Chapter 8

Give an order to a cat, it will give it to its tail

—Chinese proverb

Akira made his way into his building trying desperately to ignore his pounding head. He greeted half-heartedly the apartment manager who had poked his head out just before him, a kind smile making its way on the wrinkled face. He hoped the man didn't have anything to say to him specifically. He really couldn't take any type of conversation at all at this point. He just wanted to go home and sink into bed with a nice cup of tea to sip at if he couldn't fall asleep right away. He was hoping that he wasn't coming down with something and that it was just a developing migraine. He really couldn't afford to get sick with the schedule he had. However, dealing with a migraine wasn't exactly pleasant either.

The older man only nodded at him, understanding coming to his old eyes with just one look. "Get some rest Touya-san. If you have some time another day, please come see me." Akira nodded at his words weakly, filing them away. He'd make Shindo do it. His rival had immediately liked the older man, explaining the rapport by saying he was similar to his grandfather.

He climbed the stairs and frowned as music filtered into the hallway. He made a face. New neighbors had moved in recently, maybe it was their music? How rude. It was so loud the floors were vibrating beneath his feet. And good lord, what was this type of music anyway? Akira felt his headache pound to the beat in a very painful manner. He gritted his teeth together. When his headache was gone, he'd have a few words with these neighbors…he would. Really. Oh if only the pain would go away.

His door was suddenly in front of him and he was dismayed to find that the music hadn't lessened at all in its blaring intensity. Instead, it seemed that the volume had increased ten-fold. A cold dread, cramped his stomach. Akira dropped his head, leaning it against the cool wooden door, whispering a soft prayer before yanking the unlocked door open.

Shindo was running? Dancing? In front of him to the music with Karu following his every move. She pranced after his moving feet, obviously enjoying the attention. He watched with growing disbelief as his rival bent to face the kitten and "Everybody, everybody, let's get into it! Get stupid! Get retarded, get retarded, get retarded…" started to sing. Akira leaned on the door frame, hands coming to cradle his head. Oh no. Oh no this was not happening. "Let's get retarded, HA, let's get retarded in here!" Karu meowed along with Akira's rival as if she too wanted to sing to this…this…music? She allowed herself to be picked up and swung around as Shindo started doing this weird step to the side then to the next, moving his hips to the beat.

"Kill me, please. Someone? Anyone?" Akira groaned. He felt bad for everyone in this hallway, having been put through this torture for…oh gods. How long had Hikaru been blaring his music like this? Akira blinked as he thought he heard the word epilepsy in the song. What? He shook his head and grimaced. That hadn't been the smartest thing to do. "Shindo." He tried with no visible effect as his rival continued to belt out the lyrics. "Shindo!" He walked further into the apartment, letting the door behind him slam shut. That was heard. Shindo yelped, rooted to the spot.

"TOUYA!" He let Karu fall to the ground, landing neatly on her four front paws. Very quickly, Shindo moved to the cd player and shut it off. "Uh. Hi. You scared the hell out of me." His rival took in a deep breath, rubbing at red cheeks. "Did you have a good day?" He asked weakly. For a moment, rendered speechless, Akira just stared. Mind you, it was only for a very short moment.

"What was that?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Uhm?" Shindo started sheepishly wondering whether the that was referring to the music, the dancing or both. Kira tentatively poked his head out from Akira's bedroom where he'd been hiding the entire time the music had been on.

"Do you realize," Akira took a step forward not realizing that the glare on his face due to pain was making him look very threatening. "that the entire hallway was vibrating to this?"

"No?" Shindo took a step back. He'd never seen Akira's game face away from the go board and now, he knew he should've been grateful. "I didn't realize it was that loud. I'm sorry?"

"I could hear it at the staircase and I was just thinking to myself how irresponsible and rude and… and it's you?" Akira snapped. "How long have you been listening to it this loudly? Actually don't answer that. I'm afraid to know. You should go see if any of our neighbors were here and apologize to them. I'm going to bed."

"T-touya?" The bedroom door clicked shut and Shindo just huffed a sigh, all trace of his previously good mood gone, completed drained away. A soft meow begged for his attention near his feet. "I think I'm in the doghouse." He confided quietly to his partner in crime. He knelt to the floor and cuddled Karu close to him. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

….…

The phone rang a couple hours later. Hikaru ran for it. He wasn't quite sure what Touya was doing since he'd come home. The other hadn't left his room since then and it made Hikaru feel ten times worse with the passing time. God, he felt like such a little kid sometimes.

"Mom?" He blinked. Great, increase the feeling of little kid by a hundred. "What is it? Huh? Yeah, I'm good. Touya's good. He's…he's busy right now. Mm-hmm, the kittens are fine. They're growing fast. Yep. Yep…ah," The next question she asked him made him blink, his heart suddenly hurting painfully in his chest. "Wow. It's hard to believe that it's almost been a whole month." He leaned against the kitchen wall behind him bracing himself against the cold slap of reality. "Yeah. Yeah I know. I'll start looking for a new apartment." He brushed aside his bangs, blinking hard. "Yeah mom. I get it. I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome either." He hissed the words out. And wow. They hurt. They hurt a lot. He'd been in happy denial, staying here with Touya and the kittens.

He'd gotten comfortable with the routine, with the company, with everything…

He'd made it his home even though he knew it would only be temporary.

But it wasn't his home. And the keyword was temporary.

"Mom, I should go. I love you too. Bye." He hung up the phone and glanced around the room, hoping to save the details forever. Hikaru turned away briskly and made his way into his bedroom, closing the door gently. He needed to start doing the research and ignore the growing lump in his throat.

….…

When Akira woke up it was to silence and a headache free world. He lay in his covers for a moment, enjoying the feeling of warmth and being fully relaxed. He couldn't stay there forever he knew and a glance at his alarm clock made him sigh, confirming his guess that he really ought to get up. He needed to make dinner and…well, if his memory was correct, he probably owed his rival an apology of some sort. He'd probably been a real bear towards him. He covered a yawn and swung his feet over the bed to settle on the floor.

If only he could just forget about everything and just go back to sleep. That would be so much nicer.

He stifled a groan and pushed himself off the rest of the way. Akira walked softly to the kitchen, smiling as the kittens immediately made their way towards him. They walked between his legs, their lithe bodies brushing against him in demand to be picked up or pet depending on which furry body it was. They followed him into the kitchen, Karu jumping to the counter. Her big green eyes blinked at him watching his every move. She knew better now then to get in his way of cooking. Instead, if she stayed nice and quiet either on the counter or on his shoulder where she could see everything, she was more likely to get a treat. Kira knew as well and made himself comfortable on the floor, blue eyes blinking sleepily.

A half hour later, with dinner steaming on the table Akira knocked on Shindo's door. "Dinner's ready." The door opened before he finished saying the words and the two rivals stood nose to nose. Akira blinked at the sudden proximity and took a step back. "Ah. Sorry about that."

"No, I'm sorry." Shindo offered hastily. "And I'm uh, I'm really sorry about before. I really, really didn't realize my music was so loud." Akira brushed his hair back past his ears, noticing half-heartedly that he really needed a hair cut. Most of his mind was focusing on his rival who was decidedly not himself. He was quiet, almost sad looking. It made him wince internally. He must have been worse than a bear.

"I'm sorry as well." He started. "I had a migraine and I was caught off guard." He offered a small smile. "Please don't take anything I said to heart. Though I would appreciate it if the music was never again that loud."

"It won't be. I promise." His rival sniffed at the air. "Smells good. Uhm. Are you feeling better?" Akira turned away to walk towards the kitchen area. He glanced behind his shoulder at Shindo who was following him.

"Yes, thank you." The prescription painkillers that he had for his migraines had worked wonders along with the undisturbed sleep.

Despite the shared apologies, Akira was at a loss of what to do or say when dinner remained a rather silent affair between the four of them.

….…

Ogata-san was quiet, which wasn't abnormal in itself. The man was an observer. He liked sitting back, smoking his cigarette and watching how the world interacted with its many players. It made time slow down for a just a second while revealing a great many things that most thought were kept perfectly hidden. Take Shindo for instance, he'd always been shining in a way that made others smile despite his sometimes rude and obnoxious behavior. He'd brightened however when he'd moved in with Akira. The huge smiles that he had been bringing to the Go Institute were blinding. It was almost to the point of being disgusting. And if that hadn't been obvious enough, Waya's change in attitude for Shindo's rival spoke volumes. The older man finished his cigarette, putting it out in the handy little tray the Go Institute had on their many tables. It was surprising then, to see Shindo looking—he pushed the tray aside—not himself. Down almost. His gaze moved from Shindo's little group to his godchild, hoping to find an explanation there.

Akira was rolling his shoulders forward and backwards to relieve his upper back and neck of the growing tension. His small smile was unfeigned as he leaned his head slightly towards Ashiwara, listening to the older man chatter about something or another. It was sometimes hard for Ogata-san to realize how much they'd all grown. Akira had long ago finished school, he was growing leaps and bounds in the Go world, already strong enough to reach Ogata-san where he stood and he was so much taller now. Akira had left the awkward stage of adolescence and was handsome, sure of himself and yet…Ogata-san smirked. The young man was still horribly naïve and oblivious when it came to certain—he took another glance at Shindo—things. Of course, Shindo's manner of handling things left a lot to be desired but still, most of those who knew the pair would have thought they'd be a bit further along then they actually were. And perhaps that was the answer to Shindo's demeanor. The lack of progress…

It wouldn't be good as Akira's Godfather if he didn't offer the rivals of the Go world a helping hand. He huffed a small sigh that was more a pleased chuckle than anything else. It wouldn't do at all. He eased himself into Ashiwara's conversation, waiting for a pause in his cheerful friend's ramblings to put his plan into action. It couldn't come soon enough, for his taste.

"So," Ogata-san cut in smoothly, playing with the pack of cigarettes resting on his lap. The two other go players turned to look at him. "Has Shindo confessed yet?" Ashiwara squawked and was ignored as Ogata-san continued to focus on Akira's face. Green eyes widened in a perplexed manner.

"Confessed?" The young man tilted his head in a questioning manner. "What was he supposed to confess about?" He blinked and seemed to think about the matter a bit too seriously for Ogata-san's sake. Where was the blushing? Where was the frantic and stammering denial? Instead, Akira's puzzled look took on a darkening frown. "Did he do something?" Ashiwara made a noise that couldn't be categorized while Ogata-san coughed in surprise. That wasn't what he'd been expecting.

"Akira," He started, closing his eyes. "What the hell are you on about?"

"Well there are two reasons one would confess something." Two? News to him. "One, if they've done something bad." Ashiwara was grinning in a sympathetic manner, shaking his head slightly. It was clear to Ogata-san that Ashiwara was thinking of Shindo's plight. Ogata-san could only feel his eyebrows arch higher and higher in surprise. 'You have got to be kidding me,' he thought. If he'd known Akira was being this slow, he would have meddled in their affairs earlier. "Or two, if they like that person. That obviously can't be it so that leaves option one. What did Shindo do?"

"Think again." He muttered. Akira blinked. And blinked again.

"Excuse me?" Now there was a blush spreading over pale skin. He sighed and took a second cigarette out, tapping it gently against the pack.

"I was talking about option two." He deliberately said the words slowly, drawing them out. "I'm guessing from your reaction, that he hasn't. The idiot." He glared at Ashiwara to keep the other quiet. The younger man rolled his eyes at the glare, smile still playing on his lips. He wasn't going to interfere for now and Ogata-san was grateful. "I'm surprised actually," He lit the cigarette. "He's blunt about everything else."

"I don't think," Akira started awkwardly. "You're, He's, We're not…"

"Think about it." That would be enough of a push for now, he thought. He pushed himself up and stretched while smoothing the wrinkles out of his suit. With that, he walked out of the room. He'd done his good deed for the Godfather title. He'd wait and see how the rest played out.

Ashiwara glanced at the younger man in amusement and worry at the same time. He didn't think he could ever remember a time when Akira had looked so red and so helplessly lost. The wide green eyes followed Ogata-san out the room and Ashiwara could only sigh. That man was insufferable at times. He took Akira's hand in his own, tapping it gently in what he hoped was a soothing manner. He could almost see Akira thinking everything through, probably re-analyzing previous moments between him and his rival. When Akira turned to him and weakly opened his mouth, Ashiwara nodded without needed to hear the question.

Akira bowed his head in defeat.

To be continued…

A/n- Thank you for those who have been reviewing and supporting me throughout the process of writing this story. I really appreciate the feedback and I def. take it into consideration when I start writing the next chapters…which is why I decided to move things along a bit. :P Huggles to all of you. Oh and slight disclaimer- the lyrics that Hikaru was singing are not of my own creation. They belong to the Black Eyed Peas.