Hey, you guys. Sorry I didn't update for so long. I was very busy at camp, and then I returned home to a torn-up house because of remodeling. I'm glad I could finally write this, though. This story should be over after a few more chapters. Thank you guys for sticking with it! Please ReViEw!

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It was Friday, the day of the concert. Hikaru, who was going to pick Akira up later, was very nervous. He couldn't help but think that it was like a date, even thought he knew Akira didn't think it was. He had spent a full thirty minutes trying to find some clothes that would make him look as good as he knew the green-haired boy would, but he was having difficulty. There were many outfits that looked good on him, but when you compare yourself to the person you're in love with then it's difficult to believe that.

Contrary to Hikaru's beliefs, Akira felt the exact same way as the partial blonde. Sure, he already had an outfit picked out, but he couldn't help being nervous. He also believed his rival to think of this as nothing but hanging out with a friend, while he fretted over it being too much like a date for comfort.

Amazing how something like a date can be more nerve-wracking that something that is a date.

After another ten minutes, Hikaru decided on blue jeans and a black sleeveless shirt, along with two thick studded black bracelets, one for each wrist. Then, after looking at the clock, grabbed his wallet and cell phone and ran down the stairs.

"Bye, Mom!" Hikaru called as he hurried out the door.

"Bye, Hikaru. Have fun!" she yelled back.

He had to speed walk to get to Akira's house on time. When he got there, he saw Akira quickly shutting the door.

"Akira, why are you—" Hikaru started.

"No reason, let's just go," the green haired boy said, grabbing Hikaru's hand and hurrying away from his house.

"But what's the rush?"

"I told you, it's not—"

"Touya, wait!" someone yelled from behind. Luckily, Hikaru and Akira were past the bushes, so the person couldn't see them.

"Who's that?" Hikaru asked.

"No one important, but let's hurry," Akira said. He then ran down the pathway until he got to the sidewalk. "Which way to the concert?"

"Uh… that way!" Hikaru pointed left, and they began running again. "Why are we running, Akira?"

"Because that girl's been bothering me all day. She won't leave me alone!"

"Who is she?" Hikaru asked, worried. 'Could she hurt my chances with Akira?' he thought.

"Her name's Katsumi. She's just a family friend. I don't even know why she's at my house."

"Okay, then why is she following you?"

"I don't know!"

"Touya!" Katsumi yelled from behind them. Hikaru looked back, and was surprised. He wasn't expecting a beautiful girl with purple eyes and straight black hair with purple highlights to be following them, especially one with a black halter-top, short-shorts, and knee length boots on. In fact, he was surprised she was even allowed in the Touya residence wearing that.

"Come on, this way," Akira said, pulling them to the left.

"But the concert's that way!" Hikaru yelled.

"Well, I guess we have to go around, then." They then ran to the right, then to the right again, only for Akira to run straight into Katsumi.

"Touya, I finally caught you!" Katsumi said.

"That's great, now please get off of me," Akira said, irritated. He was lying flat on the ground with the purple-eyed girl lying on top of him.

"Oh, why? This is comfortable."

Hikaru, who was standing next to them, was beginning to get annoyed at the girl, too. "Can you get off him? We're going to miss the concert."

Katsumi looked up, finally remembering that he was there. "Oh, hi. I don't believe I know you."

"Nor he, you," a very uncomfortable Akira said. "If you get off, I can introduce you."

Katsumi sighed. "Fine." She got up, and then Hikaru grabbed one of Akira's hands to pull him up.

"Thanks," Akira said to Hikaru once he was standing.

"No prob'," Hikaru replied.

"Anyway, Katsumi, this is Hikaru Shindou. He's my rival in Go."

"Oh, your rival? Okay. Well," she said, sticking out her hand, "I'm Katsumi Ido. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Hikaru said to be polite. In truth, he wasn't all that pleased. "So, Akira said you're a family friend."

Akira did a face palm, knowing what was coming next.

"I guess you could say that, but we're much closer than that. I plan to marry him, someday."

Hikaru couldn't have looked more shocked. His eyes were wide, he was slouched forward, and his jaw nearly reached the floor. "You what?" he got out.

"I said, we're going to get married. Why so surprised?"

"Akira! Why didn't you tell me about this?" Hikaru yelled.

"Because, it's not true! She just goes around saying it, when people ask. I don't even know why," he defended.

"Oh, of course it's true! Father said so! And it's obviously because we're in love. Duh."

Hearing that, both boys felt like they had just been stabbed through the heart. Hikaru was heartbroken, and Akira was terrified that Hikaru would believe her.

"We are not!" Akira practically yelled.

"Whoa, calm down, Touya. And yes, we are," Katsumi replied. "Why would you even say that?"

"Why would you even think that?"

Hikaru stood there, crestfallen. 'So… he's already in love. And he lied to me about it….'

"Because, it's true," the girl said.

"It's not!"

"It is!"

"Okay, you guys, would you just shut up?" Hikaru yelled, annoyed and hurt. The two stood there, frozen, staring at the partial blond. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked Akira.

The green-haired boy stared at his rival. He could see the hurt in his eyes, and it was almost unbearable to look at. "I already said it's not true."

"Actually," Katsumi said, "it is true. And, besides, why does it even matter?" Hikaru glared at her. "What? I mean, really, you don't need to know everything about him. It's not like you're in love with him or something."

"And what if it is?" Hikaru asked, challenging her. He didn't notice Akira, who stood there, frozen, wide-eyed and shocked speechless.

"Well, it doesn't matter. And you know why?" she asked, haughtily.

"Why?" he seethed.

"Because Akira will never love you. He's already in love with me."

At that, Hikaru's expression changed from one of hatred to one of defeat. "Fine, then. It's better this way, anyway. Then Monday can go by, and no one will have to worry about him getting hurt." Then, turning around, he added, bitterly, "You two just be happy together." Then he began running, as fast as his legs would carry him.

Katsumi smirked at Hikaru's retreating form and grabbed Akira's hand. This action seemed to unfreeze him. He reached his other hand towards his friend and tried to run forward, but Katsumi held him back. "Hikaru, wait!" he shouted. The partial blond couldn't hear him, though, so his arm fell limp to his side.

Triumphantly, Katsumi said, "How annoying. He ruined our day together."

Akira looked at her and pulled his arm away. "No, you ruined our evening together."

"Sheesh, chill out. So you missed a concert. Big deal. You can just go with me, next time."

"No, I will not be going with you! And yes, it is a big deal!" Akira was furious. He wanted more than almost anything to punch her, but he knew that would end badly. "He thinks I'm in love with you! How am I going to fix this?"

"Fix what?"

"Argh!" Akira groaned, pulling at his hair. "You don't understand a thing, do you?"

"Well, I don't see what I'm missing. Your rival knows you're in love with me. So? I don't get it."

"Of course not, because I'm not in love with you!"

"Why do you keep saying that?" Katsumi asked, clueless.

"Because it's true!"

"How can it be true? Why on earth would you not be in love with me?"

"Because I'm in love with Hikaru!" Akira yelled.

"…."

"…."

"…So… you're gay?" Katsumi asked.

"Yeah, I am. Which is why I'll never be in love with you," he told her, hoping she wouldn't start crying.

"Oh… okay," she replied, nonchalantly. "Well, I guess I'd better tell Father that I can't marry you."

Akira stared at her, dumbfounded. "If it was so unimportant that you can just change your mind, why did you cause this huge mess?"

"Hmm… I don't know. I figured, might as well try. But trying to get a gay guy to love me? Impossible. I guess I'm just not that into you."

"What happened to being in love?"

"Well, you won't love me, so why should I love you?"

Akira sweat-dropped. "That's not quite how it works. If it turns out that Hikaru doesn't love me back, that won't stop me from continuing to love him. I'll love him no matter what."

"In that case, maybe I should help you out a bit." When he looked at her questioningly, she added, "You know, give you some advice.

Akira looked at her, surprised. "Advice? From you? And have you ever noticed that you have a lot of mood swings?"

"Yes, I have," she said pointedly. "But back to the point. Shindou practically just said he's in love with you. So, I think you should ask him."

Akira sighed. "I'm already planning on it."

"Huh. Okay, well that's good. But you might want to fix things with him quickly."

"I know that. Now, I think I'd better go home and plan. I'm running out of time," Akira said, beginning to worry. If he didn't talk to Hikaru in the next two days, he might never be able to again.

"Time?" Katsumi said.

"Yeah. Hikaru only has two days left to live unless I do something about it. That is, if I'm the one he's in love with."

"Interesting."

"Interesting? How?"

"I don't know. It just is."

Akira sweat-dropped again. 'She's not too bright…,' he thought. "Well, I need to go. Bye, Katsumi," he said.

"Okay, bye, Touya. See you around." Then she turned and began walking away.

Akira watched her leave. 'She's certainly a lot of trouble to be around. I'm glad I'm not really going to marry her,' he thought. 'And why did she do all of that? Now Hikaru's mad at me…." He started heading home. "It's been over an hour since I left home, though, so I'd better wait until tomorrow to find him.'

And with that, Akira headed home.

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Meanwhile, Waya and Isumi were exiting a nearby Go salon when they saw Hikaru across the street, slouched over and out of breath.

"Shindou!" Waya called as he and Isumi crossed the street, eliciting the younger boy's attention.

Hikaru looked up, his panting calming down. "Oh, Waya, Isumi!"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Why were you running?" Isumi asked.

"Oh… um… just wanted to jog a bit," Hikaru answered, obviously lying.

"Yeah, right," Waya said. "What happened? Something with Touya, I presume?"

Hikaru wasn't even surprised anymore. "Yeah. You know how you said before that he liked me? Well, he doesn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's in love with this girl, Katsumi. She's a family friend, and they're engaged, apparently."

Waya and Isumi were staring at him like he grew another head.

"And you believe something like that, why?" Waya asked.

"Because she told me! And she said her father said they were going to get married. I just don't know why he wouldn't have told me before…."

"You idiot. Touya didn't say anything about it because it's not true!" Waya exclaimed.

"And how would you know that?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Okay," Isumi interrupted. "Shindou, what did Touya have to say about it?"

"Well…" Hikaru looked down. "He said it wasn't true…."

"You see? I told you!" Waya yelled, exasperated.

"Why would you listen to her over him, anyway?" Isumi questioned.

"I guess I was upset…." Hikaru sighed. "So, it isn't true?"

"No! He's obviously in love with you, you big dummy!" Waya said.

"Waya!" Isumi chided. But it was too late. Hikaru had already heard him, and now stood there, wide-eyed and unbelieving.

"Oops…." Waya said.

"How do you know?" Hikaru asked, stunned. Before they tell him they think Akira likes him. Now they tell him it's obvious that the green-haired boy loves him?

Isumi sighed. "It's the way he acts, how he gets so flustered and everything around you, and the way he looks at you and talks about you."

"Yeah, you can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. It's obvious to anyone with a face. You're just clueless," Waya said.

Before Hikaru could yell at him, Isumi added, "Also, it's harder to know when you're the one involved."

"But…" Hikaru said, "I just… don't get it…."

"Then ask him yourself," Waya said.

"…."

"Or are you too scared to?" the brunette taunted.

"I am not!" Hikaru screamed.

"Then do it."

"…."

"Waya," Isumi said, "don't make him if he doesn't want to. Knowing Touya, he'll be the first to ask or tell."

"Fine."

"Anyway, Shindou, we were just on our way for sushi. Do you want to join us?"

"Nah," Hikaru said. Then he got an idea. "Hey, do you two want these concert tickets?" He pulled them out of his pocket. "Me and Akira were supposed to go, but since we kinda had a misunderstanding, we aren't. You want them? I'll bet you can get in even though it's late."

Waya took a look at the tickets. "Oh, they're one of my favorite bands! Isumi, wanna go?"

"Sure, but if it runs later than eleven, I need to leave early. I have a game at nine tomorrow," Isumi replied.

"Great. Here you go," Hikaru said, handing them each a ticket. "You might want to hurry. You're already missing part of it."

"Right," Waya said. "See ya, Shindou. And good luck!"

"Thanks, Waya. Bye, Isumi."

"Bye, Shindou," Isumi said, and then the two headed in the direction of the concert.

'At least those tickets won't go to waste,' Hikaru thought. 'Although, really would have liked to go with Akira.'

As he headed home, he passed the Touya's Go salon. 'I know! It's closed now, but I'll check tomorrow to see if he's there.'

With this idea in mind, Hikaru finished the walk home, nervous for the next day. As he arrived at his house and opened the door, his mom saw him and said, "Hikaru, you're home early. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, kind of. There was a bit of a misunderstanding."

"Oh, were the tickets fake? Was it the wrong day?"

"No, nothing like that. I actually gave them to Isumi and Waya."

"Ah, so something happened between you and Touya."

'How did she know that?' Hikaru sweat-dropped. "Yeah, but I'm gonna go see him tomorrow. It's my fault, so I gotta go talk to him."

"Oh, okay. Well, we were going to go to grandpa's tomorrow, but since this is important to you, you can stay here," his mother said.

"Great. Thanks for understanding, Mom. And tell Grandpa I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"Alright. I will." She watched as her son headed up the stairs. "Goodnight, Hikaru."

"Goodnight, Mom," was the reply before she heard his door shut.

'That boy… he's becoming more polite. Touya's a really good influence on him,' she thought. 'I'm happy for the two of them. I just hope they can sort things out soon, and then I may not have to worry as much.' She then returned to the kitchen and continued cleaning, knowing her son was waiting anxiously for tomorrow.

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Thanks for reading! Please ReViEw!