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Chapter 2: Chasing

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His head hurt, as if someone inside had decided they wanted to get out, but there were no doors and windows, so instead they had started pounding as hard as they possible could at the walls, demanding an exit, or willing to make one.

Eyelashes lowering slowly, Hikaru took a long, heartfelt breath, drawing in the briskly cold air.
An empty clear glass was clutched tightly in his hand, until Ina pried it open and replaced it with a new glass of water.

Normally, Hikaru would have at least nodded at her in silent display of thanks, but his head throbbed too painfully for him to do much else besides drown the water in another hurried gulp. If he remembered right, that was the third glass. Or maybe the fourth. Fifth?

The teenager felt a lot better than he had just ten minutes ago. At least he could tell which was the floor, and which was the ceiling.

Handing the glass back to the worried girl, Hikaru wordlessly refused another helping, instead ran his hands through his hair, massaging the scalp in hopes of lessening the sore pulsing. That did it. He was going to start carrying water bottles with him everywhere he went. There was no way on earth he was going to willingly go through that hell again.

Hikaru, very stupidly, decided that Touya Akira was not sitting less than five feet away from him, looking almost comical sitting in a chair that was too small for him, leg crossed uncomfortably at the knee, pensive gaze fixed solely on Hikaru. Rationally, Hikaru was aware that looking at person didn't do anything to them physically, but at that moment, he felt like he was pinned to the spot, like a beetle on a card.

Touya felt that if he dared to take his eyes off the other male, he'd vanish like morning mist before the rising sun. He'd done it before, hadn't he? One day, he'd seen Hikaru, then the next he knew of the young boy, he'd just disappeared. Hadn't shown up for any of his matches, and all his friends had been clueless.

Eventually, Touya himself had shown up at the Shindou residence, and been confused for Waya. He'd let that slide, and politely asked where Hikaru was, for he wanted to speak with him. What he'd really been planning to do was drag Hikaru back to the Go institute by the hair if that was what was necessary.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru doesn't live here anymore."
Touya shot the woman an incredulous look, but managed to hang on to his soft, polite tone.
"I'm sorry, could you say that again? I'm not sure I heard right."
"He doesn't live here anymore." The woman looked troubled.
"One day, he just came home, and said he wanted to go into a student exchange program, instead of quitting school to play Go professionally all the time." She gave a helpless little shrug. "Of course, it was either let him join another school in another country, or not have him finish school at all." She gave him a small look.

"I didn't force him to quit Go, I asked him why he wanted to leave Japan so badly, but he never answered me..." Mrs. Shindou was obviously troubled, her hands clutching at the apron she wore. "I see." Akira remarked slowly, although he didn't see at all. What the bloody blazes had gotten into Shindou? Just up and leaving like that wasn't like him... quit Go?

The Go pro shook his head quickly. // Impossible. \\
"Ma'm, can you tell me how to contact your son please?" He requested, trying to quell the urge to hunt down the bleached blonde right then and there and demand why he was leaving Akira behind.

"I'm sorry, but he's already left. Yesterday night, and has asked to that I not speak with his old friends... I'm sorry. Have a good afternoon." She bowed, and quickly shut the door closed in his face, leaving Akira Touya staring at the wood.

What the hell was Shindou thinking?

"Shindou." Touya began again, very firmly.
Hikaru ignored him. He seemed to have grown very fond of that.
Touya felt his little known temper rise up. How did the bleached blonde do it?
"Shindou," He said again sharply.
Ina raised an eyebrow, disliking the tone, and intercepted.
"Excuse me... but how do you know Hikaru?"
Touya barely spared her a glance, only did so out of his drilled manners.
"We're Go professionals." He explained shortly, crisply rapping out the foreign English.
"You're what?"
A soft groan came from the silent third member.
"Please do not shout." Hikaru whispered softly, pressing the palms of his hands against his eye sockets, blocking out the artificial light.
"Sorry," Ina mumbled, but refused to let the subject drop.
"You play Go professionally?" She started again, her face scrunched up in confusion.
"When did that happen?"
"Used to." Hikaru corrected, with bitterness in his tone.

The two others looked at him with varying degrees of surprise. Touya because it seemed that Hikaru was angry about the fact that he didn't play Go anymore, and Ina was surprised because her friend had always been cheerful... maybe a little quiet and withdrawn at times, but never bitter...

Still, why the heck hadn't he informed her of that tiny, little fact? It wasn't as if she was some stranger demanding information on his past... she was his best friend...

Ina gave him an injured look that he didn't see.
"Why did you stop?"

Silence.

Touya spoke up, voice quiet, but hard.
"Why did you stop, Shindou?"

Another wordless silence descended until a long breath seemed to rush out of Hikaru's lungs and he dropped his hands.

"Because I wanted to. It is not a big deal." He dismissed with a wave of his hand, standing up. His legs felt weak like over-cooked ramen, but he was sure he wouldn't fall over. Or at least, he was hoping he wouldn't. He still did not look at Touya.

Fire practically ignited in dark green eyes, and Touya rose up to his feet, ready to start shouting.
Damn, how did Shindou manage to make him angry with just six words?
"What do you mean it isn't a big deal?" He took a threatening step forward, and watched an apprehensive wince shake Hikaru's thin frame. He took a step back, and Touya was stunned. Hikaru had never backed down like that. He switched to Japanese, find it it more comfortable, and more private.

"-Why?-" Touya demanded, lowering his voice. For the first time, he managed to push away his surprise at finding the other male and truly looked at him.
His hair was longer, brushing past his shoulders. The bleached bangs hadn't been done for a while, turning a darker color, more brown than golden. At first he'd taken for granted that Hikaru had grown into having high cheekbones, but then he noticed that he had just grown very thin. The boy he'd known had always been fit, energetic like a puppy, but this Hikaru looked... gaunt. Haunted.

Air rushed out of his lungs like a low hiss.
"-Why?-"

Hikaru turned his face away.
"There are things that are more important than Go," He answered in a dead voice, refusing to speak his native tongue. The short young man rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"Look, I'm sure you are here for a reason Touya, don't let me be a distraction. I'm not worth it."
"Not... worth it?" If possible, Touya's voice had grown colder than ice, frigid. Gelid. Not worth it? Did Hikaru mean to say the years they spent chasing after each other weren't worth it?

Hikaru turned his face, and looked at him, and Touya paused.

He had never met this Hikaru.

Hikaru had been puzzling. A mystery to all. He'd liked to talk out loud to himself, and never seemed to take anything down for too long... if at all.

...

What in God's name had happened to Hikaru Shindou?

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"There's a lot I don't know about Hikaru."

Touya looked up, and found the girl who had been with Shindou standing in front of him.
Three hours earlier, she and Hikaru had left. After that, Touya hadn't been sure if he wanted to meet the new Hikaru. There didn't seem to be anything of the boy he once knew left. No passion, no joy, nothing.
He blinked, blandly.

Why was this girl back?

She wasn't pretty, he supposed. Maybe she was Hikaru's girlfriend? Maybe she was his type. How would Touya know? He'd never really known Hikaru outside of Go. He'd never needed to.

"Are you angry with him?"
"..."
"There really isn't a lot that I know about Hikaru," She said slowly, her hands coming together and wiggling nervously.
"I thought I did, but I don't."

The few people that had come, and the fewer that had stayed so late were already beginning to walk out of the building. The cleaning committee chatted softly as they began pulling the displays up, and brooms were brought out.

Touya sat on alone, on an uncomfortable plastic chair, his elbows pressed against his thighs. Ina Beliend stood in front of him, looking somber.

"You are not the only one," Akira spoke for the first time, softly.
She nodded faintly.
"Who were you?"
"No one."
"I don't believe you."
"..."
"Who were you?"
"I thought," Akira raised his gaze and looked at her squarely.
"I though," He began again, "that I was his rival."

Ina tilted her head to the side, weighting his words. She was sure that she didn't quite grasp the immensity of that, but she was willing to trust the concept her mind perceived.

"Who are you?"
"No one."
"Liar. Don't make me ask again."
Touya frowned thinly at her, beginning to grow irritated.
"I am not a liar, and I am no one."
"Would Hikaru have reacted that way if you were no one?"
"I don't know."
"Why not?"
"I never bothered to know him."
"Why?"
"Because... I was too busy being his rival."
"But you did know him."
"Hardly."
"How did you not know him?"

Touya sighed silently, trying to politely humor her. He didn't know what she was trying to drive at with the silly questions.
"I... I don't know anything about him. I barely even knew where he lived or where he went to school. We weren't friends."
"Why did you want him?"
He glanced at her, and raised an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes.
"As your rival."
"He... was confusing."
"Isn't he, still?"
Touya opened his mouth, and closed it again.
"Did Hikaru ever run away?"
The older man nodded slightly.
"What did you do?"
"... I chased."
"Did you ever run away?"
He bristled at that, but grudgingly nodded.
"What did he do?"
"... He chased me."
Ina smiled.
"What is Hikaru doing?"
"Running away."
"From what?"
"I don't know."
"What are you going to do?"

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End Chapter 2

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Yes, this was a short chapter, but I got in what I wanted. o_o;...
That conversation at the end was just way too much fun to write. I had no idea where I was going with it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.