Chapter 3

Consequences, Consequences

Hikaru made his way to the Go Institution with a smile on his face. Kira had been so positively adorable this morning it had been hard to think he'd made the wrong choice in getting him. He'd been so good the entire night too. Curling up by his head with just one little paw reaching out to touch his cheek…it had been such a comforting presence. Hikaru had fallen asleep to the kitten's purring. There'd been only one slight problem. Hikaru tended to move when he slept and he'd nearly rolled over Kira. The little squeak had roused him from his deep sleep in a way his mother's daily naggings had never been able to. Hikaru shook his head at the memory and stepped into someone in the process. Trying to recover from the sudden loss of balance, the nineteen year old did not notice who in fact he'd bumped into.

"Gah!"

"Sorry. So sorry. I…"

"Shindo?" Touya's voice. Oh shit.

"Ah Touya. Sorry. I was in my own thoughts. I didn't see you." He spoke the words out as quickly as possible, not knowing where he stood with the other go player. "Are you ok?"

"…fine…" The other man drawled out, gently brushing himself off. "Why. Wouldn't. I. Be?" The words were hissed out now, the jaw muscles clearly tense.

"Sorry?" Hikaru squeaked under the green glare that was focusing on him. Touya merely sighed. They started to walk together, silently. The one with blond bangs feeling as if he were walking on egg shells and mulling over how to start a conversation with the other go player without starting a fight. He had some questions he wanted to ask but…he didn't know how to bring them up politely. How does one go about asking: Can I really move in with you?

….…

The other go player was too tired to care one way or another, enjoying the silence as long as he could. He'd barely survived the night. Karu had kept him up the entire time, meowing at his door so loudly, Akira was sure his entire apartment building had heard him. That little... He'd tried to let that fur ball in his bedroom. That kitten must have been high on something, sugar high or caffeinated, he didn't know what but it had kept Karu up and running on a LOT of energy. He'd pounced on his bed, batted at his hair and face and when Akira had tried to cover his face to get some peace, the little sucker had made his way under the covers and bitten his nose! That had been too much. He'd grabbed Karu and placed the indignant kitty on its little behind outside of his room. He'd then promptly shut the door. To a very sleepless night. To be fair, Akira had to concede that Karu hadn't meowed the entire night. The kitten had meowed every hour as if testing Akira's patience. When morning had come—too soon—Akira had opened his door to find a pathetic sight indeed. A little white and tan body was curled tightly…Karu's head had lifted wearily and blinked its eyes slowly before uncurling and running to Akira's legs. He'd bent down and picked the kitten up despite his earlier anger and resentment; his heart had completely melted as the furry head butted his chest. That was the only cute and quiet thing that had occurred that morning. Akira had tried to go about his morning routine and had failed miserably. His shower had been cut short when Karu had run into the hot spray like a kamikaze and had screamed when the hot water had hit his fur. The nineteen year old go player had then had to run after the soaked kitten to get it dried before it decided to go and jump on his laptop or any other electrical device. The scene, he was sure, would have been amusing in a comedy NOT in his life. Breakfast had been cut short as well. The kitten had pounced into his bowl of cereal, splashing milk everywhere. Karu had been happy, purring and licking himself. Akira had been beyond angry and scared at that time, dripping in milk as well. He'd read online that kittens Karu's age shouldn't be given milk. He didn't know why though. He'd ignored the milk seeping into his new suit and had started to clean his now hissing and obviously pissed kitten. That had caused him to get multiple bites and scratches on his hands.

It hurt.

A side-way glance at his rival caused Akira to nearly stumble. The man looked nervous about something, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. That usually spelled trouble for him.

"Are you ok Shindo?" He remembered belatedly that the idiot had apartment issues due to his new pet. His question was therefore stupid.

"Uhm…" The blond bangs hid those usually wide expressive eyes. "I'm…ok." Before Akira could question the slight hesitancy, a redhead came into view.

"Yo! How are you two? Have you guys figured out the living arrangements yet, roomies?" Akira blinked. And blinked again. Somehow he felt like he was being cornered again into something he didn't quite want.

"Excuse me?" His tone must have been warning enough. Waya seemed to want to backpedal the way he came from. Shindo's head had snapped up, his mouth hanging wide open in horror. "Roomies?" All three young men had frozen only a block away from their destination.

"What he means," Shindo started rapidly only after a slight pause. "is that you uh…can…"

"Spit it out Shindo!" Akira snapped.

"What did you mean yesterday on the phone?" The nineteen year old had a very weird look on his face. "What did you mean when you said that if you took Kira I'd have to come too?" Shindo added quickly, reading Akira's lost expression correctly. Akira almost wished he hadn't. When had he said that? And for god's sake why? Why had he said that? He tried to wrack his mind to find the memory but decided he was much too tired. He bit off a groan, shaking his head and starting to walk again so he wouldn't have to see Shindo's falling face.

"I don't know, Shindo. I don't know anything anymore." He thought he saw Waya mouth a 'what?! I'm sorry!' to Shindo as he passed by. "How long do you have at the old apartment?" He called behind him.

"A month." Came the answer along with the fall of fast footsteps as Shindo ran to catch up with him. Waya followed just as quickly. Akira forced his tired mind to remember how long it had taken him to find an apartment. He had to bite off a yawn that wanted to escape his lips. It had been more than a month. Definitely longer.

"Hm." He sighed. "Just until you find another apartment Shindo."

"Really?!" Akira spun on his heels to face the insufferable man.

"But let's make this perfectly clear. The cats are yours to train. Both of them! And there are rules!" He stopped himself short of wagging his finger in his rival's all too cheerful face. "Many many rules."

"Thank you, Touya!"

"Many." He repeated glumly, hoping that his point was emphasized but fearing that Shindo would just ignore it like he usually did with things that just didn't go with his view of the world. He ignored Waya's relieved and suddenly very knowing grin. "I give up." He grumbled to himself.

"Hey Touya," Waya's voice beckoned him to turn around once more. He squashed the urge and continued his walk forward. Maybe one day his world would go back to making sense. And when it did, maybe he'd realize what a horrible and stupid mistake he'd just made. Good lord… "What happened to your hands?"

"Shit Touya!" Shindo exclaimed a couple seconds later. It would be a world Akira realized dimly where his rival would not be inspecting his hands as if they were made of glass. A world where that small warm touch would not be sending shivers up and down his spine nor causing his face to become an uncomfortable shade of red. Still, that did not mean he would just succumb to the insanity like that. He jerked his hands away.

"Karu. Your gift is what happened."

And with his dignity intact, Touya Akira finally reached his destination.

….…

"Hey mom," Hikaru hid a yawn behind his hand as he listened to his mom's voice over the phone. "I'm ok. Yes, I'm eating enough. Yes…" There was a pause in which the nineteen year old tilted his head back and rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes…yes Mom Mmm-hmm." He sighed. "Mo-om! I have clean clothes and clean underwear. Chill out! I can handle this living on my own business…" Well, he winced at that. "Actually mom? I was calling cause I needed to tell you something." He waited for the usual worried chatter to pass. "I'm moving in with Touya." There was a sudden silence at the other end which caused Hikaru to be worried that they'd been disconnected. "Mom?" He took the cell phone from his ear and looked at the screen. The seconds kept on adding. "You still there?" He asked as he placed the phone near his mouth again. "Yeah. Yeah I'm ok. Yes, I've thought this through." He winced again at that little white lie. "No. Nothing's wrong with this apartment. It's very nice. I just…" Hikaru cleared his throat. "I got a cat." When Hikaru winced this time it was because his mother's voice had hit a pitch that just wasn't natural. "Ouch Ma—" He held the phone away from his ear just long enough for the worse to pass. It passed relatively quickly. After all, his mother was a very calm and easy mannered woman. "I love you?" A smile tugged at his lips as he heard the same reassuring and comforting response albeit a bit exasperated. "Awh Mom…don't worry about when I move. Waya, Isumi and Touya will help me. I'll have it all taken care of. I promise." There was another slight pause and this time it wasn't because of anything that was happening on the other end of the line. Kira had made his way silently towards him and decided to sit right at his feet, planting its front paws way in front of him as he stretched.

"mrew?" Green eyes blinked at him. 'So cute! Hikaru thought.

"You'll have to come and meet the cat. And mom… I really meant it when I said I love you."

….…

As Akira made his way to his apartment manager's office, he wondered warily how to broach the subject of having added another cat and another roommate on top of everything else without starting to seem a bit…unstable. He bit off a sigh and knocked on the door, half hoping the older man wouldn't be there. Unfortunately, the man was in.

"Touya-san? How can I help you?" The old man asked, surprised etched on his wrinkled face.

"Ah." How to start? Did the man know of any way to keep rivals at bay? He didn't think so. "It's a bit complicated." Akira sat down in the chair facing the desk. He waited until the man finished shuffling around with his papers before going on. "My—" He stumbled on the word. "—friend can no longer stay in his apartment and during the time where he'll be looking for an apartment, I offered him to stay with me." There was a pause which the old man waited out quite patiently. "He has a cat himself. Is there an extra fee we would have to pay?"

"For your friend, no. Though we'll have to change your paper work a bit, I'm afraid. It shouldn't take too long." The apartment manager pushed himself off the chair and poked his head in one of the many dusty filing cabinets that made up the room. "Your contract should be..." The words became muffled and Akira watched on. "…right here! Now where was I. Yes, you won't have to pay for your friend but for his cat you will. Now, there won't be an addition to the pet deposit that you paid yesterday. However, you will have to pay this monthly fee on top of your usual rent for two cats instead of one. See…" Various papers were pushed his way.

"Yes, I see." Akira muttered weakly though he really didn't. Did it really make that big of difference? It was just one more cat…But even in his mind the argument failed. He'd already seen enough of Karu's antics to know that having one more cat like that would be the death of him.

"Well, in any case…when is this friend of yours moving in with you?" The old man asked, biting the end of his pen as his eyes scanned one sheet.

"Sometime between now and four weeks."

"Ah." He marked something off and scribbled a large two. "Is this friend the one who gave you your cat?" The man inquired, suddenly looking up.

"Yes?!" The old eyes were sharp and under those white bushy eyebrows, they seemed to take on a calculating glint.

"I see." He sat up and placed his pen down. "Well. I've taken care of making the changes on your contract. For the monthly fee, just let me know when he and his cat come so I'll know what amount to bill you for. And Touya-san, there should be a larger apartment opening up soon." His voice was suddenly quite neutral. "Would you like me to hold it for you if it does?"

"Uhm?" Come again? What was that? "No…" Akira started slowly, feeling overwhelmed. He'd started getting up thinking that this little meeting was over and that next time, he'd just send Shindo here to deal with all of this. "I'm quite happy with my apartment. This is only going to be a temporary situation."

"Temporary. Of course." The old man hummed tunelessly. "Still, it can't hurt…I'll let you know if it frees up."

"T-thank you." Touya stammered though he wasn't quite sure why he should be thankful. "I'll be going now." And the young man nearly tripped as he tried to get out of the room as fast as he could.

To be continued…

A/N- Thank you for the reviews and thank you so much for pointing out that one mistake where I called Karu- Kira! So confusing. O.O