Notes: This chapter is based on some scenes and dialogues in the Hikaru no Go special chapter 2. Some anime-only elements are included as canon.

Chapter 7: Wakajishisen Round 1: Stirrings of Truth

"What's with this line-up??" the reporter Kosemaru grumbled incredulously to himself as he stared at the tournament pairings listed on the sheet he held in his hands. "Touya-kun and Shindou-kun are matched up in the second round?" It was already the opening day of the 11th Young Lions' Tournament – but if he had gotten wind of this beforehand, he would probably have charged up to the head office of the Japanese Go Institute and demanded they rearrange the pairings.

"Oh?"

"Ah, Shinoda-sensei." Kosemaru greeted the teacher of the insei who had come up to stand beside him. "Look at this," he jabbed at the paper with an offended air, "this should be the final round of this tournament!"

The bespectacled man smiled wisely and replied, "Not necessarily. There are strong young pros who did not compete in the North Star Cup. Take Isumi-kun, for example," he gestured to a tall, dark-haired young man in the small cluster of newer pros in a corner of the room. "You may not have seen him play much yet, since he just received his pro certificate this year. However, he performed marvelously against Kuwabara Honinbou in their new shodan series game."

"Hmmm ..." The reporter didn't seem quite convinced. He was about to launch into a new argument when, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a mop of half-bleached hair approaching from one side. He looked up and exclaimed delightedly, "Ah, Shindou-kun!"

"Good morning!" the boy called out cheerfully. A chorus of replies rang out as friends since Hikaru's insei days greeted his arrival. "Hey Komiya," he continued, noticing the older insei, "good luck today. You've been studying with us for a while – don't let us down!"

The older boy nodded. "Good job in the North Star Cup, by the way. Pity about that half moku loss."

"Yeah, it was rather frustrating," Hikaru admitted. Although he had come to terms with his defeat, the past week or so had been peppered with nightmares featuring a gigantic Ko Yeong-Ha rampaging over Torajirou's old goban while he cowered helplessly in a corner. He hastily shoved the mental image of the cackling Korean out of his mind. "So you were at the tournament, Komiya?"

"No, I wasn't free that day, but kifus from the tournament have been spreading like wildfire. Honda," he pointed to the tall freckled boy next to him, "was there though."

"Amazing game, Shindou," Honda congratulated warmly. "Sorry we didn't stick around for the awards presentation ceremony." (Not that we won anything, Hikaru thought wryly to himself.) "Waya, Isumi and Ochi were there as well, but we wanted to go discuss the games right away." He peered at the young pro in front of him, dressed casually as always and still sporting a blond fringe, albeit a fading one. It had been easy to dismiss the boy who seemed like he would be more at home in an arcade center than the solemn mental battle before the goban, but the games he had recently played against formidable international Go stars ensured that no one would make that mistake again. "I'm looking forward to your game against Touya. Good luck."

"Thanks," he replied solemnly.

"Speaking of opponents ..." Komiya pointed to two bickering children behind Hikaru; "Shindou, see those two insei over there? The one on the left is your opponent today. She's been an insei for a year, and is currently ranked 14th." Hikaru glanced at the girl in question; she appeared to be flustered and distraught about something and it seemed like the boy next to her was teasing her mercilessly.

"The other one is Touya's opponent. Rank 16. They're both quite excellent though, and they're only in 5th grade."

Hikaru smiled faintly at their antics and shook his head. "Ranking is irrelevant. I was also ranked 16th during the time of the Young Lions' Tournament, but I was able to pass the pro exam."

"You ..." Komiya grimaced weakly at the boy and sighed. You're an exception, he wanted to say.

"Shindou-kun," Kosemura interjected, "After the insei match, you'll be playing Touya-kun right away in the second round, won't you? I don't know what they're thinking!" he gesticulated irritably as he wrestled the conversation back to his favourite topic for the day. Recognising that the reporter intended to monopolise their friend, Komiya and Honda gave Hikaru a quick wave and moved over to join the older insei and newer pros lounging off to the side. "Really now," Kosemura persisted, not noticing that the other two had left, "don't you think the two of you should be playing in the final round?"

"I don't really care," Hikaru replied indifferently, "as long as I get to play Touya. It doesn't matter how the matches could have been set up – he wouldn't have fallen to anyone before our match-up anyway." The fact that he wasn't going down before his second professional game against Touya was, of course, a given. "Getting to play him right away is just a bonus."

"But a game of that level – "

The short man cut off in mid-sentence as another round of 'good mornings' rippled through the room. Well, where Touya Akira's presence was concerned, it was more of a roaring wave than a ripple. Numerous pairs of eyes followed his progress through the room; some were challenging and probing, a good many were somewhat fearful, and quite a few were unabashedly admiring. Unlike at the two previous Young Lions' Tournaments, he appeared relaxed and comfortable in the crowd. Bowing slightly to the older pros who greeted him, he eased his way towards the center of the room where Hikaru stood chatting to Kosemura.

"Good morning," he nodded politely towards the reporter.

"Good morning!"

"Touya." Hikaru shifted slightly to acknowledge the new arrival.

"Shindou-kun here was saying that he didn't care that you'd be matched up so early in the tournament," Kosemura began, renewing his diatribe.

"I don't either, Kosemura-san. Only one of us will win anyway." Akira turned his attention back to rival and they locked gazes for a moment. Only a few days ago, they had met up again at the Go salon and wrapped up the game they left unfinished on the Tokaido Shinkansen – as well as played a couple more games for good measure. 'A preview of the Young Lions' Tournament,' Shindou had called them. Well, they had certainly whetted his appetite for today's game. Not that they were necessary ... watching the final stages of Shindou's game against Yashiro and Ko Yeong-Ha unfold had reminded him that they were long overdue for a second formal match.

"That boy's your opponent," Hikaru pointed suddenly to a pair of young kids behind them.

Akira's eyes automatically followed the line of Hikaru's finger, and vaguely noted the antsy young insei in question. Oh, my first-round opponent .... But back to more pressing matters: "Shindou, do you want to go to Serikawa-san's study session? They're planning to study kifus from the North Star Cup."

"Sure!" Although he had examined the kifus of the games his team mates played against Korea, he had not had the chance to discuss them with anyone. And there were a few things he planned on pointing out to Touya .... "When's the study session?"

"Every Monday. I'll check the time and place with him tonight and let you know."

The amplified sound of someone tapping on a microphone cut through the din. That someone cleared his voice before declaring, "We would like to now begin the 11th Young Lions' Tournament." A hush fell across the room as participants and observers turned their attention to the stage. "Please find your seats as we announce them." The man's voice was almost drowned in the shuffling of feet and scraping of chairs as he rattled off the seating arrangements for the first round. When he finished directing all the participants to their positions, he proceeded to confirm the basic rules of this first round which pitted pros against insei: "There will be no handicap. Insei take the black stones;" there was a brief clatter as each person selected the proper go-ke and plunked it down in front of them. "Please begin."

Murmurs of "please" swept through the room, followed by a stillness in which reverberated only the pachi of go stones and the click of timers.

At one end of the room, a young girl regarded her pro opponent with a tinge of anxiety born of the growing realisation that she was about to be horribly, utterly outclassed. It was one thing to joke about Shindou's ability when staring at a piece of paper riddled with black and white spots; it was entirely another to find herself seated opposite of him and discover that there was absolutely nothing she could do to avoid imminent slaughter.

Pachi.

What?? The girl drew her breath sharply, eyes running frantically over the board. Oh no ... they can't get out! With a sinking heart, she confirmed the worst of her fears ... in a single devastating move, he had cut off her group in the lower left territory and was poised to crush the suddenly vulnerable group in the mid left. And once that fell, her entire formation would be on the verge of collapse. She chewed her lip and tried to rally her tattered spirits – but failed miserably as they insisted on flopping right back into the pit of her stomach. At least it'll be mercifully quick .... She sighed ruefully; probably much quicker than I'd expect. Each of his hands seemed to come out of nowhere, with the pronouncement of doom clanging like the lid of a sarcophagus.

Behind her, a young boy with tangled, brown hair mirrored her sigh. So this is the great Touya Akira. He frowned in concentration as he examined the patterns forming in front of him. His opponent's moves cut him off effortlessly at every turn and he was fast running out of options – and places to run. He smashed his stone down onto the goban with a loud pachi, proud that he had managed to keep the trembling in his hand down to the barest of quivers, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he was merely jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

He couldn't help but steal a glance at his opponent. The older boy studied the goban with a composed confidence and, without a moment's hesitation, smoothly set down his stone on the goban and tapped the timer button.

Touya's too strong. He felt like a blade of grass about to be overwhelmed by an oncoming tsunami. It was coming straight for him but, rooted to the spot, he could only stare it down as it threatened to crash over him.

Five minutes passed. And another five.

"I have lost." The boy's head drooped in defeat.

A delicate pair of hands deftly sorted out the white stones and poured them into the go-ke. "Thank you for the game."

Akira stood up from his seat and looked around for Hikaru. Apparently, the other boy had wrapped up his game already as he was nowhere to be seen. His own game had taken somewhat longer than one he'd usually play with someone of this skill level, not because the insei was a particularly wily opponent but because he had not wanted to crush the young child too cruelly. His play had been inspired for a child of that age, but still raw and inexperienced.

He debated whether or not to find Hikaru, but considering that they would play each other in the next round, he figured perhaps it was best that they both kept their distance for the time being. He wanted to play his rival seriously, and bickering over something nonsensical would not be very conducive to that mental state.

He strode towards the results board to inform the staff of his victory by resignation. Without bothering to check Hikaru's tournament status, he continued to the nearest exit and found a vending machine. As a rule, he didn't eat during or between games, but at the moment, a warm drink would help settle his stomach. The corridor echoed with a jingle of coins as he counted out the change, and he bent over to retrieve the beverage as it plunked into the dispensing slot. Taking a sip of the tea, he leaned back and twirled the can absently as he stared at the opposite wall.

Back in the hall, Waya was wrapping up his game. His opponent was a former class 2 insei who managed to rapidly climb up to rank 13 of the first class in the past year. But he's not quite ready to take me on yet, he noted to himself with some satisfaction as the boy finally yielded.

"Thank you for the game."

Placing his go-ke firmly on top of the goban, Waya peered around the hall, trying to pick out his friends. Isumi and Ochi had finished their games already, and had gone over to observe the showdown between Honda and Nase. Another quick pass over the faces in the room revealed that Shindou had most certainly left the game area already. No surprise there. His next opponent was Touya, and he had probably gone off by himself somewhere to mentally prepare for what was sure to be a heated battle.

He had not had the chance to talk to Shindou about the North Star Cup, and therefore had no idea how the two came to switch positions in the match against Korea. Keeping in mind Touya's sort of immense pride, he had noted with considerable astonishment that there was no sign of any bad blood between them when they interacted this morning. Waya had already come to the grudging conclusion that Touya Akira saw Shindou as a rival, but what he witnessed this morning seemed almost like ... a familiar sort of friendship. When did they become so comfortable in each other's presence?

Lost in thought as he wended his way to the nearest vending machine, he was practically upon Akira before he noticed the boy's presence. He was sitting alone on a nearby bench, sipping his drink languidly as if lost in thought. Waya's first impulse was to turn heel and backtrack, but Akira had heard his footsteps and turned around to look at him. There's no retreating now, he realised. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he tried to appear nonchalant as he approached the vending machine. Damn, I don't need all this tension before the next round!

Clear turquoise eyes followed his stiff shuffle curiously.

Waya fidgeted with his collar. He had always felt unnerved by this serious-looking boy, and his aloofness and the ease with which he moved among the upper echelons of the professional Go world did nothing to help his cause. For the longest time, he bore a burning resentment against this Touya Akira, against the detached golden boy of Go whom everyone who mattered spoke of in tones of awe and approbation, sight unseen and in spite of the absence of any amateur record. It seemed as if an entire generation of young Go players had already been weighed against this shadowy figure and callously judged unworthy, their very real accomplishments merely a fleeting pattern of stones against the untarnishable, untouchable vision of what Touya Akira could have done if only he had, of course, done it.

His dislike was no doubt fueled further by Morishita-sensei's personal quest to defeat Touya-sensei. Yet while his fingers still itched inexplicably whenever the boy's porcelain features came into view, the fervent antagonism had died down to a light simmer since Touya's entrance into professional Go. He had conceded that the Go world was right to have been mesmerized by this genius – although such acceptance didn't make the truth any easier for his pride to swallow.

He had also deeply resented the boy's cavalier attitude towards the pro exam that was always excruciatingly nerve-wracking to him and other insei. In retrospect, however, he could now understand why someone would ditch an exam game if personally challenged to a Net match by the legendary Sai – the Sai who defeated even Touya Kouyo, undisputedly the greatest known Go player of this generation. Still ... how could he have known that Sai was worth skipping day one of the pro exams from just a handful of moves?

"You're one of Shindou's closest friends, aren't you?" Waya jumped out of his reverie as an unassuming voice, slightly hesitant, shattered the taut silence. "It's a little late to be asking about this, but ... umm ... do you know why he forfeited all those games beginning around this time last year?"

"Eh? Uh ..." Waya was at a loss for words; he couldn't even begin to imagine what Touya would want to talk to him about, but that topic wouldn't have occurred to him in a million years. He eyed the boy, stunned for a few seconds. Behind him, the loud plunk as his can of Pokari Sweat was dispensed went unheeded. "Umm ... no, I don't." Why should he care about something like that? Sure, Touya had seemed really worried back then, but wasn't he just concerned about their rivalry? "I met him only once during that time, at a park near his home." He felt the stirrings of an old anger as he retreated into his memory of that day. "Shindou refused to say anything, refused to share anything even though it was clear that there was something troubling him deeply."

Waya turned his back to Akira and retrieved his drink from the vending machine. His voice had a chilly undertone as he stated curtly, "Anyway, it's over and done with. Shindou came back and he's been getting stronger steadily. Isn't that all that's important to you?"

Akira ignored the question as he considered the boy's words. It was similar to his experience when he dropped by Haze Junior High School to check up on Shindou. So am I no closer to the truth? But ... "So," he pressed on, "do you know why he came back?"

"No idea either." Waya yanked on the tab of the can and took a long drink. Granted, he was managing to carry on a civil conversation with Touya, but it was too much to expect him to sit down all chummy-like next to the boy. After a moment's consideration, he compromised by moving over to lean against the far wall. One finger tapping absentmindedly on the side of the can, he continued, "Isumi-san must have worked some sort of magic, I guess."

"Isumi-san?" An image of the tall older boy flashed through Akira's mind. Shindou had mentioned him on occasion, but he could only recall having seen the boy once, at the shodan certificate presentation ceremony a little over a month ago.

"Yeah, he went to visit Shindou at his home and somehow got him to play a game. All Isumi-san said later was that it seemed he was able to get over whatever was bothering him."

"So, Isumi-san was the one who pulled Shindou out of his depression?" Akira rested his chin on one hand thoughtfully. Was it presumptuous to think that I know Shindou best? He felt a small twinge of doubt and self-pity; why would Shindou trust someone like himself with whatever was tormenting him anyway?

Waya shrugged. He hadn't bothered to press Isumi-san for the details, and his friend had not offered any. "After Shindou came back, he felt different somehow. He had always been driven, always excited about Go, always looking ahead. Always ... chasing after Touya Akira, it seemed." He rambled, half-forgetting about his listener and voicing thoughts as they surfaced. "After he came back though ... he had mellowed a great deal and developed a quieter, calmer sort of intensity. If I had to compare it to something, I'd say he changed from a sprinter to a marathon runner. Like, he's chasing after a more distant goal.... And I still can't figure out that fan."

"Oh, that fan he carries around for his games? What about it?" Akira didn't see how a fan would have anything to do with the topic at hand, but the other boy seemed to have thawed and become talkative – he certainly didn't want to interrupt the flow. "I just assumed it was a personal idiosyncrasy he picked up from Morishita-sensei."

"I don't know. He didn't buy it until he restarted attending his pro matches. It doesn't go with his image, although it seems like a part of him now. I mean, you'd expect it on a person like Morishita-sensei, but not a guy like Shindou. It would be as disorienting as suddenly meeting Morishita-sensei on Net Go."

Akira smiled faintly, thinking of his father. "Well, it may take rather extraordinary circumstances, but things like that do happen. No one would have thought Father would take to Net Go either, yet he barred visitors from his hospital room for a whole day just to play Sai."

"Sai, huh?" Waya's ears perked up at the sound of his hero's name. "He's so incredible! That game against Touya-sensei was just ... just unbelievable. I wish we could find out who he is. The world of Go would be completely transformed!" he exclaimed, one fist pumping excitedly while the other clenched his drink in a tight grasp. Suddenly remembering who he was talking to, he calmed down a bit and looked away embarrassedly. "Heck," he added in an offhand manner after a brief pause, "there was even a time I thought Shindou was Sai." He chortled and shook his head, as if to dismiss such a ridiculous notion.

One fine eyebrow rose up in mild surprise. There's someone else who came to that same conclusion? "What made you think Shindou was Sai?" Akira ventured finally.

"Well, it seemed to me that Sai might be a kid. I kept seeing him online during the day, almost all day and every day ever since the summer break started. After Sai defeated me, he said to me, "I'm strong, aren't I?' In any case, the topic came up when we were playing our first insei match, and oddly enough Shindou knew my handle name and that I had told Sai I was an insei."

'I'm strong, aren't I'? That does sound something like the old Shindou would say. "But now you don't think he's Sai?" Akira pressed again, his eyes burning into the other boy.

Waya was taken aback by how intent the boy was. Laughing nervously, he replied, "Because, well, isn't it obvious? How could Shindou be the Sai that defeated the Meijin? His new shodan series game was terrible! As an insei, he was stuck in class 2 for a while, and when I played him in class 1, he was good but not that brilliant – thought I admit, he's pretty incredible now." Man, does this conversation even merit logical arguments like these? Shindou as Sai? Seriously now .... "At the time, I did think it was possible that he might be Sai's disciple or something, but Shindou said he just happened to see the screen in passing, and had no idea who Sai was."

"Disciple, huh?" Akira's eyes widened. That was an intriguing concept. He was sure Sai and Shindou were one and the same, and yet their skills were quite distinct. Was it too absurd to go a step further and imagine Shindou learning from his other self? That could explain his meteoric rise, despite the lack of a mentor, and the glimmers of Sai he'd sense in Shindou's game.

"Uh," Waya coughed uncomfortably. This guy's way too serious for his own good. "Try not to think too much about Shindou. It'll make your head hurt. He's just a bit strange."

A small smile managed to wriggle free of Akira's controlled expression. He's more than just a bit strange.

"So I'm a bit strange, am I?" came an amused voice from the doorway.

Two heads swung around to see Hikaru, standing with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised inquiringly. A light flickered in his eyes mischievously as he appraised the two somewhat contrite expressions in front of him. "Well, just how am I – "

A familiar voice cut in from the game room: "Shindou, any luck?"

"Oh ... yep! Be right there!" Turning back to the two, he grinned happily as he beckoned for them to follow; "It's lunch time! Let's go!"

Thanks for all the encouragement! I hope this latest chapter has been enjoyable. I'm going to have to apologise ahead of time, as I probably won't be able to update with the next chapter for at least two weeks.

To address a few questions that came up in the reviews:

1) No, this will not be shounen-ai. Take what you will from the story, but the intention is to develop Hikaru's and Akira's friendship.

2) At the moment, the only place that will accommodate another 'Sai chapter' is, sadly enough, the epilogue. But stories can take on a life of their own, so we'll just have to see.

3) I will probably go back and rewrite the first few chapters when I'm done with the story. They were each written in a single day, so they aren't as developed as they could be.

BTW, just in case you're curious, here's the line-up for the round of 16 (round 2). It's not in the text itself because 1) I don't really know the names of most insei, 2) I don't even know the first names of many of these people nor their ranking, 3) two of the 18-and-under prelim candidates for the Hokuto Cup were not named, and 4) some of these pros are probably over 20 already (I just went with these because they seemed like they were lower dan players).

First, I ranked 16 pros in this order:

1. Honda Toshinori
2. Kadowaki
3. Isumi Shinichirou
4. Yamada
5. Inagaki
6. Waya Yoshitaka
7. Ochi Kousuke
8. Shindou Hikaru
9. Mashiba
10. Tajima
11. Uchiyama Norio
12. Nakayama
13. Tsujioka Tadao
14. Murakami Shinji
15. Ochiai
16. Touya Akira

I separated the top eight from the lower eight, fold them in half again, and voila, the line-up, assuming that no insei makes it past the first round. Some pros will probably fall, but that's not an important part of the plot.

4. Yamada vs 12. Nakayama
5. Inagaka vs 13. Tsujioka
3. Isumi vs 11. Uchiyama
6. Waya vs 14. Murakami
2. Kadowaki vs 10. Tajima
7. Ochi vs 15. Ochiai
1. Honda vs 9. Mashiba
8. Shindou vs 16. Touya

For the purposes of the story though, I just might switch Isumi and Kadowaki around.