Captures
By Aishuu
Hikaru no Go
Disclaimer: Hotta and Obata.
This fits into the same universe as "Two Princes."
Akari was touched that Hikaru had actually offered to learn how to play Go – until it sunk in that she would be the one teaching him.
Hikaru wasn't stupid, but he was flighty. She'd tried tutoring him in the past, and had only learned that he probably had a case of ADHD. When he was interested in something, he was capable of a focus which surpassed even Touya's dedication to Go, but it was rare for him to find something that entrancing. He flitted from interest to interest, with soccer, manga and video games the only constants in his life. It was impossible to keep his attention on anything else.
She'd gritted her teeth and invited him over to her house on a Sunday in November. It had been quite a while since he'd last come over – since her fifteenth birthday party in May – and she felt nervous about having him in her room. Her room was her space, and inviting him in felt amazingly intimate considering they'd been growing apart ever since she'd met Sai.
Looking around, her eyes fell critically on her bookshelf. She had hardly any manga, since she spent most of her free time playing Go with Sai or Touya. The books she did possess were mainly history or Go oriented. She was fascinated by the Heian and Meiji periods, since Sai would tell her stories about the people he'd known. Sometimes she had a hard time imagining that Sai had known all those people who were just names in history books to her. His stories were always so filled with life, and he reminded her of a gossiping schoolgirl. She was thinking of becoming a history teacher, or maybe classical literature, thanks to him. Sometimes she'd wonder if she should try to become a Go pro, like Touya, but she realized that wouldn't make her happy. She wanted an ordinary life.
There was nothing wrong with the way Sai was leading her, but sometimes she felt out of touch with the rest of her peers. There were no anime posters, no pictures of idol groups. It just didn't look like a girl's room. She sighed as she tried to dismiss the familiar ache.
"Is something wrong, Akari?" Sai asked. Over time, he'd become accustomed to gauging her moods. He was usually very considerate of her emotions, which she was thankful for most of the time. Then there were moments like this, when she wanted to be left alone in her moodiness.
"No, not really," she said, feeling guilty for ever feeling resentment toward Sai. He had given her so much; there weren't many girls who always had a tried-and-true best friend. "It's just… well, I never thought I'd end up like this."
"Like what?" His eyes studied her with concern as he raised the fan to block her sight of his face. All she could see was his pale eyes, giving her no gauge to judge how he was feeling.
She was used to being honest with him, so she told him the truth. "Sometimes I don't feel like a girl," she said, waving a hand around her neat room. "I spend more time playing Go than anything else, which is fine, but sometimes I feel like I'm missing something."
"Missing something?" Sai echoed, distressed but not understanding her concern. For Sai, as long as their was Go, nothing could possibly be wrong.
"Girl things," she said. "I… sometimes don't feel very much like a normal girl."
"I'm afraid I can't help you there," Sai said softly.
"It's okay," she said. "I wouldn't change anything." She was stretching the truth, for as much as she loved Sai, she sometimes wished that she was more ordinary. Akari knew that all the wishing in the world wouldn't change something, so she didn't make it an issue.
She spent most of the morning cleaning, trying to make sure the place was presentable. She hid the box of tampons she usually left on her dresser, and checked her desk for anything embarrassing. She was a neat person by nature, and her room required little cleaning, but she kept finding things to rearrange. She knew she was being ridiculous, since this was Hikaru and he was supposed to be her best friend, but she couldn't help herself. Thankfully, she heard the doorbell ring five minutes before one.
Hikaru was early. That shouldn't have surprised her, since he had a very lax concept of time. He was prone to arriving early or late to appointments, but she'd never known him to be exactly on time. It was just one of those quirks she'd grown accustomed to. She opened her door to head down the stairs to greet him, but hesitated slightly as she heard the unmistakable sound of her mother's voice welcoming Hikaru.
"Hikaru-kun! I haven't seen you in a while," her mother said, and the warmth in her voice carried to the top landing Akari had paused on. Neither of them could see her, and she waited to see how he would reply. "Goodness, have you gained a couple centimeters?"
"Five," he replied proudly. "I'm taller than Akari now." His voice sounded deeper than she remembered it, even though they had spoken on Friday. Although his voice was still relatively high for a man, Hikaru didn't sound like a young boy anymore. "It's nice to see you again, Fujisaki-san."
Her mother laughed. "You can put your coat in the closet, and I'll make sure I bring you some snacks. Are you staying for dinner?"
She heard the rustling of fabric as Hikaru obeyed her mother's order. "Can't," Hikaru answered. "My dad's coming home early and my mom wants to do the whole family bit."
"That's too bad. There's always a place for you, so come over anytime," her mother invited.
Akari wasn't sure why that made her blush. She decided it would be best if she hurried to keep her mother from embarrassing her. "Hikaru?" she called as she descended the stairs. Her mother looked at her, winked, and made a quick exit. She heard Sai snicker behind her, and she ignored him with the grace of practice.
Hikaru smiled at her with the cute grin that made all their female classmates coo. "Yo Akari," he said, waving a hand before shoving it in a front pocket. He wore jeans and a black and yellow sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo of his favorite J League team. The blond in his hair looked especially bright, which meant he'd probably dyed it recently.
"I've got the goban set up in my room," she said. She gestured for him to follow her.
She felt his presence behind her as they took the stairs. Glancing back, she noticed Sai was standing at Hikaru's side wearing a serene expression. She never liked it when Sai looked like that, since it indicated he was thinking of something he didn't want to tell her.
Opening her door, she waved for him to proceed her. She had placed the goban on the floor and dragged out mats for them to sit on. She rarely bothered with them, since Sai didn't need them, and she preferred to lean against her bed.
She watched as Hikaru's eyes darted around her room quickly. "Take a seat," she invited. Akari shut the door behind her, but left it open a crack. She didn't want her mother to worry that they were getting "up to something."
"Where?"
"Either place is fine," she said. She felt awkward just standing there, but she forced herself to not fidget.
Hikaru took the seat that faced the door, sitting down cross-legged. She sank into the free space quickly, sitting seiza without thinking about it. Sai had said that proper posture was important for a player since it helped put them in the right frame of mind.
Akari stared across the board into Hikaru's bright green eyes, feeling her breath catch. It was strange, and a part of her felt a bit treacherous. This was muddling the lines she'd taken such care to draw with her life; Go had always been separate from Hikaru, and she wondered if she was betraying Touya by teaching Hikaru to play.
"So, um, where do we start?" Hikaru asked.
"How much do you know?" she asked. "I mean, has your grandfather tried to teach you at all?" She wished she'd given more thought on how to teach him.
Hikaru snorted and rolled his eyes. "He says I'm not patient enough to learn," he said.
"How about you start with the capturing stones game?" Sai suggested. "Or you could explain about the game's history and the theory behind it? Or you can show him the game you and Akira played yesterday…" She watched him wave his fan enthusiastically out of the corner of her eye.
She mentally asked Sai to quiet down. She had been hoping he would be in one of his more serious moods, but unfortunately it seemed he was going to be childish, dancing around and offering advice on how she should teach Hikaru. She didn't want him to distract her.
"Well, how about I teach you how to capture stones?" she asked.
"Sounds good," he said. He looked at the go ke uncertainly. "Does the color matter?"
"The more experienced player usually takes white since it's harder to win with," Akari answered. They had to switch go kes, and she almost jerked in reaction as their fingers brushed.
She started to explain the rules of Go, making sure to point out that the point was to capture territory, not the opponent's pieces. Sai was babbling in her ear, eager to help her teach. He liked Hikaru, although there had been times when Hikaru's casual disregard for Go had incensed him. Still, Hikaru was always cheerful, and not even the legendary Go master could take real offense to what was an innocent boy's carelessness.
"It sounds complicated," Hikaru said after she completed her explanation.
"Once you learn how to play, it becomes easier," she said. "I don't think everyone ever learns everything about Go, but that's part of what makes it interesting." She smiled, and set one of the stones down next to the upper right star. "Try to capture it," she said.
Hikaru didn't look convinced. He dug into his stones before grabbing one of the slate pieces between his finger and thumb, setting it down on the board on the star. She heard Sai chuckle, and couldn't keep from giggling herself.
"What?" Hikaru asked in an annoyed voice.
"You're not holding the stones right," Akari said, calming herself down. The last thing she wanted to do was chase him away by embarrassing him. Hikaru could be touchy.
"You're supposed to hold them a certain way?" Hikaru sounded utterly baffled. "I didn't think they were fragile or anything…"
Akari rolled her eyes, before pulling out a stone – properly – and setting it into place above his stone. "You use your middle and index fingers," she said.
He tried again, growling as the stone slipped from his awkward grasp. She waited patiently as he retrieved the stone from the carpet and tried to set it down. It wobbled precariously, and she smiled. "That's a little better," she said in an encouraging tone, "but you need to make sure you set it down firmly so it stays in place."
She demonstrated again, glad that her hands didn't shake. Hikaru tried again, and the stone slid from his fingers. He growled softly in frustration as he picked it up again. Akari's patience faded into amusement as he kept trying. It was amusing that such a talented athlete couldn't master such a simple skill.
"Here, let me help you…" she said, capturing his hand in her own before she thought on it. Hikaru stilled at the unexpected intimacy, looking up from the board and into her face. His hands were warm, she thought inanely. "Um, well, if you squeeze the stone like this…" she moved his fingers a bit, "you'll have better control." She wondered if the room was getting hot.
Hikaru listened without comment until she pulled her hands away. Then he followed her instructions, placing a stone firmly in the middle of the board. He withdrew his hand after a moment, smiling at her proudly. "I did it!" he said with pure delight. The smile that lit his face made her heart ache.
"Yes, you did," she said. "But maybe you should have tried to place it where it would have done you some good?" she suggested, trying not to giggle.
It took a second for Hikaru to figure out what she meant. In his enthusiasm to play a stone the right way, he'd forgotten that he was supposed to try to capture her stone. "Well, damn," Hikaru said, burying his face in his hands.
She couldn't help it. Her giggles swelled into laughter, and the tension she'd been feeling washed away. She laughed, and in a few moments, Hikaru joined in. She forgot about worrying about what might be, indulging in the moment. Behind her, she heard Sai sigh with exasperation, which only caused her to laugh harder.
Akari didn't know what the future would bring; if she would end up with Hikaru or Touya-kun or someone she hadn't even met, but she knew she would always have this.