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Summary: Hikaru remembers 'interesting' encounters with Akira. Akira remembers as well. Will they end up together? Third POV + Akira/Hikaru POV

Quick Recap: Hikaru and Akira were sent to an American international Go Convention. They've been through some rough times and their friendship might just not last. Hikaru is in the middle of a game with some old lady and Akira is just watching….what will happen?

/thoughts/

blah , blah emphasis


What the hell am I going to do!?


(Hikaru POV)

This is terrible! I'm seriously going to lose…and I don't mean lose like losing-a-penny-on-the-ground lose, this is like losing-all-your-money-because-you-weren't-smart-enough-to-put-it-in-a-bank lose! Shit! Why the hell did I even let my guard down for a second! Akira is going to be so disappointed in me…wait, I actually meant, I don't care what Akira thinks…kind of…

I stare at the board as it is my turn, but I already know the outcome and I'm pretty sure that if she is as good as she seems then she does too. I look up at her helplessly and then back down to the board, then up, and then back down. I'm pretty sure I feel what I look like: a lost puppy.

"What's wrong? It's your move, is it not Shindou-san?" she smiles at me.

I smile back meekly, "Um…yeah…" My hand shakily places a stone on the board and I await her turn. Akira is still standing there, scrutinizing the board as if he were playing. I'm sure he can see who the winner is clearly as well. I'm so busy wallowing in my own gloom, I didn't pay attention to the move she made. I hear Akira gasp and I snap back to the game.

"Oh my, what did I do here?" she smiles again. I'm confused….what?


(Akira POV)

Ever since I started watching this game, I've been totally amazed. I wonder how long this lady has been playing Go? Hikaru now is pretty deflated; he's not even trying now. He just makes random moves that will delay the game, and hopefully throw her off her pace. Sadly, it's not working. I sigh inwardly as Hikaru somehow manages to muster up an extremely sad yet cute pouty look. He's basically spacing out now, and I look back as she's about to make her move again.

She reaches out and places a stone on the board, lets go for a split second, and moves it again. I gasp as I realize what she just did.

"Oh my, what did I do here?" she says quite innocently. Hikaru apparently had no idea what she just did as he looks extremely confused.

"Shindou, you won! She made an illegal move!" I tell him as he's trying to figure out what's going on.

"What? …WHAT? I won?" Hikaru is so cute when he's bewildered.

"Yes, your friend is correct, I did make an illegal move. Therefore, I forfeit" She said. Hikaru is quiet for a moment before looking up at the woman.

"Thank you very much! That was indeed a great tutoring match, thank you for your guidance." Hikaru grinned as he said that earnestly.

"My, my, young yet honest! You'll make a fine man Shindou-kun" the woman heartily said. She paused for a moment and then reached for her purse. She's rummaging for a while until she pulls out a card.

"Here, I'm actually a host for a late-night Go show in America. My name is Sally Fuchida. After playing with you, I would be quite happy if you could contact me the next time you come to America. If you want, I could set up a special with you on it." She explained as she handed him the card.

Hikaru's just staring at it like it was a million dollars. "Wow! Really?! Oh my god, thank you even more! This sounds so great! I'll be sure to reach you when I visit America again" He said excitedly as he put the card in his pant pocket.

"It was my pleasure meeting you and good luck in the future. Well, I guess I'll be going to visit other booths. I hope you boys enjoy your stay here, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask." She smiled as she was preparing to leave.


(Hikaru POV)

I can't believe what happened. Not only was Fuchida-san extremely skilled in playing Go, she was very generous and nice as well. Well, it was probably more pity than generosity but who cares! She forfeited the game and even offered me a spot on her show. I feel so lucky today!

I waved goodbye as she left and started to clean-up. I almost forgot that Akira was standing by us watching the whole game, so I was a bit taken back when I saw his hands help me clean up.

"Well, that was quite interesting. I never thought something like that would happen here…nor would I expect that you would make such a stupid mistake so early in the game" he said quietly.

"Hey, she said she was the host of a Go show…so you know I'm sure she has a lot of experience…besides, it's not my fault I was distracted at the beginning…" I shot back

He raised his brow. "And tell me why exactly would you be distracted already when the game is just starting?" he questioned suspiciously.

I open my mouth and close it suddenly before I say it. "N-nothing" I continue cleaning, not looking at Akira. My face is slightly warm and I hope he didn't figure out what I was going to say. /I was thinking about you…/

I'm reaching for a stone as I say this and he goes for the same one. Our hands brush against each other and I feel a shiver run through me. It seems extremely cliché, but that doesn't stop me from immediately pulling my hand back and quickly putting the last stone in my go-ke.

"Erm…thanks for helping me Touya-kun, you can go back to your table now" I gibber out quickly without looking at him. I can feel him stare at me and I turn my head away, faking interest in this really weird-looking duck souvenir thing in the booth next to ours.

He finally turns away and goes to sit in his own chair. I let out the breath I never knew I was holding and peak in his general direction. I guess I'm not really over the whole… onsen incident if I could call it that.


(Third Person)

From then on, the Go convention was more or less quiet. With the occasional angry fat man or the flirty girl, the Japan booth was not bothered again by anything more interesting. Soon enough, the day passed by and the centre was about to close. The two boys were clearing up the area and getting ready to get dinner.

As they finally stacked the last chair up and pushed the last table to the side, they left the place and grabbed a taxi back to their hotel. Although they were next to each other the whole time, neither of the young men said a word to each other. They rode in silence up the elevator to their room without any of the mumbo-jumbo that happened last time.


R&R

Gah. I don't really like this "scene" with Fuchida-san. oo Started it kinda badly and ended it off worse. Maybe I'll fix it later .