Waya really did not like exhibition game events. Especially when they were marathon gaming events like this one set up in a huge shopping mall with folding chairs and rickety tables. They lasted all day long with only breaks for meals and bathrooms.
That in itself wasn't the worse thing. The worse that the people who sat down to play the youngest Go professionals really didn't care all that much about the game. Well, not all of them were like that. Some of these people were interested in the game. They were just really, really bad at it. Waya could count on one hand the number of times during the day he hadn't played with a severe handicap.
Stretching in his seat, Waya looked down at the game he'd just finished. He made a face. Good lord, did that chick even know how to play? Waya snorted at his own thought and carefully cleared the stones from the goban. Even if she did know how to play, she would have had to stop flirting long enough to actually look at the board.
You'll attract the younger generation they said. Get them interested in Go they said. Yeah right. I know the real reason all these schoolgirls are coming to see us and I doubt it has anything to do with Go. Waya leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
I wonder if I can sneak out the side door and go outside. It's too nice to be inside all day. Waya leaned even farther back in his chair until it was precariously balanced up on two legs. Some of the older people walking by were beginning to give him looks. He ignored them.
"Excuse me, are you one of the people here playing Go?" asked a girl, not much younger than Waya. She had dark hair, glasses, and wore one of the local High School's uniforms. Waya's came down on four legs with a crash. Heads jerked up from gobans and more than one glare was directed towards him.
"Yes. My name is Waya Yoshitaka. I'm a Go pro. Do you want to play me?" Waya asked. The girl shook her head, blushed, and pushed glasses up in one smooth movement.
"Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me where Touya Akira is?"
Waya took a deep breath and somehow managed to keep smiling. Be nice. Isumi made me promise to be nice. He so owes me sushi for this. "He's right over there playing on the table in front of me. You'll have to wait though. There's a line."
"Oh..." The girl looked disappointed. "Then do you know where Shindou Hikaru is?"
Waya sighed. Figures. Just figures. "He's sitting next to Touya. The one with the blonde bangs. If you have the latest issue of the Go weekly, you can probably get it signed. Or something."
"Thank you!" The girl gave a little bow before she ran around the table to stand in the slightly shorter line to play Shindou. Waya watched her and then shook his head.
I don't think school is out yet. Girls are skipping class to come fawn all over Shindou and Touya. I am so glad I refused to be interviewed for that article. It's bad enough without schoolgirls constantly asking me how I know Shindou or what I think of Touya.
The rush that had come through right around lunch had slowed to a trickle. The next big rush of players would come when the local schools let out. Which left Waya with nothing to do until someone came along who wanted to play.
Which left Waya nothing to do but look.
Damn Touya. It was always easier to blame these things on Touya. As far as Waya was concerned he walked around with a giant target on his back. He's not tired or bored or uncomfortable from sitting in these metal chairs all day. He's not rumpled. He wore a suit even when we didn't have to and he doesn't look out of place in it. He looks... too damn perfect.
Waya crossed his arms on the table, laid his head on his arms, yawned, and then glared at Touya's back. No one is that perfect.
He continued to stare at Touya's back as the other sat bowed over the goban, obviously ending a game. He couldn't see Touya's face but Waya had no problem imagining the polite, slightly humoring smile that was there. Because Touya was always polite.
As the girl Touya had been playing left, Shindou leaned over and whispered something to him. Waya couldn't hear what it was. It earned Shindou a sharp look from Touya before he turned to his next game. Shindou grinned.
He acts like he has a tree shoved up his ass. Waya watched as Touya explained to the new girl he was playing what nigiri was. The girl giggled and blushed, and while stammering handed Touya a copy of Go Weekly and a marker. Oh you have got to be kidding. Touya dutifully signed the magazine before he returned to explaining the game.
That guy is obsessed. I mean I like Go as much as any person, but even I have hobbies outside the game.
What followed was possibly the shortest game of instructional Go Waya had ever seen. Ever polite, Touya pointed out to the girl what she did wrong. More giggling ensued.
The set of Touya's shoulders was rigid. What he needs to do is get drunk or sing karaoke or something. The image of a tipsy Touya trying to sing had him quietly laughing to himself. Not that I want to hear him sing. He'd either sing perfectly or sound like a dying cat. Seriously, though, he's going to have a heart attack before he turns 30 unless someone gets him to loosen up.
If he didn't annoy the shit out of my with his "I am the great Touya Akira and your Go is barely worthy of my notice" I could get him to loosen up. Waya's eyes drifted down lower that Touya's shoulder, down his back and settled just below the hem of Touya's pants. Touya shifted in his chair as Waya watched.
In his mind, Waya could see himself pushing Touya over the table. Touya's perfect hair wouldn't be so perfect, strands of it catching on his lips and cheeks as Waya thrust his hips against Touya's ass. He could almost hear the sounds Touya would make, little whimpers and pleading noises...
Holy shit.
"I'm going to get something to drink," Waya announced, not at all happy that his voice cracked. A few of the players looked up from their games. Most ignored him. That was fine by Waya. He bolted across the mall, trying to not bring attention to the front of his jeans.
The Go players had been told that the side door led to a staff lounge with soda machines. Waya hit the door in question at not quite a run. After some rummaging, his pockets produced change. He put it into the machine, pressed the button, grabbed the ice-cold can and stuffed it down the front of his pants.
Ice cold applied to his sensitive parts was a quick and efficient reminder that he was not to be checking out Touya Akira. Especially since it was obvious to anyone with two eyes that Shindou was interested in him. You didn't mess around with crap like that.
It sucked being gay. It sucked being gay and having a friend who was gay (Shindou), but who was interested in a cold, driven rival so much that even the older Go professionals noticed it. It definitely sucked being gay and then realizing you were checking out said cold, driven rival that your friend was interested in.
Things would be much easier if there was someone else who was gay. Like that's going to happen. What are the odds of there being another hot gay guy about our age who likes Go but has a life outside of it? Yeah right.
In the battle between ice cold drink and youthful hormones, the ice cold drink finally won. Everything had returned to normal, and dammit that can was cold. It was only then that Waya realized he was thirsty.
He'd used the last of his change to buy the cold drink sitting in his pants.
"This is all your fault, Touya."
Ever practical, Waya fished the can out from his pants. It was covered in lint. A quick wipe with his shirt cleaned it off. Waya opened the can and drank half the contents in one gulp. Then Waya fished his cell phone out of his pocket. It was time to make some plans for tonight. Otherwise he was going to sit at home and mope, and nothing said "pathetic loser" like sitting at home and moping.
The phone rang. And rang. And rang. Come on, Isumi. Where are you? Eventually it went through to voice mail. "Isumi, this is Waya. I promise I've been nice to all the girls today. Want to go out for sushi tonight? Call me. I've got my cell on me."
In a few minutes, he was going to go back out there and play Go. Waya was going to take a seat behind Touya and he was going to completely ignore him. "Let Shindou have him."
I can do this. It'd be easier to ignore Shindou and Touya if I had someone to date, but I don't. Finishing his soft drink, Waya through the can into the trash and went back to the game.