~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&&~Hikaru no Duel Monsters~&&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
''Are you sure you've never played before?'' asked Hikaru still surprised.
"Yes.'' answered Atem ''but building up strategies in Duel Monsters helped I suppose…''continued Yuugi seeing the suspicious look in Hikaru's eyes. He couldn't just tell Hikaru that he had the King of Games trapped in the Millennium puzzle and that said king was on his side, and playing the current game non the less.
"You are very good, I must admit" said Hikaru still not believing the other boy, but what reason would Yuugi have to lie to him about that?
Black, white, black….
Atem was playing Hikaru (Sai) and Yuugi had nothing to do but watch the game. It wasn't as if the game wasn't interesting to watch and all but he couldn't help but feel guilty for the scene from before.
The green haired boy seemed to be very angry with Hikaru for spending time with him and playing Duel Monsters. Of course it wasn't Yuugi's fault that Hikaru had lied to the other boy but that didn't help Yuugi's conscience since Hikaru had lied in order to spend time with him.
His mind drifted away and he didn't even notice Atem's voice in his mind.
"Yuugi….Yuugi….the game is over…." The ghost stopped for a second and waited for a reaction from the other ''Are you alright?"
"Yes…" he finally said "Sorry about that…Who won?" he asked a bit curious. He knew Atem was the best at building strategies as far as he knew.
"Hikaru did" stated Atem with a hint of disappointment in his voice. ''Ever since he changed his game style it became hard to keep up with him."
''It's over, isn't it Sai?''
''Yes it is, that last move was a mistake and it will bring him to his loss''
''He played well though.''
''I think I found myself a new rival, Hikaru. You know….I never expected to find a rival in a boy out of all people. I want to play him again sometimes."
''We'll see about that, Sai''
''Datte, Hikaru….why are you so mean?'' the ghost pouted as he did every time Hikaru refused to let him play. Hikaru didn't answer though. He seemed to be distracted by the other boy.
''Are you alright?'' asked Hikaru as the other boy seemed a bit lost. ''Are you worried that you lost?"
"No….it's not that…"
''It was a very good game you know, you could be a pro if you wanted" continued Hikaru trying to cheer the other boy up.
''I was wandering about the boy that came in earlier. I'm sorry for making him angry with you" said Yuugi suddenly looking at his fists that were clenched over his knees.
''What are you talking about?'' asked Hikaru suddenly taken aback by the other boy ''Touya's outbursts have nothing to do with you.'' That seemed to cheer the other boy up a bit. ''Touya is just a go maniac who doesn't seem to care about anything else and he tends to hurt people with harsh words whenever it comes to go." This time it was Hikaru that looked at his feet as he remembered the time Akira told him that he wasn't a worthy rival. His blonde bangs covered his sad eyes but this sadness didn't go unnoticed by the other boy.
''You two must be close friends because I can tell that you care about him a lot'' noted Yuugi.
''We're not really friends. I barely know him outside the Institute and his father's go salon. We're just rivals although I wish we could be friends, but I don't know how to make him open up to me."
''Don't worry Hikaru, I'm sure in time he will open up to you and you two will become friends. Wonders happen sometimes'' said Yuugi as he remembered how he had made his first friends.
Touya remembered Yuugi of himself. He used to be a game nerd that everyone made fun of except for Anzu, his only childhood friend, with no friends to talk to or play with, but after he solved the Millennium puzzle and his secret wish was granted he had many friends and even a rival. He didn't feel lonely anymore. Of course he didn't expect Hikaru to have a wish granting puzzle but even for Hikaru and Touya things could work out in a miraculous way.
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Akira was recreating a game in the back room at his father's go salon. He had instructed Ichikawa-san, the woman at the counter that he didn't want to be disturbed by anyone for any reason at all. He just wanted to be alone and clear his mind.
But he couldn't. He couldn't concentrate on the game he was recreating. He was placing the stones on the board one by one as he knew the game by heart but he wasn't thinking about it. His mind was trailing off at a certain dark haired boy with bleached bangs and at their last conversation.
Akira wandered if he had been too harsh with Shindou, if the words he had said at their last game meeting hurt his rival more than he intended to.
But that didn't mean Shindou had to lie. He could have simply said that they shouldn't see each other for a while.
No he couldn't. Akira knew very well that he would have dragged Shindou all the way to the go salon if that was the only reason his rival had to miss their games. And Shindou knew that too.
Akira was frustrated. Their games were the only constant thing in his life that made him happy. He liked playing go and he didn't mind recreating games by himself or playing against any opponent, he wasn't picky but the games against Shindou were special. Shindou had a gift to get the best out of Akira during a game. He was the only one Akira ever considered a challenge, the only one among the players their age who was good enough to be his rival.
Shindou was also the only one who could make Akira lose his temper and shout and hit the table with his fists for no good reason at all, the only one who made Akira feel comfortable. He never felt the need to control his actions and words in front of Shindou, he could just be himself.
The last white stone was in its place on the board and Akira stopped to give a better look at the goban. It was the last game he played with Shindou. The game had ended before time since Shindou stormed out of the salon after Akira….
Flashback
"What's with that move Shindou? Are you even concentrating on the game?" Akira shouted at his rival making everyone look at them, but he didn't care.
"Of course I am and there is nothing wrong with that move" shouted the equally angry Hikaru.
"Nothing wrong? It's the dumbest move you could have done. Anyone in this salon would have done a better move" now that was an exaggeration but it still looked like a bad move. It gave Akira the opportunity to take a large territory from Hikaru.
"Is that so?"
"I can't believe that someone who is giving up such a large territory is my rival. Maybe I should look for a better rival in the salon." Now that was another exaggeration but Akira was just trying to point out a huge mistake. It was something any good rival would do, right?
"Well, go ahead, be my guest." Shindou was stubborn and difficult sometimes.
End of flashback
Shindou left after that without even explaining what he had in mind with that last move…
Akira was still staring at the goban when the realization hit him. Shindou's move wasn't wrong at all. It was just one of those moves Shindou made sometimes that seemed to be stupid but after a few turns they turned out to be brilliant. Usually Akira noticed Shindou's strategy since they knew each other's go so well but this time it just slipped.
And he said such awful things… No wonder that Shindou didn't want to see him anymore.
It was time for Akira to apologize.
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Hikaru and Yuugi talked a lot about their friends and about Hikaru's relationship with Akira.
Yuugi even decided to tell Hikaru about those painful memories from the days when he had no friends nor did he know what to do to befriend anyone. He hoped that his story will make Hikaru understand a little better the situation Akira is in.
''And now you are friends with the guys who threw your puzzle piece in the river?'' asked Hikaru amazed. He didn't know what he would do if someone threw a stone from his portable go set in the river but he would definitely not take it so well as Yuugi did.
''Yeah, we spend a lot of time together and even if Jonouchi and I are the only ones who play Duel Monsters, Anzu and Honda are always by our side in competitions and cheer for us.''
Of course Yuugi didn't mention his wish granting puzzle but his story seemed to bring hope to the other boy and he was happy to help.
''But this is a bit different…''Hikaru started doubting again. ''I mean….I have friends at the institute and I have friends at school, some of them don't even know how to play go and some of them are just mediocre players and I never had problems befriending them. Touya however is impossible for me to reach…no matter how hard I try….He's just stuck in his little world and he won't come out of it unless it's go related. I don't even know what his favorite color is'' Hikaru said frustrated.
''He may not know how to make friends but the fact that you lied to him doesn't change things for the best'' Yuugi pointed out. This made Hikaru feel bad. Yuugi was right. Even if at the time he couldn't find a better solution, lying to Akira was a mistake. He decided to apologize for it later on.
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