Author's Notes: I am really, really, sorry I took so long to update this,
but things have been crazy lately. I will be faster next time. I promise
( Thanks again to all my reviewers!
Chasing a Shadow
Chapter 3 - Tension
Hikaru smiled as he pushed open the door and headed out into the bright sunlight. It was a Saturday afternoon and he was headed to the Go Salon to play Waya for fun. He doubted there would be anyone else there today who was any good, but once in awhile it was fun just to play with Waya, away from the stress they were usually under. He also needed a break from thinking about Touya. It seemed like all of his thoughts lately were still about him and it was getting to be a little overwhelming. He hadn't seen him since their visit to the ramen shop two days ago, but even his dreams seemed to be taunting him with the memory of their kiss. He had woken up that morning still trembling. His heart had been pounding wildly and his cheeks burned even now thinking about it. He wanted to see Touya again, but he knew that probably wasn't the best idea considering how close he had come to telling Touya the truth about what had happened. He didn't know how the other boy would react, but somehow he doubted it would be in a positive way. Telling Touya was too big a risk to take when it was possible that Touya might never want to see him again.
Hikaru tried to push his thoughts of Touya away as he entered the Go Salon. He spotted Waya in the corner, playing a scruffy looking old man he hadn't seen there before. It looked like they were in the endgame, but he could tell Waya had a major advantage. He wondered why the old man hadn't given up long ago.
"Makemashita." The old man resigned in a reluctant sounding voice. "Good game, Waya-kun. That one was pretty close. I know I'll get you for sure next time."
Hikaru could tell that Waya was trying hard not to laugh. "Right, old man. It was pretty close. Maybe next time."
The old man glanced over at Hikaru. "Is your friend here any good? Maybe I should try playing him?"
Waya shook his head. "I don't think he's quite up to your level. I'm getting ready to play a few tutoring games with him now." Hikaru kicked him under the table as he walked up and Waya glared at him. "See you later Ojii-san." The old man got up and shuffled away from the table. Hikaru sat down.
"Tutoring games? I don't think so. Unless you mean I'm going to tutor you."
"Oh, come on, Shindou. I had to say something or he would have roped you into playing him, too. And he's not even good enough to tell when to resign." Waya picked up some stones for nigiri and dropped them on the board. Hikaru followed suit. "What have you been up to anyway, Shindou?"
"Nothing much. I've been pretty busy at school with exams and everything lately." Hikaru tried to focus as he placed a stone on the board. Waya would be able to tell right away if he wasn't concentrating on the game.
"Busy, huh? Not too busy to spend time with Touya though. I was coming to see if you wanted to play a game the other day and I saw you leaving that ramen shop with him."
Hikaru looked up from the board. He knew Waya didn't really like Touya that much, but that didn't mean that he couldn't spend time with him. "Yeah, Touya got really sick when we were playing a game at my house last week. He came to the school to apologize for passing out. We were both kind of hungry so we went to the ramen shop. It's not that big of a deal."
"Oh, so now you invite him over to your house? That's a little weird, Shindou. I thought Touya was your rival."
"He is." Hikaru paused uncertainly. He didn't know how to explain that Touya was also his friend. Well, kind of his friend. "Look, Waya, I know you don't like Touya, but I don't really understand why. He's not that bad. He's actually a nice person when you get to know him." His words sounded weak even to his own ears, but he didn't know how to explain their relationship to anyone else.
"A nice person?" Waya's face was incredulous. "You've got to be kidding, Shindou. That arrogant jerk who thinks he's so great at Go that he's above playing normal people? I can understand why you might want to play against him, but to spend time with him outside of Go.What's going on with you anyway?"
Hikaru's cheeks began to flush as he registered Waya's words. What right did he have to talk about Touya like that? "Look, just shut up. I can spend time with whoever I want to and it's really none of your business."
Waya's voice became louder. "I thought I was your friend. But I guess you don't need any other friends now that you have Touya."
Hikaru glared. Why was Waya being so unreasonable all of a sudden? He was about to form a sharp retort when a familiar voice caused him to forget what he had been about to say. He froze.
"Why are you shouting my name, Waya? Everyone is staring at you." Hikaru looked up to see Touya Akira's dark hair. His usual polite expression was gone, and his eyes were angry and intense.
Hikaru could tell that Waya was surprised, but he quickly recovered. "Are you following Shindou around now, Touya? Your obsessiveness has reached new levels."
Touya's eyes became even darker. "I often come here on the weekends when I'm not busy with pro events. Not that I need to explain myself to you."
Hikaru was getting worried. The tension between the two of them was thick and he didn't want anyone to lose their temper more than they already had.
"Look, Waya. I need to talk to Touya about something. I'll see you later." Hikaru began clearing the stones off the board without waiting for a response from Waya.
"What are you doing? You're going to go off with him in the middle of a game?" Waya was practically shouting now and Hikaru could feel his own temper starting to snap.
"I said I'd see you later. I'm not going to sit here and play a game with you while you're shouting at me and everyone is staring at us. Talk to me when you're acting normal again." Without waiting for a response he turned on his heel and walked out of the salon, trying hard to ignore the curious gazes of other players. What was wrong with Waya anyway? Why was he being so difficult? And when was he going to get over his stupid problem with Touya? Touya. Hikaru felt his heart beat faster. He had told Touya that he needed to talk to him. He turned around abruptly and saw Touya standing just outside the entrance and looking at him uncertainly.
Hikaru took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He slowly walked over to Touya and met the dark eyes. "Sorry about that. Waya's acting really weird today for some reason. He's not usually like this. Well he kind of is, but it's not usually this bad."
"He's mad because you're spending time with me." It was a statement not a question. "If you want to stop doing things with me outside of Go, I understand." Touya's voice was achingly vulnerable and suddenly more than anything Hikaru wanted to assure him that what he said wasn't true.
"No!!" The forcefulness of his voice caught them both by surprise and Hikaru lowered his voice. "I mean, just because Waya's being an idiot doesn't mean I have to do what he wants. And anyway I want to be with you." Hikaru felt his cheeks grow hot as he stared at the tips of his yellow sneakers.
"Oh." It was a quiet exclamation and Hikaru looked up to see that Touya was smiling. He felt himself smile back, unable to do anything else.
There was a short pause during which Hikaru tried to control his blushing. He looked up again as Touya interrupted his attempts.
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"What?"
"In the Go Salon you said you wanted to talk to me about something." Touya's voice was strangely innocent.
"Oh." Hikaru looked at Touya and took in the beautiful dark hair and elegant cat-like eyes. Touya was still smiling and it almost seemed like he wanted Hikaru to say something, but Hikaru wasn't sure what it was. He felt the strange warmth spreading through him again, but somehow managed to stammer out an answer. "Well, mainly I wanted to get away from Waya, but I also wanted to see if you wanted to do something tomorrow afternoon."
"Sure. We could play Go at my house this time."
Hikaru took a deep breath. "I mean something not related to Go." He paused noticing that Touya looked slightly unsure. "There are other things to do you know."
"There are?" Touya deadpanned his answer and Hikaru laughed.
"I thought we could go to the park by my house. I'm sure we could find something to do there."
"Okay. I'll meet you at the park around 1:00 then."
"Sounds good." Touya smiled that smile that made Hikaru's breath catch again before he turned to walk away.
Hikaru felt the happiness of a whole afternoon alone with Touya well up inside him and then threaten to overwhelm all other thoughts. It was going to be a long 24 hours.
~tbc
Chasing a Shadow
Chapter 3 - Tension
Hikaru smiled as he pushed open the door and headed out into the bright sunlight. It was a Saturday afternoon and he was headed to the Go Salon to play Waya for fun. He doubted there would be anyone else there today who was any good, but once in awhile it was fun just to play with Waya, away from the stress they were usually under. He also needed a break from thinking about Touya. It seemed like all of his thoughts lately were still about him and it was getting to be a little overwhelming. He hadn't seen him since their visit to the ramen shop two days ago, but even his dreams seemed to be taunting him with the memory of their kiss. He had woken up that morning still trembling. His heart had been pounding wildly and his cheeks burned even now thinking about it. He wanted to see Touya again, but he knew that probably wasn't the best idea considering how close he had come to telling Touya the truth about what had happened. He didn't know how the other boy would react, but somehow he doubted it would be in a positive way. Telling Touya was too big a risk to take when it was possible that Touya might never want to see him again.
Hikaru tried to push his thoughts of Touya away as he entered the Go Salon. He spotted Waya in the corner, playing a scruffy looking old man he hadn't seen there before. It looked like they were in the endgame, but he could tell Waya had a major advantage. He wondered why the old man hadn't given up long ago.
"Makemashita." The old man resigned in a reluctant sounding voice. "Good game, Waya-kun. That one was pretty close. I know I'll get you for sure next time."
Hikaru could tell that Waya was trying hard not to laugh. "Right, old man. It was pretty close. Maybe next time."
The old man glanced over at Hikaru. "Is your friend here any good? Maybe I should try playing him?"
Waya shook his head. "I don't think he's quite up to your level. I'm getting ready to play a few tutoring games with him now." Hikaru kicked him under the table as he walked up and Waya glared at him. "See you later Ojii-san." The old man got up and shuffled away from the table. Hikaru sat down.
"Tutoring games? I don't think so. Unless you mean I'm going to tutor you."
"Oh, come on, Shindou. I had to say something or he would have roped you into playing him, too. And he's not even good enough to tell when to resign." Waya picked up some stones for nigiri and dropped them on the board. Hikaru followed suit. "What have you been up to anyway, Shindou?"
"Nothing much. I've been pretty busy at school with exams and everything lately." Hikaru tried to focus as he placed a stone on the board. Waya would be able to tell right away if he wasn't concentrating on the game.
"Busy, huh? Not too busy to spend time with Touya though. I was coming to see if you wanted to play a game the other day and I saw you leaving that ramen shop with him."
Hikaru looked up from the board. He knew Waya didn't really like Touya that much, but that didn't mean that he couldn't spend time with him. "Yeah, Touya got really sick when we were playing a game at my house last week. He came to the school to apologize for passing out. We were both kind of hungry so we went to the ramen shop. It's not that big of a deal."
"Oh, so now you invite him over to your house? That's a little weird, Shindou. I thought Touya was your rival."
"He is." Hikaru paused uncertainly. He didn't know how to explain that Touya was also his friend. Well, kind of his friend. "Look, Waya, I know you don't like Touya, but I don't really understand why. He's not that bad. He's actually a nice person when you get to know him." His words sounded weak even to his own ears, but he didn't know how to explain their relationship to anyone else.
"A nice person?" Waya's face was incredulous. "You've got to be kidding, Shindou. That arrogant jerk who thinks he's so great at Go that he's above playing normal people? I can understand why you might want to play against him, but to spend time with him outside of Go.What's going on with you anyway?"
Hikaru's cheeks began to flush as he registered Waya's words. What right did he have to talk about Touya like that? "Look, just shut up. I can spend time with whoever I want to and it's really none of your business."
Waya's voice became louder. "I thought I was your friend. But I guess you don't need any other friends now that you have Touya."
Hikaru glared. Why was Waya being so unreasonable all of a sudden? He was about to form a sharp retort when a familiar voice caused him to forget what he had been about to say. He froze.
"Why are you shouting my name, Waya? Everyone is staring at you." Hikaru looked up to see Touya Akira's dark hair. His usual polite expression was gone, and his eyes were angry and intense.
Hikaru could tell that Waya was surprised, but he quickly recovered. "Are you following Shindou around now, Touya? Your obsessiveness has reached new levels."
Touya's eyes became even darker. "I often come here on the weekends when I'm not busy with pro events. Not that I need to explain myself to you."
Hikaru was getting worried. The tension between the two of them was thick and he didn't want anyone to lose their temper more than they already had.
"Look, Waya. I need to talk to Touya about something. I'll see you later." Hikaru began clearing the stones off the board without waiting for a response from Waya.
"What are you doing? You're going to go off with him in the middle of a game?" Waya was practically shouting now and Hikaru could feel his own temper starting to snap.
"I said I'd see you later. I'm not going to sit here and play a game with you while you're shouting at me and everyone is staring at us. Talk to me when you're acting normal again." Without waiting for a response he turned on his heel and walked out of the salon, trying hard to ignore the curious gazes of other players. What was wrong with Waya anyway? Why was he being so difficult? And when was he going to get over his stupid problem with Touya? Touya. Hikaru felt his heart beat faster. He had told Touya that he needed to talk to him. He turned around abruptly and saw Touya standing just outside the entrance and looking at him uncertainly.
Hikaru took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He slowly walked over to Touya and met the dark eyes. "Sorry about that. Waya's acting really weird today for some reason. He's not usually like this. Well he kind of is, but it's not usually this bad."
"He's mad because you're spending time with me." It was a statement not a question. "If you want to stop doing things with me outside of Go, I understand." Touya's voice was achingly vulnerable and suddenly more than anything Hikaru wanted to assure him that what he said wasn't true.
"No!!" The forcefulness of his voice caught them both by surprise and Hikaru lowered his voice. "I mean, just because Waya's being an idiot doesn't mean I have to do what he wants. And anyway I want to be with you." Hikaru felt his cheeks grow hot as he stared at the tips of his yellow sneakers.
"Oh." It was a quiet exclamation and Hikaru looked up to see that Touya was smiling. He felt himself smile back, unable to do anything else.
There was a short pause during which Hikaru tried to control his blushing. He looked up again as Touya interrupted his attempts.
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"What?"
"In the Go Salon you said you wanted to talk to me about something." Touya's voice was strangely innocent.
"Oh." Hikaru looked at Touya and took in the beautiful dark hair and elegant cat-like eyes. Touya was still smiling and it almost seemed like he wanted Hikaru to say something, but Hikaru wasn't sure what it was. He felt the strange warmth spreading through him again, but somehow managed to stammer out an answer. "Well, mainly I wanted to get away from Waya, but I also wanted to see if you wanted to do something tomorrow afternoon."
"Sure. We could play Go at my house this time."
Hikaru took a deep breath. "I mean something not related to Go." He paused noticing that Touya looked slightly unsure. "There are other things to do you know."
"There are?" Touya deadpanned his answer and Hikaru laughed.
"I thought we could go to the park by my house. I'm sure we could find something to do there."
"Okay. I'll meet you at the park around 1:00 then."
"Sounds good." Touya smiled that smile that made Hikaru's breath catch again before he turned to walk away.
Hikaru felt the happiness of a whole afternoon alone with Touya well up inside him and then threaten to overwhelm all other thoughts. It was going to be a long 24 hours.
~tbc