Part Six:
“Ah…ohayo, Amano-san. I
didn’t think you were going to make it to
The orange-haired Weekly Go
reporter from
Rows of tables and chairs
lined up the sides and flags were placed on each, showing which country had the
honor to be placed there. Brand new wooden gobans and stones were placed on
each table and many ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ over the beauty of them. A large podium
stood at the end of the room, where men and women of high prestige in the Go
world could be seen getting ready to be seated. Behind them, large oversized
goban boards lined the background as some members had begun to talk about
possible strategies for each country.
In addition to the small
flags on the tables, larger ones surrounded the walls, giving the room a
colorful and yet simple touch. The air was electric and many young men, all
dressed in their best, stood anxiously awaiting the first call for them to
begin play.
“Hmmm…where are the boys?”
Amano asked with a raised eyebrow. He noticed that several TV cameras were
stationed around the room as well and that many international reporters as well
as the local media had begun to file out from the adjoining conference room.
“They finished their press conference earlier…shouldn’t they be out here by
now? I think I see the
Ogata nodded curtly, barely
listening to a word the other man was saying. His main concern was the tension
he had felt between the three boys this morning and he wasn’t really sure of
what was going on. Neither had talked much to each other and Ogata was
beginning to have concerns over how well their chemistry was supposed to work as
teammates.
“Speak of the devil…oi!
Akira-kun, Shindo, Waya, Ochi! How about a few words with me before the match
begins, hmm?”
The four, rather
sullen-looking, boys walked up to the familiar figure of the reporter, inwardly
giving sighs of exasperation. They had already been through a grueling hour
with reporters, having had to wake at about six in the morning.
Waya tried to stifle a yawn
and for his efforts, got a stern frown from Ogata. Blushing lightly, he lowered
his gaze and stuck his hands into his pockets. Shindo looked as if he wished he
was anywhere but here and he was doing a fine job of staring at
It was only Touya that
finally gave the older man an answer. “Ohayo, Amano-san. We were surprised to
find you not in the press conference.”
Amano nodded with a sheepish
smile. “I got lost on my way here. It is quite hard to convey your thoughts in
English to these taxi drivers. So…tell me, are you guys ready for the intense
scrutiny? The whole world will be watching.”
Touya smiled softly. “Hai.
But these are just preliminaries. The top eight teams advance to the
quarterfinals, ne? We just have to win three of our prelim matches and we are
in the elimination rounds, ne?”
“Haha! Tough words coming
from you, Touya. But believe it or not, you guys are considered the underdogs
to
Akira frowned lightly as he
noticed said Korean team coming into the room. “It’s true that we are not
considered the favorites, but that doesn’t mean we are just going to lie down
and let them take all the glory. We came here to win and that is just what we
are going to do.”
Amano nodded and turned to
face the silent Shindo and Waya. “So do you guys agree with him? You think we
can win the Cup this year?”
He blinked as he got no
answers. Shindo made a small sound that must have meant ‘yes’, while Waya
shrugged and began to walk towards their designated table. He was beginning to
have a headache.
“Is…is everything all right?”
Amano asked in bewilderment as he watched Shindo follow the redhead rather
slowly. “You guys…at least those two, look like they have tummy aches. Was it
something that you ate this morning?”
Akira bit his lower lip,
trying hard to block out the memory and lingering feel of Hikaru’s kiss from
his mind. He wasn’t sure of what had happened after he had left Shindo and Waya
last night, but one thing was certain…both were no longer as jovial as they had
been and Akira briefly wondered if Waya had figured out what had happened.
Why should he get angry? After all, he has kissed
Shindo as well.
“Touya-sensei?!”
“Huh?” He started from his
daydream and blinked at Amano in confusion for a moment.
“I asked if you were not
going to join them? They are about to begin.”
“Oh…ah…thank you…”
“Good luck.” Amano held out
his hand. “And as the locals would say…knock them dead.”
Akira smiled softly and
accepted the offer, before walking towards their table.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Waya pulled out his seat and
sat down heavily. He stared morosely at the empty chair across him, wondering
who his opponent was. Chris would be seating before Hikaru, but that didn’t
ease the redhead’s inner tension. He would not only have to play against the
boys that had used them as toys, but he would have to seat right next to Shindo
and that alone was pure torture.
He stiffened as he felt the
chair beside him move and firmly keeping his gaze on the goban, he pretended
not to notice Shindo seat beside him.
The silence and discomfort
grew and Hikaru felt like screaming. Keep
your cool…keep your cool. We have a game to focus on now…no time for letting
personal emotions come into play.
Sai looked on with growing
worry. If each boy was this tensed up, how in the world were they supposed to
play with confidence? They couldn’t afford to lose the very first match. They
were the heavy favorites here.
As Akira sat down to complete
the picture, the American boys, flanked by their coach, came striding into the
room. Cameras and flashbulbs went off as the home team made their way to the
wary-looking Japanese boys.
Akira clenched his hands into
fists on his lap as he watched Matt smile brightly and wave. “Hi, guys! Too bad
we’re your first opponents today. Give us a break and let us off easy, will
ya?”
This got a round of laughter
from the other two as they all sat down. Matt was just about to make another
joke, when the words died on his lips as he noticed the cold and almost deadly
look on his opponent’s face. He swallowed tightly and laughed shakily.
“Heheh…talk about intense, huh, Shin…do…”
The words died as well as he
noticed that Hikaru wasn’t smiling much either. Come to think of it, all three
Japanese boys looked like they were ready to kill somebody and anyone
was suitable prey.
“Hey…what’s with the look?”
The American coach asked as he eyed Ogata. “That some technique you guys use to
psych other players out?”
Ogata snorted lightly and
turned to face the podium, since the speaker was seen getting ready to begin
his speech. “I think it’s what you Americans like to call game face.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen.
Welcome to the International Go Competitions!” Applause. “As you well know,
this year is very special because we have over sixty countries participating,
which is a new record. Go is becoming quite popular, ne?” This got a light
round of laughter. “Not to waste too much of your time, but I will go through
the rules again. There are five round robin matches that will be played over
the next three days. Two matches per day and if it comes down to a fifth match,
it will be played on the third day in the morning. The team with three wins
automatically advances to the next round, where it then becomes elimination
matches. Each team is given three hours, a minute per hand and a five and a
half komi. Discussions for each game is allowed as long as everyone is
completely finished and please try to respect the other players and keep your
voices down. We will break off for lunch in the middle of the each game, so
don’t worry about feeding your stomachs.”
And waiting for the applause
and laughter to die down, the speaker grinned widely and announced in a much
louder voice. “And now…without much further ado…let the games begin!”
A light bell went off and
everyone bowed their heads, saying the customary ‘Good luck’ to each other. Not
one to waste any time, Touya held out his hand. “I will nigiri,” came the cold
statement.
Matt didn’t even bother
arguing. He ended up having the black stones and having to go first. He could
feel Touya’s eyes sear through him and suddenly the suit he was wearing became
too constricting. With hands trembling slightly, he placed a stone on the goban
rather gingerly, only to shrink back in slight fear as the resounding ‘PLINK’
from Akira’s white stone fell upon the goban mere seconds later.
Damn it! Does he think this is speed go?!
Chris and Mike were faring no
better, for Shindo and Waya seemed to playing as if they were late for another
appointment someplace else. They barely gave the Americans time to think as
they were quick to place their stones on the board, much faster than the eye
could see.
Matt growled and glared at
Touya, trying hard not to cringe at the smug look on the other boy’s face.
“Damn you…” he muttered softly. “Fuck off!” And with a resounding slam of his
own, he placed his stone on the board, getting angrier as Touya responded just
as quickly. This went on for a while, as the growing audience watched on in
fascination.
The American could feel his
face burning with embarrassment. It wasn’t even half an hour into the match yet
and he was already losing…and badly too. Touya had gone all out on him.
There was absolutely nothing to counter the 6-Dan with, and the spectators
watching could tell too. Low murmurs arose around them and Matt’s face grew
even more red. It was hopeless. Continuing was just going to further prove how
stupid he was and at this very moment, he could safely say that he hated
Touya Akira.
He dropped the stone back in
the pot and lowered his head, fighting back the tears of humiliation as he
whispered thickly. “I…I…re...resign.”
Akira bowed his head and
replied lightly. “Thank you for the game.” He carefully began to pack up the
stones, and although he had beaten Matt handily, Akira was still unsatisfied.
He wanted something more…he just wasn’t sure what. He stole a quick glance to
see how Hikaru and Waya were doing. As predicted, his teammates were making
quick work of their opponents. Smiling softly, he rose to his feet and began to
walk towards the German table. He would watch his afternoon opponent’s play and
then gauge his strength from there.
“I…resign.”
“Thank you for the game,”
Shindo muttered flatly as he began to pack up his own stones. No one knew just
how hard it had been for him to be in the middle of the two boys that made him
feel so weak inside. His concentration had been lacking and if it wasn’t for
Sai’s gentle encouragement, Shindo was sure he would have lost the match. He
remained in his seat, as he waited for Waya to finish with his. He spied Akira
standing in front of their afternoon opponent’s table and Shindo knew that he
ought to be doing the same thing. But, he needed to talk to Waya…alone. The
redhead had been avoiding him and try as hard as he might, Shindo had been
unable to get any kind of response from him.
A light tap on his shoulder
jerked him alert from his reverie and he blinked at the dark-haired man who now
leant closer to whisper against his ear. “If you will please follow us to the
press room, we would like a few words with the winners.”
Shindo sighed softly and
obediently followed, noticing that Akira had been called as well and that Waya
was also in tow. The interview didn’t last too long and since they had finished
their games relatively quickly, the boys had more time to do whatever they
wanted until the afternoon match.
Shindo sighed softly. “I
think I’ll take a walk around the grounds. I will meet you guys back here in
about an hour for lunch, okay?”
Akira nodded, fighting back the
urge to ask if Shindo needed company. He glanced at Waya and felt his cheeks
burn at the intense look that was directed at him. Coughing lightly, he bowed
and stepped away. “I think I will go into the study room and try to look
through the kifu for my opponent later on.” And not waiting for their
responses, he made his way towards the large library across the game hall.
Waya watched the two boys go
their separate ways. He could spy Ochi still studying the German team and
growling softly, the redhead finally made up his mind on whom to go after.
He pushed open the large
glass doors that led into the large and nearly empty room. He was a bit
surprised at how quiet it was. Perhaps everyone was so engaged in the games
that they had forgotten about this place. There were rows of shelves with what
seemed to be a million books. A small go area had been created and only two
people currently sat on the available seats, quietly recreating a game that was
being shown on a large flat screen TV on a wall.
Waya smiled softly at the
woman behind the counter and eyed the room looking for that familiar shock of
shoulder length black hair.
“Yatta. There you are.” He
walked slowly towards Touya, who was now sitting in a large chair at the back
of the room, carefully hidden away from prying eyes. It was a safe haven for
anyone wishing to study without being disturbed, but that was soon to change as
Waya stood before Akira with a scowl on his features.
Touya blinked and lifted his
gaze from the old Go magazine he had been studying. He tried to maintain his
cool composure even as his heartbeat quickened. He licked his lips and asked in
a slightly trembling voice. “Is…is there something you wanted, Waya?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,
Touya,” Waya replied in a harsh whisper, not wanting to gather any attention.
“I know what happened last night with Shindo.”
A light blush filled Akira’s
cheeks and he struggled to maintain the little dignity he had left. “And so?”
Waya gasped softly and
blushed as well, wondering why he was even bothering to continue, but he had to
know the truth. “And so…why did you do it?! I thought you didn’t like him!”
Akira forced his eyes back on
the book although his hands had now begun to tremble slightly. “Wha…what makes
you think that I don’t li…like him?”
“Hello? You keep acting like
he has a disease around you and you hardly ever talk to him and whenever he
tries to make a joke, you don’t even freaking laugh! You don’t know Shindo the
way I do! You could never like him the way I do, Touya! So why don’t you just
back off!”
“No.”
Waya blinked.
“What…did…you…say?”
Akira lifted his gaze again
and this time, the green depths were filled with determination. “I said no,
Waya. I do not intend to make the same mistakes I have made in the past. I will
not give Shindo up to you so easily. You have had your fun with him, now it’s
my turn.”
Waya cursed beneath his
breath. “Damn it! Shindo is not a goddamn toy!”
“I am quite aware of that,
Waya…chan,” Touya added with a light smirk. His heart was pounding even more
fiercely now as he realized what he was about to do. To the outsider, he looked
calm and oozed with confidence. He could see that Waya was confused with the
sudden transformation and for a moment, the redhead could only gape at the
beautiful boy before him.
He growled and shook his head
to gather his scattered wits. “It’s Waya to you, Touya!”
Akira’s smirk widened and he
carefully stuck out his legs, sending Waya toppling into the other seat across
him. In a move that left the redhead gasping in surprise, the dark-haired boy
leaned over him, leaving mere inches between their lips.
What am I doing? Akira thought wildly. This feels
so…strange…yet…I feel incredibly…powerful.
I feel like I have them both at my mercy and I can do whatever I want.
Waya gave a helpless whimper
as he felt the heat flood through his body at the close proximity. His pants
tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the burning gaze of Touya’s
eyes on him. “Stop it,” he begged half-heartedly. “Kuso! What the hell do you
think you are doing?”
Akira laughed softly,
thankful for their hidden location. If anyone burst in and saw them like this…
“What’s wrong, Waya? Isn’t
this what you did to Shindo the other day?”
The redhead’s eyes flew open
and he gaped at Akira in surprise, still hopelessly aware of how one false move
could send their lips clashing together. “What…what are you talking about?”
“You kissing Shindo before
me, of course,” Touya retorted with a frown.
“Me…kissing…?” Waya
was just about to deny it, when an idea came to his mind. He smirked and
nodded. “Hai…and so what? Are you upset that I had a chance to taste him
first?”
Akira growled and pressed
himself closer to the taut body, eliciting another low and reluctant groan from
Waya. “I will make him come to me first, Waya,” he said softly, that dangerous
glint in his eye now.
“Is that a challenge, Touya?”
came the light taunt.
Akira nodded and dared to go
ahead. He darted out a tongue and traced the curve of Waya’s bottom lip, his
lashes fluttering closed as he felt his body respond to the almost heady
sensation. He pulled away and whispered huskily.
“Hai, Waya-kun. It is a
challenge. And I never lose a challenge.”
With a smug look of
satisfaction on his features, Akira got to his feet and straightened out his
suit. He picked up his magazine and began to walk away, but not before glancing
over his shoulder to mock lightly. “Go get some rest, Waya. I think you are
going to need it a whole lot more than I will.”
“Why you…!” Waya simply
couldn’t finish as he watched Akira walk away. He clamped his legs together and
willed the ache to die away. Curse Touya! What in Kami’s name had come over the
usually meek and docile creature. He knew that Akira only became passionate
when it came to an intense Go match, but this…this was different. This
new side to the 6-Dan was both exciting and dangerous.
“Hn….so you want Shindo as
well, ne?” His brows furrowed in a frown as his golden eyes took on a look of
determination as well. “Well, it looks like we are going to have to fight this
little battle all the way, Touya. And like you…I never, ever back
down from a challenge.”