouragement was very strange.
Kurata didn't seem to understand Touya's point though. "I know how Ko Yongha's doing right now. I did my research. That's why I said you have to win."
Touya just blinked again. That meant he hadn't understood at all. Touya sighed. Oh well. It didn't matter. They should be getting going anyways. They both headed towards the floor where the matches were taking place. Touya was serious now. Shindou had said he would be one of the qualifying members of the team. He had better have been right.
Both Touya and Kurata were surprised as they got off the elevator to see someone running from the playing room into the discussion room though. They were even more surprised at the voices they could hear. Why was there so much commotion when there were matches going on? They could hear the voices even out in the hall.
"My God, he played here! I can't believe it!" one voice said.
"What?!" a voice pratically screamed as Kurata hurried to change into his slippers to see what all the excitement was about, Touya doing so too, but at a more leisurely pace. They could still hear other voices.
"What a brilliant hand!"
"It's all over now. That last hand just decided it all. What a pity."
Touya and Kurata were heading over to the discussion room now to see what was going on as one comment finally caught his interest. "Shindou Hikaru and Yashiro Kiyoharu played such an exciting game too." The voice was mournful. Touya's heart thumped. Shindou's game had ended and it had been brilliant from what everyone was saying, but who had won?
The next comment had him freezing in his tracks and turning back to run towards the playing room, heedless of courtesy now. "Yeah, I can't believe such a strong player won't qualify for the tournament." There was no way Shindou could have lost. There was just no way. Even if a strong player hadn't qualified, that only meant the one that had qualified was even stronger. That had to be Shindou. Shindou had said he would be one of the three representatives for the Japanese Team. Shindou, he thought worriedly, his heart pounding.
He ran into the room and noticed that the game was still going on. Who was winning though? He stepped closer slowly, remembering now to be more mindful of the players, though if they were truly concentrating they wouldn't even notice him, which Yashiro and Shindou didn't. Both faces were grim and Touya couldn't tell who was winning by looking at them. By looking at the board though, he could see that it was white who would emerge victorious. He felt relief course through him. That was Shindou. Shindou had won.
He was still confused though. What kind of game had they been playing? Touya couldn't seem to tell the order of their moves or how they had placed their stones. Everything on the board was too erratic. He left the room to go to the discussion room. He had to find out.
Ochi noticed Touya's departure after having stood by Shindou's game for a moment. His face twisted bitterly. It figured. He was only paying attention to Shindou's game. He probably hadn't even registered that Waya and Ochi were playing a game a few meters away. Touya Akira was still obsessed with Shindou Hikaru. He hadn't changed at all from that time a year and a half ago when he had tutored Ochi to beat Shindou and failed. He hadn't seen Ochi at all, only seen him as a means to see Shindou, since he couldn't see him himself at the time.
It infuriated Ochi that he could be overlooked so blatantly as if his skill was too common for even a glance as Touya seemed to regard it as, but he still had a game to finish, so he refocused his attention. It was near the end anyways. Waya couldn't win. He admitted that Waya's trap had been good, but he knew he had been better. Once Waya's stones on the side died, the winner would be obvious. Waya couldn't come back from that blow.
Waya could see it too. He clenched his hands. "I resign," he bit out.
Ochi nodded. He had expected it. Now he was one of the three representatives for the Japanese Team. He would be playing on the same team as Touya. Now he could show him how much he had changed from that time one and a half years ago.
Waya was crushed. He couldn't believe he had lost. He had been doing so well. He had been leading up until the middle part of the game. After that, everything had fallen apart. He hadn't seen Ochi's plan until it had been too late. Now the game was over. They cleaned up and he got ready to go.
However, it seemed Ochi was still sore about Touya's brushoff again and felt the need to vent on someone else. As Waya stood up to leave, he said, "This was to see which one of us two would be better suited to represent Japan. Just as I thought, it was me." He stood up and left without another word, leaving Waya shocked.
He couldn't believe that bastard had just said that so casually. Waya was angrier at himself though for losing. He should have been able to win. Damn it. He had to get stronger. This game was over now, so he may as well go home, but there would be other chances. He would beat Ochi in the next game.
As he got ready to go though, he noticed that Ochi was frozen, standing by Shindou and Yashiro's game. The outcome didn't really matter to him either way since he was out of the running, but he was curious. Therefore, he headed over to it, wondering what could have shocked Ochi so. What he saw there gave him a shock as well, freezing him as it had Ochi. What the hell had happened to this game?
Ochi and Waya ran out of the playing room, Yashiro and Shindou not even noticing once again. They headed immediately for the discussion room, finding it crowded with all the spectators that had been around to watch the matches before. Even Kurata and Touya were there. Everyone was discussing Shindou and Yashiro's game.
"I can't believe those two dared to play such an exciting, risk-filled game with the Hokuto Cup on the line," the overseer was saying as they entered, shaking his head in awe. He looked up as they entered. "Ah. Ochi, Waya. Your game finished?"
They nodded. "From what I glimpsed of your game earlier, I assume the winner was Ochi?"
"Yes," Ochi answered, as he and Waya took places around the outer ring of people surrounding the goban. "What kind of Go is this, though?" he gestured towards the board.
"Yashiro placed the first stone at 5-5 and Shindou retaliated by placing his stone at Tengen," the overseer answered as he swept up the stones. "I'll replay the whole game from the beginning for you two."
Ochi and Waya almost choked as they heard the opening moves. "5-5?!" Ochi gasped.
"Tengen?!" Waya was the same. What the hell? The disbelief was so thick in their minds it could almost be heard aloud in the room.
"That's not all," Iganaki informed them. "After that, Yashiro Kiyoharu went to 5-5 again for the third hand," shocking them further.
"It really was a riveting match," the overseer started moving stones into position. "Take this one, for instance," he pointed. "Black's move here was impressive, but white's counter to black's attack was even more impressive."
Kurata nodded. "Shindou handled the situation very well. White's strategy effectively closed black off and that ultimately decided the match." Waya and Ochi could only watch speechless as an amazing game that had been played right beside them all along was replayed for them right before their very eyes.
The overseer took over again. "Of course, Yashiro did not just sit back and watch. He moved immediately to counterattack. It's just that white's move had a deeper meaning to it that wasn't caught in time. Here, when you first look at it, white's initial position doesn't have any particular significance, bu then," he placed more stones down and their eyes widened.
"Oh, he attacked from there," Waya blurted out.
"Yes," the overseer said. "You can't rashly take the upper corner there until the crucial moment. However, once that territory is yours, the game is decided. Shindou-kun outplayed Yashiro."
Ochi was in shock. This game was amazing. It was beyond anything he could have played, though it pained him to admit it. He had qualified for the Hokuto Cup, it was true, but he hadn't beaten these two players and he could tell from this game that he couldn't match up to them in this sort of battle. If he had played one of them instead of Waya, would it have been the both of them who would be the two representatives alongside Touya Akira in the Hokuto Cup instead of him?
The overseer's next words only drove his own thoughts deeper into him like a dagger. "White won because of a deeper strategy, but they are both extraordinarily talented players." Everyone was in awe of the game just played. However, the overseer seemed to just notice that Ochi was still there. He cleared his throat as he stopped speaking. "Ahem. Ochi, um, congratulations on winning your qualifying match."
Ochi didn't seem to hear him though. He only stood up wordlessly. He knew everyone in the room thought Shindou and Yashiro were the better players. His win was meaningless and his game couldn't compare to the one they had just played. Waya called after him, but he just mumbled an excuse in return. He was in a daze as he walked back to the playing room.
He had just told Waya a little while before that this was all to determine who was best qualified to represent Japan. Back then, he had been so confident that one of those people was him. Now, though, he couldn't be sure. Compared to Shindou and Yashiro…everyone believed that they were better and loath as he was to admit it, they were right. Nobody would see his win as a fair one. He didn't even know if he himself could see it as one. It seemed more like a loss now in the face of the other game.
Back in the discussion room, Kurata was looking over the names of the three representatives for Japan for the Hokuto Cup. "So it's going to be Touya, Shindou and Ochi, eh?" he murmured. He looked at the overseer. "What was the level of Ochi's game?"
"It was fairly high," he answered, trying to be optimistic, "but in comparison to the Shindo vs. Yashiro game…well, both Waya-kun and Ochi-kun still have things they need to work on. They tend to overestimate their skill."
Waya looked down, his face flushing. Maybe he should have left the room when Ochi had, but he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself right now. Luckily, everyone was too busy discussing the issue of the three representatives.
"I saw both games," Akiyama added, "and Shindou and Yashiro's game was far more interesting."
"It's too bad, though," Kurata rubbed his chin. "Although Yashiro is surely a great player and he's caught my interest, there's nothing we can do about it. We can't change the outcome of the matches."
Touya was still looking at the game. It was clear to him as it was to everyone that there was a great gap of skill between Yashiro and Ochi. They would have a far lesser chance of victory at the Hokuto Cup with Ochi as a member of the team. That was just the fact of the matter.
"Anyways," Kurata stood up, "we should go to the game room and see how the match is finishing up. It should be over by now."
While everyone was getting up to return to the playing room now, reporters were also arriving to get the names of the people that would be representing Japan in the Hokuto Cup. The representatives from Korea and China had already been decided, so they just needed Japan's names and they could publish the official notice.
Kosemura had come to take pictures and interview the winners to put together a small biography for each of the representatives. It seemed he had come just in time as Yashiro had just resigned. He changed into slippers and headed towards the playing room, but halted at the discussion taking place inside.
Ochi was sitting in front of the overseer with a serious expression on his face. "I want to play Yashiro. Please. Let us play and the winner will be the third qualifying member for the Hokuto Cup."
"Ochi-kun," the overseer was shocked to say the least. "That's not possible. You know the rules. This is the way the matches were set up."
"I can't accept this, though, and neither can anyone else. Everyone has seen Shindou and Yashiro's game, including myself, and compared to my and Waya's game, it is obvious the former far exceeds the latter. It is clear that no one is satisfied with the way I qualified, so let me play Yashiro and verify for myself and everyone else. Then we will see who is stronger and more qualified to represent Japan."
Everyone was staring at Ochi now. He had just been chosen to be a member of the Japanese Team in the Hokuto Cup, yet he wasn't content. Well, it wasn't like anyone else was either, but Ochi had always been going on about how he would be one of the members. Then when he had it, he was barely even holding onto it.
"I know now from watching their match," obviously indicating Shindou and Yashiro's, the main topic of the day, "that I may not really be the most qualified player to represent Japan. Therefore, I want a match to verify who it really is, whether it really is me or Yashiro. I need to know and we need to build the strongest team that Japan can make to go up against Korea and China." Ochi stared back at everyone staring at him determinedly. He would not back down.
Waya stared at Ochi. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just before, Ochi had been telling him self-assuredly that he was the most qualified person to represent Japan, yet now he was possibly giving the chance up. What was wrong with him? To think that Waya had been relieved that he wouldn't have to go up against Shindou and Yashiro because it meant he would have a better chance at winning. He shook his head in shame. Here Ochi was, truly thinking of Japan's wellbeing and trying to form the strongest team it could, yet Waya could only think of himself. It was no wonder he had lost. He didn't even have his priorities straight.
"It is very admirable of you to want to do this," the overseer told Ochi, "but another match isn't going to happen just because you want it to. Our sponsors are already on a tight schedule as it is."
"Oh!" Kosemura remembered. "One of the sponsors is just outside. Hold on." Then he dashed out to get Togari-san, explaining the situation to him.
Togari was intrigued to say the least. It would be interesting to see what would happen. He and Kosemura walked into the game room. "I heard about the request to conduct another qualifying match," he started. "It's not a problem. We can cover the match fee as well as Yashiro's hotel and transportation expenses for staying here longer than expected. Just make sure to resolve the matter quickly as there are still many things to do."
"I can play tomorrow," Ochi immediately offered. He turned to Yashiro, who nodded as well.
"Any time, any place," Yashiro added. "I don't care about the match fee or hotel money. I just want another chance." He turned to Ochi. "Okay?"
Ochi nodded decisively. "Okay." The match was set.
In the end, although Ochi held up well, it was obvious that Yashirou was stronger still. When the listings came out for each of the three teams in China, Japan and Korea, Team Japan's members were: Touya Akira, Shindou Hikaru and Yashirou Kiyoharu, all fifteen years old.
Ochi was disappointed, but he had gotten his answer. He had wanted Japan to have the best three representatives it could and now, it did. It was just that he wasn't one of the top three as he had assumed he would be. Nonetheless, this only drove him to get better, so he could become one of the best.
Waya, on the other hand, was shocked. His attitude and Ochi's were complete opposites and he could honestly say he was completely ashamed of his way of playing Go. How could he expect to get better if he was too afraid to challenge stronger players and improve himself? Ochi had won their match because he was constantly seeking to get better, just like Touya, Shindou, Yashirou and all other Pros, while he just tried to rise through the ranks by beating those weaker than him. It was no wonder he wasn't getting any better.
Well, that would stop now. If he wasn't going to be left behind, he would have to step forward as well and put everything on the line like everyone else. Just remembering Shindou and Yashirou's game shocked him still. At the time, he couldn't fathom how those two could possibly try something so risky when there was so much as stake, but he realised that it had helped them both grow. They had both played brilliant games and that was why they were members of Team Japan now. The first thing he would have to do then was play. He headed home to set up matches between everyone for their next study group meeting. He may even invite Ochi. He planned to play against them all more now.
Shindou and Yashirou were both ecstatic of course. Yashirou finally had the chance to show his parents that he really was making something of himself and that Go wasn't a waste of time, while Shindou was getting closer to reaching Touya's level and the Hand of God together with him. After all, the God of Go was still waiting for a worthy opponent to play against.
Yes, up above, the God of Go could see how his gift to humankind was progressing. In all his years of teaching and guiding others along this endless path, he was still waiting for those that could match him to step up to the plate. He was sure that he wouldn't have to wait much longer though, as he continued to watch over his children. After all, after waiting the thousands upon thousands of years that Go had existed for, what was mere decades to him now? He could wait a while longer.