a/n: Not to worry – this isn't a death fic. It's more of a set up for another cliché of the HnG fanfic world. Enjoy.
Part 13. Famous Last Words
"Would you like to come in?" They'd reached Akira's house and the passenger was glad to be done with his helmet. He returned it to its owner and watched as the man stowed it away. Hikaru seemed unusually slow in his actions, confirming his reluctance to leave. "It's still early. We have time for a game..." a thought occurred to Akira, "unless you need to get home to Kinume, of course."
"Nah. Akari got back from America yesterday so K-chan won't be missing me." He grinned. "I've got plenty of time to trounce you, and a game sounds good."
"You're confident. I take it this weekend's opponents didn't impress you?" Touya was teasing his rival, albeit gently. He knew full well there hadn't been anyone present who compared to Shindou's level.
"It gets so frustrating playing shido go over and over..." the pro admitted.
Touya smiled. He understood. Whereas he had accepted teaching as a part of the professional lifestyle, and even enjoyed it to some extent, Shindou had never managed to see it as more than an inconvenience. He enjoyed meeting new people and socializing with all manner of easy acquaintances, but where a go board was involved, he lived for competition. This was not to say he was ever impolite. Shindou's teaching games were lively and much sought after. But they seldom entertained the teacher himself.
Shindou locked the motorcycle up as Touya opened his door. Inside, the host quickly removed his shoes and jacket before walking to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Shindou apparently took his time in the entryway, for the water was boiling when he finally made his way into the living room.
"You can set the board up," Touya called. "I'm just getting tea. Do you want some?"
"Yeah. Sure." Touya heard the closet doors open and the muffled thumps of goban and cushions being dragged into place. When he arrived in the living room bearing two cups, Shindou was setting out the go kes. Touya handed him a cup of tea, they sat, and after a moment of rearranging to ensure no knees would fall asleep or cups be knocked over, opened the coffers. Touya noted idly that he always seemed to begin with white. He wondered at that only a moment before placing his handful on the board as Shindou made his guess. Correct as usual – at least where their casual games were concerned.
"So Akari is back already?" There were games that they played with ferocious intensity, and there were games where the click of the stones was more of a counterpoint to conversation. This game had the slightly easier air of the latter, and Touya took the opportunity to chat. It was strange, but despite two days together at the conference, they'd had barely a moment to converse. Shindou's latest mode of transportation didn't lend itself to conversation either.
"Yep. Her six months are up and the company managed to find her a position back in Tokyo," his voice had the slightly flat quality it always had when he spoke about his wife lately. Then he grinned and made a particularly clever move, pulling his opponent's attention back to the grid. While Touya tried to read his intentions, his rival continued with the slightly distracting garrulousness he knew his opponent found annoying. "Kinume's thrilled, of course. She missed her a bunch. I guess I don't understand all the feminine stuff teenage girls need to talk to their mothers about."
Touya smiled slightly. He'd caught on to Shindou's strategy. Placing a stone, the pro's mind caught back up with the conversation. He frowned. "Kinume is only twelve..." Shindou played his reply quickly. It would take two more hands for him to realize all was not as he'd planned.
"Well, yeah, but she's almost thirteen and she's, well... growing up." Something in his tone made Touya look up to catch his rival blushing slightly. He couldn't imagine why and something in his eyes must have indicated as much because Shindou elaborated. "You know." He made the vaguest of gestures to his chest and Touya, abruptly understanding, joined him in the blush. "Training bras..." the young father shuddered. They both sipped their tea and concentrated on the board for a few hands.
"So-" Touya began, but when it came out as a squeak he took a breath and tried again. "So where is Akari staying, now?" It sounded about right. Shindou took a moment to hear him. He'd noticed Touya's subtle bid to upset his shape in the upper left and was putting some thought into his reply. At length he placed it, with a casual smirk as if to say he was not in the least daunted. Then he remembered the question.
"Oh, I gave her the house. She wanted primary custody while we're separated, and I didn't want Kinume to have to move, so that seemed like the thing to do." He tried to make it sound nonchalant, but did not entirely succeed. Touya felt slightly annoyed with himself for letting his curiosity dwell on a painful subject. He made an unusually daring move by way of distraction, only afterwards noticing how much like one of Shindou's own moves it was. Shindou noticed it too and chuckled. "Twenty-one years and I'm finally rubbing off on you."
"Don't get cocky." Touya not-quite-growled, his eyes narrowing into a familiar glare. Shindou only laughed.
"Next thing you know, you'll be wearing T-shirts and dying your bangs," he teased, oblivious to his rival's growing annoyance, or perhaps enjoying it.
"And eating ramen for every meal and falling asleep during match discussions? I don't think so," Touya shot back, punctuating his retort with a move that was decidedly his own style.
"Hey, that only happened once, and I'd been up with a sick baby the night before!" A black stone was slammed in response to the white.
"Excuses, excuses," murmured the younger man. He played his hand with motions bordering on the delicate in deliberate contrast to his rival.
"Oh yeah? You try being a parent some time." Shindou slapped a stone down with smiling confidence, recovering from his outburst with a speed that suggested subterfuge. Touya paused to look more closely at the arrangement and saw the deeply hidden barb that had been so beautifully set up. He sat back on his heels to consider his strategy. Shindou relaxed on his cushion, drinking tea and clearly pondering. "Actually, Touya, why don't you get married? I mean, do you even date? I've seen enough women watching you..."
"Huh?" He wasn't entirely sure he'd heard correctly, coming up from his thoughts after deciding on a conservative but sound plan. He lifted a stone to place, but nearly dropped it as his rival's next statement penetrated his thoughts.
"And don't tell me you don't like women, because there's no way your mother could have left that pink-and-purple sweater I saw hanging in the entry." Shindou grinned. "So who is she?" Touya's eyes went wide as his mind searched around for an answer. In point of fact, it was Kinume's sweater, but explaining what she'd been doing in his house long enough to forget her sweater was problematic. After the game with her father, Touya had assumed the secret was out, but the girl herself had insisted their games not be revealed just the same. He thought it somewhat silly, but had agreed to keep his promise of secrecy. Now he was caught.
"It's not what you think." When in doubt, omission was a better policy than outright lying. "And in any case, I don't see how my love life or lack thereof is any of your concern." He let a certain amount of the flustered irritation he was feeling permeate his voice and hoped Hikaru would take the hint. His opponent shrugged, clearly unconvinced, but backing down just the same. They settled into the game after that and kept their conversation confined to the polite and simple words of stone and strategy.
When the game finally ended, Touya winning by two and a half moku, it was after eleven. Hikaru yawned. Akira looked at the blackness beyond the window. "Shindou, if Akari is staying at your place, where are you staying?" It had suddenly occurred to him that a separated couple couldn't very well live in the same house. Hikaru shrugged, standing and heading toward the entryway. Akira followed, listening to his reply.
"Hotel, probably. I'm going to that thing in Beijing in two weeks, and after that I've got an apartment mostly lined up." There was a time when his rival's absolute nonchalance over such a thing as where he was living would have shocked Akira. Those days had long since died in the face of mountains of experience.
"You're going to stay in a hotel for two weeks? Do you have any idea how expensive that is?" A man soon to be paying child support did, after all, need reminders of certain fiscal realities. He watched his rival pull on his jacket. "Why don't you stay with your parents?" This seemed like a far more reasonable option. Hikaru, however, stared at him as though he'd lost his reason.
"Oh sure, and have to listen to my mother's marital advice every moment of the day that I'm not working? Nah. I'll be fine." He smirked, but the real bitterness underlying it once again made Touya feel awkward – and consequently annoyed. He hated feeling inept at anything. Shindou slipped his feet into the ankle-high boots he'd been wearing. He sat on the step to tie them. "Anyway, thanks for the game. Wanna meet at your go salon tomorrow night for a rematch?" Touya nodded, then shook his head, returning to his earlier subject and not really sure why it mattered so much.
"Surely you have a friend who would put you up for such a short time."
His friend sighed in exasperation. "You offering?" Hikaru stared at him, daring, clearly hoping to simply shut him up. Akira shrugged.
"It's not like I use all the space in this house. My father had a lot more company than I generally care to entertain." He let his gaze wander as though, contrary to his statement, it was no big thing to have a house-guest. Hikaru was still staring at him, now in something like disbelief.
"You're serious." As if it were a revelation. Akira was becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the way his friend was staring at him.
"Look, do you want to stay or don't you? It's not like I care either way. It's just stupid to waste money on a hotel for two whole weeks when you've got friends and family all over the place." He gave his rival his best glare, but was disarmed when Hikaru abruptly dropped his gaze and chuckled.
"You realize we'll kill each other," he said, offering a way out, but obviously giving the idea serious consideration.
"It's only two weeks. I think after all this time I can tolerate you that long." His voice was icy. Even so, if he were honest with himself, he felt irrationally irritated already and half-wondered if Hikaru's seemingly unique ability to get under his skin could lead to anything but disaster. Then the green-eyed man looked up and smiled at him: cheerful, honest and grateful. Mollification was immediate.
"Thanks, Touya." There was a brief moment of awkwardness as each of them wondered what to do next. Then Shindou grinned. "But as long as I'm staying here, wanna have that rematch right now?"
"Get your things, as long as you've got your shoes on. I'll make some more tea." Shindou nodded and went to get his overnight bag from the motorcycle. Touya stared for a moment at the closed door. "It's only two weeks..."