Heat 1: White - submitted by Gwen Kley
Before we begin, I sincerely apologize for the only options available for the downloads, as these are the only anonymous file upload sites I know of. Others require registration, which as you know, defeats the purpose. Feel free to upload them in other hosting services if anyone else needs an alternative link.
Warning : character bias.
No full downloads, sorry!
Shindou Hikaru
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Kemuri - One life, no regret
It is a brilliant idea to name him Hikaru. No other name could have contained his joy of life, his noncomformity, his confidence.
ELLEGARDEN - Stereoman
"Hikaru, let's play." Shindou is used to Sai's penchant to play go anytime. It's like the ghost stays by his side by the mere thought of placing stones against the wooden board. (But then, Shindou thinks with a mental shrug, he's been around a thousand years just to do that.) Things had escalated once he got one of those tiny magnetic go boards.
"Hikaru~" Sai is beginning to whine, gesturing to his bag. Shindou studiously ignores him. "It's practice, practice! You need it to go to the next class so you can join the Young Lion's tournament!"
Shindou isn't oblivious, but he's chosen not to let other people's curious stares bother him. He has Sai, after all. How many people can say they were learning go from a ghost? He sighs. What's the use of thinking too much about other people? This is go they are talking about!
And so Shindou finds a quiet spot in the local park, and prepares to be thoroughly trounced.
Dragon Ash - Hizuka Na Hibi No Kaidan Wo
Shindou's been with them for less than a year, but how is it that he fits in so well? Isumi wonders, even as the discussion between Waya and Shindou begins to escalate to name calling and possible cartoon violence. Ochi and Fuku are merely watching the fracas, but Nase is doing her best to keep the peace.
Shindou laughs, and then Isumi realizes, of course, Shindou will fit in fine. He walks the same path they all do, and he has something that is simply unique. Making friends comes to him as naturally as breathing.
And so Isumi joins in, calming Waya as Nase teases Shindou, and all is right with the world.
Flumpool - Hana ni Nare
The night after the Hokuto Cup, Shindou sits before his goban and smiles across it. Sai may not be there, but he feels that wherever Sai is now, he is probably smiling just like in the dream.
"Hey Sai," he murmurs, caressing the top of the board, feeling every pit and depression of the lines intersecting the wood. "Sai, maybe one day I'll have a game with you, like the one I just had with YeongHa. Games like the ones I play with Touya when we play seriously. Games that will bring you closer to the Hand of God. Do you think we'll get to do that?"
He sets the bowls of stones to his side, and lifts off the covers. "Sai, you should've seen it. You should've been there. But I'm willing to wait till the time we see each other again, and then we'll play even, okay?"
He smiles. And starts to tell the empty room about his game, replaying move after move.
Touya Akira
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Wolf Parade - You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son
Touya Akira rarely fidgets or seeks attention when he is out in public with his parents. Su7ch a well-behaved child, they praise him. The Meijin smiles and pats his shoulder. The other children stare him down, but as long as he has his father's approval he is glad.
He is young but he understands why they never play with him. He's grown up with the adults, and he doesn't know the language and signs children use to communicate with each other. He doesn't care right now. He has his father, his father's students who knows what he is truly like, and he has his go.
3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
The first time Touya Akira is defeated by someone his age he is shocked; his shock rapidly turns into dismay when he learns Shindou has never played go before. How can a novice beat him, who's played the game since he was old enough to hold the stones?
Seeing Shindou play against the Kaio team captain strengthened his resolve. He knows it. He knows that Shindou is the one he's been waiting for all this time.
The possibility of losing has never occurred before. He's lost against Ogata-san and his father before, yes, but never to someone his age. He's still not sure if he's happy or afraid.
Barenaked Ladies - Call and Answer
Shindou, he thinks as he reads the current standing of the shodan and sees all the defauls beside the other boy's name. Weren't we supposed to be rivals? Aren't you going to chase after me?
Texas - Inner Smile
They fight all the time, it's true, but Touya never feels more alive than when Shindou is shouting him down, telling him he's doing it wrong, and he is shouting back defending his moves and telling Shindou to back off, he's the one being an ass about their games. Touya Meijin's go salon has never been livelier.
Shindou sits back. "Touya, are you smiling?"
"No I'm not!'
"That's funny, I though I saw you grinning like an idiot over what is the worst move in endgame ever."
Oh that's just low. "Well, I believe you were crowing over how good that hane was earlier. Let's see, how many points did that lose you?"
"Hey, it was the best move at the time, Touya!"
"No, going here - " And Touya pointed to the lower left, " - was the best move."
And so they started their argument all over again. The regulars are all smiling behind their newspapers, amused.
Fujiwara no Sai
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John Thompson - Zhongqiu Yue (Mid Autumn Moon)
The water is cold, but then he is beyond feeling. The crimson flowers float above his still face.
Depapepe - Hachiroku
Sai is fascinated by modern technology. It could be the lights, the television, even just a can of cold orange juice from the vending machine keeps Sai engrossed for minutes on a stretch. Because of it Shindou asks him about how Sai lived, how Shuusaku lived, in an era without electricity and modern plumbing.
Sai tells him about karakuri, how the little wooden gears turned inside the dolls to make them move. Then Sai entertains him with stories of living in a time where the sun and seasons dictated how their days were spent, travelling to court by horeseback and carriages. He talks a little about the boy that became Shuusaku, and talks more about the Fujiwara and how he began to play go.
Shindou likes it best when Sai talks about himself. And in return he tries to explain how the internet works and how he can talk to someone over the phone without having to stand right in front of them. He usually fails, but Sai listens to him all the same, smiling and laughing.
Mimir - Ninkou Latora
He faces off his rival, the one man he knows instinctively can lead him to the hand of God. This is what I've been waiting for, this chance, this opportunity.
The air is electric. Hikaru watches, stilled into silence, awed by the battle between two masters.
Vanilla Mood - Shizuku
He knows his time is coming to an end. He knows it, feels it keenly inside. The stopped time has begun to flow again, and he thinks, Stop. Please, God, stop time a little longer. Please let me stay with Hikaru for just a while more. I want to see him surpass me. I want to let him know he's better, he's getting much better than me.
He tries to get Hikaru to understand this, but every time he begins, he stops immediately. He doesn't want to see Hikaru's eyes dull at the impending good-bye. He doesn't want Hikaru to feel like he's let down Sai for not getting the Hand of God yet. He wants Hikaru to remember him with all the good memories and all the happy ones.
He wants Hikaru to do what he could not do. Because he knows Hikaru can do it. Hikaru, who didn't like go in the first place, his apprentice, his friend.
And on the day he begins to face into the sunlight he thinks, This isn't good-bye, Hikaru. Just think, this is a promise that we'll meet again!
Ogata Seiji
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Stereophonics - You Sexy Thing
You see, Ogata has a routine. That routine involves a mantra repeated twenty times while brushing his teeth. It helps makes the day pass by more tolerably.
And here people wondered how he manages to ooze confidence all the time! Maybe one day he'll tell them about it. Or maybe not, he thinks, as he lays out his paisley sweatervest.
David Arnold feat Aimee Mann - Nobody does it Better
And when it comes to go, his is supreme. Well, it's always better to believe it to be so, is it not?
Grace Jones - Private Life
There are constants in Ogata's life. There is go. There is his car, his fishes, drunken revelries after a game, his women.
One constant about the women was that in the end the scene always ends the same. Frosty silence. Recriminations. Did you truly love me? Am I more than any of the other women?
You'd think a man of worldly experience such as he is past master of the sweet words to make everyone feel better. But then the inner stoic rises; the women, rebuffed, walks away speaking of his cruelty.
Radioactive Sago Project - Bad Mofo
Oh but the defeats. They crush him in ways his spectators never imagine. Those were the times he ends up in his apartment, wondering where he went wrong, why it never went his way. He'll spend the whole night at his couch, nursing his lukewarm beer as
But right after he wakes up, he stands up. Goes in front of the mirror and recites, twenty times, words made banal by repetition. There are always other games, he thinks. One game is never the end. It is always, always a beginning.