Bring~
"Actually, never mind, it really wasn't that important anyways." Hirojima flushed at Hikaru's inquisitive stare. 'I'll see you at the next practice!"
Hikaru stood not knowing quite what to do when the late bell finally registered with his mind. Ah, drat. I have language first; sensei's going to kill me! He then proceeded to book it to his classroom, making it 5 seconds before the teacher started taking attendance.
"Nice to see you've finally deemed us with your presence." The sentence was spoken sarcastically; the class was already used to Hikaru's frequent lateness. Most attributed it to soccer practice, but the ones who really knew Hikaru understood that it was just Hikaru's nature to be late.
"The coach was being cruel again." Hikaru said rather jokingly as he took his seat near the back of the classroom. He avoided Akari's rather accusing glare as he settled in, taking out his workbooks.
As the class resumed, Hikaru couldn't help but wonder why Hirojima had seemed so flustered after practice that day. Despite racking his brain for ay significant events that could have happened so far, Hikaru came up empty. There was simply nothing that had stood out over the last few weeks, except go. However, no one knew about his new pastime and he didn't plan on letting it become public. Despite the intrigue Hikaru felt while watching the game, he wasn't quite ready to let the world know.
"Hikaru, can I play you today? We didn't get to finish a game yet!" Sai said with a pout.
That's because you never take it easy on me! I've never played the game before, yet you keep playing me like I'm Touya!
"But, you're really good at the game and I kind of got carried away. I promise it won't happen today! I'll actually teach." Sai said. In a way, it was true. Hikaru had so much potential and Sai would bring it out if it were the last thing he did.
If I finish my homework on time, I'll play with you. But just one game! Hikaru reasoned back. Negotiation was frequently initiated on the subject of go. Usually, it was Sai who ended up winning the better end though. Sometimes the ghost's personality was just impossible to beat.
"Hey! Hikaru! Where were you yesterday? I went over to see if you wanted to hang out, but you weren't there." Akari asked. Usually, the only time Hikaru wasn't at home was when he was at soccer practice.
"Oh, sorry, I had something else to attend to. I probably can't hang out after school as much as I used to." Hikaru said. It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with Akari, it was just that sooner or later he would end up getting dragged into what he deemed "girlish activities."
"Oh. That…sucks." Akari looked rather disappointed, Hikaru wasn't really sure why. After all, they saw each other at school every day and all she would be missing out on would be another dress up doll.
"Yeah. Sorry." Hikaru turned back to his work, not sure what else to say to the crest-fallen girl.
Akari didn't have a response either. The silence was rather awkward as the two childhood friends refrained from looking at each other, choosing instead to carefully examine the worksheet put before them.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
"Hikaru. Hikaru. Hikaru!" Sai loomed over the oblivious sleeping child looking like a mother hen.
"Hmmm. What. Who? Sai!" Hikaru gasped as he sat bolt upright staring at his surroundings uncomprehendingly, not noticing the disapproving glares shot in his direction.
"You overslept." Sai responded strictly. "Your stop was 2 stations ago."
"Ack. Drat. Really?" Still shaking the sleep out of his eyes, Hikaru looked at the display which would show him which station came next. To his dismay, Sai was proven right. His stop really was two stations ago. He could go on a round trip, but that would take much too long. He could also get off on this stop and change routes to go two stations back, but it was rush hour. The subway would be completely overcrowded. There was always bussing…
"Hikaru." Sai poked him
"Yeah?"
"You're talking out loud again. The woman next to you thinks you're insane." Now that Hikaru looked at his neighbor she did look rather…uncomfortable. And he supposed he had totally forgotten that no one else could see Sai, thus every time he was talking to him, it seemed as if he was talking to himself. Well. This was awkward.
Right. We'll take the bus home then. I think the next one comes in ten minutes. I'll call home and tell mother that I might be a bit late. Hikaru said as he exited the train, sighing in relief once the woman's eyes stopped glaring disturbingly into his back.
As soon as he managed to push his way through the crowd of people populating the subway station, Hikaru searched for a telephone booth. He probably had enough spare change for a fifteen minute call.
"Hello?"
"Hey. Mom? This is Hikaru."
"Oh, thank god you called. I have to leave for a bit and I might not be home until really late. I have dinner in the fridge if you get hungry."
'Oh." Jackpot. Freedom. Hikaru jumped in joy on the inside. "Um. I'm with a friend and we missed the stop. Could I hang out with him a little bit longer? We can find a cheap place to eat and I swear I'll be home before curfew."
"As long as your friends parents are okay with it, it's fine. I'll pay you back for dinner some other time. Have fun and stay safe okay?" She sounded rushed. Something must have sprung up at work. Either that or his dad had decided to make a miraculous reappearance into their everyday lives.
"Love you. Bye." Hikaru hung up the phone. Alright! Let's find an arcade and have some fun!" He was already looking around with searching eyes, looking for that neon sign that would mark his treasure.
"Um. Hikaru. Eto. Ah." Sai looked positively heart-broken.
What? Wait-wait-no-no-don't cr-no-don't cry. Just. Just talk to me. The bleached child looked slightly panicked as he tried to soothe a man who had lived longer than his whole school combined.
"There was a go salon. And since we have free time…" Sai pouted.
Hikaru took one longing look at the surely soon to appear arcade sign and then glanced at the ratty sign proclaiming the "Heart of Stone Go Salon." The choice was painfully obvious in his eyes, but then he made the grave mistake of taking Sai's opinion into consideration. Hikaru sighed. Go Salon it was.
WRITER'S BLOCK. WRITER'S BLOCK. WRITER'S BLOCK.
Please don't hate me. It's not edited. It's not good. It sucks. It's short. I wrote this in the airport waiting for my flight, I just wanted to get a chapter out for Christmas. Now. I apologize. SOOOOO MUCH. I kept meaning to update this story and it just kept slipping my mind. I apologize to everyone reading this. I can't make any promises on the speed of my updates, but I shall update. I'll also redo this chapter once I run it through my beta.
Thank you to everyone who continued to follow, favorite and/or review this story. I might have dropped it if not for the magnitude of the emails I received from Fanfiction. So as a Christmas gift, Read and Review. Thanks :D
