uchikomi ([personal profile] uchikomi) wrote2012-08-09 09:00 pm

Round 4 - Kyoji Kagami, "Everybody Talks (Or, That Incident With The Shirt)" Part 3/4, Fic (●)

Pseudonym: Kyoji Kagami
Title: Everybody Talks (Or, That Incident With The Shirt) Part 3/4
Characters/Pairings: Shindou Hikaru, Touya Akira, Ogata Seiji, Yashiro Kiyoharu, Hong Su-yeong, Ko Yeong-ha
Rating: Teen
Warnings/Contains: None
Summary/Notes: There's a new rumor floating around the Ki'in, and Shindou is not amused.

Touya Akira doesn’t know much about anything outside of go, which usually suits him just fine; after all, who cares if doesn't know who the latest pop sensation is as long as he's challenging for titles at the age of twenty-one? No one in his circles – save Shindou, of course, and possibly Ashiwara-san – cares much for what serves as mainstream entertainment. If there isn't a goban involved in some way, it is not important enough to hold his attention.

Which isn't to say that he doesn't enjoy movies on the rare occasion that he sees them. His mother is very fond of traditional Japanese films, and Akira has seen every film by Kurosawa Akira (his mother once joked that he was named for the famous director, although his father assures him this is not true and that they just found the name to be suitable). He is ninety-eight percent sure that black and white films are not what Shindou has in mind, though.

○•○•○


He has it all planned out: they'll meet up at the station and head over to Toho Cinemas (barring Touya showing up in something ridiculous, like a sweater-vest or anything purple, in which case he is prepared to drag Touya into the nearest clothing shop and buy him something not embarrassing to wear in public for someone who isn't old man Kuwabara's age). From there, he'll let Touya pick the movie, and if Touya doesn't know any of the films playing – which, considering this is Touya, is a possibility – well, then they can watch Spider-Man or the new Batman movie.

Then they'll buy snacks, watch the movie, and go home. It's the perfect plan, Hikaru knows, because it's almost like a date, except it isn't, so Touya won't be suspicious. Plus, it's during the day, and who goes on a date in the middle of the afternoon?

Well, Saeki-san does. And he's pretty sure Waya usually takes out Shigeko-san on Sunday afternoons. But, he thinks fiercely, they don’t count. Besides, he's pretty sure that Touya doesn't even know what a date is, and is therefore unlikely to suspect that his eternal rival is taking him on one.

And that thought is just all sorts of depressing, so Hikaru banishes it and goes to wash the bleach from his bangs.

•○•○•


He is exactly seventeen minutes early, and is wondering if that is enough time to find a clothing boutique, buy a plain white button down, and be back at the station before Shindou even arrives. Considering it's Shindou, Akira figures he has a pretty good chance.

He makes it two steps before Shindou comes barreling off the train, wildly looking back and forth before spotting Akira. Akira forces himself to wait until Shindou reaches him and silently curses the fact that Shindou Hikaru is early, for what is probably the first and only time in his life.

"Hey, Touya!" Shindou is wearing a dark blue button up over a white long-sleeved shirt. There is something written on the chest – some English slogan or another – that Akira cannot decipher, partly because most of the words on either side are obscured by the dress shirt. His bangs are bright, the color crisp. "What are you wearing?"

It takes every ounce of self-control he possesses not to look down at his purple-and-green argyle sweater. He had figured that the theatre would be cold – they always were, whenever he would go with his mother – but he hadn't counted on the strange looks by people his age wearing clothes that looked like they came out of Shindou's closet.

"What?" he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shindou just shakes his head, grabs Akira's wrist, and leads him out of the station.

○•○•○


There are about fifty million stores between the station and the theatres, which is an impressive feat since Toho Cinemas is about two minutes away. He looks at window displays as they pass storefronts until the one he wants appears. He tosses a grin back to Touya, who looks so uncomfortable it's almost hilarious, and pulls him into the shop.

The last time he had been here, it had been with Yashiro, who had been looking for some nice button ups and plain t-shirts that didn't cost an arm and leg. Yashiro had been grumbling about some sort of meeting with a counselor for school while Hikaru had looked around and promptly declared the clothes stylish but boring.

Which he figures will fit Touya perfectly.

"Here," he says, grabbing a nice dark green v-neck from the rack. Touya takes the shirt without a word, which Hikaru assumes is good. He's about to usher Touya off to the fitting room to try it one when he sees a gray vest on one of the tables. "Take this, too."

•○•○•


Akira isn't sure what's going on – well, he knows what's going on: he's shopping for clothes with Shindou. He's holding the v-neck and the vest and looking around for a sales associate when one magically appears, taking the clothes from his hands and chatting about some movie star or other who bought that same vest just the other day, isn't that fascinating? They reach the fitting room, and the attendant opens the door just as he launches into a story about some person Akira has never met. Akira shakes his head politely and closes the door to the fitting room.

The v-neck is nice; it's soft and light, which will be perfect during the spring. The vest is not his style and looks awkward on him, so he takes it off immediately. He nods at his reflection in the mirror, takes the shirt off, and puts his argyle sweater back on. When he exits the dressing room, he hands the vest to the attendant.

"Didn't like the vest?" the guy says with a shake of his head.

Akira shakes his head and starts towards the sales counter, where Shindou is waiting with a bag in his hand.

"No vest?" Shindou asks. "Oh well. Look what I picked up for Yashiro." There is a huge grin on his face which means that, whatever is in that bag, Yashiro is going to hate it. Shindou pulls out a simple black tie with little white and red dots.

Akira frowns and takes a closer look. The white dots are skeleton heads and the red dots are actually hair bows. "You truly lack a sense of self-preservation, Shindou."

○•○•○


Touya decides he wants to see some movie called Witness For The Prosecution, which sounds like it could be interesting. He pays for their tickets – which Touya protests, of course. Hikaru rolls his eyes. "I invited you out," he points out.

"But," Touya starts.

"It's only fair." He smiles and leads them toward the concession stand. "Do you want popcorn?"

Touya shakes his head. "I'll just have a water," he tells the guy behind the counter, who shrugs and hands him a bottle.

Hikaru gets a large soda, a large popcorn, a package of green tea pocky, and two scoops of Neapolitan ice cream in a waffle cone. Touya is looking at him with wide eyes, but Hikaru shrugs, takes a bite of ice cream, and attempts to lead them to their theatre.

•○•○•


Shindou doesn't stop complaining about the movie until they get off of the train at Akira's stop.

"I mean, come on," Shindou rants. "It was so obvious that she was lying, so why the hell did he get off?"

Akira sighs. "Reasonable doubt, Shindou," he says for the hundredth time. "Her testimony was unreliable, and there wasn't enough to prosecute him on. Besides, the blame had shifted to her."

"Whatever, it was stupid. And black and white? When was that movie made? In the 50s?"

"1957, actually," Akira says primly.

"Man, that was ages ago," Shindou complains.

"Well, next time you can pick the movie," he replies archly, and for a second, Shindou freezes before breaking out into a big grin. "But you can't say anything when I start complaining."

"Deal," Shindou agrees easily. "I guess it wasn't too bad. I mean, that guy who played the defense lawyer? He was pretty cool. And the nurse was funny."

Akira's street is just ahead and he slows down. It's… nice walking with Shindou after a movie. They reach the corner and stop. Akira is about to say something – maybe, 'well, here's my street,' except that sounds nothing at all like him and more like one of the shoujo heroines in Ashiwara-san's manga – but Shindou spares him the awkwardness.

"I'll see you Thursday, right?" Akira nods. "Cool. I've got to stop by Yashiro's new place to get the key, and the office closes soon, so I gotta go."

"Ah, okay," Akira says eloquently. "See you on Thursday, then."

○•○•○


They fall into a comfortable pattern: Go salon on Thursdays, movies on Sundays. For a while, Hikaru pays. Whenever Touya argues, he simply points out that it was his idea, so he should pay. It works for a few months until Touya invites Yashiro to go with them.

"I'll pay for him," Touya says, and both Hikaru and Yashiro look at him like he's gone insane.

"I can pay for myself," Yashiro says, heading towards the ticket counter. "I mean, it's not like we're on a date or anything. Sheesh."

Touya gives Hikaru a look that has him smiling sheepishly and following Yashiro. Before he can reach the line, Touya has him by the arm and is pulling him back. "What?"

"Have these been… dates?"

He's not really sure how to answer the question, because, as much as Hikaru wants to say, "Yeah, totally. We've been dating for about five months now; where have you been?" he can't really say that. Part of it is because, well, they only look like dates, and how pathetic would Hikaru have to be to say that they've been going on dates when only one of them knows about it? Waya would never let him live it down.

"Dates?" Hikaru hedges. Think, think, think! "Do you want them to be?"

•○•○•


It's not something Akira wants to think about, because a part of him thinks that maybe, yeah, he does kind of want these to be dates, except that Yashiro is here, and who has a third person tag along on a date? And it's not like Shindou was upset with him for inviting Yashiro. In fact, Shindou had thought it was a great idea.

"I'll pay for my ticket," he says instead and pretends to ignore the way Shindou's face falls.

○•○•○


They skip a movie week –Touya is out of town for a Kisei challenger match, and Yashiro has to study. Then another – this time, it's because of an international tournament in China that he had agreed to a year ago.

He's eliminated in the fifth round against some Chinese guy, but has to stay until the end of the tournament. When he finally gets back to Japan, Touya overanalyzes every. Single. Move. Finally, when Touya fails to say anything about the newest rumor circulating around the Ki'in – courtesy of Waya, who Hikaru swears lives to make his life miserable – Hikaru upends his goke on the goban, makes a snide remark about Touya's clothes – a hideous pastel pink button up with some paisley yellow tie that Hikaru would love to see go up in flames – and leaves.

Hikaru is irritated and annoyed and Yashiro is with some group for some stupid presentation, so it's not like he can just crash there and vent. Because he really needs to vent, and who better to vent to than Yashiro, who is usually sympathetic (when he isn't freaking over some paper or test) and always seems to have beer? Which Hikaru really needs right now.

It's not Touya's fault, of course. It's just a rumor; after all, Touya wouldn't sleep with Ogata-san. But. He can see where people could get that idea. Ogata-san always stands a little too close to Touya, or places his hand on the small of his back to lead him through a door. And it's not like Ogata-san is discriminate with who he sleeps with, although, to be fair, he's only ever heard about Ogata-san's sex life from Ichikawa-san, who Hikaru thinks secretly likes Ogata-san. And it's always been women, although Hikaru thinks that maybe Ogata-san and Ashiwara-san have slept together.

He spends the rest of the week agonizing over it until Yashiro tells him to knock it off. "Your go sucks, and if you're seriously going to play like this, I have a paper I should be writing."

"What if-"

"Look," Yashiro says as he starts to the clear the goban – not that Hikaru can blame him: it really was a crap game. "If Touya is sleeping with Ogata-sensei, so what? Are you his dad or something?"

"But-"

"But, it's more likely that it's just a stupid rumor. I mean, wasn't there one about you two sleeping together last year because he wore your shirt?" Hikaru remains quiet. "It's a rumor, Shindou. You know what's not? The Nongshim qualifiers. Those are next week. And you said you'd help me study Morishita-sensei's kifu, so, if we're not going to play, let's study."

•○•○•


Akira is the only one of the so-called 'New Wave' to qualify for the Nongshim Cup. It's not surprising that Yashiro doesn't make it – his school workload has been starting to weigh him down, and Akira knows that there is something else going on with him, though he doesn't want to pry – but he is a bit disappointed when Shindou falls out against Ogata-san.

He offers to go over the game with him – Shindou had stormed out after the loss – but Shindou refuses. "I don't care," he declares, dropping on to the couch. Shindou's apartment is a mess and Akira has to fight the urge to clean it.

Instead, he frowns and finds a clean – well, by Shindou standards – chair to perch on. For the past few weeks, Shindou has become increasingly hostile whenever Ogata-san is mentioned. If Shindou were sixteen, he could possibly understand it; he knows that Shindou and Ogata-san played at a game at a conference, and that Ogata-san swore that he was playing someone else. And there was that incident in the hospital, where Ogata-san had pushed Shindou against a wall. But Shindou has grown up, matured. He might not like Ogata-san, but he's usually civil. "What is your problem with Ogata-san?"

Shindou snorts. "You mean, besides him being creepy as hell?"

Akira stiffens. "Ogata-san is not creepy, Shindou."

"Right," Shindou retorts. "Because checking out kids you knew when they were in diapers isn't creepy."

"I don't know what your problem is, Shindou," Akira says, standing up, "but just because you lost to a strong player doesn't give you the right to make assumptions on their behalf or hurl baseless accusations."

Shindou laughs. "Baseless? Come on, Touya. I'm not the only one, or did you not know about the rumor going around that says you're sleeping with him?"

Akira stares at him in shock. "You actually believed that?" Shindou doesn't say anything. "I'm leaving. When you've returned to your senses, let me know." And without another word, Akira leaves.

○•○•○


Hikaru's not sure why he takes the time off, buys a ticket to Seoul, and gets on the plane for the tournament anyway. Touya hasn't talked to him since that stupid fight, and their whole relationship – which had been going the way that Hikaru wanted it to, damn it – has soured because of some stupid rumor. Ogata-san, who seems to have some unnerving 'Hikaru and Touya are fighting' radar, is watching them in amusement and smirking, Yashiro is staring pensively out of the window, ignoring everyone, and Touya is pointedly ignoring his existence. He's not sure why Yashiro is here, although he has a sneaking suspicion it has to do with Su-yeong. They seemed to have hit it off the last time Su-yeong was in Japan, and he knows that they've been keeping in touch.

When they land, they are greeted by the Korean welcoming committee, which has none other than Ko Yeong-ha in its ranks. Su-yeong is there, too, and makes a beeline for Yashiro, who is standing next to Hikaru. Touya and Ogata-san walk by them without a word, and Hikaru swears that Ogata-san's hand brushes against Touya's hip.

Touya stops briefly to say something to Su-yeong; Hikaru assumes it's a greeting, but he doesn't speak Korean, and Su-yeong is obviously occupied being spoken to and can't be counted on to translate.

Another Korean voice says something, and Hikaru turns to see Ko Yeong-ha smirking at him. Yashiro replies, but his words are slow and unsure. Hikaru stares as Yashiro turns to Su-yeong, says something else, and is replied to in turn. Flabbergasted, he asks, "When did you start speaking Korean?"

"He began learning a year or so ago," Touya says icily, and Hikaru frowns. He thinks he remembers seeing some Korean books at Yashiro's place, but he never connected the dots.

He's about to say something to Touya – after all, it's the first time he's spoken to him in weeks – when Ko Yeong-ha smiles and says something in Korean that makes Hikaru's back straighten. He has no clue what's being said, but he knows it's probably condescending. He looks to Su-yeong, who sighs heavily before translating.

"He said he's sorry you aren't playing and that he wanted to play against you again," Su-yeong says.

Hikaru glares. "Yeah, well I could take you on right now. Why wait for an official match?"

More Korean, and Su-yeong is starting to look uncomfortable. For some reason, he keeps darting glances at Yashiro, who looks bored. "He says there's a practice room in the hotel, and he has a goban in his room."

"You're on."

•○•○•


It's pointless to worry about Shindou, Akira decides, although he does admit to a bit of satisfaction when he loses his poorly thought-out match against Ko Yeong-ha. He should be focusing on his matches, especially since one of the Japanese delegates – Shirakawa-san – falls out in the first round.

There are banquets every night, and he spends most of his time watching Shindou and Ko Yeong-ha. For some reason, Ko has taken an interest in Shindou, and anyone with eyes can tell. Ogata-san has commented on it a few times. He doesn't insinuate anything – after all, Ogata-san is a professional, and gossip isn't really something he concerns himself with outside of sai – but if Ogata-san is saying something, then Ko is being obvious.

Of course, it doesn't seem like Shindou has taken notice.

He falls out in the fourth round against Ko and skips the banquet, opting to have dinner in his room. Shirakawa-san asks him if he's okay before heading down, and Akira tells him he's just tired. Shirakawa-san doesn't look like he believes him, but tells him to get some sleep. "I'll try to be quiet when I come back to the room," he says, and Akira nods.

○•○•○


The tournament ends with Kurata Atsushi triumphing over An Taeson and letting the whole world know it. Touya is still avoiding him, and Hikaru thinks that maybe he owes Touya an apology. After all, he knew the rumors weren't true, and if he'd had any doubt, well. Ogata-san and Ko Yeong-ha is not something he wants to ponder for more than a second, but it's a little hard to ignore.

He tells Yashiro he's heading downstairs and leaves. He takes the stairs from the sixth floor to the fourth and wonders what's up with his friend. Yashiro has seemed more and more agitated as the tournament went on. At first, Hikaru thought it was because he wasn't playing, but he seemed fine during the games.

By the time he gets to Shirakawa-san's and Touya's room, he's decided that he should probably just ask Yashiro about it. After all, he owes Yashiro a few vent sessions.

He knocks on the door and waits for someone to answer. He hears a muffled, "one moment," and then Touya is standing in front of him. "What do you want, Shindou?"

"Look," Hikaru says, casually leaning against the door frame in case Touya decides to shut it in his face before he can finish talking. "I just wanted to say that I was sorry, and that I was being a jackass. I mean, I told you to ignore the rumors, didn't I?"

Touya sighs and motions for Hikaru to come in."Thank you, Shindou," Touya says after a moment.

"No problem." Hikaru looks around the room and sees clothes neatly folded on one of the beds. "You were packing, right? Let me help."

"No offense," Touya says with a small smile, "but I have seen your idea of packing. We haven't played in awhile, though. There is a magnetic goban in the side drawer."

They've only played a few moves when Hikaru screws up. "So, Ogata-san and Ko."

Touya stiffens. "What about them?"

"Nothing," Hikaru says quickly. "I was just surprised."

Touya turns around and looks at him. His face is guarded when he asks, "Are you jealous?"

"What?" Hikaru exclaims. "No way! Why would I be?"

"He's not paying attention to you anymore," Touya replies coolly, and Hikaru can tell he's angry about something.

"Wait," he says, trying to follow Touya's train of thought. He's pretty good at it, and, if he's right, he really doesn't like where this is going. "Do you think something's going on with me and Ko?"

"You've been spending a lot of time together."

He wants to say something, like we're not spending time together or the hell? It's Ko Yeong-ha. Instead, he says, "What? Are you jealous?"

In retrospect, he probably deserved the shoe to the head.

•○•○•


"I still can't believe you thought there was something going on with me and Ko," Shindou complains around a mouth full of ramen – Akira's idea of a peace offering, although it's been nearly three months since the Nongshim Cup. "I mean, it's Ko."

"And this is somehow more offensive than thinking that I was sleeping with Ogata-san?" Akira asks, amused. "He is twenty years my senior. At least Ko is our age."

"But." Shindou stops to swallow his ramen before shoveling more into his mouth. "Just, yuck."

Akira finishes his ramen and just as Shindou slurps the soup from his own bowl. "Shall we go to the salon?"

Shindou holds the door for Akira. "Nah, I was thinking we could go to the park."

It's a nice evening – not too cold, not too warm. Shindou seems to have someplace particular in mind, and Akira follows. It's been a while since they've done something together, what with the fight and the Nongshim Cup, and Akira has missed this.

Shindou leads him to a quiet neighborhood park and flops onto the grass, arms folded under his head. He's staring up at the sky, and Akira lies next to him and tries to see what Shindou sees.

"You know," Shindou says a little while later, "I used to think that I was creating the universe when I played go." His back is off the grass, upper body supported by his forearms. He looks over at Akira and smiles. "It's stupid, right?"

Akira closes his eyes and pictures a goban, except it's the color of the night sky. He places an imaginary stone, and it's as bright as the stars above them. "I don't think so," he says quietly. "Go is its own world. We're drawn in and we create it with each stone, and it changes with every game. Your go draws me to you, and my go draws you to me, and every game is a new universe that we create."

His eyes are still closed when he feels something warm against his lips. He doesn't think and kisses Shindou back. He opens his eyes as Shindou pulls away, and he can see panic filling his eyes. He wants to say something – anything – but no words come.

Shindou quickly gets up, mutters something Akira can't make out, and takes off. Akira spends the next half hour staring at the sky, thinking of the universe, go, and Shindou Hikaru.

Go to opponent's entry: Round 4 - Thunder, "Absorption", Fic (○)
Go to vote: The White Suit Society vs. Kawahagi Middle School - Second Board Match

Post a comment in response:

If you don't have an account you can create one now.
No Subject Icon Selected
More info about formatting