Ch. 3

Goodnight and Good-morning

The group of friends had gone their separate ways finally as more than one stomach started to make it plain to the entire world that it was dinner time. Akira unlocked the door to their apartment and opened it wide, letting Hikaru who was carrying a tired looking Yoko inside. Thank god for Isumi-san, Akira thought with pure gratefulness. The older go player had spent some time playing games of tag and hide-and-go seek with the little girl and generally exhausting her from that boundless energy kids ran on these days.

"I'll make dinner." Akira offered quietly. Hikaru's grateful look that was given over his shoulder spoke louder than any word he could have said. "What exactly is she allowed to eat, Hikaru?" He asked as he made his way into the kitchen. Hikaru followed, the little girl still in his arms.

"Uhm… I think Akari must've left a list of some sort…" He said not so helpfully. Akira sighed, suddenly realizing how tired he was as well. He bit off a yawn that was coming to his lips.

"Did you throw away all the baby food that Akari prepared for Yoko?" At Hikaru's shake of the head, Akira felt relief come flooding in. "Oh good." Hikaru looked perplexed and shifted the little girl onto his other arm. At being moved, the little girl rose her head off her godfather's shoulder and rubbed at her eyes. A clear indication of how tired she really was. "I think it would be best to just reheat one of those. Feed her and then put her to bed. If we wait too long than she'll be cranky." Hikaru blinked.

"I thought you didn't know about children 'Kira." Akira opened the fridge and looked at the other go player for a moment before answering to that comment.

"I don't." He finally stated. "Its just common sense…" He paused as he searched for one of the tuppa-ware. "Plus, its how you are as well." The slight teasing brought a smile to Hikaru's face.

"Very funny, 'Kira… very funny." Akira just smiled and went about trying to find something that would be quick and easy to prepare for him and Hikaru after having placed the Yoko's food in the microwave.

The dinner was not a rerun of the event that had taken place during lunch. Instead it was quiet save for the sound of a tired child who could now care less as to what kind of food was being presented to her. Yoko was currently turning her head away from the offered spoonful of orange mush. "No no no!" She said stubbornly.

"You have to eat Yoko!" Hikaru persisted. "Do you want the plane? Or the train?" Akira raised an eyebrow at that but chose not to question as it must have been the name of a technique used to making the girl eat. The girl shook her head.

"Leave her Hikaru." Akira stated finally.

"But she's only eaten like… five spoonfuls." Hikaru protested, still letting the spoon linger in the air near the little girl.

"And apparently that's enough for now. She won't let herself starve." Akira pointed out gently. "What she doesn't eat now she'll eat tomorrow…" He flinched at the words recognizing them as something his father or mother would say. He suddenly felt very old. Eh. Hikaru still looked worried.

"At least one more spoonful?" He asked hopefully.

"NO!" Yoko pouted and placed her two little hands in front of her mouth.

"Right…" Akira sighed. "Then bedtime." The little girl looked to him and waited patiently enough for the bib to be taken off. Once in his arms, Yoko's head went to rest in the crook of his neck. "Is the bed ready?" A second later. "Where is the bed Hikaru?" At the sudden note of concern in his lover's voice, Hikaru grinned.

"Relax Akira. I placed it near the couch."

"Oh." He started over there with Hikaru close at his heels with the diaper bag. At the edge of the couch was indeed the little girl's bed. Hikaru kneeled and began to search for the pjs. Finding them a few minutes later he gave an innocent pleading look to Akira who chose to ignore it.

"'Kira… I'll wake her up if I do it…" Akira closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"You're lucky she's an innocent child Hikaru and that Akari expects to get her back in one piece." He carefully placed the two year old on Hikaru's current make shift bed and started to slowly remove the clothes. "Diaper needs to be changed as well doesn't it?" Akira asked in a voice that sounded like a man who knew he was doomed.

"Yeah." Hikaru passed him the diaper.

"God help me."

It was a first in their apartment that night that the dishes were not done after dinner. Afraid that it would wake the sleeping little girl, they were left to dry on the dinner table. With the lights switched off, Akira slowly began making his way into his room. Hikaru followed him or started to but was stopped gently. At Akira's pointed glare, Hikaru visibly wilted.

"You were serious?" He pouted. The taller of the two gave a small smile and bent down to kiss the other on the forehead.

"Goodnight Hikaru." Hikaru sighed.

"Goodnight Akira."

An hour later, Hikaru got off the couch and stretched. He huffed a sigh and glanced at the closed bedroom door. He couldn't believe that Akira would actually make him sleep out here! He bit his lip and then made a decision. Akira would either be playing Go at the moment and reviewing kifu or he'd be asleep. If he was asleep than Hikaru would have no trouble sneaking in…it was perfect. All he had to do was go and check.

Careful not to make a noise, he went and walked over to the door. He pressed his ear to its wooden surface and listened for the familiar "pachi" noise of go stones hitting the go board or even rustling paper. Hearing neither, he turned the doorknob. He was only slightly surprised to find Akira sleeping beside the go board, kifu around him with only their little desk light illuminating the room. He sighed fondly at the scene before going and very gently moving Akira to their bed. For someone who was taller than him, Akira was light. At any other time the reminder of how light the other man was would have made Hikaru frown but at the moment, Hikaru was grateful. He could carry Akira to bed without too much fuss. The taller man made a noise in his sleep but did not wake at being handled. It made Hikaru smile. Akira could be so cute at times.

Carefully he placed the covers over the other go player before sliding underneath them as well. Just as he was about to close his eyes and get some real sleep, Akira pulled Hikaru into the circle of his arms, surprising him. Hikaru snuggled into the embrace and felt warm inside.

It was with a happy smile that Hikaru fell asleep.

'The cry that resounded through their normally quiet apartment could not be human,' thought Akira as he sat up straight in bed going from deeply asleep to awake in a thundering heart beat. 'What the hell is that?' The cry came again and Akira was almost about to admit that he was terrified! And beside him, Hikaru slept on blissfully unaware.

"Wake up Hikaru." He nudged the other man roughly on the shoulder. The other go player made a face and pulled the covers over his head mumbling rather grumpily about shutting off alarm clocks and what not. "Idiot!" The noise continued in the background. If Akira had been slightly more awake or at least more coherent he would have put two and two together by now and would have realized that poor Yoko had awakened to a place and bed that she wasn't familiar with at all. But Akira even when woken up with fear, still needed time or a good cup of coffee to get his brain processing to work correctly. So he continued trying to wake up his lover and friend in hopes that the other would have an explanation for the noise.

"What 'Kira? It's too early…" Hikaru finally grumbled, ruffled head coming out from under the covers. His tired eyes looked over to the night table where the alarm clock rested, its glowing numbers casting an eerie sort of light. "Its not even 4 in the morning!" The piercing scream started up once again just as he ended his sentence. Hikaru's eyes widened. "What the…? That's Yoko!" The covers were pushed away in a rush and Akira just blinked as he watched the other man run out of the room.

"…Yoko?" Akira mumbled as he passed a hand through his mid-length hair. Something clicked in his mind suddenly. As it did, Hikaru came back, child in his arms. "Children…" Akira started, hand now covering his eyes. "…make noise that shouldn't be allowed, shouldn't exist…" It was Hikaru's turn to blink. In all actuality he'd been about to give the other man hell about leaving the poor child crying when he'd obviously been awake to hear her but now that he looked at Akira… really looked, he realized that the man hadn't been aware of what was going on at all. It made him smile and sigh at the same time.

"For someone who's a morning person… you really don't deal well with abrupt wake ups." Yoko sniffled and trembled in Hikaru's neck and it suddenly reminded him that it was rather cold outside of the blankets. "There, there Yoko. Nothing to be worried about. See even Uncle Akira is here and look at the big bed…" Akira blinked at the two that were making their way into the bed.

"You've got to be kidding me…" He whispered to no one in particular. He would have said more, maybe even tried to complain but Yoko started to ask for her mother in such a heart breaking voice that it just made Akira feel like he was the one in pain. But maybe he actually was. What a stressful ½ day and night already. And they were supposed to last for five more days? He fell back down limply on the bed.

"See Akira…" Hikaru continued soothing the little girl in mid-yawn. "You remember him." The bed shifted as Hikaru made his way cautiously under the covers. Yoko had been placed in the middle and looked as if she was about to start screaming and crying all over again at being let go. It made Akira want to hide somewhere. Maybe he could check into a hotel for the remainder of the little girl's stay… hmm… Just as the noise was about to start though, Akira lifted his head. The movement made his hair swing in the air and made the little girl pause. A small smile made its way on her chubby face. She placed her thumb in her mouth and with her other hand reached for Akira's hair. He lowered his head so that she could reach without tugging it. Anything for quiet. Anything to keep that noise from being reproduced.

The small fingers closed around a good handful of black hair. Akira sighed as he carefully rested his head back on his pillow in a way that the girl could still hold onto the hair and he could be comfortable. Hikaru just smiled.

And all was quiet.

It took only a couple minutes of Hikaru humming a lullaby for both Akira and Yoko to be fast asleep once again. And sleep wasn't far away from Hikaru either as he rubbed his heavy eyes. He glanced at the clock.

4:00 AM.

He closed his eyes.

At 4:50 AM Akira was woken up by someone giggling in his ear. He would have yelled at Hikaru for having woken him up but even with his mind so sleepy he knew… he knew that Hikaru did not sound like that. He groaned and opened one eye. What now?

The giggling sound was still close but more muffled. He lifted himself onto one elbow and blinked.

Yoko was poking her godfather's face.

"Up! Up!" The little girl was chanting. That boundless energy had been renewed. Akira closed his eyes. This could not be happening. Hikaru had a look that mirrored what Akira felt.

"Yoko it's too early." The bleached banged go player groaned. "You can't possible be…" The words were drowned by a yawn. "…awake now. Go back to sleep." The little girl looked at her godfather puzzled.

"Up." She stated again. "'Karu… 'ungry."

"I'm going to kill Akari." Hikaru hissed under his breath before throwing off the covers. The little girl eeped as the blankets flew. "Akira you go back to sleep. I'll take care of it." The other pronounced as he took the little girl into his arms. Akira sighed and wondered if he could actually fall back asleep after having two heart attacks one right after the other. He shook his head.

"I might as well go over some more kifu or…" He yawned and pushed away his hair from his face.

"It's only five in the morning." Hikaru muttered as he started to make his way out of the room. "You should relax."

"Hmm." Akira muttered in response. He ran his fingers through his hair and made a face at the tangles. Then with a heavy sigh, he made his way out of the bed and the wonderful warmth of being under the covers. He knelt down on the floor and picked up the kifu he'd been studying last night. He forced his tired eyes to focus on it.

"Ungry! Ungry!" The little girl's voice sang out. "Karu, ungry!" There was a clapping of hands that followed and Akira assumed it was due to the fact that she'd finally been given something to eat. Akira blinked. He was supposed to be focusing on the Kifu he was holding, damn it! Not on the noises that were taking place in the other room. He rubbed his eyes with one hand. Needed to focus. Needed to focus. Focus. Focus. That move right there… why had Ogata-sensei placed it there? Why had he attacked instead of defended? He brought the kifu closer to his nose as if closing the distance between his face and the paper would reveal the hidden answer. It was lost to him. "Aki." The little girl made the strangest noises and said the strangest things. "Aki." The little girl continued. Akira heard Hikaru sigh.

"Eat Yoko." The voice was still sleepy.

"Aki. Aki. Aki!"

"I don't know what that is Yoko." Ah. A thin thread of frustration had laced the words. Good. At least he wasn't the only one feeling like his nerves were spread thin. Now about that move again… he tried to look at the black and white circles once more. "Just eat."

"'KARU WANT AKI!" The shriek made hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. Before he even realized what he was doing, Akira was on his feet, kifu falling to the ground. He made his way into the other room with brisk steps.

"What in the seven hells is going on?" Akira asked, face flushed and eyebrows knit together showing his extreme frustration.

"There are seven hells?" Hikaru asked, eyes wide, voice way too innocent. He was holding a spoonful of something near Yoko's face. It wavered there as he waited for an answer. Before Akira could summon the proper glare to answer that, Yoko brought herself back into attention.

"AKI, AKI, AKI!" Akira blinked at the little girl's way too cheerful face and at the small hands that were waving towards him. "Aki. 'Karu…Aki!" Her smile grew as he took a step forward.

"Aki?" Hikaru asked, putting the ignored spoon on the plate. A smile twitched on his lips. "Akira is Aki?" He let his chin rest on his hand and looked at his rival and lover as the other man took a seat, an expression too adorable to name making its way on his face and erasing the last traces of sleep and frustration. "Hmmm… Which is better? Aki or Kira?" Akira grumbled something that sounded like neither but he refused to repeat himself when asked. Hikaru continued testing the two nicknames to see if there was one he preferred. The little girl, content now that they were all where they were supposed to be, pointed to the spoon. It was her way of asking to be fed. Obedient, Hikaru picked up the spoon and started feeding her again. "Ne…'Kira," Akira looked at him not sure whether to be relieved or exasperated at the sound of his old nickname.

"Hm?"

"What were you looking at last night?"

"Ogata-sensei's latest game." Hikaru nearly face faulted.

"Again?" He asked. "But you've looked at it for…for…" He waved his free hand about. "For ages! And formulated dozens of theories of why he played that one move…"

"And none of them make 100 sense."

"And unless you become him, which please by the way…never do… the man's creepy as hell, none of them ever will make 100 sense." Akira glared at his lover before sighing. He rested his head on one hand. He was tired. He shouldn't be this tired. He covered a yawn.

"I hate it when you're right." He grumbled, only half teasing.

"Nah… I think it's the opposite."

"Opposite?" Akira looked up in time to see a Cheshire cat like smile on Hikaru's face.

"Yep. But I guess now isn't the proper time or proper way of declaring that to me…ne?" Glare. Sweatdrop. Blush. That was the sequence of actions Akira went through as he first heard the words, then understood the meaning behind them and then remembered where Hikaru was getting them.

"Its too early, you're impossible. Yoko…I'm here, I'm alive… I'm going to study." He pushed himself away from the table and started to make his way back into their shared room. He called back over his shoulder one thing that made Hikaru snicker. "And you're right…it wouldn't be proper." Rolling his eyes at Akira, Hikaru started to hum slightly as he let himself remember fully the scene that had taken place…oh…months ago he supposed.

Akira had been locked away in their room for hours and a couple days now, studying. Hikaru who understood the need of puzzling every move an opponent had made before playing them himself, had let the other man be. Anyway, after having been with Touya, Akira a total of 3 months he was used to this. Or should have been. But he missed having their shared meals on the days where they actually could have them. He missed the companionable silence that followed them. He huffed a sigh, brushing his blond bangs out of his face. His last student of the day had cancelled, leaving him with his whole afternoon free and nothing to do. He was bored and…yeah. He was bored.

Maybe Akira would be willing to have a short break?

He approached the closed door cautiously and then gave it a quick rap of his knuckles.

"Yes?" The voice was muffled through the wooden door. Hikaru opened it and entered.

"Hey…" He went to kneel next to Akira, looking at the Go board. "How's it going?" He scanned the position of the stones, trying to remember which of Ashiwara's game it was.

"Good." Akira answered, a small smile making its way on his pale face. "I think I will be fine come Monday." Monday. Hikaru almost sighed again. That was two more days to live with. The game he had coming up wasn't that important either. Just a…a… oh who the hell was he kidding. Even if it was the least important match, Touya, Akira would still prepare for it and look at it as one of the most important ones. It was just who he was. Serious, dedicated, passionate. And Hikaru wouldn't change it for the world, even if he was bored and wanting the other man's company. Hikaru looked at the Go board once more.

"Want…" His question trailed off. What should he ask? Did Akira want a break? Did he want help in recreating the games and going over them? He'd always said that looking at them with another person, especially Hikaru always brought some very interesting insights to the game. And if he did that… well, he wouldn't be getting in Akira's studying time…and he'd get some company. That would be good, right? Right? Akira waited for the other Go player to continue, his green eyes pensive. Before Hikaru could continue, Akira stood up and offered him a hand.

"I need a break, I think." The words were only slightly hesitant. Hikaru's head snapped up, surprise lining his whole body.

"Really?" His voice was incredulous. For a moment he thought he was dreaming. The hand in front of his face waved slightly, beckoning him to accept it.

"Yes. I wouldn't say so if it wasn't the case."

"True." Hikaru took the hand in his and got up in one fluid motion, Akira barely needing to tug. "What do you want to do?" Akira had never really taken breaks before. His "breaks" had always consisted of eating, showering and sleeping.

"We could go for a walk." Akira released Hikaru's hand and started to walk out of their room. "Unless… is there something you'd like to do, Hikaru?" Hikaru blinked and then shook his head. He caught up to where Akira was standing with quick steps.

"Walk sounds great." He muttered sounding so relieved that Akira had to smile. The taller of the two reached for their jackets in the hallway closet. "To the park?"

"That's fine." Hikaru slipped on his jacket and wait for Akira to do the same. As they walked out of their apartment, he laced his fingers with the other man's. He tightened the fragile hold. Hikaru sighed happily. He hadn't been aware to the extent that he had missed the small moments of attention between him and Akira. He was so pathetic. He could only imagine Waya's reaction if he knew. Distantly he wondered if he'd always been like this…needing human contact nearly 24/7 or if it was something that was developing due to recent circumstances. He shook his head. He didn't really want to think right now. He just wanted to enjoy.

Akira tightened his own hold on the hand that had come to mingle with his own and felt the tension between his shoulders slowly start to fade.

"How was your day?" Akira asked, suddenly aware that he didn't know. He'd seen Hikaru at breakfast and then… that had been it. He sighed. He needed to work on that. He was used to being alone. His parents had often been away for long periods of time and then when he'd moved out… well he'd lived on his own for a couple of years. He still wasn't quite used to living with someone.

"Hmm? Good. My one student canceled though." Akira nodded at Hikaru's words. "Ne 'Kira? Wanna sit on the bench over there?" He nodded again and allowed himself to be pulled over to whatever bench Hikaru had chosen. The park was close to their apartment and it was both small and quiet, much to Akira's happiness. They didn't often go there, their schedules usually busy and stressful. They sat down in patch of sunlight that warmed them despite the cool spring air. Immediately, Hikaru leaned against Akira, head coming to rest on the other's shoulder. "This is nice." He commented quietly. "We should do this more often."

"Hmm." Akira hummed his agreement. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Akira during that time looked at their surroundings, noticing the pond where ducks and geese could be fed and the swingsets and jungle gym that were set up several feet away from it. His green eyes turned away from the scenery to gently gaze on his companion that was a bit too silent than was normal. "Are you alright?" He asked carefully.

"Yep." Hikaru smiled at him. "Just thinking." Dangerous words. Akira had found that Hikaru was quiet only when remembering things that were painful or thinking of things that were…uncomfortable in some way as well. He blinked, not really sure if he should let the other continue to 'just think' or if he should try and distract the other. He felt Hikaru sigh and then…"Why... I mean, I study for the Go matches, but not this much. Why do you do it? You don't seem to do the same when it's me you're about to play." It was a stupid question. Hikaru knew it the moment it was out of his mouth. He wanted to snort, he'd wanted to start a conversation to keep certain thoughts at bay. But this topic of conversation was ridiculous. Of course Akira didn't study his kifus for days on end, he nearly played Hikaru every day. What was left to study? Plus Akira usually helped Hikaru replay the games that he'd won or lost a couple days after the real match… to see what could have been improved, what was good, what was horrible. They did the same thing for Akira's games as well. It was a little ritual they'd started after moving in to the apartment. What a dumb question. He was going to take it back and call himself a baka before the other man did but Akira started to answer. He'd taken the question seriously, blinking at first before thinking about the question. His green eyes focused on Hikaru's face and he moved away from the other to do so. Hikaru shivered at the loss of warmth his one side was now suffering. He would have complained but…

"Playing you is different Hikaru. With others, I can study the kifu. I can study it and find a pattern. I can figure out how they think. How they've been taught… the path they took to get to where they are now. You? You leave no patterns, you play intuitively, creatively, and yet you play as if you'd been taught the traditional way. I could study all your games and not learn as much about your style than if I had simply played you. Your Go pushes me further, makes me stronger. It lets me…be myself in a way. It allows me to be creative as well and because of it, it allows me to believe that we can reach the Hand of God…" He paused, head inclining to the side as if he suddenly realized something that he'd known all the time but hadn't really thought of it. "Your go makes mine whole…"

"Whole?" Akira nodded.

"Have you ever noticed Ochi's game for example?" Hikaru blinked. Wh-at? How the hell did Ochi get into the conversation? His blank look must have given Akira enough of an answer to continue. "Its good, its precise…but its not…alive. It's not whole or balanced. There's something he lacks and it makes it hard for his game to grow. He knows it and he keeps looking for that something that will complete his Go." Akira sat back, returning to his previous position to Hikaru's happiness. The Go player's green eyes were strangely unfocused for a moment before coming back and settling on his rival's face. Rival at the moment because of their choice of topic. "He knows a true rival would allow him to complete his go. He thought he would find it in me… at first. Now… it's whoever he thinks is the best." Akira shrugged.

"So…" Hikaru was struggling to follow everything that had been said. Truth be told he'd gotten more of an answer than he'd been looking for. He felt that something deep had been admitted to but he wasn't quite sure what it was. "Ochi would be more human and his Go would be better if he had a rival? A real one…like you and me?"

"Yes."

"Cause our…rivalry… makes it whole? Completes it?" Putting it in those terms made Hikaru think of something that had nothing to do with Go and more to do with human emotions.

"Yes."

"Is this your way of confessing your love to me?" Hikaru suddenly interrupted, eyebrows arched high in his forehead. He looked startled and amazed. If it hadn't been for that, Akira would have thought the man was teasing him again. As it was, he almost wished Hikaru had been teasing. Akira stopped, choking on the air that he'd been breathing. The look he then shot Hikaru amidst the blush that hit his cheeks made it quite clear he thought Hikaru had gone mad.

"What!" He asked as if he didn't quite believe his ears. He didn't let Hikaru repeat his question even though the other go player was quite ready to do so. If only to see Akira blush like that again. "Go and love are two very different subjects in this case…and…" The last word trembled in the air, hesitant. A very new blush came and joined the old, coloring Akira's cheeks. "And…" He started again, voice stronger with even a hint of steel in its depth. "If I were confessing my love…" He spat the words out in a hurry, clearly uncomfortable by the turn of events. "I'd do it properly."

"There's a proper way of saying I love you?" Hikaru asked, voice devoid of mirth, just simply astonished at the prospect. Jeez. He hadn't known that. His eyes which before had been concentrating on Akira's face and enjoying the show were now wide. Akira glared. And that was answer enough. Hikaru chuckled, he linked their arms together and started a new topic that would bring his lover back instead of the frustrated and embarrassed rival.

Hikaru smiled at the memory as he lifted Yoko out of her high chair. She'd finished eating and it was now time for her bath. He would need his full concentration there…unless he wanted a repeat of yesterday…which he didn't.

He really really didn't want a repeat.

With a sigh he and the little girl made their way to the bathroom. Silence followed the closing of the door and within its grasp, Akira began to truly focus on that damned kifu.

A/N- Another chapter done.  There is a reason for the bizarre conversation/flashback and it shall be revealed further on in the story. Any comments so far? Is it good? Bad? Let me know.