Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ For the Love of the Game ❯ Cats and Dogs ( Chapter 3 )

Well, here we are, finally jumping into the story. Some fun things happen with Akira. I had a lot of fun writing this particular chapter, and I have a feeling the opening of Chapter 4 will be even more fun to write. ^.~ Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 3: Cats and Dogs

 

It was early when Shindou woke, light from the rising sun streaming through the blinds. A heavy hand hit the clock to stop the loud sound that had pulled him from his peaceful reverie. He had almost sunk back into his dreams when he heard the front door click open.

 

Someone shifted around in his living room, opened his bathroom window, and made their way into his room, where the blinds were quickly pulled open and his blanket yanked from his grasp.

 

“Touya!” Shindou whined, promptly curling into a ball to hide from the cold morning air, still clutching his sheet.

 

A fully dressed and awake Touya was still moving around his room, collecting Shindou's dirty laundry. “Get up, Hikaru. You have a job today, you know. And don't call me Touya just because I won't let you sleep in. You haven't called me that in a month now. You don't want to anger the Kadosuki family, do you?”

 

“Who in their right mind sets up a tutoring game at 7 o'clock in the morning?” Hikaru groaned, grudgingly sitting up to look at his best friend.

 

“Someone looking to catch you without your wits.” Touya shot him a quick smirk before he returned to his methodical cleaning.

 

Shindou scowled as he climbed out of bed, clad only in striped boxers. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, and I'm at a disadvantage. You're a morning person.” Touya just grinned and threw him a pair of pants. He was used to dragging a half naked Hikaru out of bed.

 

“What's for breakfast?” Hikaru said through a yawn as he tugged on the pants.

 

“Eggs.” Touya tossed him a blue button up shirt. Hikaru promptly threw it back.

 

“Blech. You know I hate button ups.” He made a sour face.

 

“You look good in them. Besides, I hear your client is a young girl. Why not dress to impress?” Touya chuckled at Shindou's bored expression. “It wouldn't kill you to date.”

 

“Same goes for you. I don't think I've ever seen you with a girl.” He shot back. Touya answered him by throwing the shirt back at him. Shindou obediently put it on, despite his scowl.

 

“That's better. And you know I don't have time to date. I barely have time to keep up all of your chores. I thought you were going to learn how to do this yourself? It doesn't seem you've learned so much as you've figured out how to get me to do it.”

 

“That's not hard. You're an absolute perfectionist. My absence of doing it is all I have to do for you to do it for me.” He grinned. “I'm going to go eat before it gets cold!”

 

“Don't forget your socks!” Touya yelled after him, but he had already ran across the hall and was probably sitting at Touya's table eating. Touya shook his head, grinning.

 

***

 

“Waya, quit pretending to be asleep. I know you couldn't have possibly gone back to sleep in less than a minute.” Waya mumbled something about 5 more minutes, and Isumi put his hands on his hips. “Waya, get out of bed this instant. Touya is waiting for you.”

 

“Fine, fine.” He stumbled out of bed and stretched lazily. “I'm not looking forward to this, you know.”

 

“Just remember, you're doing this for Shindou.”

 

“I know. But spending a few hours with just Touya? Are you sure you can't come?” He pouted.

 

Isumi raised an eyebrow. “I'm not the one with the problem. Besides, if I go, you'll just ignore Touya. This way, you'll be forced to talk to him.”

 

“That's not very nice…” He sighed. “I'm getting in the shower. Maybe if I drown myself, I won't have to go.”

 

“Very funny Waya. Hurry up, or I'll turn on the hot water and ruin your shower.” Waya grumbled all the way to the bathroom, and Isumi smiled. This could turn out to be a very good thing, and he wanted to make sure Waya was there on time. Touya wasn't exactly the patient type, and he didn't want anything putting Touya Akira in a bad mood today. If all went well, Waya could finally drop the grudge that had merely become habit, and maybe, just maybe, Touya and Waya could be friends.

 

***

 

Shindou pressed the gate buzzer, and a gruff voice came over the intercom. “Yes?”

 

“It's Shindou Hikaru, Sir.”

 

“Come on in.” The gate clicked, and he entered into a small, but well-groomed garden area. The Kadosuki's were quite wealthy, and word had it their daughter was seeking a long term partner. Shindou sighed. Rich girls were so spoiled. They figured they could take what ever they wanted. Well, Shindou arrived as a pro, and he'd be damned if he didn't leave as one.

 

The young girl bowed politely, bending forward just a little too much in a shirt that left nothing to the imagination. She was a pretty girl, long blonde hair, soft green eyes with a hint of mischief in them, not too tall with a slender waist. As she straightened, her eyes narrowed slightly, her heavy mascara outlining long eyelashes, which fluttered as she blinked. A flawless smile branched out on her face. Shindou was looking out the window.

 

“Would you care to sit Shindou-sama?” Her voice was quiet, most properly described as alluring yet shy, and for added effect, a light pink tint crept into her cheeks, just enough to show interest, but not enough to say embarrassment.

 

Shindou looked over suddenly, completely missing all of her words and careful considerations. “Um, I'm sorry, what was that?”

 

Whether it was anger or disappointment that flashed in her eyes, Shindou would never know. Not that he was looking at her eyes. She cleared her throat, the sweet look returned to her face, and repeated herself. “I asked you if you'd like to sit, Shindou-sama.”

 

“Ah, yes, let's.” He sat absent-mindedly across from her, mentally cursing about all the things he could be doing right now instead of being cooped up with a girl he was sure wasn't the least bit interested in Go. Like sleeping, for one. Or playing Akira. That's right, Akira is out with Waya right now. I wonder if it's going well…

 

A month ago, Akira had made up his mind to talk to Waya, the only problem being his inability to communicate with most people his age. So Akira had put it off, blaming it on their busy schedules. Shindou just figured he'd never get around to doing it. He was sure Akira had no idea what to say. Neither of them had expected Waya to initiate the contact. Hikaru was still a little confused about that. Waya hated Touya. Whatever the reason, Hikaru speculated, he was sure Isumi's insightful nature had something to do with it.

 

“…Shindou-sama?” All thoughts broke off immediately as he stared blankly at the girl before him. She gestured to the Goban between them.

 

“Oh, yes, place 5 stones please.” He rubbed his temples. Even with Akira out, he could still spend some time sleeping.

 

Focus, focus. He just needed to get through this game. His zoning out would just make his stay longer than it already would be. Hikaru watched as she placed her fifth stone and started to play.

 

***

 

“Oohaiyo gozaimasu, Touya-san.” His words were stifled, but less hostile than usual, and Waya bowed awkwardly, biting back a scowl.

 

“I wish you wouldn't worry about the formalities, Waya-san.” Touya also bowed, a disturbing smile on his face. It wasn't all that often that Touya smiled, and when he did, it was usually quite empty, a plastered smile that irritated Waya to no end. He couldn't tell if this smile was forced or not, but the suggestion to drop the formalities confused him. Touya Akira denounce formality? What was the world coming to?

 

In the midst of his confusion, all he could manage was a muttered, “Oh, sure, I guess.”

 

“Shall we go in?” Only Touya Akira would mention dropping formalities and then use the word `shall'. The eerie smile didn't budge from his face, and Waya's brain was working overtime. He was already suspicious of Touya, but his out of character behavior was like icing on the cake.

 

“Uh, yeah. Let's go.” They turned and walked into the West Shrine Lounge. Oddly enough, it had been Touya's idea to do something that wasn't related to Go. They had decided on the West Shrine Lounge after Waya had suggested it, and Touya hadn't resisted.

 

They stepped onto the grey tile flooring of the entrance walkway. The lounge was separated into two rooms, one for dining, and one for hanging out. Waya turned down the hallway that lead to the latter, and Touya followed quietly, eyes darting from the decorum to the people who currently inhabited the area. How like Touya to instantly absorb everything.

 

The room was very large, plush green couches littering the dark hardwood floor used for dancing in the later hours of the night. A bar with a grumpy looking man pouring green drinks for a very plump couple was on the far left side, and a stage with abandoned DJ equipment was dead center on the opposite wall. The walls were somewhat plain, white in color, but there were colored lights hanging from the ceiling. Though the club was open 24 hours, not many people were at the Lounge this early.

 

Still, judging by the subtle look on Touya's face, it was too many. He'd obviously never set foot in a club before.

 

Smiling at his uncertainty, Waya said, “Relax a little, will ya? Let's go sit in the corner over there.”

 

They sat relatively far from the rest of the people there, all of which seemed to gather near the bar. Waya took the seat in the corner, facing the rest of the room, hoping if Touya couldn't see the other people, he'd feel a little better. He wished Touya would just learn how to relax.

 

Silence prevailed for five whole minutes. Touya was sitting up straight, apparently examining the small coffee table between them. Waya just melted into the soft armchair, waiting for Touya to speak. He couldn't think of a thing to say to the rival he never had. His anger towards having his talent ignored by Touya still hadn't left him, and though Touya was taking the time to get to know him, he couldn't seem to push past it.

 

The silence was damaging.

 

“Hey, want something to drink?” Waya asked, hoping to kill a few minutes of time standing at the bar.

 

“I'd like that. Would you like me to go with you?”

 

“Naw, it's fine. Just tell me what you want. I'll get it for you.”

 

“Iced Tea, please.” The smile was back, but he was tense, easily reflected by his stiff posture. Waya was going to have to do something about that, or he'd slowly go insane sitting here with him.

 

***

 

Shindou was bored stiff. Two hours and four games had passed. As he'd suspected, the girl had no talent for Go, and no passion to learn. She sure did shift around a lot though. It was starting to grade on his nerves, the way she'd scoot forward every time he spoke, briefly looking down at what he was pointing at without absorbing anything. She smiled more than was natural, too.

 

“Would you like to take a break?” Would I ever. “We could talk a bit out on the porch.” Oh, that kind of break. Her never ending smile widened more than Shindou had previously thought possible, and with a nod, she was dragging him outside. Will this ever end?

 

***

 

The drink was sour. There was something about it that was off, but he couldn't really put his finger on it. Not wanting to be rude, he sipped it through the straw Waya had provided, and he attempted to ignore the burning sensation it made in his chest.

 

He was feeling a bit more comfortable now, though.

 

“I'm glad you called me, Waya. The truth is, I was going to call you, but I didn't know what to say.” Touya was still smiling as he had been all morning, but it was getting to be easier to do. He took another sip off his drink. “You see, I really wanted to talk with you a bit.”

 

Waya was smiling too, but his smile was oddly mischievous, and curiosity littered his eyes. “Oh really? What did you want to talk about?”

 

“Well, I'd like to apologize for not openly acknowledging your talent. I suppose I can be a little narrow minded at times. You have real talent.” He paused to take another sip off his drink, relishing slightly in the genuine shock sitting plainly on Waya's face. It was getting a little hot in the Lounge, and he was starting to wonder why they didn't have an air conditioner. “I know you've never liked me very much, and I'd like that to change. I just feel very awkward around people my own age.” He hadn't imagined it would be so easy to talk to Waya. He wondered why he hadn't tried before. He took another sip of his drink. It got better with each passing taste, and now with the cup empty, he was eagerly wanting more. “What did you say this drink was called again?”

 

“Long Island Iced Tea.”

 

“I think I'm going to go get another one. I didn't like it much at first, but it's actually pretty good.” Touya went to stand.

 

“No, I'll get it for you.” Waya blurted out, grabbing Touya's cup and dashing across the room. Touya settled back against the plush chair, no longer worried about posture. The heat was really getting to him now, as he was a little light headed, and beads of sweat tickled his forehead. He wiped at them with the back of his hand and glanced at his watch. It was about 9. Hikaru had been at his Tutoring Session for about two hours. He wondered if he'd be there when he got back. He felt like he was making real progress with Waya. After only spending a half hour with him, he could feel a breakthrough coming. He could see it as if it were a well placed move in an even Go match.

 

“Here you go.” Waya smiled at him, and Touya instantly put his lips to the straw. Despite the lingering burn, the drink was rather refreshing.

 

“So… What's it like living across from Shindou?”

 

“It's really nice, actually. We get along a lot better than we used to, though he still can't take care of himself.” Touya chuckled. “I did his laundry before I came here. He had a Tutoring Session this morning, and I had time, so I took care of it for him. We're very lucky the apartment complex put in a laundry room. I don't have to do it by hand anymore.”

 

“Isumi does my laundry. He has to do it by hand, but it's okay, he doesn't seem to mind. I usually keep him company while he does it.”

 

“That's nice. It's probably a little cramped in the bathroom together though, isn't it?”

 

“We don't mind that at all. It's not like we aren't used to being close to each other.” Waya hiccupped a little. The heat seemed to be getting to him too, and he fanned himself with his hand a bit.

 

Touya watched Waya for a moment, not sure what to make of his last statement. After a few moments of careful consideration, he said, “You and Isumi are close?” Waya grinned.

 

“You could say that.” The mischief was back in his smile, leaking its way into his eyes.

 

“How so?”

 

Waya changed the subject. “Touya, have you ever been in a relationship?”

 

He was a bit taken aback by this new line of questioning. “What do you mean?”

 

“You know, an intimate relationship.”

 

“I've never had a girlfriend, if that's what you mean.”

 

“What about a boyfriend?”

 

Touya shook his head slightly. What the hell was Waya getting at? The conversation had changed from strange to just plain confusing. Touya took a long sip of his drink before squinting his eyes to look at Waya. “No, I haven't. Just what are you getting at?”

 

“I have.” Why is he so casually telling me this? What does it have to do with anything? Waya paused to take a large gulp of his own drink before continuing again. “Isumi and I are in a relationship.” Oh. I guess he wasn't changing the subject…

 

They sat for several moments in silence. Touya thought about this rather curious new piece of information, rolling it around in his mind. “Does Shindou know?”

 

“He's the only one who knows. Well, now you know, of course. But only you two. Shindou never told you?”

 

“No.” A puzzled expression came over him, and he thought about it some more. He had a question. “Hey Waya…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If you're both guys… how does that work? I mean, how do you have sex?” Waya blushed to the roots of his hair, and it took a moment for Touya to realize why he was so embarrassed. Once realized, his skin quickly followed suit. “Gomen…”

 

“No, it's okay.” Waya said, some of the red fading. “I just didn't expect you to be so forward about it.” Waya chuckled a little. “Looks like you've finally relaxed. And well, it's sort of like being with a girl… except there's one less hole…” Waya quickly blushed again, and Touya decided it was best to drop the topic at hand.

 

“I'm happy for you.”

 

“Thanks. But haven't you at least thought about being in a relationship? No interests, hot fantasies, anything?”

 

“Well, no. I'm too busy with Go, and like I told Shindou this morning, doing his chores.” He giggled a bit, hiccupping in the process.

 

Waya's ridiculous look said it all, and Touya blushed a little. “No one? Not ever?”

 

“Well, I'm not really worried about it right now.” He said, a bit quieter than his previous statement. “Besides, I mentioned Shindou should get a girlfriend this morning, and he just blew me off. Neither of us have time for it.”

 

“Shindou too, huh?”

 

“Yeah.” Waya was giving him such a strange look that he allowed himself to stare at him for a full minute before realizing that it was rude. He looked away, unable to decipher the meaning behind it. He shrugged it off and killed off his drink. Then he held it up.

 

Waya raised an eyebrow. “Another?” Touya nodded, a small head rush coming over him as he did. It was really a very good drink.

 

***

 

“So you live near Touya 7-dan? That's great. Do you play a lot of unofficial games together?”

 

“Yeah. Touya and I are good friends. We do a lot of things together.” Shindou smiled with some effort. The girl was quickly becoming even more boring than he'd first thought, and her interest in his personal life was more than a little disturbing.

 

“That's great!” She exclaimed excitedly. Shindou couldn't quite figure out why.

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

“I bet it would be a lot of fun to hang out with a couple of pros like you two.” With that, she stretched her hand across the table, brushing her fingers across his before completely engulfing his hand altogether. Awkwardness crept over him, and he looked away, more than a little annoyed that her fingers seemed to be massaging his knuckles. “Do you hang out with many other pros?”

 

He pressed his hand open, and hers flattened out over his. It didn't seem like she was going to let go. “Well, I spend a lot of time with Waya and Isumi. I've known them since I was an Insei.”

 

“How interesting.” Shindou faked a small cough. She still didn't let go. What was with this girl, anyway? She turned his hand over in hers and seemed to be examining his fingertips. He couldn't help but be reminded of that time all those years ago when Touya had asked him for his hand. He never did find out why he'd done that. He'd have to ask him later.

 

“Yeah.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Would you like to play another game now?”

 

“Not yet. I'm enjoying our chat, aren't you?” Her fingers drew little circles on his palm.

 

Not in the slightest. “Yeah, I suppose.” He wanted his hand back. He'd been here for much too long, and he found himself wishing for any excuse to leave.

 

***

 

How very interesting. Waya would have to thank Kenji later. It certainly paid off to know the owner of the club. To let minors drink in his club; he owed him one, that's for sure.

 

It was more than he had ever expected, this new side of Touya. It almost made him pleasant. And that sex question, how completely unlike him. And the relationship that seemed to have grown between Shindou and Touya… he was sure neither of them had any idea how far their friendship actually went.

 

Waya wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was drinking much slower than Touya, and a much milder drink, but he was still feeling the heat from it. He couldn't believe Touya was on his third Long Island Iced Tea. A blend of 7 different alcohols in a person who didn't drink ever, thanks to a claim that it was hazardous to his health, wouldn't sit well. He'd have to make sure Touya didn't have another.

 

Touya swayed slightly in his seat, smiling openly. He certainly was a happy drunk, he'd give him that. “Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?”

 

Oh yeah, he was really drunk. “Yeah, I guess I should apologize for not giving you a chance. You're an alright guy.”

 

“That's really nice to hear.” Touya swayed dangerously in his seat. He reached for his glass. This doesn't look very good… Waya's hand barely brushed the glass as Touya quickly drained it. Then he fell forward.

 

“Touya!” Waya's arms reached across the table, grabbing Touya by the shoulders just before he smashed into the coffee table face first.

 

“Shit.”

 

***

 

She was still babbling on and on, about what, he wasn't sure. At least she wasn't asking him questions anymore. She was, however, still clinging to his hand.

 

Then his phone rang. Thank the Gods. Before she could stop him, he pulled his hand free, fished his cell phone from his pocket, saw Waya's number, and puzzled, answered the phone.

 

“Waya? I thought you were with Touya? You're still with him? Hurry back? What happened? What? Why did he collapse?! …YOU WHAT?! I'll be there in 20 minutes. Don't you dare go anywhere.”

 

“I apologize, but I have an emergency. I must excuse myself.” The girl just stared in wonder. His screaming must have scared her. But he didn't give a damn about what she thought at this particular moment.

 

He had to get home to take care of Touya. And kill Waya.