[Drabble] Juudan (Hikaru no Go)
Title: Juudan
Characters: Ogata (mentions of other HnG characters)
Wordcount/Rating: 400+ words / gen
Spoilers/Warnings: Blanket spoilers for the entire series and for all the HnG fics I've written.
Summary: What Ogata thinks about his opponents in the world of Japanese professional go.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to achariya, who asked about Ogata here in my muse meme. Ogata decided to answer her himself. ^_^;;; Please don't expect quality from head!canon. ETA: This fic was recorded for ihikago by qem_chibati!



What Ogata thinks about his opponents in the world of Japanese professional go:

1.
If he has to choose one of the upcoming pros to keep an eye on, it won't be Akira, because everyone watches Touya Akira anyway. He won't be wary of Shindou Hikaru yet, either. Shindou and Akira are obsessed with each other, and unlikely to target Ogata. Besides, they're highly visible creatures, and no one can avoid seeing them coming unless they're really trying.

2.
He watches Ochi, Kadowaki, and Honda, but only once in a while. Their go is interesting, but not intriguing. Yet.

3.
He finds Isumi utterly predictable off the goban, but absolutely unpredictable on it. At least, from what he can read of the kifu Isumi has played so far.

4.
He enjoyed that dinner with Isumi. It was nice having the upper hand consistently throughout the entire evening, and not having to go back and perform after. Women are tiring like that. Isumi is an interesting change.

5.
He's looking forward to Isumi's invitation, because it'll be a when, not an if. Ogata knows this, and he knows Isumi knows he knows.

6.
No matter what he's told Isumi, Ogata thinks Kuwabara Honinbou really has lived far too long. Why can't that damned old geezer just die of lung cancer already?

7.
Touya Meijin and Sai occupy his daydreams and his nightmares, and sometimes, Ogata can see their shadows over his deepest fears.

At least my greatest regret is free of them, he thinks, looking at the picture of her.

8.
When Ogata sees Isumi in a nightmare after reading the kifu of Isumi's game with Kuwabara, he wonders whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

9.
Next week is the first of the Juudan final matches. Ogata will win, but Isumi will make him sweat until they are well into yose in the last match on the last day. The final tally (all the final games, cumulative, positive and negative combined) will be less than ten moku.

10.
Though in the future they will clash over the goban again, not only for the Juudan but also for the Gosei (and the Honinbou, eventually, when Kuwabara finally dies in his sleep after close to two more decades of terrorizing the other pros and the young inseis), this will be the only year Isumi loses the Juudan finals by that much.


- end -

Um, yes. *shifty eyes* I think I'm going for some foreshadowing here. Sorry, aishuu--I know your Ogata is straight. Mine ... may be converted. >_>