"Hikaru's Valentine"
By Dark Cyradis

Edited: 04.13.04
Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go and all its trademarks and characters belong to Hotta Yumi, Obata Takeshi, Shueisha, and Studio Pierrot.
Notes: EXTREME SPOILERS for volume 15 of the manga onward... please don't spoil it for yourself if you haven't read the whole series yet. ; Slight shounen-ai and fluffiness as well.

Dedicated to Ammykace, Amethyst, Shiyu Hanaoka, Nawlins, and Sil for providing the 5 items for this improv fic (mutli-colored roses, chocolate sauce, a sun-shaped tattoo, a condom in a wallet, and a plush cat).

Hearts, hearts, and more hearts; wherever 16-year-old Shindou Hikaru looked, heart-shaped confectionaries and decorations looked back at him. Where had they all come from all of a sudden, he wondered. Sure, over the past few weeks, he'd noticed a new display of Valentine's candies here and there in supermarkets, but now it seemed every last shop window from his home to the Go Institute was filled with cute, ribbon-tied packages of all shades of red, pink, and white. And appropriately complementing all the girly decorations were the girls themselves; it seemed to Hikaru that girls, along with chocolates, had exponentially multiplied for Valentine's Day as well. They now filled the streets regaled in frilly pinks and reds, much like the bagfuls of frilly pink and red-wrapped Valentine's chocolates each carried, whispering and giggling amongst themselves.

Hikaru groaned inwardly and tried to slink through the crowd as discreetly and quickly as possible. It wasn't that he was avoiding anyone per se, but the memory of a rather embarrassing confrontation on last year's Valentine's Day was making him a bit wary. Actually, confrontation was a mild way to put it; the girls had found him as he was coming down the front steps of Haze Junior High and gathered upon him en force with their boxes and boxes of chocolate.

This had been extremely surprising considering Hikaru had never been particularly popular on Valentine's, or at least, not any more so than the average boy. He expected his chocolate bonus from Akari because she'd been giving him valentines since they were six, and maybe from some of the Go club girls or those who sat around him in class, but that was about it. Last year, though, it seemed every other girl in his class and several from other classes whom he had never even met before (he was fairly sure) had surrounded him and presented him with chocolate.

It had been an extremely awkward situation; receiving Valentine's chocolate had always been a fun sort of thing in the past for Hikaru (at least, it meant a few extra snacks). But there was so much blushing and tension in the air as each girl in the crowd came forward—some very quickly and shyly, others smiling into his face a bit too close for comfort and looking at him expectantly. It was especially bad when a girl he didn't know came up to him; most of these were very shy and ran away with a hasty bow, but there were one or two who chattered away while Hikaru could do nothing but nod his head and frantically try to recall where, if ever, he had met her before. It had been just about the most awkward and uncomfortable he'd ever felt.

Thus, he cast a wary look about him as he hurried down the street. Perfectly innocent-looking girls who appeared to be total strangers to him could turn around and spring chocolates and expectant smiles at him today as well. He stayed towards the inner side of the sidewalk and kept his face averted from the throng, hoping to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

It was when he was rounding the corner onto a main street that he spotted three girls who had been in his class at school; all of them had also been in last year's crowd of unexpected valentines. Hikaru wheeled as quickly and naturally as possible and stared straight into a shop window, hoping they wouldn't recognize his back. He positioned his head so that his trademark bangs wouldn't show too blatantly and rotated it slowly to keep his face hidden as the girls walked passed him and around the corner.

Hikaru counted to ten and then exhaled a sigh of relief. He was just about to turn to go when something caught his eye. He turned back to look closely at the window. It was chockfull of lacy red hearts, multi-colored roses arranged in elaborate bouquets, and boxes of luscious-looking chocolates. However, amidst all the shiny, colorful items, there was a little box covered in familiar-looking patterns of black and white. Upon closer inspection, Hikaru realized that the little valentine was covered with kifu wrapping paper. He blinked and looked closer to ensure that his Go radar wasn't malfunctioning and found that not only was he right about the kifu wrapping—there was a black and a white Go stone attached as a sort of charm to the ribbon on the package.

Intrigued, Hikaru went into the store. The inside was decorated in much the same manner as the display window, but the glass counter at the back of the shop housing rows of fancy chocolates made him realize that he was, in fact, in a candy store.

"Hi there," the young man behind the counter greeted. "Looking for something to spice up your Valentine's Day? The chocolate body paint is a really popular item this year!"

"Um, I prefer chocolate sauce on my ice cream, thanks."

"Oh, a shy guy, huh?" the man teased. Hikaru frowned and swung toward the shop window to examine the Go valentine.

"Is it okay to take this one?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Sure."

Hikaru reached out and picked up the kifu-covered box. It was small, fitting neatly in one hand, as most individual valentines did. Shaking the box slightly, he could hear the piece of chocolate shift around inside. It smelled very tasty. Sai would've seriously freaked out if he saw this, Hikaru thought, imagining the bout of capering and shrieking that his old friend certainly would have fallen into had he been there. With a pang, Hikaru wished badly, suddenly, that he could give it to him.

"That's an unusual one to pick," came a voice over his shoulder.

Hikaru turned to find the sales clerk standing behind him, examining the valentine curiously.

"I like it," Hikaru said, turning the package over in his hands. "It's… just right."

"Mm, a Go fan, huh?"

"I'm a pro Go player."

"Are you?" The man blinked. "Wow, you're really young!"

Hikaru shrugged. "Most good players turn pro when they're in junior high."

"Really." The man laughed. "Well, congrats to you. Wish I could turn pro now, too."

"Really? What do you pla—" Hikaru cut off in mid-sentence, taking in the man's appearance fully for the first time and realizing that he must have been over six feet tall. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and Hikaru could see that his arms were long but tightly muscled—just right for a basketball player. He looked the part of a star, too, sporting a sleek spiked hairstyle, a sun-shaped tattoo on his right bicep, and an air of laid-back charm.

"Basketball, obviously," Hikaru amended sheepishly.

The man chuckled. "Good eye."

"Well, you'd make a pretty gangly soccer player."

"I guess you're right," the man said, eyes sparkling with good cheer. "The name's Sendou. I play for Ryonan High School."

"Shindou," Hikaru said. "I play for… the Tokyo Go Institute, I guess. For myself, mostly." He glanced down at the valentine in his hand. "And for… a friend."

Sendou caught the glance and said, "It's kinda unusual for guys to be buying Valentine's chocolate."

Hikaru shrugged. "I just want to."

Sendou blinked and then peered straight into Hikaru's eyes. His eyes were still clear and cordial, but they were concentrated now with an intensity that suddenly had Hikaru thinking of his rival, Akira. They were powerful eyes. Not wanting to back down from Sendou's evaluating gaze, Hikaru quashed his nervous blush and stared back determinedly at the towering basketball player, ready for whatever was coming. The staring continued for some moments, Sendou's gaze becoming thoughtful now. Suddenly, his face broke back into its smile.

"You're a nice kid, Shindou," he said with a laugh. "You're what? Sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Sixteen," Hikaru replied, feeling greatly relieved to be free of that gaze. He decided he liked Sendou and preferred the open friendliness of his smile. He'd be a tough rival, Hikaru thought, but with Touya, he had all the rivalry he needed. And then, being just a touch on the short side, he wondered how good he'd be at basketball against someone a head and shoulders taller than him.

"Sixteen…" Sendou was mumbling to himself. He turned back toward the cash register and gestured for Hikaru to follow. "Let me give you something." He dug around behind the counter and withdrew his hand holding a small, red, plastic package. "You're a considerate kid, so you're probably gonna need one of these soon. Don't have one already, right?"

"Huh?" Hikaru took the proffered item, wondering if it was some kind of Valentine's candy. Upon closer examination, he found that the plastic contained something rubbery and circular in shape.

"Wait a sec!" Hikaru yelped, realizing what it was. "Is this a condom?" He shoved it back at Sendou. "I don't need something like this!"

Sendou laughed. "Use it for her sake, then."

"Her sake?" Hikaru echoed, dumbfounded again.

"Hers." Sendou pointed at the chocolate Hikaru was still holding. "The lucky, one-and-only girl who'll receive a chocolate in return on Valentine's this year!"

"Wait, this isn't for a girl—"

"Ah, well, lucky guy, then. I guess that explains why you didn't wait till White Day—"

"I'm gonna eat it!" Hikaru interrupted, blushing furiously at Sendou's both completely accurate and inaccurate guess. Well, I was thinking of Sai, but it's not like that, he thought. Sendou was chuckling good-naturedly now at the flushing boy.

"All right, all right," he laughed. "Whoever it's for, I'm sure it'll be much appreciated. But I'll tell you, it's a shame not to share fancy chocolate like that."

Hikaru shrugged but handed the chocolate to Sendou to pay for it. The young cashier deftly punched a few buttons on the cash register, making it hum productively and issue a curl of white receipt paper.

"That'll be eight hundred and fifty yen, please."

"Sheesh, that's a lot for a little piece of chocolate!"

Sendou nodded amiably. "Yep. And just imagine how many of these little suckers girls have to buy for all the men in their lives!"

Agreeing with him, Hikaru thought guiltily about having ducked out of the house this morning before Akari could come by to give him her Valentine's chocolate. He decided to stop by her house on the way home; he should give her a proper thank you for her valentine, considering how much she was spending on him. Though that might make things worse for next year, he thought.

"Here you go," Sendou said, handing the chocolate over in a small, pastel-colored bag.

"Eh, keep the bag," Hikaru said, reaching in and withdrawing his Go valentine. "Thanks."

"Have a good day," Sendou said, waving him off. "Oh, and—" he pushed the condom across the counter. "Take that—you'll never know when it might come in handy."

Red-faced, Hikaru took it and quickly stuffed it into his wallet and scooted out the door.

It was cold outside; the temperature had dropped a bit since he'd left the house and Hikaru regretted not wearing anything warmer than his baggy sweatshirt over his clothes. He walked briskly down the street, weaving through the red-and-pink droves of girls to get into the subway. Once settled on the train, he pulled the valentine out of his pocket and examined it. Each of the tiny kifu printed on the wrapping paper was crisp and perfect; he could follow the play easily. After reading a few moves into one, he realized it was a real game—one of Honinbou Shuusaku's, in fact. Sighing wistfully, Hikaru wished again that Sai had been there to see it. There was something extremely appropriate about having Sai connected with chocolate, he decided. There was a hyperness associated with both, and good times. And sweetness. But, whether Sai was here or not, the chocolate could not be eaten by a ghost.

I guess I could give it to Akari, Hikaru thought. But then, recalling what Sendou had said about how a girl would react to receiving chocolate on Valentine's Day, he quickly discarded that plan. The last thing I need is for Akari to get the wrong idea, he thought, remembering the gigantic chocolate heart she had given him for Valentine's Day last year. He'd made the huge mistake of showing it to Waya, who'd teased him mercilessly about it.

"It's the real thing!" he'd said, eyes gleaming mischievously. "You got a honmei chocolate—she really likes you! Shindou has a girlfriend! Shindou has a girlfriend!"

"Shut up!" Hikaru had snapped. Him and Akari like that? Hikaru shuddered at the thought. It wasn't that Akari was repulsive or anything but… all the pigtails and giggling and girly pouting she did came back to him and imagining all that amplified fifty times if she became his girlfriend and he'd have to hang out with her all the time, he shuddered again. He would never be able to play Go again!

When Waya had continued snickering with Isumi behind him smothering laughter as well, Hikaru had snapped and shoved the entire chocolate in Waya's mouth, yelling, "You have it, then!" and then took off running before his friend could recover and chase him down to kill him.

Thinking back on that disaster, Hikaru decided it would be far too dangerous to give Akari so much as a cold on this highly-charged day. And he didn't want to give it to his mom like some mama's boy either… That left no choice: he'd have to eat it himself.

Hikaru looked balefully down at the package again. It really was a shame to eat it all by himself. All that clever kifu wrapping paper and the two, little Go stones dangling from the ribbon—it was such a perfect Valentine; Sai would have died of delight to see it. He'd appreciate it without getting any weird ideas, Hikaru thought, missing again his old friend and the deep understanding they'd shared. He wanted at least to show it to someone, but if Waya and Isumi heard he'd bought Valentine's chocolate, he'd get teased about Akari all over again.

"Whatever," Hikaru muttered, shoving the little box into the oversized pockets of his sweatshirt. He had reached his stop and would have to hurry to get to his study group on time.

"And here's one for you, Shindou-kun." Nase grinned cutely as she proffered the last of the small, pink cellophane-wrapped packages to Hikaru.

"Wow, thanks, Nase!" Hikaru said, taking it eagerly and tearing the wrapping off.

"Better eat it fast, Shindou," Waya said, taking a bite of his own. "If Fujisaki-san sees you getting chocolate from another girl, she probably won't give you another three-foot honmei chocolate, huh?"

Freezing in mid-chew, Hikaru shot a glare at his friends to find the whole lot of them snickering or smothering smiles. After their study session, Waya, Hikaru and Saeki had met up at the nearby McDonald's with Isumi, Nase, Fukui, and Komiya for lunch. Nase had arrived last, coyly toting a large, heart-covered gift bag full of Valentine's chocolates for them all.

"Waya, get over it," Hikaru said, resisting the urge to throw French fries at his friend. He grabbed his coke and took a long slurp, daring anyone to make another Akari-related comment with a sweeping glare.

"So how many chocolates have you guys gotten today?" Komiya asked, peering around at the boys in the group.

"Four!" Waya declared.

"Ha! I got five!" Komiya said.

"I got seven!" Fukui burst in merrily. "Although," he added with a laugh, "they were mostly from my sisters and cousins."

Saeki puffed up. "Now, now, children, don't think you can compete with the major leagues. This stud over here got a wonking nine chocolates!"

As everyone made appreciative hums, Komiya poked Isumi. "What about you, Isumi-san?"

Isumi had apparently been trying to hide behind his soda and continued slurping innocently until everyone was glaring pointedly at him. Choking a bit, he stammered, "Er, fifteen."

"Fifteen!"

"Isumi-san, you stud!" Waya said, whacking his taller friend's shoulder appreciatively. Nase winked cheekily at him.

"I hope you don't mind that I tipped off some of your female admirers that you'd be at the Weekly Go office today."

"So that's why that crowd was there!" Isumi cried. "That's a relief—I thought I had stalkers!"

"Probably do," Komiya muttered under his breath. "Hm? Nothing!" he chirped, catching the glances people were sending at him.

"All right," Waya said, turning at last to his bleached-banged friend. "So what's your big total, Shindou?"

Hikaru blinked. "Er, one," he said, holding up the empty wrapping of Nase's valentine. "Well, I guess two, if Akari gives me one."

"HUH?"

Hikaru colored. "So, what?"

"So…" Waya began, unbelievingly, "you only got one? Or—two?"

"How is that possible? I beat Shindou?" Komiya said wonderingly.

"But didn't you get ambushed last year, Shindou?" Isumi asked.

"Yeah, by, like, a million girls?" Fukui added.

"No!" Hikaru said, turning red. "It was just a few girls I went to school with!"

"Just 'cuz you're not going to high school, they couldn't have all forgotten you! There's just no way!" Nase said.

"Why not?"

Nase puffed up, hands on hips. "Shindou, you're way too hot not to get more than that! Are you scaring girls off with your get-lost-I'm–playing-Touya-Akira face?"

"That's gotta be it," Waya said. "You've been hanging around Touya too much—people probably think you're anti-social like him."

"Hey, hey," Hikaru broke in, "leave Touya out of this."

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?" Nase demanded.

"Well…" Hikaru trailed off as he suddenly recalled the three girls he had hidden from on the way to the Go Institute that morning.

"I knew it!" Nase said, crossing her arms in disgust.

"Shindou, Shindou, Shindou," Saeki said, shaking his head. "You just don't get how important Valentine's Day is, do you? This is the measure of a man! And it's the one chance to get off easy and find out who's got the hots for you!"

"It's not that important," Hikaru grumbled, trying to hide his embarrassment with grouchiness. He grabbed his soda and slurped it noisily. "I don't care about stuff like that at all!"

"You see this?" Waya said. "I told you this would happen, didn't I? He's turning into Touya Akira!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Actually, Shindou, he's right," Isumi said. "Touya is the only other teenage boy I've seen ignoring Valentine's Day like this. I saw him at the Weekly Go office today—I think he was getting interviewed about his win in the Fujitsu Cup or something. Anyway, one of those girls who was standing in the crowd outside the office went up to him and gave him a plush cat holding a big, red heart. He thanked her and took it, but as soon as he was in the office, he gave it to Ashiwara-san! Just totally passed it off to him!"

"How cold!" Nase said. "That poor girl probably has a big crush on him!"

"Well, it's not like anything would've come of it," Hikaru said stubbornly. "He's not looking for a girlfriend—least of all not someone who has stuffed animals!"

"Shindou!" Waya said.

"It's just a stupid toy!"

Saeki laughed suddenly, cutting off the pending argument. "I bet Ashiwara loved it, though—the plush cat, I mean."

Isumi grinned. "It looked like he did. He was trying to balance it on his head when I was leaving."

Everyone laughed, thinking of the bubbly, floppy-haired pro purported to be Saeki's rival. Hikaru remembered Akira mentioning once that he was also an excellent chef.

"Well, at least Shindou's not that bad," Komiya said after the laughter had died down. "He still took Nase's chocolate."

"You'd best not try giving my valentines away, Shindou," Nase warned. "They're well sought after."

"You'd better not give him anything that isn't edible then!" Saeki said.

Getting annoyed with the endless Valentine's talk, Hikaru asked, "So are we gonna go over to Waya's and play a game?"

"Oh, come on, Shindou," Nase said. "It's Valentine's Day! Let's go out!"

"Yeah, no time for a game," Saeki said. "I've gotta get ready to go on a date tonight!"

"We could go to the ice skating rink," Isumi suggested.

"Ooh, lots of cute girls there at this time of year," Komiya said.

"Ice skating! Ice skating!" Fukui chimed in enthusiastically.

Waya grinned suddenly. "Hey, why don't we invite Fujisaki-san?"

Not willing to suffer another bout of teasing, Hikaru stuffed the rest of his burger into his mouth and stood up. "Sorry, guys," he said, "I just remembered something I've gotta do—see ya!" With that, he bolted before anyone could stop him.

"Waya," Isumi admonished mildly.

Waya sighed. "Well, he's the closest to having a girlfriend of any of us. Figured he deserved to be teased at least a little bit."

"That was 'a little bit?'"

Waya grinned sheepishly. "I guess?"

Hikaru sighed and leaned back on his hands. Bereft of plans for the afternoon, he'd thought it might be a good idea to head for the Go Institute and see if anything interesting was up. He found the building surprisingly empty; it seemed that Waya and the others had been right about how important Valentine's Day was to the general public. As he was about to leave, he saw his friends walking by on the street and quickly scuttled back into the lobby to wait until they were out of sight. He wondered if enduring Waya's teasing wasn't too high a price to pay to have something to do. Then again, he wanted to play Go, and it appeared his friends were not in the mood.

He had just decided that he may as well go home and replay some games himself when he noticed that one of his shoelaces was untied. Hikaru sat back down and bent forward to tie it, but in doing so, the Go valentine fell out of his pocket. Finishing with his shoelace, Hikaru picked up the little box thinking perhaps he'd eat it now, having nothing better to do. If anyone asked, he could say it had been given to him.

He paused for a moment, fingers on the ribbon, to look affectionately again at the familiar kifu printed so cleanly on the wrapping paper. He remembered this game well; it was the one in which Sai had played his famous "ear-reddening move"—a move in a losing game that had frightened his much older and highly respected opponent so much that his ears had turned red. Before he knew it, he was halfway through replaying the game in his head and would have continued through the whole thing if a familiar voice had not interrupted him.

"Shindou?"

Hikaru looked up to find Touya Akira standing in front of him, dressed in a navy blue suit and long coat.

"Hey, Touya! What are you doing here?"

"I was being interviewed by Weekly Go."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Hikaru laughed. "So, where're all the valentines from your groupies?"

Akira colored slightly. "How did you know about that?"

"Isumi-san was there."

"Oh, that's right." Akira looked a bit sheepish and took a seat beside Hikaru. "I, uh, waited until they left."

"Wow, they gave up pretty easily then."

"Well, I found a way to make them leave."

"Really? How?"

A tiny smile spread over Akira's face. "I called Ogata-san and asked him to pick me up. As soon as he got off the elevator, the girls flocked over to him. So, he turned around and fled and took the whole pack with him."

Hikaru laughed out loud. "Oh, he's gonna get you back for that! But seriously, Touya—not bad!"

Akira chuckled a bit guiltily. "Well, it was worth it."

"Valentines are a headache, huh?" Hikaru said, pleased that someone else was finding the day as disagreeable as he was.

Akira smiled tolerantly. "It can be trying sometimes."

"So what are you up to?"

"Nothing, really. I was thinking of going to get some lunch."

Hikaru perked up. "Ramen?"

"No."

"Why no—"

"No."

"Ramen-hater," Hikaru grumbled.

"Shindou, anyone would hate ramen if they got dragged out to eat it everyday by you!"

"What's wrong with eating ramen everyday?" Hikaru demanded.

Akira shook his head. Ramen was the one thing that Hikaru would never back down from defending and he found it not worth the headache to fight that particular losing battle. "Oh, never mind!" He suddenly caught sight of the small package in Hikaru's hand. "Is that a Go-themed Valentine?"

Hikaru nodded eagerly. "Isn't it great?" He held it up for Akira to examine.

"The Go Institute should sell these in the store. Any pro would be happy to get something like this," Akira murmured, fingering the little Go stones tied to the ribbon. "Is this real kifu on the wrapping?"

"Yep," Hikaru said happily. "And guess whose it is!"

Akira caught his eye and grinned. "Shuusaku?"

"Yep!"

Akira gave a small laugh. "It really is perfect for you, Shindou. Who gave it to you?"

"Uh, well…" Hikaru said sheepishly. Catching the change in his friend's mood, Akira fixed his trademark gaze on him and Hikaru was caught. Shamefacedly, he admitted, "I bought it myself," knowing that he'd now be teased about having to buy his own valentines. It was just that he couldn't lie when Akira looked at him with that intense, all-piercing gaze of his.

"I would've, too."

"Huh?" Hikaru glanced at his friend and was surprised to find Akira still looking thoughtfully at the valentine.

"It's just a chocolate," Akira said, letting a small smile spread back over his face. "Why shouldn't you buy it if you like it? I like it, too."

Akira knew his rival had been very embarrassed about his admission. Though he didn't really participate in the late-winter chocolate exchanges that had most of the country's youth in thrall, he knew enough about it to realize that boys weren't supposed to buy chocolates on Valentine's Day—least of all for themselves. It surprised him that Shindou wasn't swamped with chocolates every year; whether girls found Go an interesting past-time or not, he would have thought Shindou's good looks alone should earn him an armful. But looking at the big, open, trademark grin on Shindou's face, he realized his oblivious friend had been completely honest about the chocolate—he'd just bought it because it had caught his fancy. Things like how many chocolates he got on Valentine's Day didn't matter to him, much as it didn't matter to Akira. We're probably the only two kids in Japan who don't care, Akira thought and smiled back.

For his part, Hikaru was extremely relieved that Akira seemed to believe him. No teasing about buying a girly chocolate or what he might mean to do with it. But then, this is Touya we're talking about, Hikaru thought. Though he liked bothering his rival about loosening up and acting his age, underneath, Hikaru admired Akira's focus and ability to do as he pleased despite what anyone else thought or said. It was what he wanted to be like, though it was sometimes hard to ignore friends and society's messages about what people his age should be doing. He thought back to the condom in his wallet and, sitting next to Akira, finally felt at ease dismissing it as silly. Touya would probably agree with him that stuff like that wasn't necessary, even if they were virile sixteen-year-olds who should be on the prowl for girls.

"Here," Hikaru said suddenly, holding the chocolate out to his rival. "You can have it."

Akira looked at him in surprise. "You're giving it to me?"

"You like it, right?" Hikaru shrugged. "It kinda sucks to eat it myself, but since I bought it, I've gotta do something with it." He smiled and held it out further. "So, here."

Akira reached out for it and paused to glance back at the other boy. There was nothing teasing or leery in Hikaru's face; it was just that silly Shindou grin that Akira was really growing fond of. He took Hikaru's valentine. "Thank you."

Holding the small package on his lap, Akira carefully untied the ribbon, putting the Go stone charm into his pocket. Opening the top flaps of the white box inside, he gave a little cry.

"Shindou, there are two in here!" he said, pouring the two Go stone-shaped chocolates—one made of white chocolate, one of dark—into his palm. "That's perfect." He held his hand out to Hikaru.

"Ha, it really is!" Hikaru said, picking up the white chocolate piece. He flashed Akira a mischievous grin as the boy examined the "black" stone he was left with. "Sorry, I don't like dark chocolate."

Akira gave him a look, trying to suppress a grin. "Well, just this once, I guess you can be white." The boys laughed and toasted their chocolates.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Touya," Hikaru said, popping the entire chocolate into his mouth.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Shindou," Akira said, taking a small bite of his piece. They ate their chocolates in silence, enjoying the rich, creamy flavors. Yeah, chocolate is definitely better shared, Hikaru thought, trying to remember the last time he'd had such a pleasant quiet moment. Probably when I was with Sai. He turned to look at his rival, wondering when they had become close enough to sit in silence comfortably. Akira was looking thoughtfully down at the empty box in his hands, then stood suddenly.

"Come on," he said. "I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen."

Hikaru jumped up beside him. "For real? I thought you said you were never gonna eat ramen again."

Snorting at Hikaru's grin, Akira shook his head and began walking towards the door of the Institute. As they neared the glass doors, Akira saw that it had begun to snow. It was the first snow of the new year, so late that most thought they wouldn't have any this winter.

"Aw, man! I didn't bring a jacket or anything today!"

Akira glanced back and realized his rival was only wearing a large sweatshirt that would do little to keep the melted snow from seeping into his skin.

"Shindou, you big baby," Akira muttered, shaking his head in exasperation. He took a small, neatly tied umbrella from his shoulder bag and walked towards the door. "Come on, there's room enough for two under here." Half out the door, he glanced back to see Hikaru still hesitating in the lobby. He seemed to be blushing. Quashing an irrational blush himself, Akira adopted his no-nonsense tone. "Shindou, if you get drenched, you'll have to go straight home and dry off. No ramen."

"Wha?" Hikaru said, coming out of his bout of shyness at the threat to his favorite food. He stalked straight over to Akira and bowed his head to get under the umbrella. They were standing as close side-by-side as they could in the cramped space, their broadening shoulders wedged up against one another.

"Let's go," Hikaru said determinedly, sounding as though he were about to play a particularly challenging game of Go. Akira hid his amusement and pushed one of the front doors open. The boys were hit at once by a cold, icy wind as they left the warmth of the building. A few steps down the sidewalk had both their out-facing shoulders completely coated in powdery snow.

"Man," Hikaru said, brushing off his shoulder as more and more snow fell on it, "why'd it have to snow today? I'm freezing!"

"And your shoulder's getting wet," Akira said, brushing at his own soggying shoulder. He tried to press closer to get his entire body under the umbrella but found that he was just shoving Hikaru further into the snow.

His discomfort and guilt at intruding on his friend's umbrella space growing, Hikaru muttered, "Oh, forget this!" and stepped out into the snow. Thousands of tiny ice crystals immediately hit his bare face. He tried to turn his head to the side to keep snow out of his eyes and found himself inhaling snowflakes instead. He coughed to clear them and turned his head back to the front, then suddenly realized that the snow had stopped pelting him. He opened his eyes and looked up. Akira was holding the umbrella out over Hikaru while the snow whipped through his long, black hair. He stood gazing at him steadily, the flying snow crystals seeming not to bother him at all. He looked very strong and… beautiful, somehow, standing there, the snow swirling all around him, the flakes catching in his hair and the cold wind softly reddening his pale cheeks.

"You take it, Shindou," he was saying. "I've got a coat, so—"

But he didn't finish his sentence as Hikaru, on a sudden impulse, closed the distance between them and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Akira froze in surprise; confused as it was, the only thing his mind registered was that Hikaru's lips felt very warm and soft amidst all the harsh chill of the winter. Feels nice… he thought.

Hikaru pulled away after a brief moment and looked up into his rival's eyes. The surprise was draining away from Akira's face, leaving a thoughtful look. Standing very close, the two watched one another's faces for a long moment.

"Shindou…" Akira said at last.

That seemed to break the trance. Blushing and staring down at his shoes, Hikaru began to stammer an apology when he felt an arm curl around him. He looked up to see Akira smiling at him. "Let's go, Shindou," he said, and Hikaru realized that, snuggled together as they were, they now fit perfectly underneath the umbrella. "You still want ramen, don't you?"

Hikaru opened his mouth to ask what Akira was thinking when he caught his eyes again. They were the same turquoise-blue eyes that had filled his dreams and drew him irresistibly forward in the Go world, challenging him to greater and greater heights. But now, the sharpness of the gaze had softened; it was the warmest he had ever seen those eyes. All doubt and anxiety melting out of him, Hikaru wrapped his own arm around Akira's back.

"Of course, I do!" he said, back in full grin again. "Let's go!"

Pressing close to one another under the little umbrella, the two boys walked on, chattering excitedly, through the falling snow.

- Owari -

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
(and may it be full of HikaAki goodness!)