F3l1c3 : Just another short fic I thought of. (Characters may be OOC, but maybe not too, or maybe yes…) Enjoy! ^ ^
Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go. There, I said it.
Shindo Hikaru had never missed a match, so when one day, he didn't come to his game, his friends were puzzled, not to mention his rival, Touya Akira.
There was no news about his absence. The go institute didn't receive any phone calls or notices from anyone, neither did his friends. At the end of the game, the bleached bang boy lost by forfeit.
"Still no news?" Nase asked.
Waya shook his head, "No. He hasn't picked up any of my phone calls."
Isumi frowned. "Have you tried to phone..."
Waya sighed. "I've tried phoning to his house, his cell phone, I've even sent... I guess hundreds of messages."
"That's strange..." was all Honda could say.
The group nodded their heads simultaneously. They were too indulged in their thought to notice Akira passing by them. Ochi was the only one who saw a blur of green locks heading for the entrance exit.
"Touya," he called.
The boy turned around at the voice. He watched as the group looked at him with hopeful eyes as if he were a Saint. Um… Had something happened? Even Waya who disliked him was looking at him with wide expectancy eyes. He sweated when they asked the same question at the same time.
"What happened to Shindo?"
He blinked. Actually, he was about to check out his rival's house to see how he was doing before bombarding him with questions. He had just gotten the address, albeit difficultly, before passing Waya, Isumi and the rest of them. He wanted to ask them the same question but figured out no one knew why Shindo was absent.
"I have no idea at all," he replied.
Waya groaned in frustration, Isumi, Nase and Honda sighed while Ochi was just…being Ochi.
"I guess I'll pay a visit to his house today. You guys wanna come?"
"I'm sorry I can't. We planned to go to go salons today," Honda informed.
"I'm going home," said the youngest one and he just walked away.
"Um… If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to go," Akira followed suit.
"So it's just you, Waya. Tell us what happened tomorrow," Isumi concluded as the only girl nodded her head with a smile.
"Fine. You owe me sushi."
Akira was worried. What if Shindo wanted to stop playing go again? What would he do? Maybe he was sick? What if he were bedridden? No, what's worse was probably… He froze at his last thought. …lying hopelessly in the hospital's room? Waiting for death…?
He shook his head vigorously, telling himself how stupid that idea was. There was no way Shindo could be in hospital. Well, he was kind of reckless; it could be seen clearly in his go, at how he took risky movements. And that was what worry him even more. Shindo Hikaru could be reckless at times.
Akira stepped into the train. As he stood by an old woman, his phone buzzed. He picked up the call as soon as his gaze fell on the caller's name.
"Yes? Shindo?"
"Akira! I'm so glad you picked up the phone!"
"I've always picked up phone calls and replied to texts. Is something the matter? You didn't attend…"
"AH! That's what I want to talk to you about. Well it's related. No worries, I'm not quitting go!"
Akira sighed in relief. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath in the course of their talk.
"Papa!"
The green haired boy widened his eyes at what he heard from the other line. Did he hear it correctly? Papa? Was that a kid?
"AKH! I'M NOT YOUR PAPA!"
"Bwa! Papa!"
"THAT'S WHY I SAY I'M NOT YOUR PAPA! ARGH! WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU…?! STOP THAT'S A FREAKING KNIFE YOU ARE PLAYING WITH!" he heard.
Akira sweatdropped. A kid just called his rival… papa.
"Good. Stay here. Don't you go into the kitchen, Nana."The other boy said in a stern voice.
"Shindo? Papa?" Akira's brain was full of question now. Too many questions that he could only utter those two words. The possibility of a married Shindo Hikaru crossed his mind. Somehow he felt like laughing at the idea.
"No! Touya, you misunderstood! I'm NOT married, don't assume… GAH! DON'T PULL MY HAIR! WHA… Wait! DON'T CRY! He, hey!"
It seemed lively on the other side. The other boy was cursing and the kid was crying.
"Argh! I'm going insane! Touya! Come to my house! You've got to help me!"
And because of how urgent he sounded, he instantly responded, "Ok."
2.30 p.m.
The first thing that greeted him when the door was opened was a little girl with blue hair and eyes.
"PAPA!" the little girl called.
She's no more than a year, he thought. Maybe even younger. He chuckled when the little girl jumped to grab his hand. Something impossible. Akira crouched down, patting the kid's odd blue hair. She giggled.
"NANA! Ah! I forgot to lock the door. Touya! Did I leave it open?" Hikaru walked down the stairs which were full of toys.
"I guess you did. Who's this little girl?"
"Nana. She's my neighbor, Hibaki's youngest daughter. She calls every girl 'mama' and every boy 'papa'."
"O…" Then Akira complimented on how innocent she looked.
"Don't be fooled by her looks," he said pointedly, the proceeded to explain things, "You see, this morning, Hibaki-san said she had to visit her sick friend and she didn't know when she'd be back. My mom is out until 6 with my dad, so I'm the only one to take care of her. Hibaki-san didn't even wait for my reply. She just dropped this girl in front of me, and 'adieu'. Can you believe it? So there's no way I could attend my game. Hibaki-san told me she's quite handful, that's why..." he trailed off.
"I see. But you should phone.." Akira was cut by him.
"I wanted to. I wish I could, but this kid just won't stay still. She keeps on bothering me.. Wait!" Hikaru glanced around.
"Where is Na..na, oh, shit!" he cursed.
The door to the kitchen! He forgot to close it and it was now wide open!
"Shindo, I can't believe you." Akira wanted to lecture him, but a little girl's safety came first.
"NANAAA!" and the two of them dashed to the kitchen.
They found her sitting beside a stool which was slightly taller than her, then an even taller chair on the stool's side. She was covering a small space of the floor with chocolate sauce and strawberry jam, spreading it by a small knife.
Akira and Hikaru went hysteric at the sight. This girl was so much trouble. The bleached bang boy had warned her twice not to play with a knife, but she was repeating it again! With so much difficulty, they parted the knife, several forks and spoons from Nana, but the kid was upset at the prospect of leaving her 'toys' and she threw a tantrum, pulling Akira's hair in the process.
4 p.m.
They couldn't be more grateful when Waya arrived; not knowing what was happening. They may have thought that the 'newcomer' could help, but of course, he was not that much of a help. On the contrary, he brought more trouble. Waya always fell for her sad look which made him fallen into her trap. The one year old Nana was a devil.
5 p.m.
Nana was throwing around a remote control when she was scolded by Hikaru. She almost cried because of the boy's angry tone. The three of them panicked. Hikaru went to the kitchen, saying he would be back in a minute (he wanted nothing more than to escape, even for a minute). Akira, hearing the doorbell rang, said he'd open the door. That left Waya.
The panicky go-player, being left alone in the living room, didn't know what he should do and was beginning to regret his decision to visit Shindo when all of a sudden, his eyes fell on the remote control. The hopeless Waya gave her the object which she happily accepted. Amazingly, all traces of tears were gone in a second. Nana played until it was not possible to be played. Hikaru and Akira arrived not long later. Before them, laid the broken TV remote control. Mrs. Shindo would be furious when she returned.
"My life! Mom is going to skin me alive! The kitchen is a mess, the stairs were a toy shop, the living room looks like a ship wreck!" Hikaru grunted.
"Um… You know, Nana's sister is down there, "Akira informed.
"Really? Oh my God! I've never felt so glad in my life!" Waya said, and then he sang his song of freedom.
As for the bleached bang boy, he was frozen in his spot, pulling his knees to cover his face. A dark gloomy aura surrounded him, contrasted to Waya's.
"So.. I'll bring Nana down." No one cared nor listened so he just brought her to her sister.
6 p.m.
It felt like the day of the doom to Hikaru. The bell rang and they could hear his mom's voice calling.
"Hey, Shindo. You wanna come to my house?" Waya offered.
"We could explain this to them, Shindo," Akira followed.
No response. No matter how they called, their friend remained silent. Akira and Waya sighed in defeat. They decided to greet his parents and explain the situation. They'd feel guilty if Hikaru were scolded because of a little girl and his carelessness.
F3l1c3 : And there you go! Is it bad? Is it bad? I'm sorry if it is!
