Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. And no, I don't have any pet piranhas.

Summary: Inadvertently, Hikaru discovers rather large secret of Ogata's. It seems that there is more to the Juudan than his suave looks and sharp mind.

Shout Out: Another one bites the dust. Had to edit it, but now it's out and proud and ready to shine. Yes, I've watched Hikaru no Go, but I was peeved that there wasn't anything more behind Ogata-sensei than his overly dull, Sai-obsessed persona. Thus the birth of this little sketch. It has a potential, but I am so not going off into deep end aka research of playing Go.

Warnings: Not a crossover (be still, my heart, wonders happen), two POV's, and not really translating few words of Go terminology.


Closing his eyes, Ogata inhaled. And then, he slowly exhaled. "I will not kill that Touya brat." he sternly told himself. His fingers twitched. "Even if he's cozying up to Shindou - I will not maul him to death."

Inhale.

Exhale.

"I will NOT feed him to my pet piranhas." Even if the image was mighty tempting…. Shi - Hikaru - would've been angry with him for… liquidating his rival.

A pity.

Gray eyes opened and zeroed on the two squabbling boys in the middle of the living room. Hikaru, as always, managed to rile Akira up past any reason, thus prompting another shouting match over the go board. Ogata liked how his young lover was passionate about the go - and he liked it even better when Hikaru's attention was focused solely on his person. This was a selfish need, and a very irrational one - Ogata commanded the attention of people, be it his peers or acquaintances quite easily, but through the whole fiasco, he found himself craving Hikaru's eyes on his person the most. It didn't matter what kind of attention it was - curiosity, anger, wonder, contemplation - just as long as he was focus of Hikaru's gazes and thoughts. And seeing Hikaru focused on Akira… it irked him in the worst ways possible. Sometimes he just plain regretted he had offered Akira his rival on a golden platter. Sometimes, he wondered what it would have been like, if -

He shook his head. 'No they would have found each other sooner than later. It would've been only a matter of time. '

He watched as Hikaru stilled at one of Akira's scathing remarks. The teen's body tensed as if shot with a gun and Ogata saw Akira's eyes widening at his faux-pas with horror. Ogata eyes now guilty-looking Akira sharply.

There were not many subjects that stopped Hikaru in his tracks like this, but those who were –

Ogata still remembered how Ko Yeongha riled Hikaru up with downplaying the importance of Shuusaku . Hikaru reacted like a wounded bull to a red flag being waved in front of his eyes and by some kind of… divine intervention… managed to play first board. Of course, he had lost by half a moku, but he had done remarkably well for his time under such a pressure, and what was even more, on an international level.


Unknowingly to Hikaru, but not to his peers, the bleach-banged teen had gained respect of many people that day, and if Ogata were to believe the rumors, Yeongha officially proclaimed Hikaru as his rival. It was an amusing thought that Hikaru, with his clumsy, often rude actions and brash words gained such recognition from the prince of baduk, but Ogata could understand the Korean teen.

While Akira already had a fearsome reputation on his go playing., Hikaru was new and unknown star which was quickly rising to the challenge as he was shaping to be a quite terrifying opponent, especially considering that he had been playing go for such a short amount of time, Hikaru had advanced in leaps and bounds. And what was worse, nobody knew just how was Hikaru accomplishing this!


Hikaru snarled something into Akira's face, making the latter blanch with mortification and something like… guilt?

Ogata quirked an eyebrow. "Shindou?" He called out, just when Akira opened his mouth to apologize, causing the bleach-banged teen's head to jerk into his direction. Usually open and cheerful green eyes were shuttered with fury that melted - just a little - when Shindou looked at him.

"Ogata-sensei?" The teen asked, inclining his head minutely. Ogata gave him a small smirk. " You owe me a game." Five words that made Shindou focus on him in a jiffy. Ogata ignored Akira's baffled stare as Hikaru strode toward him, green eyes bright with challenge. Shindou gave him a cheeky smirk. "Prepare to lose, sensei." Ogata chuckled at the brat's - his brat's - cocky words.

"Same to you, Shindou. The usual terms?" He muttered dryly as he rose up and began to walk out of the room, Hikaru following behind, and neither of the two remembering Akira being there.


The game was… exhilarating. Even if Ogata won… again, he had been hard-pressed to, what with Hikaru's vicious little traps and all. If Akira's go was like water, then Shindou's was like wind - tricky and unpredictable, and Shindou had managed to pull off some moves that quite literally stumped Ogata for a moment or two.

They cleared the goban in silence that was electrified with anticipation.

It was their little post-game ritual. No discussion. Just clearing away the board, placing the black and white stones in their respectable goken and then –

Then, they played a different kind of game. And fleetingly, Ogata mused, just what would Touya-sensei think of this kind of post-game talk. Somehow, he got an impression, that he wouldn't approve, but whether he would or not, Ogata ceased to care long ago.


Truly, Ogata played his part of boring/being bored playboy guy perfectly, Hikaru mused to himself as he watched the Juudan engage into another one of those little talks. He was flawless and dispassionate as usual, using his intimidating persona to dominate the conversation. Nobody would have thought that under the guise of a perfect gentleman, Ogata was a ruthless oyabun whose side hobby was playing go in professional leagues.

Honestly, Hikaru thought sourly, the guy was too perfect not to admire him.

And Hikaru's luck was just that damn bad, having been out at the wrong time and in the wrong place, having found Ogata in one of the less reputable streets, the man's usually immaculate white jacket colored with the red of the blood seeping out of his shoulder. And Hikaru, bloody bleeding heart he was, just had to offer to take the care of the man. Of course the asshole had to be bloody difficult and reject going into the hospital and Hikaru found himself being bullied - with only words - into getting Ogata back to his cushy apartment and then play a nurse - not that the last one was in any way difficult to do, considering the man had fallen unconscious almost as soon as they crossed the doorstep of his condo, leaving Hikaru panicking about how to deal with the man.

Hikaru never thought he would be grateful for all those hours of first aid course, but he almost got a heart attack when he disrobed Ogata in an effort to stop the bleeding and wrap the wound and instead of seeing the smooth, unmarred skin, he had been confronted by the tell-tale sign of a high-ranked yakuza.

Tatoos!


Sometimes, Hikaru wondered about his life.

From somehow gaining a go-obsessed ghost to playing the game and then by a weird happenstance becoming Ogata's savior/lifesaver and landing the mind-boggling position of being aforementioned man's lover in almost the same breath.

Well, Hikaru mused absentmindedly, as he played with Sai's fur, making the long-furred feline purr with delight…. If anything, his life certainly wasn't dull. He smiled when his eyes caught the sight of an old goban sitting in the corner, with a simple white fan laid on it, half opened, likening to a wing of a dove protecting the tiny universe made of black and white stones folded underneath it's fragile folds.

And all that was thanks to an old, outdated, boring as heck game named go.

Closing his eyes, Hikaru smiled.