A week later .......

Hikaru smiled in anticipation as he stepped off the train and onto the platform. He

had waited an entire year for this convention and he was planning on enjoying every

second of it. The annual National Japanese Go Conference had only begun five years

ago but it was already the biggest Go event in Japan. This year the convention was being

held in Hiroshima's Regency Hotel, one of the nicest in the country. Still grinning Shindo

picked up his bags and hurriedly made his way to the taxi queue, he was already late and

didn't have any time to waste. Touya said he was going to come again this year, and the

blonde haired boy was looking forward to playing his rival as much as possible this week.

Touya.....

Hikaru blushed as he remembered the incident the week before, and quickly

willed the blood that had spread to his cheeks to go away. It was an accident. A simple

accident. It meant nothing. Anyone would have reacted that way, feeling another person

moving against their lap. It didn't mean anything. He shook his head, emptying his mind

of the unwanted thoughts. He was here to play go.

As the taxi slowly made its way through the crowded streets of Hiroshima Shindo

felt his heart beating with excitement. Isumi, Waya, Kadowaki, Honda, Nase,

Fuku.... And Touya ... All those pros in one place. It was going to be a great

week. They only had to work for five hours a day, the rest of the time was their own. Plus

if Shindo and Touya were assigned to the same shift, they could play almost the entire

day if they wanted. Hikaru smiled again in anticipation as the cab slowed to a halt in front

of the large marble building that had Regency Hotel etched above its entrance in large

delicate golden letters.

Through the glass doors he could see his friends Isumi and Waya talking

animatedly to one another in the hotel lobby. Hikaru quickly paid the driver the fee and

entered the building.

" --- great match! I had to see the kifu to believe it. Damn I hate that guy!

Everything comes so easily to him!" Shindo heard Waya complain as he approached his

two friends. Isumi nudged the red head as Hikaru approached.

"Hey whatcha guys talking about?" he asked as he set his bags down on

the floor.

"Touya's match against Kurata 8-dan," Isumi answered pleasantly, still eying

Waya to make sure he didn't say anything offensive. The red head hated Touya but

Hikaru was friends with both of them. Shindo usually didn't notice or at least pretended

not to notice the angry remarks his friend occasionally made about the green haired

prodigy. But still, it wasn't fair to make Shindo listen to one friend berate another.

"You're late again," Waya said as a way of greeting. The blonde boy smiled

slightly.

"Yeah, I over slept a little," he explained nonchalantly.

"A little? You were supposed to be here two hours ago, idiot!" his friend scolded.

Isumi sighed. Waya wasn't much for tact. But then again neither was Shindo.

"Geeze, relax! The convention doesn't start until tomorrow! Today's just for

registering anyway! Calm down, Waya," came the reply. "So, who're your roommates?"

Hikaru asked excitedly, changing the topic.

"Fuku," Waya answered.

"Honda," his other friend replied.

"Oh? That's too bad," Hikaru said, a note of disappointment lingering on his

voice. "It was great bunking together last year,"

"...Yeah ....." Isumi said, smiling wanly. Last year he and Hikaru had

been assigned the same hotel room, which had seemed great at first. They were good

friends, after all. But unfortunately for Isumi, Touya and Hikaru refused to end their

rivalry when the convention did, and consequently they played go every night together

until one of them fell asleep at the goban. Which wouldn't have been so bad... if it

weren't for their infamous post- game 'discussions' which inevitably turned into an all

out verbal war. Isumi winced at the memory. He gotten three nights of sleep that week

and he had only been able to get that much because, thankfully, the two pros rotated

whose room they played in each night. It was hell. He had even gone so far as to make a

complaint to the organization committee, which he still felt a little guilty about (except

for the fact that he was assured that he would never be forced to bunk with Hikaru

again ... EVER). Apparently Touya's roommate had made the same complaint too

though, so he didn't feel quite so bad about it.

"So, who's my roommate this year?" the blonde haired boy asked, looking around

for the registration desk.

"I am," came a voice behind him, causing Hikaru to nearly fall over in surprise.

"Geeze, Touya!" the boy yelled, clutching his chest "Stop sneaking up on people

like that, baka!" Akira rolled his eyes at the robust and slightly obnoxious boy who had

somehow become his friend.

"Hello, Shindo-kun" the man standing next to his rival said brightly. "Nice to see

you."

What was his name again? Ashitaka? Akuwara?

"Hello," Hikaru replied after having recovered from his shock.

"Ashiwara and I are going out for dinner." Touya announced coolly.

Ashiwara! That was it!

"Get the key at the front desk. It's room 5179." He continued as he and the other

man made their way towards the exit.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked dumbly.

"Room 5179," the green haired boy repeated and without turning around he left

the hotel.

"God I hate that guy!" Waya fumed. "Did you see how he just ignored us?"

"He didn't mean anything by it. It's just Touya," the blonde defended. Waya

clenched his fists in frustration but, to his credit, didn't say anything more.

"We're meeting Fuku, Honda, and Nase here in a few minutes to go out for dinner.

Hurry up and put your bags away," Isumi instructed his friend.

"Oh yeah, sure," and without another word Shindo left to retrieve his key.

************************************************************************

Hikaru yawned. He had been assigned the morning shift from 8 in the morning to

12:30 in the afternoon while Waya, Isumi, Fuku and Touya were all scheduled for the

later shift that lasted form 1 o'clock to 6:30. He was supposed to meet Nase for breakfast

but he was already half an hour late, he probably didn't even have time to pick up a quick

bagel before he had to be at his station. Hurrying he took the elevator to the second

floor where the convention was being held. His stomach grumbled loudly and Hikaru

groaned. He wasn't a morning person to begin with and now he was going to have to play

shidougo for the next five hours on an empty stomach. Looking down at his feet grumpily

as he shoved his hands into his pockets, Shindo exited the elevator. He stopped quickly

though when he looked up at the entrance of the hall that served as the conference site.

Touya Akira stood next to the large mahogany doors holding a poppy seed bagel,

deep in discussion with Hikaru's friend Nase. He had noticed Touya wasn't in the hotel

room when he woke up but he didn't have the time to wonder about it.

"Hey, Touya! Whatcha doin' here?" he asked brightly when he saw his rival

standing at the door. "Your shift doesn't start until one, right?"

"I woke up at seven this morning and I have nothing better to do so....."

The green haired boy shrugged absently. Hikaru suppressed a grin. It would be nice

having his friend hang around while he was working. Nase glared at him.

"Finally woke up, eh?" She asked accusingly. Shindo paled, Nase could be scary

when she was mad.

"Um, haha! I was up late last night playing go with Touya and..." He began

but clearly his excuse was having no effect on Nase's temper.

"I waited for you for ten minutes before Touya-san told me you were still sleeping

and that I should go in before I missed breakfast!" she shouted. "He was up just as late as

you were too, and he didn't have any trouble waking up either!" Hikaru shrank. If Touya

had woken up so damn early he could have at least gotten Shindo up with him. As if

reading his thoughts Akira looked over at him

"I'm not your mother," he said flatly.

"Did I say anything?" Shindo snapped back

"No, but you were thinking it," the other boy mumbled.

"Are you listening to me Shindo?!?!" Nase yelled.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Geeze!" the blonde haired boy exclaimed. "It'll never

happen again! I promise!"

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep," Touya replied. Shindo gave him

his most imposing 'you-better-shut-up-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you' glare but it

was wasted because just in the middle of it his stomach growled loudly, taking away from

the effect. Akira sighed.

"Do you want my bagel?" he offered, extending his hand.

"Don't- -- don't you want it?" Hikaru asked hesitantly.

"This'll be my second one so I'm fine." Came the reply. Hikaru just stared at the

bagel, trying to decide. Akira sighed heavily again. "Do you want it or not?!" he asked

irritably as he began to retract his arm.

"I'm taking it! I'm taking it! Geeze!" the blonde exclaimed as he quickly snatched

the bagel from his rival's hand before he could change his mind again. "Thankf" he said,

biting into it greedily. Poppy seed was his favorite. Though he had never seen Akira eat

one before. He had always just assumed he didn't like them.

"You eat poppy seed bagels, Touya?" Hikaru asked as he walked into the hall

with his friends. Akira's cheeks turned a pale pink.

"Sometimes," he replied.

************************************************************************

Hikaru sighed as the tried to explain for the umpteenth time the problem on the

board to the girl across from him. He loved coming to this convention, mainly because it

was a chance to see all his friends, but sometimes he really hated shidougo. It wasn't so

bad teaching the older men who wandered to his station, they at least paid attention.

"So you moved here when it really would have been better to go there," he said

pointing to an empty space on the goban. He looked up at the girl, who wasn't paying the

least bit of attention to the board. She was looking at him with this dazed expression on

her face. "Do you understand?" he asked her slowly. He wasn't sure if she was ill or just

stupid.

"Huh?" she replied, startled.

"Do you understand?" he repeated, slower this time.

"Oh, yes! Yes I see!" she answered, blushing furiously. She obviously had no idea

what he was talking about. Hikaru sighed again and found himself thinking almost

wistfully about Akari. She at least listened to him when he spoke. Shindo had begun to

cringe inwardly every time a girl walked by in the convention hall. For the past few years

he had been besieged by the teenaged girls who flocked to the go conventions yet seemed

to have absolutely no skill and even less interest in acquiring any //Why the do they

bother to come here if they don't want to play go?!// he wondered irritably as he

continued the lesson with his dimwitted client. Shindo seemed to have some the worst

luck. Still, he couldn't feel too sorry for himself. Isumi was usually swamped by them too

and Touya had it at least just as bad as Hikaru did.

//Where is he anyway?// he wondered to himself, craning his head to scan the

large hall. Akira had said he needed to go to the bathroom and asked him to take over his

station. That was at 6:15 and it was nearly a half past six now. //Oh well... it's

almost over anyway I guess it doesn't make a difference anymore// he thought to

himself bitterly. He was doing Touya a favor and he just blew him off? The chime that

signaled the end of the session rang.

"We can still continue if you want," he said to the girl across from him. It was

common courtesy, after all, but mentally he was banging his head against the table.

"Oh, that's okay," she stammered, "but I- -- I was.. uh hoping maybe that

um.. You might..., th-- that is to say.... that I was uh... thinking you might

want to -- "

"Well maybe I'll see you tomorrow, then!" Hikaru beamed brightly, cutting her

off. He was already clearing off the goban with such haste the girl across from him was

struck speechless. It wasn't until he had already left his seat and disappeared into the

crowd that her wits came back to her. She sighed morosely.

"Oi, Touya!" Shindo cried out angrily when he had finally spotted the green

haired boy in the crowd. He was talking with a short older man, pinned against the wall

in the corner. Seeing this, it wasn't very hard to guess what had kept him so long. Akira

never was good at keeping his fans at bay. Hikaru sighed. He was going to have to save

him .....again. When would the boy grow a backbone and tell people to shut up

and get away? Shindo smiled absently to himself. That just wasn't in Akira's nature. He

was just too polite for his own good. Oh well.

"Touya!" he yelled loudly as he approached his friend trapped between the wall

and the pudgy bald man. "You ready to go?" he asked boisterously. He almost burst out

laughing at the look of sheer relief that swept onto his rival's face.

"Oh, oh yes," Touya replied. "I'm sorry I have to go, it was nice meeting with you

though" but his words were lost when the smaller man cried out:

"Shindo Hikaru?!?!"

"Huh?" the blonde said, taken aback.

"I knew it! I knew I had seen Shindo Hikaru here earlier!" the bald man

exclaimed. By now Hikaru was completely confused.

"Do I...do I know you?" he asked.

"Oh, no! No! I'm sorry! My name is Saitou! Nice to meet you!" he said as he

grabbed Hikaru's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Uh.."

"I'm a huge fan of yours and Touya-sensei's," he explained, gaining his

composure.

"Oh," the blonde replied, glancing over at Touya for help. The green haired boy

looked mortified. This wasn't working out at all.

"Would you like to come get drinks with me?" Saitou-san asked hopefully.

"Drinks," Hikaru stammered. The short little man's head bobbed rapidly, a smile

spread across his face. Hikaru had never met anyone who was so excited to see him

before. People knew who he was of course, but between his boisterous personality and

his disregard for formalities he was rarely put into this kind of situation.

"Um, we're only 17" Akira replied politely.

"That's alright!" Saitou cried waving his hand dismissively in the air. "There's a

bar a couple of blocks from here that doesn't ask you any questions!" Akira gave his

friend a dubious look and was about to decline the invitation when:

"Yeah, sure!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Why not?" It took all the self- control Touya

had at his disposal not to slap his friend across the back of the head. He could think of

fifty different reasons 'why not'.

"No thank you," he said after a long moment. "I'm not much for drinking."

Hikaru looked disgusted.

"What do you mean you're 'not much for drinking'?" he asked incredulously.

"I meant just what I said," came the reply.

"Come on, Touya!" Hikaru whined. "Live a little."

"Well, if Touya-sensei doesn't want to come the two of us can still go," Saitou-

san broke in, sounding somewhat unhappy.

"Alright," Shindo said after a long moment, sounding slightly disappointed. Akira

couldn't help but feel a little surprised. For some reason he had expected Hikaru to

decline once he had. "See you back at the room," the blonde said as he and the little man

made their way to the exit. Touya sighed. He didn't trust Shindo to behave when he was

sober, let alone when he was drunk.

"On second thought, I think I will come with you" he said, catching up to the

group.

"Great!" Shindo said, smiling so happily that Akira couldn't help but smile back.

Oh well, at least this way he would stay out of trouble.

***** Yep. That's right. I did it. I put them in the same hotel room. And you know what? I'd do it again too! I know it's not the most creative scenario in the world but this is my first fanfic so cut me some slack *_- Um, also I know some of the things that happened in this chapter may have seemed a little contrived and a bit forced and that's because they probably were. You see, funny story, I accidentally wrote the fifth chapter before I wrote the third and fourth ones (the 4th is still in the works) *nervous laughter* so I had to force some stuff in. ~seriously, don't ask me how I did that, I still don't know the answer~ Ok well please R&R!!! BYE****