Part Four:
Touya chewed on his salad
without really tasting anything. He glanced, for the umpteenth time, at the two
empty seats and then at the exit, which kept looking tempting with each passing
minute. Ogata-sensei was currently locked in conversation with Kashimoto-san.
It seemed like they had been best friends in high school or something of the
sort.. Giving a small sigh, he pushed around the vegetables on his plate. He
knew that Waya and Shindo hadn’t gone to the hotel room. He had noticed Matt try
to get their attention earlier and there was no doubt in his mind that the four
boys had left to find something worthwhile to do.
“I wonder where Waya and
Shindo are,” Ochi asked quietly, as he sipped his glass of water. “It’s been
thirty minutes now and still no sign of them. We are going into the main
course, Ogata-sensei is sure to notice soon.”
Akira frowned and shrugged
lightly. “It doesn’t matter to me where they are.” But even as he said this,
his fingers tightened around the fork he was eating with.
Ochi didn’t notice, instead
his glance went towards the Americans’ table, where the red-faced coach could
be seen ranting and raving about something. The dining room was now noisy, as
everyone had begun to eat and relax. Soft music played in the background and
some couples had even begun to dance to the tune.
“I hope we don’t get to play
the
When no reply was forthcoming
from his companion, he turned to face Akira, only to raise an eyebrow as he was
faced with an empty seat. He turned his head quickly to see where the other boy
must have gone to, but scanning his eyes around the room, Touya seemed to have
disappeared from sight.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Waya stuffed down the greasy
burger with a wide grin as he gave the thumbs up to Chris, who was also chewing
away at a large basket of waffle-fries in front of him.
A few feet away, Hikaru and
Matt could be seen dueling in the latest video game, and you didn’t need a
translator to see that Hikaru was winning (the game was currently at a two-two
tie) and that Matt was obviously not very happy at the way things were going.
The two boys shouted and cursed at will, urging their fighters to give it their
all, while the arcade owner winced and resisted the urge to pick up his phone
to call the cops.
The huge game room was eerily
devoid of other customers, which was due to the fact that Matt had somehow paid
the owner an undisclosed amount of money to have the place to themselves for
the night. It had practically every game imaginable and with its bright neon
lights and catchy dance music in the background, it was enough to make any
teenager’s wildest dream a reality.
Kim, dutifully, sat between
Chris and the redhead, eating his own meal slowly. He was happy to be a part of
this group, especially now that Waya and Shindo had become friends with them.
Chris belched loudly and nodded towards the 4-Dan. “Hey! Wanna play a game with
me?”
Waya smirked and nodded,
after Kim had translated of course. “Sure thing! Let’s do….Zelda!”
Chris laughed and got to his
feet. “Alright, big boy! Let’s go!”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Touya smiled shyly at the
lady behind the front desk in the front lobby, wondering why he was even
bothering to do this in the first place. It wasn’t as if he cared…right?
“And how may I help you this
evening, young man?” she asked calmly, although a light blush could be seen on
her cheeks.
Touya had to speak slowly, so
he could be understood. “I am looking for my teammates. They came out here and
I am sure they must have left with some American boys. Could you please tell
me…or give me some information on where they might have gone?”
“I’m sorry. We usually do not
give out information about our guests to others…”
Akira leaned closer, unaware
of the desperate look in his eyes now. “But these are my teammates and if
anything happened to them…” He shook his head quickly, trying to clear his
muddled thoughts. “I am the team captain, and I need to make sure that they are
in good and safe hands. Isn’t there anyway that I could just find out where
they could have gone?”
The woman looked contrite and
understanding. “Honey…this is a large city. They could have gone to a million
places. We don’t monitor where our guests go to.”
“There has to be someplace!
Somewhere…a popular place for teenagers to hang out…please!”
“I really don’t know how to
help you with that…”
“What seems to be the problem
here?”
Both stopped their
conversation as the deep voice interrupted them. Akira glanced at the tall boy
with wild-looking black hair, who looked no older than he. He could see that
the newcomer was also an American.
The woman replied quickly.
“He is looking for his teammates. It seems like they left with some boys from
the American team. I really don’t know how to help him with that.”
The boy smiled and held out
his hand in reassurance. “It’s okay, Amy. I can take care of him from here. You
are Akira Touya, right? I recognized your face. The name’s Mark Jansen. I help
my father run his Go school here in
Touya gave a small sigh of
relief and bowed before the woman, thanking her for her help. Following Mark,
obediently, they made their way out to the main lobby, where the wild-haired
boy reached for a cigarette in his pockets and lit it up quickly.
“I am guessing that Matt and
Chris decided to show your friends a good time tonight,” he said dryly. “They
did the same thing last year.”
Akira’s eyes widened at the
revelation. Was this some sort of ploy by the Americans to get them off track?
Mark noticed the look and
snickered. “I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you. You guys could easily
defeat us, but I am not saying that it isn’t beyond Matt to try to do anything
to win…even if it means getting your teammates…soft.”
Akira shook his head slowly.
“Waya and Hikaru are not soft.”
“Perhaps so, but you can’t
deny that this is some neat way of getting the other guys on your side, right?
‘Become friends with the rival’ and bullshit like that.” He puffed out a cloud
of smoke and ran his fingers, wearily, through his hair. “Anyhoo…if my guess is
correct, I think that Matt must have taken them to the new arcade down on 45th.
It’s a pretty cool place. Not too high profile, but it’s got tons of games and
good food. Wanna go take a look?”
Akira, already impatient,
nodded quickly. “Hai. We should go now.”
Mark smirked and motioned for
a car to pick them up. “You are one fine captain, looking out for your teammates
like this.”
Touya grit his teeth, but
kept his gaze firmly before him.
If you only knew…
~*~*~*~*~*~
“KISAMA! HOW COULD I LOSE TO
HIM IN ZELDA?”
“Now, now, Waya-kun. It’s
just a game.” Kim tried to reassure the distraught redhead, who was currently
banging his head upon the table in rapid succession.
“He won me three times in a
row! Three times! Even I don’t lose Go games three times in a row!”
Kim laughed shakily. “Ha…ha…I
don’t think you should be comparing Go to a video game….”
Chris grinned from his
position beside the game machine and beckoned the seething redhead with a
finger. “Come on, Waya! I know you want revenge…so come and get it!”
“Oh, you are so finished!”
And with a determined look on his handsome features, Waya stomped off to seal
the deal.
Hikaru, meanwhile, patted his
stomach and grinned. “It’s not ramen, but it will do just fine!”
Matt chuckled and collapsed
next to him on the seat, eyeing Waya and Chris who had just begun another
round. He placed an arm behind the seat, which caused Hikaru to eye the motion
with uncertainty, but being the gracious guest, he didn’t say anything but
instead, reached for his bottle of Coke, downing it in one gulp.
“Is your friend always this
feisty?” Matt asked with a small smile. “He is hot...just like Touya.”
Hikaru, who had just been
ready to stuff his mouth with some fries, began to choke as the food went down
the wrong way. He tried to reach for Matt’s drink to wash it down, only to find
that his worried-looking companion was now pounding his back.
“You okay, Shindo? You
probably ate that too fast.”
Hikaru nodded and held up his
hands signifying that he was fine. He drank the cold liquid, grateful for the
cup being able to hide the dull blush that had risen to his cheeks. Matt hadn’t
actually said that, had he? It was all just a figment of his imagination.
Or not…
“Chris and I have been dating
for some time now. But if anyone knew…hooo boy! Would we be in trouble or what?
The coach has this thing about gay guys in his team, but we are the best Go
players in our division in the country, so he can’t say a damn thing about it.”
Kim, who had the misfortune
of translating was now as red as a tomato and Hikaru could understand his position. This was not the kind of
conversation you had on an everyday basis with anyone. But it seemed like Matt
didn’t really care. He continued to speak as if he were just discussing another
game.
“It’s kinda hard being this way in this country…well,
from where I come from, but over here in New York… it’s like an everyday way of
life, you know? You get weird looks every now and then, especially when you try
to give him a kiss in public, but I think we have gotten over it. I mean, hell!
It’s a free country and I can do whatever the hell I want. If I choose to fall
in love with a guy, then who has the right to complain?!”
Hikaru could only nod numbly,
as his gaze reluctantly flew to Waya.
Who is anyone to complain about who I choose to fall
in love with…
Love is a strange thing, Hikaru.
He sighed softly. You don’t need to tell me that, Sai…
As if realizing that he was
being watched, Waya spun his head around to lock gazes with Shindo. He gave his
teammate a thumbs up sign and a warm smile, which in turn sent Hikaru’s face burning.
Shindo lowered his gaze and stared at the patterns on the table with feigned
interest, only to blush harder as Matt’s taunting voice was heard.
“Ah ha! So you have a thing
for Waya, right?”
“No! No! I don’t! Shut up!”
He slapped a hand across Matt’s mouth, hoping that the damage hadn’t been done.
But Matt was not about to go down that easily, he struggled and pulled away the
hand, only to yell even louder.
“HEY, WAYA! I THINK SHINDO
HAS THE HOTS FOR…Mmmmpphfff!”
Kim wasn’t even sure he wanted
to translate any more, but Waya and Chris had stopped their game to gape at the
two struggling couple on the seat. Waya raised an eyebrow and scratched his
head.
“Uh…what’s going on, Shindo?”
The blond shook his head
rapidly. “Nothing! Honest! Whatever Matt said is not true!”
Chris turned to face Kim.
“What did Matt say?”
“That Shindo probably had the
hots for Waya.”
“Ooooooo….I seeeeeeeee…”
Chris smirked and ruffled the redhead’s locks playfully. “Good luck to you,
buddy. You’ve got yourself a good man there.”
Waya scowled and reached for
Chris, his intention to get him into a headlock. “Don’t you dare touch my hair!
It took me hours to get it mussed up this right!”
Kim gave a sigh of
exasperation as he watched the two couples argue between each other…which was
funny, since no one could really understand what the other was saying. He could
see the arcade owner reaching for his phone. It looked like they were about to
be thrown out. He opened his mouth to tell the others about this, when two people
walked into the large game room. Kim felt the air rush out of his lungs as the
tall Japanese boy spun around to pin intense green eyes on him.
“Touya…”
“Ah! Kim, there you are! Was
wondering where you’ve been hiding lately.”
“Mar…Mar…Mark?”
“In the flesh!” Mark grinned
and patted Kim’s head lightly, before raising an eyebrow as he noticed the
squabbling boys in the corner. “Geez…and they didn’t even get to the alcohol
part yet.”
Akira, on the other hand,
watched the scene with his hands clenching into tight fists. Not only were
Hikaru and Waya acting like overgrown children, they had actually allowed
themselves to be used in such a manner and that infuriated the captain to no
end.
“Shindo! Waya!” He barked out
coldly. “It’s time for us to go…now!”
The fighting stopped and four
flustered boys blinked at the stoic figure as if in a trance for several
minutes. Matt was quick to recover as he saw Mark leaning against a game
machine. He released Shindo and tried to straighten out his ruffled suit, aware
of the look of disdain that was thrown his way from Touya.
“Looks like your boyfriend is
here,” he said teasingly to Shindo, as he brushed his fingers through his hair.
“Mark…what evil wind blew you over here, eh?”
The boy shrugged. “Nothing.
Just thought I would be doing the world a favor this time around. Come on,
guys. Pack up your stuff and let’s go. You’ve got a game on Monday and practice
first thing in the morning.”
Chris reluctantly released
Waya, but not before doing something that sent the entire room gasping in
shock. He leaned closer to the redhead and kissed him softly on the lips, and
caressing the smooth cheek gently, he whispered, “See you around, handsome.”
With a wink and a light chuckle, he pulled away and reached for his jacket. “You
too, Shindo. It was fun…we should do it again sometime.”
Matt nodded and taking
Chris’s cue, spun around quickly to claim Shindo’s parted lips in a swift but
hard kiss. Dancing away from the stunned look on the blond’s face, Matt picked
up his own jacket and waved to the silent group. “See you guys on Monday! Come
on, Kim, let’s jet!”
Mark sighed heavily as the
three boys left and pushing himself away from the machine, he walked up to
Touya. He placed a hand on a stiff shoulder and said quietly. “I will take the
limo with the boys. You can use the other one we came with to get back to the
hotel.” He squeezed it gently and turned to go, only to stop again. “And I
really wouldn’t worry too much about it. Matt and Chris just like to play like
that with everyone. I mean, they even go as far as saying they are a gay
couple, just to get chicks to dig them.” When Touya gave no sign of having
heard him, he shrugged and began to walk away. “Just don’t do anything that
will disrupt your team, Touya. Take care!”
The door closed softly behind
him and the three boys were left in relative silence. Waya was still standing
with his mouth slightly parted, wondering what in the world had just happened,
while Shindo had his gaze lowered to the floor, with a finger lightly caressing
his lips in disbelief. He had never kissed a guy before and the sensation was
quite…different. For a moment, he wondered how Touya or Waya would taste, but
that thought was quickly erased as Akira’s strained voice filled the silence.
“We have to go back to the
hotel.”
Shindo and Waya didn’t even
bother protesting. They helped the arcade owner clean up the mess they had
created and making sure that he was paid well, Touya led them into the waiting
limousine.
As the vehicle began to move,
the silence and tension in the car grew. Each boy sat as far away from each
other as possible, averting their gazes from one another. Waya seemed
fascinated with the range of beverages at their disposal, Shindo stared
morosely out of the window, while Touya seemed lost in his own thoughts.
And I didn’t even get to see the Yankee stadium as
promised, Shindo thought with a sigh.
Anything but to think of that…that…damn
that Chris!
Sai refused to answer, for
his gaze was locked on Touya, who at this point, looked lonely and sad. He
moved closer to the boy and sat beside him, wishing for a chance to be able to
speak to Akira, but knowing only too well, that it would never be.
I am cursed to remain silent and to watch you suffer,
Touya-kun. Only I know of the heartbreak you are going through. But I swear, I
will make Shindo and Waya see you for whom you really are inside. Love can be a
painful and gut-wrenching thing…
Finally, Waya croaked out
weakly. “Does Ogata-sensei know?”
Touya’s features regained
their usual scowl as he shook his head. “No one knows I came after you.”
“So, who was the guy with
you?” Waya asked, blinking in confusion.
“Just a guy I met in the
lobby. He knew what Matt and Chris were up to…”
This time, Shindo spoke up.
“And just what were they up to? They just wanted us to have a good time,
that’s all.”
Touya snorted and turned his
face away. “Are you so blind? Can’t you see that they are trying to get you off
balance for the competition on Monday?”
“What the hell is wrong with
you?” Waya shouted in exasperation. “Nobody wanted you there! They are just
nice guys who wanted to have fun! You should try that sometime, Touya!”
An audible gasp from Akira,
caused Waya to slap a hand over his mouth and to kick himself inwardly for
going that far. Shindo’s eyes were unforgiving, even as he felt something
tighten in his chest at the words that Waya had hurled out.
Touya clenched his hands and
stubbornly refused to tear his gaze from the window. And in a voice that was as
cold as ice, he replied calmly.
“I will remind myself to do
that, Waya. Until then…I prefer to keep this incident away from Ogata-sensei.
We could just pretend that we all went out to explore the city together. As
long as you are on my team, and I am the captain, I expect you to be on your
toes. We will begin practicing tomorrow…as soon as we wake up.”
Waya and Shindo cursed
beneath their breaths, only to freeze at the next words from Touya’s mouth.
“Oh, least I forget…Mark told
me that the schedules have already been handed out to the coaches.” He turned
to pin cold green eyes on them.
“Our first match is against
the