Part Thirteen:
The
silence in the room was deafening. For long tension-filled minutes, Akira and
Waya could only gape at the stern visage of Ochi in growing bewilderment. The
entire situation was turning out to be quite ludicrous and both boys weren’t
sure of what to make of it.
Finally,
Akira found his voice, albeit shaky. “You…you can’t do that…”
“And
who says I can’t?” Ochi replied calmly as he turned back to face the game at
hand. “I didn’t want you as a roommate in the beginning, so I have every right
to choose whom I want to be with…”
“In
that case, I want Shindo back as my roommate!” Waya interrupted with an angry
cry. He glared at the unconcerned blonde. “What the hell do you think you are
doing, Shindo? Why are you moving in with him?!”
Unaware
that they were now holding their breaths for the answer, Akira and Waya watched
him place another stone on the goban before stretching languidly. Hikaru ran
his fingers through his bleached locks and chuckled lightly. “I am moving in
with him because I want to Waya-kun,” he explained slowly. “We have both
decided that we work well together and so…” He shrugged and left it at that.
“Your turn, Ochi-kun.”
Akira
groaned weakly and closed his eyes, somehow hoping that this whole fiasco
wasn’t actually happening to him. It was bad enough that he had been kicked out
of his own bedroom, but becoming roommates with Waya? That was definitely not
going to happen. And if the longhaired boy thought he had his own problems,
Waya was more vocal in announcing his displeasure at the way things were going.
“I
don’t want to be roommates with Touya, that was why I chose you, Shindo,” he
pleaded in a rather desperate tone. “There’s…” He swallowed tightly and spared
a glance at the miserable-looking captain before sighing heavily. “There are
some things we need to talk about…Shindo…”
Hikaru’s
fingers tightened around the black stone he had brought out at the desperate
plea. He grit his teeth and shook his head softly. Placing the stone on the
goban, a bit too loudly, he folded his arms across his chest, hopelessly aware
of how badly they were beginning to tremble. “There is nothing to talk about
Waya,” he muttered, his eyes still focused blindly on the arrangement of the
black and white stones before him. “I have taken out all of my things, so there
is no chance of me barging in to disrupt you two.”
“Shindo…”
“Didn’t
you hear him?” Ochi cut in coldly. “He is staying. Now, please allow us to
finish up our game.”
Waya
growled and bit back the insult he had been ready to haul out, when he felt the
hand on his arm. He turned around to stare into the dull visage of Touya, and
for a brief second, he felt a tug of sympathy for his rival.
“Let’s
just leave them, Waya,” he said softly. “Will you help me pack up my things?
They are not much…”
Waya
opened his mouth to refuse but seeing Hikaru and Ochi playing as if nothing was
happening forced him to purse his lips in bitterness. “Yeah…I’ll help.”
He
held out the black traveling bag as Akira opened his drawers and closet to
bring out his clothes. Quickly and methodically, he packed up his things,
fighting the dull pain that filled his chest as he listened to the low mutters
and light laughter from the bed. He deserved it, he kept telling himself. They both
deserved it. They had tried to win over a boy’s heart and had ended up pushing
him away. If only they had been more forthright in their admissions. But their
pride had been at stake and no one had wanted to concede defeat or had wanted
to be rejected.
Slamming
his drawer shut as he brought out the last of his belongings, he gave a small
nod to Waya and led the way out of the bedroom. The walk to his new sleeping
quarters was a quiet one and Waya made no attempts to break the silence as he
kicked the door open and promptly dumped the black bag onto Hikaru’s former
bed. Sure enough, the blond had cleared out every single trace of himself from
the room. If it wasn’t for the faint lingering scent of him, both boys could
have sworn that only Waya had lived in the room for the past week on his own.
“His
closet was that one,” Waya pointed out morosely, while falling back on to his bed. He covered
his eyes with an arm and sighed heavily. Listening to Akira unpack and move
around the room was beginning to aggravate him to no end. There was something
so robotic about his movements. There was that feeling of being cooped
up with a neat freak and after being used to Shindo’s messy ways, Waya was
having a very hard time getting used to Akira’s neat lifestyle.
“Could
you cut that out?” he muttered angrily as he peeked through his fingers to
glare at the bewildered longhaired boy.
“Cut
what out?”
“That!”
“What?”
Waya
sat up and stomped towards the bemused boy. He pulled open the drawers and
snorted at the tidy pile of under wears and t-shirts. They were folded so
neatly that they looked as if they had come right out of the shop and had never
been worn. “God, you are even worse than my mother,” he muttered as he stomped
towards the closet to eye the suits that were, naturally, hung perfectly. No
crease…nothing.
Waya
groaned and shook his head. “I don’t think I can survive this…”
“Don’t
worry,” Akira replied coldly as he placed his ties on another hanger. “We have
only four more days and we should be out of each other’s hair.”
“I
can’t wait! You are already driving me nuts!”
Akira
slammed the drawer shut and pinned cold eyes on his new roommate. “You are no
prince either! So, stop being such a…a…an idiot!”
And
with that weak insult, he stormed out of the room, making sure he banged the
door shut behind him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Ochi
and Hikaru lifted their heads at the sounds and then eyed each other with
knowing looks between them.
“Hehe…looks
like the fireworks are already beginning, Shindo,” Ochi snickered as he placed
another stone on the goban.
Hikaru
smiled softly, even though his heart seemed to race a mile a minute. “Ah…the
fireworks are just beginning…”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Akira
stared blindly at the TV screen, hardly hearing a thing from the comedy show
that was being showed. It was called ‘Friends’ or something like that. How
ironic. He had hoped to become friends with his teammates and had somehow
ruined everything. But being with Ochi? That notion had never crossed
his mind before. He wondered how their newfound relationship had happened. He
would never have sworn in a million years that Ochi Kousuke, whose dislike for
Shindo was well known, would now end up being the one making him happy.
What
am I thinking? It’s obvious that Shindo is just doing this to get us…jealous…
“But
what if he isn’t?” he asked himself softly.
“What
if who isn’t what?”
He
lifted his head sharply to stare at the red head, who sank down on the couch
across him with a can of coke in his hands. He watched Waya open up the drink
and raise it to his lips, eyes greedily watching the cold liquid slip through
those full lips and down that long sinewy neck that had Akira swallowing
tightly and licking his own lips unconsciously. With a low groan, he closed his
eyes and forced himself to turn his attention back to the show at hand. This
was no time to think of tasting the red head. They still couldn’t stand being
in each other’s presence, so why in the world was he here?
“What
do you want, Waya?” he muttered softly.
“We
should be practicing for the match tomorrow,” came the matter-of-fact reply.
“We are dealing with the big fish now, so we shouldn’t be slacking off. If
Ogata-sensei came in here and found us doing nothing, he is going to have a major
fit.”
Akira
knew that Waya was right and he nodded softly. “He hasn’t given us the kifu for
Hon Suyon yet. I have the others…”
“Don’t
worry,” Waya interrupted with a winning grin. “I’ll go get it from him myself.”
And
bounding to his feet, he gave a light salute to the stumped captain before
making his way out of the apartment.
~*~*~*~*~
He
had really done this to get some time to think on his own. The apartment was becoming
stifling and his restlessness had only grown with each passing minute. He had
tried to study on his own, but found that effort useless. Normally, he and
Shindo would have played a practice round or discussed their different kifu,
but not today and somehow, he couldn’t see himself sitting down and talking
about such a thing with Akira, no matter how ‘friendly’ they had become.
With
a heavy sigh, he leaned against the wall in the empty corridor. He was directly
across Ogata’s room, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to knock on the
door. He really didn’t want to see the older man at all.
But
then again…it was kind of strange that the sensei had not brought the most
important kifu to them yet.
“Hmph…probably
just forgot. He has the tendency to do that sometimes…I think…”
Finally
pushing himself away from the wall, he walked up to the door and knocked on it
lightly.
Nothing.
He
frowned and knocked a bit louder, this time pressing his ear against the door
to find out if there was really an answer or not.
“Geez…he
can’t be asleep already, is he?” Waya glanced at his watch. It was only nine in
the evening. He was sure that the teacher hadn’t gone to bed yet.
“Kuso…”
He knocked much louder this time, or rather banged on the door with his fists
only to gasp as the door creaked open at his vehement action.
Waya
held his hand in mid-air and blinked in surprise. The apartment looked dark and
he could feel a trickle of fear creep down his spine. Swallowing tightly, he
called out weakly. “Oga…Ogata-sensei? Are…are you in here?”
Maybe
a maid was cleaning up his room…that would explain why his door was open. Oh,
sure, Waya, a part of his mind taunted. That’s why you see the sign showing
that she is in the room, or her cart filled with cleaning things, or the fact
that it’s almost ten in the evening! Maids do not come in at this time!
“He…he…eh…he
probably forgot to lock his door before going out, that’s all,” he convinced
himself firmly as he stuck his head into the room. “Ogata sensei? Are you in
here? I just wanted to find out if we could have the kifu for Hon Suyon…”
By
this time, he had entered the room completely, but still stood close to the
door in case someone or something attacked him. The main living room and
hallway lights were off, but there was a stream of light that seemed to come
from the bedroom area, which would mean that the older man was indeed there.
“Phew…he
is probably taking a shower….”
He
walked into the living room and tried to make out the papers that were littered
all over the coffee table. There was a goban with an unfinished game in the
middle of the room and several kifu surrounding it. Frowning lightly, Waya
shifted through the yellow envelopes on the table, tossing out the ones for the
previous countries that they had played already.
“Hmm…
The
dull smell of the cancer-stick was in the air and try as much as he had to
ignore it when he had come into the room, the stench only seemed to grow
stronger with each passing second. With a light shake of his head, he rose to
his feet and placed his hands on his hips in exasperation. It looked like the
important kifu weren’t in here after all. He would have to go into the den to
search.
He
moved towards the small room, only to wince as he discovered that it was
locked. Twisting the knob over and over again, he cursed softly and stepped
back. “Great. He locks up the most important place after all…”
“Wha…what
are you looking for?”
“Aaaah!!”
Waya spun around quickly, holding a hand to his pounding chest as he gaped at
the bespectacled man leaning casually against the wall. His familiar white
jacket was draped over an arm and his dark blue shirt was unbuttoned halfway
revealing a well-built and tanned chest to his gaze. But it was the older man’s
face that had Waya in a slight panic. It looked flushed and those usually sharp
eyes seemed to glint with a light that he was beginning to distrust.
And
then there was that smell of liquor.
Oh,
crap! He’s drunk! I have to get out of here….
“Well…Yoshikata…what
brings you to my room, hmm?”
That
was a very good question. What was he doing in Ogata’s room? Why hadn’t
he just left once he had noticed the door open and no one in the room? Damn he
and his curiosity!
“Anoo…I…I…didn’t
mean to…”
He
was unconsciously moving backwards as Ogata had begun to walk slowly towards
him. That glint in the older man’s eyes seemed to grow and Waya could feel the
cold drench of sweat begin to cover his body. This was so not good.
“Did
you come to spy on me or something, Yoshikata?”
The
red head blinked in confusion, panicking as his back came into contact with the
solid strength of the wall behind him. If he had any plans to escape now, it
would have to be done quickly or he would be…
“Aargh!”
he gasped out weakly as found himself trapped by two strong arms around his
head. He whimpered and tried to press himself into the wall as the older man
leaned closer to him. The smell of alcohol was stronger and Waya squeezed his
eyes shut as he fought against the feel of Ogata’s fingers against his skin.
No…this
isn’t happening. He is drunk. He doesn’t know what he is doing!
“Hmm….or
did you finally come here to offer yourself to me, Yoshikata?” came the low
drawl as the fingers trailed across the parted lips of the boy who was now
beginning to breath in harsh gasps.
Kuso!
Kuso! Kuso!! Forgive me for what am I about to do, sensei. But you are not in
your right mind!
“Get…away…from…me!”
With a grunt, he placed his hands against the strong chest and pushed. He
barely waited to see where he had sent his mentor to, before spinning on his
heels and running out of the room. His hands shook terribly as he tried to open
the door to his own apartment. He was unaware of the slow trickle of tears that
had begun to slide down his cheeks. And somehow, he knew that it just wasn’t
the incident with Ogata that had him in this state. The entire day had been a
burst for him. From realizing that Shindo was in love with him, to not being
able to tell the boy just how he felt in return, to losing him and then having
to deal with a drunk that had almost taken him…the emotions churning within
Waya at this point was too much to bear.
He
finally managed to open the door and closing it behind him with a slam, he
leaned against it and slowly sank to the floor. He raised his knees and buried
his face within them, the tears falling faster as his body trembled in slight
shock. He barely noticed the shadow that fell across him, or the pair of green
eyes that were now filled with worries and concern.
Without
making a sound, the figure sat down beside him, lending him silent comfort.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Shindo
yawned and shuffled towards the bathroom, now dressed in only a pair of loose
black pajamas bottoms. It was sometime after
He
pushed open the door, not really bothering to put on the light as he went about
his business. His eyes were still halfway closed and all that filled his mind
were stone formations and possible moves to play against his opponents
tomorrow.
He
flushed the toilet and washed his hands quickly in the sink. Yawning again, he
stumbled out of the bathroom and into the cozy confines of his bedroom.
“Mmmm….”
came the low groan of appreciation as he pulled back the blanket and sank
within the sheets. As he snuggled within the warm cloth, he idly wondered when
his bed had suddenly become so small, and why something seemed to be breathing
right next to him.
Had
Waya sleepwalked into his bed…again?
“Waya…”
he muttered with half-irritation. “Stop coming to my bed…”
He
spun around to push the boy off, only to open weary eyes to stare into familiar
green ones that were staring at him with equal confusion and weariness.
“You
are not Waya,” came the, rather, dumb observation.
“I
should hope not,” Akira replied shakily, his heart pounding as he realized that
fantasy number two was actually happening. “You are in my bed, Shindo.”
And
you can stay for as long as you like.
Shindo
blinked. “Your bed? This is my…”
“Remember
you left?” came the familiar dry tone of Waya as he sat up on his bed to
rub his eyes wearily. “This isn’t your bedroom anymore.”
Shindo
felt his face heating up with embarrassment at his mistake and with a mumbled
‘Sorry, I didn’t realize…’, he struggled to get off the bed, only to gasp as he
watched the redhead move off his bed to join them in Akira’s.
Now,
it was Akira and Shindo turning a bright beet red as Waya snickered at their
expressions. “What’s the matter, guys?” he asked in a teasing tone as golden
depths flickered with mischief.
“Haven’t
you ever heard of a three-some before?”