Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go. It belongs to Hotta Yumi and Obata Takeshi.
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Reasons without Reasons
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Sometimes it's funny when all of the things you've experienced before suddenly played back in your head as if it was a documentary movie. And when those things gathered in one continuous line, they also suddenly made their sense.
Why this happened and why that happened, why he said that and why she said this. They all suddenly have their own reasons. And when the movie ended, some unexplained questions also popped up.
That night, there was a short documentary movie played inside Hikaru's head.
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Hikaru: "Yeah… But, it seemed that Ogata was surprised when he saw me coming."
Akira: "He didn't expect that I'm going to ask you to this convention. He thought that I would ask Mashiba instead."
Hikaru: "Why didn't you?"
Akira: "Well, I'm not that all familiar with him even though he was with my father's tutoring group."
Hikaru: "And why did you ask me to come along?"
Akira: "Do you really have to ask?"
'I have to ask that, Akira. I really have to. Because I don't know the answer.'
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Akira: "Maybe we should go to the beach together someday,"
Hikaru: "What?"
Akira: "Us. You and me,"
Hikaru: "Why?"
Akira: "I just thought it would be fun. Is that something you should ask for reason?"
'Yes, I think that's something I should ask for reason. Because I still don't know the answer, Akira.'
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Hikaru: "Uh, Touya, did you ask the front desk why you were moved out?"
Akira: "Yes. They said it was their mistake in administration. Actually I was set with Ogata-san from the first place, but they wrote your name instead."
Hikaru: "Oh…"
Akira: "But to be honest, I prefer with you,"
'Why is that? But I bet you would say that's the thing I don't have to ask for reason. But I really don't know the reason, Akira.'
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Ogata: "I think Akira-kun likes you."
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Pause. Rewind. Play.
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Ogata: "I think Akira-kun likes you."
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Hikaru secretly sighed as his opponent resigned. Hikaru knew it was a tough match, so he felt relieved for winning it.
He exited the room and saw Waya and Isumi were chatting in the social room.
"Hi, guys, how was it?"
"Seven and a half moku," Waya sipped his soda pop.
"Better. Twenty moku," Isumi smiled for his victory. "What about you, Shindou?"
"I was this close to losing," Hikaru put his thumb and index finger together.
"No wonder, it was Dan-5 Minamoto you've just defeat. Anyway Shindou, have you heard the news?"
"No. What is it, Waya?" Hikaru took a seat beside Waya.
Waya glanced at Isumi who was carefully sipping his steaming coffee, "Isumi has a girlfriend."
Isumi choked on his drink. "Waya!!"
"Really? Is that true, Isumi?" Hikaru leaned forward excited. Meanwhile Waya grinned happily.
"No! She's not my girlfriend! Waya, how could you tell such cheesy news!?" Isumi said both to Hikaru and Waya. He seemed to be panic.
"Aw, come on, Isumi. I know you like her very much." Waya waved his hand.
"No…"
"You mean you don't like her?"
"I don't mean that. I mean… I like her, but…"
"See!? You like her! End of story."
"Waya!"
"Waya…" Suddenly Hikaru spoke.
"Shindou, I know you'd understand. Explain to this little stubborn person," Isumi crossed his hands and stared at Waya.
"Waya, how do you know Isumi likes her?"
"Shindou!" Isumi nearly scream. His face was blushing heavily.
Waya grinned in full satisfaction. "You see, Shindou… There's a difference in the way you treat the person you like respectively and the person you like in the manner of sexual attraction. And I clearly see that the way Isumi treated this girl is very different to how he treated other people, especially other girls he knew."
"How do you know?"
"Shindou, please stop asking Waya what he doesn't know…"
"No, my dear Isumi-san, on the contrary, I know very well," Waya started to smile in a creepy way, "So, where were we? Ah, yes, how Isumi treated this special girl."
Isumi felt irritated but he couldn't stop Waya from babbling, so he decided to stay there to supervise whatever Waya is going to say to Hikaru.
"Last week Isumi asked me to go to the book store to buy some cooking books. So there we went. At the book store we met this girl. Isumi introduced her to me as Shizuka, an old friend of him. That was not the first time I saw Isumi with a girl before. But the way he looked at this girl was different to how he looked at other girls…"
"And only with that you suddenly accused me falling in love with her? That is very shallow, Waya."
"That's not all, Isumi."
"Please continue, Waya," Hikaru said made Isumi nearly gaped. What's with his sudden attraction in such topic?
Waya continued his bed time story, "Later on, I found out that Isumi asked Shizuka to the same book store. When I asked Isumi was he looking for another book about Chinese food which he bought when he went to the store with me, surprisingly Isumi said he wasn't looking for any book. In other word, he only wanted to go out with Shizuka. Period."
"Waya," Isumi said calmly, "I'm not that lousy. If I want to ask a girl for a date, I'd ask her to a place where couples really went for their dates."
Waya snorted, "But unfortunately you don't have the courage to ask a girl, so you just find some reason such 'Let's go to the book store. There's a book I need to buy'."
"I did not…" Isumi didn't continue his line. His face already turned red again.
"Isumi," Waya leaned forward facing Isumi, "When people didn't know how to ask their crush to go out or to spend some time together, they usually made up odd or lame reasons. And more often, they made reasons which have no reasons."
Isumi sat still with his face rather blushed. It seemed that Waya's words really hit the target.
Those words also hit someone else's consciousness. Hikaru tilted his head down.
'Reasons which have no reasons.' Speaking of that, Hikaru remembered that he also had those kinds of reasons before.
The time where he got upset because Ogata suddenly took his seat at the Go salon or when Ogata always pushed him aside whenever Hikaru was about to sit beside Akira at the Go convention; the time where he got disappointed to find out that Akira was moved out to another room; the time where he suddenly called Akira by his first name; and also the time where he felt excited because Akira invited him for a dinner at his house.
Those things don't have reasonable reasons. No, they really don't. Except… that Hikaru likes Akira, not only as a friend, but for something deeper than that.
Suddenly, the documentary movie that was played last night inside Hikaru's head played its scenes again.
Hikaru: "And why did you ask me to come along?"
Akira: "Do you really have to ask?"
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Akira: "I just thought it would be fun. Is that something you should ask for reason?"
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Akira: "But to be honest, I prefer with you,"
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There it was… reasons which have no reasons.
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Ogata: "I think Akira-kun likes you."
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On second thought, maybe there's one certain reason after all.
tbc
