I will be going through the earlier chapters and editing them because I cringed while re-reading this story. The next update will take a while due to these edits. I do have an idea of where I will be taking this story now, so hopefully the upcoming chapters will come easier. I apologize in advance for the many notifications my followers will be receiving. This chapter is more of a filler as I am trying to get back into the groove of this story.

Obligatory disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no Go and make no money writing this story.

The rumors about the new student had been spreading rampantly across the insei class. Within the span of three weeks, Hikaru had already accomplished the unforeseeable. Climbing the ladder with no losses and not a single game taken to yose had never been accomplished before. Many even doubted that Touya Akira, given the same chance, could accomplish the spotless record that Shindou now sported. No one had thought, from first glance, or even first impression, that the blonde haired jock would turn out to be such a nightmare when seated across the goban.

Waya, sitting comfortably at the second spot in class one had quickly befriended the bleached jock. He had felt an instant connection with the junior high student. When Waya had first started in the insei class, he felt somewhat out of place. His mannerisms as well as his other extracurricular activities fell well outside of the range of the majority of the insei. This in turn led many to think less of him, to underestimate him, and to pay him no attention until he had proven them wrong. However, for him, defeating the people who had deemed him unworthy took him months of hard work and dedication. He had put hours on hours of self-study to improve his game to the point where he could claim a position in the top two. Waya had hoped to help smooth the path for his fellow student, to guide Hikaru and share his own experience with climbing the ladder. And Hikaru had seemed so naïve, completely unaware of anything going on within the go world. Even Waya had almost dismissed him as a complete novice, but man, was he wrong.

Now, with Hikaru finally reaching a position where his spot in class one could be challenged, Waya was having second thoughts about his new friend. The insei class had long since fell into a comfortable state. Every student was used to their ranking and their ranking very rarely varied, especially within class one. . Sure, rankings changed every couple of week, but even so, it was always the same five people occupying the top three rankings. It switched between Waya, Itsumi, Fuku, Ochi, and Honda without fail. Very rarely would anyone other than these five make it into the top three. It was due to this that most insei had become comfortable with their current ranking within the class. That was, until Shindou Hikaru entered the scene. With such a monster approaching them, it made the insei entries into the young lions tournament that much more stressful. The current leaders in class one, Waya included, were watching with increased trepidation at how Hikaru might affect their ability to participate in the upcoming tournament.

Waya had looked over Shindou's previous games, the kifu he had forced Shindou's previous opponents to recreate. They were terrifying. Slaughter from the very beginning to the very end. The boy had managed to end some games in less than one hundred hands. Everyone in the second class had nothing but horror stories to tell about the strength that was Shindou Hikaru. Betting pools had sprung up over whether or not Hikaru or Akira would win in a game, and Waya had always sworn that he would be the first to defeat the legendary adolescent go tensai. His first game with Hikaru was on Wednesday, two days from now.

He wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it or dreading it. Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

"People say he's a demon."

"I'd believe it. He doesn't even know his own strength. He sits across from you, barely concentrated on the game. I mean, you can tell he's focused, but I'm sweating buckets and he appears completely nonchalant."

"How long do you think he's been playing go? I actually think he could destroy Touya Akira!"

"Probably since he was two. Go nerds, the lot of them."

"Oh like you're much better. You started at five!"

"He doesn't look like it too. What with the bleached bangs and his constant drabble about soccer."

Hikaru walked into the insei classroom like nothing was different, and for him, nothing was. Missing the furtive glances and the new rumours speculating on his strength, he sat across his opponent for the day. A child who looked to be younger than Hikaru, Yuuta Fukui.

"Hikaru, you want to try this game? I'll take over if you seem to be having issues," Sai promised. He hoped that exposing Shindou to more opponents, even if only for early game. With Hikarus current skill level, Sai strongly suspected that the child would prove to be a challenging opponent to everyone they had already played.

"Sure. I mean, I usually always start the game for you now. I might as well try my hand at mid-game. Just as long as I don't destroy that impeccable record you've managed to obtain."

Sai was surprised at Shindous easy acceptance of his request. Perhaps it would be easier to convert the soccer jock to his go-loving ways after all. Hikaru had already began his journey into the pro world and soon, whether he realized it or not, his life would be consumed by the game. Strong opponents were sought after, swarmed really, in the professional world and Hikaru was nothing if not strong.

"Onegaishimasu." Fukui directed his hesitant gaze towards Hikaru. It was true that his opponent's games went fairly quickly, but that was due to sheet overwhelming strength and not an indication of Shindous preference for speed-go. Speed-go was something that Fuku had excelled in since his introduction to the insei class. Perhaps he could use it to his advantage. Oh, who was he kidding, there was no way someone that strong could be defeated with a game of speed-go, but it was all Fuku had and he would give it his best shot.

"Onegaishimasu."

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

"Ne, Sai? Doesn't he seem to be playing rather fast? He puts down his stone almost as soon as I put down mine." The game had progressed twenty hands and Hikaru had become thoroughly stressed out with the fast tempo. He felt pressured to follow his opponent with his split second decisions, but didn't trust his own judgement.

"He's playing speed-go. You can try to match him if you want, if you're struggling I'll jump in." Sai was thoroughly amused at Hikarus confusion. So far, his protégé had maintained distance from his opponents. This was the first time that someone had actually piqued Shindou's interest, even if it was in the form of frustration.

"Yes!" Fuku thought. "He's never played speed-go before. I don't think anyone has ever seen Hikaru so frustrated. Maybe I have a chance."

But the next hand surprised Fuku. Hikarus stone went down as soon his Fukui's hand left the board. Only hesitating for a second, Fuku kept the pace going. Now they were truly playing a game of speed-go.

The game had only progressed eighty more hands when Fuku realized that Hikarus playstyle was getting sloppy. This wasn't the monster that everyone in second class had described. This was a struggling insei much like himself, taken into a playstyle that was unfamiliar to him. If Shindou kept playing like this, Fuku had no doubts that he would win. So why was he feeling disappointed?

"Sai, I'll lose. I can't think properly with only a second to decide, and there's too many openings. I can't see what will happen next, but he has the advantage." Hikaru was frustrated, no more than that, he was mad. Being crushed due to skill difference was something he was used to, hell! His nightly sessions with Sai never resulted in a win for himself. But this, this was being crushed because he couldn't think fast enough. He saw his mistakes as soon as he put down the stone, looking back he had made way too many mistakes in his last eighty hands. If this were a game of normal go, he had no doubts he would be doing fine against Fuku. As it was, he was losing, and losing badly.

"23-4." Sai was more than happy to take over. It was nice to see Hikaru express more than just detachment during a game. Perhaps this would strike the competitive chord within the blonde boy and cause him to further express an interest in the game.

Fuku watched Hikaru's face change. He seemed to distance himself from the game, regarding the board with an uninterested glance.

Clack!

The game restarted, this time, Hikaru's clear frustration seemed to disappear. So this was the demon of second class. The monster that refused to be cut down, the nightmare that was untouchable. With each passing hand, Fuku could feel his territory being diminished. This Hikaru was completely different than the one he had started the game with. Was he toying with him? Giving him a handicap because he thought Fuku too weak? What was with the two distinct playstyles this game?

"Makemashita." Fuku murmured, head bowed.

"Arigato Gozaimasu." Hikaru returned, no inflection in his tone. No indication that he enjoyed the game.

"Are you playing with me?" Anger colored Fuku's voice. "Do you think you're too good for me?! Toying with me in the beginning like that, making me think I could have had a chance!"

Shindou looked up in shock. Of course not! He really was just that bad at the game. But he couldn't tell his opponent that, not after utterly destroying him. "No! Of course not! I just. I just never played speed-go before, it was out of my element. I was having issues at the beginning, and it just made me angry, it blinded me, I kept making mistakes. But. I guess. After playing for a while I realized it wasn't much different from regular go." Except he hadn't. He had been unable to adjust to the pace, he had been left behind and he didn't know why that fact made his as angry as he was.

In Fuku's case, the opposite was true. His anger slowly faded, Hikaru seemed truly genuine. If he could pick up speed-go that quickly, through one game! If that learning pace was indicative of how fast the blonde boy could learn new things, then Shindou Hikaru was indeed a monster. A monster that Fuku doubted could even be matched by Touya Akira. Because the growth he had experienced in that game, that wasn't normal, that wasn't something a normal person could ever achieve. But Hikaru wasn't a normal person was he? He was a demon. The demon of second class, and now it seemed, also the first.

Fukui didn't respond. He cleared his stones and walked out of the classroom, leaving Hikaru to do the same.

"I'm hungry. I saw a vending machine on the first floor the last time I was here. There's a bunch of go-related trophies and books down there as well. I'm sure you'll love it." Hikaru addressed Sai as he recorded his loss and headed down the stairs.

"Mm, Hai! And! There's also a go-salon down there! With plenty of go-boards."

Hikaru shot Sai a look. A look that he knew would do nothing to Sai's overenthusiasm over go.

"We just played a game!"

"But we finished more than two hours early. Two hours Hikaru!"

"…Fine."

A/N: As always. Read and review!