1
Distance
Touya Akira watched with patience as another go stone was misplaced, the move was a weak hand. He hid the sigh he so wanted to let out in the open, his hand moving on its own accord and reaching for one of the smooth and cool to the touch stones. With the stone placed properly in between his fingers, he made his own move, never faltering as he continued his strong attack. Only a few more minutes of this… only a few more minutes….
"I resign." The voice was soft as it spoke the words that released Akira from just the game. Slowly the world surrounding them came back into his senses. He bowed his head in acceptance.
"Thank you for the game." Akira muttered gently. "Would you like to go over the game?" The young pro before him nodded and then looked up at him bleakly. It was only when the other looked up that Akira was able to look around and realize that they were being watched by others. Or more specifically one other person. His green eyes caught hold of a determined gaze looking at their game with such intensity that it made his breath stay stuck in his throat. Shindo Hikaru.
A different Shindo than the mindless brat he had first met up with so many years ago. The brat that had beaten him and talked so arrogantly and with so… so much disrespect for a game that Akira had already accepted as his life, his soul. That old Shindo had been wild, immature… so different than Akira and it reflected in his eyes.
Now those light green-gray eyes were serious, intense… looking for something. He was a rival now. No… it was more than that. Shindo was his eternal rival. The only one who was trying so hard to catch up to him and actually had a chance to make it by his side. It was Shindo's new strength that was making Akira hunger even more for the Hand of God. It was this Shindo that had made life something more meaningful than it had been before.
Those eyes looked up from the Go board and caught Akira's. A smile spread over the young man's face in acknowledgement at having been noticed. He moved closer when no one said anything and waited for the review of the game to begin.
"Nice game." He muttered to the new pro. The lost teen that had been paired with Touya was one that Hikaru envied even though he saw that the poor boy had been scared half to death at the older pro's intensity. "You fought well in this corner but…"
"…but you misplaced this stone, not reading far ahead in my moves. This made you lose the pattern and therefore your territory." Akira continued for Shindo since it was the game he had just finished playing. The younger boy looked between the two nineteen year olds with a mixed look of awe and fear. If one thing was clear in the Go world it was that the two top pros were Shindo and Touya… and that the two were known for getting on each other's nerves. After a few more minutes of reviewing the game with Shindo's comments here and there, Akira again bowed his head to the new pro that had joined them. "It will be interesting in watching you grow." He said softly. The boy bowed and blushed.
"Arigato." He muttered before shakily getting up and walking away. Akira sighed, a small smile tugging at his lip. Were they so scary that the lad would forget about cleaning the board? He shook his head, his shoulder length hair following the movement. With deft movement he cleaned half the board, quickly picking out the white Go stones from the black ones and placing them in their rightful containers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shindo's hands come and start cleaning off the other half of the board.
"You didn't have to do that." Akira muttered after thanking him. Shindo gave him another smile and shrugged. "How was your game?"
"Good… it was fun. I think his name was Hibiki? Something like that… he was ok." Shindo's smile got even larger. "I didn't scare him half as bad as you scared yours. What the hell did you do to him?" Akira widened his eyes in surprise.
"I didn't do anything." He stated frankly. "I just played Go."
"Knowing you… that's scary enough." Shindo chuckled.
"Well…" Akira started diplomatically, keeping his temper in check. "You didn't help matters." At that comment Shindo made a face and huffed a little. "Are we still meeting this Friday at the Go salon?" He asked, changing the subject because in actuality… he was quite tired and he did not want to fight Shindo today. He never really wanted to have these verbal wars that they always seemed to end up with… they just happened.
"Of course." Shindo answered automatically, too startled to say anything else at the sudden change.
"You won't be late again." Akira stated flatly. With Shindo one could never know. The nineteen year old with blond dyed bangs blushed and scratched his head.
"You're never going to forget that are you?"
"Probably not." Akira agreed and gave a small smile as he saw Shindo's blush deepen.
"I swear it wasn't my fault. I just got so tired with all those college entrance exams and my mom was on my case again and…" Akira stood up, stopping the flow of words. They would never stop once that boy started and it was always the same excuse. He really didn't need to hear them.
"Are your friends still here?" He asked as they both reached the elevator. Shindo shook his head. "I was the last one to finish?" The young man nodded. "Hn… figures. The boy I played was good but took very long to decide each move."
"I noticed." Shindo muttered, walking into the elevator as its metal door slid open.
"Did you watch the whole game?" Akira asked surprised.
"Nearly…" Shindo whispered.
…
"Nearly…" He found himself whispering as he heard Touya come into the elevator behind him. He felt the heat of his earlier blush that had nearly cooled down come back full force. He gritted his teeth and nudged the tip of his shoe into the gray carpet. Stupid emotions. Stupid thoughts. So what if he'd made sure to play the fastest just so he could to go see Touya playing? It didn't mean anything.
The guy was his rival… and more than anything Hikaru wanted to know every move the man made. He wanted to know Touya…
That was it. Nothing else. It didn't matter if his mind screamed at him sometimes that it was something else. It didn't matter that stupid Waya thought it was something more. Just because that punk was gay didn't mean he was! It didn't matter at all 'cause it wasn't true. He needed--wanted to know more about Touya 'cause he was his rival.
He looked up to see Touya's sharp green eyes looking at him with some worry. Hikaru looked up and away, letting his arms rise in the air as if he was stretching. Touya's gaze was always so intense… so strong… compelling…Sometimes Hikaru felt that he would lose himself in their strength and that Touya could see right through him.
"Man today was tiring!" He moaned. Touya snorted and it was only because he was too well trained in being polite that he didn't roll his eyes, Hikaru was sure of that. He bit the inside of his cheek. The last thing he wanted was to have Touya know about him. "So what are you going to do now?" He asked, hating the silence. The young man beside him looked startled at the question and frowned slightly.
"Go home I suppose. Start cooking something…" Hikaru's stomach growled at the thought of food and he made a face, glaring at it. If Touya found it amusing or if he had heard it at all, he gave no indication of it.
"I didn't know you could cook." Hikaru muttered instead. Touya blinked.
"Well… how else would I survive, Shindo? I can't exactly live off of just Go you know."
"I know that! Baka!" Hikaru saw Touya's eyes narrow and he grinned. He was, to his knowledge, the only one that had ever called Touya Akira a baka… on several occasions and gotten away with it with only other such words shared between them. Their verbal attacks were well known in the Go word. It was possibly one of his favorite past times to hit Touya's nerves and make him break out of that cool, collected shell other than playing Go. "But I mean…" He shrugged. He didn't quite know what to say actually. He had known that Touya had been living on his own for quite awhile now but still, he had always imagined Touya with his parents or something. But that was stupid and he knew it. Hikaru still lived with his… and part of the reason was that he didn't know how to cook. Knowing his luck he would have burned down the apartment after living in it for two seconds. Not even… He sighed. "… I dunno… your mom could send you care packages or something." He watched as Touya raised an eyebrow at that. "What? It's true!" He exclaimed. "The only reason Waya is still alive is because he got care packages for about a month. Then Isumi came back and taught him how to cook and thank god cause… I tasted Waya's cooking once and man…" The door to the elevator opened, letting the two out. Shindo's words came to a halt. "Well…I guess… Have fun cooking!" His stomach growled louder and he blushed. "See you Friday!"
"Shindo…" Touya started gently, stopping Hikaru's almost frantic waves. "You are impossible." He muttered. "Impossible and hungry… would you like some dinner?" Hikaru blushed the hardest that he had all day. And he found himself nodding slowly before his mind could even register the question.
"I just have to call Waya cause…"
"…Because you are staying with him and Isumi-san this week since your parents are gone for the week. I know." Touya finished for him with patience. Hikaru grinned weakly.
"Do I talk that much?" He asked. Touya shook his head.
"No… "This time it was Touya's pale features to redden slightly. "I overheard Waya-san complaining about how cramped his apartment was with the three of you."
"Aah…"
"My apartment isn't too far away. I hope you don't mind walking." Hikaru shook his head and remained quiet, wondering the extent of Touya's cooking talent. That thought led to others including what Touya's apartment would look like… and did Touya wear a cooking apron when he cooked? His mother did… the thought of Touya wearing one made him laugh and he was given one of those odd looks that meant…"You're insane…I know this but still—You. Are. Insane." He gave the other man a shrug while trying to repress the mental image that had popped into his head. They turned right onto another road and continued walking. Waya didn't wear an apron when he cooked…neither did Isumi. He sighed. That meant that Akira… Touya didn't wear one either. He needed to watch himself. He couldn't exactly call the guy by his first name. They weren't exactly friends after all…or were they? He didn't know. He couldn't know. The sigh that came from his mouth now was a bit depressed. He hated thinking… It was the main reason he always talked to keep such thoughts from entering his mind. "Its here." Touya crossed the street and rummaged through his suit's pocket to take out his key. He opened the door in a quick motion and stepped aside letting Hikaru go in first. "The elevator is on the left." The man instructed. Hikaru spotted it and pressed the button that would take them up. His eyes were wide as he took in the building's appearance.
"This place is nice." He gave a soft whistle and then jumped slightly as the elevator gave a small ring to announce its arrival. He glared at it before going in. "What floor are you on?" Touya muttered three as he came in as well and pushed the button. The doors slid to a close and Hikaru felt his stomach drop a bit as the elevator first started moving up. "So… I can't believe you live here?! It's gotta be pretty expensive and… hell… I didn't know there was so much security. Waya's apartment building is open. I mean… he doesn't have a key for the front door of the building… just his own apartment." Touya nodded and gave a small frown.
"Where does Waya-san live? Isn't it a bit dangerous that anyone can come in?" He asked gently. Hikaru shrugged.
"Nah…" He smiled. "The worst they've had in unwanted visitors were a couple of squirrels and oh… a lost little girl."
"And you, I'm sure." Touya muttered.
"HEY!"
"Just kidding, Shindo." The nineteen year old smiled a smile almost uncharacteristic. Hikaru at the sight was at a loss for words. At the silence, Touya's smile disappeared. "I was just joking… anyone can see how close you three are and…" He trailed off, his eyes still worried even as Hikaru smiled back at him.
"I can't believe it! You cracked a joke! You smiled… that's awesome!" He slapped the other boy's back just in time for the elevator to reach the third floor. They walked out with Hikaru half leaning on Touya, laughing now at the event that had just passed them. Touya had a slight pained look on his face but continued walking as straight as he could until he reached the door to his apartment.
…
Shindo's weight on him was slightly unnerving. He really had no idea why he had invited his eternal rival to his apartment but he had to confess that it relieved him a bit that he wouldn't be alone for another couple of hours. Being alone twenty four hours had soon lost its sense of adventure that the first few days of freedom had given it. It had been lonely after that… and he didn't have that many people he would want to have over to keep him company.
Akira unlocked the door with some difficulty until he nudged the still laughing Shindo with a pointed glare and a gentle elbow to the stomach. Even if Shindo had matured quite a bit he could still be such a… kid. It was cute at times and annoying at other times. He let the half dyed blond head into his apartment with a slightly exasperated affectionate glance. A surge of slight nervousness settled into his stomach as he watched his rival enter his apartment and look at the new surroundings. It was so bland and boring Akira suddenly noticed. There was nothing really in it except… well… Go. And some other various stuff scattered hear and there in an organized arrangement. Shindo turned around as the door closed and smiled.
"I like it."
"Hn… Make yourself comfortable. I'll be in the kitchen." Hikaru blinked and quailed at the thought of being alone when he could be with Touya.
"Can't I help you with something? And hey! I have to call Waya… could I use your phone?" Akira nodded and pointed to where it was. "Thanks."
Tbc… This should be interesting… Hikaru having dinner at Akira's house and Akira cooking!!!
Coming right up in the next chapter… maybe you'll even find out why the story is called Distance. Maybe, maybe not!!! Hope you enjoyed.