Like a Flash of Light

Disclaimer: Can't think of anything witty. Hikaru no go does not belong to me. (There's always so much pressure on you to be funny when you write these!)

A/N: Akihika. Mild shonen ai alert. Don't read this if that sort of thing bothers you. This is my first fic in this kind of style, and my first Hikaru no go fic, so let me know what you think!

Dedication: This fic is dedicated to my friend Gigi (hail, oh mighty princess of the vortex!), because it's her fault I got into Hikaru no go enough to want to write it.

What colour were Touya's eyes?

Hikaru had been having trouble focussing in maths, staring out the window and drifting in boredom, when this question came into his head. Like a sudden flash of light.

Hikaru was a little surprised to find that he knew the answer without even having to think about it.

Blue. Touya's eyes are deep blue.

He didn't know how he'd noticed that. He was usually watching Touya's hands while he played, the way he placed the stones, the pattern he placed them in.

He'd also noticed that Touya had small hands, and was surprised to realise it. Touya always seemed so strong, but his hands were so delicate. Remembering that gave Hikaru hope somehow. Touya was just a person, trying to survive in the world like he was. Trying to get by.

Coming into his head in the middle of his maths class the same way he had exploded into his life.

Like a sudden flash of light.

Akira stared vaguely at the kifu in front of him. He had just caught himself thinking about Shindou again when he was supposed to be working. This lack of focus irritated him. He had long ago learnt self-discipline, so why was it failing him now when he needed it to come to his aid?

It was, he supposed grimly, that damn L-word again.

But, and this was the part he could never understand, why?

Why, of all the people on the face of the planet, did it have to be him?

Akira had never been the kind to lie to himself, and so, after much internal wrestling, had finally admitted to himself that he wanted Shindou as far more than a rival.

Perhaps, with anyone else, this wouldn't have been such a big problem. But Shindou practically was a big problem. And, with just one game, one meeting by chance, he had turned Touya's whole world upside-down.

It had all been so simple before. The path before Akira had been in a straight line, leading him towards the hand of God. He had followed it in small steps everyday, until damn Shindou appeared. He made Akira wait for him, turn his head to look behind him. How could he move forward when half of him wanted to wait for the other boy to catch up?

And the worst part was that Shindou didn't just exist in the world around Touya, which before he had largely ignored. No, damn Shindou has to get under his skin, into his heart and mind and now he was everywhere. In the food he ate and the water he drank, laughter and ramen and the sunlight on his skin, leaves on trees that were the colour of his eyes, and the thinking behind every damn move in every damn game that he played.

Shindou was everywhere, inside Akira's head.

And the worst part is that I never want him to leave.

Boring, boring, boring!

When Hikaru stared out the window, all he could see was grey. Beyond the concrete of the school grounds, grey buildings rose from the landscape, merging into the grey sky. Maths was grey too, school was everyday.

Hikaru had wondered if Sai had ever felt guilty for bringing someone as ill prepared as himself into the world of Go when it had caused him so much pain, but the truth was that Hikaru was more grateful than he'd ever expressed to the spirit for this.

Hikaru's life had been grey. He had faced it with a smile, and a suitably bad attitude, but he'd really needed something more. Things had changed. Now his life had shape, purpose, passion.

Two passions, he corrected himself, with just a hint of embarrassment.

Hikaru loved Go, lived it, breathed it. But it was Touya who had broken through the grey.

Touya had set him free.

15 minutes late already!

Akira's whole life seemed to revolve around waiting for Shindou at the moment.

He couldn't stand it. He didn't want to wait any more. He wanted, more than anything, for Shindou to just be where he was.

But Akira could wait. Because he knew that, any minute now, Shindou would run up to him, out of breath and red in the face and apologising for being late. Then they'd start to argue, and later on they'd play Go. They might even go out and eat.

And it was in these tiny moments Akira lived. They cut through his life, like a sudden flash of light.

He stared at the ground as he waited, grinning broadly in its direction when he heard the sound of pounding feet running towards him.

Akira forced the smile of his face and raised his head to glare at the other boy, who slammed to a halt in front of him, and bent double to try and catch his breath.

"You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry, I – have you been waiting long?

Akira almost smiled in spite of himself, brain automatically providing a quick retort in preparation for the argument about to come.

But his heart had another response ready, one that Akira wasn't going to say out loud. Not just yet, anyway.

You have no idea, Shindou. I've only been waiting all my life.

The end! ^_____^