Word count: around 800

Genre: general

Rating: worksafe

Note: Co-written with Cesia, from an rp-chat we did a looong time ago.

After Shindou's family's phone bills had skyrocketed enough so that his mother wouldn't let him use it for anything else but work related calls ("But talking to Touya is related to my job!"), Waya helped Shindou put up an IRC channel for the two of them. It took another wile before Akira agreed to try it out, but when he realized the advantages with having their own private place to chat without getting game requests every other minute, he reluctantly agreed to learning about the chat site.

He hadn't quite anticipated how easily Shindou would stray from the topic of Go once he got the hang of using the computer, though.

[Hikaru (shindohikaru) has joined #handofgod]

Hikaru: good game today

ToyaAkira: You saw?

Hikaru: i saw the records.

Hikaru: i only checked the game room quickly on my way home.

Hikaru: i'd actually forgotten how horrible that one shirt is

ToyaAkira: There's nothing wrong with my clothes.

Hikare: pffft yeah right

Hikaru: you look like my granny

ToyaAkira: What?

ToyaAkira: But I wear these all the time.

Hikaru: not a single guy with dignity wears pink, Touya

ToyaAkira: You look like a bee, Shindou. With all that black and yellow.

Hikaru: oh yeah?

Hikaru: yellow and black go well together

Hikaru: pink and purple and orange doesn't

ToyaAkira: I

ToyaAkira: I do not pick these clothes.

ToyaAkira: Mother does.

Hikaru: i'd sure hope you don't pick them out yourself!

Hikaru: you still wear them

ToyaAkira: Yes? You're the only one complaining.

Hikaru: no i'm not

ToyaAkira: Could you go back concentrating on the board Shind

ToyaAkira: what?

Hikaru: waya and nase thinks so too.

ToyaAkira: They do?

Hikaru: Uh-huh

ToyaAkira: Well, why would it matter? It's just clothes.

Hikaru: clothes aren't just clothes, you know!

Hikaru: it's about your image

ToyaAkira: What, I play go. Do I need an image for that?

Hikaru: duh.

Hikaru: tell me one thing

ToyaAkira: What?

Hikaru: could you imagine waya going to work every day in a suit?

Hikaru: or me?

ToyaAkira: Why, no. It's not your style?

ToyaAkira: What has that got to do with anything?

Hikaru: you're missing the point here

Hikaru: wouldn't it feel strange if i went in a suit every day, like some of the older pros does?

Hikaru: honestly

ToyaAkira: Not really.

ToyaAkira: Maybe a little

ToyaAkira: But that's because I'm used to seeing you in your ordinary clothes

Hikaru: exactly!

ToyaAkira: I don't see your point.

Hikaru: because that's part of my image.

ToyaAkira: Well, isn't my clothing part of my image then?

Hikaru: and your image is all messed up!

ToyaAkira: I'm not you, Shindou.

ToyaAkira: It's my image. Not yours.

Hikaru: do you want to look like a granny?!

ToyaAkira: ...do I look like one?

Hikaru: YES

Hikaru: Yes you do!

ToyaAkira: There's no way I could.

ToyaAkira: I am seventeen years old.

Hikaru: next thing I know you're wearing an old lady skirt

ToyaAkira: I do not look like an old lady. You're just being ridi

ToyaAkira: what, no!

ToyaAkira: I have absolutely no reason to.

ToyaAkira: That's just idiotic.

Hikaru: god i hope you won't

ToyaAkira: Of course not, stupid.

Hikaru: don't call me stupid, granny

ToyaAkira: I'm not a granny.

ToyaAkira: And I call you what I want, moron.

Hikaru: i'm not a moron either!

ToyaAkira: Then don't call me granny!

ToyaAkira: And make the move. It's been almost an hour already.

Hikaru: okay then, auntie

Akira had a feeling Shindou were sticking out his tongue at the screen, and just to prove he was the more mature of them, he didn't call him out on it. But on the other time, all of this was a waste of time and effort if Shindou didn't mean to play him.

ToyaAkira: If you're going to keep this up, I'm logging off to do better things.

ToyaAkira: I'm waiting.

Hikaru: then go do your "better things". not like i care.

ToyaAkira: Okay.

[ToyaAkira is now known as ToyaAkira-away]

Hikaru: oi!

Hikaru: i didn't really mean

Hikaru: ooiiii

[ToyaAkira-away is now known as ToyaAkira]

ToyaAkira: Made up your mind yet?

Hikaru: yup! 13-5

Touya Akira would quickly tell anyone who asked him about his now rather broad understanding of computers that he only used the machine because it was a good way of practising at home. But in reality, there were a part of him which also delighted in the (sometimes half an hour long) conversations with Shindou that didn't have anything to do with Go. They may be pointless, and they may mostly be an annoyance – it was Shindou, after all; the other boy didn't know how to not be annoying, even in chat – but ever since they started, he'd gotten to know a lot more about his rival's daily life and person.

Sometime in the future, he figured he might even be able to stop calling Shindou his "rival", and move on to "friend".

Unless he ended up throwing his computer out the window before then.