DiScLaImEr- I don't own these wonderful, lovable characters. Wish I did. Anywho. Enjoy the fic!
pRoLoGuE…
It was an ordinary day for Touya, Akira as he started to make his way out of the Go Institute. He'd just finished a game, a win in his favor, and even more important… it had been an interesting game. It hadn't been as challenging as if he'd been playing Shindo but it had allowed him to struggle at certain points and because of it, grow. It made him content. And with that tired but happy mindset, he was on his way to his father's go salon where he would either end up tutoring the regulars, play a game with Shindo that would frustrate him as much as it would awaken in him a deeper passion, or he would end doing the pile of homework that he still needed to finish. His mind juggled the three future prospects, analyzing which would actually occur or more likely the order in which all three occurred. A small smile graced his pale and mature features now that he was free of the judging looks that usually surrounded him 24/7. The further his footsteps took him, the more his muscles around his neck and shoulders loosened. He never actually realized how tense he was, how much pressure was on his shoulders until he left it behind. His black, shoulder length hair waved gently to and fro in rhythm with his long strides.
He did not have any feelings of fear. He saw no reason for the emotion on such a day.
And yet…
In a split second his perspective changed. In that split second, his whole world froze. It suddenly became focused on the flash of warmth, hardness-- a violent shove that sent him into the road with the upcoming traffic. He didn't hear the shouts.
Akira was too busy trying to get his mind to catch up with his body.
He didn't hear the squeals of tires.
Akira's body was already reacting, twisting away in a desperate move to flee from what it instinctively knew meant danger.
He didn't hear the sound his body made when the car connected.
He didn't even feel pain right away.
In a split second…everything had gone and crashed.
"Hey watch it!" Waya shouted at the back of the stranger that had nearly plowed through Shindo. It had only been because of Waya's quick reaction, grabbing the younger boy by the back of his t-shirt that had kept Shindo from getting stepped on by that asshole. Waya fumed; hand still tight on the white cotton fabric. "What an ass!" He grumbled angrily, finally loosening his hold. Isumi made a noise that was meant to be pacifying. "Che… and they say it's our generation that has the rudeness problems." He stuffed his hands deep in his pocket and gave their surroundings a black look. It was a warning to others to keep a distance from him and his friends. Come too close again like that rude fucker and Waya would definitely not just politely tell the other person off. He'd teach them a lesson in manners instead.
"Waya!" Shindo moaned. The boy had his hands to his throat, rubbing at it gingerly. "That hurt!"
"You're welcome. Don't mention it, Shindo. Next time I'll let strangers push you around." The redhead scowled at the younger boy only to have those large grey-green eyes look right past him, ignoring him quite bluntly.
"…what was his problem anyway?" The words were curious, not angry, not concerned. But in the next second, that changed too. Waya had never heard the other boy scream like that before. And if he had a choice in the matter he wouldn't ever again. "TOUYA!" He nearly put his hands out to stop the blond-black haired teen from running forward. But Waya never got the chance to react properly and he was left blinking at the empty air that before Shindo had been standing in. And hearing Isumi make a noise that just…Waya just couldn't categorize, couldn't process. He just blinked and then turned around slowly as his other friend started to run forward. Strangely enough, it was Hikaru's scream and Isumi's choked up sound that he could hear. He did not hear anything else. And later, much later this absence of sound would disturb him along with the fragmented images.
Touya, Akira…
Car…
Broken glass…
Asphalt…
Blood…
Shindo…crying…crying…oh my god…
With trembling limbs, he ran over. All the sounds in the world were drowned out from the sound of rushing blood in his ears. He felt dizzy, nauseous and strangely disconnected as he knelt down in front of the stopped car. The pale face who was currently immobile and was that blood? That was not Touya. That was not him. Touya was… Touya is… untouchable.
The image faded in and out, in and out, in and out and it was a surprise to feel warm liquid running down his face and hands grabbing him up and away from the boy that could not be Touya, Akira.
"…l right…" Sound came back as he struggled against the hold. There were people moving Touya. They were… "…all right…" Slowly. "It'll be all right." And then the sound was suddenly sharp and harsh to his ears. He felt overly sensitive and he flinched. All right? "Your friend will be all right." Friend? Waya felt the inane urge to start laughing hysterically. Who the hell would ever call Touya, Akira his friend? "He'll be all right. But you need to let us do our work. Come…" The warm and strong hands were pulling him further away. He stopped struggling and became limp. "That's it." The curb was suddenly touching the back of his shoes. He was pushed down and he sat, like a puppet whose strings were cut. A warm, trembling mass was placed by him. "Did you see what happened?" The calm voice began again, soothing, and monotone. It cut through the haze, the soundless cloud. Waya shook his head.
"…no…" He closed his eyes.
"…t-the m-ma-an…." Was that Shindo's voice?
"What man?"
"…ushed 'im… p-pushed 'im right off…a-and… the c-c-car…"
"A man pushed your friend onto the road." Oh god. He didn't hear Shindo's answer. He didn't need to. He felt his stomach heave. "What's your friend's name?"
"Touya, Akira." Isumi. Isumi's voice answered when Shindo's voice was overtaken by crying.
"Do you know how we can get in contact with his parents or primary care taker?"
"The Go Institute will have all the necessary information, I think." Waya looked at Isumi, wide-eyed. How could he be so calm?
"Go Institute?"
The world became silent once more. And Waya was thankful.
Hikaru had seen it all happen. He'd seen it. And all he wanted now was to press pause on Time, rewind it, and tape over it… change the scene. Make it so it had never happened. This was not supposed to happen. Not to Touya, not to anyone… but especially not to Touya. He rubbed at his eyes before going back to staring blankly ahead of him.
They'd been allowed to come to the hospital.
Probably because Waya and he had been showing symptoms of shock. Or whatever.
He shivered.
Once they'd been cleared, the cops had been there to take their statements.
What had happened? What did you see? What did the man look like? Could they recognize him if they saw the man again? Were they sure that the man had pushed Touya? Did they know of any people who might have a reason to hurt Touya? Did Touya have any enemies? Was Touya depressed? Had his behavior changed recently?
Hikaru's brain seemed stuck on the flashes of memory… some were horribly clear, others were fuzzy. The fuzzy ones were the ones the police were interested with. They had left after several hours, asking them to call them if they remembered anything pertinent. Hikaru breathed hard through his nose. His mother was watching him anxiously. She had tried touching him earlier, no doubt to provide him comfort but he'd shrugged it off. It had been too much, too soon. And he felt that if he had stayed in her warm embrace he would have lost the little control that he had managed to scrape up. But having her near did make him feel better. His knee touched hers and that was more than enough for now. She did not fuss, which was surprising. She did not even ask him to leave the hospital. Instead she waited with him for news on Touya.
He'd been brought to the ER hours ago, with Ogata-san following minutes behind. Apparently, Touya's parents were in China still. That thought had overwhelmed Hikaru with guilt.
His fault.
Waya was on Hikaru's other side, talking quietly to Isumi who had finally shown the strain of the event when Ogata-san had come and relieved the older boy from being the responsible one.
All three had been told that they could go home, that they would be called the minute news was received… they all had chosen to stay.
Ogata-san suddenly came out from wherever he'd been in. His suit still impeccable, he marched straight up to them. His eyes seem to focus and hold Hikaru's gaze only.
"Touya…is fine. He is mildly concussed and his left leg was fractured in multiple places. The surgery on his leg was successful. He was very lucky."
Lucky?
Hikaru would have screamed, would have danced, would have done a great many things.
Instead he turned around to finally accept his mother's embrace and started to cry. It didn't matter anyway if he didn't cheer. Waya was cheering enough for the both of them and more!
It wasn't Touya who was lucky. They were all lucky.
They hadn't lost him.
They hadn't lost Touya.
To be continued…