Hikaru no Mahjong
It was a bright and sunny day, and most of all, Isumi Shinichiro was returning back his yearly visit to China. It was a date much anticipated by the Go pros, namely Waya, Hikaru, and Akira. Over the years, they have bonded together while battling their Go matches and the like.
Thus, it wasn't surprising for Isumi to see that the trio was waiting for him as he stepped off the plane. It was, rather surprising to see Hikaru hold up a rather large sign that read ISUMI SHINICHIRO, in bright, pink, letters. Isumi waved and made his way over.
"ISUMI!!!" Waya said first, running to Isumi in a rather girlishly way and crushing Isumi into a hug, which lasted about several minutes.
"Waya, it's been four minutes and thirty-seven seconds. That's long enough, now it's my turn." Hikaru said, pointing at his watch for emphasis and tapping his foot impatiently.
"Ohayo, Isumi-kun. How was your trip?" Akira asked, the only sane voice in the group, yet he didn't try to hug Isumi like the others did.
"Ohayo everyone." Isumi finally managed to greet.
"So what's up with the ridiculously neon pink sign?" Isumi asked, turning to Hikaru. However, it was Waya that replied.
"See? I knew it was a stupid idea, Shindo! Your bleached hair is already a landmark. We didn't need the sign! God, and all those people were staring at us like we were gay or something…" Waya said, smacking Hikaru on the upside of his head.
"Hey! You're the one who suggested we do something different!" Hikaru retorted back. Akira stared exasperatedly at the bickering duo, lifting his hands up in the air.
"So…things pretty much the same, eh Touya?" Isumi asked.
"Ha! The same. I wonder how you manage to control the both of them…" Akira replied. Isumi raised an eyebrow.
"Really now…" Isumi mused. Akira nodded.
"They've been bickering nonstop since you were gone…" Akira answered as they began to walk to Akira's car. Waya and Hikaru, were still bickering.
Meanwhile…
"…and so I said, 'Let's try something different…', not 'Let's make a neon pink sign!'" Waya yelled, getting redder in the face.
"It was the only color available! Go ask Touya, he knows what I'm talking about!" Hikaru countered, turning to Akira for assurance…only except, Akira wasn't there.
"Eh…? Touya?" Hikaru asked, confused.
"Oh my god! They must have left without us!" Waya said, panic stricken, as he made a mad dash for the parking lot.
"Wait up, Waya!" Hikaru said, trying to catch up. In several minutes, they made their way towards Akira's car. Miraculously, Akira and Isumi were still there, the latter checking his watch. Hikaru and Waya, on the other hand, stopped, panting.
"Hm…7 minutes and twenty-nine seconds! Yes! I win!" Akira said, peering over Isumi's shoulder.
"Hn…alright. Here you go, 1000 yen." Isumi said, reaching for his wallet and pulling out the amount. At the same time, Hikaru and Waya had stopped panting, and realized what was going on.
"Were you betting on how long we were arguing?" Hikaru asked incredulously. Akira and Isumi on the other hand, refused to make eye contact with Hikaru while getting in the car. (Akira and Hikaru in the front, Waya and Isumi in the back).
"See…this is all your fault, Shindo…" Waya muttered quietly. Unfortunately for Waya, Hikaru heard that remark.
"I dare you to say that again!" Hikaru replied, making a fist and turning backwards to face Waya.
"Shindo, do not create a ruckus in my car! Don't you remember what happened last time?" Akira said through clenched teeth. The last time Hikaru and Waya were arguing in the car, that caused Waya to stop paying attention on the road. Thus, Waya's car was totaled, which was why they were all in Akira's car at the moment. Hikaru on the other hand, rode a motorcycle, claiming that he loved the feel of the wind behind his back.
"This is your car, Touya. That means neither Waya or I have to watch the road." Hikaru pointed out, while continuing to advance towards Waya.
"Exactly, Shindo. I don't want my car to end up totaled, so turn around…or I will make you." Akira said through clenched teeth. Hikaru immediately calmed down. Akira had some pretty scary methods of persuasion, and Hikaru wasn't willing to be on the receiving end of it. The rest of the car ride, resumed with no hitches.
At Isumi's apartment…
Waya, Hikaru, and Akira were clearing up some space in Isumi's apartment, while Isumi was unpacking his belongings.
"Hey, Isumi…what in the world is this?" Waya asked, pointing to a rectangular box that resembled a very slim briefcase.
"Oh, that's just my mahjong set…" Isumi said nonchalantly, attempting to recover the case back from Waya, only to have it snatched out of the latter's hand by Hikaru.
"Oh, that." Waya said, recognizing the game.
"Mahjong? What's that?" Hikaru asked, while Isumi attempted to reach for the case yet again. But it was rather a little late, for Hikaru was already taking Isumi's beloved tiles out.
"Isn't that the Chinese game?" Akira asked.
"Yes…I played it back there with Yang Hai and Le Ping and a couple of others back in China…" Isumi trailed off, attempting to get his set back.
"Le Ping?" Waya growled jealously at the mention of his younger double.
"Cool! Erm, Isumi? What does all these scribbles mean?" Hikaru asked, holding up a tile with a blue character etched in it.
"That's 'East'." Isumi said absently while snatching the mentioned tile from Hikaru.
"Weird…who would want to name a tile called East?" Hikaru said childishly.
"It's one of the 'Four Winds'…" Isumi said, as Hikaru held up another tile.
"I see…what do you call this tile?" Hikaru asked innocently, holding up a tile with two characters in blue and red.
"Oh, well that's Seven Number, but most people refer to it as Seven Character…" Waya answered.
"What about this one?" he asked, holding up a tile with three slashes on it.
"That's 3 bamboo." Akira said, beating Isumi to the answer.
"How do you know?" Hikaru asked, turning towards his rival.
"I've played the game a couple of times when I was in China myself…" Akira mumbled, surprised at the sudden attention he was receiving. Hikaru slapped a tile down, snapping Akira back to reality.
"Alright, since all of you know how to play, then I don't want to be left out in the dark out of this so-called mahjong!" Hikaru said, while spilling the case onto a square table.
"Isumi! How do you play this thing?" Hikaru asked, his facial expression turning into the 'Game Face' that the other three knew all too well.
"…We're playing?" Waya asked, surprised. 'There goes Go, right out the window…' Isumi thought as he proceeded to explain the rules.
"Ok, so there are 144 tiles. They can be divided into four main groups. There are four tiles of each different tile. There's the Circles, Bamboos, and the Numbers group, in which they're numbered from one to nine by their quantities." he said, pointing to the tiles depicted by circles, sticks, and blue and red tiles.
"Then, there's characters tiles, the Four Winds, like I just mentioned, and also, the Red, White, and Green Dragon." Isumi continued, pointing to the blue, red, white, and green tiles.
"Their main purpose is to give added points for a bigger win. Then, there's the 'Flowers' the numbers on them correspond to the seating that one is it, which rotates every time someone other than the 'dealer' wins. They also give more points." Isumi added.
Then he proceeded to tell Hikaru how to get tiles by 'pung!' and 'chow!' and described 'winning' hands, ranging from the least points, the 'Chicken Hand' to the most, which were basically '13 Orphans/13 Terminals', 'Heaven and Earth' and the like. Isumi explained…once…twice…then he lost track. Finally though, Hikaru managed to grasp the concept. Soon enough, the four of them were having a pretty decent game.
"So is this what you did in China, Isumi?" Akira asked, while discarding a 3 Circles.
"Chow!" Hikaru blurted out, while trying to grab for the tile, only to have it snatched out of his hand.
"Pung." Waya intercepted, while opening two other 3 Circles tiles, much to the aggravation of Hikaru.
"Can he do that?" Hikaru asked Isumi, who nodded.
"Yes, because the 'pung!' move is senior to the 'chow!'" Isumi explained, as he discarded a Red Dragon.
"Mahjong!" Hikaru crowed, turning over his tiles while the rest of them stared at Hikaru blankly.
"Shindo…this isn't a winning hand…" Akira started. Hikaru's happiness was cut short.
"Wha…?" Hikaru exclaimed.
"Hey, he's right! It's scattered…" Waya chimed in.
"But-But Isumi said all I needed were two 'Eyes'…" Hikaru replied. Waya rolled his eyes.
"God Shindo, he said you needed two Eyes when you have a winning hand…" Waya trailed off.
"Isn't there a penalty for calling out a non-winning hand?" Akira asked Isumi, who nodded. Hikaru's jaw dropped.
"No way." he said, but nevertheless, he had to relinquish chips for each of his opponents while the rest of them shuffled the tiles.
"Hm, look's like you're losing there, Shindo." Waya teased the two toned haired boy, who quickly flared up at the jib.
"I'm just getting into my game mode, Waya. Just you wait, I'll have you in debt soon!" Hikaru said loudly.
"Yeah, right. When that happens, I'll wear a pink mini skirt to the Go Institute." Waya snickered.
"Alright! You're on then! If I win, I'll buy you the mini skirt and you'll wear it to your next official Go match. " Hikaru said, full of determination as he discarded a 6 Circles.
"We'll see, and if I win, you'll have to dress up like a girl, to the Go Institute. Plus the pink mini skirt." Waya said smirking, recalling a time in which Hikaru was terribly scared of dogs, because of a prank Isumi and Waya had pulled on them.
"Pung!" Isumi said discarding a 7 Bamboo.
"Mahjong!" Waya cried out, opening his tiles, revealing a 'Pure Suit' hand.
"Isumi, since I sit before Waya, does that mean I can intercept?" Hikaru asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes you can, but you better be careful as to if you actually have a winning hand, Shindo." Isumi confirmed.
"Oh, it's ok, I know this is a winning hand." Hikaru said smirking, revealing a 'Chicken Hand', the lowest possible hand in Mahjong.
"No way! He intercepts with a Chicken Hand???" Waya shrieked, frustrated over the interception. Hikaru merely stuck his tongue out and proceeded to shuffle.
"That's it, Shindo! Be prepared to be crushed!" Waya said menacingly. Silence follows as they begin to stack the four 'walls' of tiles.
Minutes later…
"13 Orphans." Hikaru announced, after Waya threw down a South. Waya's eyes grew big, after they inspected the hand, and indeed, the extremely difficult hand was a 13 Orphans. Hikaru smirked as Waya grudgingly handed over the large amount of chips.
"Beginner's luck…" Waya grumbled, resolving to win the next round, which of course, didn't happen.
Over the next several hours, Hikaru literally wiped the floor with Waya. He managed to pull magnificent plays, such as '3 Heavenly Scholars' and 'Big 4 Blessing' and even a 'Heaven and Earth', which only happened if you managed to win by the first tile thrown out onto the table. He also managed to self-draw a 'Ruby Dragon' hand.
"Pure Suit, with added Double '3 Flowers', that will be…256 fen, Waya." Hikaru said, smirking at Waya.
"I don't believe you could be that lucky, again!" Waya nearly screamed. Isumi tapped the enraged Go player at the shoulder.
"What?" Waya snarled.
"Just to let you know, you're about 1024 chips in debt. It's going to take a miracle for you to win." Isumi announced, displaying the tally marks on a piece of paper.
"Yeah, but don't you want to get even with this-this cheater?" Waya whined.
"Well, Touya and I managed to break even, and we're not too willing to risk another game…so how about you and Shindo, head to head?" Isumi suggested quickly. Waya glared at Akira and Isumi.
"Some friends you guys are…" Waya muttered. Isumi flashed a peace sign.
"Besides, you're the one who wanted to challenge Shindo-not us." Akira added hastily.
"Y'know, I'll be willing to give you one more chance, Waya. If you manage to defeat me, I'll clear your loss and if you manage to win more than me then, you can win the bet." Hikaru proposed.
"Fine, you're on!" Waya yelled, stacking his walls. And so, the final game commenced.
Meanwhile…
Akira and Isumi on the other hand, neglected to watch with interest. Instead, the duo had opened up a goban and were playing a pretty challenging game on the other room, when a shout was heard.
"Hm, I wonder what those two are up to…" Isumi mused, playing a black stone.
"Shindo probably lost…" Akira snickered. Isumi turned to stare at him.
"Ya think? I think that Shindo probably won though…he was leading…" Isumi countered.
"It's only beginner's luck…" Akira protested.
"Want to bet on it?" Isumi said, with a glint in his eyes.
"Still upset over this morning's loss?" Akira taunted.
"You might say that…so are you in or not?" Isumi replied evenly, as they shook on the deal. Then they sauntered into the next room, where Hikaru and Waya were debating.
"No FREAKING WAY!" Hikaru shrieked at a smirking Waya.
"Way." Waya replied simply.
"Ano…what's going on here?" Isumi asked, dreading the answer.
"He-he cheated!!!" Hikaru said, pointing a finger at Waya, who was about to burst into laughter.
"There's no way he could self draw a 'Heavenly Gate' hand!" Hikaru shrieked, bouncing up and down.
"Oh? And just how did you manage to pull out a '3 Heavenly Scholars' and 'Big 4 Blessing', I wonder?" Waya said, putting a finger to his chin. Hikaru spluttered, but no understandable words came out of his mouth.
"Face it, Shindo. You're just angry because now, you have to dress up like a girl." Waya snickered. Hikaru paled at the thought.
"I will not!" Hikaru said.
"Now, now, Shindo. In case you haven't noticed, there are witnesses here. Anyways, a man always keeps his word." Waya rubbed in. Hikaru on the other hand, merely growled at the frustration of losing to Waya when Waya was in debt.
"He's got a point y'know, Shindo." Isumi pointed out.
"Shaddup." Hikaru shot back as he abruptly picked up his things. Evidently he knew he was defeated.
"I'll see you tomorrow for some shopping, Shindo." Waya said cheerfully, waving to the defeated figure.
Slam!
"Did you have to be so harsh on him?" Akira asked, once Hikaru was out of earshot. Waya rummaged through something in his pocket.
"Well, it's his fault for pretending he didn't know how to play Mahjong." Waya pointed out, thrusting a piece of paper in Akira's hands.
"This is…" Isumi started, staring at a piece of paper that held the rankings of an online Mahjong site.
"Apparently, 'Sai' was also a Mahjong master." Waya stated.
A/N: Um...yeah...It was rather late...and this idea just popped into my head. There are actually no intended pairings, yet this seems to imply WayaxIsumi and AkiraxHikaru though. I think it would have been more effective if it was yaoi, but alas, I personally don't write those. You may think of it as borderline though.
I actually am not sure about the counting of 'fen' in mahjong, so please forgive me. And I also failed to explain the whole of mahjong, purely because I think it would be boring. So tell me your thoughts on this unusual fanfic? Thanks for reading and reviewing again! There will be a sequel...coming up...