Future
Chapter 9 -- The Inevitable Happens!
Hikaru grinned when he caught sight of the Touya residence, and as if fearing that the house would vanish if he didn't reach it in time, he broke into a run. He arrived at the door panting for breath and reached for the doorbell, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. /Touya'll never guess what I've got in store for him.../ he thought, humming a cheerful tune under his breath as he waited for someone to answer.
He didn't have to wait for long. Within seconds of ringing, he heard the click of the lock, and the door opened to reveal Touya Akira, looking rather flushed.
"Eh... Touya, what have you been doing?" Hikaru asked, caught off-guard by Touya's rosy complexion.
Touya merely shrugged and gestured for him to enter. When he failed to move, Touya softly asked, "Are you coming in?"
"Oh... yeah," Hikaru said, promptly stepping over the threshold.
"Take a seat, I'll be right out."
Hikaru didn't need a second invitation to make himself comfortable. Waiting patiently for Touya to return, he glanced around the room and realized for the first time just how neat and tidy everything was. Unlike his own place, a veritable pig sty, Touya's living room was free of both dust and clutter. Interesting, considering that Touya had been alone all the time his parents were away in China.
Hikaru was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Touya approaching, and he only looked up when the other boy took a seat opposite him.
"Oh, hey. So what have you been up to?" Hikaru asked.
"Nothing much," Touya answered nonchanlantly, placing a can of soda in front of Hikaru. "I was just cleaning up the house."
"Thanks!" Hikaru grabbed for the soda, and then asked, "Why the sudden urge to clean?"
"Well, it's just something to keep me busy."
"Oh. So what do you want to do today?"
"Other than playing go, you mean?" Touya asked, eyeing Hikaru critically.
Hikaru said nothing, but he grinned sheepishly. For a moment, Hikaru thought he saw Touya sigh, but he could have been mistaken. After all, not counting the occasional explosion during one of their after-game discussions, Touya rarely showed his reactions that easily.
"No idea. How about you?" Touya asked in return, before adding as an afterthought, "So long as it doesn't involve any Disney films."
Hikaru sighed. He'd been expecting Touya to turn down the Disney movie option, especially after what happened the last time. Touya had neither spoken a word nor cracked a smile throughout the entire thing, and that sucked all the fun out of it. How he managed to keep so perfectly silent during a comedy was beyond Hikaru.
"Well, I wasn't really thinking about watching anything today..." Hikaru said carefully, monitoring Touya's reaction from the corner of his eye.
Touya raised an eyebrow in question. "If it's not a video, what do you want to do then?"
Hikaru grinned sheepishly before pulling some board games from his backpack. Knowing that the traditional size of a usual board games wouldn't be able to fit into his backpack, he'd gotten some of the foldable, travel versions.
"Board games?" Touya eyed Hikaru incredulously. "If you want to play board games, why can't we just stick to go?" His face reddened as soon as the words left his mouth, clearly embarrassed by his own slip of tongue.
Hikaru's eyes widened. /He couldn't have just called go a board game/ he thought. Hikaru had made that mistake once, and Touya had nearly bitten his head off for it.
"No, it's different," said Hikaru, still in shock.
"How so? It's still a game, isn't it?" Touya countered, despite his flaming cheeks.
"But go's a job! We play it everyday. I just want to play a game that doesn't requires much thinking today."
"And?"
"And so we're playing The Game of Life!" Hikaru said cheerfully.
Touya stared, and Hikaru blinked. For a moment, Touya seemed about to say something, but then he closed his mouth and sighed in defeat.
"Fine. You win. We'll play The Game of Life today," Touya muttered, and Hikaru pumped a fist into the air.
He grinned in satisfaction as he spread the game out on the floor, and then handed the wheel to Touya for the first spin. Touya stared blankly down at the game for a moment before reaching for the wheel, resignation written all over his face. Hikaru took the opportunity to watch Touya discreetly, taking mental notes of his features.
He found himself wondering how Touya's complexion could be so pale in comparison to his own, especially since they were the same age and should, at least in theory, be spending plenty of time out under the sun. It couldn't be a simple matter of attire because he'd seen Akira wearing short sleeves on various occasions, including during school. Besides, that wouldn't have any effect on his face. Just how did he manage to stay so pale?
He decided to let the thought slide for the moment, wondering instead how he could have missed the way Touya frowned in concentration while playing any game, even one as simple as The Game of Life. It was amazing, and Hikaru became so engrossed in memorizing that expression that he lost track of the game.
It wasn't until he found himself the object of an unreadable, green-eyed stare that Hikaru realized it was his turn. Blushing crimson, he apologized for spacing out and made a grab for the wheel. In his haste, his hand brushed against Touya's, causing the other boy to jerk back as if burned. Hikaru felt a twinge of hurt at Touya's reaction, but he masked it with a sheepish grin.
"Sorry!" he said, though he knew it was stupid to apologize.
"Oh, it's fine. You don't have to apologize," said Touya. "You just startled me, that's all."
Hikaru shook his head ruefully. "No, it's my fault. It's all right if you're angry, especially since I'm the one who forced you to play, and now I'm not even paying attention, and..." Hikaru triled off, realizing he'd been rambling. He apologized yet again and starting packing the game back up. "You know, actually, I just remembered I've got something I need to do back at my place, so I'd better get going," he said, standing up and heading for the door.
He was stopped by Touya's hand, gripping his shoulder. When he turned back, he saw Touya looking strangely upset and immediately felt his own worries washed away by a wave of panic.
"Touya, what's wrong? Are you sick?" he asked, nearly tripping over himself in concern. "Is there anything you need? Anything I can do to help?"
Touya took a deep breath, his expression regaining its usual composure. "Shindou, get a grip on yourself," he said. Hikaru was about to protest, but Touya cut him off. "No, Shindou. I'm /fine/. I do not need to see a doctor because I am not sick. I only need you to be quiet and pay attention to what I'm going to say next!"
"Oh," said Hikaru, feeling stupid and mentally berating himself for always jumping to conclusions. He forced himself to calm down and waited for Touya to speak again.
"First of all, I want to make it clear that I am not /mad/ at you. A little irritated maybe, but it's not enough to drive me over the edge."
Touya paused as if to organise his thoughts, and Hikaru's heart gave a little leap. /Maybe he's going to tell me why he'd been avoiding me/ he thought.
"The truth is... I've been thinking about a lot of things. Our relationship in particular."
"Well, that's easy. We're rivals, and we're friends too," Hikaru said, feeling relieved. He couldn't understand what Touya had been stressing out over.
"No, Hikaru," Touya said firmly, and a faint pink tinge rose to his cheeks. "It's not that simple."
Hikaru blinked, registering belatedly that Touya had used his given name. He might have done a quick victory dance, but he was too busy trying to work out Touya's meaning.
"Rivals don't get personally involved, and friends don't blow up at each other over simple things. So what exactly are we, Shindou?" Touya asked, his eyes questioning and confused.
Hikaru could only stare at him, speechless. He'd always just taken their relationship for granted, so he had no idea Touya had been giving it such deep thought. Now faced with the question, he wasn't sure he had an answer. It's not that he was completely oblivious to the tangle between them--after all, Waya and Isumi had pointed it out more times than he cared to remember--but he'd always chosen to look away and change the subject rather than face it head on.
Hikaru knew he'd have to face reality sooner or later, but he had no idea /how/. Completely at a loss, he did the exact opposite and bolted for the door, ignoring Touya's desperate pleas for him to stay. He chose to run, to hide from reality. Not daring to look back, for fear of what he'd see in those intense green eyes, he fled into the night.
to be continued
date started: 23/08/05
date completed: 23/08/05
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