A/N: Ha! Got it done. Hope ya all love this one too. I really liked writing this chapter. It was fun to get into the mind of Akira. Poor little angsty thing. –chuckles evilly- bad me.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nope. I can dream can't I? Wish it were mine. Star light, star bright, make my wish come true tonight… I want to own Hikaru no Go… I can't have it. –cries- you're so mean!

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Chapter 5: Of Akira and Questions

Touya Akira was impatient. The person he got stuck playing was the type to spend all of his minutes thinking. He glanced over at Shindou and nearly let out a snarl when he saw him get up. Shindou was done with his game. Akira had been hoping to end his game quick enough so he could catch Shindou and talk to him.

Ever since that game a week ago, Shindou had been avoiding him. It was especially frustrating because he didn't know what he did to deserve being avoided. When he'd thought that today he'd be able to talk to him, Shindou showed up late, effectively killing that plan.

His opponent moved and Akira was right behind him. This person was annoyingly slow, even if Akira had all the time in the world.

He turned his attention back to Shindou and saw that he was up at the table. That friend of his never left his side. The man leaned down and must have said something because Shindou turned and looked at Akira. Akira was confused when he saw the blush stain Shindou's cheeks.

By some unspoken thought, Shindou's friend moved to block him from Akira's view. The frustration rose up in Akira again. This was annoying. He used his friend to hide him from Akira. He nearly let out a scream but quickly composed himself. Only Shindou could invoke these feelings within him.

His opponent finally moved and Akira was right behind him again. When he looked back over to the table, Shindou was gone. Akira clenched his hand into a fist and began thinking. What was it about Shindou that made him lose his cool? Why him? Why not someone else?

These questions, he'd been asking for the last few years with no answers. He'd lain awake at night trying to figure these questions out. A week ago, more questions arose with the appearance of Shindou's friend. Why would Shindou run out after Akira had said he could see him? Who was he? What was he doing following Shindou around? Is this jealousy? Why?

He tossed and turned every night that week without getting any closer to any answers. His opponent went again and Akira placed a stone. It was getting closer to the end of the game. Soon his opponent would be able to see the end game just as he did. Soon he'd be able to get answers to his endless questions.

Fifteen minutes later saw him cleaning up the stones and the other person crying. Akira stood up and left without a glance behind him. There was a reason why people called him cold. But he wasn't cold and only Shindou knew that.

He walked up to the table. The man behind the table gave Akira a warm smile.

"So you won eh Touya-kun?" He knew Akira was nearly unbeatable.

"Aa. Ishidara-san? Shindou won his match right?" Ishidara nodded. "Would you happen to know who his friend was?"

"His friend?" Ishidara gave Akira a confused look.

"Yes. The one following behind him. The tall one with the weird outfit." This conversation was confusing Akira.

"I saw no one with Shindou-kun. I would have noticed if he was wearing an odd outfit." Ishidara smiled patiently. "You must have been seeing things."

"No, I…" Akira cut off his own sentence. Something didn't make sense here.

Without another word, Akira turned and left. He walked to the train station and caught the train home. He didn't even notice the time pass by. Before he knew it, he was walking in the front door of his house. He was taking off his shoes, still deep in thought, when he felt something on his shoulder. He jumped. His mothers' warm smile greeted him.

"I said 'welcome home' but you must have missed it." She stated.

"Sorry Mother. I was thinking about something."

"I can see that." There was amusement in her eyes. "Your father wants to talk to you." She said kindly. "He's in the Go room."

"Thank you Mother." Akira dutifully said.

She nodded and Akira walked to the Go room. He knocked softly on the door and was gained admittance. He walked in and sat at the goban in front of his father. He picked up the white stones and placed a stone. Not talking, his father placed a black stone. Akira countered and placed another stone.

Fifteen stones later, his father finally spoke.

"You're worrying your mother. She told me that you're not sleeping well. It's showing in your matches as well. I've noticed."

Akira's back stiffened. "It's fine, Father. It's my problem and I will work it out." He placed a stone to attack his fathers' on a part of the board.

The elder Touya looked long and hard at his son. "It has something to do with that Shindou kid, doesn't it?" He stated. He placed a stone that counterattacked his son's.

Akira's hands clenched into fists. "Perhaps." He placed a stone that balanced the counterattack. Akira knew that he needed to do something to get the lead from his father.

Suddenly, his father put his arms into his sleeves and leaned back. "You've been chasing after him for the past six or so years. You've been rivals for three years and the last three you've been very good friends. From what I hear, neither of you hang out with girls your age nor do you talk to many." He attacked one of Akira's weak points.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Akira demanded lightly, placing a stone to weaken his fathers attack.

"You're eighteen now, my son. You should be hanging out with girls your own age, dating them, flirting with them. You do none of that. Any flirts you have, you've wasted on Shindou." He placed a stone that attacked another one of his. He was on a roll. Akira couldn't see the end game but he knew he was losing badly.

"Girls are so annoying. I can't stand when they come to my table and drool all over me. They don't pay attention to the game I'm explaining or anything. It's like they didn't even come to my table for help with their game. I couldn't stand someone like that." He explained placing a stone to hopefully hold off his father's merciless attacks.

"Then what about some of the girl pros. I believe there are several that passed the last few years that have their sights on you. They know how to play and they're good looking." He placed a stone, mind only half on the game.

Akira's lips thinned. "None of them appeal to me. They're not interesting. None of them see me for who I am. All they see is the son of the former Meijin, brilliant at the game of Go and coldhearted to nearly everyone. Only Shindou has seen me as me. Brilliant Go player and teenager. He sees me as a person. No one else sees me like that. He can see my heart that's just like his. He knows me just as I know him. That's all there is to it." He placed a stone and then his hand froze when he realized what he'd just said.

His father smiled evilly. "There you go." He placed the deciding stone that won him the game. "There's the answer to your questions."

Akira's hand was still frozen over the board. He'd just said… His eyes darted to his fathers'. Able to move his hand now, he placed it over his aching heart and looked down at it.

"I…" He couldn't finish his own sentence.

His father seemed to understand. "Yes, I believe you're in love with Shindou." His eyes danced as he cleared the board.

Akira jumped at the word 'love'. "Love? He's a boy. I'm a boy. He's just my rival." As soon as he said it, he knew it was a weak word.

Touya Koyo sighed, the frown back on his face. "Yes, you are both boys. He is your rival for sure. He will one day be as good as you if not better. Your mother and I have talked about this and we cannot stop loving you no matter what you chose. We'd be a lot happier and much more comfortable if you'd chosen a nice girl to settle down with but I don't think that's ever going to happen. I can see the end of this game just as I could see the end of that game." He gestured to the board. "All we can do is wish you happiness and luck."

Akira looked down at his hands, refusing to cry. He'd never cried and he refused to start now. "I- I don't know what to say."

"Say you accept our decision and be glad about it." He said gruffly. "I've already been angry about this and have gotten over it." He stopped for a moment and then went on. "By the way, your mother and I are considering moving to China for a few years. Their professional players are amazing and just a could of weeks does not satisfy me.

"What!" Akira exclaimed, shock heavy in his voice. "When did you decide this?"

"Calm down Akira." He sighed. "A long time ago. We didn't want to leave because we knew you wouldn't. Now that you're eighteen, we can go do whatever we want to. We can travel to China, Korea and America. We'll leave the house for you or you can move out. We don't really care. It's up to you to decide. You're an adult now. Start acting like it." With that he got up and left the room.

Alone, the thoughts in his head kept going around and around. In love with Shindou? How could that be possible? Was it true?

He thought back to his conversation with his dad and grudgingly agreed that it was probably true. He knew the other boy as well as the back of his hand. He knew who Shindou was and wasn't playing, when, how and why. He knew when Shindou won and lost and not just because he asked. He knew the other boy's facial expressions well. He could tell when the other was frustrated and when the other was excited even though it was near impossible to tell when he had his game face on.

When Shindou's friend started hanging out with him, Akira had actually got jealous. He was sure Shindou's friend could see it written all over his face. That was embarrassing. He now knew what he felt toward the other boy. It was as clear as a cloudless day.

With that thought, another popped into his head. Before Shindou was alienating him, he'd mentioned that he was thinking about moving out. Perhaps things would make more sense if they lived together. Akira decided that it wouldn't hurt to at least ask.

He got up and walked out of the room. His father was nowhere to be seen which wasn't unusual. He bid his mother a quick good-bye and rushed out of the house. He called Shindou's house while at the train station. He was told that he wasn't home and mentioned going to an internet café after his matches. He politely thanked the woman, probably Shindou's mother, and thought about where to go. He then remembered the café he'd caught Shindou in that one time all those years ago. He still remembered where it was.

He grabbed the train, all the while thinking of how to ask Shindou about living together. He would figure something out on the way there. He just had to. His life depended on it. Resolutely, he stepped off of the train and walked out of the station. He walked around the corner and bumped into someone. Breathlessly, he apologized to whoever he bumped into and looked up to meet the bright green eyes of Shindou Hikaru, the person who held onto his heart, the person he'd been looking for.