Chapter 11
"Hikaru?" Akira couldn't tear his eyes away from his rival. They were playing an official match, if Hikaru beat him he would move up to a 4-dan. If his counterpart won, Hikaru would tell him what he longed to know. He would finally be able to have the part of Shindo no one else had. After everything they had been through, he would find out the truth about Shindo and Sai. His childhood secret would be relieved. Akira never had the courage, let alone the chance, to ask directly the reason for Hikaru's pain, joy, and everything. This matter was anything but trivial, those games had caused the teenager in front of him to blossom into his rival. Oh how Akira wish he wasn't feeling as jittery as their first date.
"You should worry about yourself," Hikaru mummer softly, his intense green eyes locking with sea-form gray. "Akira-san."
Akira's heart thundered in his chest as the white stone met wood with a distinct PACHI. He looked at the stone, it was tengen, then anger rose in his face. He wanted to start chucking stones at Hikaru but reframed from doing so.
"I should say the same to you," he replied, and continued to smoothly through his rival's territory.
XXX
Three hours later, Ogata walked by a silent room. He needed a smoke badly, the old monkey was getting on his nerves. He stopped, looking at the two young rivals who had turned the Go world upside down. Everyone was gone, except for an all too familiar pair. The man in the white suit almost didn't notice how their hands hovered over above each other. He did notice the two were silently crying over the game, it was like watching two gods realizing they that had reached their goal and didn't know what to do now. For some reason, he stared at the two, so it was finally over. With a frustrated snort, he turned away, closing the door softly, "Honestly, those two."
Meanwhile back in the room, Akira stared at the board, his hand released the final black stone, Hikaru let his breathe escape from his lips. They were in end game, and it was a struggle to place the final stone, in the lower left corner. The white stone hit the board and the black and white pattern was completed.
"Hikaru?" Akira looked up in awe at his partner. His eyes were puffy and tears were trailing down his cheeks. "You won."
"My word," Hikaru asked in a daze. "That was an intense game. I thought for sure that I won." He laughed, rubbing his eyes. "Man, you really had me Akira. You're amazing."
"Hikaru, You won," Akira stated firmly. Honestly, he's always like this when he wins. Such a baka.
"Oh please, I did not win," Hikaru shouted quickly beginning to clear the board.
"Leave it!" Akira shouted, grabbing his rival's hand, the board remained in place. The outcome was obvious. "Hikaru. Look. At. The. Board." Akira demanded, Hikaru only squinted his eyes, then a single tear dripped out of the corner of his eye. It landed on the tengen in the middle of the board. The thud of the tear, landing echoed through the empty room. Slowly, a single green eye opened and then the other accompanied its pair. Akira gently held Hikaru's hand as the other teenager stared in wonder. Then the old words of the past rolled through his mind.
This way of playing
Hikaru gently touched the white stones he had placed. It was like seeing an old friend for the first time in years. He had always been told that he had played like Sai, but in fact he played Go for Sai. Quietly, he looked up at his rival at the other side of the board.
He used to play like this
Akira gently held Hikaru's hand in his, however his other hand was balled in a fist. Finger nails dug into calloused flesh, with white knuckles. There was silence in the room, but his mind was racing, this pain is nothing. Nothing compared to what he went through. Alone.
Here the Sai I couldn't find anywhere
Hikaru hiccuped as his eyes became puffy but he refused to let out the wail. "I never got the chance." He whispered, on a raspy voice that could barely be heard. In his head, he was screaming.
He was here all along.
Akira blinked, Hikaru had said something but he didn't hear. "I'm sorry, Hikaru, what did you say?" Hikaru repeated the statement but it was only the movement of lips. Then another hick cup and deep breathe.
He is in my Go.
"I never got to say good bye."
Akira could not have prepared himself for when Hikaru launched himself at his rival. The board's pattern went in all directions as the stones scattered. There was nothing but the sound of hysterical screaming, clutching of clothes, and heart thundering as the ceiling came into view. When Akira opened his eyes, Hikaru was silently babbling to himself, holding on to him for dear life.
"He just left. Without a word. He hates me. I shouldn't have played. I should have let him play. I should have let him play. He's the genius. Not me. I never got to say goodbye."
Akira didn't know what to say, Hikaru was hysterically crying. In the middle of a lovely April afternoon, at the Go Institute. The weight of loosing to Hikaru was on Akira's mind as Hikaru continued to babble about saying, "Good bye, how I was a good for nothing." In the end, all he could do was continue to hold the sobbing teenager, gently stroking his back.
"It's all my fault."
"Touya-san?" Ogata stopped outside of the door, coming back from his cigarette break.
Akira shook his head with a firm glare as he sat up. Desperately, Hikaru continued to clutch onto him, burying his face in his rival's chest. The white suit man lifted an eyebrow when he received a deadly glare and Akira's arms embraced Hikaru tightly. The tall man muttered something about damn kids, and closed the door tightly.
"Hikaru," Akira whispered, only babble answered.
"Hikaru, you need to get a hold of yourself," Akira answered firmly. Then he felt the prick of something in his eye. Hikaru was softly muttering something. "Onegai, Hikaru, please." Then something rolled down his cheek, a droplet landed on top of Hikaru's bleached blonde hair. "Onegai, Hikaru, don't fall apart on me." Then he too began to cry.
XXX
On the other side of the door, Ogata-Meijin, held a lighter to his cigarette, ignoring the new no smoking policy. He had come running when he heard the crash and cries. For a moment, he thought it was some crazy person. Instead, he found the two teenagers again. But the state they were in was a surprise. Touya Akira's face held concern and worry while Shindo Hikaru was an eighteen wheeler reck. The glare Touya-5-dan had chilled him to the bone. He wanted answers just as badly as the brat did.
Ogata-Meijin sighed, listening through the thin paper door, the wailing and cry was heart retching. His hutches were usually right. He did have an inkling of what was going on but he wanted to be sure. After-all, he was thinking about the two most annoying teenagers in the Institute. And one of them just put him on his 'will not talk about Shindo Hikaru' list.
"Honestly, those two."
XXX
Hikaru did not know how he fell asleep, only that his pillow was very warm. Lazily, he looked around, he was still at the Go Institute's match room.
"I see your finally awake." Akira's voice came from above. Hikaru turned to see Akira staring down at him. He was laying on his back, using Akira's lap as a pillow.
"Yeah, I guess," Hikaru replied in a horse voice, a blush landed on his cheeks.
"You ok?" Akira asked, running his hands through soft bleached blonde hair.
"For now," Hikaru whispered with a heavy sigh. Then his memory of the past thirty minutes returned, instantly he sat up. "I'm sorry."
"Don't even go there," Akira growled annoyed. "You won, fair is fair. I just wasn't ready for."
"That," Hikaru sat up, looking down at his hands. "Yeah, I guess, it was sort of a shock."
"Sort of a shock." Akira lifted an eyebrow, "You did this!" he waved his hand around the room, revealing scattered go stones, and a tipped over board. Akira turned back more annoyed at himself than anything,"Why didn't you tell me you were going to completely flip."
Hikaru flinched and remained silent, he took a breathe, looking away. "I thought I would have been able to handle telling you. You deserved the truth more than anyone." Another breathe, "I wanted you to know more than anyone else. Because," Hikaru turned back to Akira, "you're the person I really trust."
Silence, again rang through the match room. Then the door burst open and many people came rushing in, Amano-san in the lead.
"Touya-san, we came as fast as we could." Both teenagers blinked, "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm fine," Akira stated looking lost, then his eyes landed on Ogata-Meijin. The man coughed into his hand, meeting his eyes, I didn't say anything.
"But we heard a crash," Amano-san stated. "Then Ogata-Meijin wouldn't let anyone in the room."
"Shindo-4-dan had a bit of a shock, when he won," Akira replied calmly.
"Shindo-4-dan," Amano-san paused in a moment, then a light bulb went off on-top of his head. "Oh, Shindo-4-dan, Congratulations! You have finally beat your rival!"
"Ah, yeah, it was a bit of a shock," Shindo replied nervously, trying to compose himself. "I need to get going, sorry about the fuss." Then Shindo Hikaru, did what he did best in these situations, dashed out of the room, Amano-san hot on his tail. Akira glared and began cleaning up the mess that Hikaru had left on the match floor. Ogata-sensei stood over the teenager, neither of them said a word.
"I should be going too, thank you Ogata-Meijin," Akira stated after he finished fixing up the room.
"Touya-5-dan, what you and Shindo-4-dan should be kept in the privacy of your home, you are lucky I was the one who found you," the white suited man stated calmly.
"You know, I'll be chasing him for days. Shindo comes to me because he trust me," Akira announced forcefully. "I would appreciate it if you could keep this story out of the press. He's having a hard enough time as it is."
"Touya-san," Ogata muttered, Akira was at the door ready to bolt like his rival. "don't let him winning become a habit."
"Ah, I don't intend to," Akira stated quietly, "but in this case, it was a necessity." With that he ran down the hall, knowing his destination.
WR: I know, I'm sorry about the delay but...(holds hikaru!) You finally got it out ne?
Akira: No more angst for him!
WR:...would you rather you have the angst, cause you're more fun. Hikaru's angst is just a law of nature.
Hikaru: Did I really win?
Akira: Yes, don't listen to this crazy woman!
Sai: I wanna play!
WR: Shut up! I have a headache..rereads part...ne...pass me a tissue, Ogata-sensei.
O: whatever.( continues to smoke)
WR: Smoking is bad for you! (stomps out cigarette and runs away)
