"I think our reputation of being the best may be doing us some favors," Yanagi said, noncommittal. "People are interested in us. People who may become assets in the future."

His performance was on par with Akaya's the year before. He could keep a regular in a rally. And he'd been crushed. Time would tell if Echizen's loss was good enough to spur the kind of leaps Akaya made last year, if he had the same limitless potential hiding behind his professionally-trained polish.

Akaya might be the next opponent. It was a no-lose situation, as far as Yukimura's dream was concerned-- either outcome, the almost-guaranteed or the unlikely, could lead to something great. Something he'd have to acquaint Genichiro with.

"Figure out where he came from, will you? I want to know if he's an accident or not."