Disclaimer: This is a Hikaru no Go fanfiction. Hikaru and company does not belong to me but to Hotta Yumi, Obata Takeshi, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and TV Tokyo. Please don't sue me, I'm just a poor college student. R/R! Spoilers for anything beyond volume 17 of the manga up to chapter 180!

Thanks so much for the reviews. At this point, it is difficult to say whether this fic will turn yaoi or not. Probably hints of shounen-ai and THAT GIRL will show.

The Shining Go

Interlude One: Attempts at Domesticity and the Like

Hikaru stayed with his mother in their house for a week after that incident. His father had already left (moved in with his girlfriend and daughter at another flat). He helped his mother pack her belongings and at the end of the week, went with her to the train station.

"And don't forget to change your under..."

"Mom! Not here!" People had started snickering when they heard the boy's vehement shouts.

"...wear." She said, a litle less loudly. Shindou Mitsuko kissed her son's cheek. "And behave while I'm gone. Please come visit your me and your grandparents sometime."

"I will." Hikaru then gave his mother a hug, much to her surprise. He usually complained about how embarrassing public acts of affection were. But then again, she was leaving her only child and he had every right to do so. She hugged back and then proceeded to board the train. She waved at Hikaru from the window as the train started to move. They still waved at each other until the car was out of range. Then Hikaru's smile wavered.

Touya Akira stepped out of his hiding place behind a pillar and walked over to his best friend/rival. They stood in companionable silence for a few moments. Then Akira asked, "Ready to go?"

Akira could have sworn he saw Hikaru's eyes glisten with tears... but then again he could be wrong. Hikaru nodded weakly.

"As ready as I could ever be." He replied.

The two boys' lives revolved along school, Go, friends, Go, homework, Go, exams and more Go for a month after Shindou Mitsuko's departure. Touya Kouyo and Akiko were pleasantly surprised at having a houseguest but they proved to be very good and amiable hosts. Touya Akiko increasingly acted as if Hikaru was her own son: giving him small hugs, cooking his favorite meals and talking with each other on hours on end. Akira was just glad to see his friend recovering well, brushing away feelings of jealousy and also insisted on spending time with his mother. And so the three of them frequented the cinemas and parks of Tokyo..

Then the time came when Touya-sensei was summoned to go to Beijing for league games. Naturally, Akiko went with him. And Hikaru and Touya were left to fend for themselves at the house. Which naturally led to disaster. Touya-sensei's trip coincided with the annual elimination rounds for the next Hokuto cup. Which naturally led to even more disaster.

Chaos ensued after Akira's parents left. Somehow, a fire had occurred in the microwave. Akira was sheepish and repented over the situation. He had ruined his mother's good metal pitcher with that incident.

"What do you mean the microwave is broken?" Hikaru screeched. "What kind of idiot burns water in a metal pitcher in the microwave?"

"I didn't know we couldn't use metal in the microwave." Akira mused.

"Now you do. Geez." Hikaru scrubbed at the stained metal with a sponge and poured half of the dishwasher liquid to get rid of the deposits.

Yashiro, who was staying over also at Akira's house for the week chortled good naturedly. "Who would have known? Touya Akira---darling of the go world, class salutatorian of Kaio Junior High, world famous go player --- was a horrible cook."

Hikaru choked. "Oi, Yashiro..."

"Now THAT'S an oddity. How did you survive anyway during the time last year when your parents went to China? Stayed at Shindou's? Take-out?" Yashiro asked.

Akira deadpanned. "Ichikawa-san's cooking. Ashiwara's bento. Shindou dragging me every afternoon to some new ramen place."

"Oi... I'm here ya know." Hikaru tossed out the black-stained sponge, wiped his hands clean and proceeded to gather dinner ingredients. "This time I cook... if there's anything I could salvage."

Yashiro looked at the finely-chopped vegetables (blackened with soot) and ground beef (also blackened with charred carbon) and nearly through up at the spot. He groaned, "I can just see the headlines at the Weekly go: GO PLAYERS POISONED AFTER KITCHEN FIASCO, TOUYA AKIRA SUSPECTED..."

"Out!" Hikaru pushed both trouble makers out of the kitchen, trying to save his sanity... and his appetite.

Akira bit into the curry beef in ecstasy. He couldn't believe this was the same meat he nearly *ahem* incinerated earlier on. Yashiro didn't care for culinary finery. He was shovelling food up his mouth. "More" he said, holding out an empty bowl to Hikaru (who had barely started to eat). Hikaru sighed and refilled Yashiro's bowl. The meat was promtly demolished by the white-haired Kansai pro. "More."

The remains of the ill-fated cooking utensil (Akira winced) bounced off Yashiro's head. Undeterred, he started getting his own helpings. "Mmmph, gooood.. shiddoouuu.." He managed to say within mouthfuls. He swallowed and asked, "How did you learn how to cook?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Something I picked up from mom. We used to just talk together while making dinner in the past year and her techniques seem to have been unconsciously passed on. I guess when you get used to something, it becomes easy."

"Eh? That explains it." More food was decimated into pieces.

"Explains what?" Hikaru asked.

"The edibility of the dinner you made, considering the torture it has gone through..." A vein started throbbing on Akira's head. "Lucky you're the one making food. Next time you make dinner! Touya and I will just go shopping for stuff. With any luck, he'll manage somewhat to destroy half the supplies with his clumsiness before it even makes the refrigerator..."

WHAM!

This time a tea tray slammed into Yashiro's face. Hikaru started chuckling. Akira smiled inwardly. It was good to hear him finally laugh genuinely over the past few weeks. He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't notice Yashiro and Shindou cleaning up the plates, talking animatedly.

"Shindou! You should have seen it. It was so cool! The way he just slammed it into his enemy's side..!"

"Un... Yeah, at that point, I thought he was losing."

Akira smiled again. The two were thinking about Go even though they were working.

"It was really great you know, Yashiro, when Kyo just rams that sword into his opponent's stomach..."

"Don't forget about his amazing comeback when he had reverted back to Kyoshiro and then he did that stance..."

Akira sweatdropped.

to be continued...