uchikomi | Round 6 - Kazutaka Muraki, "The Status Is Not Quo", Fic & Graphics & Art & AMV (○)

Pseudonym: Kazutaka Muraki
Title: The Status Is Not Quo
Characters/Pairings: Ochi, Kuwabara, and really pretty much everybody.
Rating: Mature.
Warnings/Contains: Contains black humor, violence, multiple character deaths, utter crack and kittens.
Summary/Notes: Ochi attempts to join the League of Extraordinarily Good-Looking Go Players.

It was here. Finally! I took a deep breath and opened the envelope that would determine the rest of my life. I pulled out the letter inside, unfolded it and read:

Re: Ochi Kousuke

Your level of attractiveness has been evaluated by a panel of impartial judges on the Scoville-Equivalency Scale. Your score was Peperoncini. At this time, we are only accepting applications of persons rated Serrano or higher. Therefore, your entrance into the League of Extraordinarily Good-Looking Go Players has not been accepted. LEG-LGP thanks you for your application and wishes you the best of luck.

Sincerely,
Touya Kouyou, Meijin and current head of LEG-LGP

The letter fell from my hands to tumble to the ground and get caught by an errant wind. How could this happen? I thought I was a shoo-in for the League. I mean, my current hairstyle isn't great and I could stand to have a little more muscle tone, but I'm totally Cayenne! I had gorgeous bone structure and expressive eyes and my hands were easily my best feature which you'd think would be important for a league of go players.

When I submitted my documentation to become a go pro, I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to join these guys. It was my destiny! When they lost my application the first year, I'll admit that I thought it was a sign, but I had an even stronger application this year with my most compelling kifu, the most alluring head shot, and the full body shot of me posing mostly nude on that polar bearskin rug my grandfather bought for me. But, no. Not destiny. A joke. A great big cosmic joke aimed right at my heart.

Sure, I could just be a go player. I'd still play oteai games and compete for titles, but without the League at my back, it would be nearly impossible to actually make a living as a go player. In addition to the extra jobs that it garnered, there was also the satisfaction of saving the day that came when the League was called out into the community to teach go, rescue kittens from trees, diffuse bombs, participate in modeling shoots, and anything else that attractive and talented people might be needed to do. And the clubhouse! Without being in the League, you were stuck in the Nihon Ki-in with its plastic chairs and one tank of fake tropical fish. If you got in the League, you got access to the LEG-LGP clubhouse with its state-of-the-art everything, comfortable chairs, in-house health spa, and a hot spring pumped right into the heart of Tokyo. I wanted that. It was supposed to be mine!

But now I was destined for failure. Without the League, what was the point of even being a pro?

It was difficult getting out of bed the next day. My head was pounding and my eyes were sore. But I'd cried for a while before falling asleep, so I guess it wasn't so unusual. But feeling that, I was even more disappointed now. My chance was gone and now everyone would know. I had spent so much time talking about joining the League. I had put more work into my application than anyone else. How could they not recognize my superiority? But maybe I was the foolish one. Maybe I should have worked on art or something instead of go. But my passion was in go. I turned the board into an object d'art with every game. And if they couldn't see it, maybe it was up to me to show them they weren't as good as they thought.

There was a place for me in the world of go. I knew it. And I would carve it for myself if I had to.

At the Nihon Ki-in, I had my own little lair of sorts. It came from having a rich family who were into go when the Ki-in was first built. So when I'd had a bad game, I went there. The entrance was hidden in one of the bathroom stalls. You had to hit the pressure-sensitive panel in a particular order, but if you did, you gained access to the hidden hallway that led to a wood-paneled room that was a near duplicate of my study at home. I came down here for a lot of things, but today it was just for looking over kifu.

I lost to Isumi again. He was wearing his stupid League pin and I swear it was taunting me the whole game. I resigned just barely into yose so I wouldn't slam his pretty face into the go ban. But, really, I should have just done it. I should have pressed a stone of each color into his eyes until all he could see was his own defeat. No. I shouldn't think like that. I shouldn't take out my anger on people who had nothing to do with what happened.

Looking at the stack of kifu in front of me, I shook my head and tossed them back on the table. I couldn't concentrate. Maybe later I could try to grow as a player. Right now, I just needed to find something to take my mind off of what's happened.

When I finally left the bathroom stall, Kuwabara Honinbou was standing at the sink and staring at me. As I washed my hands, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of me and it was kind of freaking me out. I skipped drying my hands and just started to head out the door shaking them when I felt a hand on my shoulder and it was all I could do to keep from screaming, "Rape!"

"Ochi Kousuke. I hear the League turned you down." His voice was some weird mix of high and low tones and my skin crawled where his hand was, even when he let go.

"Yeah, they did. But it's their loss. I can always reapply next year." I held my head up high and did my best to keep my bottom lip from quivering under his observation. I really just wanted to get out of there, but he was one of the highest ranked players who wasn't in the League.

The old man pulled out a cigarette and lit it and started puffing out smoke as he talked. "I knew your family, Ochi-kun. They helped build this place. But you're one of the only ones left, aren't you?"

I couldn't believe he knew that. He's old, sure, but it was my great-grandfather who helped design the Ki-in and even set up the foundations for the League itself. That was the biggest reason why my rejection hurt. But for Kuwabara to know about it... "I have a little family left. My parents don't play go, but they support me in doing it."

"And you live with your grandfather?" Kuwabara blew smoke in my face and I choked on the breath I was taking and coughed.

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air." I started to turn away and his hand was on my shoulder again and it was stronger than I could have imagined. "What do you want?"

"You, Ochi."

I jerked my shoulder out of his grasp. "Get away from me, you pervert!"

"Pervert? No. I think you have the wrong idea. I think the League was right to turn you down. You aren't pretty, Ochi-kun. But you're smart. You're strong. And you have a connection here that no one else does." He turned to the stall I was in and tapped the wall with his fingers. "I know all about it."

"How do you-"

"Shh. Listen to your elders, Ochi-kun. Be patient and answers will come. And I'm here to be your answer. The thing you should do since the League has turned you down is to join us." He stubbed the cigarette out in the sink and flicked the crushed filter into the trash can. "We are an organization who may be able to help you to right the injustice that the League has wrought upon you. Am I correct in thinking that you may now be interested in hearing more?"

My head was nodding before he finished his sentence. Help on my way to proving the League that they were wrong? Acceptance by one of the strongest players in Japan? Probably others just like me? I couldn't say no.

"What is this?" I looked around the basement go salon full of ugly old men and tried to put names to some of the faces. Ichiryu. Zama Ouza. Matsunaga. Serizawa. Morishita. I knew them all from playing go, but none of them had the acclaim associated with being in the League. But they were all making a living at go despite it. What was going on here that tied them all together?

Kurata seemed to appear from the woodwork which was surprising given his size and loud voice. "Ochi-kun, wasn't it?"

"Yes. And you're Kurata-san?"

"Of course you know me. And I'm not in the League. I wouldn't associate with those brats even if they'd have me because Korea's version of the League allowed in that loser An Taeson." Morishita cleared his throat and Kurata nodded back. "We call ourselves LAMPNAMF. It stands for 'Look At My Play, Not At My Face'. We stand for the ideal that go is about the hands you play on the board and not how high your cheekbones are."

I couldn't help but be intrigued. How had I never heard of this before? It bothered me enough that I asked it out loud. "Are you guys new? I've never heard of you before."

That was when Kuwabara stepped back in to speak. "We have been around almost as long as the League. And we have stayed well hidden because it doesn't do to let the enemy know your secrets. We are a group that helps each other to rise in the ranks. We are willing to lose a game to a fellow member if it will not adversely affect our ranking but will help our friend rise in dan level. We push and pull each other to the top where otherwise only members of the League would be. Tell me, Ochi-kun, how does this sound to you so far?"

"I..." And I spotted Mashiba and his little pig-nose peeking out at me from behind Nogi who used to be Meijin and used to be in the League before they kicked him out for getting ugly. Looking more closely, I saw several other younger pros. Honda. Kadowaki. Murakami. It was no wonder they were here. Ugly hangers-on. But I couldn't judge anymore, could I? I still felt like I was better than them, though. I looked back to Kuwabara. "It does sound good."

"We're glad you said that, Ochi-kun. You see, with your help, we're going to be able to expand soon. We can get out of this hovel that half of these guys still can't find the entrance to. And once we do that, we can attack. We can bring the League to their knees and we can show them that their opinions of us do not define us."

"What do you want? Money?" I shook my head. "No. I don't see this working out."

"Ochi-kun..." Kuwabara trailed off as he lit a cigarette and took a long draw of breath through it. "All we need is access to your little room."

That was somehow both a relief and a spear that shoved through my heart. It wasn't much to have to give to take down the League, really. But that was my space. The code had been passed down to me through my grandfather (even though his passion for go had never led to talent) with the intention that it be a space for members of our family.

But as I looked around at the expectant faces of my fellow pros, I wondered if our shared hatred for the League was a sort of secondary kind of family. My own family wasn't much to speak of, really. My parents lived out in the country and my father commuted an hour to work, but that was nearly three hours from Tokyo so when my talent at go had manifested, I'd been shipped off to live with my grandfather to try to regain honor for our family in the go-playing world at the Ki-in. It didn't work. Instead, there was one small humiliation after another. Even when I won, I was often overlooked in favor of the loser. Like Isumi. No one cared when I beat him. But when he beat me, they tore me to shreds. How was that fair?

If I was honest, Isumi was one of the League's worst offenders. Tragically born without a personality, he got by on his pretty face and boring go. But worse than him were Touya Akira and Shindou Hikaru. Touya was so obnoxious. Back when I was training to enter the League, my grandfather had invited him over to tutor me. All he'd cared about was Shindou Hikaru. I'd played against Shindou in our insei class a few times, but he was nothing special. So, of course, the two of them had rapidly progressed to the top of the ladder in LEG-LGP. It was said they rivaled the magnificence of the legendary founder of the League, Fujiwara no Sai. I didn't see it myself, but it was hard to get past how bad their clothing was.

I knew I'd made up my mind, but now it was just time to commit and actually say something. "The room? Of course. I'm in."

It nearly astounded me to discover that Kuwabara had set plans in motion before we even managed to arrive at the Ki-in. Only a few of us had made the journey there so they could see me unlock the room. Somehow it seemed that Kuwabara actually had connections because suddenly the better of the two upstairs bathrooms had prominent signs marking it as being for League members and visitors. With the hubris of those losers, they wouldn't go anywhere else. It would help keep things a secret.

There was a certain strangeness of going into a bathroom stall with Kuwabara and Morishita. If anyone did see, there would be uncomfortable questions that I did not want to answer. I wasn't sure what we were going to do to get rid of the problem. Install a security camera? A new lock on the door and a lookout? I was beginning to regret agreeing to this, but I was also far enough into it that I didn't feel like I could back out. We were here. I was about to reveal my own little lair. It kind of made me sorry that I hadn't cleaned up when I was down there last.

My hand shook as I tapped out the pattern on the panel. It wasn't difficult to remember. It was a practice problem that my great-grandfather had been fond of; tapped out in order. With it entered, I turned to the wall perpendicular to the panel and watched the wall slide away. I walked through the opening and Kuwabara and Morishita followed behind, but had to duck their heads down. I guess there were some advantages to being short.

Down the hallway again, and then we were there. The little coffee table was still covered in scattered kifu and the couch had cookie crumbs on it, but it warmed my heart to see it again and there was a part of me that was glad to share it even as the rest of me wanted to keep it to myself. Sharing was always one of those things that other children did. What was mine was given to me because it was meant to stay with me. This was still mine, though. But what was the point of having an amazing toy if no one else knew about it?

And then Kuwabara surprised me even further. He headed to the far wall and began to tap on it just above where I kept an antique go ban shoved for when I needed it. And, moments later, that wall slid away. My breath caught in my throat as I watched the two sides recede as panels slid into either wall and revealed what was nothing less than a command center. For how old this building was, I couldn't believe the kind of technology that I was seeing in front of me. These were not items from my great-grandfather's era. "What is this?"

Kuwabara stroked gnarled fingers across a keyboard and tapped a button which seemed to start the system. "Your true legacy." With a few more button pushes, monitors were turned on and I watched in amazement as the system began to come online. Lights flashed and hard drives whirred to life and I could feel myself hyperventilating. How had I not known about this?

I looked at the screen as a logo began to form. The sound of my heart beating thrummed in my ears as I gasped and tried to get control of my lungs. But my breath stilled as I was finally able to read the logo: LEG-LGP, v. 3.1. "How is this even possible?"

Morishita stepped up to the keyboard and entered a series of keystrokes which took the program past the opening screen. "Your family wasn't the only one to be involved with the Ki-in. But what you might not know is that the Ki-in was actually a point of contention between members of the League and the other pros. The League wanted it dedicated to them and their work. But there were enough people who wouldn't be allowed access that it was decided that they could find their own building nearby. LAMPNAMF formed as a countermeasure organization around that time and it was our families who built it. Your great-grandfather died before he could pass on all of the secrets, but there were others who knew them."

"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" I was finally starting to catch my breath, but I felt lightheaded and confused.

"Haven't you told anyone who would listen that you would join the League?" Morishita tapped in another string of commands and sat back as the system seemed to connect to something and update. "We had to wait until you realized that they weren't what you wanted. We couldn't risk this information falling into their hands."

Kuwabara came to stand at my side. "This is your true legacy, Ochi-kun. With this, we will rise above the League and you will be able to play with them as though they are nothing more than stones."

My heart quickened. "There are a few of the younger pros. They don't deserve their pretty faces."

"Then take them, my boy, and leave them with nothing."

What fear had made my hands tremble before was gone now. In its place was a confidence I'd never felt about anything. My lips quivered for a moment and I felt my face contort into a cold grin that strained my face. "I can't wait."

When I got back home that night, I went to my room and didn't come out. My grandfather had my dinner tray sent up and I picked at the food but didn't really eat much. I was too excited. I had options now. I was someone important. My dreams had been dashed, but I was fortunate enough to have new dreams. I didn't have to play by someone else's rules now. I could be the one to make them.

A laugh started low in my throat and I let it build and let that feeling of freedom wash over me. I would take them down one by one. And I would have help. The League could have their Scoville-Equivalency nonsense. I had power. And I was going to use it.

I was back in my little lair again the next day. Kuwabara wasn't there to open the wall again, but I remembered the sequence to do it. With the wall pushed back again, I pulled over a chair and sat in front of the command center. Morishita hadn't bothered to log off, so it sat waiting. I didn't want to do anything too big without discussing it with the rest of the group, but there were little annoyances I could put in the League's path. Morishita had shown off some of the things the system could do and I was amazed. But I learned fast, so I knew I could pull off those same things just by trying.

The system made it easy to hack virtually anything. So it was the work of a moment to hack into a floral website and have a large bouquet of flowers sent to Isumi from, hmm, Ogata with a note about how much he wanted to have sex with him. For Shindou, it was a simple matter to hack the Ki-in website and change one of his wins to losses which would mean he wouldn't go up a dan level yet. And Touya... I arranged for several 'fans' to send him outfits to wear that would make him look ridiculous. That stupid sense of honor of his wouldn't let him set them off to the side. He'd wear them and the whole world, or at least the parts that mattered, would laugh at his stupid smug smile turning to a frown as he realized he was beaten.

I also found and purchased a special lock for the bathroom door. It used some type of magnetic key that only needed to be swiped along the door to gain entrance. I wanted to be in on every step of this, and if I needed to pave the way on a few things in order to keep respect, I would do it. At this point, I was beginning to believe that I could do anything.

The League would fall. And we would overcome. I would take my place at the top and never relinquish it.

It seems my plans needed more research. It turns out that Ogata and Isumi were already dating. They've made it public now thanks to the flowers that showed up during an oteai game and everyone has congratulated them on their choice. Perverts.

Shindou? Yeah. It turns out he didn't need that win for the level change. My math was off. He's going to be honored in the next ceremony with his new certificate.

And Touya Akira. He came to a tournament qualifier with his green and yellow argyle sweater vest on over a lilac shirt with khaki short pants. And he came out of it with an exclusive modeling contract! He looked ridiculous, but he also looked like he didn't care. I wanted to pull on his little magenta bow tie until he choked.

But I had people to work with now. With their help, I could make up for these mistakes and really take them down. I was thinking too much like a prankster. But I didn't want pranks. I wanted chaos. I wanted terror. I wanted them to fear me and to rue the day they ever crossed me. I wanted infamy. And I would claw through everything in my path to get there.

It's been a few weeks now and we've had small meetings in my lair that is now something of a clubhouse. An "Out Of Order" sign has been posted on the bathroom door. We've gotten the information that we needed for our first operation. We've set up the scenario (though Mashiba, Honda, Kadowaki and I got stuck with a lot of the manual labor) and everything was prepared. This wasn't going to take them down. This was just to make them take notice. Everything was set up in advance so that we could all be spotted in public during the operation and not be caught. Not that we'd done anything illegal, really.

Kuwabara had been very clear that this was a gray area. But the sight of him holding a large box of kittens and cackling was one I couldn't quite get out of my head.

I was one of the few who didn't choose to spend the day at the Ki-in studying. Instead, I took the train out to visit my parents. Other members of LAMPNAMF may have had people at the Ki-in who could say that they were there all afternoon. I had video evidence that I was hours away. It was kind of nice to be smarter than everyone else.

But of course a visit with my parents was more like torture. Since they didn't see me often, they showered me with so much affection that it brought forth that roiling boil of rage in my stomach that was normally reserved for Touya Akira. I supposed every kid in my situation got that, though. They didn't ask me about the League, and I didn't tell them about LAMPNAMF. It wasn't so much that I didn't think they would understand or something because they probably already knew somehow with all of their old family connections. Still, this was something I needed to keep a secret. If I made it a point not to tell the people closest to me, then no one else should be able to find out.

It was just as I was saying goodbye to my parents at their house that the news came on. Two city blocks had a kitten up in every tree. Each one had a business card on a string tied to its tail with the LAMPNAMF logo. And not a ladder could be found within 10 city blocks. Members of the League had been dispatched to help with the incident. The police had been called in about the missing ladders and two members of the League were in the hospital. Saeki had fallen from a tree limb and broken his arm. Ashiwara was in intensive care because of the depth of the scratches on his arm from attempting to catch a falling cat.

I missed my train and ended up having to stay the night. Every breath I took as I tried to fall asleep tasted hot and wet. Is this what it felt like to have blood on your hands?

My fingers shook as I tapped in the code to enter the lair. I paused to clench my fist and then released it and tried to shake out the hesitation. Two more taps and the panel slid open. I could already hear conversation. I walked into the room to find Kurata sitting on the couch and yelling at Kuwabara who was hunched in a chair in front of the command station. "You said no one was supposed to get hurt, you crazy old man!"

Kuwabara pressed a few buttons before speaking. "If they'd been more careful, they wouldn't have been injured. I certainly can't predict when two hooligans are incapable of doing something as simple as climbing a tree."

I took a seat on the couch as far from Kurata as I could manage. "You're being loud. When the panel's open out there, people can hear you."

Turning to me for just a moment, Kuwabara grinned. "Then stay out." He turned back to Kurata. "If we'd been trying to hurt them, there are much more diabolical things we could do, don't you think?"

Kurata took a deep breath and pointed at the older man. "This organization is supposed to be about gaining respect and discrediting the League, not taking them out so we're the only ones left."

I caught glimpses of what Kuwabara was looking at and recognized it as schematics for the League headquarters thanks to the hot springs. "I'm sure it was an honest mistake, Kurata-san. We've all made them."

Scowling with his thick eyebrows furrowed together, Kurata said, "Kid, you've actually got a chance to get into the League if you just cut the hair and lose the glasses. Maybe Serrano Squad, but in the League. Maybe you should leave while you've got a chance."

I pushed my glasses up my nose. "Why would I want to try again for some place I'm obviously not wanted? The League needs to fall for the future of Japan's go. Is it any wonder Korea and China keep beating us in international tournaments?"

Kurata stood up and smoothed out his tie. "This isn't the last time we'll talk about this." He left the room in a huff and I found my gaze shifting to the old man hunched in the chair.

"It is if you want to live." My eyes widened. Did I really just hear that? But Kuwabara turned back toward me and spoke and his voice was calming and somehow entirely unlike what I'd just heard. "Ochi-kun, while you're here, would you like to play a game?"

I found myself pausing often as I brought over the go ban and set it up. I pushed past any apprehension that came up. Here was one of Japanese go's most treasured professionals. It would be rude to refuse him a game no matter how much I seemed destined to lose.

The loss wasn't as great as I'd imagined it would be, but it still hurt like every other one.

My games were finally starting to go well again. I'd won my last three by a solid enough margin that Touya Akira congratulated me in the elevator. He didn't acknowledge me any more than that, but it was a start. But at the next meeting, Morishita pulled me aside to ask if I'd lose to Honda at our next game. I felt my jaw tighten. "I take it he's pretty close to going up a level, then?"

"He just needs one more game. If we're going to have more representatives at the next dan ceremony than Touya, we have to act now. He'll lose to you next time without much of a fight." My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching my teeth together.

I glanced at Honda who was hesitantly smiling and giving me a 'V' sign as Serizawa addressed the group about an upcoming tournament. "Fine. But I want to go on record as saying that I don't like this."

Morishita patted me on the shoulder roughly. "No one likes it, Ochi-kun. But for the greater good, and to beat Touya, we have to make sacrifices."

I watched him walk away and worked my jaw back and forth to ease the strain I'd just put on it. This was the part I had been dreading. Of course it would happen during a winning streak! I'd just have to come back from it stronger than ever. I could do this. I could get to the Hand of God on this path. I would get there.

I placed my final stone and tried to keep calm, but I was just angry. I was honor bound to lose to Honda and I would swear he wasn't even trying. I'd gritted my teeth throughout the whole game and brought it into yose in hopes that he'd focus and at least try to make it look like we weren't throwing the game. But, in the end, I'd had to drop a stone in the wrong place to shift the balance back in his favor. We counted, he recorded his win while I put the stones back, and as soon as I was done I grabbed his arm and pulled him through the hallway to the bathroom. I swiped my magnetic key and shoved him into the stall.

I closed the door and kept my mouth shut as I tapped in the code and then led the way into the inner room. As soon as I heard the door shut behind us, I turned. "What the hell were you doing?"

Honda just looked at me with his jaw hanging open and his lips looking like an inner tube. "What? It was on you to lose."

"So you didn't even pretend to try? I'm good at tying games, Honda-san. I am bad at losing if I'm the only one bothering to play. Who wouldn't see right through that?"

"Sorry, Ochi-kun. Morishita told me not to try very hard to make sure it looked like a more even game." He had the nerve to grin.

"Over to the board. I'm going to show you what he meant so that when you have to lose to someone else you can manage." I was rough with the go ban and rough with the go ke as I slammed them down.

Honda took a handful of his white stones. "You're the one I'm scheduled to lose to. But that'll be a while."

I put one black stone on the board. "No. You're going to lose to me because I'm better than you." I won black and played the first move before sliding my glasses up my nose. "And if they ever ask me to lose to you again, I'll just point out that things like that should be believable."

This game went like our first game should have. Honda placed stones, but I took control.

Another day. Another meeting. They were beginning to blur together and I wondered if the League had this level of tedium to what they did. They, at least, had their own karaoke rooms in the clubhouse to liven things up a bit. We had Gokiso trying to do card tricks and failing and rubbing dirt into the lines of his forehead as he attempted to mop the sweat from his brow. But at least we were planning something new today.

Kuwabara sat at the command center again. It was his favorite spot. "The next thing we need to do is to get rid of that clubhouse."

Morishita laughed. "I like the sound of that. Take away all of their toys and leave them crying like the babies they are."

Kadowaki, who normally stayed silent during meetings, asked, "And how are we going to get rid of it?"

With a cackle, Kuwabara stood. "Thanks to some of Gokiso-san's, hm, acquaintances, we've gotten our hands on a bomb."

"A what?" I leaned forward to ask more, but my voice was already drowned out by the others in the room.

"Now, now. We would, of course, not use it while anyone was in the building. The plan is to do it on Tuesday when the Serrano Squad is putting on its exhibition at the children's go event." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kadowaki put his hand on his chest and look relieved. What was going on with him?

Kurata stood up and approached Kuwabara. "There could still be injuries."

The old man waved his hand at the younger one. "It's not a big bomb, Kurata-san. It's just enough to make it where they can't use the building, but I've been assured that as long as the building is empty, then there will be no problems with injuries."

"This is still a little much."

"Well, so's what you had for lunch, isn't it?" Kuwabara sat back down. "No real objections then? Good. We need to decide about what we're doing after that. We must progress with our cause."

I had objections, but I couldn't quite put them into words. No one else was really saying anything and even Kurata had backed down. What could I say?

When the meeting had been dismissed, I ended up walking out next to Kadowaki. "Why were you relieved?"

He stared down at me for a moment. "No real reason."

"Do you have a friend in the League?" I had found out that Kadowaki was one of the few members who hadn't bothered to pursue the League before getting recruited for LAMPNAMF. He seemed to get along with pretty much everyone except Shindou, despite his cocky manner.

He slowed now to take a better look at me and I stood still for his benefit. "Maybe," was all he said.

"You might want to reconsider what you're doing with us, then. If you go any deeper, you might not be able to get out again."

"Is there a reason you're not following your own advice, Ochi-kun?" He slid his hands into his pants pockets and leaned toward me.

I turned my head away from him. Damned tall people. "Because I don't have any friends in the League, so why should I care what happens to them?"

"Thanks, Ochi-kun." He walked off at a fast clip. I knew I had no chance of catching up with him. But maybe he'd tell his friend and the friend could get everyone out...

But if Kadowaki could tell someone, so could I. I checked the time and headed to the upstairs public play area where some of the League members were known to hang out after games. Just my luck, though, it was just Touya, Shindou and Waya. It was kind of funny. Shindou and Waya were friends and Touya and Shindou were partners as they had the two highest Scoville-Equivalency scores (though they were known to fight about go), but Touya and Waya just didn't get along. Their fighting left Shindou standing alone off to the side.

"Shindou-kun," I said as I came to a stop by his side. "Do you have a moment?"

"Ochi? What do you want?" His eyes never left Touya and Waya, but his face turned slightly toward me.

"I've just heard a rumor that someone is going to put a bomb in the League clubhouse on Tuesday." My stomach twisted in knots as I finished saying the words. He wasn't going to think I had something to do with it, was he?

"That's crazy. Who'd want to bomb us? We're awesome!"

I closed my eyes so Shindou wouldn't see me rolling them. "Remember the cat thing that happened? That organization that said they were going to take the League down?"

"Oh, those crazies? Probably nothing. The police said they thought it was just a diversionary tactic. If Touya Meijin isn't worried, why should I be?"

"Okay, so it's more than just a rumor. I know someone who's seen the bomb, Shindou-" Only then I was shoved out of the way.

"Sorry, Ochi! Gotta catch Touya before he decides to come back and kill Waya." And then he was gone with his two-toned hair flying. I turned to see if Waya was still around, but he'd stormed off in the opposite direction from Touya.

If I told someone and Kadowaki told someone and it was scheduled at a time when no one was going to be in the building, it was going to be okay, right?

I was in the middle of a teaching session when the bomb went off. I know because I heard it. My session was at a community center a few blocks away. When the blast happened, everyone ran outside to see what was going on. I had to follow or it would look strange. But watching the thick smoke billow into the air, I just wanted to vomit. I held a hand over my mouth and started to walk toward the building. I had to force my way through the crowd that was also standing around. The air was getting hard to breathe and dust and smoke were getting in my eyes and making them tear up. But I couldn't look away.

As I got to the front of the pack and stared at the smoking hole in the building, I went numb. Suddenly, all I could hear was noise and all I could see was light. My ears rang and my eyes struggled to focus as a second bomb went off. But if no one got hurt...

My eyes searched what was left of the structure. There weren't any more bombs, were there? Even two was more than we'd been told about.

I saw a hint of white by the edge of the building. What was that?

As I watched, I saw Isumi come into view and I gagged on the bile trying to rise up my throat. No. This couldn't be happening. Isumi struggled forward more and I saw him supporting Yashiro as they hobbled toward the road together. It took me a moment to realize they were only wearing towels around their waists. Their skin looked patchy and Yashiro had blood streaming down one leg. They must have been in the hot spring when the first bomb went off.

I looked around, but no one else was looking toward them yet. The building was burning and all of their attention was on it. "Help them!" My throat was hoarse from the bile but I screamed again, "Somebody help them!"

I fell to my knees and leaned past a bush and threw up on the ground as tears streamed from my eyes. How could this happen? The building was supposed to be empty! I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and turned to watch as someone helped Isumi get Yashiro over toward the road and lying down. "Did they get out?" I heard Yashiro say with his voice full of pain.

Isumi looked around. "I don't see them." He stood up slowly and clutched his towel to his waist. "Did anyone see Hatanaka-san? Shirakawa-san? Komiya Eiji-kun?" He looked around the crowd and I could tell from his face that the answer wasn't a good one. "Anybody?"

I sat on the ground and pulled my knees up to my chest and sobbed against them as Isumi knelt to the ground and pressed his forehead against Yashiro's. I saw his lips moving, but couldn't make out the words.

"Shinichiro!" Ogata was running up now and shoving people aside. "Are you okay?" He grabbed Isumi up from the ground and wrapped him up in his arms. "Tell me you're okay."

Isumi clutched harder at his towel as it started to slip down and this time I could hear every word. "I think I'm the only one who is. Yashiro-kun needs medical attention soon. And no one has seen anyone else come out." His face fell and he pushed it against Ogata's shoulder. "Seiji... Who would do this?" Ogata just stroked Isumi's back and held him close.

I wanted to tell them. But I don't want them to know that I have anything to do with it. I couldn't be any more scared than they were, but I couldn't tell anyone. I swore I wouldn't. I had already told Shindou and that didn't help at all.

But if they would have just respected us in the first place... Even I couldn't believe that, though. This was supposed to be about playing go. And just like the origins of the game, it was just a tool of war. Was I on the winning side or the losing one? Or was there a winning side? I didn't know about anything anymore.

I heard the sirens of the ambulance and felt the crowd begin to give way around me as people moved for the paramedics. My ears still seemed to ring from the last blast. Three people dead. Three opponents out of the way. Komiya had just turned pro and gotten accepted into the Serrano Squad to join Waya who was his best friend.

I grimaced as I stood up. I couldn't be here right now. I couldn't see this and hear the questions people were asking and I could not face the death toll that had suddenly engraved itself on my conscience.

I turned. And I ran.

I ended up taking shelter under a foot bridge after it started raining. Sitting there and watching the ground get bombarded with raindrops helped to calm me.

I still felt horrible. But I thought I was getting to a point where I could make a plan. Kuwabara needed to be overthrown. The League needed to be disbanded, but so did we. Everything had gotten so out of hand and now that there were people dying, I didn't want to be a part of this. But I had to stay so I could have access and so I could stop him. No more pranks that turned into murder scenes. No more plans to destroy everything they'd ever had.

What I had to do was still a little unclear, but I had to stop it because it seemed like no one else would. Even Kurata had backed down when he tried to confront the old man. But Kuwabara had told me I had power. Maybe it was time to see about using it.

I pulled off my glasses to wipe my eyes and slid them back on and nodded to myself. It was time to head back to the Ki-in and see what I could do.

When I entered the Ki-in, soaking wet from the rain, there were a lot of people standing around. They were here for information. They were here to mourn. But the crowds of people were almost silent and it was hard to look at them when I knew that the dead men could be their friends, their lovers, their family, or even just their heroes. I took the stairs up to the next level to avoid most of them. As much as I wanted to apologize and beg forgiveness from every one of them, I couldn't.

It was only a few moments later that I was in our little secret hideaway. Somehow I was surprised that I wasn't the only one. Morishita was pacing back and forth along one wall. Kurata was stone-faced on the couch. Honda was gnawing on his fingernails and shaking. He saw me and said, "You heard?"

I nodded. "I was just down the street at the time."

"Did you see what happened? The news isn't saying anything yet, just that there were missing people." Morishita walked toward me as he talked and grabbed my shoulders. "Ochi-kun, what do you know?"

"Isumi-san and Yashiro-san are alive, but three people died. Hatanaka, Shirakawa and Komiya."

Morishita dropped his hands and took a step back. "Poor Waya."

I laughed. "Poor Waya?" I took a deep breath and looked at him. "Waya's still alive, Morishita-san. He gets to mourn and keep on living. But three of our fellow pros are dead and it's because of what we allowed to happen."

Kurata looked up. "He's right. This has all gone too far."

Honda clutched both hands to the top of his head. "What's he going to do to us if we try to leave?"

I walked over to the far wall and entered the code to reveal the command center. "We won't leave. You can't effect change if you're not part of it." I gestured to the computer system in front of me. "We have access to information. If we need money for some reason, I'll provide it. But we're going to take down Kuwabara-san and if you don't want to help... Just don't get in my way."

Kurata stood and held his head high. "What can we do to help?"

"I don't know just yet. But with this plan done, Kuwabara-san will probably have another one. He's escalating, so we'll want to make sure that we foil whatever it is."

"Should we just go to the police?" Honda sat on the couch and grasped at his knees.

Morishita shook his head. "With what proof? He's made enough of a name for himself that I don't think the police would even bother to investigate. And if we admit we were in on it, then we're the ones in jail and we can't do anything from there."

"Just wait it out. The way this will work best is to let him dig his own grave." I wouldn't sleep well until this was all over. Tonight I would probably cry myself to sleep again. For now, though, I had to stay strong.

I could do this.

We could do this.

The next plan was an escalation, but not in the way we had thought with more and more lives lost. This one was just cruel. Kidnap Touya Kouyo's wife and hold her hostage unless both her husband and son threw their games that day. The pros they were scheduled to play weren't affiliated with either group, so this was still just a dangerous mind game. When Kuwabara asked for a volunteer to actually grab the woman, I think we were all a little shocked to see Kurata raise his hand.

"Ah, Kurata-san. I see you're finally getting with the program here. Are you that starved for female companionship?" Kuwabara laughed and I shuddered to see flecks of spittle flying from his mouth.

Kurata smiled tersely and nodded. "I just didn't want you to get injured trying to do it yourself. Your back can't be what it used to be."

"Don't you worry about my back, Kurata-san." Kuwabara grinned and sat back in his chair. "We need a team to help you."

Morishita raised his hand. "Anything to take Touya Kouyou down."

I raised mine. "I'd like to see Touya Akira lose, too."

The old man had his eyes closed as he smiled and leaned back even further, "The whole point of this is just to discredit the League. You can't let her see your face or know where she's being held. The demands should be made from the pay phone in front of the Institute since there isn't any surveillance on it. Wear gloves." He sat forward and looked around at us. "If there are any questions, I suggest you figure out answers." He stood and fumbled inside of his coat pocket for his cigarettes and lighter and I cringed. The couch was already starting to stink of old cigarettes.

The meeting adjourned and Morishita and I joined Kurata over in one corner. "Let's get together tomorrow to work out the details of this, okay?"

Kurata nodded. "Sure. I've got some ideas on how to make this work best for us."

Morishita glanced over at Kuwabara who was still lounging in the chair at the command center. "The more ideas we come with, the better."

I pushed my glasses up my nose. "I'll see you at the agreed upon time, then." I turned and left the room, but my heart was starting to pound. We had to get a handle on this and the best way was to throw ourselves into it and try to turn it in another direction.

When I was walking down the hallway toward the exit, I heard someone calling my name. I turned to look and saw Ogata jogging toward me. "Can I help you with something?" I tried to maintain outward calm, but my heart was beating even faster. What could Ogata possibly want with me?

Ogata glanced around. "Too many people around. Come with me." I followed him into a small room used for storing kifu and tried to keep my breathing even. Once the door was shut behind us, he turned to me. "I saw you after the bombing. You were there."

I swallowed. "I had a shidougo session just down the street. When we heard the first explosion, we all went to see what was happening."

"Did you see anything?" Ogata leaned against a filing cabinet and stared at me.

"I..." I shook my head. "Just what everyone else did."

"You looked a lot more upset than everyone else."

My eyes widened. "Because I play go."

"But you're not in the League." He opened the filing cabinet and began casually leafing through a stack of kifu.

I winced. "You're right. I'm not."

Ogata pulled out a single sheet of paper and handed it to me. "And neither is he." I looked at the kifu and saw the names of black and white. Ogata and Kuwabara. Ogata had won, but it was a close match.

"Ogata-san..." I pushed the paper away. "Forget it. I'm not in the League so no one listens to me."

He dropped the paper. "What do you know?" I stayed silent and he grabbed me by my shirt and shoved me against the wall. "You know something. What is it?"

Would he listen? Could he help? "Everything. I know everything and I tried to stop it and..." I covered my mouth with one hand.

He let go of my shirt and looked at me like he expected me to run off, but I stood still against the wall. He wanted to hear, so he wouldn't ignore me. I had to cling to that hope and let it help me keep my calm. "Kuwabara-san. He's the one who started LAMPNAMF."

Ogata nodded. "Who else is a part of it?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't really matter. He's the one planning everything. If we take him out, everything else should tumble down."

"Even you?"

My back ached and my breathing was ragged. "Yeah. Even me."

"And you're willing for that to happen?" Ogata wore such a hard look on his face that I couldn't bring myself to look at him and looked at the floor instead. "Well?"

I shut my eyes tightly. "Someone has to. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because I wouldn't do anything. If you think you can help me stop it, then I'll tell you everything."

"Didn't you think about going to the police, kid?"

"Of course I did. But he's got connections and people in his pocket."

Ogata glanced toward the door and then back at me. "We should talk about this somewhere else."

I looked up and met his gaze again. "There's another plot that's scheduled to happen on Tuesday. A group of us are meeting to try to figure out how to stop it. Do you know where Morishita-san lives?" Ogata nodded hesitantly. "Meet us there at twilight." I took a deep breath. "Give Isumi-san my regards if you visit. We were in the insei together for a while." I pushed off from the wall and left the room quietly. I shut the door solidly behind me. Just like with the lair, it wouldn't be a good idea to see the two of us leaving together.

That evening, we all met up at Morishita's house. There was some shock and consternation regarding Ogata's sudden inclusion, but I think we all realized that if we didn't have some kind of inside help, then things had the potential to get out of hand even faster than they already were. It took hours to explain everything to Ogata and work out a tentative plan for a faked kidnapping that would fool Kuwabara. After that, Ogata left to inform the League about the plan and Morishita, Kurata, Honda and I planned what would happen the next day during our planning session for Kuwabara's benefit. Since Honda hadn't had the opportunity to volunteer for the mission today, he would wander into the room at some point during the session and offer a suggestion that would get him pulled in to help work on it. All of this conversation would be useless if Kuwabara deigned to leave us alone to plan, but none of us foresaw that happening.

We had to plan as though Kuwabara was going to throw another wrench in the gears. But what that wrench might be... None of us could fathom.

Things seemed to have gone as well as they could have with our pretend meeting. Kuwabara had only sat around for the first half of it before leaving, but we had discussed the option of the room being bugged now and made sure to talk out the rest of our plans.

But, now it was Tuesday. It was time for our plans to come to fruition and I was feeling nauseous. We had to play as much of this as possible like it was real so that anyone watching us wouldn't question that we were doing what we were supposed to do. Kuwabara had men like Gokiso who would do nearly anything for him, and there had been rumors about him for years that involved his opponent for a title match who went missing and never showed up. Gokiso hadn't held the title for very long, but the rumor remained.

We were all supposed to play oteai matches later except for Kurata who was to have played Hatanaka. The realization of that had given us all pause during our initial planning session. It was okay, in the end, because it would leave Kurata free to take care of Touya's wife. I had prayed this morning, for the first time in a long time and to a god I wasn't certain of, for things to work as we had planned them. I couldn't seem to get over my queasiness, though.

It was eight in the morning and time for step one. Kurata and Morishita would wait for Touya Kouyou and Touya Akira to leave their house. Dressed in black, they would enter through a side gate that had been left purposefully unlatched. They would fake a struggle with Touya Akiko, and Morishita would drive the two of them to an abandoned building not too far from the Ki-in. Morishita would then drive to the Ki-in and we would go to our games. If everything went well, Morishita would greet us by name as he came inside the building. If he didn't, something had gone wrong and the whole plan was cancelled both real and fake.

Honda and I had shown up at the Ki-in early and were playing a very slow game in the large open play room upstairs when Kuwabara approached us. "Come on, boys. We need to take a little walk."

We left the game sparsely laid on the go ban and followed. Kuwabara left the building and headed down the sidewalk with the gait of a man 20 years his junior. "There's been a little trouble," he said conversationally as he pulled his ubiquitous lighter from his pocket with a cigarette and lit it up carefully.

I glanced at Honda from where we trailed behind Kuwabara. "What kind of trouble?"

"Nothing much. But we all need to help." Smoke rose through the air and made my nose tickle, but Honda, who was taller, had a long coughing fit after breathing in a cloud of smoke. "Grow up, Honda-kun. Go is a man's game that needs a man's lungs to breathe life into it."

Honda fought to catch his breath and to stay out of the path of the smoke. "Yes, sir."

My nausea didn't ease as we got closer and closer to the building. I was beginning to wonder if we should just run, but Honda wouldn't catch my eye anymore and we were close enough to our reinforcements of sorts that my mind was beginning to ease slightly.

Morishita's van was parked in front of the building, but he was nowhere in sight. Kuwabara led us through the open front door with no hesitation and I wondered what we would see inside. What it was... Was kind of crazy. Morishita, Kurata, Touya Akiko and a young woman with light brown hair Ochi thought looked slightly familiar were kneeling in a haphazard square atop a blanket and drinking tea and playing word games. "You see what I mean, boys? Just a little trouble."

Kurata was the first to turn and look and his mouth dropped open enough for him to let his tea splash down on his black shirt. "No," he said with a gurgle.

Morishita stood and helped Touya Akiko to her feet while the young woman backed up slowly behind Kurata. "Kuwabara, this has got to stop."

"You, attempting to show your dominance? Yes, it should stop. It wasn't funny the last time you attempted to challenge for my title and it won't be funny when they find your carcass in the ocean somewhere, if they ever find it at all."

I reached in my pocket and felt along the buttons and dialed what I hoped was the number for the police station. I took slow breaths that seemed too shallow and hoped for the best. But I didn't get it. Instead, I seemed to shift standing positions just enough for the speakerphone button to be pushed. I heard the muffled 'Hello?' and reached in my pocket to hang up or turn it off or break it in half; whatever would work. But Kuwabara was already turning toward me.

"So you were all in on it? How quaint."

I pulled the phone from my pocket and jabbed a finger at the end button. "No, that was just an accidental redial. I ordered take-out last night. No one heard anything. We can still proceed!" I dropped the phone to the ground and stomped on it several times and frowned at how little damage my shoe had done to it. Stupid Japanese engineering.

Kuwabara laughed heartily and scratched at his side below his jacket. "It's too bad, really." And then I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"You don't have to do this," I said with a tremor in my voice. "None of us will say anything. I promise." I turned my head slightly to Honda, but couldn't quite pry my gaze from the gun. "We promise, right?"

Honda nodded and slowly raised his hands up beside his head. "Yeah. No problems. Just let us go and... Please, don't shoot me!"

Letting the gun flop to one side, Kuwabara shook his head and sighed. "There's no point in shooting you. You're gonna drown in your own piss any second now. But, Kurata-san..." He turned and pointed the gun at the large young man. "I don't like being double-crossed, not even when playing go. So, you?" And time seemed to slow as Kuwabara's gnarled index finger pulled the trigger and sent a bullet straight into Kurata's chest.

"No!" I shoved past Kuwabara to get to Kurata and knelt next to him. "No. Don't die. Stop bleeding." My hands clawed at his black shirt and tore it apart to see the wound on his chest gushing blood. I clasped my hands together and tried to push down on the wound, but there was too much blood. Kurata was already motionless in a pool of red. I stood up and looked over at Kuwabara. "You're heartless."

Kuwabara lifted a hand and flipped what little hair he had with it. "Thank you." He tightened his grip on the gun and turned it back on me, but it didn't instill quite the horror it had the first time, even when he said, "And now it's your turn."

"Ochi, run!" I reacted before I could really focus on what was happened. I pushed the brown-haired woman in front of me and remembered as I did that she worked the counter at Touya Kouyo's go salon. Morishita grabbed Touya Akiko in front of me and we made it out the door as I finally realized that Honda had jumped on Kuwabara to keep him from shooting me.

We ran to the Ki-in, forgetting about the van parked in front of that abandoned building, but I couldn't bring myself inside. "I'm covered in blood."

Morishita grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the building. "Honda-kun chose to save you. Now, don't let his sacrifice be in vain." I followed him into the Ki-in and tried to ignore the sticky sensation of the blood drying on my skin.

Just as we were about to head into the elevator, I heard a commotion behind us and turned. A stretcher? I felt the blood drain from my face. Was this the wrench in the gears?

I shoved past Morishita and took the stairs since the stretcher would need the elevator. My legs took me to the oteai playing room as fast as I'd ever moved. I darted into the room amidst screaming. Touya Akira was being held down bodily by Ogata and Ashiwara, the former missing his glasses and the latter still sporting bandages wrapped around his arms. I walked toward them. "Your mother's alright," I said as my hands clutched in awkward, sticky fists.

"But my father is not!" Touya shoved forward again and I gasped as he broke free and shoved me to the side where I fell against a go ban and scattered the stones. Ashiwara took off after him, but Ogata stayed near me.

"What happened?" He held out his hand and I waved him off and winced at seeing his reaction to the blood.

I stood on my own and looked up at him. "He had a gun. Kurata-san is dead. I suspect he found a way to poison Touya Meijin."

Ogata's face hardened. "He needs to be stopped in any way possible."

I had finally begun to believe that, too.

There was a terse silence that seemed to pervade the Ki-in as I walked through the hallways. Ogata had gone past me to find Touya Akira. He was probably going to offer him a ride since Touya Akiko would already be taking up a space in the ambulance. I found myself at a window looking down on the street with my heart still pumping like I was running a race. I saw Ogata's little red car pull away from the curb and accelerate down the road after the ambulance. Only, as the ambulance slowed to turn right, Ogata's car did not. I felt dizzy as I watched the ambulance turn down the street and my breath hitched in my throat as the car just missed hitting the ambulance, but plowed solidly into a van parked on the side of the road. Another wrench in the gears. I stayed glued to the window until I saw the driver-side door open and Ogata pushed his way out and dragged Touya after him. I saw a little blood, but Ogata wasn't running for help and I could already see people approaching them from neighboring buildings.

I needed to get away. But I couldn't go anywhere. So, the lair. The bathroom was deserted. My key unlocked the door and I tapped out the code and entered the passageway and leaned against the wall as everything closed behind me. What the hell were we going to do now?

There was a click. You have got to be kidding me.

Turning, I saw Kuwabara standing there with his gun in his hand and blood dripping from his left ear. He smiled that lunatic smile of his and showed that he had chipped a tooth. "Your friend managed to get away, Ochi-kun. So, I'm sorry, but it's your turn to die."

"If you're going to kill me, shouldn't we at least play a game first?"

He rolled his eyes and gestured toward the go ban. "You're right. I wouldn't want to kill you without playing you first. It's a shame you're going to die so young."

I knelt on one side and he took the other. He shifted his gun to his left hand and opened his go ke with his right. I opened mine and looked at the black stones and got an idea. If he was determined to kill me, I had to try everything I could, right? I plucked one stone up and set it on the go ban as Kuwabara laid out his handful of stones. He began to count, and I reached my hand back down, grabbed the bowl by the edge and swung it as hard as I could against Kuwabara's head. He screamed amid the sound of stones plinking against the walls and I shoved the whole go ban at him; flipping it to land on his lap.

Quickly, I stood and wrenched the gun from his hand and threw it along the wall. I picked up the go ban and watched every last vestige of that grin drop from his face as I slammed it down on his skull. Silence. Blissful silence.

I pulled myself from the room and intended to leave the Ki-in, but I saw ahead in the game. When you started to add values into go above and beyond whether someone was talented at the game, a dichotomy arose. No one wanted to be on the lesser side, and especially not when it was something they couldn't help like their looks. Everything had to dissolve. With that, I activated the fire alarm.

I wandered back into the lair as the klaxons blared and saw the old man lying motionless on the floor. I dug into his coat pocket and found what I was looking for. I grabbed a pile of kifu and began to crumple them up around him. The go ban and go ke still crowded around his body. I grabbed the bottle of scotch that had somehow come to be in the room not long after it had been taken over and I slopped it liberally across the paper and the wood and the old man's clothes. With a flick, Kuwabara's lighter sparked a flame to life and I dropped it on top of him.

And the flame went out. I picked it up again, restarted the flame, and held it to the corner of one of the pieces of paper until it blazed to life. I tossed the lighter back into the middle of the fire and watched it begin to consume everything. I watched as Kuwabara's hair caught light and crinkled up against his head as his skin turned red and began to bubble. But the room was growing hotter and the sirens were blaring louder and fear was catching up to bloodlust. I had to get out of there.

I tried to wipe away the sweat that had formed on my upper lip, but got the metallic taste of blood on my tongue. Kurata's blood. It still hadn't dried enough to flake away. But I really was well and truly soaked in it now.

I stumbled out of the bathroom in a daze and out into the hallway which seemed to blur in front of me. The white walls looked gray through the haze of smoke as it began to billow out from behind me. It was getting harder to breathe as the smoke overwhelmed me and I pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth as I started to run through the halls. I stumbled a few times as I went down the stairs, but eventually found my way outside and filled my lungs with clear air before falling to my knees on the pavement.

Password: hikaruno5

Shindou was the first person I saw. "Ochi? Are you okay?"

I shook my head and struggled to me feet. "No." I looked around at the dozens of men and the handful of women who had been my opponents for years, even if some of them were only in my head.

I coughed again. "The building is on fire."

"Really?" Shindou looked up. "Huh, yeah. I guess it is."

A very small part of me was sorry I'd pulled the alarm, but I pushed past that. "Everyone!" I yelled as loud as I could, but choked on the end of the word thanks to the smoke I'd inhaled. I coughed a few times and looked around. Well, that would do. I grabbed an electronic megaphone sitting on top of a police car and flipped the switch before beginning to talk into it. "I'm here today with a confession."

I took a deep breath and began to speak. "For years, we have put being an attractive go player above all other criteria. Smooth skin and good hair and abs were being considered better than the skills to shut down an inferior player with a well-placed hand. This is the fault of the League of Extraordinarily Good-Looking Go Players." There was a murmur as people began to protest my statement.

"But they aren't the only ones at fault. All of us who submitted our names for the League are at fault because we put ourselves in a place to be judged on those criteria. The Ki-in is at fault for allowing the League to have any part in what happens with go as a part of Japan's history. And we are all at fault for thinking that being pretty and able to play go makes anyone capable of diffusing a bomb. Seriously, people, that one was stupid. If that bomb hadn't ended up being a dud, Japan would have a big hole in it."

And this was the difficult part. "But did the League really do anything wrong since no one ever told them they were wrong? No. But then there's that new organization that people have heard about: LAMPNAMF. And if the question is whether they are wrong, then the answer is 'yes'." I took a breath. "This is the latest act of a group whose sole purpose in starting was to take down the League. It had people who were rejected from it, people who were kicked out from it, people who knew they would never be accepted and even one or two who just objected to the idea. And in the beginning, it was fun."

I looked around the crowd and began to recognize some of the people. Kadowaki was there and holding the hand of Sakurano who was clustered with Waya and the other members of the Serrano Squad. Morishita stood out in his all-black outfit. Saeki's bright green cast caught my eye. "But the man who led us into battle had tricks up his sleeve. And for every little plot that was supposed to further our cause and only inconvenience a few people, he had another plan going on the side."

Pointing up at the burning building, I said at last, "And here's the confession. That man is Kuwabara Honinbou. He is in the middle of the fire right now in a secret room hidden behind the bathroom on the second floor. He's dead because he killed Kurata Atsushi and he tried to kill me. And if you're in the League? He was plotting to kill you, too. I didn't want to kill him, but someone had to."

My arms were jerked behind me and I let the megaphone fall to the ground where it make a squawking noise before falling silent. I felt the cold steel of handcuffs encircling my wrists and heard my rights being read to me even as I finally heard the fire trucks beginning to approach from down the street. I was shoved into the back of the police car and left there alone with my thoughts even as chaos reigned around me.

Tears formed in my eyes and slid past my lashes to skim my cheeks and fall to my chest and they amazed me. With all that had happened, and all that I had been forced to change, how could these tears feel the exact same as the tears I had cried over not getting into the League in the first place?

Go to opponent's entry: Round 6 - Kyuba, "Forging Steel", Fic & Art (●)
Go to vote: Ichigaya vs. The White Suit Society - Second Board Match