Traveling a Chinese Road: Chapter 4 – Glimpsing into the Beyond

By Leitbur

This chapter takes place after Chapter 53 of The Never-Ending Road and after New Star Rising.

Truly, it was refreshing to be back home. Reaching for the shower nozzle and twisting it until the water from the showerhead ceased, Qian Lei inhaled deeply, holding the moist air in for a moment, then exhaled. A shower in the morning, it was certainly one way to wake herself up, although several others had suggested that caffeine was a more efficient way to do so. Still, while it might have been the way others woke up, Qian had never found much use for it, preferring her own methods. After all, following her own routine had gotten her this far, so there seemed little reason to change now.

Sliding the curtain back, a slight shiver running through her as the cold air hit her, Qian reached for the towel rack and pulled one of the towels she kept there off, wiping away the clinging drops of water on her skin. She’d had two matches last week, both taking place outside of Beijing, the first being a grueling rank promotion match , followed up a few days later with her 1st Round victory in the Female Xinren Wang on Saturday. Later on this week she’d have her 1st Round match in the open Xinren Wang, not that the woman’s only tournament was lacking. However, before all that there were other things she’d need to do, this morning included.

Wiping her legs and feet down before stepping out of the shower, Qian tied the towel around herself and reached for a second towel. With it she then began to dry off her hair, an arduous task even on the best of days. At times she even considered cutting her hair short to avoid the hassle of washing and brushing it so much, but then she always remembered how much she enjoyed how her long hair, hanging just below her shoulders, looked. Besides, the work she needed to put into her hair was a nice little reminder, the fact that if the biggest problem she had was taking care of her hair, then her career, and likely her life in general, was going well.

Finishing with the towel and hanging it back up on the rack, Qian made her way into her room and sat on her bed, sidestepping a few piles on the floor as she did so and grabbing the hair brush on the stand. Glancing about her room, the young pro frowned and sighed. She’d begun to let her room go again, allowed herself to become lax and sloppy. The decision to clean up had been getting delayed as of late, the next morning became that evening, then the evening had to wait because she had to leave the next morning for a match and needed her rest, and then it became when she got back and so on. Things came up more and more lately, and as a result little details like keeping her room tidy would get pushed aside. Well, she’d clean up this evening for sure.

Being a professional Go player had been far more difficult so far than she’d ever imagined, perhaps even more due to her sex. While it was certainly true that times were changing for women in China, throughout all of Asia in fact, there was still a long way to go before old traditions vanished completely.

Her younger sister hadn’t understood the strange position she was in when she tried to explain it during a trip back home, free as she was in some ways from certain expectations and pressures that her sex experienced. In other ways however her professional status put her under even more pressure as both a Go player and as a woman. Of course, her sister was only ten years old, eleven in March, and was under enough pressure and expectations herself to likely see Qian’s troubles as desirable by comparison. What made it worse was that it was both Qian and her sister’s fault, yet at the same time they were faultless as it was never in their power to control from the start. Her sister blamed herself, something Qian had tried to correct, as the true culprits were the Planned Birth Policy and a tradition that valued male children over female children.

The one birth policy was a controversial topic, and many couples, her parents included, had been able to acquire special permission in their province to have a second child since their first, Qian, had not been male. It had not been meant to be however, something her sister was subtly reminded of quite often. Thus now the pressure had arisen for her sister to grow up to be the proper young woman that society thought she should be. Qian had been given no such pressure growing up as this outlook of her parents had appeared only after her sister’s birth, and a short time after that Qian had begun to learn Go, and been recognized as having talent at it, something her sister lacked.

Go was quite popular in China, and had been for quite some time now. Her parents had thus seen her talent as something to be proud of, a source of honor to have such a talent in the family. Likewise as she gained strength and rose in rank and notoriety as a pro, more and more people would take notice of her and want to see Qian Lei the pro player and Qian Lei the woman. Feminists pointed to her and other women in Go as examples, wanting to use her success to strengthen their agendas, while others pushed her to be more feminine, and to succeed.

All of this was pressure she frankly could have gone without, but it was a consequence of her birth. Not everyone thought this way of course, including many of the younger pros, but it was still a fact in society that she could not expect to change, nor could she completely ignore it either, as it was truly everywhere she went; and to think she was only sixteen.

That was why it was truly good to be back here again, amongst her fellow pros and friends, studying and training in preparation for the next step forward, whenever that step might come. Here the pressure from home to do well and succeed felt like a distant dream at the edge of her consciousness, an emotion without complete substance, and removed from the public she could be herself again. Granted it wasn’t like being a professional athlete or movie star, Go players weren’t exactly rock stars, although for some like Ko Yeong Ha, Wang Xin, and other top young stars that was not entirely true, but it was still something popular enough to warrant attention and fans of all sorts. Yang Hai had apparently even found a pair of websites devoted to Qian, one by a group of young women from her hometown who saw her as a hero, and another that… well, as Yang Hai had described it, was not centered on her skill as a Go player.

Finishing with her hair, Qian set down her brush and stood up, untying the towel around her and stretching her neck back and forth a few times. Despite having gotten back rather late in the evening last night, she felt well rested and energized to play today, even if it was only practice. Besides, after talking briefly with one of the other pros last night, she was now aware of the ‘arranged match’ for her today.

Moving off to get dressed now, Qian’s head began to swim with what little she knew of Japanese players. Certainly she’d heard of Toya Meijin, even seen him play a match in the China League once, as well as some of their other top players like Ogata and Kurata, even a few references to Toya’s son… whatever his name was, and another boy, Shin… well there was another boy. This Waya though, she’d never heard of him before, that she was certain. She’d known that he and Isumi had been studying here for the last couple of weeks of course, they were the talk of the building, but Qian had steered clear thus far. She’d just been so busy, the idea of really checking them out had never really seemed relevant.

Now though she had been called out, challenged to play. From what she’d been told, Waya, like herself, was aiming to compete in this year’s Hokuto Cup, making this a good opportunity to see the level of competition she might have to face in the actual tournament. The fact that he’d defeated Tian Cheng 3 – Dan last week only made it more intriguing, since Tian was likely her biggest competition for the last spot, some would even argue that he was the odds on favorite right now.

More importantly to Qian however is the way that Waya might look upon her. Would he see a young woman as his opponent, or a Go player? While she knew that such a thing seemed absurd to many, for Qian her greatest desire was to be seen not for the physical characteristics that defined her as a member of her sex, but rather who she was on the board. That was one of the things she loved about Go, the board lacked any concept of gender. The stones stared back equally at man and woman alike, remove the names from the game record and the moves existed by themselves, defined by the strength and skill they were played with, not by who played them. Her fellow pros here would play her as such, looking only at the stones, but this Waya, she didn’t know yet what she might expect from him.

Sliding on a pair of pants and fastening them firmly, Qian glanced around the room trying to remember where she’d set her recently washed blouses. Then again, perhaps a T-shirt would do, given how informal everyone around here was. Taking a deep breath and exhaling once more, the young pro began to align herself mentally, physically, and spiritually for the battle ahead. She had so far to go in so many ways, in Go and in life, but a good way to start was to be holistically balanced. As for Waya, well she’d find out about him soon enough.

"So, any idea when she’s going to be here?" Waya inquired with a slight tone of irritation in his voice as he leaned against a wall, his eyes darting from the clock to the door and back at increasingly more rapid intervals.

Sighing heavily from his seat a few feet away, Isumi replied, "I told you already, I don’t even know what she looks like, let alone when she’ll be coming down. Heck, she just got in last night, maybe she’s sleeping in and won’t be coming down."

" If you’re wondering when Qian Lei is coming, she’ll be down soon, " a voice off to Isumi’s right said. Turning toward the voice, Isumi spotted a Chinese pro walking toward them.

Cocking an eyebrow, Isumi replied, " Zhang Jie, are you sure? It’s already almost eight o’clock. "

Chuckling, Zhang replied, " Yes I’m sure, I saw her last night when she got back and mentioned your friend’s request to her. She seemed interested then, so I’d expect her to be down. She’s probably just taking a little extra time getting ready, she takes challenges very seriously. "

"Man this sucks, I hope she comes down before lunchtime." Waya commented, completely oblivious to the contents of the conversation taking place next to him. "Isumi, can you find out if anyone here knows when she’s coming?"

"Zhang here just told me she’ll be down soon, and that she’s looking forward to playing you."

A glint flashing in his eye, Waya grinned. "Really, well then I’m looking forward to this match too. Hokuto Cup preview!"

" Pretty noisy for this time of the morning isn’t it? "

Turning at the noise in the doorway, Waya spotted a young woman with long midnight black hair standing a few steps beyond the entrance, staring in his direction. Her eyes swept over the part of the room that Waya, Isumi, and Zhang were in casually, although Waya could have sworn he saw her eyes do a slight double take as they passed him. Was this… his opponent?

Turning her head toward Zhang, the woman then said, " Zhang, are these the two from Japan? Which one is Waya, the tall cute one or the loud oversized Lei Ping? "

Hesitating for a moment as he’d been caught slightly off guard, Zhang pointed his finger and replied, " Umm, that one’s Waya. "

Returning her gaze to Waya now, Qian began to look him over. So this was Waya, the one who looked just like Le Ping. She’d heard that one of the two players from Japan looked like Le Ping, although she hadn’t known which. From the sound of it when she had entered, he might be just as much of a loudmouthed brat as Le Ping was too, although she had to admit that she had no idea what it was that he’d been saying. Strangely, even though he was an oversized Le Ping, she’d expected her challenger to be… taller.

Waya meanwhile had come to the conclusion, after hearing his name several times, that this must be Qian Lei 2 – Dan. She couldn’t have been much older than Hikaru or Ochi from the look of it, surprising since given some of the younger prodigies he’d met while here, he’d half expected her to be Zhao or Le Ping’s age, or at least younger than she was. Still, she was one of China’s elite, he’d best not underestimate her. Bowing, Waya said, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to our match."

Eyeing him for a moment, Qian gave a slight bow of her own and moved toward one of the open tables, motioning with a smile for Waya to follow. Frowning, Waya complied, rather upset that she’d seemed so… well rude by not replying to his greeting. Sure she might not have understood what he said, but she could have at least given him a real bow in return.

Taking her seat Qian reached for the bowl nearest her and sighed inwardly. The Japanese, they bowed at anything and everything. Perhaps it was a bit wrong of her to have failed to reply, but they were in China, and bowing wasn’t exactly an everyday thing here anymore.

As the pair removed the lids to their bowls and prepared to nigiri, Isumi watched on tensely. Turning to Zhang who was moving over to watch as well, Isumi asked, " So, does Qian speak Japanese at all? "

Shaking his head, Zhang replied, " No, most pros who learn Japanese do so out of plans to participate in international tournaments, but that’s over many years. Qian only recently became interested in the Hokuto Cup, so I believe she hasn’t begun to learn. "

Frowning, Isumi returned his eyes to the board as the pair determined that Qian would play first. Well, that explained her lack of reply to Waya, she hadn’t understood what he’d said. Perhaps her lack of Japanese would be good though, after all without anything to say to one another Waya would be able to focus on the board.

" Hey, Qian Lei is playing Waya! "

" It’s a Hokuto Cup preview match! "

" What, Hokuto Cup preview? "

Glancing about as others began to flock to the table to watch as well, Isumi felt his stomach sink. On the other hand, if Waya allowed all the chatter that he couldn’t understand get to him, this could be a very embarrassing game. How would he handle this new added pressure; after all while he’d been trying to play with a free, fun mindset, taking a game for what it was and not getting frustrated by the situation, this game was different. Both players, and everyone else here seemed to be viewing this as a preview, a harbinger match even, to what might be seen in the Hokuto Cup in four months. In a way it was like watching Hikaru play Hon Suyon all over again, both players desperately wanting to win, except this time it was China vs. Japan.

Klak.

The 16-4 star point, that was Qian’s opening, standard in today’s game.

Klak.

Cocking an eyebrow, Isumi continued to watch on. The 4-3 point, interesting play, very interesting. Qian’s response a moment at 17-16 suggested that she too was intrigued by Waya’s play, as she was apparently shifting her strategy to better match his. Waya’s 4-17 reply was similarly off, but nevertheless intriguing. Immediately Qian shot back with high approach at 4-5, attacking Waya’s stone.

As Waya countered at 3-5, followed by Qian’s playing hane at 3-6, the number of spectators continued to grow. The fact that there had been three or four days for news of this match and it’s potential significance to spread around, it wasn’t surprising to see so many people showing up, even if Isumi felt everyone might have been overestimating this match a bit. After all, this wasn’t really a preview of the Hokuto Cup, there wasn’t even any guarantee that either player would make it into the tournament. From what Yang Hai had told him yesterday, Tian Cheng was seen as the frontrunner here, and back home most people were expecting to see a return of last year’s team, Akira, Hikaru, and Yashiro.

This match was a glimpse into the beyond, a look at a possible future that was still very far off from becoming a reality. Both players certainly wanted it badly, but Isumi had to admit that he was a little worried for Waya. How would he take it if he lost here, or failed to make it into the Hokuto Cup? Sure he was turning over a new leaf, returning to the Waya of old that Isumi remembered, but adversity was the true test for a person, and how he would respond to that ultimately would be what defined him. Of course it was possible that adversity wouldn’t come right away, that he’d win today and return home to many more victories, but sooner or later adversity would show itself, just as it had not so long ago in the form of Hikaru Shindo.

Klak.

The game was heating up quickly, a short joseki in the upper left had been followed up with Qian invading the lower left and only partially succeeding. Waya had then taken the switch in sente to launch an invasion of his own, and the pair were now battling their way up the right side of the board. In fact, if they kept it up soon they’d…

Klak.

There it was, the battle had carried its way up into the upper right corner now. Waya’s knight’s move was a nice low approach, and the wall he’d set up behind it gave it strong support. A direct attack against that stone would be difficult.

Klak.

There was a pause as silence hit the crowd, allowing Isumi to make out the voices of several pros who’d set up a replay of the match off at another table, getting periodic updates every few moves. That move, it was unexpected, not uncommon, but given the battle thus far, unexpected.

Then a slight chuckle escaped Waya’s lips, vanishing a moment later. Glancing up at his opponent with a grin, Waya stared down Qian for a moment before reaching for his stone. She was playing for influence, preparing to set up to control the lines of the board and to keep his group isolated. In return she was all but sacrificing the upper right corner, leaving a clear path in through the back door. He’d have to be careful, but if he was lucky he might even be able to set up to grab the entire upper edge of the board.

Placing the stone down at 18-4, Waya began playing out the possible outcomes, but was soon answered with an attachment at 18-3, answered with a hane at 17-3 a moment later. A move like that wouldn’t be enough against him, not today.

Klak. Klak.

Klak. Klak.

Klak.

Nodding his head slightly as he watched Qian tenuki away, Isumi felt the tension in the air rising, and his own blood began to pump as well. Waya had done it, he’d secured his position and could later project out to take the upper edge, but it had come at a price. Qian’s 18-3 stone had been a sacrifice, surrendered to allow Qian to put a thick barricade into the corner. Waya could make territory, even move along the upper edge, but that group of stones just wedged into the corner well, siphoning off any chance to wrap around onto the right side. A nice exchange, although as far as Isumi was concerned it had benefited Waya far more, and he was now in the lead.

Move after move came down, the battle shifting back to the lower left, the tempo of the match shifting slightly. Before it had been fuseki, the early stage of the battle, but now the middle game had begun, and the close in fighting was intense. The way they were scraping at one another, it was obvious just how strong both were at this sort of thing. No territory felt safe, but what was really strange was that Waya was not playing it safe, in fact neither player was.

Normally when a player gained an early advantage, they could sit back and play defensively to hold on. While it was true that Waya’s lead was small, and still somewhat suspect, the zeal with which he played his stones was impressive. In a way it was like the Waya from his match against Hikaru, aggressive to the point of near recklessness, and while at first glance it had worried Isumi that Waya had slipped back to that style of play, he was still riding on the razor’s edge between reckless forcing of the game and calm collection. So this was the new Waya, a truly fearsome beast, and from what Isumi could tell, he was reading the board quite well, although some of his moves seemed to be daring his opponent to try something, as if Waya was trying to pick a fight within this fierce exchange.

Klak.

Isumi gasped. He’d played his stone into a tiger’s mouth, it was silly. After all, there was a reason it was called a tiger’s mouth, because playing into it was suicide. A moment passed however, helped by Qian’s pause at the play, and then Isumi saw what was happening; Waya was challenging her to a ko battle, to duke it out for control of that group instead of compromising. Now the only question was, how would Qian answer.

Klak.

She’d captured, well that was to be expected, Waya’s next move was the one that would set up the chance to battle it out or not. In fact, Waya’s likely next play had an extra bonus in that it’d form a potential eye that he could use to save the group if she refused to engage.

Klak. Klak.

She’d refused to engage, filling the space instead. It was quite intriguing, particularly given how cutthroat both had been to this point. In many ways though it was likely the right call, since the potential gain was rather small for her in that battle. So unless forced, Qian would only engage Waya on her own terms it seemed. This was getting good, and they weren’t even halfway through yet.

Klak. Klak. Klak.

Klak. Klak. Klak.

Frowning as she placed her next stone, Qian scanned the board with her eyes, searching for the proper place to engage. The problem was that Waya was enjoying sente right now, and doing a good job of pushing her to respond. She’d been able to shrink his lead with her successful capture of the lower left corner in their last exchange, but already the center was beginning to implode on itself. The likely result was that little real territory would come out of it unless she could find a way to capture a floating group. Unfortunately Waya wasn’t leaving much behind, he was securing and attacking her position at the same time.

She needed an opening, just a chink in his offense, and she could still make up the difference. What was truly frustrating was all of the little provocation moves Waya was playing, goading her to engage him. In fact, a good part of her wanted to do so, to dive in and rip him apart, but that would just play into the current position. It was time to be patient, an opening would come, as long as she spotted it when it did.

Klak. Klak.

It was strange, she’d heard that Japan was below China and Korea in talent and strength, and while it was true that genuine talent could arise anywhere, she had not really expected Waya to push her this hard. Not that she wasn’t up for the fight, in fact in many ways she welcomed it. All she needed was one mistake, a misplay or a soft placement on Waya’s part, and then… THERE!

Klak.

An audible gasp erupted from the crowd as Qian’s stone hit the board, followed by a low murmur as one of the pros scampered from the group to report the result to one of the tables replaying the game. As he did so, Isumi’s eyes lifted from the Go board and scanned the crowd. No one noticed him, all eyes were on the board, strained as sweat slid down a few of the onlooker’s faces. So many were here now, Liu, Li-sensei, and even Zhao and Le Ping had finished squeezing through the crowd to get a front row seat. Off to his right stood Tian Cheng, his eyes seemingly even more intense as he observed the game, nibbling at his thumb as he watch. Despite Isumi’s earlier concerns though about how easily this game could have taken a turn for the worst, it had actually lived up to much of the hype that had existed coming into it.

Qian’s last move though, Isumi knew by Waya’s reaction that his friend recognized what it meant. He’d slipped ever so slightly, and while that stone of Qian’s could, and had to be removed, it was going to take a lot of work, and moves, to accomplish. The problem was that if he put all his effort into killing it Qian would expand out her stones and take the game easily, so he’d have to take the stone and counter her plays on the board at the same time. Adversity had just thrown a jab at Waya’s head, so now it was time to see how Waya would respond.

Klak. Klak.

Klak. Klak.

Klak. Klak.

Klak. Klak.

Wiping a drop of sweat from his face, Waya placed his fist to his lip and scanned over the board before making his next move. Qian had added a trio of stones to her first, with interim plays across the board, and while Waya had just about eliminated that threat, Qian had been busy. She’d found a tricky play that had allowed her to bring life to a group Waya had written off as dead, and while he’d shored it up and countered well, the survival of that group was big, as it ate up what he’d previously seen as his territory. The life of that group meant that his lead had shrunk to next to nothing, in fact it was likely no bigger than a point or two.

Still, he’d stabilized the board position, which meant that from now on, it was all about who had the better endgame. Lifting his eyes for a moment to admire his opponent and her plucky stubbornness, Waya returned his gaze to the board. It was strange, especially given the situation, the tension in the air, the neck and neck, do or die battle on the board, all of it. Perhaps this was what Hikaru had spoken of before, the sensation that arrived when limits were pushed, the exotic taste of a high level match. Despite everything on the board before him and occurring all around, Waya couldn’t help but smile; he hadn’t played a match this fun in a long time.

Inhaling and exhaling, Isumi watched on, his eyes glued to the board. The moves now, they were desperate in their aggressiveness. The endgame was about expanding and shrinking territory, a point gained here, shaved away there. That aspect wasn’t changing, what was however was the tension that occurred with each play. It was like watching fireworks, an ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ with every play, a build up for the finale.

It was hard to tell who was up on whom now, although it looked like Waya was hanging on by half a point or so. A stone later and he was down by a point, the next up a point again. It was back and forth, a slugfest occurring between the stones. This was going to be close.

"You have everything packed up Waya?"

Turning his head toward the hotel bathroom, Waya called back, "Yeah, just about. All that’s left is the Go board, then we can head for the airport."

"Well hurry it up," Isumi called back, "I don’t want to miss our flight, not when we both have our Toyota Cup preliminaries tomorrow."

Rolling his eyes, Waya shot back, "Yeah right, you just want to see Chi-chan again, right Shin-chan?"

"I’m serious Waya!"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Turning his eyes back to the board in front of him and the stones placed on it, Waya exhaled heavily. It had been an amazing match; even replaying it on the board caused his body to tremble in excitement. It was a game he couldn’t wait to get back to Japan with to show the others, to hear their thoughts on it.

Clearing off the stones into their proper bowls, Waya then proceeded to dump the stones from the bowls into plastic bags for storage. Sealing them up, he reached over and slid his suitcase over, placing the bags with the stones down in a small spot he’d left open for them, followed by the bowls themselves. Next he placed the board itself in, and closed the suitcase shut. That was it, time to head home.

Stepping out of the bathroom now, Isumi glanced at Waya and said, "Ready?"

Nodding to his friend, Waya stood up and reached for the rest of his bags. "Yep, good to go."

"Ok then," Isumi replied as he walked across the room and zipped up the last of his bags, "let’s go."

As they made their way into the elevator Waya said, "You know Isumi, we should come back sometime."

Nodding with a smile as the elevator doors closed, Isumi replied, "Yeah, but let’s think about that later. We have enough waiting for us in Japan as it is."

Nodding, Waya watched the numbers of the elevator as they slowly changed. "You know Isumi, I really hope Qian Lei makes it into the Hokuto Cup, it’d be great to play her again."

Chuckling at that, Isumi replied, "Looking for a rematch already?"

"Well yeah," Waya retorted with a grin, "in an incredible, back and forth, in your face battle like that, losing by a point and a half is a hard thing for me to swallow. It’s not just that though, that game… it was really fun."

Cocking an eyebrow, Isumi inquired, "Fun?"

"Yeah," Waya replied, a smile sliding across his face at just the thought of it all, "fun. To play a game like that again… I’ll make it into the Hokuto Cup. Definitely."

Author’s Notes:

And so we draw this side story to a close. Sorry it took so long, but I’ve been quite busy lately. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter and the story as a whole, and if not don’t worry, we’re heading back to the main story presently. The chapter was actually rather difficult to write since as the climatic battle I wanted it to be memorable, and at the same time it was doing a lot of introduction and character development as well.

On the character of Qian Lei, I did not originally intend for the first scene where we are introduced to her to run as long, or as in depth, as it ultimately did. In fact the character herself was created on the fly last chapter when I decided to have Isumi name off some contenders to play in the Hokuto Cup. While doing that I thought, "Hmmm, this Qian Li, since I’m making him stand out a little, why not make him a female player." Thus Qian Li became Qian Lei and I started to run with the concept. One week later, without much active thought I might add, she’s fleshed out and has a strong personality. Basically I think I just created an image of her in my head and let it run from there. Possibly this is why I start out the scene as I did, to mirror my thoughts to paper as we start out with getting something of a physical description with her hair and from there we move into who she is. Strangely as I wrote new bits of information and background kept coming, and suddenly I have this three-page scene all about her and she suddenly seems a lot more important than I had originally planned.

Now I didn’t plan to get all political with the whole Planned Family Policy, or discussing male-female sex preferences in China, but as I stated it just sort of came out as I wrote, and looking back now, as a woman those things would heavily impact Qian Lei. Also originally the opening scene did not exist, but was added during last minute storyboarding. Originally we were going to just meet her when she arrived to play, and describe her basic appearance there, but I decided it would be better if we met her as Qian Lei the woman, and then moved into Qian Lei the Go player. This was better because with the former the lack of that evolution could force me to constantly make her a Go player who’s female, while the latter lets me establish her as a woman, then move into her as a Go player without added designations. Hmmm, maybe I should write a Leitbur’s Corner article on this.

Note: The match is based off the 3rd Toyota Cup, Round 1 match between Gu Li 9 – Dan (Black) and Ryu Shikun 9 – Dan (White) played on 8-26-2006.

007: Thank you. Once again you reviewed every chapter of the side story. Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, large and small.

Enthor: Thank you. Your reviews are always something I look forward to as they are well thought out and quite enjoyable to read. I’m glad you enjoyed this side story.

White Ivy: Thank you. I’m very happy to provide you with an opportunity to see Le Ping and Waya meet, even if it was only one scene. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the story as well.

Rin. Thank you. I find it reassuring that you were the first to recognize my personal troubles, as it shows you really did read over and take to heart my story, and my notes at the end.

Prodigy-X3-Bomber: Thank you. I’m glad the traffic issues of China had a special place for you, as I strive to present accuracy as much as possible.

Beanstalk1019: Thank you. I’m glad that I was able to give you a chance to enjoy your favorite character while developing him and the story in general. The belly button always pops up because it’s from the only real conversation around Le Ping that involved Waya, there’s just not much to work with.

Goldenrat: Thank you. I hope that what I portrayed was enough of the so-called ‘power boost’ for Waya as you had hoped for.

Esa Marie: Thank you. Waya against Ochi? Well even if they don’t meet in the qualifier, they’re set to meet up in the 1st Round of the Shinjin-O Tournament, so he’ll get his shot.

Are-en1: Thank you. No need to apologize, I understand your desire to read more. I feel the same whenever I finish something and have to wait as well. Rest assured, my heart is slowly healing, and I will be returning to the main story presently.

Idhren: Thank you. I am grateful for your praise of my story and your sympathy to my personal situation. As you enjoyed my previous side story, I hope you have also gotten around to reading and enjoying Sato’s story.

Vanilla Topping: Thank you. Waya take a stand against Ochi, well as I mentioned above, just wait, it will be coming up soon.

Mistress-of-Mystery: Thank you. I appreciate your comments.

Ellie: Thank you. Even if you don’t have anything constructive to say, your support alone makes me happy.

Hattuteline: Thank you. Yes, such breathers from Hikaru can be relaxing. As for Qian and Waya on a balcony with Qian saying, "Oh Waya, oh Waya, wherefore art thou Waya?" well that scene itself likely won’t be happening, but any possibility of eventual sparks between them, I suppose only time will tell.

Zeynel: Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed this story and look forward to hearing more from you.

Etern1tyST: Thank you. Yes, adding in new characters and setting up more plot to come is part of why I write these. Even my side stories are layered that way. As of late, I’ve been playing Go on the Kiseido Go Server under Leitbur. If you want to stop by, I’d love to play you, or anyone else.

Wingsofeagle: Thank you. No worries, in the end you remembered this story and came to read it, and for that I am grateful.

Tintin: Thank you. I might just take you up on that offer if the need ever arises.

Kris: Thank you. Even if you are not more than just a little fond of Waya, I’m glad you took the time to read it and send me your thoughts.

Ed: Thank you. Yes, the way you defined the difference in the dialects, those were the exact words I was looking for in describing them. You may have noticed that I was having a hard time saying just what I wanted to with that.

Ambar: Thank you. I appreciate your words on my portrayal of Le Ping, and as for Waya and the Hokuto Cup, we’ll have to wait and see.

Note: As my own Go strength increases, I have begun to fear that I am starting to get a bit too technical in my writing. I have tried my best to keep it from getting too difficult to understand, so feedback on this is always welcome.

Well it’s back to Japan just in time for Nase’s Shinshodan match. I know it’s been much debated and anticipated, and if you thought Sato’s match was good, I plan to deliver just as much for Nase’s match. Stay tuned, and thanks to everyone again.