Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ The Extent of Denial ❯ Dating and Jealousy ( Chapter 6 )

“Wow, like, why is this game so complicated?” Shindou's girlfriend squeaked, leaning perilously close to the Go board.

 

Akira wrinkled his nose, indignant. It was bad enough that Shindou had dared to bring such a creature to their weekend Go marathon once, but this was the second time. And a different girl! The other pro had apparently begun dating as much as he could after the strip club incident. What had been that bit about not fearing emasculation?

 

The worst thing was that neither of the girls knew a thing about Go. He couldn't take it.

 

“Shindou! How can you do this? Don't you think that anyone worthwhile should know something about Go? Or at least be a decent player? You're a pro. There must be girls at the Institute that wouldn't turn you down! Why this??”

 

Shindou clasped his hands behind his head and grinned, leaning back in the booth. “What do you mean, Touya? They're both nice girls!”

 

“That don't know a thing about the center of your life!” Akira snapped back.

 

The girl frowned, sweeping back her long black hair. “Hikaru, I don't like your friend. He's very rude.”

 

Akira almost exploded. Her familiarity with his rival was unreal.

 

“Yes, well, Touya is always like that,” Shindou assured the girl, smiling at him as if to soften the insult.

 

Shocked, he stared at the other boy, but the last thing he wanted was to start something in front of this girl. He did not want to give the blond-banged idiot any reason to get closer to the girl, nor did he want to attempt to drive a wedge between himself and his rival at this critical juncture - or the girl and his rival. Shindou was the type to cling harder to that which was pushed or taken away from him, and he wasn't certain that he could bear repeated exposures to her. Perhaps they could make a rule that girlfriends were not allowed in the Go parlor?

 

But then again, his father had arranged for him to date the well-bred daughter of one of his friends, so it seemed he had his own girlfriend. He did not want to be prohibited from entering Go parlors by his own inconvenient rule that wouldn't serve to correct a damned thing.

 

Akira had been subjected to her company several times, and would be having dinner with her tonight at his family's home. It wasn't that the girl was all that bad, but he truly didn't want to spend time with her. He despised being forced to do anything that he didn't want to do.

 

On a positive note, he had successfully retrieved his palm pilot, since Shindou seemed concerned that one of the girls would try to play with it.

 

He could not wait to show the other pro his girlfriend. Akira felt almost as if he had something to prove. If Shindou could get one, then so could he!

 

Frankly, the palm pilot was much more entertaining. Especially when he played the voice clip he had of Shindou saying, “I resign!” at the end of a game.

 

Akira tabled his irritation and played on, doing his best to ignore the girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hikaru smirked as he noted the sharpness of Touya's movements as he placed his next stone and took a sip of his coffee. His rival was obviously annoyed, no doubt at his girlfriend's presence.

 

Those aqua eyes flashed up to challenge him, all fire and determination.

 

Perhaps he owed it to Touya to have a girlfriend-less outing somewhere - and to his other friends, as well. It wasn't very fair to them to show them what they obviously had difficulty obtaining for themselves, after all!

 

Waya had also complained rather bitterly after being subjected to his girlfriends. Isumi, being wonderfully calm and tolerant, didn't say much of anything about the matter.

 

There was a community pool not too far from his house, and none of them lived so far apart that it would take very long to get there. He and Akira could walk, and Isumi and Waya would likely take the train to the stop near Hikaru's house and walk from there.

 

Yes, a pool outing sounded nice, especially with how hot it had been lately. His other friends would be thrilled to hear that it would just be the four of them, no girlfriends. He was even glad about it himself, now that he'd committed to the idea.

 

“…dou? Shindou, has the bleach finally killed all of your brain cells?”

 

Touya's wry tone jerked him out of his thoughts. “Sorry, what?”

 

Touya sighed, putting a hand over his eyes. “It's your move, you fool.”

 

“Hikaru isn't a fool!” the girlfriend exclaimed heatedly. “He's probably smarter than you are!”

 

Touya's head came up sharply, and he fixed Hikaru's girlfriend with a lethal glare.

 

Hikaru winced, watching as Touya's rage ignited. No one challenged Touya like that and got out alive! He swiftly intervened, patting Amari's hand and reaching his other out towards his rival in an effort to placate. “Now, Amari, don't say that. Touya is a higher dan than I am, and he's extremely intelligent. In fact, he's a genius. He's definitely more intelligent than I am. I'm stupid when compared to him.”

 

The flames of hell banked in Touya's eyes, and the other boy looked somewhat mollified. “Shindou, you're not lacking in intelligence, just tact. You have your own genius - you just express it somewhat differently.”

 

Startled, Hikaru stared into Touya's aqua eyes, but was unable to read anything but sincerity and grudging admiration in their depths. He had never expected his rival to openly acknowledge that he had two wits to rub together. He wasn't as well spoken as Touya, and most people assumed that he was a complete idiot due to that, his impulsive outbursts and his tendency to be hyper. For the other boy to just say something like that…

 

“Touya…” he exclaimed quietly, amazed and touched.

 

Touya smiled slightly, holding Hikaru's gaze with his own.

 

Suddenly Amari's hands were covering his eyes, and she was giggling. “Can you play blind, `Karu?

 

Hikaru felt a stab of annoyance at his girlfriend. Couldn't she see that he and Touya were in the middle of a conversation? He pried her hands away, seeking out his rival's intense gaze again, but the other boy was sipping at his coffee and studying the planter to his left with absolute concentration.

 

“Touya, let's get together tomorrow with Waya and Isumi and go somewhere fun.”

 

Touya gave him a startled, questioning glance.

 

“Yes, let's go somewhere fun!” Amari echoed, bouncing in her seat.

 

Hikaru cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic look. “It's just going to be us boys, Amari.”

 

“But why!” she cried, looking stricken.

 

“Because they're sad when they see how beautiful you are and that you're my girlfriend,” Hikaru stage-whispered to her. “They don't have girlfriends.”

 

“Oh! Hikaru, you're so sweet. I understand now.” Amari giggled. “I'm sorry, Touya-san, I didn't realize that your situation was so sad. I forgive your earlier rudeness.”

 

Touya looked as though he were about to go apocalyptic again, hands clenching on the edge of the table.

 

“Uh, so Touya, what about it?” Hikaru blurted out, reaching out to tug at the other boy's sleeve. “Say yes!”

 

Momentarily distracted from a blinding rage, the other pro looked at him, angry words seeming to get lost somewhere. “I…sure. I'll go.”

 

“Want me to pick you up?” Hikaru offered, beaming at his best friend.

 

“No!” Touya said quickly, looking nervous. “I can walk - that's fine.”

 

Puzzled, he examined the other pro. Touya had never seemed to mind being picked up before. “Well, if that's what you want.”

 

“Yes, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow, then.”

 

“Great, let's meet at the pool at noon!” Hikaru grinned openly, looking forward to tormenting Touya somehow.

 

“Agreed. If I go to the restroom, will my coffee be safe?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Touya favored him with an impatient look. “The last time I left my coffee unattended near you, you drank it.”

 

Hikaru blushed, frowning at the other boy. “What makes you think I drank it?”

 

“Oh, come on, Shindou. No one else would just randomly drink a stranger's coffee. You're the only person that comes here that's strange enough to do such a thing.”

 

He looked down at the floor, scratching his head. “Hm, well, it was revenge on you for being such a jerk! But it backfired, because your coffee is disgusting. It's completely safe with me.”

 

“I thought so! But Shindou, that's really too much, even for you.”

 

Amari was staring at him. He could feel it. “Did you really do that, Hikaru? That's…that's like kissing someone!”

 

Hikaru blushed a deeper shade of red and tipped his head down further in an effort to make his hair hide his reddening face and ears. Of course her mention of kissing someone made him recall that he had done that, too. “Uh…I…didn't think. Impulsive…you know.”

 

Touya patted his shoulder. “It's all right, Shindou, everyone knows that you're strange. I imagine that must be one of the things that they like about you.”

 

He looked up at his rival, desperate for an escape from the embarrassing turn the conversation had taken. “I didn't want to kiss you!” He almost died when he realized what he had said. “I mean, I didn't want to do anything like that, even similar!”

 

The other pro's aqua eyes were glowing with amusement as they looked down into his. “Of course not, Shindou. You're not that weird, I should hope.”

 

With a jolt, he realized that Touya was teasing him deliberately - and enjoying it! He watched his supposed best friend turn and walk towards the back.

 

He was now alone with Amari. The tense silence stretched out, and Hikaru continued to stare blankly after Touya as if he had not a single concern in the world.

 

“Hikaru?” Amari asked hesitantly.

 

“Yes?” Unfortunately, his voice sounded hoarse and tight.

 

“You seem to be awfully close with Touya-san. And you're blushing a lot, even though you're trying to hide it.”

 

He wasn't sure that he could breathe around the lump in his throat. “Hmm. We've been best friends for four or five years. And he likes to embarrass me. It's nothing, Amari, really.”

 

“Look at me, Hikaru.” She sounded serious.

 

Hikaru forced himself to turn his head and meet her eyes. Yes, she was definitely worried. “What?”

 

“Do you really like me? Is that why you asked me out?” Her large, dark eyes had something fragile in their depths.

 

Could he clear his throat without being obvious? He was not about to drink Touya's coffee again to do so. “Of course I really like you, Amari! You're pretty and popular, and you've liked me for a while, right?”

 

She gave him an uncertain look. “What do you like about me?”

 

Damned girls. They were so difficult to deal with. Even more difficult than Touya Akira in highly offended mode. He hated to admit it, but he had simply picked what appeared to be the best candidate for a relationship from the pool of the girls that he knew already liked him. Amari had always been the most vocal and the most visible.

 

But even he knew that such a thing would be unacceptable to say to a girl, though Touya accused him of being tactless. “You're very organized, and you're true to your friends. You've got a great sense of humor. Your fashion sense beats Touya's hands down. You're considerate.”

 

Amari smiled, and suddenly leaned over, kissing him without warning.

 

Her tongue was warm against his, and the kiss was delicate and gentle. He blinked, staring at her closed eyes. He had kissed girls before, and it was always sort of pleasant and okay, and never made him feel uncomfortable. Not like that weird thing with…Touya.

 

A warm rush went through his body, and he felt relieved. That was more like it.

 

A movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and he glanced to the side. It was Touya returning to the table, but the other boy had stopped, staring at them. The expression that chased across those aristocratic features was elusive and unreadable.

 

Hikaru pushed away from Amari and smiled gamely into her confused look. “There, there, it's not polite to kiss in public places, Amari!”

 

Amari noticed Touya standing there staring at them, and that seemed to galvanize the other boy, for he resumed walking towards them. “Why did you stop me only when Touya-san reappeared?” she asked quietly, for his ears alone.

 

“He's uncomfortable with such displays because he doesn't have a girlfriend and he's very uptight, remember?”

 

Amari compressed her lips in some sort of displeasure, but did not reply as Touya had drawn close enough to hear them now.

 

“Am I interrupting something…Shindou?” Touya's eyes were dark and slightly narrowed. Displeased.

 

Hikaru felt himself clenching his jaw even as he smiled up into that displeasure. “No, of course not, Touya. Amari was just overwhelmed with affection for me—“

 

“Hikaru!” Amari exclaimed, giving him a hurt look.

 

“I mean - we were both just…just overwhelmed!” he exclaimed cheerfully, continuing to smile up at Touya. He couldn't seem to look away from those eyes, despite the fact that the look in them was capable of peeling paint and curdling milk.

 

“You know that I don't care, Shindou. Why are you explaining your relationship to me?”

 

Hikaru knew better than to believe that smooth, cultured tone when Touya's eyes were so obviously sending him an opposite message. What was Touya so annoyed about?

 

“You seemed unhappy.”

 

“Of course, it's my father's Go salon. The patrons are usually somewhat older, more mature people that don't enjoy seeing teenagers groping and generally being all over each other.”

 

Hikaru felt his mouth drop open. He and Amari were not groping and all over each other! “Touya, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration!”

 

“Is it? Well, I do need to get home and study kifu, as today has been quite unproductive. We've only played a few games, and you've been rather distracted, so it wasn't even a challenge to defeat you.” Touya seemed cool and detached.

 

“Well, excuse me!” Hikaru huffed.

 

“I'll see you tomorrow, then.”

 

He watched Touya walk away, realizing with a sinking feeling that he'd have to spend the rest of the day with Amari or find some tactful way to get rid of her. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was rather tactless. He sensed that she was perilously close to washing her hands of him, and he'd hardly said or done anything to deserve it.

 

Amari's hand closed on his where it rested on the table. “Let's go back to your place and spend some quality time together, Hikaru.” She leaned close to him, breathing into his ear, and he tried not to cringe. The sensation was physically pleasant enough, but somehow disturbing.

 

But he was done with being teased. He would do whatever she felt like doing, even if it was more than kissing.