Akira finished his shower in a hurry. He didn't want to think about
Hikaru anymore, not in _that_ particular way. Suddenly it seemed it
was a bad idea to agree to lend some of Hikaru's clothes.

Akira wrapped a huge towel around himself and took a peek into the
other room. He saw Hikaru stare out of the window.

When he realized the other boy was looking at him, Hikaru turned
around. "Here, I brought some clothes for you." he said
with a
somewhat strange smile. "You really better hurry and get
dressed."
Then he turned around again and thus didn't see Akira blush. "I
won't
look." Hikaru promised.

Quickly, Akira took the clothes, fled into the bathroom and locked the
door. His heart was beating very fast and blood was rushing in his
ears. He
hadn't made any sounds while he was under the shower. Akira was sure
of
that. Hikaru couldn't know what he had done. So what was the meaning
of that smile? Why did his voice sound so sly to Akira? Hikaru didn't
know anything, did he? No, he couldn't. Probably he was just looking
forward to the trip. That must be it, Akira reassured himself.

He took a glance at himself in the mirror and blushed even more. What
had he been thinking again? Akira hid his face in the clothes he had
gotten from Hikaru and the other boy's smell filled his nose, made his
nostrils flare a little. Why was he getting all giddy? Akira had his
eyes closed and inhaled deeply. Suddenly he was feeling as if he was
high on
endorphins or something similar. It was not an erotic sensation. Not
really. There was something deeper, something even more exciting.

"Akira!" he heard Hikaru's voice. "Aren't you ready
yet?"
"Ah... I'm coming." Akira answered quickly, pressing the
clothes
against his chest as if he could thus make his heart stop to beat so
furiously. How that must have sounded...

But there was only silence in the other room where Hikaru waited.
Akira hurried to dress himself.


                              ******


Hikaru wondered what was wrong with Akira. He acted so strange ever
since that accident in the plane. Was the other boy still mad at him
for having fallen onto his lap? But that was so unlike Akira, Hikaru
thought. On the other hand, Akira had been strange that time, too.
Akira had been strange many times before or after a match. But now
there
should be no rivalry. That was meant to be a fun trip for everyone.
And Hikaru was sure going to show Akira how to have fun and enjoy
himself. Little did he know that Akira had his ways of enjoying
himself already.

Finally Hikaru heard a sound behind him and turned around again. Akira
stood there, dressed in Hikaru's clothes. He looked so very strange in
that, very unlike the Akira Hikaru knew. Since Hikaru tended to wear
his sleeves a little too long the shirt was a rather good fit for
Akira, though he didn't seem to feel too comfortable. It was indeed a
little too wide for him as well.

Akira raised one arm in a helpless gesture, tried to correct the fit
of the shirt. Hikaru had to stifle a giggle.

Akira shot an infuriated glare at the other boy. As if he was not
feeling stupid enough. Stupid for thinking such thoughts, for doing
such things. Stupid for wearing Hikaru's clothes when Akira should
have known in advance that there would be more of  that strange
sensation, that tingling feeling in his belly - and lower.

Hikaru gave him an apologetic smile and shrugged. Then he suddenly
took three steps towards Akira and grabbed his hand. "Let's
hurry."
Hikaru said and drew his stunned rival to the door....

“Blah Blah” = Conversation
/Blah Blah/ = Thoughts
Blah Blah = Song Lyric

As soon as the two boys emerged from Akira’s room, Akira making sure that both of them have their respective key’s room and 
identification papers, they nearly bumped into the person that was at the door. “Ogata-Sensei! What are you doing here?” 
Asked the longhaired boy very surprised to find the older man at his door.The blond man smile widened when he took in the 
scene of the two boys emerging from the same room. Akira’s appearance was a detail that couldn’t escape his sharp eyes and 
Hikaru’s hand grabbing the one of his rival was something that he wasn’t prepared to see so early in the trip. 
/Oh my! And I had thought that this boy, Shindou, was slow./ Then he adjusted his glasses as he always did and asked to the 
boys. “Did you forget already my offer to lend you some money in order you wouldn’t have to worry about it while you were 
doing joyful things in the city?” The words Ogata had chosen were such that Hikaru’s mind couldn’t get another meaning than 
the one that was imprinted in them, but Akira’s overloaded mind was another thing and as he got the subtle hint behind the 
words he felt ready to burn in shame as his thoughts went to another direction that wasn’t the amusement park.
Shindou felt the slight tension between the other two Pros, but he couldn’t put the finger in what had originated it so he 
choose to play the lightheaded part that corresponded to him. “Wow! Thanks Ogata-san! It could have been terrible if we had 
go to the park without money to spend. I was so centered in got there that I have forgot about it.” Hikaru’s cheering voice 
made both of his companion snap from their contemplative state. “Really, Touya, it’s lucky to have Ogata-san with us.” And 
he smiled to the other boy. Akira’s mouth smiled before he could help it, but he refused to see the older man that was 
eyeing them with growing interest.
“Here, Shindou-kun, I think this is enough.”
“Bu… but this is too much!” Squeaked the bleach banged boy as he saw the money in his hand.
“You can’t know for sure so accept it and make Akira-kun enjoy this trip.” With those last words the older man turned around 
and headed to his room at the other side of the corridor. Hikaru stuffed the money in one of his multiple pockets and turned 
towards the longhaired boy. “I’m going to make this day unforgettable to you, so be ready!” Before Akira could say anything 
the shorthaired boy grabbed his hand and dragged him.

They took a cab to the park and since Akira could talk English a lot better than Hikaru could do, he was the one giving the 
indications to the driver cab.
“Ya know, Touya, now I’m sure that it was really good to take you with me. I’m gonna hit two birds with the same rock.” The 
two toned haired boy said with a little smile and turned towards his companion. “I got you to have fun and you’re now my 
personal translator.” When he finished he grinned at the other boy. “I’m really lucky! And you’re lucky to have me with you 
‘coz you’re gonna have the better day in all your life!”
“Cocky, aren’t we?” Smirked Akira and raised an eyebrow as he heard Hikaru’s statement. “How can you be so sure?”
“’Coz I’m the best!” Stated simply the other boy without blinking and locking his eyes with Touya’s.
Touya didn’t apart his eyes until Hikaru got distracted with the people and buildings in the street. He was perturbed with 
the intensity he had found in his partner’s eyes and a little scared of the emotions that were stirring inside him. /I know 
that and knowing it didn’t help me in the smallest./ He turned towards his window and saw the walking people.
The trip in the cab was fast and they were at the amusement park in no time.
“Waii!! This park is huge! It’ll take us a lot of time to try!” Exclaimed Hikaru as he got off the cab.
“Wait!” Said the green-eyed boy with a sinking feeling. “What do you mean with ‘all the machines and entertainments’? This 
isn’t a rally to see how many machines we can ride. I came here to enjoy the free time we have, not to exert myself to 
death.”
“Touya!” Whined Hikaru when he heard the other boy. “You’re spoiling the fun! That’s not fair, we haven’t begun yet and 
you’re already complaining.”
“I’m telling you, Shindou, I’m not going to!” Akira’s eyes were flaring with determination and Hikaru decided to give up at 
the moment, he didn’t want to begin this with one of their fights.
“OK, OK! Man, you’re so stubborn. But, what are you waiting? We have to begin now or it’ll be dark before we get to enjoy 
ourselves.” Without thinking he grabbed Akira’s hand again and ran towards the ticket stall.
/I could grow used to this./ Both boys thought, feeling the warmth of their united hands.

“Shindou! You’re as cheerful and sincere as sly! How did you managed to got me do all those things?!” Akira was sprawled in a
 bench with his face turned to the sky, all traces of formality long forgotten in the rush of the day. Shindou was sitting 
beside him and was seeing him with a mix of emotions in his eyes.
“’Coz you’re silly competitive and don’t bear to be behind me in anything!” Grinned the shorthaired boy picking him in the 
ribs and Akira brushed his hand off him, without turning his head to see him. “But what are you talking about? We haven’t 
visited those entertainments over there.” 
“You’ll have to wait ‘till I get my breath again.” Sighed Akira closing his eyes enjoying the feeling of fulfillment and 
goodness that was running inside his body.
“Look, Touya, I’m going to get some drinks. Wait here, ne?” Without waiting for a response Hikaru ran towards the nearest 
drinks stall.
Akira opened an eye and saw Shindou get away from him and his thoughts ran freely. /All of this I’d lived today is thanks 
to Shindou. I don’t know what to do with the warm feeling that overtakes me every time I’m with him. This completeness… 
It’s just like that song I heard once…/

I don't know what I was thinkin'
'Til I was thinkin' of you.
I don't remember a thing before I opened my eyes
And you came into view.
I don't know what I was doin'
When there was nothin' to do.
Must have been waitin' for someone, baby,
Now I can see I was waitin' for you

As soon as the green-eyed boy remembered the exact lyric of that part of the song he sat straight in one swift movement. 
/What the heck am I thinking? This is no good, I can’t relax so much and let my mind wander as if all is fine and the all 
will gonna be a ‘happily ever after’ tale./
Akira was berating himself in his mind so he didn’t heard the footsteps that came near him until the person was just in 
front of him.
“What are you doing here, all alone, cute?”
Touya raised his green eyes towards the new voice and saw that the owner was a redhead young man with his long hair in a 
ponytail, jeans with several rips and a black t-shirt glued to his torso.
“Uh?” The longhaired boy was speechless. /Cute?! What does he think I am? A girl?/ Akira’s mind was running all the 
possibilities he had to get away of this weird man. “I’m sorry, I think you mistake me with another person.”
“No, it's with you with the one I want to talk. I saw you and I couldn’t help it… I had to know you.” The redhead grinned 
and sited beside Akira. “My name is Hyatt.”
The green haired boy was beginning to panic. He had never confronted such a situation and he couldn’t see where was Shindou.
The stranger took good note of the boy’s attitude and decided to push things. He grabbed one of Akira’s hand with one of his 
and caressed it with the other. Akira was paralyzed in his shock and he didn’t know what to do next, when he heard a familiar
 voice.
“Hoe, Touya, look what I bro… What’s going on here?” Asked Hikaru when he took in the situation.
“Shindou!” Squeaked Akira as he saw him, stood up swiftly and ran towards him, freeing himself of the unwanted hands.
“What’s going on, Touya?” Asked the yellow banged boy and took Touya’s hands when he saw they were shacking uncontrollably.
“I don’t know. He came here and began acting weirdly.” Both boys were talking in a rapid Japanese forgetting for a moment 
the man sited on the bench.
“Oh, sorry I didn’t know you were with someone already.” The man intervened in correct Japanese, halting both boys. “If I 
knew I wouldn’t be so daring.”
/Great, now this man is thinking that I’m involved with Shindou./ Thought Akira tiredly.
“Yeah, he’s with me, so please don’t pick on him. He’s not alone.” Hikaru’s eyes were shining menacingly towards the tall 
man and without warning one of his hands left Akira’s hand, flew to the long haired boy’s chin and tilting his head, 
kissed him full in the lips.

Notes:

(1) The song I’m mentioning is one of Amanda Marshall, “If I didn’t have you”
(2) Did you remember the redhead man’s name? You can find his complete name in chapter 1 ^_~

‘Thanks, Ochi. That saved us. I completely forgot that we did not get
any money yet!’ Isumi put the money in his pocket and turned toward the entrance
where Waya was waiting already. ‘No problem at all’, Ochi replied, but Isumi
was already gone. A tall figure appeared next to the young boy. ‘Why didn’t
you go with them?’ Ogata asked. ‘You know why, didn’t you send off Shindou
and Touya on their own? Besides I have already been to San Francisco so sightseeing
holds no interest for me.’ ‘Let’s go drink something, it seems that we might
understand each other.’ The man in the white suit headed toward the hotel
cafeteria without looking back. Ochi smiled and followed.


***


The hotel shuttle bus took Waya and Isumi all the way to Fisherman’s
Warf. It was only a short walk to Pier 41 where the ferries left for Alcatraz.
They both had already gotten their tickets from the sponsor of their journey,
otherwise they would not have been able to go. A short look showed them that
you had to book one week in advance to visit the famous prison during prime
time. After a short wait their ferry arrived and they enjoyed the ride in
the warm summer sun.
‘Way too hot for an amusement park, I wonder how they are doing. I can’t
imagine Touya having fun. Shindou is probably frustrated by now and wishing
he came with us.’ Waya said. Isumi looked surprised for a moment and then
started to laugh.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘Nothing, Nothing!’ Isumi burst out between laughs.’ I was only imagining
Shindou frustrated and just couldn’t do it.’ Waya raised an eyebrow and looked
uncharacteristically sincere. ‘You might be right there.’ He could not keep
his composure any longer and burst out laughing. Isumi joined in again. They
both did not notice the looks they got from the other passengers, but then
they did not really care.


***


Akira felt Shindou’s warm lips on his and for a second or two his mind
just set out. He wasn’t able to grasp what was going on and in no way was
he able to react by either drawing back or deepening the kiss. The boy next
to him, who had surprised him with this move like no other before, took this
decision away from him by pulling back. Without even looking at how Akira
was reacting he turned towards the red haired American and said ‘ See, he
is mine so leave us alone!’ Unlike Hikaru Hyatt had been watching Akira’s
reaction and he did not like it. ‘Does your friend know about this too?’
he asked pointing towards the other boy.


His mind was in an uproar... this was just too much. Who did Shindou
think he was? Kissing him like that just to save some time to explain things?
Was this one of his jokes again? How could he do this to him without even
thinking about the consequences? He didn’t have any idea what his presence
alone did to him and then this kiss...


Akira had turned pale as a ghost and when Shindou grabed him and asked
if he was all right only a soft cackling sound escaped the boys’ lips. Suddenly
his eyes focused and turned towards the smaller boy. They stabbed Shindou
like spears and so did his words when he said:’ How could you.’ He said it
loud and clear without even raising his voice. Before Shindou could react
Akira’s hand connected with his cheek and then he was gone.


Hyatt started laughing and that’s when Hikaru awoke from his stupor.
He shot the older male a look that would have killed him if that were possible
and then ran off behind his friend and rival. He didn’t get it at all. He
couldn’t understand Touya’s overreaction to this innocent little joke. His
cheek was burning where Touya had hit him but even worse was the feeling
in his heart: The pain that had been caused by Touya’s steely glare and his
icy voice. He shove those thoughts aside and concentrated on finding the
Japanese boy among all those Americans. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot
him, he thought.


Akira ran till he had no strength left. His sprint had taken him out
of the amusement park and into the parking lot. He walked back to the wall
and dropped to his knees. That had been stupid. Like really, really stupid.
His black hair covered his eyes but no tears came. He felt empty and burned
out. The reasonable part of his mind reminded him that he had no way to return
to the hotel since Shindou had the remaining of the money that Ogata-sensei
had given them. But Shindou was the last person he felt like meeting right
now. Akira positioned himself in a bit more comfortable way against the wall
and tried to think his way out of this mess. 
His lips were still warm where Shindou had kissed him. Now that it was
over he was able to recall the feeling and suddenly he felt tears on his
face. What should have felt like a wonderful dream had turned into a nightmare
due to his own inability to deal with his overflowing emotions when it came
to this young go player with the bleached hair. He had messed up badly. Shindou
would never want to talk to him or be his friend ever again after how he
had reacted just now. It was over. Touya Akira, the one who never lost his
composure, raised his hands to his face and started crying pitifully.


Hikaru had searched the whole park until he finally gave up and tried
his luck outside. The sun was already setting when he finally reached the
parking lot and saw the figure of his friend leaning against the wall. Touya
was staring at the sun but it seemed to Hikaru like he wasn’t really seeing
it. His hair was a mess and as he came closer he noticed the redness of his
friends' eyes and the paths that the dried tears had left on his face. It
nearly broke his heart seeing him like this and his first impulse told him
to run there and take him in his arms to tell him that all would be good,
but he didn’t dare. The cold eyes were burned into his mind.


A shadow fell over Akira’s body as the sun continued its descent. His
eyes focused and he recognized the figure of Shindou standing a distance
away from him. He couldn’t see his face due to the sun burning in his eyes,
but then he didn’t want to. Slowly he got up, ignoring Shindou’s helping
hands and without looking at the smaller boy he headed for the bus and cab
station. They did not talk a single word on the ride back.

/The night is so beautiful/, thought Akira. /Too bad I'm really not
in a mood to appreciate it/.
Touya stood on the balcony, looking down at the glimmering city and
sipping his soda. 
His thoughts were disturbed when he heard slowly approaching
footsteps. Akira smiled bitterly. Shindou coughed quietly, clearing
his throat.

"What do you want?" Akira asked without turning back.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I don't even know why you are so upset
in the first place!" 
Akira didn't respond, merely turned around and faced the smaller boy,
his face expressionless.
"What?!" almost shouted Hikaru.
"Nothing. You shouldn't worry about it so much." said
simply taller boy.
"I shouldn't worry?! /I shouldn't worry/?!! You are the one
who's making such a big deal of a little joke!" it was obvious
that Hikaru was barely containing his anger. Touya took one last sip
of his soda, then squeezed the can and tossed it in a wastebasket.
Then he looked again at flustered Kishi and smiled.
Hikaru just stared at him, dumbstruck.
"Just forget, okay? Forget that it have ever happened."
Akira was still smiling. "You shouldn't have joked like that, I
shouldn't have slapped you. We are even, so just give it a rest
already, OK?"
Hikaru didn't say anything at first, too shocked at Akira's strange
attitude to register anything he said. He was expecting Touya to be
still mad at him and almost sure that their talk will end in another
shouting battle. How many times they have argued already at the Go
salon? 

Finally, smaller boy snapped out of his thoughts.
"O... OK..."
"See you tomorrow, then." 
Hikaru tried to say something when Akira began casually strolling out
of the balcony, but no words came out.

-_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-'

Still, the sour mood was broken and the next day they were acting as
if nothing happened between them. First thing they did in the morning
was playing a game of Go together, and they even agreed to eat a
lunch together, with the rest of Japanese pros, of course.

-_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-' -_-'

/It definitely isn't my best day/, thought Waya, going down the
stairs. Not only he overslept, not only he lost somewhere Isumi's
magnetic goban, but on a top of all this he got lost in the hotel and
it took him twenty minutes to find the rest of the group.
/They are probably finishing the lunch/ he thought, looking at the
table, entirely occupied by pros from Japan. Shindou and Yashiro were
talking animatedly about something, and when Waya got closer, he
heard fragments of their conversation.

"...something really, really indecent!"
"What kind of indecent?
Watching-porn-in-a-middle-of-crowded-room-indecent?
Running-naked-around-the-hotel-indecent?" Hikaru was happily
munching his dessert, completely oblivious to the fact, that Ochi,
Isumi and Touya were beginning to look slightly alarmed. 
"Noo... Not indecent enough..." Yashiro grinned and poked
his lunch with a fork. Ochi deliberately moved his chair as far away
from Kiyoharu as it was possible. Hikaru seemed lost in thought for a
second, then grinned even wider than Yashiro.
"Hey, how about jerking-off-on-a-Goban-indecent?!" he
almost screamed. For a second everyone fell silent. Then Yashiro spat
his drink all over the table and the Mayhem started.
"God, don't spray it!! Gross!" yelled Ochi, trying to wipe
away remains of Yashiro's drink.
"Quick! Handkerchief! Does anyone have a handkerchief??"
whispered Isumi, doing his best to clean the table using a Kleenex.
"Help me! Everyone's looking at us!"
"Don't yell at me, it's all Shindou's fault!" Yashiro was
pointing at very flustered Shodan.
"Yeah, I would never have expected you to be a pervert like
that, but you just proved me wrong!" Ochi was looking at Hikaru
with utter disgust on his face.
"Can't you keep your damn mouth shut for a second!? What if
someone here can understand Japanese!?" Yashiro seemed to have
totally forgotten the fact that he was the one to start discussion in
the first place.
"Oh, what's the big deal?" moaned Hikaru. "Can't
anyone here take a joke? It's not even possible! A Goban is too
delicate, its legs would break..!" he blushed suddenly when
everyone just stared at him. "What are you looking at?! I'm not
talking from a personal experience!!" he yelled at the top of
his lungs, his face red as a tomato. 
That was it. Everyone's jaws dropped, Akira choked, covered his mouth
with a hand and ran out of the room. Other people in the room also
were looking in Hikaru's direction. Even if they couldn't understand
a word of what he was saying, they could sense the... excitement of
the strange group.
"Shut up, Shindou!" growled Ochi. Hikaru, however, wasn't
paying attention. He was looking at Akira's chair, now empty.
"I wonder what got him so flustered. Profanation of a Goban, or
the jerking-off part..." he said, lost in thoughts.
"For God sake, just shut UP!!" Now Japanese pros were
blushing furiously, throwing themselves at Hikaru and trying to cover
his mouth, but succeeding only in knocking over a few chairs. Ochi
and Yashiro banged their head together and sat down on the ground
moaning.
Hikaru was opening his mouths to say something /again/, but before he
managed to choke out a word, Isumi suddenly paled.
"Oh, no, Ogata-sensei is coming!" he whispered in terror.
Five seconds later Hikaru and Waya were the only Japanese boys who
remained in the room.
"Jeez, Waya, they are acting as if I killed someone."
complained Shindou.
"Shh, don't talk to me. I don't want anyone to think that we
know each other..."

^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'

For the next few hours all of Japanese pro seemed all-too-happy to
avoid any contact with poor Shodan, and even when they were forced to
share a table during dinner some of them were careful to keep
necessary distance, as if Hikaru's mental aberration could be
contagious.
 
Especially Akira appeared to be extremely wary in Hikaru's presence
and always ready to clasp his hand over Shindou's mouth to prevent
young pro from saying such obscenities again.  

^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'

The first day of their work turned out to be quite fun. 
Touya and Shindou played each other while Ogata-sensei recreated
their game on big, vertical 'goban' and commented each move they
made. Hikaru thought it was extremely amusing to make his moves so
fast that Ogata wasn't able to make any comment - until furious
10-dan smacked younger pro across his head with a fan so hard that he
saw stars spinning around the room.
Waya, Isumi, Yashiro and Ochi almost laughed their heads off at the
sight of stunned Hikaru. Yashiro, in fact, laughed so hard that he
placed a stone in a wrong place and almost lost his shidougo game.

^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'

Finally, they were done with their "work", and when they
got back to hotel rooms, Waya suggested throwing a party.
"It's not a bad idea... Just don't give any beer to Shindou the
Pervert, he's bad enough when he's sober. I'm scared to even think
about things that may come to his head when he's drunk.." leered
Yashiro.
"Oh, shut up!!!" moaned Hikaru in exasperation.

^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'

Hikaru wasn't drunk. No, really, he wasn't, he had drank only a one
or two beers before a tiny glass of champagne (bought by Isumi, who
was forced to do this by Waya) and was feeling slightly light-headed,
but that didn't mean he was drunk, right?

It was a strange party - music was rather quiet because Ochi's
Walkman had only one speaker working. There wasn't much to do -
Yashiro suggested playing Spin-the-Bottle, until he realized that
there wasn't any girl. Mere thought of kissing Ochi filled him with
revulsion so strong that he lost his appetite, which was probably a
good thing, because Waya challenged Isumi to an eating contest and
they were more than happy to devour his portion.
Isumi lost miserably.

Touya and Shindou were playing Go on a magnetic Goban, Hikaru sipping
various drinks. He was too engrossed in a game to pay attention to
what he was drinking - and about two hours later he was giggling,
dropping stones and placing them in weird places. When he dropped the
stone /again/, this time straight into his half-full glass of
champagne, Akira decided he'd had enough.
"That's it, Shindou, I'm going to bed" he announced.
"With me?" giggled Hikaru. Akira sweatdropped.
"No, oh Perverted One." said taller pro. "Although I
suggest you to go to sleep as well. And take an aspirin or something,
or else hangover will kill you tomorrow..."
"I'm not drunk." hiccupped Hikaru.
"Yeah, whatever. Just take that aspirin. Goodnight." with
this, Akira strolled out of the room.

^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'


Finally Hikaru decided to take that damn aspirin - it couldn't hurt,
could it? Then he went to his and Touya's room, took a shower, and,
careful not to wake Akira, who probably was sound asleep by now, made
a beeline for his bed.
He fell asleep instantly.


^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^' ^_^'

He had a distant feeling that he was observed by someone. Slowly he
opened his eyes - and found a pair of dark pupils staring back at
him.
"To... Touya! What are you doing here!?" whispered loudly
Hikaru. Akira was silent, he just crooked his head slightly and
smirked.
"A.. Are you drunk?" Hikaru asked, forcing himself not to
panic. Akira's eyes were shining in the dark room, moonlight giving
them strange illumination.
/That is creepy.../ shivered Hikaru and just then Akira stepped
closer to scared Shodan's bed.
"No... you are." and there was that weird grin again.
"Wha..at do you want?" asked Shindou, slowly backing away.
"The question is: What do /you/ want?" Akira's grin became
even wider when he kneeled on Hikaru's bed, straddling the other boy.
Hikaru yelped.
And then Akira was all over him, kissing, biting and caressing every
bare surface of Hikaru's body. Shindou's eyes flew open in surprise
when Touya covered his lips with a kiss, then pushed his tongue
inside. Small moan of surprise forced his way out of smaller boy's
body.
Hikaru was feeling light-headed, much more so than when he was drunk
a few hours ago - or maybe he was still drunk? Was alcohol the reason
his body was burning as if ready to burst into flames?
Meanwhile, Akira occupied himself with unbuttoning Shindou's shirt
and running his hands across other boy's chest, causing him to moan.
/Oh, whatever/ thought Hikaru, /Maybe I'm really drunk. And if I'm
drunk, I can't be hold responsible for my actions, right?/ And with
this conclusion, he kissed Akira back with enthusiasm.
Mere seconds later he was desperately tugging at Akira's T-shirt,
trying to get rid of it and don't caring in the least whether it got
ripped into shreds. His boxers were next victim of Touya's attack and
Hikaru started rubbing himself against Akira's hips in desperate need
to create some more of this delicious friction... Touya, however,
only grinned evilly and grabbed smaller boy's hips, holding him
immobile.
"Tou...Touya..! Oh..! /DO/ something!" moaned Hikaru,
causing other pro to grin even wider.
"Oh, I will. I will do /you/." said Akira casually,
wrapping his hand around Hikaru's erection, sliding it up and down
slowly. Hikaru's hips bucked desperately and loud moan was heard in
the room. Akira leaned over Shindou, never removing his hand, licking
delicate shell of Hikaru's ear and whispering into it slowly.
"I'd really appreciate if you could moan a bit more quietly...
As far as I know, Ogata-sensei is playing right now on the net with
some 9-dan Korean pro, and I'm sure he'd like to play in silence.
And, just for your information, his room is next to ours..."
Hikaru bit his lip to prevent himself from screaming. Touya smiled at
this and traced other boy's lips with his fingers. Hikaru opened his
lips slightly and taller boy pushed his fingers inside, grinning
maliciously. Hikaru wondered briefly what Touya had in mind this
time.
Then Akira squeezed his erection tighter and Hikaru stopped thinking
at all. He felt Akira slowly sliding down his body, and when he
opened his eyes to check what was going on Touya chuckled slightly
and licked top of Hikaru's penis like a lollipop. This time shorter
boy wasn't able to contain his scream; he grabbed other pro's long
hair, trying to urge him to go faster. Akira let out a quiet laughter
and complied, in a mere seconds reducing Hikaru to a helpless panting
thing.
And just when he was about to come, Akira raised his head. 
"Damn you! Don't stop!" moaned Hikaru. Touya just smirked.
"So this is the reply for my question, I reckon." he said,
evil grin never disappearing from his face, then engulfed Hikaru's
erection again, harder this time, his fingers finding their way
between smaller boy's legs...

...And then Hikaru woke up, sweating and panting, and with a really
big problem below his waist.

^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^' ^__^'

/GOD, what was THAT?!/ this time, Hikaru managed to shock even
himself. He ran his hand through his damp hair and noticed that his
hands were trembling.
Still, it was the least of his problems.
/God, if Touya knew.../ Shindou's eyes flew open. Slowly, he turned
his head.
Akira was soundly sleeping on a bed beside him, shirtless, blanket
barely covering him up to his waist.
Hikaru gulped, his mouth suddenly /very/ dry. 
/God../
Trying not to make any noise, young pro slowly turned so now he was
lying on his side, facing Akira's bed. Somehow, he couldn't tear his
eyes away from silent figure on the bed... and his erection was
throbbing /very/ persistently.
Slowly but surely, his right hand found his way to his boxers..
"..Ow.."
Hikaru muffled his moan quickly with his free hand, biting down
slightly.
/Oh/
Shindou's fingertips slid slowly down his own hard length through
thin material of his boxers, dragging the fabric across himself until
it was slightly wet with precum.
/Oh/
Finally, he pushed his boxers down and curled his fingers around his
erection.
/Just don't wake up, Touya.../
And, even so far gone in the pursuit of his orgasm, his eyes never
left Akira's sleeping body...
Speeding up, he saw...

  >Akira from his dream grinning evilly<

/Oh/

  >Akira kissing him<

/Oh/

  >Akira unbuttoning his shirt<

/Mhm/

  >Akira pushing down his boxers<

/Oh/

  >Akira licking him like a lollipop<

/OH/

  >Akira...<

/Akira...!!!/

And then it was over.

^______^' ^______^' ^______^' ^______^' ^______^' ^______^' 

Akira opened his eyes slowly. 
/Is it just me, or I just heard someone moaning?/


----------------------------------------------
Author's note:

Yes, I'm so evil:).

Yashiro Kiyoharu is a very talented japanese Shodan, he appeares
somewhwre around 19 volume of Hikaru no Go. He has blonde spiky hair,
and Kaga-like attitude.

English isn't my native language, so please forgive me any mistakes I
have made. 

Isumi's POV


Shindou Hikaru, Isumi noted, was unusually quiet that morning as the
young Japanese pros gathered in the lobby.  If Shindou was his usual self,
he would have been bouncing up and down and pestering everyone within reach,
especially a certain Touya Akira.  Instead, he was leaning against a column,
looking pale and ill as compared to Touya who was bright-eyed and fidgety.


"You okay there Shindou?" Isumi asked.


The bleached-blonde boy feebly nodded.  "Man, you sure don't look okay,"
Waya said.  The spiky-haired pro glanced at Isumi.  "Ne, Isumi-san..."


"I'm not talking to you Waya.  After you lost my magnetic Go board..."


"T'was an accident!  I didn't mean to lose it!" He yelled, getting the
attention of the other hotel guests.  "I'll pay you back! I promise!"

Shindou paled even more, if that was possible and then groaned. "Isumi-saaaaannnn! Forgive him already! So noisy!"


For Shindou's sake, he relented.  "Fine, buy me another one when we get back to Japan.  This is the 5th one you lost 
already!"


"Thanks!  You won't regret this!"


"I think I already did."  Isumi grumbled.  He turned his attention back
to Shindou.  "Really, you really look sick, maybe you should rest for the
day to get rid of that hangover."


**********


Hikaru was grateful to Isumi.  The prospect of a day spent in the air-conditioned
room and in bed seemed inviting.  And if he slept a bit more, maybe he could
remember what happened the night before and early that morning.  He had awakened
slumped in the bathroom floor, reeking of alcohol.  Touya's normally serious
expression had been swapped with an concerned one when he had started vomiting
after breakfast.


However, the headache had already started to subside at noon.  Yashiro
had taken over his shidougo duties for the morning and had even brought him
lunch.


"A ripe plum for the hangover, a chicken sandwich and some weak tea.
 Ne, Shindou!  I never thought you had such a dirty mouth after drinking
so much!"


"Really? I did?  Geez, I couldn't remember anything after the first drink," Hikaru found himself saying.

Yashiro chuckled.  "Good thing you didn't.  And it's also a good thing
Ochi ran out of film.  That brat could have used photos as blackmail material."


"Oh goody. But I didn't see him this morning.  What happened to him?"


"He got drunk as well.  Not as much as you did though.  But enough to make him walk into a door."


Hikaru's eyebrows furrowed.  "That must have hurt."

"Not as much as the realization that it was a GLASS door.  Ogata-san
patched up his nose though.  Little bugger locked himself in his room bathroom
all mornin', mumbling to himself."  Yashiro chortled good-naturedly.

"Serves him right.  Would have loved to see that."


"Ya did.  Laughed your ass off by the way.  Shame you didn't remember THAT."

"Too bad."  Hikaru said, stretching his arms above his head.  Yashiro
raised his eyebrows.  "You're feeling better already?  Maybe you could join
us on that trip to Chinatown later."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Hikaru placed his empty tray on the
nightstand and padded towards the bathroom.  "That's good to hear," the white-haired
Kansai pro said, taking the tray and letting himself out."

Hikaru stepped into the shower and turned the water on.  He sighed as
he let the hot water wash over his body.  "Argh, I feel sore all over." 
He grabbed the soap and started washing himself. Hikaru stopped when his
hands rubbed against raw skin.


"Bite marks?  Where the hell did these come from?"

**********

Touya Akira wasn't faring as well as the others believed.  He had disconcerting
memories of the previous night.  He had tried to keep up with Shindou's drinking
during their impromptu game and failed miserably.  For some weird reason
or another, after imbibing several pints of beer, a big glass of Isumi's
champagne, and a mug of some vile-looking concoction Waya had stirred up
(but it tasted good), he still felt sober up to the time he and Shindou had
crashed into bed.


Flashback...


And around three a.m. he had woken up with a hard-on after a dream involving
him and Shindou in a desert island with suntan lotion... courtesy of the
alcohol finally kicking in.

Touya had fully intentended to relieve himself in the bathroom but the
sight of Shindou sleeping peacefully in the other bed.  He couldn't resist
but run his hands over the smaller boy's face.


"Touya... what are you..."

Touya stopped his caresses but soon realized that Shindou was just talking
in his sleep.  He was about to unbutton the pajama tops when the other boy's
eyes flew open.  Grey eyes filled with desire gazed into his.  "Touya...."


Touya Akira let out an uncharacteristically wicked grin and proceeded to do his way with the other boy...


End Flashback...


'Oh Gods...' Touya thought.  Aloud, he said to himself.  "I'm screwed."


"That's for damn sure."


"Yashiro..." Touya trailed off.  The Kansai sat down beside the young
three-dan on the sofa with a predatory smirk on his face.  "So, Mr. Touya
Akira, future Meijin.  I noticed out young friend Shindou Hikaru had some
hickies on his neck.  Do you know where they would have come from?"


**********


'Gotcha!' Yashiro Kyoharu thought as Touya suddenly paled.  "Touya? 
Hello?  Is anybody in here?"  He waved his hand in front of the Tokyo pro's
eyes.


He watched amusedly as the dark-haired teenager tried to regain composure.
 "Hickies?  Uh, I..." the boy sputtered.  "Don't know... I was drunk too
you know, uh, out cold."


Yashiro went in for the kill.  "Really?  And who in this group has been
acting really weird since SOMEBODY fell on HIS lap at the airplane?  Do you
know Touya-kun?"


Touya was silent, even at the degratory use of the honorific.


Yashiro continued.  "Nobody else noticed except me and Obata-san.  Believe
me, the both of us have been around you guys enough to know your little quirks
and mannerisms.  Seems like you like Shindou-kun... a lot."


"I do-don't really understand my feelings as of now."


"Oh yeah?  They certainly were strong enough to put that mark on his neck."

Touya's eyes went wide.  He started rambling.  "I know, I've never had
these kind of feelings before, even with a girl.  I mean, I've known Shindou
for four years now, and out of that a year as my best friend and rival! 
But with him, it seems different.  He saved me from a guy who hit on me and
yes he kissed me but I responded so the feeling is probably mutual and people
know me as cold and aloof but I feel so alive when I am with him! And then
last night, I...

Yashiro smiled and let the other boy talk.  'And he really needs it,'
he thought.  Unnoticed by Touya, he winked at an unseen figure leaning inconspicuously
against a pillar.

Ogata 10-dan puffed on his cigarette and smiled as well.


**********


1500 hours.  Chinatown, San Francisco

Waya Yoshitaka breathed in some air and nearly dropped to the ground,
coughing violently.  Isumi, beside him breathed in as well.  "Ah, the smell
of horses..."

"You mean the smell of horse shit...ugh! That's disgusting Isumi-san!"

Shindou snickered from his position beside Yashiro.  "Come on Waya. 
It isn't everyday you get to ride a tram here in San Francisco!"

"Yeah but horses... ech! I'll never get the smell from my clothes!"


"It's just a couple of horses," Isumi reassured the other boy, smiling.


The wind swept their hair into untidiness as the tram sped its way towards
Chinatown.  When they got off, Yashiro and Shindou sped towards the food
shops.  

Ogata lost his patience.  "Oi! You two!  Eat later!  Sightseeing now!"  He yelled at them.

Touya snickered.  Ogata walked to his side.  "Love's tough isn't it?
 I think you two should get together.  You're both giving me a headache."

Touya could only stare after him for a few seconds.  He was shakened
out of his stupor by Shindou's yell.  "Touya!  Come on!  You've got to meet
some people!"

Blushing, he made his way to Shindou's side.  He was pleasantly surprised
to see Isumi greeting Yang Hai, a Chinese pro.  Beside him was.... Waya?

"Lei Ping," Yang Hai was saying to the child.  "That's your look-alike,
Waya Yoshitaka."  Waya and Lei Ping both looked at each other.  Then Lei
Ping asked Isumi something in Chinese.  They laughed when Yang Hai translated
for them.  "He said, 'Now we'll know if this Waya also has an outie bellybuttion.'"


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

*Yang Hai - Shanghai pro, let Isumi stay over at his room when he visited China.  Manager of team China in the Hokuto Cup

*Lei Ping (Rei Pin) - Waya look-alike, Chinese pro from the province

*I hope this chap's okay, I checked it twice for errors.

"That was GREAT ramen!" Shindou declared, pushing his chair back and patting his stomach. "Maybe the best I've ever had."


Waya poked Shindou in the ribs. "After three bowls, you think you'd know for sure," he teased.


"You should talk -- you had three bowls, too!" Shindou retorted with a good-natured grin.


Their companions chuckled. "Glad you enjoyed it," Yang Hai said with
a smile. "I'm a big ramen fan, too, and this place makes the best in San
Francisco."

Ogata held up a hand to get their server's attention. "We should be going,"
he said as he handed the woman a credit card. "We have two hours before we
have to head back to the hotel, so you should take advantage of the free
time to do more sightseeing."

"Mind if Lei Ping and I tag along?" Yang Hai ruffled the younger Chinese
boy's hair, ignoring Lei Ping's outraged protests. "He's been looking forward
to spending some time with Isumi-kun."


"Not at all," Ogata said. "In fact, I've got some things to do before
the evening sessions start. Isumi-kun, can you and Touya-kun make sure everyone
gets back to the hotel by five o'clock?" He shot a pointed look at Shindou
and Waya, who were busy cracking open their fortune cookies and trying to
make sense of the messages inside.


"Dammit, it's in English and Chinese. I can't understand a word of this," Shindou complained. "Hey Waya, can you read them?"


"Here, let me help." Yang Hai snatched the strip of paper out of Shindou's
outstretched hand. "Okay, Shindou's says, 'Compromise in a dispute between
friends is rarely regretted... in bed.' "


"WHAT?" Shindou turned beet-red and glared at the other pros as they
convulsed with laughter. Ogata grinned and adjusted his glasses. Touya remained
noticeably silent, a faint flush staining his own pale cheeks as Yang Hai
slapped Shindou on the back.


"Words to remember when you return to Tokyo," the Chinese pro snickered. "Now, let's see what Big Lei Ping's fortune is..."


Waya grinned and crumpled the paper in his fist. "You'll have to get
it from me first," he said, sticking his tongue out at Yang Hai before heading
for the front door.


"Oh no you don't." Shindou grabbed Waya by the back of his jacket. "It's your turn to be embarrassed. Get it from him, 
Yashiro!"


"Allow me," Isumi said cheerfully, grabbing Waya under his armpit and
tickling him. Waya erupted into uncontrollable laughter and released the
crumpled bit of paper. Ochi caught it as it fluttered through the air, adjusted
his round glasses, and read the text aloud in his serious, intense way --


"It seems to say,  'He who is slowest in making a promise is the most
faithful in keeping it... in bed.' " Ochi's severe expression didn't appear
to waver, but Yang Hai hadn't missed the brief, evil grin the short Japanese
boy directed his way. He was glad the overly serious Ochi had decided to
play along with him.


Yashiro let out a long whistle. "Wow, that's deep, Waya. Who'd have thought ya'd be that kind of complex guy?"


"I'll show you complex!" Waya growled, chasing the laughing Yashiro out
the door. Isumi bowed politely to Ogata and departed with Yang Hai and Lei
Ping. Ochi rolled his eyes and asked Ogata if he needed any help with his
errands.


"No, I'll be fine," their chaperone replied. "Feel free to return to
the hotel if you'd rather not hang around these brats. I can't say I blame
you."


"Who's a brat?" Shindou glared at Ogata, who smirked down at the angry
young pro. Before the older man could say anything more, Touya snapped, "Shut
up, Shindou," grabbed his rival's elbow and steered him out of the restaurant.
Ogata watched them go, his smirk growing wider.

Ochi shook his head with a scowl. "He really is a brat. What Touya sees in him is beyond me."

Ogata took out a pack of cigarettes and tapped one out. "He sees the
Hand of God, of course," he drawled, striking a match and touching the flame
to the cigarette's tip. "Those two are never better than when they're together."


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"So, what's next?" Isumi glanced at his watch. "We still have a half-hour until we need to catch the bus back to the hotel."


"No more shopping," Waya declared, shifting his armload of bags. "I'm broke, and this stuff's getting heavy."


"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Lei Ping jumped up and down, shouting something more in Chinese to Yang Hai.


"Yes, I promised, didn't I?" Yang Hai replied. "Would you mind, Isumi-kun?"


"Of course not, as long as we're quick," the dark-haired man replied. "That shop over there looks good, what do you think?"


"Yes, yes... come on, Isumi-kun!" Lei Ping shouted in Japanese. He grabbed Isumi's hand and dragged him toward the corner.


"That Lei Ping sure is lively," Yashiro laughed. "He really does look exactly like Waya... 'cept for that 'outie,' of 
course."


"Yeah, that was hilarious when he pulled Waya's shirt up to check his belly button," Shindou snickered.


"Shut up, Shindou!" Waya growled. "Damn, if that kid pokes me in the belly one more time..."

Touya's light, clear voice interrupted Waya's grumblings. "Excuse me,
everyone... I'm going to go back to the hotel." Touya bowed slightly to Yang
Hai. "It was nice meeting you, Yang Hai-san. I'll see you all at the exhibition."


Shindou grabbed Touya's shoulder. "Wait! Don't you want some ice cream, Touya?"


Touya shrugged Shindou's hand away. "I'm not hungry," he said, avoiding his rival's eyes, which darkened with concern.


"Are you feeling sick or something? You look kind of pale."


"No, I'm just... tired." Touya waved Shindou away. "Thank you for your
concern, but you needn't worry about me. Go with your friends -- I'll catch
a cab to the hotel."


"Well... if you're sure," Shindou said doubtfully. Touya forced a polite
smile and turned toward the curb, holding up a slender hand to hail an oncoming
taxi. Waya shrugged and took off with Yang Hai toward the ice cream shop.
He looked over his shoulder and called --

"Yo, Shindou! You coming or what?"

Yashiro smacked the back of Shindou's head. "Ow! What the hell was that
for?" Shindou yelled. The pale-haired boy from Osaka shook his head in frustration.


"Go after him, idiot," Yashiro hissed into Shindou's ear.


"Why? He obviously doesn't want me around," Shindou muttered.

Yashiro rolled his eyes. "You are SO dense." He shoved Shindou toward
Touya, who was opening the door to the taxi that had just pulled up. "Get
over there and stop actin' like a moron. Remember... 'compromise in a dispute
between friends is rarely regretted...' "

Shindou's face flamed. "All right, all right! Geez... Hey Touya, wait for me!"


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Touya leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the cab window and
watched the crowds passing by on the sidewalk. They had been stuck in a horrendous
traffic jam for almost an hour -- normal for that time of day, the driver
had brusquely informed Touya when he'd expressed concern about how long the
trip was taking. Already, 5 p.m. had come and gone, and now they had exactly
18 minutes until the start of the evening's exhibition matches. The dark-haired
teenager exhaled sharply, wondering if it wouldn't be quicker to just get
out of the cab and walk to the hotel at this point. But he wasn't exactly
sure of the way, and he doubted Shindou, with his split-second attention
span and complete lack of English skills, would be of any help figuring it
out.


He flinched at Shindou's light touch on his sleeve. "Um, Touya? What
should we do?" The uncharacteristic uncertainty in the outgoing boy's voice
caught Touya by surprise.


"I was thinking we could probably get out and walk there faster... but I'm not sure of the way," Touya admitted.

"Wouldn't the driver know?"

"He might, but his English is so heavily accented that I can hardly understand
him. I'd hate for us to get lost because I misunderstood the directions."


"Give it a try, Touya," Shindou urged. "We're not gonna get anywhere
at this rate. Ogata-san is probably already pissed as hell at us for not
making it back by four. Besides, we can always try to call the hotel if we
get lost."

Touya nodded and leaned over to speak to the driver. The late-afternoon
sun spilled over the taller boy's dark hair, making it shimmer like black
diamonds. Shindou swallowed against the strange fluttering in the back of
his throat, wishing he would stop having these ridiculous thoughts about
Touya that he could no longer blame on alcohol or lack of sleep.

His rival turned to Shindou. "I think I've got it," Touya said, handing
the driver some bills and opening the door. "Come on, Shindou, we can make
it if we hurry."

"All right!" Shindou scrambled across the seat and out the door, yelling,
"Sankyuu!" to the driver. Touya couldn't help grinning at Shindou's renewed
energy.

"At least you've learned that much English while we've been here," he
teased. Shindou laughed and stuck his tongue out at Touya, the knots in his
stomach easing as the tension between them dissolved and they hurried down
the sidewalk side by side.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Are you sure there's no answer?" Touya tapped his foot impatiently. "You're trying the main hotel number?"


"The call's not going through," the operator said. "There was an accident
earlier that brought down several telephone lines -- the phones might not
be working right now..."


"Dammit!" he hissed, slamming the phone's receiver back into its cradle. Shindou's eyes widened.


"Wow, Touya, I've never heard you swear at anyone but me before," he said. "So you still can't get through to the hotel?"


"No. The lines aren't working -- at least, that's what I think she said."
Touya slumped against the pay phone and closed his eyes. "It's just past
eight o'clock -- everyone is probably worried sick by now. I feel like an
idiot," he added bitterly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Shindou said, touching Touya on the shoulder.
"I've been totally useless, not knowing English and not having a map."

Touya smiled briefly and shook his head. "Not totally useless. You're
helping to keep my spirits up. I'd feel even worse if I was alone in this."

Shindou grinned. "That's good, then. Maybe you should try asking someone
for directions again," he suggested. "We can't just keep wandering around
the city -- who knows where we'll end up?" He glanced around at the lively
crowds and brightly lit shops on the street before them. "At least this area
looks safe. Maybe we should get some coffee and relax for a minute."

Touya sighed. "A break would be nice," he agreed. "I can hardly think straight at the moment."


"Come on then, there's a cool-looking place over there." Shindou took
Touya's hand and pulled him toward the coffee shop. The door to the shop
jingled as they opened it, and a tall, slim man with long blond hair pulled
back in a ponytail turned to greet them with a radiant smile.

"Good evening! Please sit anywhere you'd like," he said in English.


"Thank you," Touya said. "How about over there, Shindou?"

They carefully made their way to a small table by the front window. The
shop only had a few tables, and they were crowded with young Western men
talking and laughing with each other. A couple of them paused as Touya and
Shindou passed, eyeing them with interest. "What a cute couple," one murmured,
and his companions laughed with delight. Touya could feel himself blushing,
even though he knew Shindou couldn't understand what the impertinent American
had said. In fact, he appeared quite oblivious to all the attention. Typical
Shindou, thought Touya with a wry smile.

Touya ordered two coffees and gave in to his rival's pleas for food by
ordering "something big and chocolate" for Shindou and a piece of strawberry
cake for himself. They hadn't had dinner, and Touya still wasn't very hungry,
but he figured he'd better eat something or the coffee would keep him up
all night.

The two pros sat quietly for awhile, eating their cake and watching the
throngs pass by on the street. "This is nice," Shindou finally said.

Touya raised an eyebrow at Shindou's pronouncement. "I'm glad you like the cake," he said. "Mine's quite good as well."

"Not just the cake," Shindou said, reddening a bit. "I mean... I know
I should feel bad, being lost and missing the exhibition and upsetting everybody
and all. But it's still kind of nice, being here." With you, he wanted to
add, but his throat closed up before he could get the words out. He swallowed
heavily and smiled in what he hoped was a casual, friendly way before glancing
out the window again.

Touya gazed at the open collar of Shindou's shirt, where one of the rosy
bruises he'd left behind last night peeked out from beneath the light-blue
fabric. His breath caught as he was slammed by the overpowering memory of
all the things he'd done to Shindou in his fit of drunken madness. He remembered
the taste of Shindou's warm, gold-touched skin most of all -- sweet and a
bit yeasty, like French bread fresh from the oven.  He had nipped and suckled
and licked, unable to get enough of that delicious flavor. And all day, every
time he caught sight of the marks he'd left on his rival's flesh, he had
felt a heady mix of guilt and what he could only describe as... satisfaction.

Touya closed his eyes, fighting to slow his breathing and calm the stirrings
in his groin. When he opened them, Shindou was staring at him with dark,
resolute eyes, and fingering the collar of his shirt where the bite mark
was showing.

"It wasn't a dream, was it, Touya?" he said quietly.


Touya hesitated a few seconds before replying softly, his blue eyes never leaving his rival's.


"No, Shindou. It wasn't."

Shindou's heart nearly stopped hearing that answer,
then it began to beat faster. It seemed he could
almost hear the beating of his own heart. Cannot stand
the intense of Touya's unwavering eyes anymore,
Shindou broke the eye contact first. "Then if it were
not a dream, what would it be?" He asked softly.

This was the chance of his life, and if he missed it,
it might never came again, Touya knew that. But he
also understood taking the chance also meant the risk
of losing the newly formed friendship with Shindou.

"It could mean an unthoughtful moment of drunken
state..." Touya carefully chose his words, while
observing Shindou's expression.

Shindou looked down at his cup of coffee, his right
hand grabbed tightly at it as if seeking for something
to lean on. "Ah, so that's it." He had known that
Touya was drunk that night, so it was nothing new,
wasn't it? "I was just afraid you would jump me again
or something." He tried to make a joke, but failed to
put his humor in it. "Now I can sleep peacefully
without disruption." Shindou cracked out a laugh,
still not looking up.

Touya closed his eyes for a moment, feeling
disappointment swirling in him. Open them again, he
attempted to make a joke also, but all the words died
in his throat when his eyes set on Hikaru.

A tear slowly made it way down Shindou cheek, then
fall into the half-drunk cup of tea, creating small
circles on the water's surface.

Surprisingly, that single tear was like a miracle that
helped Touya's hope be reborn. Touya sighed, he
reached across the table to uncurled Shindou's fingers
off and took Shindou hand into his. "I haven't
finished yet." Slowly, he brought the soft hand to his
lips and kissed its palm lightly. "It could also mean
many things else."

"Like what?" Shindou asked him, finally looking up.

"What do you want it to be?" Touya answered by a
question, staring deep into Shindou's beautiful eyes.
And then...

"I told you they're a great couple." The same couple
before passed by them to the shop's door.

Touya dropped Shindou hand, blushing wildly. Shindou,
being Shindou, looked confused. Suddenly Touya didn't
need to look around to notice that half of the
customers of that small shop were now looking at them
curiously. He hastily called the waiter, paid for the
food and dragged Shindou out of the shop, ignoring his
rival's protest.

When they were rather far from the shop, Shindou
managed to jerk out of Touya's hold. "Geez, what
happened to you? I haven't even finished my drink
yet." Shindou pouted. Suddenly, Touya had the urge to
grab the boy and kiss his... Better not think of those
dirty thoughts now, he scolded himself. "Shindou, you
may not notice but the whole shop all looked at us as
if we were some strange creatures." He explained to
his rival.

"So what?" Shindou asked as if it was the most normal
thing in the world. "Touya," he said mockingly, "you
may not notice but they had been staring at us since
we entered that poor excuse of a shop. Or is it
because they call us a cute couple?"

"You... you understand their words?" Touya was
speechless. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, my English is not really good, but enough to
understand what they said." Shindou shrugged. "The
first time because I didn't know what I was to you.and
the second time because you were seducing me, so I
thought we were a couple." He paused a moment then
glanced at Touya suspiciously. "You are not going to
tell me I misunderstood you or this is just another of
your wicked jokes, aren't you."

"No. I didn't mean that." Touya winced. It was true
that he did try to seduce Shindou in the shop, but
when he noticed that others were looking at them, he
sudden panicked and ran away.

"Then you're suddenly shy?" Shindou hissed, suddenly
feeling furious

"For God's damn sake, lower your voice." Touya hissed
back. "You're attracting so much attention."

Shindou feeling tears threatened to fall gain. Touya
had showed him clearly that his rival was only trying
to embarrass him. "Fine, be that way. I thought your
feeling for me was not only last night's displayed
lust but also something else deep enough for you to
say 'To hell what others said'. I should know from the
beginning you're only toying with my feeling." He said
and sharply turned away from Touya, stormed to a taxi
nearby.

Touya was shocked for a moment, unable to make a move.
Then he recovered and ran after Shindou. Grabbing
Shindou's arm, he pulled him back from the car. "I
only want to say that we need to discuss this
somewhere less public."

That was when the taxi driver looked out from car,
seemingly puzzled. "Why do you need to call a taxi to
go there when you only need to walk about 200 meters
to this direction, turn right then walk another 100
meters and reach that hotel." He said in a perfect
English.

Both two Go players froze. They looked to the pointed
direction then at Touya's watch in unison, it was
already pass 9 pm. As if planned, both burst out in
laughter like there was something very funny here.

The taxi driver frowned. "Strange people." He muttered
to himself, then someone called him and he drove away.

Shindou and Touya continued to laughed until their
stomachs hurt, no one really paid attention to the
curious glances they got anymore. When the laughter
had died down, Touya wiped away the tears in his eyes,
and smiled. "Fools, are we?"

Shindou smiled back at him, the tension between them
had fully disappeared. "Yeah,"

Touya took Shindou's hand, the contact sent shivered
through both of them, but no one planned to pull away.
"It's time to go back to our hotel."

Shindou groaned. "And ready to be killed. Just my
fate. But I'm so tired that I can fall asleep right on
my feet and..." His eyes seemed to sparkle. "I'm not
afraid, at least someone would accompany me on the way
to hell."

Touya smiled again, a warmth feeling stretched in his
heart, completely had nothing to do with his raging
hormone. Holding Shindou's hand tightly in his own, he
followed the direction the taxi driver had shown.



As predicted, they were greeted by Waya, Isumi and a
very enraged Ogata in the hotel's waiting room. Waya
and Isumi just looked amused but Ogata seemed to be
ready to kill someone.

They were pushed to one sofa in the room. Isumi and
Waya stood behind them. With Ogata sat in front of
them shouting, smoke stemming out of his nostril, they
felt much like being investigated by the police.

"Where have you been all this afternoon?" Ogata yelled
at them. "I may expected Shindou to do something very
horrible like that if he were on his own, but you were
with him Touya, you should at least..."

"It's not Shindou's fault." Touya cut him off. "We
were stuck in a traffic jam. We had to get down the
taxi to walk on foot. But then we got lost."

"Purposely." Waya added, trying to looked innocently.

"Waya!" Isumi scolded. "Don't add fuel to the fire."

"Then why don't you call this damn hotel?" Ogata
slammed his hand hard to the table, startling all the
younger Go players, including the not-guilty Waya and
Isumi.

"I called but the phone did not work." Touya tried to
explain.

"Liar. You two only want to escape from this damn
exhibition." Ogata growled, didn't believe a single
word in what the poor boy said. "Do you know that
everyone else must go out to find you two? I even had
to call your father to inform him about you."

Touya's eyes widen. He didn't know things became that
serious. "I didn't kn..." He stammered but had not the
chance to finish as something heavy fell on his left
shoulder. He turned his head to that direction and
blinked.

Waya blinked.

Isumi blinked.

Even Ogata, in his terribly violent wrath, blinked.

Shindou had fallen asleep right on the sofa, his head
rested comfortably on Touya's left shoulder. For once,
this contact didn't bring Touya any thoughts. Not that
the sensation brought by Hikaru's contact with him was
unpleasant, it was just that they were in a very
serious problem, and Hikaru still...

"Oh dear, I can't believe he fell asleep right in the
middle of my lecture." Ogata murmured.

"I wondered what drained him so much." Isumi asked
himself.

"Oh, it should be who drained him so much." Waya
corrected.

"Waya!"

"Oh, boys nowadays." Ogata shook his head.

Touya blushed, catching what his friends were
thinking. "No! We didn't do anything like that!" He
screamed, wanted to turn around to glare at Waya, but
with Hikaru's head on his shoulder, he couldn't. "How
could you think of something like that?"

Waya smirked, he put a hand on Touya's free shoulder
and said innocently. "Do what Touya-san? I don't
remember saying a word about what you did and didn't."
Touya shuttered incoherently, not know what to say.

Ogata shook his head again, torn between anger and
amusement. Finally, amusement won, he laughed quietly
and said. "Isumi, you and Waya brought Mr. Hikaru
Shindou back to his room. I will inform others about
their return, they will have to answer questions
tomorrow morning. However, Mr. Akira Touya here still
had to call his father to explain his very interesting
actions."

"I didn't do anything." Touya muttered, but glad that
they could escape from Ogata's anger for now.



"Father, it's me, Akira." Touya nervously said when
his father answered the phone.

"Where did you go? You made everyone worry for you,
don't you know that?" His father shouted at him.

"I got lost with Shindou-kun." Touya said and went
through all the explanations he had made to Ogata-san
again. He wanted to talk with his Father something
else. Since his father always encourage father and son
talk, telling him his problems had become one of his
habits.

"Well, I believe you but remember to apologize to
everyone that you bothered. Now if there's nothing
more..." His father said.

"Father, wait, don't put the phone down." Touya cried.

"What?"

"I think... I think I love Hikaru Shindou." Touya
confessed.

There was a long pause, then continued by a strained
voice. "So that's what today's disappearance about.
How far did you two go?"

"No" Touya sweetdropped, why did others only think of
that? "We just had a light meal together, that's all."

Even through the phone, Touya could tell his father
had just sighed in relief. "Then it wasn't too late.
Listen, you must cancel immediately this
relationship."

"But," Touya protested, shocked that his father had
just said that. He had always supported Touya having
his own opinions before. "I love..."

"You know nothing about love." His father raised his
voice. "It's not just unnatural and disgusting. Use
your head and think. What would this affect your
career? Shindou's career? What would the world think
of you?"

What would the world think of them? Touya asked
himself, then he remembered something Shindou had said
earlier. ...To hell what others said.... something
deep enough...

"Father," Touya said quietly. "I don't care what the
world said, beside Ogata-sensei and the others don't
seem to mind."

"How many will think like that? These are the final
words. You must not continue your relationship with
Shindou, or else, you are not my son any more."

"But..." Touya looked at the phone in his hand with a
sinking sensation in his stomach, his father had
slammed the phone down.





Opening the door to his shared room with Shindou,
Touya stepped in. Shindou was sleeping peacefully.
Without any worry on his face, Shindou looked so
ethereally, so angel-like. He got closed to Shindou's
bed and sat down at one side.

Being near Hikaru like this awakened his desire, mixed
with it was something else not less intense. But what
if his father was true? What if Shindou and him being
together only meant destruction for both of their
future?

What would Shindou think if he said they should break
off? From the reactions of Shindou this evening,
Shindou had actually believed that there was something
between them. Would Shindou accept that as if nothing
had happened or would he could not stand the harsh
reality and break? Was the invisible link between them
that deep?

Touya sighed, pushed away a curl of hair falling on
Shindou's eyes, and stood up. He would think of an
answer to his problem tomorrow. He never succeeded in
making a step away from Shindou's bed as a tender hand
caught his grip and pulled him down on top of a
particular boy.

"Going to bed so early?" Shindou asked, their faces
only inches apart.

"You're not sleeping." Touya stated.

"I haven't slept since today morning." Shindou
answered, he released Touya's wrist to pulled Touya
face down into an intense kissed. Touya returned the
kiss immediately, his arms braced against the bed for
support. They pull away for breath after what seemed
like eternity.

"Then what's that scene in the hotel's guest room?"
Touya asked with a slightly breathless voice.

"Ogata-sensei released us, right?" Shindou laughed,
his arm moved around the other boy's waist. "Touya do
you know I'm very greedy. Last night turned out to be
not enough for me, and I want more."

Shindou's nearness was driving him insane, yet at the
same time his father's words returned with full force.
Touya was torn between them, unsure of what to do.

"Stay with me tonight, please." Shindou's sweet voice
pierced through the depth of his soul, urged him to
make up his mind.

Then it wasn't too late, his father had said. But what
if it were too late?

___________________

I know one way or another, I would add angst to this
wonderful fic.