Based on The Mercer Sister's Your Most Prized Possession
Chapter Ten: Missing You
There was a certain break in which, life had returned to normal. Well, normal for Akira anyways. He resumed his busy schedule with his Go matches, and his usual games with Hikaru. At that time, Hikaru and he both put the bet behind, and continued on with life. He hadn't seen Akari after the Autumn Festival, which was 3-4 weeks ago.
He almost forgot about the incident, when one day, as he was cleaning up his room, he happened to come upon a familiar looking doll. He stared at it strangely, as the memories began flooding in about that certain burgundy haired girl, who had managed to capture his less known side. It wasn't as if he forgot Akari as a person, but merely, he had dismissed the thoughts of her well-being out of his mind, labeling her as 'intangible'. As a result of that, whatever feelings that he had developed for her were locked within his heart.
Seeing the doll, in which at this time, he had remembered that he named it Akari, made him smile and reminiscence about that date. He had really treasured the time that they had together .Though it was for a short while, she left an impression on him that no one could replace. He really missed her, but it wasn't up to him to decide if he could meet her. She was still Hikaru's girlfriend. Sighing sadly to himself, he placed Akari onto his desk shelf, where he could be reminded of her whenever he was in his room. Then he left his room, heading to Nuit Noire for a late night snack.
Meanwhile…
Akari was putting away some clothes into her drawer and was about to close her drawer when something caught her eye. It was Touya, her doll. When they had returned from the festival, she had randomly placed her prizes in her room, but she was perplexed as to how Touya came to be inside her drawer. Perhaps she had dropped it on the floor, and randomly picked them up along with her clothes. Or perhaps, the doll had been there all along, waiting for that one moment, in which fate decided that Akari should notice it again.
Seeing the doll made Akari smile, and she recalled the happy time in which she got this doll. Akira had been reluctant to play, but she forced him to do so anyhow, and as a result, she ended up with this doll. He had really been the only person to actually care about her feelings. Hikaru on the other hand, cared about her too, but in a different sort of way. He was more of a big brother who teased her occasionally, and they would bicker over the smallest things. When it came to Akari being hurt, Hikaru would be the first to defend her and 'beat the other guy to pieces' as Hikaru put it.
With Akira, on the other hand, she felt as if she was talking to a long time friend like Hikaru, only except they had mutual respect for each other. He was kind, polite, caring, and treated her as someone special. He listened to her problems with the utmost attention, and offered practical suggestions to her dilemmas. She really missed the way they would talk to each other. It was interesting on how he managed to compliment Hikaru as a Go player. They were like polar opposites. Like black and white.
Smiling fondly at the precious little time they had spent together, Akari placed Touya on her desk, making a mental promise to not forget about him. Then, she went down to receive Myuki, who was 'dropping by' to give her 'advice' on dressing for tonight's date with Hikaru.
Later…
"And so I was saying…" Myuki rambled.
"Hmm?" Akari said, absent-mindedly, her thoughts was fixed on a certain Go player by the surname of Touya.
"Gosh…you have been out of it these days, Akari." Myuki observed.
"What? No, I haven't!" Akari denied. Myuki rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say, princess. Anyways, let's try on this outfit." Myuki said, handing her a red top with a black blouse and black skirt with a beaded red lariat as a belt. Akari emerged, dressed.
"I think that will do for tonight, and here are the shoes to go along with it." Myuki decided, handing Akari a pair of matching red heels.
"Arigatou, Myuki." Akari said gratefully.
"It's nothing." Myuki replied as she packed her clothes and left, wishing Akari the best of luck.
The date with Hikaru…
They had a pleasant time, talking about this and that, but Akari wasn't really paying much attention to Hikaru's ramblings. She was too distracted by her thoughts, and it was evident, since she kept poking and prodding at her food.
"And so I attacked at the upper left corner, and the guy was losing so bad, he resigned right then and there!" Hikaru said proudly.
"Hmmm…" Akari said absentmindedly.
"Akari…" Hikaru said, frowning.
"Hmmm…" Akari said again.
"Akari, are you ok?" Hikaru asked concerned. Akari looked up.
"Huh? What? I'm fine." she quickly replied. Hikaru frowned.
"I don't think so. Just look at the way you're stabbing those poor broccolis there." Hikaru pointed out. It was true, though. Akari had stabbed them to look like they've been through a blender.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I feel fine." Akari lied. Hikaru sighed.
"You know I always can tell when you're lying, right?" Hikaru replied. Akari hesitated.
"I-I…I don't think I'm that hungry…that's all…" she finally admitted. Hikaru looked at her suspiciously.
"You know…if there's any problem you have…you can always tell me about it…" Hikaru began. Akari sighed wearily.
"Iie, I'm alright." Akari replied firmly. Hikaru shrugged.
"Ok…if you say so." Hikaru said, and he wanted to say something more, but he knew that look on Akari's face, which meant that she wasn't going to talk about it anymore.
"So…do you want me to escort you back home?" Hikaru asked as he paid up.
"Iie, I need to do some errands, so you can go by yourself." Akari said.
"Ok, well then, take care, Akari." Hikaru finished as they parted to their separate ways.
"Ja ne, Hikaru!" Akari cried, waving to his retreating figure.
What Akari said wasn't true, but it wasn't a lie either. She had needed to purchase a book, and she did, but she didn't go straight back home afterwards. Instead, she wandered around town, aimlessly, trying to sort out her feelings. She was also not paying much attention to her surroundings and bumped into someone.
"Gomenasai." she mumbled distractedly.
"Fujisaki-san?" a familiar voice asked in disbelief. Akari looked to the speaker.
"W-Waya-kun?" she said surprised.
"Wow, I didn't think I'd bump into you of all people." Waya noted.
"Me neither." Akari said, smiling.
"So what brings you around here anyways?" Waya asked.
"Um…I wasn't paying much attention to where I was…" Akari started. Waya nodded.
"I see…" Waya said, seeing the perplexed look upon her face.
"Is something the matter?" he asked, frowning.
"Is it really that obvious?" Akari joked lightly. Then she did something she never thought she would, but she did anyways. She poured out her thoughts and feelings that have been disturbing her. Waya listened quietly observing her reactions.
"Fujisaki-san, if you don't mind my saying, I think you're just at a loss as to what role Touya-kun plays in your life right now. You're at a tricky stage where you are trying to find out what you really want from life. I think you just need a bit more time to figure that out. As for the rest, just leave it to fate." he advised.
"Thank you for listening, and I'll try your advice." Akari said, smiling widely now.
"No problem. I'm glad to see you truly smile now, it makes me relieved." Waya commented. Akari nodded.
"Plus, it prevents Shindo from whining at me…" Waya added, remembering the Go game fisaco. Akari laughed.
"Anyways, do you have any plans set for Friday night?" Waya asked, changing the subject.
"I don't think so…why?" Akari replied.
"I thought Shindo would have told you about it by now, but you probably didn't listen to him or something. There's going to be a Halloween party, it's being sponsored by the Go Institute to raise money for Go supplies in orphanages. It's also a masquerade party, so at the stroke of midnight, everyone has to take off their masks. The way we donate money, is when one of the judges guess correctly who we are, behind the mask. The winners are the ones who are still masked at the stroke of midnight, but they still end up donating money too. The winners also receive some prize that's to be announced. So are you coming?" Waya asked.
"Hmm…I think I'll go…" Akari said.
"Great, see you then!" Waya said.
They chatted a little more, and then, they went their separate ways, Akari, feeling much lighter after a burden of things had been let down. Akari then walked home, since it wasn't too far. On the way back, she passed by a certain café by the name of Nuit Noire, not noticing a certain Go player exiting. She decided that she would make another stop at the jewelry shop with the Go necklaces. When she reached there, she was disappointed to see that they had disappeared. Then she entered the shop.
"Ohayo…" she said timidly. An elderly old man stepped out.
"Ohayo, miss. How may I help you?" he asked kindly.
"I was just asking about those Go necklaces out there…did someone buy them?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, no. I was just taking them back to polish them." he explained.
"Oh…well, that's all I wanted to know. Arigatou." Akari said.
"Beautiful necklaces, they are. Only 13 pairs made in the world." the old man commented. Akari paused.
"Yes, I know…Sayonara, mister." she finally managed to say. Akari then, exited the building. While she was crossing an intersection, she passed by a silver car, not noticing that had a certain dark green-haired Go player inside.
A/N: Terribly sorry for not updating sooner!!! School has started, and I was swamped with homework. Hopefully, I can incorporate a wintry scene by around mid December? Anyways, thanks for reading once again, and please review!