Welcome to chapter three! I don't own Hikaru No Go, but if I did, I'd kick ass wouldn't I? Heh heh. This being the third installment of Kaga and Tsutsui's adventure to Shikoku, Japan and to the city of Kochi. Enjoy! Oh yeah, I forgot to say this last time, if you are the kind of person who reads stories and doesn't review, you are seriously hurting authors. It doesn't take that long to hit "submit review" type your name and write a few encouraging comments plus it makes us want to write more. We live on feedback.

Chapter Three:

Tsutsui groped around his room. It was a dizzying haze blurred colors. He was looking for a phonebook. Kaga was downstairs, on the line with their homeroom teacher. Why he had the teacher's home phone number was beyond him, but Kaga had asked him to find a phonebook. Phonebook…phonebook…it was easier said than done. All the black books looked the same to him. He started taking them off the shelf and made a pile on the floor. One was thicker and heavier than the others, which must be the phonebook for this area of Tokyo. It wouldn't help them find numbers in Shikoku, but it would at least give them a number to call to get information. He picked it up and stood. He didn't really dare walk downstairs, lest he fall and kill himself. It was best to stay put until Kaga got back. Meanwhile he tried to remember life without his glasses. He couldn't, no matter how far back he searched. He knew that he'd gotten stronger prescriptions, but he'd never broken his glasses before. Tsutsui couldn't really do anything without them. It wasn't even good for him to stay by himself, since he was legally blind without them.

" I probably will be blind by the time I'm middle aged…" He said to himself out loud. Tsutsui had never thought about it before, but it was probably true. He wiped away a single tear from his eyes and sat down on the bed. Why hadn't he thought about it? Of course-because he'd never felt so handicapped. He shrugged and closed his eyes. It gave him a headache to keep them open for more than a few minutes, but he figured that that would go away after a day or so.

Kaga stood in the doorframe, unnoticed by Tsutsui. He frowned and stared at the dark-haired boy. He hadn't gotten dressed yet and was still in a t-shirt and boxers. Kaga had put on the clothes from the day before, his school uniform. They would stop by his house on the way to the metro for clothes and money.

" Kimihiro…" Tsutsui's face shot up. He blushed heavily, had Kaga heard him? He decided to let it pass.

" Ka-Tetsuo, what did the teacher say?" He asked quickly. Tsutsui wondered if Kaga was grinning, but knew that he was when he answered him.

" It's fine. He'll tell our other teachers and make sure nobody calls your mother. No prob," He saw the phonebook in Tsutsui's hands and walked over toward him, " I'll call directory and get us a hotel room for the next two days. I figure that we should have a good time after all, since we're going all this way," Kaga studied Tsutsui's face. It was stoic and his eyes were glazed, staring past him into space.

" Are you sure about this? I feel like I'm inconveniencing you," Tsutsui said, frowning.

" Don't be an idiot. I broke your glasses remember? Besides," He leaned over Tsutsui and whispered in his ear, " You can make it up to me…other ways…" Kaga gently bit Tsutsui's ear lobe, sending waves of electricity down the smaller boy's spine. He closed his eyes and felt Kaga slowly lift his shirt up over his head and toss it absently to the floor, running his hands over Tsutsui's back and in haling his essence. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Kaga pulled away and tossed a shirt and a pair of slacks into Tsutsui's lap, " If we want to leave tonight, we're gonna have a busy day. Get dressed and I'll make you breakfast," He smiled. Tsutsui ran his hands over the cloth of the shirt. He pulled it over his head. Tsutsui knew that it was black and white striped. It was weird, because he hadn't worn it in at least a year. Surprisingly it still fit all right. He stood and pulled the jeans on, oblivious to what pair of his jeans it was. He didn't care anyway. Kaga watched him dress and picked up a comb, surprising Tsutsui by coming up behind him and running it through his hair. He smiled and leaned back against the taller boy, this time taking Kaga by surprise. He found that it felt really good to have someone brush your hair.

" Do you really think we can pull this off?" He asked quietly, leaning his head back against Kaga's chest.

" Of course!"

Breakfast was surprisingly edible, actually good. Kaga wasn't too bad of a cook. He silently chewed on a piece of toast, listening to Kaga on the telephone with a hotel clerk in Kochi, making reservations. He heard him ask for the first available single room, and imagined the clerk telling him that they had plenty of rooms available since it wasn't tourist season, and what the weekly rates were. Kaga smiled at Tsutsui, although Tsutsui couldn't tell, and said goodbye to the man, hanging up the phone.

" We got a great deal. Now we just have to pack and stop by my house. We can take the metro to the train station."

" What are you going to tell your mother?" Tsutsui asked, looking in Kaga's direction.

" I'll just say, I'm going to Shikoku, see you Friday, and leave before she can argue," He grinned. Tsutsui rolled his eyes.

" Ok, what time are we leaving?" He asked, setting the half eaten toast down on his plate.

" We need to take the 9:20 subway to the train station. Ours leaves at 10:00. It's a five hour trip, then a boat ride," He set a map down on the table, " I'm looking forward to it, though tonight will probably be hell. It'll be fun," Tsutsui smiled absently. It was almost noon now.

" I guess I should start packing then," He said, pushing his chair back from the table with his legs and standing. Kaga nodded and gently took his arm, leading him back up the stairs.

Kaga threw various clothes into an open duffel bag quickly. His mother yelled at him from the bottom of the stairs, pausing every so often to say something comforting to Tsutsui.

" TETSUO!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'I'M GOING TO SHIKOKU, SEE YOU IN FOUR DAYS'?!" She turned to Tsutsui, who smiled weakly, " Oh dear, you poor thing. I know my brother-in-law will fix you right up," She patted him on the head, " DAMNIT TETSUO, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO? I AM YOUR MOTHER AND I DESERVE A LITTLE RESPECT!" Kaga rolled his eyes and zipped up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He walked out into the hallway.

" JESUS CHRIST MOM! IT'S ONLY FOUR DAYS!" He walked downstairs. His mom growled at him.

" NOW LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT, I FEED YOU, PUT A ROOF OVER YOUR UNGRATEFUL HEAD, AND THIS IS THE KIND OF THANKS I GET IN RETURN FOR MY SEVENTEEN YEARS OF PURE KINDNESS?!" She clenched her fists. Tsutsui thought he saw her auburn hair actually flaring out around her head.

" KINDNESS? MORE LIKE SEVENTEEN YEARS OF PURE HELL YOU-" She took a swing at him which Kaga easily ducked. No wonder he's so agile...Tsutsui thought to himself. It was bewildering. What kind of relationship was this between a mother and son? He grabbed Tsutsui's arm and ran toward the door, " BYE MOM!" She ran after him.

" Wait Tetsuo! Here's my checkbook, have a good time!" She smiled and grabbed Tsutsui, pulling him into a bone-cracking hug, " It was nice meeting you Kimihiro! Come back soon! WHEN MY SON ISN'T BEING SUCH A HORSE ASS." She yelled at him. Kaga took the checkbook and nodded.

" Right-O Mom. See you at the end of the week," He grabbed Tsutsui back and walked outside to where the cab was waiting for them. (A.N. I love the relationship between Kaga and his mother.^^)

It was dark when they reached the station. Kaga put a pair of dark sunglasses on Tsutsui, so people would get the idea if he ran into them or something. He helped him out of the cab and felt Tsutsui grasp his arm tightly. In the dark, he could barely see anything other than the gentle glow of streetlamps. Kaga led him to the Metro entrance and they slowly walked down the subway steps. The tunnel was crowded with people heading home from work and Tsutsui gripped Kaga's arm tighter. They made the way to their car and boarded. It was tightly packed and Tsutsui moved closer to Kaga until they were facing each other, a few inches between them. More people boarded and Tsutsui leaned against the taller boy, resting his cheek on Kaga's chest as the subway car began to move. Such public displays of affection were strange for them, but no one would notice in the crowded car anyway, and besides, he was tired. It had been a long day. Kaga sighed and put his hand in the small of Tsutsui's back, resting it there. People pushed against them on all sides. After about twenty minutes, he heard the announcement for their stop. People pushed toward the doors and Tsutsui stirred. He'd dozed a bit. Kaga took his arm and they made their way to the exit.

" The train station isn't to far from here, just a few blocks," Tsutsui nodded. They walked briskly in the cold night air. Tsutsui pulled his coat around him tightly. Somewhere, people were turning in for the night. A few walked past them on the sidewalk, and cars drove by. Kaga suddenly paused, " It's snowing," He said quietly. Tsutsui looked up. To him, it just felt like a light drizzle. He couldn't see the snowflakes that Kaga could, coming down slowly around them. Cars turned on their windshield wipers and the passerbys muttered curses to the weather. A few of the wise opened up umbrellas while the others hurried along, hoping that it didn't get any worse, " I didn't bring an umbrella…" Kaga muttered.

" It's ok, it's only a few blocks. Let's go," Tsutsui pulled on Kaga's sleeve. Kaga nodded.

" Uh huh," They walked faster. After a few minutes however, the light flakes stopped, leaving only damp streets, sidewalks and people.

Wow, chapter two and three in the same day. I'm enjoying writing this so far. Oh yeah, in the last chapter, when Tsutsui tells his mom that it's ninety degrees, he's obviously exaggerating. Summer doesn't come until July-August in Japan, so in May it's still pretty cool outside. Review Review Review.