Sunday had turned into a beautiful day. It was mid fall so red maple
leaves could be seen dancing in the air. Hikaru had arrived 20 minutes
earlier than he had intended, so he sat and waited for Akari.
Isumi said there wouldn't be any problems letting Akira know. He was going to be playing a game with Occhi anyway, the next morning, so he would tell Occhi. Knowing him, Occhi would definitely tell Akira as soon as possible, and in probably the most stuck up manner too. All Hikaru could do now was hope that Waya knew what he was doing.
"Hikaru!"
Akari had also shown up earlier than expected. Her hair was up in pigtails like always, but her clothing. Hikaru couldn't remember her ever wearing that outfit before. It was... it was very cute. Hikaru found his cheeks warming a little. Pink had always been her favorite color, but somehow... today...
"Are you alright? Hikaru?"
Hikaru hadn't realized he'd been staring. He needed to say something, but he found himself tongue tide. Hikaru was grasping at straws, he just blurted out what he was thinking.
"I've never seen that outfit before."
"It's new, what do you think? It's kind of old fashioned but I thought it was cute."
Hikaru managed to nod. This was awkward. He didn't know what to say to her, if anything. Always before things had just been comfortable between the two of them, but this. It felt uncomfortable. Damn. Hikaru shook his head this was just a stupid movie it wasn't even a real date. They were old friends for crying out loud. Who would want to go on a date with her anyway! It was just a dumb movie after all.
Just a really dumb movie.
"We're both early, so why don't we get some ramen before the movie?"
Akari pulled Hikaru down the street and into a small ramen store.
Waya and Isumi sat across the street and watched the two of them enter the restaurant. They did look like a very cute couple. It was going to be a lot of fun teasing him later, about his cute little girlfriend. Especially, in the middle of igo lessons.
"There he is." Isumi whispered.
"Where? I don't."
"He has on that dark purple sweater of his. How does he think he won't stand out in this crowd?"
"Beats me. Though it looks like things are going to get fun. Makes me wish I could tape this whole thing."
Isumi sighed. Waya may be one of his best friends, but he really had a weird sense of humor.
"Come on he's following him, we've got to keep Akira in sight."
The pair kept their distance from Akira.
Isumi was afraid he already knew the answer but he had to ask anyway. "Does Hikaru know that we're here?"
"Nope. Come on we can't let Akira out of our sight. We have to make sure things go smoothly. We can't afford a repeat of what happened before."
"Somehow I don't think Hikaru gave up playing igo because of Akira, and Akari."
"It doesn't matter what caused it the first time. If it happened once it could happen again."
"Waya, you just want to spy on his date."
Waya smiled. "Yep!"
They found a comfortable place where they could watch both Hikaru and Akira without worry of discovery.
"Hikaru's beat red. Do you think it's your plan? I mean he might think it is embarrassing or something. I mean it is pretty bold."
"Bold?"
"Bold." Isumi couldn't think of anything else to describe it as. Hikaru after all was the one who used to get scared playing igo with anyone who wasn't clean shaven. Isumi and Hikaru were the two who knew the best how Waya could concoct some pretty interesting schemes and get everyone else wrapped in them. Still this time, it was necessary. If Akira didn't get the message pretty soon, Hikaru might end up getting seriously hurt.
They watched as Akari laughed over her ramen, and Hikaru sat blushing and staring at his ramen.
"Um Akari?" Hikaru was watching her through the corner of his eye.
"What is it?"
"I... you... That out fit is cute." He said it. Finally, he said it.
Akari blushed with pleasure.
"The movie!" Hikaru slammed the money on the counter, grabbed Akari by the wrist and dragged her out of the restaurant. "I'm sorry I almost forgot, if we don't hurry were going to be late."
Waya sat back amused.
"Didn't Hikaru say that she wasn't his girlfriend?" Isumi asked.
"I think he's just in denial. Those two act too much like a couple. We'll it is childhood love, so what can you expect."
Anger and hurt riddled Akira's every expression. He paid for his tea, stood up and headed out the door after them.
"He hasn't given up yet." Isumi observed.
"This is Touya we're talking about. I don't think something as cute as that would do more than ruffle his feathers."
"Still I bet whoever plays him tomorrow will find him either easy pray, or impossible to beat."
"Makes you feel bad? Thought all that training in China was to get control over your emotions."
"It doesn't mean I don't still feel them. Anyway, we better get going or they will get too far ahead of us." Isumi took care of the check, and followed Waya out the door and over to the movie theatre.
Waya had already purchase tickets, by the time Isumi caught up to him. They slipped in the back, just before the movie was about to begin.
The movie was the typical drama you'd expect from a date. Sweet, romantic, and very boring. Akari looked like she was the only one enjoying the movie. It was a good thing they were watching the couple and not the movie. Akira looked bored too. His eyes also were plastered to Hikaru and Akari, the movie never even entered into his mind.
The only thing Akira was thinking about was, 'How did they dare do this? Especially in front of him.' Hikaru was, after all, in Akira's mind still his.
Waya waited anxiously for the plan to finish unfolding. Watching Akira getting mad wasn't a lot of fun.
An hour and half finally passed by when everyone began filtering out of the theatre. Waya couldn't stop himself from yawning as he walked out of the theatre with Isumi. That was a really boring film.
The two of them posted themselves across the street from the movie theatre exits, and waited. It didn't take long for a bored Hikaru and a chatty Akari to come out. Akira wasn't that far behind them either, and his face was contorted with rage.
Things really were just starting to get interesting.
Hikaru and Akari were walking arm in arm down the street, it looked as though Hikaru had loosed up during the movie. Probably because the end of the whole mess was near. All he had to do now was walk her home.
Waya wondered if Hikaru even thought of this as a date.
They tried to stay pretty far behind Akira as they made their way down the street. It soon became apparent that Hikaru was walking her home.
"That was a short date. Don't you think so, Isumi?"
"She's still in school, and Hikaru is too. They probably have homework to do or a test tomorrow."
"Man, I'm so glad I dropped out of school as soon as I became a pro. Nothing but boring lectures, and stupid tests."
"I don't know. High school wasn't that bad."
"Hey, you can't talk you missed tons of school when you were an Insei."
"So did you, Waya."
Hikaru and Akari turned down a street away from their line of vision. Akira sped up and went after them; Waya and Isumi were in pursuit.
"Hikaru, this was fun!"
Waya and Isumi could just barely hear Akari speaking. Akira could probably hear them pretty clearly considering how close he was. Waya was amazed that Akari hadn't noticed him, on their trail. Then again he was Hikaru's own personal stalker.
"It was."
"There wasn't even a single game of igo involved! See you can have fun without an igo board!" Akari looked so happy. Hikaru felt mesmerized, as though nothing else in the world existed. He didn't even realize what he was doing until his lips had lightly brushed against hers.
"Score! Alright Hikaru!" Waya couldn't help it. It just came out. It was a good thing Isumi had the common sense to muffle his friends' words.
Akira though was livid. He wasn't even trying to keep out of sight now. He was beginning to march right up to them. Isumi and Waya had to act fast. This was their queue after all.
They grabbed Akira by the arms, and dragged him away. Akira was kicking and trying to scream but Waya had already covered his mouth so that the only sounds he could make were muffled and didn't make any sense.
Isumi knew that under normal circumstances he never would have helped Waya with this crazy plan. After all Touya was the Meijin's son and even though Touya Meijin had retired, he still held considerable influence over igo associations throughout the world. This was for Hikaru though. Hikaru was too valuable a person to be wasted on Touya's delusions.
"Well, if it isn't Touya Akira-san..." Waya pushed him into a nearby alley; Isumi was watching to make sure there wasn't going to be any outside interference. What was he doing! Isumi couldn't help feeling nervous. He definitely would never do this. He was acting way out of his normal character, but it was too late to go back. This was for Hikaru after all.
"Stalking is definitely out of fashion, and breaking up a date like that, well rude doesn't even begin to cover it." Waya knew that he had to get his point across to Akira fast. Both Isumi and Waya were putting their careers on the line with this, still they did have some leverage as long as no one else found out. "It's not hard to understand why you like Hikaru- kun so much, but in the end it's Hikaru-kun's decision to like you back or not. You like him because of who he is, well that's part of who he is too, you know. He's our friend, just like he's your rival, and we want what's best for him. You should too, especially, if you really do love him. You should be thinking about what's best for Hikaru, and not what's best for you."
Waya watched as Akira slumped against the wall.
"Those two have been together forever. Long before Hikaru even knew what an igo board was. Let them be. If they break up or something that's something else, but don't destroy them because of your own childish desires. You already have Hikaru. You have him as your eternal rival, and you won't loose him as that. After all it takes two people to play, two equally skilled players. Man do you even realize how lucky you are!"
Isumi was impressed. He couldn't remember Waya ever acting so much like an adult in all the years they had been friends. Isumi had always been the one to play that role but today... Maybe it was Hikaru. He had a strange effect on people. Waya was really acting like the protective best friend. He wasn't trying to destroy Akira like he had so often said he wanted to, no he was just trying to change his course. He understood that Hikaru really did need Akira, just not in the way that Akira had wanted. Isumi was impressed with his friends' new found sense of maturity.
Isumi said there wouldn't be any problems letting Akira know. He was going to be playing a game with Occhi anyway, the next morning, so he would tell Occhi. Knowing him, Occhi would definitely tell Akira as soon as possible, and in probably the most stuck up manner too. All Hikaru could do now was hope that Waya knew what he was doing.
"Hikaru!"
Akari had also shown up earlier than expected. Her hair was up in pigtails like always, but her clothing. Hikaru couldn't remember her ever wearing that outfit before. It was... it was very cute. Hikaru found his cheeks warming a little. Pink had always been her favorite color, but somehow... today...
"Are you alright? Hikaru?"
Hikaru hadn't realized he'd been staring. He needed to say something, but he found himself tongue tide. Hikaru was grasping at straws, he just blurted out what he was thinking.
"I've never seen that outfit before."
"It's new, what do you think? It's kind of old fashioned but I thought it was cute."
Hikaru managed to nod. This was awkward. He didn't know what to say to her, if anything. Always before things had just been comfortable between the two of them, but this. It felt uncomfortable. Damn. Hikaru shook his head this was just a stupid movie it wasn't even a real date. They were old friends for crying out loud. Who would want to go on a date with her anyway! It was just a dumb movie after all.
Just a really dumb movie.
"We're both early, so why don't we get some ramen before the movie?"
Akari pulled Hikaru down the street and into a small ramen store.
Waya and Isumi sat across the street and watched the two of them enter the restaurant. They did look like a very cute couple. It was going to be a lot of fun teasing him later, about his cute little girlfriend. Especially, in the middle of igo lessons.
"There he is." Isumi whispered.
"Where? I don't."
"He has on that dark purple sweater of his. How does he think he won't stand out in this crowd?"
"Beats me. Though it looks like things are going to get fun. Makes me wish I could tape this whole thing."
Isumi sighed. Waya may be one of his best friends, but he really had a weird sense of humor.
"Come on he's following him, we've got to keep Akira in sight."
The pair kept their distance from Akira.
Isumi was afraid he already knew the answer but he had to ask anyway. "Does Hikaru know that we're here?"
"Nope. Come on we can't let Akira out of our sight. We have to make sure things go smoothly. We can't afford a repeat of what happened before."
"Somehow I don't think Hikaru gave up playing igo because of Akira, and Akari."
"It doesn't matter what caused it the first time. If it happened once it could happen again."
"Waya, you just want to spy on his date."
Waya smiled. "Yep!"
They found a comfortable place where they could watch both Hikaru and Akira without worry of discovery.
"Hikaru's beat red. Do you think it's your plan? I mean he might think it is embarrassing or something. I mean it is pretty bold."
"Bold?"
"Bold." Isumi couldn't think of anything else to describe it as. Hikaru after all was the one who used to get scared playing igo with anyone who wasn't clean shaven. Isumi and Hikaru were the two who knew the best how Waya could concoct some pretty interesting schemes and get everyone else wrapped in them. Still this time, it was necessary. If Akira didn't get the message pretty soon, Hikaru might end up getting seriously hurt.
They watched as Akari laughed over her ramen, and Hikaru sat blushing and staring at his ramen.
"Um Akari?" Hikaru was watching her through the corner of his eye.
"What is it?"
"I... you... That out fit is cute." He said it. Finally, he said it.
Akari blushed with pleasure.
"The movie!" Hikaru slammed the money on the counter, grabbed Akari by the wrist and dragged her out of the restaurant. "I'm sorry I almost forgot, if we don't hurry were going to be late."
Waya sat back amused.
"Didn't Hikaru say that she wasn't his girlfriend?" Isumi asked.
"I think he's just in denial. Those two act too much like a couple. We'll it is childhood love, so what can you expect."
Anger and hurt riddled Akira's every expression. He paid for his tea, stood up and headed out the door after them.
"He hasn't given up yet." Isumi observed.
"This is Touya we're talking about. I don't think something as cute as that would do more than ruffle his feathers."
"Still I bet whoever plays him tomorrow will find him either easy pray, or impossible to beat."
"Makes you feel bad? Thought all that training in China was to get control over your emotions."
"It doesn't mean I don't still feel them. Anyway, we better get going or they will get too far ahead of us." Isumi took care of the check, and followed Waya out the door and over to the movie theatre.
Waya had already purchase tickets, by the time Isumi caught up to him. They slipped in the back, just before the movie was about to begin.
The movie was the typical drama you'd expect from a date. Sweet, romantic, and very boring. Akari looked like she was the only one enjoying the movie. It was a good thing they were watching the couple and not the movie. Akira looked bored too. His eyes also were plastered to Hikaru and Akari, the movie never even entered into his mind.
The only thing Akira was thinking about was, 'How did they dare do this? Especially in front of him.' Hikaru was, after all, in Akira's mind still his.
Waya waited anxiously for the plan to finish unfolding. Watching Akira getting mad wasn't a lot of fun.
An hour and half finally passed by when everyone began filtering out of the theatre. Waya couldn't stop himself from yawning as he walked out of the theatre with Isumi. That was a really boring film.
The two of them posted themselves across the street from the movie theatre exits, and waited. It didn't take long for a bored Hikaru and a chatty Akari to come out. Akira wasn't that far behind them either, and his face was contorted with rage.
Things really were just starting to get interesting.
Hikaru and Akari were walking arm in arm down the street, it looked as though Hikaru had loosed up during the movie. Probably because the end of the whole mess was near. All he had to do now was walk her home.
Waya wondered if Hikaru even thought of this as a date.
They tried to stay pretty far behind Akira as they made their way down the street. It soon became apparent that Hikaru was walking her home.
"That was a short date. Don't you think so, Isumi?"
"She's still in school, and Hikaru is too. They probably have homework to do or a test tomorrow."
"Man, I'm so glad I dropped out of school as soon as I became a pro. Nothing but boring lectures, and stupid tests."
"I don't know. High school wasn't that bad."
"Hey, you can't talk you missed tons of school when you were an Insei."
"So did you, Waya."
Hikaru and Akari turned down a street away from their line of vision. Akira sped up and went after them; Waya and Isumi were in pursuit.
"Hikaru, this was fun!"
Waya and Isumi could just barely hear Akari speaking. Akira could probably hear them pretty clearly considering how close he was. Waya was amazed that Akari hadn't noticed him, on their trail. Then again he was Hikaru's own personal stalker.
"It was."
"There wasn't even a single game of igo involved! See you can have fun without an igo board!" Akari looked so happy. Hikaru felt mesmerized, as though nothing else in the world existed. He didn't even realize what he was doing until his lips had lightly brushed against hers.
"Score! Alright Hikaru!" Waya couldn't help it. It just came out. It was a good thing Isumi had the common sense to muffle his friends' words.
Akira though was livid. He wasn't even trying to keep out of sight now. He was beginning to march right up to them. Isumi and Waya had to act fast. This was their queue after all.
They grabbed Akira by the arms, and dragged him away. Akira was kicking and trying to scream but Waya had already covered his mouth so that the only sounds he could make were muffled and didn't make any sense.
Isumi knew that under normal circumstances he never would have helped Waya with this crazy plan. After all Touya was the Meijin's son and even though Touya Meijin had retired, he still held considerable influence over igo associations throughout the world. This was for Hikaru though. Hikaru was too valuable a person to be wasted on Touya's delusions.
"Well, if it isn't Touya Akira-san..." Waya pushed him into a nearby alley; Isumi was watching to make sure there wasn't going to be any outside interference. What was he doing! Isumi couldn't help feeling nervous. He definitely would never do this. He was acting way out of his normal character, but it was too late to go back. This was for Hikaru after all.
"Stalking is definitely out of fashion, and breaking up a date like that, well rude doesn't even begin to cover it." Waya knew that he had to get his point across to Akira fast. Both Isumi and Waya were putting their careers on the line with this, still they did have some leverage as long as no one else found out. "It's not hard to understand why you like Hikaru- kun so much, but in the end it's Hikaru-kun's decision to like you back or not. You like him because of who he is, well that's part of who he is too, you know. He's our friend, just like he's your rival, and we want what's best for him. You should too, especially, if you really do love him. You should be thinking about what's best for Hikaru, and not what's best for you."
Waya watched as Akira slumped against the wall.
"Those two have been together forever. Long before Hikaru even knew what an igo board was. Let them be. If they break up or something that's something else, but don't destroy them because of your own childish desires. You already have Hikaru. You have him as your eternal rival, and you won't loose him as that. After all it takes two people to play, two equally skilled players. Man do you even realize how lucky you are!"
Isumi was impressed. He couldn't remember Waya ever acting so much like an adult in all the years they had been friends. Isumi had always been the one to play that role but today... Maybe it was Hikaru. He had a strange effect on people. Waya was really acting like the protective best friend. He wasn't trying to destroy Akira like he had so often said he wanted to, no he was just trying to change his course. He understood that Hikaru really did need Akira, just not in the way that Akira had wanted. Isumi was impressed with his friends' new found sense of maturity.