Disclaimer: All characters and specifics of "Hikaru no Go" are copyrighted Hotta Yumi, Obata Takeshi, Shueisha and Studio Pierrot. All rights reserved. This fanfiction is property of Shikami Yamino and is not intended for any monetary purpose nor an infringement of copyright laws. No one is to post/host/use any aspect of this fanfic without explicit permission from the author.
Notes: *blinks* I don't usually churn out parts this fast... *cringe* those damned muses always work overtime when they know that I have assessments coming up... ^^;; Thanks to everybody for their reviews!!
Hikaru no Go: "Blind Descent"
by Shikami Yamino
Part 2 - Of Conversations and Apartments
It was already dark by the time the two young men made it onto a train that would take them home.
Stripping off his tie, Hikaru let out a tired sigh as he leaned against a vacant wall in the empty carriage. "The explanations for that game took forever!"
Even Akira looked slightly drained, lightly holding onto a pole for balance. "Muramaki-san probably would have dragged it on longer if they didn't have to usher all the people out of the hall and end the convention."
Hikaru snorts. "Yeah... we probably would have been there till midnight. I think my cheeks are sore from standing up there and smiling so much."
At that, Akira cracked a small smile and was promptly painfully reminded of how sore his own cheeks were.
Looking up at just the right moment, Hikaru caught Akira's controlled wince and tried to stop himself from grinning to spare his own cheeks. Needless to say, he failed miserably and his accompanying noise of pain set Akira off until both were laughing off the stress of a long day.
Finally getting himself under control, Akira's eyes glinted his amusement as he watched Hikaru rub his cheeks to loosen the muscles. "It was a good game though."
"Uh-huh," Hikaru agreed. "Probably one of the best we've played." Here, he inserted a playful glare. "Expect to be creamed the next time we play though."
Akira smirked. It had been a narrow win of half a moku, but a win nonetheless. Although their record of games played both professionally and privately against each other still stood in Akira's favor, he had no doubts that the gap would someday soon become non-existent.
Hikaru's stomach chose that moment to announce its displeasure at still being empty at such a late hour. Smiling sheepishly, Hikaru tried to remember if there were still a few packages of instant ramen in his cupboards. "I hope there's still instant ramen left from last week's groceries..."
"You have an unhealthy obsession with ramen, instant or otherwise."
In a stunning display of maturity, Hikaru stuck out his tongue at the other boy. "There's nothing wrong with liking instant ramen."
"Except for the fact that you've been living on your own for eight months now and you still can't cook anything more complicated than toast without setting off your fire alarms."
Reddening, Hikaru protested, "That was just once!!"
Akira snickered. A few years of steady friendship had caused the laughter and good humour to come easier to him. And baiting Hikaru was going to be a habit, acquired strangely enough from Waya, that he wouldn't tire of anytime soon. "The only reason it hasn't happened again, is because you've never tried cooking again and your mother has been bringing over proper food every now and then for you to heat up."
"Hey! Shut up!"
Chuckling at Hikaru's red face, Akira decided to be kind and let it go. For now. "At least it's your weekend at your parents' house tomorrow."
"Yeah... proper food..." Hikaru grinned and Akira could almost see thoughts of homemade ramen dancing above his friend's head.
Hikaru had an interesting arrangement with his parents as a condition of his moving out. Being the only child, he had been his mother's little boy, and she had been extremely reluctant in allowing him to move out into his own apartment. As a trade-off, Hikaru had agreed to spend one non-game weekend a month at his parents' house to keep his mother company. In Akira's opinion however, it probably wasn't so much that he could keep his mother company but that his mother wanted to check up on him. Which had good reason given Hikaru's distinct lack of domestic skills in the food department.
Akira on the other hand, had always been independent as a result of his father's career as a pro go player. As his mother tended to accompany his father on his away matches, Akira had learnt from a young age how to fend for himself when his parents were out. So while they had been reluctant to see him move out of their family home, they had understood that with his father spending so much time playing Go in China, Akira would be spending the majority of his time at home by himself in any case. Thus, they had fully supported him when he had decided to exercise his independence and moved into a small but comfortable apartment.
Overhead, the announcement of their station was made, shaking both young men from their thoughts. As the train cruised to a stop, both tucked their hands into their jacket pockets to protect them from the evening chill and made their way out of the station.
"How are your parents? Heard from them recently?" Hikaru asked, always curious about the former Meijin's life. Needless to say, no matter how much Akira said his father was enjoying life after retirement, a small measure of guilt still lingered in Hikaru's mind about the bet that had caused such a major uproar in the go world.
"They're fine. I received a letter from them a few days ago. Otou-san won another of his matches with the Beijing team, and Okaa-san says she's never seen him so lively and contented." Akira smiled to himself. "She says retirement is good for him, and from what I've seen I have to agree."
Lifting his head to gaze at the stars, Hikaru allowed himself a small grin. "That's good to hear."
Akira darted a look at his companion out of the corner of his eye but refrained from saying anything. Hikaru still owed him an explanation about Sai, but he was content to wait until Hikaru was ready, knowing from experience that there was only so far one could push Shindou Hikaru before he started pushing back.
Climbing the stairs to their apartment block, both went through the familiar motions of getting in the elevator and punching the button for the fifth floor. When the elevator doors opened, the two pros parted ways with a friendly wave and smile, and headed for their separate apartments.
It had been a pure coincidence that both had ended up moving out of their family homes around the same time. It had been even more of a coincidence that they had both ended up in the same newly constructed apartment block and on the same floor.
Letting himself into his apartment and heading straight for the shower, Hikaru never failed to be amused at the memory of his moving day.
~~
He and his mother had arrived on the scene much earlier than the moving trucks that had to cope with Tokyo morning traffic. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they wandered around getting a better feel for the area.
"It is awfully nice," Hikaru's mother had commented in a reassured yet grudging way. "Laundry room in the basement, convenience shops and the train station a short walk away."
Hikaru laughed. "That's why we picked this place, Kaa-san!"
His mother looked up into her son's excited face and wondered when he had gotten so tall with the amazement of a mother reluctant to believe that her little boy was growing up. Feeling him tuck his arm around hers, she let herself be dragged back to the building as the moving van pulled up.
For the first few minutes Hikaru stood back and watched as his mother waved and shouted instructions to the movers like a conductor would direct an orchestra. Then as they got on with their job, she tugged him up the stairs and insisted that he introduce himself to his neighbors.
To this, he was vehemently opposed. "Kaa-san!! We don't have to do this now!! There's probably no one home anyway, it's Monday morning!! Kaa-san!"
But his mother had been adamant. "Hikaru! You're going to be living by yourself. It's good to get to know the neighbors in case you or they ever need to help each other."
"Kaa-san~!!" Hikaru was almost going to resort to digging his feet into the floor in protest when one of the doors they had walked past opened and an extremely familiar face peeked out.
"Shindou...?"
Hikaru started and almost lost his balance. "Touya...! I thought you were still in Osaka!"
Akira was likewise shocked. "I just returned yesterday. What are you doing here?"
"Moving in..."
Hikaru's mother, on the other hand, was thrilled. "Touya-kun! What a pleasant surprise. Well..."
As his mother's voice faded into the background, Hikaru continued to stare uncomprehendingly at the appearance of his friend and rival for a moment longer before a small grin spread over his face, prompting an answering smile from Akira.
~~
It had turned out that Touya had moved in not a week before and then had been whisked off to an away match in Osaka, thus not giving him a chance to give anybody his new address or telephone number. Hikaru, in turn, had not wanted to spread the news of his moving out until he had in fact officially moved out, and so similarly had not given any of his friends *his* new address or telephone number.
Hikaru was still smiling when he stepped out of the bathroom, roughly toweling his hair. Rummaging around his closet, he tugged on a random t-shirt and a pair of jeans before padding barefoot into the kitchen to find something to eat.
After a few minutes of opening and shutting doors to his cupboards and his fridge, it was determined that there was, as he had feared, nothing to eat in his apartment apart from the peanut butter, jam and butter that he usually spread on his toast, and cans of soda and tea. Giving himself a mental whack on the head for forgetting to buy groceries again, Hikaru contemplated walking down to the convenience store to buy something before settling for the better option.
Shoving his feet into his slippers, he let himself out of his apartment and shuffled over to knock on a door slightly down the hallway.
When Akira opened the door in his t-shirt and pajama pants, an apron tossed over the front to indicate that he'd been cooking, to find a sheepish-looking Hikaru on his doorstep, he merely huffed in mild irritation. Nevertheless, he obligingly opened the door wider to let the other boy in.
After all, it wasn't as if it was the first time it had happened.
End Part 2... to be continued.
Author's Notes: Yet another background-setting part ^^;; but one that was extremely necessary -- living arrangements!! *L* I hope I didn't give anyone the impression that they were living together already ^_^ Though from my point of view, they might as well be... But then I'm a fangirl *grins* More action in the next part, with the beginnings of the actual plot... finally... *L*