Disclaimer: The standard "I dun own Hikago" thing.

Author's notes: It's 4th of July! (Which means I get a little break … sort of.) I woke up early to edit this, and now I have to get ready to go to the computer lab to meet my group and finish this lab report!

In this chapter I use the Go term "sente." It sort of identifies a "lead move." I'll try to explain it the best to my ability here. There are spots to play in, which require the opponent's response. After the sequence is played out, whoever gets the next move has sente and can play elsewhere.

Chapter 3: Late Night Meeting

It was nearly 8:00 when Akira returned home, and he was starving. At least Ichikawa-san brought me some food today, he thought gratefully. Although she had a boyfriend now, she still took the time to take care of him when his parents were away. Shaking his head, he laughed when his mind's eye conjured up an image of the boyfriend. Everyone at the salon could see it, but nobody would dare state the obvious resemblance between him and Akira.

While waiting for the food to heat up, Akira looked longingly at the go books piled on the dining room table as he pulled out school books from an overloaded backpack. If it was worth anything, he knew himself well. He would gladly study go into the wee hours of the morning, but it didn't work that way with his school work. Instead of wasting meaningless time thinking about how long his day was or how tired he was, he got to work. Luckily, he had a study period scheduled first, so he had only missed three classes during the game: two language classes and history. Out of the three, History would take him the longest to finish reading. With a resigned sigh, he flipped to the page that was assigned and began reading the text. When he was finished with that and the written assignment that accompanied it, he moved onto his next subject without so much as skipping a beat.

Exhaling loudly, Akira set down his Chinese language book, rubbing his dry, tired eyes. How much time had passed since he had started his homework? Looking around, he tried to gather clues as to how late it was. Except for the light in the dining room, the house was dark, uninhabited, telling him nothing. The utter stillness of his surroundings used to bother Akira when his parents had first started taking their many trips, but he had slowly grown accustomed to the solitude. Instead of merely putting up with this sort of isolation during the day, it now continued throughout the night as well. It was nothing that he wasn't already used to.

As soon as he rose to check the clock, chimes sounded in the background, indicating it was eleven. The clear, rich clanging echoed clearly through the quiet house. It was silly how at one time he had found the noise slightly disturbing, an hourly reminder of exactly how alone he was. Now, he had come to welcome the chimes as the only constant in his life, the only thing that was predictable. For him, the eerie bonging had become a signal that something was still waiting for him when he returned home. Tired, bleary-eyed, and frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. Unable to stifle a yawn, he decided that it was time to take a break so he could somewhat wake up before his Go studies. Heading upstairs, he readied himself for a shower.

xxx

Shindou Hikaru glanced at his watch, trying to decipher the time using only the aid of the dim lemon-colored light of the streetlamp. It was his fault for being out so late. Morishita-sensei's study group ran late, and then he chose to go to Waya's afterwards instead of heading straight home. At the very least, he knew his mother wouldn't be worried; she had long gotten over her silly reservations about his odd hours. But what he was doing now was something he had never thought he would do. Here it was a quarter past eleven, and he stood in front of Touya Akira's house for no apparent reason.

I really wanted to play him today, he rationalized, recalling the other boy's cold dismissal. But Touya's always like that, sending people away, making them feel inferior.

Cloudy, deep green eyes widened as they always did when he took in the image of the big house, knowing very much that his rival was there alone. I'm itching for a go match, he convinced himself. With that, he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial to a very familiar number. In the phone, he could hear the ring, once, twice…

I really hate this ring, he thought distractedly, waiting–no willing—Akira to pick up the phone. Damnit! He cursed. Nobody's picking up, but he has to be home now. At this time of night, Touya would be home. What if something has happened?

xxx

That's more like it, Akira thought draping a towel around his shoulders. He felt clean again, refreshed, as if he could accomplish anything. And really, he was much more comfortable in a t-shirt and a pair of loose athletic shorts. He was already headed downstairs, when a thump, thump, thump caught his attention.

Somebody at the door? he thought quizzically. He certainly wasn't expecting anybody, and none of his parents' friends would be around to check on him at this hour. But still, the pounding continued, the knocks getting louder and louder, their frequency becoming closer and closer, so he hurried to the door and threw it open to reveal …

Shindou? he thought, brows furrowing in an attempt to think of reasons to why the boy would be here so late. "Shindou?" he asked, when no logical explanation would come to his mind.

Hikaru felt as if he had been pounding forever when the door finally opened to reveal Akira on the other side. A slightly damp towel decorated the other boy's shoulders, water from freshly washed hair dripping down. Taking in a deep breath of what seemed to be relief, Hikaru realized he could still smell the fragrance of Touya's shampoo, crisp, clean, and refreshing. It definitely didn't seem to be the cheap market place stuff he used.

Hmm, this is the most casual I've ever seen him, he observed, deep green eyes darting around to take in Akira's attire. He almost looks normal.

"Shindou?" Akira repeated when Hikaru still hadn't spoken. Although he was still his polite self, his voice was clipped and cold, expressing his rising exasperation.

"I was afraid … that you'd di—" Hikaru stopped mid-sentence, knowing very well his fear, but also knowing that the other boy would not understand. I'm so silly, he scolded himself. There's no way Touya would disappear. Unlike Sai, Touya still has a lifetime in front of him. A bright future to live up to all of those expectations that the Go world has put on him.

"What were you afraid of?" Akira asked, truly puzzled. He knew that Hikaru acted oddly at times, but he was really too tired to try to figure anything out.

"I wanted to play a game," Hikaru amended.

"This late? You should have called first."

Akira's statement was clear-cut and reasonable, but the way he had said it implied bewilderment at why Hikaru couldn't figure out such a simple concept.

"I did," Hikaru returned, feeling frustration well up. I'll never be worried about you ever again, he raged silently. "Nobody picked up."

"So that's the signal for you to come and pound on my door, I assume," Akira retorted crossing his arms across his chest.

"If you don't want to play, I'm going home!" Hikaru huffed, whirling around.

"Wait!" Akira called after him. "If you're already here, we might as well play."

Settled at the goban in the living room, Akira waited for Hikaru to play. It seemed as if he was spending most of his time waiting. Putting a hand over his mouth, he covered up his yawn. Perhaps he was just very tired today; the pounding headache that had developed during the course of the game had not helped either. Carefully, he tried to neither give into the fatigue nor the pain that pulsed behind his tired, dry eyes. The days when he had pro Go games scheduled, school, and then further Go obligations afterwards wore him out completely as he had come to discover. So, he glanced at the board and noticed that the other boy was tired too. Playing on both sides was clearly sloppy.

I'll just wait for him to play, and then I'll extend my territory here, he thought, already surveying both his and Hikaru's positions on the board. So, he waited for the pachi sound of marble stone hitting the wood, wanted to hear the refreshing sharpness, but for him the sound never came.

Hikaru had been searching for a spot to play that demanded a response, something that would allow him to keep sente, and he had finally found the perfect position. How do you like that? he thought triumphantly, although he had to admit it had taken him lot longer than it should have to decide where to play. When he turned excited eyes to his opponent, he found the long haired boy gently swaying back and forth in his sitting position, eyes closed peacefully.

"Goddamn it, wake –" Before he could finish his sentence, he stopped. For Akira to fall asleep during a game must have meant that he was absolutely exhausted. "Uh!" Hikaru grunted in surprised, as Akira's whole body pitched forward towards the board.

Author's notes: Is the OOCness too bad? Touya would never fall asleep during a game. : hides in shame :

Reviews are always welcome. I'll try my best to update as my free time allows me to.