Disclaimer: Don't own Hikaru No GO
Thanks to Chidoriochibi, Kisa is Dreaming, Xiar, abc and Kickkid3 for reviewing. Sorry for the delay everyone. I know everyone is very anxious to see Touya and Akari together again… I guess I have to ask everyone to be patient!
Hope u enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 28
The sun shone brightly up above the sky and the snow glittered the morning light. Akari walked her friends out of the inn after their week of stay. It had been great for having them around this week because she could keep her mind off Touya. Even though she did not want to think about him all the time, he always invaded her thought, either days or nights.
"Remember to come again for holidays!" Akari said as she helped them organizing their luggages inside the van. "You know where the inn is!"
"Of course, we had great fun!" Nakamura said hugging Akari. "Remember to call us; after you stopped ice skating, you just disappeared."
"You girls are always so busy with tournaments." Akari turned to hug Sakamoto. "You think you have time to see me?"
"How true." Sakamoto replied as she returned the hug. "I got a gold trophy at the last region championship. Beat that!"
"Sucker." Akari teased, hitting Sakamoto on her arm lightly. "Get into the van!"
Sakamoto and Nakamura laughed while getting on the van. Akari turned to Masahiro who was still standing next to her quietly. Akari smiled at the teammate who understood her better than the other two.
"You know, Akari, there is something different about you." Masahiro said hugging Akari warmly. "If that news in the papers had really gotten you down, then you are really a baka."
Akari smiled and tightened her arms around Masahiro.
"It is more complicated than that."
"How so?" Masahiro pulled away slightly and looked at her.
"I saw something that I rather not know…" Akari smiled painfully.
"Did you let him explain?"
Akari shook her head. "I am afraid of what he may say."
"Baka." Masahiro knocked Akari's head lightly. "You really should have let him explain instead of running half way across Japan to hide."
Akari shrugged. "Get in the van, I will call you soon."
"You better keep that promise, Fujisaki." Masahiro warned. "If not, I am going to track and hunt you down!"
Akari laughed. "Right, I promise."
"Remember to invite us to your wedding!" Nakamura cried from inside the van.
"There will be no wedding, girls." Akari replied in a rather forced teasing voice and slid the van door shut.
She watched the van driven down the road and waved unenthusiastically at her friends with a fake smile plastered on her face. Inside the van, her friends kept waving at her until the van was disappeared down the hill. Very slowly, the smile wilt from her face as Akari turned away from the drive way and walked back into the inn.
"I don't think there is still a wedding." She whispered sadly to herself.
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Back in Tokyo, the usual schedule was carried out for Touya, with his endless games and discussions. He was stepping out of the GO Institute with Hikaru and Waya but he stalled in his steps when he spotted Yuii waiting for him at the front porch. Hadn't she had enough from Kuniko? How he wished that Kuniko was here now to slap Yuii again. Touya knew that he wouldn't be able to get himself hitting a girl even though Yuii deserved it.
He wasn't in his best mood and missing Akari terribly wasn't helping him much either. The last thing he needed was someone to trigger the temper that he had locked inside for a long time. He was in the verge of loosing it.
"What does she want?" Hikaru who knew Yuii, asked.
"Who was she?" Waya who didn't know her, asked in confusion.
"I don't know." Touya replied rather softly but curtly, turning towards a different direction hoping that she could get the hint. He really did not want to talk or to see her again. "Let's go."
Hikaru and Waya followed Touya without questioning about his motive. It was better not to say anything when Touya had the expression of putting every GO stones into battle strategies, killing his opponent without mercy.
"Akira, wait!" Yuii shouted. "If not, I will not tell you where Fujisaki is."
That statement caught Touya's attention and he turned around to look at her. Hikaru frowned slightly doubting her knowledge of Akari's whereabouts.
"Don't believe her; I doubt she knew where Akari is." Hikaru hissed into Touya's ear grabbing onto his arm when Touya moved towards her.
"Shindou, you don't know her as I do. She might know where Akari is. I want to find out if she is lying. I just need to hear something from someone!"
Hikaru let go of Touya's arm and waited for him with Waya a few feet away.
"Yes, what is it about Akari?" Touya asked.
"You still think about her even though she left you." Yuii said hurtfully. "I am here, Akira. Why can't you accept me again?"
"I don't want to be with you." Touya replied rather coldly. "If you have nothing to say about Akari, I am leaving."
Touya knew that Hikaru was right about Yuii. She only brought Akari up to get his attention. Feeling rather furious at being tricked, Touya turned away sharply. As he was about to walk away, Yuii grabbed his arm.
"I really love you, Akira! Please give me another chance! It has nothing to do with my family or your money! Honestly! I had missed you so much!"
"I am sorry but I don't," Touya answered curtly pulling his arm away and strode back towards Hikaru and Waya.
Hikaru watched Yuii who looked rather dejectedly at Touya, before she walked away. When he turned his attention back to Touya who had an angry expression, both he and Waya stepped back from Touya. The minute they did, Touya smashed the side of his fist on the near by wall of the building.
"This is the second time I've ever seen him this angry." Waya whispered to Hikaru.
"Second time?" Hikaru whispered back.
"The first time was when you did not come to the Wakajishisen and you skipped all your GO game schedules in the first year after you turned Pro." Waya replied. "He had the same expression, hitting walls and a look about to kill."
"Oh," Hikaru replied meekly, remembering the time in the library but at least Touya didn't go hitting the wall. That would have scared the hell out of him, like he was now.
Touya felt like a fool for believing Yuii that one moment. He must have been out of his mind. Taking a deep breath, Touya pull himself together and turned to look at Hikaru and Waya who stood a foot away from him staring rather wide eyes at him.
"Let's go." Touya said shortly and turned away.
Hikaru and Waya nodded slightly and followed. Keeping in their mind never to step into Touya's bad side because they had the strangest feeling that that punch would have landed on Yuii's face if she wasn't a woman.
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Akari stood by the front entrance of the inn; her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets staring at Kuniko who was grinning playfully at her. She blinked as she was unable to believe the sight before her and then she gaped.
"Kuniko-chan… what are you…?" Akari stammered in her words. "I mean… you are here!"
"Are you going to invite me in?" Kuniko asked cheekily.
"Oh," Akari snapped out of her stupor. "Right, please come in. Welcome to Yamada Inn."
"You must be Tsuda-san that Akari-nee talked about." Itoe bounced immediately. "I am Fujisaki Itoe, Akari-nee's cousin. You can call me Itoe. Please don't mind her rudeness and make yourself at home. Since you are Akari-nee's really good friend, please do join us for dinner."
"Your cousin has better manner than you do." Kuniko looked at Akari through the corner of her eyes.
"Shut up, you took me by surprise alright!" Akari snapped. "Why didn't you tell me you are coming?"
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise." Kuniko laughed. "It is good to see that gaping look of yours, just like a goldfish."
"Oh do shut up!" Akari said again slapping her playfully.
"I like her." Itoe said pointing at Kuniko.
"Don't everyone?" Akari smiled bringing Kuniko to the guests' room of the inn.
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The GO salon was rather quiet since Touya had stopped talking to any of his guests. Ichikawa, who was serving tea to the customers, looked rather worriedly at Touya who was laying out the GO stones on his usual Go board. He did not once acknowledge anyone. She walked over to pour more tea for him.
"Akira-kun, you hardly talk to anyone for almost a month now." Ichikawa said worriedly. "Sometimes, it is good to talk to someone since it will help alleviating any hard feeling you have inside."
"I am alright, Ichikawa-san." Touya replied without looking up. "I am just trying to focus on GO for now and nothing else."
Ichikawa raised her eyebrows worriedly before she sighed softly and turned away. It had been Touya's very frequent pass time since Akari left, playing Go by himself. On the days that he did not have games, he lay out stones on the board and played games after games. He only went home when the salon closed at night. However, to Ichikawa's surprise, Touya stood up after clearing the stones away early that evening.
"Akira-kun?"
"Shindou said he is coming over to my house today." Touya said. "I should get going."
"Oh," Ichikawa answered meekly passing Touya his jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
Touya merely nodded before he stalked out the salon and waited for the lift. When the lift door opened, he was greeted by Yuii standing inside, looking hopefully at him. He sighed rather tiredly. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that Yuii would disappear when he opened his eyes again; but to his disappointment, Yuii still stood in front of him.
"What is it, Sugisa?" Touya asked but turned away from the lift.
Yuii quickly stepped out the lift and followed Touya who headed for the stairs instead.
"I told you that I don't want to be with you!"
"But I just want to explain…"
"You already did." Touya answered tiredly. "I really don't want to go through this again."
"Akira, I was hoping that we can still, you know, patch things up," Yuii touched his arm gently but Touya jerked away and he descended the steps in more hurried paces. "Akira, please listen, you know I don't beg and I am begging you now."
"It wouldn't work, Sugisa." Touya replied not once looking at her as he stepped out of the building into the cold winter air. "I love Akari now and, besides, the feelings I had for you were never as strong as the ones I have for Akari. Now, please leave. I really appreciate if you just leave me alone."
Yuii was silent for a moment which made Touya turned slightly to look at her. She looked sad but there were no tears. As soon as his eyes lay on her face, he looked away again. He really didn't want her to harvest any hope about reviving their relationship. He was just curious why a sudden lost of words from her.
"Alright," Yuii pursed up tensely and stopped walking next to Touya. "Sayonara!"
With that, she turned away and ran off. Touya didn't even bother to turn around as he continued walking down the street without caring why she said that. He only turned when he heard tires of a vehicle screeched in a rather alarming way and then there were screams from the people on the sidewalk. Touya saw a small group crowded around a car stopped in the middle of the street.
Having a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, Touya walked over to the crowd and he saw Yuii sprawling on the street unconsciously with a deep gash on her forehead where blood was flowing out in a quite alarming rate.
Touya, who wasn't heartless, knelt down next to her and looked up towards the curious crowd. Everyone was only standing there looking but no one bothered to help. Swiftly, Touya took out his handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around Yuii's wound to stop the bleeding before he stood up again.
"Do you know her?" A man rushed out from the car anxiously. "She just ran out into the street and there was not enough time for me to brake!"
"No, I don't know her. Had you called the ambulance yet?" Touya replied rather nonchalantly.
"Yes, I had called the ambulance to bring her to the public hospital." The driver said rather worriedly. "I hope they come soon."
Touya nodded slightly to the driver before walking away from Yuii. She didn't need to know that he had helped her. He didn't want her to misunderstand his intention. He helped her because he didn't want anyone to die even she had made his life so miserable. Since Touya was not a mean person, he would even help a stranger if they were in need, not to mention that Yuii was his ex fiancée who was in the verge of death.
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Music was blaring and the girls were chatting on top of their voices and choosing music out from the television, with microphones in each their hand. Akari moved the remote in her hand out of Kuniko's reach when they were arguing on a song to sing. Both of them sat comfortably on the couch with some crackers and drinks on the table in the Karaoke room.
"I am your guest!" Kuniko pouted.
"And you had chosen the last three songs of your liking!" Akari retorted. "You forced me to Karaoke with you and now you forced me to sing your songs!"
"One more please, then I let you choose one." Kuniko gave Akari her puppy eyes.
"No…" Akari snapped. "I am not falling for that!"
"You are!" Kuniko giggled, snatching the remote away and Akari groaned. "Let see, ah… this song! Eternal Snow from Changing My Life!"
Akari stiffened at the song Kuniko had chosen.
"No," Akari quickly tried snatching the remote from her again. "Never, I am choosing this time!"
"What is wrong with the song?" Kuniko protested. "It is a beautiful love song, or you are scared of it!"
"I am not scared of it!" Akari huffed.
"Then why you suddenly went all stiff and annoyed."
"I did not."
"Did to." Kuniko retorted.
"Did not!"
"Did to, did to, did to…" Kuniko chatted in a sing song manner. "Sing the song or I will play this song for the rest of the day!"
"Ahhhhh!" Akari put her hands over her ears. "FINE!"
Akari prepared her microphone and stood up. Kuniko stood up along with her and the song started playing in the room. It was painful to listen to that song again because it brought back the bad memories of that night to her. Akari gave in because Kuniko could be rather demanding sometimes and when she said she would play the song the whole day to annoy her, she meant it. It was better to get over this now than listening to it for the rest of the day.
"Kimi wo suki ni natte Dorekurai tatsu no kaNA?" Akari sang, with her voice filled with emotions. (I'm falling in love with you, and which will come to pass?)
"Kimochi Fukurande yuku bakari de" Kuniko joined in with her but Akari pushed her away angrily because of what she was trying to do to her. (Will the feeling do nothing but swell, or)
"Kimi wa Kono omoi kidzuiteiru no kana?" Kuniko pushed her back as they sang together. "Ichido mo kotoba ni wa Shitenai kedo" (Will you notice it Even though I've never said anything?)
They continued singing, still pushing one another playfully. Akari couldn't help but think about Touya and how much she had missed him all this time. Every time she did, the picture of Yuii and him together would materialize in her head and Akari tried her best to push them out of her mind.
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The silence in the house was overwhelming while the two rivals continued in a Go match. The only sound was the stones hitting the goban. Other than that, maybe the distant sounds of the bamboo hitting the stone as the water flow into the pond in the large garden.
However, Hikaru who was getting tired of the still and quiet atmosphere cleared his throat and spoke uncertainly.
"You looked rather tense Touya, something a matter."
Only receiving a silence from his rival, Hikaru pouted his lips slightly but continued playing the game and gave up from trying making conversation. Maybe, after another few minutes passed, Touya finally spoke.
"I saw Sugisa today again."
Hikaru looked up from the goban with wide eyes.
"She got into a car accident. She ran into the street and was knocked down by a car."
"Are you planning to go visit her?"
"I really don't know." Touya answered stiffly.
Hikaru sighed. The days for Touya weren't exactly pleasant ever since Akari left. He wished with all his heart that Akari will come back soon or maybe Kuniko may be able to bring Akari back with her from wherever she went.
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At the skiing inn, Kuniko was having a great time. She needed a rest from work after breaking the hardest case she had. Leisure in Akari's traditional inn was the best relaxation she ever had. After dinner with Akari's relatives, both of them retreated to the onsen to have a nice hot bath. Kuniko lied back on the stone surroundings and sighed with pleasure.
"Your cousins are really funny." Kuniko said closing her eyes.
"Yeah," Akari twisted her tired arm around, trying to loosen the tense muscle. "They are really talkative just like oneechan."
"You were too," Kuniko opened her eyes and looked at Akari. "You only became quiet after what happened."
"I don't know what you are talking about." Akari mumbled.
"Are you planning to stay here forever?" Kuniko asked exasperatedly.
"I might."
"But Tou…"
"Please don't mention him." Akari shut her eyes. "I just want to forget!"
"You are not trying to solve anything Akari-chan!" Kuniko snapped angrily. "Touya-kun still loves you. Why can't you see him and talk to him. He has things he wanted to explain."
"Maybe I don't have any thing to talk about, Kuniko-chan!" Akari cried.
There was a pause while both of them glared at one another before Kuniko lied back on the stone again and sighed. This time was out of frustration.
"Please don't do that avoiding dance again, Akari-chan." Kuniko said softly, her eyes still close. "You gave me an advice that if I find the right person, goes for it! What is there to loose when someone like Touya-kun loves you so much?"
Akari was silence as she stared into a distance while her hand snaked towards her neck and clutched onto a snowflake pendant, a gift from Touya. She couldn't make herself to take it off. She had worn the necklace ever since Touya put it around her neck. She just needed some time to consider… he loves her so much. But she had no idea how much she loves him back.
TBC
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Next chapter will be coming up soon! Lets see how Touya and Akari will meet again ;) I will try to put it up ASAP!
Thank you for reading.