"Hikaru?"
"Waya, I..."
Hikaru looked down cast and distressed.
"Hikaru come on inside Isumi said he was going to be coming by later. I'll get us something to drink."
Waya thought back to that time once before when he refused to play igo. Nobody knew what had happened to him back then. The expression in his eyes right now was the same as they were then. Back then there was nothing he could do for Hikaru. It had taken Isumi to bring him back from the depths of his despair. Hikaru was his friend, and classmate. Waya just couldn't stand not being able to do anything for him when he truly needed it. This time though, this time Hikaru came to him. Maybe there was something he could do this time. No matter what, Waya couldn't allow a repeat of that disaster.
"So what's up?" Waya set a glass of orange juice in front of Hikaru.
"Hey Waya, you haven't met Akari-chan have you?" Hikaru was staring at his orange juice like it was a snake that would bite him. "Akari-chan? She's that girl who lives near you, right? Not at all. I've seen her. I've never talked to her though. Very cute. What happened she finally confessed her love to you, and you don't know how to respond?" Waya took a sip of his juice. "Touya likes her." Waya couldn't stop coughing as he choked on his drink. "Waya are you okay?" "That's what this is about? Akira-kun likes Akari-chan?" Waya sat back thinking about the two of them. Granted he really didn't know that much about Akari but he did know all too much about Akira. Especially after becoming a pro. "No way. Totally impossible!" Waya couldn't keep from laughing at the whole idea. Waya never would have believed it back when he was an insei, but Akira was definitely obsessed with Hikaru. Also, Akari looked like she was more then a little interested in Hikaru. "Sounds like you're in the center of a live triangle. I envy you!" Hikaru just sat there blank as he watched his friend. "Still I didn't expect Mr. I'm-Stalking-My-Rival to go about using this method to get rid of his other rival." "What are you talking about, Waya?" "Don't you think Akira-kun has really bad fashion sense? With all those pink and purple shirts, it's pretty obvious. I haven't even mentioned how he's always following you around. That guy definitely has the hots for you." Hikaru felt a shiver go down his spine, this had to be wrong. This just couldn't be right. Akira was his friend. Akira was his rival. Akira was not his lover! As for Akari she was just always there for him. Hikaru thought of her as being precious. She was a royal pain but a precious one. Could it be that Akira wasn't trying to seduce her, that he was actually trying to scare her away? Could he? Would he? Hikaru thought back to the events leading to this and it did have a strange feeling to it. Like Akira was acting strange.
"You didn't know about Akira-kun, and you moved into an apartment with him. Damn!" Waya was cracking up laughing. Hikaru may be brilliant with an igo board and stones, but when it comes to people he was totally clueless. "If you really need to escape from that mess you can always move in with me for a little while. At least I won't try to chase your girlfriend away. After all she was pretty cute."
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Either way its fine. Besides Sensei will get mad if he finds out your living with the enemy. Don't forget any student of the Meiji is the enemy, and his son definitely counts! You can always take the couch. It's fine. Akira will probably be mad, but he'll get over himself. Just grab the necessities and you can crash here until we find you an apartment for yourself."
"Waya... thank you."
"No sweat man. Here to help. I'm sure Isumi will lend a hand too. Friends to the end. Besides it's never a good idea to live with your eternal rival anyway."
Hikaru felt a little less distressed over everything. Waya had always been a good friend ever since the beginning as an Insei, and even though they were friends and Waya saw him as a rival, to Hikaru they truly were just good friends.
"Waya, I..."
Hikaru looked down cast and distressed.
"Hikaru come on inside Isumi said he was going to be coming by later. I'll get us something to drink."
Waya thought back to that time once before when he refused to play igo. Nobody knew what had happened to him back then. The expression in his eyes right now was the same as they were then. Back then there was nothing he could do for Hikaru. It had taken Isumi to bring him back from the depths of his despair. Hikaru was his friend, and classmate. Waya just couldn't stand not being able to do anything for him when he truly needed it. This time though, this time Hikaru came to him. Maybe there was something he could do this time. No matter what, Waya couldn't allow a repeat of that disaster.
"So what's up?" Waya set a glass of orange juice in front of Hikaru.
"Hey Waya, you haven't met Akari-chan have you?" Hikaru was staring at his orange juice like it was a snake that would bite him. "Akari-chan? She's that girl who lives near you, right? Not at all. I've seen her. I've never talked to her though. Very cute. What happened she finally confessed her love to you, and you don't know how to respond?" Waya took a sip of his juice. "Touya likes her." Waya couldn't stop coughing as he choked on his drink. "Waya are you okay?" "That's what this is about? Akira-kun likes Akari-chan?" Waya sat back thinking about the two of them. Granted he really didn't know that much about Akari but he did know all too much about Akira. Especially after becoming a pro. "No way. Totally impossible!" Waya couldn't keep from laughing at the whole idea. Waya never would have believed it back when he was an insei, but Akira was definitely obsessed with Hikaru. Also, Akari looked like she was more then a little interested in Hikaru. "Sounds like you're in the center of a live triangle. I envy you!" Hikaru just sat there blank as he watched his friend. "Still I didn't expect Mr. I'm-Stalking-My-Rival to go about using this method to get rid of his other rival." "What are you talking about, Waya?" "Don't you think Akira-kun has really bad fashion sense? With all those pink and purple shirts, it's pretty obvious. I haven't even mentioned how he's always following you around. That guy definitely has the hots for you." Hikaru felt a shiver go down his spine, this had to be wrong. This just couldn't be right. Akira was his friend. Akira was his rival. Akira was not his lover! As for Akari she was just always there for him. Hikaru thought of her as being precious. She was a royal pain but a precious one. Could it be that Akira wasn't trying to seduce her, that he was actually trying to scare her away? Could he? Would he? Hikaru thought back to the events leading to this and it did have a strange feeling to it. Like Akira was acting strange.
"You didn't know about Akira-kun, and you moved into an apartment with him. Damn!" Waya was cracking up laughing. Hikaru may be brilliant with an igo board and stones, but when it comes to people he was totally clueless. "If you really need to escape from that mess you can always move in with me for a little while. At least I won't try to chase your girlfriend away. After all she was pretty cute."
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Either way its fine. Besides Sensei will get mad if he finds out your living with the enemy. Don't forget any student of the Meiji is the enemy, and his son definitely counts! You can always take the couch. It's fine. Akira will probably be mad, but he'll get over himself. Just grab the necessities and you can crash here until we find you an apartment for yourself."
"Waya... thank you."
"No sweat man. Here to help. I'm sure Isumi will lend a hand too. Friends to the end. Besides it's never a good idea to live with your eternal rival anyway."
Hikaru felt a little less distressed over everything. Waya had always been a good friend ever since the beginning as an Insei, and even though they were friends and Waya saw him as a rival, to Hikaru they truly were just good friends.