Room Fourteen
When Hikaru informed Waya that he and Akira were moving in together Waya quietly asked if Hikaru was insane.
Then loudly asked if he was insane. For Waya's efforts he was hit on top of the head.
"But he is Touya! Stuck up, arrogant and annoying! How could you possibly want to move in with that irritating person?" Waya eloquently debated.
At the mention of his name - Akira had of course taken Hikaru's aforementioned supposed insanity in his stride - Akira started.
"Because he is my friend! He might be annoying sometimes, okay and he uptight most of the time," Hikaru argued, oblivious to the twitching of Akira's brow. "But who else could I move in with?"
Akira was touched, truly, at this acknowledgement.
"I don't know," Waya muttered, "Anyone else but him? That stalker of yours?"
"I made the deposit," Akira murmured, entering the conversation. "The landlady was very… different." He was ignored.
"I had thought about you, but you moved in with Isumi and now I hardly ever see you. Its like you vanish off the earth once you leave the Go Institute," Hikaru glared at Waya, who confusingly started to blush.
"Well…" Waya muttered without a hint of grace. "Household stuff. Um. You know, paying the bills. I'm sure you will understand soon."
Hikaru shrugged, "So bills take over friendship?" The hurt was accusing in his tone.
"No! That isn't so!" Waya denied.
"You haven't treated me to ramen for three weeks," Hikaru continued.
Waya ended up treating most of the Young Pros. Waya sighed and promised something about cream to Isumi when they got home.
"Cream?" Hikaru asked, "Are you having dessert? Can I come too?"
While Isumi blushed, Waya choked on his drink. Hikaru never did get invited back to Isumi and Waya's apartment that night.
On the up side he beat Akira by three moku that night.
Akira grunted, nearly dropping the box. "What," he said, between panting, "Is inside of this box? You couldn't possibly have this much kifu!" Akira was seriously regretting helping Hikaru bring in his boxes.
"Manga, I think," Hikaru mumbled, tossing glaringly bright t-shirts over his shoulder.
"You still read that?" Akira asked despairingly. The box was placed on the ground gently but Akira winced when his back cracked when he returned to an upright position. Hikaru looked over his shoulder at the grimacing Akira.
"Sit down," Hikaru ordered. "I'll show you something Akari taught me."
Looking doubtful, Akira reluctantly sat down. Hikaru rubbed his hands together before rolling up his sleeves.
When Hikaru placed his hands on Akira's shoulders, Akira tensed. "What are you doing?" He demanded flatly.
"Massage, it is very relaxing," Hikaru muttered. "And stop moving!"
"I see," Akira murmured.
"And yeah, it is manga," Hikaru said as he found a particularly stubborn knot. "There is nothing wrong with it."
"It is juvenile," Akira insisted, though his words were interrupted with low grunts.
"That's what you think because you were surrounded by old fogies by birth," Hikaru said, rubbing the palm of his hand along Akira's neck.
"Not all of them were old," Akira said, "What about Ogata?"
"Or creepy," Hikaru amended. "Stop twitching."
"Then stop pressing so hard right there!" Akira sagged into Hikaru's hands. He paused, "Well. He's not that creepy."
There was a snort from Hikaru.
"He liked manga and all that too," Akira continued, smoothing down the fabric of his trousers. "Video games."
"Hmm? Shoot 'em up games? Doesn't surprise me," Hikaru added.
"No, not really. Sister Princess and Meine Liebe," Akira frowned, "I think those were the names."
Hikaru started at the mention of those two games in the same sentence, it was an interesting mix, Hikaru reflected. "Really?"
"Ogata showed me another game as well when I was younger," Akira said. "My mother wasn't pleased about the content."
"That so?" Hikaru continued his rubbing when Akira wriggled impatiently.
"It was usual for some players to stay for dinner, but only Ogata contracted food poisoning," Akira said. "Mother said it must have been the fish. You really are good," Akira said hesitantly. Hikaru smiled. "I think that was the time that Ogata had to get some more fish because a few died."
Hikaru grew cold and promised himself never to cross Akira's mother.
They had gotten used to living away from home. Mostly.
It was a little after seven when their power went out.
"I hate you," Akira quietly murmured.
"Um. I think I forgot to pay the power bill," Hikaru muttered sheepishly.
Even in the dim light coming in from the street lamps, Hikaru could see the light glinting of the sharp knife in Akira's hand. Hikaru started to reach for his mobile phone, just in case he had to call the police. Akira grew decidedly homicidal when he didn't get his dinner.
"You pay the power, I pay the water," Akira started, "Do we have running water, Shindo?"
"Uh, yes?" Hikaru sighed, Akira had that tone again. It was going to be a long night.
"Then why don't we have power?" Akira asked.
"I - " Hikaru started.
"It was a rhetorical question, idiot," Akira lowered the knife however as he said this. "We'll get sushi, or something." Akira reached for his coat.
"Ramen?" Hikaru asked wistfully.
"No. No ramen for you," Akira firmly dashed Hikaru's ramen hopes.
On the way home, Hikaru brought a glow in the dark goban.
Akira beat him by two moku. Hikaru insisted that he had let Akira had win. Akira had just smirked.
"Good morn - " Akira muttered. "Uugh. Couldn't you have fixed that before entering the kitchen?" He waved a hand slightly below Hikaru's midsection.
"It's not like I have an on/off switch," Hikaru grunted. "I'm young, these things happens to normal men."
"Or men without self control," Akira sniffed, sipping at his tea daintily. "Maybe you could dressed some time soon?"
"Don't you ever get it?" Hikaru asked, scratching his bare chest. "God. You are both sterile and sexless."
Akira twitched. "I do have... feelings, but I properly control them," he murmured stiffly. His eyes dropped to his miso soup. Then he jerked, "Are those my boxers?"
Hikaru looked down. "Uh, yeah? Guess I didn't notice," Hikaru grinned, playing with the top of the boxers. "Want them back?"
Clunk. A noise from downstairs drifted to their apartment.
"No," Akira closed his eyes. "I'll have to burn them."
"Hey! It's not like I jacked off in them - "
"Could you please not shout that when you know the landlady is listening?" Akira whispered. "I can hear her cane!"
"I think a life of Go can be damaging," Hikaru said solemnly. Considering this was the Go Institute, perhaps it wasn't the most appropriate place to say it.
"Eh?" Fuku asked. "What do you mean?"
"Have you seen what Touya is wearing today?" Hikaru melodramatically covered his eyes with one hand.
Nase shrugged, "I've seen worse. My sister is going through a neon ruffles faze. How do you blame it on Go?"
"How can I not?" Hikaru insisted. "What else is there in Touya's life?"
"I'm not quite sure about that," Isumi murmured, staring over Hikaru's shoulder to Akira. He was the only one that saw Akira turn around and leave the Institute.
Later that night Hikaru asked Akira if he wanted a game of Go.
Akira narrowed his eyes, "I have to do the dishes," he said stiffly, turning around and going into the kitchen.
"You're choosing dishes over Go?" Hikaru questioned, startled.
"I'm having dinner with my family tomorrow," Akira continued, as he stacked the plates and bowls.
"What time should I be there?" Hikaru murmured. He always went with Akira when they visited Akira's family home.
"I'm going alone," Akira said. He turned on the water.
"Why?" Hikaru asked.
"I'm thinking of moving back in with my family, I don't think we are working well together as roommates," Akira murmured.
"You're being crazy! Crazy stupid Touya," Hikaru muttered. "We're going fine." Akira clenched his hands on the edge of the sink.
"Go... means so much to me, Shindo," Akira said, "But it does not mean everything to me." Akira put on his rubber gloves. Hikaru was quiet. "I used to go fishing with my father, before his health declined and..."
"What are you saying, Touya?"
"People. Friends, family, they mean something to me. The Hand of God, that is something that I am frantically hoping one day to gain but," Akira paused.
"But?"
"It isn't a path one goes alone," Akira finished.
The next day Akira went to dinner with his parents and did not return that night.
Hikaru sat in front of the Goban, waiting for Akira.
"He's going crazy," Waya muttered to Isumi. "He didn't want to eat ramen! Hikaru!"
Isumi leaned back in his chair. "How is Touya holding up?"
"I hardly see him around the Institute," Waya shrugged. "When I asked Hikaru about Touya he grew serious, then cackled!"
"I heard that he is taking a break from tournaments," Nase whispered. There was surprised silence at that. "It's only been three days since he moved out."
"Do you know what happened?" Isumi asked. No one answered.
"Touya!" Hikaru yelled as he came running into the Institute. "We're going fishing!"
Nase coughed, "Um, Touya isn't here."
"Damn!" Hikaru shouted and whirled around, the two fishing rods on his shoulder nearly gouging out Waya's eye.
"Crazy, I said," Waya sighed. The others reluctantly had to agree.
Akira slowly closed his eyes. "You dropped the oars," he said quite calmly considering the circumstances.
"Maybe if you weren't such a prissy boy, we wouldn't be in this situation," Hikaru retorted, paddling with his hands furiously but fruitlessly in the direction of the lost oars. They continued to drift in the opposite direction.
"I can't see how you could possibly blame this on me. You were one the who practically kidnapped me from my own home to embark on this foolish trip," Akira opened his eyes. "Wonderful, one of the oars is sinking."
"Your mother kicked you out of the house because you had been sulking," Hikaru said as he gave on securing the oars. "You're still sulking."
"Am not," Akira grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. "We're going to die here, aren't we?"
"Of course not! In a couple hours more people will be up and they are sure to see us and come over. It is Golden Week, everyone is on holidays," Hikaru stated, reaching for the bait. "We can still go fishing."
"I suppose so," Akira grumbled, readying his fishing rod with ease. Hikaru was less than successful.
After three minutes, Hikaru started fidgeting.
"Stop it, you'll scare the fish away," Akira commanded.
"This is so boring, how can you just sit there and do nothing?" Hikaru whined.
"We're fishing. Enjoying the peaceful surroundings of the lake. Not by choice, of course, for some of us," Akira amended.
"Hey, Touya," Hikaru said, stressing the last syllable in Akira's name. "I brought a portable Go set."
There was a pause. Akira shifted in the boat, rocking it slightly, "I suppose it couldn't hurt," he admitted.
Hikaru grinned.