Disclaimer: Too lazy to own.

Touya Hikaru

-Chapter 14-

Cracked Can

Green eyes shifted back from the blonde head to the fan he was fondling. 'What's he playing at?' Hikaru wondered, comparing the cheap paper fan in his hands to the kaya wood fan lying in Sai's ghostly fingers. 'The quality just doesn't compare,' he thought with a smile as he attempted to divert his mind, but he seemed to be failing miserably.

'I don't understand him at all. What does he have to gain by not telling Dad? He won the bet fair and square. It just doesn't fit his personality.'

Sai rolled his eyes. I think you're looking too deeply into this, honestly. He was just trying to be nice and make you feel better.

Hikaru frowned. 'If it were anyone but Ogata, I'd agree, but he enjoys manipulating people as much as that monkey-man.'

Kuwabara-sensei?

'Whatever.'

Sai shook his head and turned away from Hikaru with a huff. He didn't understand why Hikaru had to be so stubborn sometimes. He wasn't one to talk, but nonetheless, Hikaru's paranoia was becoming a drag. They were almost out of the shadows, but Hikaru refused to tell even his own father of his participation in the Go world. For a normally boisterous and open child, Hikaru was being oddly secretive and if it didn't stop Sai would find a way to die a second time from the constant stress of remaining hidden in their slowly receding shadow.

"Hey, Hikaru!"

The called upon teenager looked up and dropped the Edo styled fan back into its basket. "Hey, Waya! What're you doing here so early?"

Shaking his head at his newfound friend, Waya pulled the blonde out of the souvenir shop. "If you consider this early, I'm a little worried."

It took considerable self-control for Hikaru to not smack Waya on the spot. "C'mon, thirty minutes is early. Especially when day two is less stressful than the first." He rolled Waya's hand off his shoulder, quickly readjusted his backpack strap, and followed Waya to the elevator doors. "So, are you really always this early?"

"Uh-huh." Waya stepped into the elevator next to Hikaru and let the younger teenager press their floor. He fell back on the elevator wall behind himself and felt the sudden urge to sprawl out and lounge in the sun. "What're you doing here so early? You're usually late."

Hikaru puffed out his cheeks and stuck his tongue out in response. "I stayed the night at Ogata's place and he had an interview this morning. I was just planning to hang in the souvenir shop until-" Pausing, Hikaru glanced at what appeared to be Waya choking on his own spit. "What're you doing?" he asked, voice deadpan.

Catching his breath, Waya leaned back. "Sorry, I just gotta get used to you knowing famous people without realizing it." He tried to find new footing in the conversation, but he couldn't get the image of a man with that cold of a glare letting a kid sleep in his apartment. Finally, he decided to bring up a…quirk of Hikaru's that had been recently bothering him.

"You know, I know Ogata-sensei's your father's student and all so you lack formalities, but now that you play Go you should really consider adding suffixes to his name and other famous players."

Frowning, Hikaru slipped out of the elevator and pondered the idea while following Waya to the bag room. Once he'd slipped his backpack off and left his shoes in one of the cubbyholes, he followed Waya back to the front room and they sat face-to-face across the table. "I dunno," he finally sighed, slipping into a cross-legged position. "I think I'd almost feel more comfortable calling him 'uncle' than 'sensei'."

"You're missing the point," Waya groaned with a shake of his head. "It doesn't have to be sensei, but you should at least add a san to the end of his name. Without any suffix it sounds really rude and you're colleagues, now."

Struck, Hikaru froze. "What?"

"Colleagues. You know, you work togeth-"

"No, no, I get that. It's just…" He had never thought of it like that. If he passed the Pro Test, he would become a professional Go player. He knew this. Yet, the idea had never really sunk in until now. Just like his father, he would play games during the week and spend weekends at Go Conventions and Title Games. There was even the chance that he would go to tournaments in other countries if he became strong enough.

He might get a rematch with Ogata. He might play against his father. He might win titles. He might never get past a first-dan ranking. He might do so many things. He might miss out on so many opportunities.

'Is this really what I want? Do I really want to become a Go player?' Pausing, his lowered his elbow to the table and pressed his cheek against his hand. 'Can I really image working along side Ogata and Dad? Can I handle playing professionals at Sai's level on a daily basis?'

The answer was obvious.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

Green eyes shimmered before they snapped into focus. "What?"

"You said yes. What're you talking about?" Waya asked, mimicking Hikaru's day dreaming position with more of an air of interest about himself. Mumbling usually ended up with interesting conversations, but Hikaru would have none of it.

"Nothing." Hikaru turned away to take a deep breath and turned back to Waya. "Who's your opponent today?"

Waya jabbed a thumb at the chart. "Some outsider named Kawamura, if I read the kanji right. Seems he won his first game, but that was against another outsider, so it's not much to go on, information wise. And yourself?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I've no idea."

Groaning, Waya slumped his head into the crook of his elbows. A muffled "I should have known" came from his folded arms before he glanced back up with a wearied look in his eyes. "Go check, doof. It's good to know who you're playing."

"Right," Hikaru agreed, jumping up to check the playing list.

Waya followed Hikaru's departing figure. 'He's certainly an interesting one.' Despite the fact that he should have known better, Waya had made stereotypes of Go players. What they should look like, what they should act like, and how they should be. So far, Hikaru was breaking each and every one.

Granted, he wasn't some Goth or Emo kid who was draped head to toe in tattoos and piercings, but he was definitely not the jacket-and-tie styled nerd that most other Go players seemed to be. Even if he himself didn't wear a polo shirt on a regular basis, he made sure to at least match his outfits and wear suits to conventions. Somehow he couldn't image Hikaru doing the same.

"Suzuki!"

Honey dew eyes snapped into focus. "What now?"

"Suzuki! It's the guy I'm playing today," Hikaru called, still standing in front of the chart.

Waya pondered the name for a moment. "I haven't heard of him. Definitely an outsider."

Hikaru nodded in agreement and glanced back at the list. 'Shindou…Shindou…' he murmured to himself, running a finger across the top rim of the brackets, looking for the tell-tale 'progression' kanji that started Akira's family name. 'Here we go. Number eleven…' He paused again, tracing his own line until he found number eleven. "Day fourteen," he muttered. A sly, nearly feral grin danced across his face. "Perfect."

The word slipped through his lips easily, and he spun around to rejoin Waya at their unofficial table. He paused as a familiar bob of green hair bounced out of the elevator and into the lounge. "Akira!" he called, hand instantly in the air and a grin on his face. Akira might not realize that they had a rematch coming up, but he was looking forward to it. He would prove to Ogata he was just as good as Akira, if not better.

'Ogata and Dad,' he promised himself. The smile set into a challenging grin as he found his footing, his new reason for playing Go. He had found his drive and his passion.

He had found his rival.

Akira sighed as he leaned against the back of the train's crimson cushions. They weren't the most comfortable, but they were infinitely better than just a plastic chair. Still, it was times like this when all he wanted was a comfortable seat to take a nap in. He had spent most of the previous night wondering what was going with Ogata and Hikaru.

His forehead plopped against the cool glass of the window and he shut his eyes, trying to once more to clear his mind. After a few seconds he adjusted his forehead to a new cold spot, and continued to breathe slowly and deeply. Still, the curious side of him got the upper hand and he soon found himself working out possible scenarios of what could have happened after he had been dropped off at home.

'Does Sensei know, then?' he wondered. Did even Hikaru's mother know? Akira shook his head with a mirthless smile. Of his two parents, Hikaru was obviously closer to his mother than his father. If anyone had found out, she would have been first.

The bing of the boarding bell rang about the cabin and Akira stood up, grasping the steadfast pole as the train slowed to a stop. Once the wheels stopped moving there was another resounding bing around the cabin before the doors slid open. Akira swerved into the morning traffic and stepped off the train, looking for his escalator.

Within five minutes he had walked to the Go Association, his mind running around in circles and making no progress. As the glass doors slid open to admit him, Akira decided to drop the subject. He could hypothesize all he wanted, but he would make no helpful conclusions and he needed to focus on the games at hand. He would just have to ask Hikaru for details later.

When he finally stepped out of the elevator, he was intercepted by the subject of his mental circles.

"Akira!"

Akira responded with a small smile and returned Hikaru's short wave; however, he was hesitant to raise such a friendly gesture. It felt silly, yet there was an aggression behind Hikaru's cheerful welcoming. Without knowing it, Akira found his face dropping into his serious face he saved for the beep of the game clock.

"Hello, Hikaru," Akira greeted as Hikaru ran to fall alongside his rival while Akira dropped off his bag and shoes in the storage room.

"Hey, who're you playing today? Waya and I are both playing outsiders."

Akira paused, thinking before he slipped his feet into the slippers. "I'm at the seventh board, playing…" He quickly recalled flipping through his Go folder that weekend, checking his opponents for the rest of the exam. "Honda. I believe he's an insei, correct?"

Hikaru grinned. "Yeah, he's pretty good. He's in the top ten of the A league." He paused his speech as he led Akira back to his table with Waya. "Hey, Waya, did Honda make it to fifth before the Pro Exam started, or is he still in sixth?"

"Fifth," Waya replied simply, shifting in his seat. "Hey," he directed towards Akira, not having ever had a really conversation with the outsider before and not sure what to say. "So, you're Akira, right?"

"Yes. Shindou Akira."

"Waya Yoshitaka."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Akira greeted with a bow.

"You as well," Waya mimicked, feeling as though he was meeting a pro player. The fact that the obnoxious Hikaru was friends with someone so formal was just odd. Of course, it was just as odd and Touya Meijin being Hikaru's father. 'He's just a weird kid I guess.'

An odd silence fell over the room. With introductions over, there wasn't much left to say. Akira didn't seem to mind the silence and Hikaru looked as if he was holding his own private conversation. Apparently Waya was the only uncomfortable in the presence of the others. They seemed comfortable enough in the silence between themselves. "I'm gonna grab a drink. Be right back," Waya called, leaving Akira and Hikaru alone.

Despite Waya's assumption that the air around Hikaru and Akira was pleasant, Hikaru would have been fidgeting in the awkward atmosphere if not for Sai's assuring hand and calming words. He still felt as if he had to apologize to Akira every time they met.

"I see Ogata-san didn't eat you," Akira suddenly shot with a small smile.

Hikaru caught the joke and laughed shortly, instantly feeling the atmosphere lighten. "Nope. It actually went much better than I thought it would."

"What happened?" Akira asked, turning to face Hikaru.

"Not much, actually," Hikaru admitting, also shifting. "He took me to his apartment, we played a game, ate some ramen, and I stayed the night. He gave me a ride this morning, and is in an interview right now."

"That explains you being on time," Akira teased as Hikaru flatly denied the jabs at his pride. Ignoring Hikaru, Akira pressed on. "Did he tell your father, or…"

"No," Hikaru confessed. "I expected him to, but he said he wouldn't." 'Just like Mom.' "I was all ready to beg him not to and try to find a way to avoid my dad for a few months, but Ogata promised to let me tell him."

Akira sighed. In some ways it disappointed him. He also wanted Hikaru to tell Touya Meijin he was playing Go, but in all honesty, the likeliness that Hikaru actually would tell his father was slim to none. For a kid who seemed to be so open, Hikaru held many secrets to himself.

"So, will you tell your father?"

Hikaru took a deep breath as his heart began pumping faster and his ears began to pound. There it was: the one question he didn't want to answer. "Akira…I," he stopped, thinking. Honestly, he never wanted his dad to find out, but that was unrealistic. One day, one way or another, his dad was going to find out. Wouldn't it be better to tell him now?

"Not until I pass." Akira blinked, but didn't interrupt. "Not until I know I can turn this into a job. If I can't pass, then I'll leave it as a hobby and move along, but," Hikaru glanced up to meet Akira's eyes. "If I become a pro, then I'll tell my father."

Akira took a moment to ponder on this answer. It wasn't as soon or as definite as he had hoped, but…He nodded his head. "I'll take your word for that."

"My word is my bond."

"That sounds like a line from a movie," Waya said, stepping back into the room with three drinks in hand. "Can you say out of character?"

Hikaru slid his tongue out with a 'bleh!' "So what if it's from a movie? It fit!"

Waya sat down across from the other two with a grin. "Is that anyway to treat someone who just brought you a free drink?"

With a lopsided grin, Hikaru murmured a half-hearted apology and Waya passed out the drinks. Hikaru instantly jumped on one of the sodas, and Akira took the green tea with a polite thank you. Waya sighed and picked up the last soda with a grin. He was worried that Akira wouldn't want the tea.

'Seems he all ready acts like a pro. I wonder if he owns a formal kimono too…'

"Eleven wins, two losses." Hikaru hummed happily as he rode the elevator up for the fourteenth day of the exam. 'I'd been hoping to go against Akira with twelve straight wins, but I lost against that stupid four-eyes.' He made a face, but chatted on cheerily with his ghost nonetheless.

Yes, that will hurt. If you lose today, there is a very good chance you won't become a pro, Sai relayed rationally. If today you win and Ochi or Waya takes another loss before the end of the exam, then you can still pass.

Hikaru's face dropped. 'Way to be a downer, Sai. Do you want to play Go this evening, or not?'

Sai's eyes instantly began filling with large wet tears. You wouldn't really do that, would you? I love playing those people in that magic box of yours. I-I want to play!

Laughing, Hikaru shifted in the elevator. Sai's drama episodes were always entertaining. Both knew Hikaru would let Sai play as much Go on the internet as he wanted, and both knew Sai would pull himself together in a few moments.

As foretold, Sai wiped himself clean and pulled himself back together, so that by the time they left the elevator, they were happily conversing once more. Nonetheless, Sai's short episode had only alleviated some of Hikaru's fear.

'Today I play Akira, huh?'

Yes.

A deep breath. A quick step. They were off the elevator. 'Can I do this?' Hikaru asked, worry etched on his face. He needed confirmation. He needed to know Sai's student could beat his father's. He needed to know he could win. He needed to know he could outstrip his father.

He needed to win.

You can do it.

A quivering smile. 'Thanks.'

His emerald eyes swept the gathering. Hazel. Black. Blue. Green.

Teal.

His eyes locked with his opponent's. With Akira's. The challenge blazed as fire swept their eyes, daring the other to make a move. Daring the other to a fight to the death. As if they were in an American standoff, they felt the slightest movement would break the silence. The rest of the world was forgotten, and they were the only two left. Just you and me.

"All participants proceed to the game room and we will begin."

The contact was never broken. Both boys felt the others' presence as they enter the game room and sat across from each other. He's been looking forward to this, too. Good.

The calls of please echoed around the room as lids were lifted from their bowls and stones revealed to their generals. The war would soon begin. When the silence was broken. The soldiers would march into the battlefield. Fighting for their generals. Fighting for their territory. Fighting for-

"Begin."

Black snapped and crashed upon the board.

The war has started.

The front doors slid open and Touya Meijin walked through them. He was greeted by the secretary. He nodded in acknowledgement and moved to stand by one of the pillars to wait for the reporter who would be interviewing him before his match the next day.

People flowed in and out of the building. Most stopped to bow in acknowledgement, while others asked for an autograph. Still others ignored him all together. The silence was kept and he found himself falling into his relaxed mindset. Every game had his blood pumping. Every challenge had his heart racing. Every opponent had his adrenaline pulsing. It kept him on edge, but that was the excitement.

Nonetheless, the chance to walk into the Go Association and just relax was rare. Usually only when a reporter was running late did he get a moment to himself.

A mailman walked in, delivering his package, and walked out. Kouyou smiled internally. Sometimes it was refreshing to go into the public and remember that outside his own job, he was just a regular citizen. Having few friends outside the Go community always made him forget, but still, he was reminded in these rare occurrences.

As Hikaru reminded him.

He sighed. He loved his son, but he couldn't seem to get through to him. Where Akiko seemed to be able to read him like a cookbook and follow any instructions to set things right, Kouyou looked at his son and saw only soccer on his face. It was about as easy to read Hikaru as it was to read Latin.

Yes, where Akiko had had a younger brother to practice mothering, Kouyou had been an only child. Still, he had managed to understand and control Ogata as a teenager.

So what made him so different from Hikaru?

"Ah, Touya-sensei! My apologies for being late." The portly reporter bounded his way over to Touya Meijin. Kouyou instantly recognized the red curling hair and bushy moustache. He greeted Amano and then allowed himself to be ushered to a room for the interview.

Kouyou eased himself into the chair, and settled down for the long interview as Amano opened the conversation with some small talk about lunch. Kouyou assured him his lunch had been fine and inquired as to Amano's. With a short laugh, Amano agreed that his lunch had also gone well, and opened the floor for questioning.

The beginning was easy. How are you feeling about your upcoming matches? And what do you credit all of your accomplishment to? The generic questions he gave similar answers to every time.

Next came the questions that changed only with the opponent. Do you have any comments on your opponent's playing style? Is there anything in particular you feel you need to watch out for in your upcoming game?

Robotically Kouyou replied. These questions required no thought, allowing his mind a chance to rest. He was not a Go player for the fame, the money, or the glory. He played because it was his passion and his drive. The interviews were merely a formality that came with being one of the top Go players in the world. A claim he would not soon give up.

"So Sensei, I hear you have a student participating in the Pro Exam this year, correct?" Amano asked, a knowing smile dancing on his lips.

Kouyou hesitated at the smile, but answered the question nonetheless. "Yes. Shindou Akira is a relatively new student of mine, but he has progressed quickly. Even if he does not pass this year, he will gain priceless experience and try again next year."

"Shindou Akira?" Amano inquired, dubiously. Kouyou felt compelled to ask upon Amano's hesitation, but the reporter jumped right back into questioning. "So how is Shindou-kun doing, then?"

"I believe he has won all of his games thus far."

"How long has he been studying under you?"

The Meijin paused to mentally count. Hikaru had introduced them last year in the early fall. "Almost a year, now. He's been coming to my weekly study groups."

"Ah, so he's been training not only with you, but Ogata-sensei and Ashiwara-sensei, then?" Amano chuckled a little. "That all most seems unfair for the rest of the participants."

Kouyou smiled. "I'm sure it will give him an edge, but that won't making passing much easier." After all, Akira still lost to Ashiwara the majority of the time, and there were bound to be some participants all ready set to play against second and third dans.

Amano smiled and leaned back. "So, how did Shindou-kun become lucky enough to study under the Touya Meijin?"

A small smile passed across Kouyou's lips once more. "My son, Hikaru, introduced us last fall. He enjoyed playing Go at my Go salon."

The red eyebrows furrowed. "Your son Hikaru? Touya Hikaru, correct?"

"Yes, of course," Kouyou replied, not sure what Amano was trying to imply.

"Does your son play Go as well?"

"No," Touya responded immediately. "Hikaru's passion is for soccer, not Go."

A curious expression danced upon the red-haired reporter's face as he contemplated this new information. "Yes, I believe you mentioned this to me before. At a Go convention last year, if I recall," he murmured. "How strange…"

Not pleased with being outside the reporter's inner musings, Kouyou interrupted the man's unintelligible mutterings. "What is strange? If I may ask," he tacked on.

"Well, there's a boy registered for the Pro Test by the last name of Touya," Amano admitted.

"It is a common last name," Kouyou supplied. "I would be surprised if there were not a few other Touya's interested in Go."

"There I agree," Amano explained. "Hikaru is also a common name, both among girls and boys. However…" He paused, only restarting at the Meijin's imploring stare. "I did ask and the secretary said the boy's name was Touya Hikaru and that he was in his mid-teens."

Kouyou's eyes immediately began to swim with confusion. "It could always just be a coincidence, but that's a mighty strong coincidence," Amano gruffed out, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. Taking this as the sign of a finished interview, Kouyou left to go…

Somewhere. Where, he wasn't sure. Home, to Akiko? Upstairs, to Akira? Upstairs, to Hikaru?

No. It couldn't be his Hikaru. He had tried many times to interest Hikaru in Go. From teaching him at a small age, to trying to convince him other children played, to sticking Ogata to him to show Hikaru there was more to Go than old men playing in a smoky salon. Still, even making him work in the Go salon had done no good. What could have changed his mind?

Nothing. He was Latin. A dead cause, never to be read.

The elevator doors slid open, and Kouyou stepped inside.

It took 4 months, and it's not very long. T_T I apologize so much, but hopefully it was interesting. Also, I apologize in advance for Kouyou. Maybe it's just me, but he feels really out of character...Anyways, special thanks to ShizukaSen for betaing this chapter. We love you!

Anonymous Reviews:

_: Yes, well, Ogata's not as interested in Torajirou as he was in Sai. It's Akira who is/was the interested one. Still, Ogata is liable to pull out Hikaru's kifu and figure it out...I'm glad everyone thinks Ogata's cool in this fic. It's nice that he doesn't always have to be a stalker. Still, Caught in a Ladder is an amazing fic everyone should read. He's creepy but still amazing.

RaineHaruto: Thanks for the support, but I know I still make tons of mistakes, especially with grammer. (Spellcheck's the only thing saving my spelling at this point.)

Kat_Sakura: We'll just have to see what Touya-sensei does now, won't we? Enjoy!

sandcat: I'm sorry Kouyou is taking so long figuring it out, but sadly it's in character right now. Ko Yeung Ha...Yeah, I'm not sure whether or not he'll be in here. I don't think so, but we'll have to see...I actually really enjoy answering reviews. It helps me connect with the readers better and get a better idea of what they like and don't like about the story. Thanks for reviewing, it's always nice to see!

Psychedelic Sunshine: Don't get me started on Maes. Brotherhood just killed him off last week and I ended up putting it off for two days before succumbing and finally watching it. Now I'm devastated again. Ogata is an intense character, and I know it seems that the fics are just bashing on Ogata by making him always seem like he could kill someone, but if you read the manga, there are certain smiles and angles that just scream creeper. I love him, I really do, but he has some awkward panels...

As always, guys, thanks for the reviews! I do want to add some shameless advertising for Caught in a Ladder, though. It's a HnG fic that centers a lot around Ogata and I'm sure most of you have read it, but since Ogata seems to have been the popular character from last chapter, I thought I should mention it. If you haven't read it, please do. It's creepy, but the biggest reason it's creepy, is Ogata's in character. Go freak yourselves out.

Anyways, final apology for waiting for so long for such a short chapter, but I hope everyone enjoys it anyways. Thanks for sticking with me!