Yay, a new chapter! Man, it's been forever- over 8 months! I'm sorry about that but I know no amount of apologies will make up for it, so instead, I'll make the chapters the best they can be! Anyway, this one gets a bit dramatic and doesn't have much Hikaru-Akira romance in it, but it will be coming up in the next chapter! Oh, and sorry it's so short… but I figure you'd rather have an update now than wait and have a longer one in a while.

PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, right. I NEED HELP. When I first began this story, I was going to make it M-rated eventually, as in soon, but now I'm not sure if I should. I'll leave that up to you guys! If I don't get enough comments about it, the worst it'll get is T. So REVIEW! :)

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The next day, Hikaru got up early and got dressed, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair. It was Saturday, and he planned on going to see Akira. The misunderstanding from the night before had bothered them both, and now that Hikaru knew that his love was not unrequited, he was anxious to get his feelings out in the open.

Once he finished getting ready, he opened his door and ran down the stairs. "I'm leaving now, Mom!"

"Okay, Hikaru," his mother replied from the kitchen. "I'll tell Grandpa you say hello."

"'Kay, thanks!" Hikaru quickly put his shoes on and headed out the door, making sure it closed behind him.

Hikaru's mom continued to work in the kitchen, washing the dishes for future use. "That boy, he forgot to eat breakfast," she said to herself. She walked over to the table and picked up the plate and silverware she had set out for him. "Oh well, he can eat with Touya."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" she called, hurrying toward the door. Opening it, she was greeted with a surprise. "Oh, Touya, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, Shindou-san," Akira responded. "I was wondering if I could speak to Hikaru."

"Oh, I'm sorry, he just left to look for you," she said, thinking. "He didn't say where he was going, though." She took another look at Akira. "Are you alright, Touya? Your face is a little bit red."

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just jogging a bit, that's all. Thank you for your concern," he replied with a smile, hiding the fact that he ran so that he could see Hikaru sooner.

Hikaru's mom smiled back. "Well, I'm sure Hikaru's waiting for you, wherever he went off to."

"Ah, I'm sure he is. I should go, then. It was nice seeing you again, Shindou-san," Akira said politely, bowing his head a bit.

"And you, too, Touya. Good luck," she answered back.

As she went inside, Akira turned around and began walking. 'I suppose I shouldn't try running again if it's so noticeable even after I waited a few minutes to ring the doorbell…. Hmm… I wonder where Hikaru went. Knowing him, he'd go to the Go salon if he were looking for me.' Deciding his theory was the best clue he had, he headed for his family's Go salon.

Meanwhile, Waya was walking toward the Go Association for a game he was scheduled to play today. He sighed. "What am I supposed to do for the next forty minutes?" he asked himself out loud. All of a sudden, he saw someone very familiar across the street. "Hey, Touya!" he yelled, waving.

Akira looked up. Had someone just called him? He looked around. 'Oh, Waya.' He crossed the street and walked up to the other boy. "Hello, Waya."

"Hey, what's up?" Waya replied.

Akira looked at him oddly. "Nothing. Are you okay?"

The older boy looked back, confused. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You're acting very… cheerful."

Waya glared at him. "So?"

"So you usually aren't this happy when I'm the only one around," Akira defended, putting a hand on his hip.

"Whatever, I was just really bored because my match doesn't start for almost an hour. Anyway, what are you up to?"

"I have a game later, but right now I'm looking for Hikaru," Akira replied calmly.

Waya grinned. "I heard you're engaged to some girl," he said, an evil glint in his eye.

Akira paled. "Did he tell you that? Because it's not true, I swear. That's why I'm looking for him, to tell him that. Have you seen him?" he rambled, nervous.

"Whoa, chill out! I was kidding!" Waya said, worried. "He said that, but Isumi and I forced the truth into him, so it's all okay."

"Oh, good," Akira said, relaxing. He then tensed up again. "Wait, forced what truth?"

"Oh… um… well, you see… I kinda, sorta, maybe said… you're in love with him?" Waya mumbled, afraid of an angry Akira.

3…

2…

1…

"You what?" Akira practically yelled, freaking out. Everyone around them looked at him oddly.

"Dude, it's okay! He was really—"

"Touya, I found you!" someone interrupted, grabbing Akira's arm. The two boys turned to see Ogata.

Akira, whose body still remembered the incident from two nights ago, started shivering again. "Ogata-sensei, please let go," he said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

Waya, understanding why Akira was upset, reached for Ogata's arm. "Oi, let go of him! He's been through enough of this!"

Ogata, realizing they were causing a scene, loosened his grip. "Touya, you're coming with me. We need to have a chat." He glanced at Waya, remembering the fountain incident, and added, "You, too."

"We can't, we have matches!" Waya exclaimed, trying to get them both out of the situation.

"I know for a fact that Touya's match isn't until later this afternoon."

"But I have one now," Waya argued.

"Then go ahead, I can get all the answers I need from Touya," Ogata said.

Knowing Hikaru would kill him for leaving Akira in such a situation, Waya replied, "I'll go with you, but you'd better let us go soon."

"We'll see," Ogata said.

Waya glared. "But first, let go of Touya. You can grab my arm if it matters that much, just let go of him." The brunette held out his arm.

Ogata looked at him oddly. "What does it matter?"

Waya tried to explain, "He had a rather traumatic experience the other day…Oh, just do it, okay? He trusts you enough, so he won't run, and clearly I'm not going anywhere since I gave up my chance already."

"Waya…" Akira said, looking at the older boy with admiration.

Ogata looked at the two, then replied, "Fine." He let go of Akira and grabbed Waya's arm, then practically began to drag him.

"Ogata-sensei, wait," Akira said. "I have to go to my father's Go salon. I have to meet someone there soon."

"Then I guess we'll go there," the man responded.

Akira sighed and started following behind. "Alright, let's go."

And the three were on their way.

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"Welcome," Ichikawa said. "Oh, hello, Shindou-san. I wasn't expecting you today."

"Hey, Ichikawa-san," Hikaru said with a wave as the door closed behind him. "I was just looking for Akira. Is he here?"

"No, I haven't seen him today," she replied.

"Oh… oh well. I have a game in an hour so I have to go soon. I guess I can wait a bit, though," Hikaru told her.

"Alright. I'm sure someone would be happy to play you, if only for a warm-up," she suggested.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll go see." Hikaru headed toward the back of the room, where he usually sat. Instead of sitting at his normal table, he went up the stairs nearby.

"Hey, Miyanaga-san, would you like to play a game with me?" Hikaru asked an older man.

"Ah, sure, Shindou. Is the young Touya not here?" the man asked, curious.

"No, I'm actually waiting to see if he'll come soon, but I have a match later and need to leave soon," Hikaru replied. He went to the other side of the table and took the bowl with the white stones.

"Ah," the old man said, knowingly. "Looking for a warm-up, then?"

Hikaru smiled guiltily. "Kind of, but I really wanted a game, too."

"Okay. Well, I'll take seven stones," Miyanaga said. "I don't want to loose too badly." He chuckled. "And you are the young Touya's rival."

Hikaru smiled as the man put down seven black stones. "Onegaishimasu," Hikaru said, bowing properly.

"Onegaishimasu," the man replied.

They began to play.

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Ten minutes later, Ogata, Akira, and Waya all walked into the Touya's Go salon. "Hello, Ichikawa-san," Akira said.

"Hello, Touya-kun," the woman replied. "Oh, Ogata-sensei, good morning."

"Good morning," Ogata replied.

"Oh, Ichikawa-san, this is a friend of mine,' Akira said, gesturing to Waya. "Can he get in for free?"

Before she could reply, Waya said, "Actually I'm not here to play Go today."

"Well, in that case, he can get in for free," Ichikawa responded. "And Ogata-sensei can always get in for free."

"Thank you, Ichikawa-san," Ogata said, smiling slightly.

The three headed toward the back of the room, Ogata in the lead. Akira looked back to see his normal table empty. 'So he isn't here.' Then he heard a familiar voice.

"That was good, but you should have moved here. And over here, that shouldn't have been played here because once I put a stone here, this whole cluster is dead…."

"Hikaru," Akira said out loud. He began to walk slowly to the voice, ignorant to Ogata's calling. As he walked up the stairs, he saw the partial blonde. "Hikaru, you're here!"

Hikaru turned his head. "Oh, Akira, I was waiting to see if you'd come." He smiled. "I'm glad you did. I have something to tell you."

"Yeah, I need to tell you something, too," Akira replied. "And I need to ask something. But not here."

"Okay." Hikaru turned back to the game. "Miyanaga-san, do you mind if I go?" he asked the older man.

"No, no, go right ahead. It seems your rival needs you," Miyanaga said, smiling cheerfully.

"Thank you." Hikaru bowed his head and stood up, facing Akira. He then noticed Waya and Ogata standing behind the green-haired boy. "Oh, Waya, Ogata-sensei, hi."

"Hey, Shindou," Waya answered back.

"Hello, Shindou," Ogata countered. "I need to talk to you, as well as these two."

Hikaru frowned. "If it's about Sai, you can forget it. It would just confuse you."

Now Ogata frowned. "You know I don't accept that as an answer. Now, who is he?"

Hikaru smirked. "A thousand-year-old spirit who was also Honinbou Shuusaku. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to go." He walked right past Ogata, grabbing Akira's hand and Waya's arm in the process.

"Hey, hold it, Shindou!" Ogata called.

"Run!" Hikaru yelled.

"Whoa, Hikaru, slow down! This is very rude!" Akira scolded.

"We have no choice, Akira," Hikaru spoke as they ran out of the salon. He let go of Waya's sleeve but held on to Akira's hand. "Besides, I have a match in a half hour."

"Oh, shit!" Waya exclaimed, running alongside them. "Mine starts in ten minutes!"

"Then I guess we'd better hurry!"

The three ran to the Go Association as fast as they could, hoping Ogata wouldn't catch up to them. As they approached the building, they saw Ogata's red car waiting for them.

"Uh oh," Hikaru said. "Looks like we'd better sneak in the back."

Just then, Ogata spotted them.

"You guys go in the back," Akira said. "You both have matches. I'll go the other way to distract him, okay?"

"No way! I'm not leaving you!" Hikaru practically yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, it's not like he's some random drunk. He's a family friend and I trust him," Akira defended. "And maybe I trust him to much, but I'll be cautious anyway. So you two need to get to your matches. Now go!" Hikaru and Waya just looked at him. "You guys, go while you have the chance!"

The two looked at each other, then nodded, and Waya headed for the door.

Hikaru looked back at Akira. "Be careful," he said, and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. Then he backed up, a longing look in his eyes, and turned around and ran.