Summary: A continuation to New Year's Eve at the Toya's. Hikaru and Akira begin their relationship, running into both foreseen and unexpected hardships along the way. Will they be able to maintain their love for each other in the wake of adversity?

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go is written by Yumi Hotta and the animated series was created by Studio Pierrot. Please do not construe the writing of this fanfiction as a claim to ownership in any way.

A New Year, A New Life

5 – A New Connection

It didn't surprise Akira to see the shoe compartment he normally used filled with Valentine's Day gifts. It happened every year, but he had somehow wound up with more than usual. He felt that over the past week and a half, he hadn't had any opportunities to endear himself to his admirers and coworkers, him being locked away inside his house and all. However, he was glad to see that people still cared about him enough to leave him gifts.

Before he sifted through them, he took a few moments to slip Valentines into the compartments of his friends, making sure to skip Hikaru's as Takami was watching him from the hallway. Hikaru's gift was attached to Isumi's gift, as he was someone Akira knew would be responsible in making sure that Hikaru received it. Then, Akira kneeled in front of the gifts in his compartment. He arranged them so that they were organized with cards, bags and tiny boxes fitting nicely in the compartment.

Most of them were from anonymous sources, but others were from Hikaru's friends. Akira knew that Takami would sift through them to make sure that none of them were from Hikaru, so he was relieved when he saw that none of the tags had Hikaru's name on them. He was sure Hikaru would get him something later on in secret.

He put on his shoes and walked into the main GO room. His opponent was already at the board when he seated himself. She was smiling nervously at him, and rightfully so. Marume Eri had been one of more than a dozen people to leave Akira a Valentine's Day gift. She was a mousy girl of a wealthy background, someone with few friends and a decent head on her shoulders. She wore her black hair in a bob, and little to no makeup. She wore skirts through the wintertime with long socks even when it was unbearably cold. This Akira knew because he was observant; however, that was the extent of his concern with her. Her GO was nothing spectacular. To Akira, there was nothing special about her. She was just another face in the crowd.

"This is…so awkward…" she said, rubbing a red cheek.

"Why do you say that?" Akira asked, though he knew why.

"Because… I…" She shook her head. "Nevermind." Akira didn't think much of the fact that she had left something for him, and he wasn't sure why the young woman was so flustered when he was sure that she knew how he alluded to his private life in public.

"I don't want you to feel awkward," he said. "I appreciate the thought, but everyone knows that I am not interested in relationships at this time." Marume's eyebrows sunk.

"But… I thought that… I thought I heard your father say that… I mean even Ashiwara-kun went as far as to mention that you're more open to the idea of dating this year." Akira felt an odd pain in his left side.

"…what?" he asked cautiously.

"You know…with you being 18 this year and all…" Marume said. She blushed a little more, and tried to hide it behind her bangs. Akira watched her peculiarly. It seemed like a rather feminine thing to do, and yet he knew that he did it when he was feeling shy or ashamed. He looked away from her and tried to focus on the issue at hand. "They just made it seem like this year would be different for you."

"That is only hearsay," Akira said firmly. "I've made no such decision." Marume didn't seem to believe him, but he couldn't help what she thought. He cleared his throat to finalize the conversation, then scanned the room for Hikaru. He saw him at the door, unusually bright and early. A smile came to Akira's face when they made eye contact. Hikaru motioned into the hall with his head, and then left. Understanding that he meant to be followed, Akira rose and left wordlessly—he was not attentive enough to his surroundings to properly excuse himself. He had to find out what Hikaru was leading him into.

Hikaru was already out of sight when Akira reached the gathering space. He walked out into the nearest hall, and looked both ways before spotting Hikaru going into the bathroom. Akira hurried along after him, and in doing so, he caught the attention of Takami, who followed with his heavy gait. Akira reached the bathroom and opened the door. He walked inside and as he passed the first stall, he felt a hand tug him inside. He gasped, but consciously cut it short when he saw Hikaru's face, a finger to his mouth to quiet Akira.

Akira beamed and hugged him, refraining from jumping up and down like he really wanted to. It had been so long since they had been able to touch each other. Hikaru held a hand to the back of his head and forced him (unnecessarily) into a fierce, drawn out kiss. It left Akira gasping for air with his head on Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru touched his head gently and whispered into his ear, "how ya been, 'Fi?"

"Good…" Akira whispered back. It was a lie; he had been miserable. However, at the moment, he was on cloud nine and that was all that he could think about.

"You get me something for Valentine's?"

"Yes. It is with Isumi-san's gift."

"Why does he get something?"

"What?"

"Why did you get him something, 'Kira?"

"Because he is a friend. Don't people receive gifts from friends on Valentine's?"

"Well, sometimes…" Hikaru said. Akira felt the tremor of a burp from inside Hikaru's body. He looked up at him.

"You've been eating hamburgers again, haven't you?" he asked playfully. Hikaru smirked. "You know they make you gassy."

"What can I say?" Hikaru asked. "They're good. I can't help myself." Akira rubbed his stomach and leaned in to kiss him again. Hikaru eased up on the pressure he had on Akira's head and Akira broke the kiss.

"What…did you get me?" he breathed.

"It's a surprise, but open it as soon as you get home and tucked away in your room, 'Ki."

"Okay," Akira said, nodding. He heard the bathroom door open and they both waited in silence as someone walked over to occupy a stall. Akira sighed his relief. "We should go." Hikaru's expression didn't back up his nod in agreement. He pecked Akira on the lips.

"You should go first," he said. Akira hugged him tightly before leaving the stall. "Oh, yeah, and I'm Nase, 'Kira." Nase had been a name on one of his Valentine's gifts. Akira smiled and nodded. He washed his hands out of habit and was in the process of drying them when Takami entered the bathroom, looking wary. Akira tossed him an annoyed look and used the paper towel over the door handle as he opened the door. He slipped the crumpled mass into the garbage as the door was closing. Takami followed closely behind him, and it was obvious that he was suspicious. From Akira's flushed face down to the fact that he had begun to perspire, it was obvious that he had been through something interesting, to say the least, but without any proof, he simply resumed his post and kept quiet. The games went on without any other surprises, Akira facing away from Hikaru for the duration.

When he arrived home later that day, Akira hurried to his room and locked the door behind him. He sat his bag of Valentine's gifts on his bed and set through sorting them in order of which he wanted to open first. He of course chose "Nase's". It was a gift bag that contained a small, rectangular box, a card and a tiny, heart shaped box of chocolates. Akira opened the chocolates first and ate one while he cut the top of the envelope of the card. He took it out and read it.

Akira Fira

I know we haven't had the best start to the year, but I didn't want to let our first Valentine's Day go to waste. So I got us something that's going to make our lives a crap load better. (Akira winced at Hikaru's choice of words.) Hope you like it. Gimme a call as soon as you can. I love you like ice cream!

Hikaru

Though it wasn't as sappy as Akira had hoped, it was certainly the most he would get out of Hikaru. He set the card aside and ate another chocolate before he took the wrapping off of the box. He turned it over and frowned when he saw that it was a cell phone.

Hikaru got him a cell phone? How was he supposed to use a cell phone? Akira opened the box and took out the instruction booklet, which was rather thick. He thumbed through it quickly, and followed the directions for starting up. Afterwards, he plugged it in and let it charge. He would certainly call Hikaru as soon as the red light on the phone turned green.

The rest of his Valentines were standard colleague to colleague formalities with the exception of Marume's card. She had wrote him a lengthy note about her desire to start a friendship, if he was willing. As he contemplated how he would eventually respond, he stored his items away in the box where he kept his small gifts from years past. He placed the phone under his bed to make sure no one would see it, and then he left the room to go into the kitchen. Takami didn't follow him as closely when he was home, so Akira moved around as he pleased. He fixed a salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots and bell peppers with toasted flat bread and Italian dressing, and then went into the dining room to eat.

He heard his parents come in meanwhile, and then he heard the sound of Koyo, Akiko and Takami walking between the rooms. He heard voices coming from the living room, and suspected that it was Takami giving his father a talk about what all had transpired that day. Akiko retreated to the kitchen to make dinner. Akira had stopped eating dinner with them since the incident. He wasn't in the mood to face his father and mother in formal situations anymore. Instead, right before they were usually due home, he made sure to have an early dinner and a light snack about an hour before bed, if he became hungry.

He finished his meal, but didn't leave the dining room until he was sure that Koyo had gone into his den. Akira took his dishes into the kitchen. Akiko turned to him and paused slightly. Whenever she saw him for the first time in a day since the incident, her body would stiffen and she would stop what she was in the middle of as if she had been caught doing something inappropriate. Then she would stammer a greeting and keep a conspicuous eye on him when he was in her presence. Today was no exception. Akira murmured his hello and washed his dishes with his mother's eyes on him, staring at him warily as if he was a stranger in her home.

Akira went into his room afterwards and locked the door. From underneath the bed, he heard an odd buzzing noise. He went over to the bed and kneeled by it to reach for the phone. He lifted it and watched it peculiarly as it buzzed at him. The screen told him that he had 15 messages. He lowered his eyebrows and frowned. How could he have so many messages when only Hikaru knew his number? The light on the phone was still red, but he opened the phone to be able to look at his messages anyway.

Hey, Kira-Fi. You're gonna call me right? Luv Ya. Hikaru. Akira immediately chose to save the message.

Hey, the phone said you received my message, so call me, okay? Hikaru. Save.

Yo, this Waya. Save my # in ur phone and we'll talk, k? Save. The next message was a picture message. Actually, the next six were and they were all of Hikaru. Akira stared at the phone with wide eyes as he reviewed the messages. First, Hikaru was pouting. Call me already! Hikaru. Then he was looking stern. Then he was laughing as if someone had been tickling him. Then he was pouting again. Then sticking out his tongue, and lastly, he was holding up a peace sign. Akira saved all of them and then went back to looking at his messages.

This is Akari. :-) Yay, you have a cell phone now! :-) Text me and let me know you've got my number! Later! :-) Akira saved it, but before he could read the next one, he received another influx of picture messages from Hikaru. Akira sat and stared at them for probably longer than would be considered normal. Each time another message came in, he immediately opened it to see what silly face Hikaru would be making in it. In the last message, he was disappointed to only see text.

Send me some photos of you, too, k? Luv ya. Hikaru. Akira's phone had a camera, but he hadn't bothered to thoroughly read how it worked. Now, however, he wanted to. He took his manual out and flipped to the section that told him what to do. He took a few pictures and saved them even though they were blurry and crooked. Five minutes later, he sent his first ever phone message: a photo of him with a tentative smile. Hikaru called him a few moments later.

"Hey, you," he said, sounding gleeful.

"Hey, Hikaru."

"You didn't call me…"

"Well, you sent so many messages and I wanted to read them. Your friends have sent me messages, too. This is…kind of fun."

"Yeah, it's fun. We can talk all day and all night and no one will be the wiser, 'Kira." A peculiar smile came across Akira's face as he thought about those words. He would love to be able to talk to Hikaru whenever the mood struck. All of the pictures that Hikaru had sent him were adorable and he wanted more. He wondered if he should take that many pictures and send them to Hikaru. Perhaps Hikaru would enjoy them as much as Akira did. Even though it was inappropriate, he quite liked the idea of Hikaru looking at pictures of him. Admiring him. Wanting to see more of him… "He—hello?"

"Yes?"

"You there, 'Kira?"

"Yes, I'm here." There was a pause. "Hikaru?"

"Why do you sound all breathy?"

"Oh, do I?" Akira asked, blinking himself away from his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

"What were you doing?" Hikaru asked, sounding amused.

"I was thinking. I was thinking that maybe…I should send you more pictures."

"Yeah. Do that." Akira started to pick at his pants hems.

"I will…" he said. "I want to have dinner with you."

"Oh, but we can't. You're stuck indoors all night. Do your parents do stuff for Valentine's?"

"No. Father doesn't quite understand the point and mother always goes along with father."

"Oh."

"How about your parents?"

"They do because I bug them into doing stuff. They don't really care for it, but it gives them an excuse to go out to dinner and have a romantic night."

"That sounds lovely."

"Yeah. I'll be home alone all night and we can't even take advantage."

"I can't believe they left you alone," Akira said. "Knowing that we're together."

"Well, ma has faith that you're not going to let me take advantage of you. She was saying stuff like, 'that Akira has a good head on his shoulders.' Stuff like that."

"Well, I do. I'm not so easily roused."

"You are when I get you mad," Hikaru said. "I like getting a rise out of you."

"Hmph." Hikaru chuckled and it made Akira smile. He was about to speak when he heard a knock at the door.

"Someone's knocking," Akira whispered.

"Call me back," Hikaru said. Akira nodded and hit 'end' on the cell phone. He hurriedly stuffed everything under his bed and stood up. Another set of knocks came.

"Akira?" It was his father. Akira was already annoyed at having been interrupted, but hearing that it was his father caused his expression to sink in disgust. He opened the door, keeping his eyes averted.

"Yes, father?"

"I understand that you received a number of gifts today."

"Yes, father."

"Let me see them." Akira walked over to his closet. He opened it and pulled out his box. His father had entered the room and was watching him. Akira took out the cards and empty bags. The chocolates were piled up on his nightstand. "Who are they from?" he asked. Akira set them out on the floor, naming who had given him what. His father stood pondering meanwhile. When Akira looked at him, he was scowling. "Why are you receiving gifts from males?" he asked. Akira's eyes narrowed in an unconscious challenge.

"All friends exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. These…from boys are just cards. These others and the chocolates were from girls."

"Who gave you the biggest chocolates?"

"Oh…that would be…" Akira thought back on when he'd sorted through the gifts. "Oh, it was Marume-san."

"Marume Eri?" Koyo asked, recounting her name, as he knew of her and her family. "Let me see what she gave you." Akira really didn't understand the point of this, but he reached for the chocolates and took the card she had given him up from the floor. Koyo took them both. He opened the card and read it. Akira's mouth hung open. It was none of his business what anyone wrote him for Valentine's Day! When he realized he was gaping, he snapped his mouth shut and looked away. The absolute nerve! He honestly couldn't wait to get out of there. "You had a game with her today?" Koyo asked.

"Yes." Koyo lowered the card to look at Akira.

"You watch your tone," he warned. Akira felt the bridge of his nose scrunch in displeasure. He lowered his head so that his father would not see it. Why don't you just go to hell? he thought. He found himself thinking that among other similarly horrible thoughts about the man he was forced to call father.

"She will do," Koyo said. Akira did not ask what he meant. He took the card and chocolates from Koyo when he handed them over, and then he let out a large sigh when Koyo left. He gathered everything together again and slid them into the closet. To be safe, he took the one from Hikaru and slipped it up on the top shelf of his closet underneath an old radio. He went back over to his bed and took out his phone. He looked at the other unanswered texts. They were all from Hikaru except for two:

Shindo tells me this is your phone number for a cell phone. This is great! Now we can talk comfortably about your moving out. Call me. Though a name hadn't been left, Akira knew it was from Isumi because he had been discussing moving out with him and Waya, and Waya had already sent him a message. Plus, the text was neat and proper. Isumi seemed to be the only friend of Hikaru's capable of pulling that off.

Toya, it's Mitani. dont no y Shindo wants me 2 text u but whatevs.

"I don't know why either, jerk." Akira erased the message, and then went back to looking at his pictures of Hikaru. He felt as if he could sit for hours staring at them. He wondered how come he didn't have any photos of Hikaru. It seemed like something friends should have. The phone vibrated and pulled Akira from his thoughts. He shook his head, and then realized that even having the phone on vibrate would be dangerous if someone was in his room. He set it so that the phone would be silent and then looked to see what message had been sent.

Don't forget to call me. Hikaru. Akira frowned slightly. Hikaru was awfully overbearing with a phone, though Akira wasn't necessarily complaining. It was their only means of communication now, and Akira wanted to be able to speak with him just as much as Hikaru wanted to be able to speak with Akira. And so Akira called him back and spoke with him about just about everything that had taken place since the start of the New Year, about everything that they would have spoken of before if they had only been given the chance.

Afterward, at bedtime, Akira stayed awake for a few hours in bed testing out the perks of the phone. He'd learned from Hikaru that he was able to talk to him for free, which was fantastic, but that all other calls with the exception of Akari and Mitani wouldn't be free unless they took place after nine, or all day on the weekends. Akira was part of Hikaru's family plan, and Hikaru was paying for him. He also had unlimited text and picture messaging. Hikaru had already told him that that meant that he had to send him messages all the time. He had no excuse not to call him or text him out of the blue now. Akira set to work personalizing his phone, discovering that the device that he had found so annoying in the hands of others wasn't all that bad now that he had his own hands on one.