Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Hikaru no Go.
One Note: The second genre is general because I couldn't decide between humor or angst. There's both. Maybe you can decide for me.
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Hikaru shoved his hands into his pockets, and sighed. Walking down the hall, he scrunched his nose. He was out of it today. In his last Go match, he almost lost; a 1 ½ moko win. Why did he become like this every time? It had been two and a half years since Sai's disappearance, but the wound never seemed to heal. He tried to forget… if only for the sake of his own sanity, but it never worked for more than a few weeks, at best. However, as more timed past, the harder it seemed to forget.
Adjusting the strap of his yellow bag, he rounded the corner and plodded toward the elevators of the Go Institute. It was late, so he already expected a lecture from his mother. He halted in front of a poster pasted on the bulletin board. Official matches would resume in two days, once Golden week was over. Until then the institute would be closed.
A smile curled the corner of Hikaru's lip and he turned back to the hallway. He paused, however, when he heard a soft exclamation behind him, followed by, "Shindo?"
Hikaru looked over his shoulder then whipped around. "Toya?!"
The dark haired boy furrowed his brow. "Um… yes?"
"Wha… what are you doing here?"
Akira's cheeks reddened slightly. "I was just looking at some old Kifus… Why are you?"
"Oh, I just had to grab something."
Akira eyed Hikaru. "Why are you staring…?"
Hikaru shook his head, shifting his bleached bangs across his forehead. "Oh, you just… you look normal."
Akira frowned. " 'Normal'?"
"Yeah, you're not wearing a sweater or even a shirt with a collar!"
Akira ran his finger over the neckline of his T-shirt. "That's not unusual… I wear this around my house all the time."
"At your house, yeah, but just not…" Hikaru straightened. "It was just weird."
Turning back to the elevators, he called over his shoulder. "Why are you here, anyway?"
"I told you." Akira's footsteps followed his. "I was looking at some old Kifus."
Hikaru jabbed the down button by the elevator. "How'd you find the room?"
"A man downstairs told me."
"Why'd you look?"
Akira stopped beside him, and stared at the elevator door. "Because I wanted to."
Hikaru crossed his arms and scowled. Neither spoke as the elevator door opened. They walked inside, and Hikaru propped himself against the wall. As the doors closed, and the elevator began to descend, Hikaru's eyes trailed back to the boy beside him, lingering on the casual T-shirt. His gaze fell on the old books in Akira's hand, and he tilted his head back to see the titles. He couldn't make them out. Shifting his gaze up at Akira's face, he released the boy was staring at him. He quickly turned away.
Akira sighed. "It's not that odd."
"I wasn't looking at your shirt, anymore."
He looked down at the books. "You could just ask."
"It's not like you'd answer."
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't answer my other question."
"I gave you an answer."
" 'Because' does not qualify as an answer."
"And how many times have you said that?"
"None that I remember."
"I doubt you would be able to remember."
Hikaru whipped around. "What does that mean?!"
Akira didn't return his glare. "You don't have a good memory."
"What are you talking about?! I can memorize a Go board as well as you can!"
"That's the only thing you can remember."
Hikaru clenched his fists. How could Akira insult him with such a cool demeanor? It infuriated him.
"Look, you-!"
"There's no need to yell."
Hikaru gritted his teeth. "I'll yell all I want! I'll yell until it blows your eardrums out in this stupid elevator!" He slammed his fist against the metal wall.
Akira turned his head. "You realize that-?"
The compartment suddenly shook, throwing Hikaru onto the floor.
Akira braced himself against the bar. "What did you do?!"
"Me?"Hikaru sprang up. "I didn't do a thing!"
When the elevator stopped rocking, Akira searched the section of the wall Hikaru had punched. "You did something…"
"It wasn't me!"
As the boy knelt over the control panel, Hikaru stared at his hand. There was no way he could have caused that.
"It's stopped."
"Nani?"
Akira straightened. "The elevator's stopped."
"Eh?!"
Akira jabbed a button. "It's stuck."
Hikaru pulled at his hair. "Oh no, oh no…! What did I do?"
"It seems you managed to mess something else up."
Hikaru clenched his fist. "What does that mean?!"
Akira folded his arms. "Getting angry isn't going to fix your mistake."
"Oh…!" Hikaru spun in a tight circle.
"What is the matter?"
His brow creased, he whined, "Don't you see? The Institute is gonna be closed for two more days!" He threw back his head. "We're gonna be stuck here for two days!!"
"Nani?" Akira's eyes widened. "Shindo!"
"Oh… I don't want to be here for two days! I don't wanna die!!"
"It will be your fault if you die."
Hikaru listed off another string of complaints. Shaking his head, Akira turned back to the buttons. "We're not going to die."
He opened a small door and pulled out a phone. He punched a few numbers, then held the piece to his ear.
"Well?" Hikaru leaned over his shoulder.
Akira returned the phone, and shut the door. "No tone."
"Oh!! We're gonna die!! No food; we'll starve! I don't wanna die!!"
"Shindo!" Akira narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. You're not helping."
Hikaru plopped down and shook his head. "I never thought I'd die with Toya… of all the people to be with during your last hours."
"What does that mean?" Akira exclaimed.
Hikaru just continued muttering to himself. Sighing, Akira sat down at the other end of the elevator. Hikaru shook his head. What had he done? There was no way he would last two days without food.
He suddenly sat up and gasped.
"Nani?"
Hikaru stared at Akira. "Are there vents on these things?!"
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Author's Note: I'm not sure how well I can write humor. I typically write more angst, but hey! Anyway, this is the first part. I'm not sure how many more installments there will be, but it is definitely not the end! Please tell me what you think. Arigatoh!
Translator's Note: 'Nani' means 'What?'