Part One:

 

“We are going to what?!”

 

Ogata winced at the loud scream from the bleached blond, but managed to retain his composure. He eyed Hikaru with a wary look and sighed. “You are all going to be roommates,” he reiterated slowly.  “It is the rule and there is no getting around it, sorry.

 

He was currently standing in the lobby of the airport, with the four boys sitting before him. Parents and well-wishers lined the long hall, as cameras flashed from the local and national press. Puffing out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette, he pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose and stared at the mortified expressions on their faces.

 

“What is the problem now?”

 

Waya was the first to break the silence. “No way in hell am I rooming with him!”

 

Him just happened to be Touya, who tightened his jaw at the way Waya had spoken about him, but it looked like the redhead wasn’t finished. “I would rather sleep in a room full of snakes than to sleep with Mr. Personality!”

 

“Keep your voice down, Yoshikata or I will take you out of team,” Ogata chided coldly. “The press is beginning to notice the way you are acting. How will it look if they see the disunity on the team already? Now, you will either behave yourself or you will be kicked out, got it?”

 

“Yeah…yeah.” Waya pouted and slouched lower in his seat. He turned his head to glare out of the large glass windows, hardly noticing that Hikaru had moved closer to him. “That guy irritates me!”

 

“Who? Ogata-sensei or…”

 

“Touya! Who else? Hell, for the past week he’s been acting like he is above us or something!”

 

Hikaru shrugged lightly and stared out of the window as well. It was taking all of his strength not to run around in excitement. He had never been out of the country before and the sight of the large airplanes so close to him, sent all thoughts of the games ahead out of his mind. He was going to New York City…to America! He had tons of American stuff in his collection, ranging from the music he listened to; to the tons of clothes he bought every week. He wasn’t good at speaking English fluently, but he was sure that he could manage well and besides Ochi was much smarter and could act as a translator.

 

“Have you ever flown before, Waya?”

 

The redhead shook his head and quickly lost his sullen look. “It is kinda exciting, isn’t it? We get to meet all sorts of people and have tons and tons of fun…”

“The time for fun will come once we win the title,” Ogata interrupted them calmly. “I do not want you all going there with the notion that this is just another field trip. Remember that we’re going against some fifty or so countries and one misstep could get us out of the competition.”

 

“Gee…put the pressure on us, why don’t you?” Hikaru muttered, earning a chuckle from Waya and a snort from Ochi. Hikaru turned to face the smaller boy and nudged him playfully. “You ever been out of the country before, Ochi-kun?”

 

“No. But my grandfather has. He went to Korea for a Go competition and that’s about it.”

 

All three fell silent, only to turn their heads (as if on cue) to their silent companion, who was currently reading a book. Hikaru opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it shut as Waya beat him to the punch.

 

“What about you, Touya-kun? Ever been out of the country before?”

 

“I bet he has,” Ochi replied. “His father would have traveled and taken him to some places.”

 

Akira seemed a bit surprised that they had actually spoken to him and he nodded cautiously. “I have been out of the country once with my father. I was about six at the time.”

 

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Where did you guys go to?”

 

China…and then England.”

 

Waya made a face. “Geez…that’s two places.”

 

The 6-Dan laughed sheepishly. “Oh, sorry. But he was taking a tour after winning another Meijin title…and so he took I and my mother.”

 

“No need to rub it in, Touya. We get the idea.” Waya turned back to face the window, but not before muttering ‘show off’ to himself.

 

Hikaru, on the other hand, was quite curious now. He moved away from Waya, failing to notice the small look of surprise on the redhead’s features, and sat next to Touya, failing to also notice the small gasp of surprise that escaped the reserved boy’s features. “Tell me more about England. Are you good at speaking English?”

 

“I…uh…I…” Akira found himself blushing furiously at the close proximity and for an instant completely forgot what he had planned to say, but gratefully, a member of the press walked up to them, announcing that it was time for their final news conference.

 

Groans from Hikaru and Waya were heard as they all rose to their feet, shuffling wearily towards the microphones that had been placed for them. They had been forced to wear black suits and they all looked rather dashing in them. The past week had been a whirlwind of press conferences, photo shoots, TV interviews and barely enough time to practice. But it was Sai, Hikaru’s friendly spirit that had been the most excited of them all. The thought of seeing other countries playing Go had sent the kind-hearted ghost almost dizzy with anticipation.

 

Goodbyes, hugs and tears were given and shed as loved ones sent the boys off to the terminal. Hikaru shouldered his backpack and grinned at Akari, his parents and his grandfather. “See you guys in two weeks! And we are going to bring back the Cup too!”

 

Waya snickered and grabbed him in a playful headlock. “Tough words coming from your mouth, boy! You ready to back it up?”

 

“Bring it on! I will kick your ass anytime!”

 

Ogata didn’t even bother trying to stop the two playful boys behind him. At least he had Ochi and Akira who were the more serious types. Speaking of Akira…he glanced at the quiet boy who walked alongside him. He couldn’t help feeling a bit worried about his reserved nature. It had always worked for the boy in the past, but for this event, Ogata was hoping that Akira would have been more comfortable with the others.

 

I hope you can make friends soon, Touya. I know it might not mean much to you, but you are going to have to depend on these three boys for the next two weeks. Communication is going to be key.

 

Akira blinked and glanced at Ogata, wondering why the older man had such a serious expression on his face. “Is everything alright, sensei?” he asked softly.

 

The blond nodded and focused his attention back on the road ahead. “Hai, Touya. Everything is just fine.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Throughout the flight, Waya and Ochi suffered from airsickness, while Hikaru tried to keep awake as much as possible. It was a long trip and there was a lot to do on the plane. They had been treated to first class accommodation and so they had good food, cool games to play and awesome movies to watch.

 

Waya and Hikaru were seat partners, while Akira and Ochi were forced to be together. Needless to say, one side of the cabin was quite noisy and messy, while the other side was quiet and neat.

 

“Gosh…I wish they would let us see what the cockpit looked like,” Hikaru mumbled as he watched yet another airhostess blush at Akira’s greeting. He rolled his eyes and yelped as Waya clutched his shirt.

 

“Oh man…I think I’m gonna barf again,” came the weak groan from the red head.

 

“Not on my shirt, dude! Cut that out!”

 

Akira and Ochi tore their eyes from their books to stare at the struggling duo, while Ogata prayed for the flight to be over, for the urge to throw Hikaru and Waya out of the plane was now overwhelming. He placed the black blindfold over his eyes and tried for the umpteenth time to go to sleep; vowing to make sure that both boys practiced extra hours for their bad behavior.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Hikaru opened his eyes and blinked them wearily. It was still dark outside and according to the small TV screen that scrolled out information, they were currently flying over Canada.

 

Almost there…

 

He tried to shift into a more comfortable position on his seat, wincing as he felt Waya’s head on his shoulder. He couldn’t help blushing as he noticed that the other boy’s hand was on his lap. Hell! Waya was practically lying on top of him.

 

Oh man…I need to go to the bathroom. You couldn’t move him off, could you Sai?

 

The spirit, whose eyes were still glued outside the window, raised his hands as if saying ‘I am a ghost, remember??’

 

Great help you are. Hikaru grumbled. He tried to move again, and this time his gaze fell to the seat across him, only to gasp as those familiar intense green eyes stared right back at him. He swallowed tightly and unconsciously clenched his hands into tight fists.

 

The heat that always came from staring into his rival’s eyes flared down his spine and he was sure that his face was as red as a Christmas bow by now. Why was Akira looking at him in that way? As if he hated him for some unknown reason.

 

“Touya…” he whispered softly, only to hiss in a sharp breath as Waya shifted and placed his hands right on his groin. “Damn it!” He jumped to his feet quickly, completely ignoring the boy’s mumbled curses and ran towards the small bathroom. Locking himself in, he sat down on the toilet seat and tried to still his thudding heart.

 

What…what the hell was that?! First Touya looking at me as if I had done something wrong and then….Waya?? Why…what…oh man…

 

He was now hopelessly aware of how hard he was. He needed release and this was all thanks to Waya’s hands and Akira’s gaze. Unable to hold back any longer, his hands unzipped his pants quickly, reaching to clasp the hardened flesh that begged to be touched. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the seat, the images of the two boys filling his mind as he began to work out his frustration.

 

A particularly naughty one flashed through and biting his lower lip tightly, he arched off the seat, stroking harder and faster, as Akira and Waya’s names were uttered like a mantra weakly. He cried out softly as an intense orgasm ripped through his body and collapsing on the seat, he tried to control his rapid breathing. He opened his eyes, noticing with faint embarrassment, that he had stained the wall with his semen.

 

“Thanks a lot you guys,” he whispered as he rose to his feet weakly to clean himself up. “I don’t want to keep doing this throughout this damn tournament.” He washed his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror, clenching his hands into fists and frowning in determination.

 

“The next two weeks are dedicated to winning the Cup for my country. I don’t have time to think of my personal feelings for anyone. I have to focus and concentrate on my games and never, ever let them know!”