hng_6

The day of the examination of the insei had arrived...
Hikaru was seated opposite to the Teacher in charge of the test. Sai was by his side watching a nervous Hikaru playing... Hikaru soon landed in a situation of almost no chance of winning when... the teacher told him that losing the game does not meant failing the test. Sai and Hikaru fell onto their back relieved.
However, the teacher considered Hikaru's skills insufficient to be a qualified insei. He examined the three set of games he had submitted. He felt Hikaru's playing to be rather crude and unskilled when he noticed that the games were played on the same day. Hikaru explained that this was the first time he played one against three. Considering that, the Teacher finally decided to pass him.

When Hikaru and his mother were looking around in the insei's classroom, Hikaru had incidentally let the cat out by saying that Akira viewed him as an opponent. The rest of the insei began to see him as a future opponent to be careful of...

However, weeks after the class began, the class began to be relieved because of Hikaru's poor performance in class. Oya and Isumeshin were among the first few who befriended Hikaru. They asked him about Akira and his practices before being an insei. Hikaru lied by saying that Akira saw him as an opponent because of his talents. (Hikaru told Sai he will make this true) They had also talked about an ex-insei whose skills were considered very bad. Hikaru's heart sank at knowing this was actually Kishimoto, Akira's team first player. Hikaru further felt his disability when he got to know that only three people can pass the professional Go test.

In a casual lesson of Go with Touya Koya, Ogata told Akira of something in the insei class. When Akira went there he saw Hikaru. But he turned quickly away. He was rather aggregated and told Ogata that before Hikaru reached him, he would reach somewhere where the latter could not even touch him.

Hikaru's skill began to improve and his position in class increased as well. One day, Oya told him that Akira was going to play a game with Zamo ouza, a high level professional player with a title of 'ouza'. This is a practice of letting new professional player to have a chanc of playing with those of higher level.

Hikaru tried to hurry with his game so that he could be free to see the competition between Akira and Zamo Ouza... Akira on the other hand, had somehow displease Zamo Ouza with his attitude was changing his tactics in the middle of the game. He wanted Hikaru to know how good he was from this game. Zamo Ouza was heavily- handed Akira, trying his best not to let him win. In the end, when Hikaru was freed to view the game, moves later Akira resigned the game.

One day during the Go lesson, Oya asked Hikaru how he practice Go. When the latter admitted that he only practice at home, Oya proposed Hikaru joined him with his lessons with his teacher, Morishi sensei. Unable to resist Sai's protest, Hikaru agreed.

One day after school, out of boredoom, Hikaru dropped by the Go club to see his friends. There, Akari told him that Metani had not turned up after he left. Although Hikaru felt a little sad, he was anxious to find someone to play Go with. So he challenge all three to a game. Despite the numerous number of seeds the members placed, Hikaru won them easily... Just then Metani was passing the chemistry laboratory. Akari rushed out to call him back. But Metani denied and said he had came for a book left in there. Still, his lie was seen through when one member, who was his classmate, pointed out that there is no lesson that day. Akari was furious and threw Hikaru out of the lab...