Day In the Life Of

Disclaimer: I don't own HNG. Why did I write this? Because let's face it; HNG had a lot of underused characters. I just thought the Kaiou bunch looked interesting…

Kishimoto awoke to the sound of a ringing phone.

Naturally, his first instinct was simply to ignore it, and go back to bed. One: he had school in (presumably) a few hours. Two: he probably wouldn't to be able to hold a normal conversation.

Of course, it can be argued that he often never held normal conversations, because that would involve more than the other person talking.

Meanwhile, the phone kept ringing in the background. Groaning, he tiredly rolled onto his side to check his alarm clock –

Lo and behold: 6:30 AM. He blearily glared at the clock. Then, remembering what woke him in the first place, he shifted his glare to the phone.

"Who would-" he cut himself off, sighing annoyedly. He reached for the phone, and pressed it to his ear, mentally grumbling all the while. "Hello?"

"Yo, Kishimoto! Rise and shine, pal!"

The tall boy groaned, resisting the urge to slam the phone back onto the cradle. Only Miya Yoshimaru would be this obnoxious…

Cursing the red headed boy, he growled into the phone. "Miya. It's 6:30. Why would you have any reason to-"

"Hey, you think you can come to school a bit early?" Miya asked, blowing right through Kishimoto's inquiry. Kishimoto simply pulled the phone back from his ear, glared at it once more, and slammed the earpiece down onto his desk. Hard.

The audible cry of pain from the other side was his reward. Kishimoto Kaoru may have been mature for his age, but he was by no means a morning person. Hiding a satisfying smirk (no one may have been there, but he still wouldn't stoop to such childish gestures) he picked up the handset once more.

"Ass," came the irritated voice over the phone. The Go Club Chief simply sighed again. He reached for his glasses, knowing with no small measure of annoyance that he wasn't getting back to bed. Placing the headset back to his ear, he immediately heard, "So? Can you come or what?"

"Why should I?" Kishimoto countered. "First, you wake me up at 6:30-"

"Can you come?" Miya parroted, again ignoring Kishimoto.

"Why?" Kishimoto asked again, his patience running out.

"I asked you first," Miya shot back, a note of confidence in his voice. A long pause. Finally, Kishimoto spoke again, his voice notably resigned.

"…Fine," he murmured into the phone, not wanting to stretch out an argument he knew he had already lost. When it came to sheer annoyance, Miya could outlast anyone.

"… Really?" Miya asked excitedly, nearly shouting. Kishimoto winced, making a mental note to turn down the volume on his phone.

"You heard what I said," Kishimoto fired back, obviously irritated now.

Kishimoto didn't know how, but he swore he could hear Miya smirk over the phone. "Miya, you still haven't told me why…"

"That's because if I told, you would have some kind of smartass answer, then you would hang up and go back to bed. Am I right?"

Damn. "When have I ever done that?" Kishimoto asked, hoping that his friend's memory was faulty…

"Last week," came the matter of fact answer. "Remember? I asked you if Hidaka had-"

"… talked to Mizuno-kun?" Kishimoto finished, the fog in his brain having cleared up to the point where he knew what Miya was going to ask. "No, Miya. The answer was "no" a week ago, and it's "no" now."

"What?! Still?" Miya asked. Kishimoto began massaging his temples. "God, he's started wheedling…"

"Miya, if you want to ask her out, do it yourself. I don't think Hidaka appreciates being used as a dating service."

"If you haven't noticed, we don't really talk-"

"Because all that ever comes out of your mouth are bad jokes and worse pick-up lines," Kishimoto answered, knowing what the response would be. Reading ahead was one of his specialties, after all.

"Whoa! That's not true…" the voice trailed off, giving a convincing impression of a hurt person.

Kishimoto, fortunately, knew better. "World History. We're discussing Vatican City, and-"

"Are you still on this? I was asked a question about what venerated religious leader lived in said city, and I simply gave a creative answer."

"You said you thought the Pope lived in the woods, Miya."

"Eh, how was I supposed to know that Hiwatari-sensei didn't want the joke answer?" Miya demanded.

Biting down a response that stated how dumb the joke was in the first place, Kishimoto went on. "Judging from the number of boos you got, it would seem that nobody wanted the joke answer," Kishimoto stated, a smug look having made its way onto his face.

"Tch. Like you'd know humor if it kicked you in the – hey! Don't change the subject! Can you come, or what?"

"Damn!" Sighing as his plan was dashed, he spoke again. "I don't know…"

Miya's voice took on a sing-song quality. "I'll buy coooooooffffffeeeeeeeeeeee…" he told his friend, hoping the that stoic boy would take the bait.

It seemed to be working, judging from the long pause. Finally, the silence was broken. "What kind?"

"Black. Fresh brewed too, not that canned crap that the train station sells."

Kishimoto mulled over the offer. On one hand, it would require him to get out of bed, get dressed, and leave the house all at an hour that he was wholly unused to…

On the other hand, he got free coffee. A tempting gain, considering that all he currently had was budget instant that tasted about as good as the "canned crap" Miya referred to. "Fine, Miya."

"Heh! My knowledge of you pulls through yet again, Kishi-kun."

"Don't call me that," Kishimoto said warningly. Miya sniffed.

"Why the hell not? It sounds funny, and it pisses you off! What could the downside be?"

"That it makes me seem like your-"

"You're actually worried about that? Man, you're insecure," Miya told him, more then aware of the fact that he was successfully making his friend mad.

"I'm perfectly secure, Miya…" Kishimoto growled.

"Sure, if you say so. Phrase of the day, my friend; denial ain't just a river."

"How have I not knocked you out with a goban yet?" Kishimoto asked, his ire now fully aroused (and as a result, maturity level proportionately dropped. He was only human, after all.)

"'Cause you'd feel too guilty about depriving the world of… well, me." A pause. "Hey! Why're you still talking? Get your ass in gear, Kishi-kun!"

With that, the connection was terminated, and Kishimoto was left staring at the phone, wondering what had just happened. Closing his eyes, he placed the phone back on the cradle, only one thought swirling through his head.

"That had better be some very, very good coffee."

"Here," Miya called out, waving at Kishimoto. The tall boy, having seen his friend on the front stairwell, walked over with his bag in tow.

"As promised," the redhead stated, pulling a cup of coffee from the paper bag next to him. Kishimoto took it gratefully; he was still kind of tired, and it was rather chilly. Raising his mouth to the lid, he sighed as the warm, bitter brew made its way down his throat.

"You look like you're enjoying that way too much, man." Miya informed him. "Are you sure you aren't-"

"Look where your mind is right now," Kishimoto snapped, pulling the cup away from his mouth. "It must be frightening to live with you."

"Terrifying, according to my mother," Miya informed him. Standing up, the boy stretched, before regarding Kishimoto with a frank gaze. "Now, down to business."

"Why don't you just talk to her, Miya?" Kishimoto asked, taking another pull from the coffee. Miya snorted.

"Like it's that easy. Why don't you just talk to Hidaka?"

Kishimoto nearly choked. "Why would I-"

"Denial, my friend," Miya told him, wagging his finger. Upon seeing the look on Kishimoto's face, he went on. "Besides, it's harder then you'd think. The few times I've tried, she thinks I'm just being friendly…"

"I must refer back to our conversation of 45 minutes ago, citing my remark involving 'bad jokes and worse pick-up lines…'" Kishimoto stated, the coffee rapidly improving his mood, the Hidaka comment notwithstanding.

Miya looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asked, genuine confusion etched on his face.

Kishimoto simply raised his eyebrows. "You said that you've talked to her in passing a few times, correct?" he inquired, his eyes carefully locked on his friend. Miya nodded quickly, still looking lost.

"Yeah…"

"And how did they go?" Kishimoto asked patiently, as if leading along a dog that didn't quite know what to do…

The appropriateness of that description was stunning. Kishimoto coughed a little, trying to hold back a sudden (and uncharacteristic, at that) laugh. Miya looked at him, a funny expression on his face.

"You all right?"

Kishimoto nodded, holding up the cup. "Coffee went down wrong," he told him. Upon seeing the 'yeah, right' expression he knew so well, he pushed up his glasses, letting the glare obscure his eyes. "Continue."

"Wha – oh, yeah! Well, anyway, everytime I talk to her, it's… well…"

Kishimoto made a hand gesture for him to get on with it. Miya glared at him darkly. "Gimme a sec! God."

The spectacled teen looked at his watch. "I could still be sleeping right now…" he said, making sure to return the glare with equal measure.

The two gazes met furiously, clashing in a battle of wills –

Which Miya promptly lost, averting his eyes quickly. He cursed the power of the Kishimoto Kaoru glare. Not only did it make you feel slightly guilty for whatever the hell he thought you did, it also made you feel intellectually inferior while doing it. Coughing to maintain his dignity, he continued. "Every time we talk… it's pretty much normal. You know, like I talk with any other person. Joking, sarcastic but impeccably timed comments about teachers…"

Kishimoto, romantically inept as he was, saw the large, gaping flaw in his friend's approach just as easily as he saw kos or furikawaris. He sighed again, knowing that Miya wouldn't understand.

"Your approach is ill suited for this situation. You attack when you should be fortifying, and you keep trying the same approach in different parts of the board, despite rebuffs due to the unsuitable area…in more human terms, you try far too hard," Kishimoto thought, still studying his usually gregarious friend. He sighed once more. He was now convinced that relationships were the problem with people.

"Miya-"

"Kishimoto-buchou?" A slightly higher, yet measured voice, rang out. Kishimoto turned his head toward the sound.

"Good morning, Touya," Kishimoto greeted the ex Go Club member, silently thanking him for the intrusion.

Miya waved casually. "Yo, Touya."

"Miya-sempai," Touya returned, evenly. Out of all the members in the club, he was on good terms with seven or so, and Miya and Kishimoto happened to be part of that short list. Neither had held grudges for losing against him – Kishimoto had treated it as a learning experience/test of skill (among other things), and Miya simply relished the chance to tease someone else-

"How come you're here so early? Meeting a girl?" Miya asked suggestively. Touya coughed suddenly, his face turning a shade of red.

Miya did it quite well, apparently. The redhead grinned. "Man, Kishi-kun, even the first years are beating us in the love department…"

Touya, still blushing, explained. "I have to meet Yun-sensei for an assignment. I've been rather busy latel-" he then paused, suddenly. He looked amused. "Kishi-kun?"

"Don't repeat that," Kishimoto growled, his glare back and focused firmly on his kouhai. Touya gulped, Kishimoto glared, and Miya thought that his stoic friend would have a very promising career in the field of law. Prosecutor, no doubt.

"Y-Yes," he nodded meekly. After a pause, he asked "Have you seen Yun-sensei anywhere, Kishimoto-buchou?"

Kishimoto shook his head. "Sorry, Touya. I haven't seen him yet, but I suppose you could check the staff room. And it's 'sempai', now. Bear that in mind."

Touya had the decency to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Force of habit…"

Miya couldn't resist. "Gonna make him run 20 laps now, Kishi-buchou?"

Kishimoto whirled around, his eyes once again obscured by glare. (Luckily, due to his sudden turn, he couldn't see Touya snickering behind a hand.) "Miya, if you call me Kishi- anything one more time today, I swear – "

"Hey, Touya!" Miya called out, again cutting off Kishimoto. The Chief closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, and then reached for his coffee. Meanwhile, Miya was looking at Touya intently. "I have a question for you."

Touya stiffened. "Um… what is it?" he inquired warily. He knew enough about his sempai's personality to be apprehensive about anything he had to ask.

"You talk to Mizuno pretty frequently, right?"

For the second time that morning, Kishimoto choked on his coffee. "Trying to get a first year to do your job for you? You have no shame…"

Touya looked confused at Kishimoto's reaction. Miya waved a hand. "Ignore him. If he's in any danger, we'll know. Anyway," he continued, trying to ignore the dirty look Kishimoto was shooting him. "Want to do me a favor?"

The first year now looked even more confused. "All… right?" he responded, still not knowing what was going on.

Miya nodded enthusiastically. "Great! Okay the next time you talk to Mizuno – for whatever reason, school, unofficial teaching game – ask her-"

"Touya? Why don't you go find Yun-sensei now?" Kishimoto told - not asked, told – him, as he grasped Miya's shoulder firmly. Miya looked put out.

"Aw, take it easy-"

Kishimoto, for a change, ignored him. He kept his gaze on Touya. "I have to talk with Miya about something, anyway."

Translation: "Leave. Now."

Touya nodded again, recognizing the tone of voice. Buchou or not, Kishimoto Kaoru was still an imposing presence. As he turned to leave, he heard Kishimoto again; "Oh, and do me a favor; please. Don't tell Hidaka about this."

The genius go player nodded. "That's fine, but… why?"

"'Cause if Hidaka finds out, he's guilty by association, and he's never gonna get any – OW!" he yelled, as Kishimoto's fingers dug into his shoulder.

"Thanks, Touya," Kishimoto told him nonchalantly, as if he weren't holding his friend in a deathgrip. Touya simply bowed slightly (at this point, he really couldn't do anything else), and turned around. As he left, Miya called out:

"Hey, Touya! You think that Kishimoto was born with a stick up his ass, or that he put it in there himself for posture?"

As Touya hurried away, trying not to laugh, he knew that he didn't want to be Miya-sempai right now.

First class: World History. Kishimoto was trying to listen to the lecture while avoiding the glares that Miya was shooting him. The Chief had made it abundantly clear that Miya had to resolve any problems that he had by himself – meaning, no outside Kishimoto sympathized with his fellow third-year, he knew that bringing in outside assistance would only make things worse –

A small piece of folded paper landed on his desk. Kishimoto held back the urge to groan, knowing who it was from. After a quick look to fully confirm that Hiwatari-sensei was focused on the lecture, he opened the note.

"You didn't have to grab my shoulder so hard, you know."

Rolling his eyes quickly, he tore out a piece of notebook paper and scribbled his response, pointedly ignoring the fact that passing notes was ridiculously juvenile.

"You drag me out of bed, try to convince Touya to do your dirty work, and call me Kishi-kun repeatedly, all in the space of 2 hours? Consider yourself fortunate it's still attached."

A rapid flick of the wrist later, and it was on Miya's desk. He then looked up and tried to resume listening, ignoring Miya's reaction - whatever it may have been.

Three minutes later, he fought the urge to swear when another piece of paper landed on his desk. Again taking a peek to make sure the teacher was blissfully ignorant, he opened the note:

"1: You're overreacting, man!

2: Ha ha! Made you look…"

Kishimoto's eyebrow twitched, as the hand that held that paper began to shake ever so slightly…

"Kishimoto-kun?" a voice rang out. He looked up – and realized it was Hiwatari-sensei. Damn. Had he been caught?

"Yes?" he called back, modulating his voice to the regular, disarming monotone. Meanwhile, Miya was snickering.

"Perhaps you can enlighten the class on America's proposed SDI?" the teacher asked. Kishimoto sighed in relief. Judging from the blank looks on everyone's faces, he had simply been called upon to answer a question – probably one that no one else knew how to.

"The SDI was a missile defense system first conceived during the Cold War. Its purpose was to…"

As Kishimoto began his long-winded explanation, Hidaka Yuri sighed boredly. "If Kishimoto-kun's answering, we'll be here for years…" she moaned. While she hadn't been enjoying the drama between Kaiou's Chief and Chief Jester (tolerating stupidity was never one of her strong points), she would have gladly taken it over a lecture…

A fwip made her look down, and she saw that somehow, Miya had launched a note from across the room without being caught. Her eyes narrowing, she briefly raised her gaze upwards.

Miya's wink caused an eyeroll, and she opened the note.

"Yo, Hidaka! Enjoying the view of the Chief from back there?"

Kishimoto swore he felt the temperature in the room rise suddenly, and paused for a second to take a quick look around. His eyes found Hidaka… and she looked rather angry. He blinked.

"What could – oh. Miya appears to be in fine form today…" Kishimoto noted wryly, observing the note. He couldn't see what was written on the paper from his vantage point (it was awkward enough turning his head discreetly in the first place) and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Sighing, he began to continue, knowing that the teacher would take the pause as an attempt to recall information.

Miya, in the meantime, was resisting the urge to cackle like a banshee. This class ruled. Having two straight arrows to mess around with was too great for words. Seeing that Kishi-kun had gone back to his job as substitute teacher, he tore out yet another piece of paper and began writing…

Kishimoto saw him out of the corner of his eye, and wondered just what would be on that piece of paper. Whatever it was, he knew its sole purpose would be to aggravate him, and that knowledge alone put him on edge.

"… and currently, the SDI is still being discussed by America's military," Kishimoto wound up succinctly, rather satisfied with himself.

The teacher looked pleased; everyone else looked out of it (with the exception of Miya and the still angry Hidaka, of course.)

As soon as he sat down, Kishimoto heard the familiar fwip and he found himself restraining an eye-roll. He glanced over at Miya, and the self-satisfied look he had made the tall boy rather apprehensive. He opened the note:

"Nice explanation. What, you thought I was gonna write something obnoxious? C'mon dude, you're being paranoid. And you know what would fix that? You getting laid."

This time Kishimoto couldn't help himself, and a choking, strangled noise left his throat. That got him some weird looks; luckily, he covered by clearing his throat quickly. Hiwatari-sensei looked concerned.

"Are you all right, Kishimoto-kun?" he inquired, focused on the spectacled student, oblivious to the snickering redhead to his left side.

"Juvenile idiot!" Kishimoto cursed, as he looked at the teacher. "Yes, sensei. Just a little bit of dry throat, that's all."

"I'm calling bullshit on that one, Kishimoto-kun." Hidaka thought, her eyes focused on the Chief. To further prove her point, Aoki got his attention from across the room, and jerked his thumb at Miya quickly. Kishimoto simply nodded in response, leading to a silent chuckle from the husky boy.

"… and that's all the time we have for today," Hiwatari's voice rang out. Hidaka blinked. Huh. She didn't even hear the bell ring.

"For homework, read chapters twelve through fifteen, and prepare a flowchart of advances in technology, military or commercial, throughout history…"

"Very good, Miya," Hidaka told him in the hall. "Best case of acting your shoe size and not your age I've ever seen."

Miya simply waved a hand at her dismissively as they walked. "C'mon, Hidaka! Lighten up, otherwise you'll end up like Kishi-kun here," he said, grinning as he pointed out the tall boy. Aoki laughed, earning him a glare from Kishimoto.

"What did I say about calling me that, you-"

"Ah, you're just bitter 'cause I made you come here like an hour and a half early. I don't see why, either; you got your free coffee."

Aoki jumped in. "Wait, why did he come here?"

Miya grinned. "Because Kishi-kun is my bit – OW! Uncalled for, Hidaka!"

"Thanks, Hidaka."

"No problem, Kishimoto-kun. See you and Aoki in Chem."

Next class: Computer Science and Communications. Normally Kishimoto never looked down on classes as too easy, even though his grades spoke volumes about the issue. He had, however, made an exception for this one. When all a class consisted of was the rote manipulation of programs, it got dull quite quickly…

"aoki has just signed on."

Which is why Aoki had taken the measure of installing the disabled messaging program behind the teacher's back. At the start of the year, Kishimoto had considered it pointless; now, he realized that intelligent conversation is what kept him sane here.

"Guessing you're done the assignment already?" the message read. Kishimoto typed back quickly.

"For the most part… at times like this I wish my aptitude in computers was as developed as yours."

"You're too hard on yourself man. You're barely behind me as is. Besides, the assignment's easy; variables in Visual Basic? Come on, that's like Yun-sensei giving us one move tsumego problems…"

Kishimoto smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. He didn't look it, but Aoki was extremely talented in the field of electronics. In fact, he was so talented that he managed to install one other program on their terminals behind the teacher's back –

"aoki has challenged you to a game."

Installing a go program on this was genius, Kishimoto noted, as they went through the match conditions. "19X19, nigiri for start, 5.5 komi… all right, then."

As soon as they were finished, a virtual goban popped up, with a chat window in the upper left. Kishimoto was black. Though he knew the advantage was unnecessary, he took it; Aoki, after all, wasn't too far from Kuno in terms of strength. Certainly better than some Haze first boards, anyway…

"So, why did Miya call you out so early?" Aoki asked, as Kishimoto clicked on the 16-4 star.

"It's quite the long story… let's just say he's concerned about his lack of a love life."

Kishimoto blinked. "10-4, hmm?" he murmured quietly, as Aoki's move came up. Interesting…

"Lemme guess; Mizuno-kun, right?"

"Impressive, Aoki." Kishimoto typed back, clicking on the 4-4 star next.

"Not really. I thought it was common knowledge in our little clique… other than Mizuno, of course."

"We have a clique, now?" Kishimoto responded, as Aoki's move came up. "9-7? What kind of opening is this?"

"Damn straight. I even came up with a name, "The Ones Who Don't Hate Touya. TOWDHT, for short. I have bumper stickers being made up," Aoki fired back, as Kishimoto took the 4-17 point next.

Kishimoto had to bury an uncharacteristic snicker. "We all share that trait, I suppose. Though I think Miya just likes irritating him," he wrote. He wasn't surprised at Aoki not holding a grudge against Touya for beating him; he was just that easygoing. Two days after the game, he was back to normal –

"Tengen? I didn't think you were the type to throw games, Aoki."

"Throw games? No, Chief, I found this online. This, my friend, is the Great Wall fuseki!"

Kishimoto crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "Great Wall fuseki?" he thought aloud. "This is new…"

Somehow Aoki must have heard him, because he typed in a response. "Yeah! I found it on this Go reference site. It really is better for Black, but I wanted to try it out. Cool, ain't it?"

"I suppose so," Kishimoto responded, placing his next hand on the last star point. "I'm still not convinced of its effectiveness though…"

"Ohhhh, just wait and see. Apparently it's good against strangers too, cause they underestimate you…"

Kishimoto had a brief mental image of his time with the insei, and wondered what Shinoda-sensei would have done if he had chosen to play this in his entrance exam. He mentally smiled, albeit bitterly.

"Hey! Your hand, Kishimoto. Now, tell me more about Miya's situation…"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Plleeeeaaaassssseeee?"

"… fine."

"Really?!"

A mocking laugh. "Nah, just messing with you."

That got a laugh out of Kuno, who was watching Miya wheedle for help with Mizuno with one Hidaka Yuri, who seemed admittedly amused with the redhead's consternation.

Whining, arguing, and general off-topicness. Such was the world of Kaiou's Visual Arts class.

While the students were supposed to be working on their midterm projects (some chose landscape paintings, some chose charcoal works, and some masochists were doing basic sculptures), the Go Club members had stuck with portraits. Tried, tested, and true, they also allowed for a convenient arrangement in the classroom; Kuno painted Miya, Miya painted Hidaka (who had naturally threatened the ebullient student with disembowelment should it not turn out to her satisfaction) and this left the lone female to paint the vice captain.

Of course, painting each other had meant that they had to sit in close proximity, and so most of the class was spent simply talking instead of working. (Not that anyone minded, of course.)

"Give it up, Miya," Kuno informed him, as he took a quick look his friend's face before applying a few deft strokes to his canvas. "You know Hidaka by now – she means what she says."

Miya actually pouted, though how much of it was an act no one knew. "Well, how else am I supposed to get to know her?"

"… I don't suppose you've tried talking to Mizuno?" Kuno put forth tentatively, not adept at this kind of thing. Hidaka rolled her eyes. Miya snorted.

"That's what Kishi-kun said, and he-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Hidaka suddenly called out, stopping her brush movements. "You talked to Kishimoto-kun about this?"

A nod.

"Kishimoto Kaoru."

Another nod, and a widened pair of eyes from Kuno.

"The guy who ignores both White and Valentine's Day, and has a running pool on whether he's straight, gay, or just asexual?

That got Miya and Kuno's complete attention. "Excuse me?" Kuno choked out. "Did you just say that – that – "

"You didn't know?" Hidaka looked genuinely surprised. "It started at the end of last year with most of the girls. I mean, he did turn down every girl who approached him, after all, and then they noticed you calling him Kishi-kun all the damn time - "

She was interrupted by Miya suddenly going into hysterics, bending over and clutching his stomach. "Are you serious?" he crowed, nearly falling out of his chair. "Oh man, he's gonna freakin love this – "

He was interrupted when Hidaka pointed her brush at his throat, her eyes dangerous. "Not. A. WORD," she warned, her eyes dangerous.

Kuno repressed a snicker. Miya, naturally, had to open his mouth. "But it's so funn – "

"NO. Shut up, Miya…" she told him, obviously willing to go to extreme measures to keep him from telling her stoic friend. All in good fun as it was, she knew he wouldn't react well.

Miya finally stopped laughing, and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, waving his hand at her. "We're missing out on comedic gold, but fine. Still, I have a question…"

Hidaka eyed him warily. "What?"

Kuno's subject pulled out his wallet. "If that pool's still going on, I want in. 2000 yen on 'straight as the lines on a goban'."

If it was possible, her eyes would have widened more. "You're joking."

"Nope. Trust me, I've known him for a while. So have Kuno and Aoki, they'll vouch for me on this."

Hidaka felt like slapping her forehead. "Not that, you moron!" she exclaimed, though the sudden burst of relief was curious, though not unwelcome. "You actually want to bet on your friend in a pool that's supposed to be girls only?"

He shrugged. "Easy money."

"Especially since I remember him staring at your ass in P.E a couple of times. You took a few peeks at him too, if I recall correctly."

His 'reverie' was interrupted by the sound of Kuno's cell going off. The black-haired boy blinked, curious. "Who would text me in the middle of class?"

No one else noticed, the art class was pretty lax. But as Kuno's small grin grew wider and wider, Hidaka knew that someone was bound to see eventually.

"What? What is it, Kuno-kun?" she asked him.

Still grinning, Kuno looked over at Miya. "Miya, what's this from Aoki about you trying to get Touya to help with Mizuno?" he asked teasingly, while waving his phone about.

There was a correlation between the fear in Miya's eyes and the fury in Hidaka's, Kuno noted with a smile.

Break time.

For most students, this was a time to get a snack, get some last minute studying done, or simply just to talk with friends. For Kishimoto and the other Go Club members, it meant doing all of the above with 9X9 speed games included.

"… I resign," Miya said in mild disgust, as he looked at the smaller board in front of him. "God, what a mess…"

"You let me cut apart your two groups here, Miya," Aoki pointed out, the larger boy obviously pleased with himself. "Other than that, the only other mistakes were small ones…"

"Which then added up, and caused the loss," Kishimoto added, currently in chuban with Kuno. The Chief was being wary, but he knew as long as he kept calm and read the situation accurately, he was on his way to a four moku win. His hand pushed up his glasses absentmindedly, as his eyes focused on Kuno's one-point jump.

Miya sniffed indignantly. "Thanks for the support, Kishimoto," he called out, obviously still a little annoyed over the stunt that he and Aoki had pulled with the phone.

"He's glad to offer it, Miya," Hidaka called out sarcastically, sitting in a chair looking rather bored. "Where is she? She's not usually late…"

As if on cue, the door to the club room opened and a panting girl with dark-blue hair and glasses stepped in, having obviously exerted herself in coming. Miya suddenly looked rather uncomfortable; Hidaka simply blew the bangs out of her eyes.

"You're late, Mizuno-kun."

The new arrival bowed hastily. "I'm sorry Hidaka-san, but I had to take care of something for my Biology class… I had to run here just to make it!" she told her teammate, as she walked over to take her seat. A sigh came from the blonde girl, before she offered a quick grin to the female vice captain.

"Don't worry," Hidaka told her dismissively, as she passed over the go ke. "At least you're here… which is more then I can say for Amamiya-kun," she added, knowing the girl was currently on vacation. "We've only got time for one speed game, though, so we should make it count."

Kuno chuckled. "Always focused, huh Hidaka?"

She nodded resolutely. "Damn straight," she told him, as she turned her head to take a quick peek at his game. "Kishimoto-kun by… four."

The exasperated growl made Aoki laugh, as Kishimoto nodded in assent. "That sounds about right, Kuno."

"Don't you start…"

Meanwhile, Miya was looking at Mizuno, who was still breathing heavily. He cursed silently. For all of his quips and one liners, he was helpless when it came to initiating a normal conversation…

"Hey… you all right?"

The redhead suddenly blinked. That had been so… natural. Huh, maybe there was hope for him after all.

She looked up at him gratefully, a small smile gracing her lips. "Yes… I'm just not used to running all this way, that's all. I'll be fine in a little while, Miya-san."

This was one moment that not even Miya could screw up, and he knew it. Unfortunately, so did the rest of the room, which resulted in a satisfied smirk on Kishimoto's face, a shake of the head from Kuno, a small laugh from Hidaka, and a ridiculously overdramatic thumbs up from Aoki, complete with huge grin.

Still, he persevered. "I'm glad."

A beat passed.

"Awww…."

"Hidaka…" Kishimoto murmured, the message to ease off a little loud and clear. She sighed in assent. Miya shot her a little self-righteous grin. And Mizuno… looked confused.

In other words, par for the course.

Chemistry class. This class was special; not only because did it have all TOWDHT members in it, it also had a teacher that was notorious for stretches of illness that lasted days at a time. Seeing as this was one of them, Kishimoto was not at all surprised to see Yun-sensei at the front of the room, ready to proceed with the scheduled lab.

"Now, seeing as how Asuka-sensei is still sick, I will now demonstrate the procedure…" he began, opening the textbook and gathering some chemicals and beakers. Kishimoto sighed a little, prompting a sideways look from Hidaka.

Really, he liked Yun-sensei as a teacher and as a club leader, but he knew that Chemistry was probably out of his league; he had, therefore, taken to relying on his notes and textbook as gospel. He felt a little guilty at first – Yun-sensei was trying his best, he knew for sure – but he also didn't like to take chances with his grades.

"… and that is all. Any questions?"

Thirty heads shook no. "Good. Break up into groups, get to your workstations, and I'll bring the chemicals shortly."

The room was suddenly filled with noise, as the students left their seats and headed for the lab tables. Kishimoto and Hidaka got there first, followed by Aoki, Kuno, Miya, and Mizuno.

"So," Miya drawled. "We're doing… acid-base stuff?" he asked, surprised as he looked at his book. "Is Asuka-sensei serious?"

"It appears so," Kishimoto noted, as he leafed through his notes. "Personally, I think we should have gone farther ahead by now, but…"

"Always the eager one, Kishimoto-kun," Hidaka playfully teased, nudging him with her elbow. Kishimoto glared, though with the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes; everyone else hid smirks.

"You know," he began stiffly. "Just because-"

"I take school seriously, that doesn't mean – what?" Miya asked, upon seeing Kishimoto's glare shift to him. "I've heard variations on this little public service announcement like thirty times. I have it memorized by now."

Aoki's eyebrows lifted in amusement. "I don't suppose you've ever subscribed to it, have you?"

Miya shot him a grin. "Not a chance in hell."

Mizuno giggled a little. Kishimoto was about to unleash a scathing retort when Yun-sensei showed up, his arms filled with a trayload of chemicals. "Well, here we are… now, I assume you know what you're all doing for this?"

Yun was surprised when Miya nodded vigorously. "Yeah, we are," he told the teacher, as he held out his hands. The teacher blinked. Miya had never struck him as the studious type. Nevertheless, Yun was about to hand them over when he caught sight of one of the labels:

Hydrochloric Acid.

Yun blinked. He then looked at Miya's smiling face, then at the bottle. Then Miya. Then the bottle again.

He summarily turned to Kishimoto. "I assume you know what you're doing?" he asked the bespectacled boy, pointedly ignoring Miya's indignant cough, and Mizuno's small laugh.

"Yes, Yun-sensei. We've got it under control."

The ponytailed boy waited until the teacher had left to make a comment. "Teacher's pet."

"Future dropout," Kishimoto retorted.

"You forgetting who's got the acid here?" Miya asked threateningly, somehow having managed to grab the bottle without anyone noticing.

"Are you forgetting who beat whom by 15 moku the last time we played?"

A sputtering sound emerged. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

A shrug. "Just a friendly reminder of your record in confrontations with me lately…"

"Hey, now that's just uncalled for – "

"Boys?" Hidaka called out stridently, an annoyed expression on her face. "Could we?"

Kishimoto had the decency to look embarrassed; Miya, however, simply made the mistake of making a 'whipped' gesture with his hand, prompting a vicious glare from the blonde.

"So," Kuno sighed, watching Hidaka now tear into a retreating Miya, while Kishimoto cleaned his glasses, his normal impassive look back on his face. "Should we start?"

"Good idea!" Miya said brightly, turning away from Hidaka mid-yell, making her turn a very interesting shade of red. "Kuno and Aoki can take the first trial, Hidaka and Kishi-kun can take the second, and I guess me and Mizuno will take the third."

"What did I say this morning about that name, you – "

"That sounds fine with me," Mizuno said, nodding her assent. Kuno and Aoki nodded as well.

"Great order, Miya," Aoki tossed out, as he filled the first beaker with the base solution. "And no ulterior motives at all, as far as I can see," he added with great flourish. Kuno simply shook his head in amusement.

"What can I say?" he responded, nodding his head in the direction of Kishimoto and Hidaka. "It's chemistry."

Kuno's sharp eyes noticed that Miya had placed the acid out of the reach of both steaming teenagers. Wise move, that.

"I can't believe him…"

The sound of a soft sigh came from across the board. "Calm down, Hidaka. He was just – "

"Being Miya. Yeah, I know…" she said lamely, as she placed down her next hand. It was currently lunch break, and Kishimoto and Hidaka, after eating their bentos (far more efficient then braving the rowdy lunch lineup, which even the stuffy atmosphere of Kaiou couldn't dim) were playing a game. Somehow, it all led back to the Go Club room.

"At least he kept it tasteful this time. He's not always this considerate," the Chief told his friend, before leaning back and crossing his arms. His hand came up to push up his glasses. "Hmm…"

"True, but that's probably because of Mizuno-kun…" she replied, as she stretched her arms above her head, leaned back and yawned, closing her eyes briefly.

Had they been open, she would have been treated to Kishimoto looking up, and looking back down at the board, the slightest tinge of red appearing on his face.

If Kishimoto had a shoulder devil, it'd be cheering about the view, and the tightness of Kaiou uniform shirts. If he had a shoulder angel, it'd be telling him not to look. In the end, neither one mattered, because his love for logic and common sense had them both killed quite some time ago. Nice and clean.

"I-I suppose…" he offered lamely, trying to get a hold of his mental faculties. He really, really, didn't want to dwell on where his thoughts had just been.

"Mm?" Hidaka muttered, as she leaned forward to look at the board. "What's with you, Kishimoto-kun?"

"Never mind," he told her, making sure his voice was in the firm, crisp tone it normally used. He then scanned the board again, and played a hane. "That should be enough pressure on that group for now…"

She shrugged. "If you say so," she said, accepting his response as normal.

There was a few moments of peaceful silence, before Kishimoto broke it. "Hidaka? May I ask you a question?"

"Hmm? Sure, go ahead," came her answer, as she tried to figure out what he was planning on the board.

He coughed apprehensively. "Miya's not just wasting his time, is he?" he asked, knowing full well that he was breaking the whole 'no outside assistance' rule – that he himself had instituted. (Hypocrisy, thy name is Kishimoto.)

Hidaka nearly dropped her stone in shock. "What the – where the hell did that come from, Kishimoto-kun? Since when were you interested in – "

"Hidaka. Please answer the question, if you can," came his firm, solid response. Despite his reputation of being stoic and uncaring, Kishimoto really did hold his close friends in high esteem. He had known Miya for quite some time, and as aggravating as he could be, he had no desire to see him truly hurt. (And he knew that Hidaka didn't want that, either. Still, would it be enough to break through the infamous 'wall of female silence'…?)

There was silence from Hidaka for quite some time. Then…

"… hehe…"

Kishimoto blinked. That was a giggle. This was a new variable, because Hidaka didn't giggle. (It wasn't any help that Kishimoto disliked unknown variables. They caused problems.)

"Hidaka…"

She shook her head, a genuine smile on her face. "It's nothing, Kishimoto-kun. I just never thought that you, of all people, would attempt to play matchmaker. Hell, I'm surprised that Miya was telling the truth about asking you for help…"

The Chief looked affronted. "That is not my intention, Hidaka. I can assure you."

She merely imitated Miya's nonchalant hand wave, as she shrugged her shoulders. "All right, if you say so. But honestly…"

This made her opponent perk up his ears a bit. Her tone had been reduced; he wasn't sure if this was a good sign.

"If I had to say now…" she continued, her voice almost a whisper. Kishimoto leaned forward.

"I don't know myself," she finished, grinning.

If it weren't for his innate sense of dignity and decorum, he might have fallen out of his chair. As it stood, Kishimoto merely pushed up his glasses and glared at his counterpart. She looked back innocently.

"What? It's the truth. The girl members of this club have better things to talk about then the opposite sex, Kishimoto-kun – no offense."

"We aren't, however, above holding pools about them."

"I see…" Kishimoto muttered, crossing his arms. "I suppose this is a bridge he'll have to cross himself, then."

"Pretty much. Objectively speaking, though… I think he has a shot."

This knocked Kishimoto off guard, a rare expression of surprise appearing on his face. It vanished, however, as quickly as it had come.

"Don't look so surprised, Kishimoto-kun. I agree with the sentiment that when Miya's annoying, he's annoying. But when… er… hmm."

Kishimoto blinked. "Hidaka?"

"Gimme a minute! This is hard!" she snapped, crossing her arms.

Briefly cowed into silence by her outburst, Kishimoto nodded and waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, when he was just going to tell her to forget it (it wasn't his concern from here on out; he had done as much as he could), she closed her eyes and exhaled.

"He's a lot like you, actually."

Kishimoto wasn't sure if he should be offended or not. The confusion must have been palpable, because she shook her head gently.

"No, no. Not personality wise. I mean… look, the general perception about Miya is that he's a friendly goof, and the general perception about you is that you're an unapproachable wall."

"You're not telling me anything I'm currently unaware of, you know."

"I know… but here's the thing. Underneath that rampant mouth of his is a really nice guy…"

Kishimoto was feeling a little unnerved now. She was usually not this emotionally aware. "Hidaka…?"

She looked at him then, a smile on her face. "And the same goes for you, Kishimoto-kun."

A few seconds of dead silence passed. He attempted to find some kind of response, but couldn't. For the first time in his life, Kishimoto Kaoru found himself poleaxed.

Hidaka then sighed, shaking her head. "You know what, Kishimoto-kun?" she asked, realizing that the atmosphere had become somewhat uncomfortable. "Just forget about it; all I know is that Mi – "

"Hidaka."

The girl blinked mid sentence, as she saw that her friend had apparently regained the power of speech. "What?"

It was her turn to be poleaxed as Kishimoto looked at her, a small, almost imperceptible smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you."

The rest of the lunch period was spent in companionable silence.

"Ah… so that's where you two went," Miya said, as he and Kishimoto waited in Kaiou's music room. "Smart move, I guess – turns out the lunchroom wound up having a shortage of bread. Pure mayhem, I tell you."

Kishimoto nodded in affirmation. "So I heard from Nakai. No one was hurt, were they?"

"Nah, it never got to that; hell of a lot of shoving, though. Heh, all the first years were quaking in their boots… well, except for Touya. He was smart enough to take one look and leave."

The tall boy had a thoughtful look on his face. "That comes as no surprise."

Miya nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I mean – wait, where the hell is everyone? Shouldn't class have started by now?" he asked, now looking confused.

A quick glance at the clock told Kishimoto all he needed to know. "You're right, Miya. I wonder what happened?"

The redhead gave a dismissive gesture as he stood up from his seat and walked to the piano at the end of the room. "Who knows? I say we stay for ten minutes, tops. If no one comes, then I guess we get to leave early."

Miya, who had opened the lid and laid his fingers on the piano keys, ignored the disapproving glance shot at him by Kishimoto. His eyes closed as he sat down on the bench, as he took a deep breath.

A sense of anticipation filled the room. While Miya didn't look the musical part, Kishimoto knew of his extensive experience with the instrument he was sitting at, and the bespectacled student couldn't help but feel a little honored, as he also knew that Miya almost never played with other people in the room. It killed his mark in Music, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

The first notes cut through the air, and Kishimoto recognized the opening of Pachelbel's Canon in D. He approved; this was one of his favorite pieces.

"You wanna grab a violin or something and play along?" Miya asked, not taking his eyes off the keys once. "I know that you like this one…"

"No, that's all right," Kishimoto said quickly. "I doubt I could keep up, anyway."

A quick "tch" was the response. "The hell you couldn't," Miya replied quickly, his playing never losing a second. "You're good at anything you try, man – it's taken all my willpower to not beat you into the ground for it."

A frown. "Not everything, Miya," he said quietly, the more bitter memories of his time as an insei coming back to him. He looked up briefly, his glasses obscured by glare, his grey eyes suddenly distant behind the lenses.

Miya sighed a little, recognizing his error. "Yeah, but… look, go isn't music, and music isn't go. Like I love go and all, but… it ain't the same."

The chords wafting in the air showed no signs of abating. "I suppose," he told the sometimes-musician, as he shrugged his shoulders.

"How was your time with the almighty insei, anyway?" Miya asked, the question a little hesitant. Very few people had broached this topic before, and Miya was trying to be tactful. Well, comparatively, anyway.

Kishimoto sighed. "Revealing. I wasn't good enough, Miya. I can't really say more than that."

A snort came from the piano. "That can't be it, man. You're plenty strong, Kishimoto. Why else would Touya come around from time to time to play you? You're the only one around who's even remotely – "

"It wasn't just about strength."

Miya blinked, his fingers now playing the main part of the piece on autopilot. He hadn't expected that. "How do you figure?" he asked. "I mean, you told me that insei lived and died by their ranks."

Kaiou's Chief stood quietly, lost in thought. Despite his decisive win over Shindou Hikaru (a win he admittedly wasn't that proud of; he knew the boy hadn't come close to his peak yet, and to be frank that irritated him – there was something about Shindou that was mystifying, and he didn't like that), he knew his strength had been lacking. His games against the first class – Waya, Isumi, Nase, Mashiba, and the others had more then proven that fact. But he was also aware of the fact that most first class insei were there for a long time before going pro, if it happened at all. He had been there for all of a year. Getting stronger had not been out of the realm of possibility, given a longer stay. But, in the end…

"Miya, I left – "

A new voice interrupted the now serious conversation. "Ah, so you were the one playing, Miya-kun!"

The music stopped abruptly as the redhead stood up quickly, nearly leaping away from the piano. "Mizuno!"

Saying the dark haired girl looked impressed was an understatement. "Wow! I've been playing for over 9 years, and I don't think I could ever – "

Miya shook his head quickly, nearly slamming the piano lid in his haste to close it. Kishimoto winced. "This does not bode well," he thought, wondering what would happen now.

Meanwhile, Miya had finally managed to regain his wits, and quickly fired off a denial. "I'm – I mean – look, it's really nothing to make a fuss over…" he told her, obviously embarrassed by being caught. The discomfort on his expression was extremely out of place. Behind Mizuno, Hidaka stood, looking just as impressed.

"Hey, guys. We were wondering where you two were. I'm guessing you didn't hear the announcement?" she asked, deciding to spare Miya for now. She could always grill him (or Kishimoto-kun) later, anyway.

Kishimoto blinked. "Announcement?"

Hidaka's crimson gaze swept to him, then to Miya. "Yeah. There was an announcement over the P.A right after lunch. Apparently Katagiri-sensei suddenly came down with something, and there was no time to find a sub. So…"

Miya's face shifted from mortified to exasperated in the space of two seconds. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed, stunned. "Man, how the hell does this school have the reputation it does with all its teachers going out?"

"… it's only been one today, Miya. Asuka-sensei was sick beforehand." Kishimoto informed his friend, shooting a frank look at him. Miya coughed, and looked at his feet.

"… yeah, but still…" he said, lamely. Kishimoto merely sighed, choosing to be magnanimous in victory.

Mizuno nodded in affirmation, oblivious to the little byplay going on. "So Music is cancelled for today!" she exclaimed happily, a pleased smile on her face.

Kishimoto found himself on the receiving end of a grin from Miya. "Told ya, Kishi-kun! Looks like we've got free reign to get out of here!"

"… astonishing conclusion, Miya," he replied dryly, no longer caring about the use of Kishi-kun. It had been a very long day; he would be content just to leave school behind him for the day.

"You could sound a little peppier, Kishimoto-kun," Hidaka chastised him, as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. "It's not very often that we get to take off this soon."

"Yeah, listen to Hidaka! Killjoy."

Kishimoto didn't bother to respond, as he walked toward the door and left the music room, with Hidaka following him.

"So, what do you plan to do now, Kishimoto-kun?" Hidaka asked, as they started to walk down the hall. Kishimoto pushed up his glasses, and crossed his arms.

"I'm not quite sure. Truth be told, I wasn't anticipating this. Where do you plan to go from here?"

She made a 'who knows?' gesture. "Home? Library? No cram school to deal with, lucky for me…"

Kishimoto nodded. He wasn't surprised; she didn't need it, after all. Suddenly, he blinked, and stopped walking. "Where did Miya and Mizuno go?" he asked, realizing that they weren't with them.

Hidaka merely smirked, and jabbed her thumb in the direction of the music room. Kishimoto had to chuckle softly, as he saw Miya attempting to leave, but being stopped by Mizuno, who was holding up her clasped hands in a pleading gesture. Judging by the look on Miya's face, he was totally out of his element.

"What's his deal, anyway?" Hidaka inquired, as the pair kept walking. (Miya could take care of himself, they reasoned.)

Kishimoto shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. All I know that Miya doesn't like being seen when he plays, period – being caught by Mizuno, of all people, couldn't have helped matters."

"Did he ever say why?"

"No – he's never told me why," Kishimoto responded, opening the door to the main hall. Stepping through, he held it open for Hidaka, who nodded a quick thanks at him.

"I wonder when he'll figure out that this can only help him?" the blonde asked thoughtfully, placing her hand on her chin.

"Who knows? I'm sure he'll get it eventually… well, hopefully, anyway."

She made a commiserating noise. "See? I told you that he had a decent shot."

"It's very easy to sound confident when one has been proven right, you know."

An indignant sniff came when they reached their cubbies. "Don't insult me, Kishimoto-kun."

"It wasn't meant as an insult, I can assure you. Now," he said, taking off his glasses and starting to clean them, as Hidaka packed. "Have you decided whether or no to leave now?"

"I'm still not sure," she admitted, as she rummaged in the back of the small compartment for her planner. "It's such a nice day out, it would feel like a waste if I spent most of the afternoon at home…"

"Mm. In that case, would you care to join me for some coffee, then?" Kishimoto asked, as he packed his own bookbag, blissfully unaware of the deeper connotations of his request.

Hidaka dropped her bag on the ground, a look of incredulity on her features. "Eh? Coffee? Are you serious, Kishimoto-kun?"

He blinked, somewhat befuddled by her reaction. "Of course. Why would I ask otherwise? More to the point," he added somewhat hastily, recognizing the irritated look on her face. "I happen to agree with your sentiment about the weather. It would be a waste to simply go home now."

She gave a silent, exasperated shrug. "Of course that's all he'd say," she thought wryly. Still, she rather liked spending time with him; it was certainly better then Music, at any rate. All right, she decided. Why not?

"Sure. Neither of us have other plans, anyway. Well, except for the club, but I doubt Yun-sensei will miss us for one day."

Kishimoto nodded, closing the door to the cubby. "I wouldn't think he would," he affirmed, picking up his bag and looking at Hidaka. "Shall we – "

A voice cut through the air. "Hey, Kishi-kun! You guys are going too, huh?"

Hidaka and Kishimoto looked behind them, and sure enough they saw Miya and Mizuno coming up to them, bags packed as well. Kishimoto blinked. That had been quick…

Mizuno, sensing his confusion, explained. "Miya-san managed to convince me to put off a mini performance for another time," she told them, missing the resigned (yet pleased) smile on the redhead's face. "So we just packed our things and decided to leave… did you and Hidaka-san plan to do the same?"

Hidaka answered before Kishimoto could. "We were planning to grab some coffee, actually. Want to join us?"

Miya started to say 'no' – he knew something good when he saw it – but Mizuno beat him to it, telling Hidaka that it sounded lovely, and she would love to come along.

"Right, Miya-san?" she asked him, her eager mood infectious.

The redhead shrugged apologetically at Kishimoto, who looked impassive as always. Miya wasn't even sure if he cared. "Sure. I'm not paying this time though, Kishimoto; you already got your free cup."

"That was the plan from the start, Miya."

"Suuuure it was…" Miya responded with flourish, as he began to walk to the door. Kishimoto followed him, and Hidaka and Mizuno followed suit.

"What about Aoki and Kuno, Kishimoto-san?"

"We'll text them after, Mizuno. It shouldn't be too much trouble..."

Unbeknownst to them, Miya had taken the time to slip beside Hidaka, and with a grin on his face, he leaned close to her. "So, he wanted to grab coffee, huh? Just the two of you?"

"Shut up, Miya," Hidaka snarled. "He didn't mean it like that, anyway."

"Right. I'm sure. Weeeee, looks like I win the pool-!"

Kishimoto suddenly sidestepped as Miya nearly ran him down, whooping excitedly. Mizuno giggled, and followed suit without a word. Kishimoto for his part just shook his head and muttered something about odd hair colors and proportion to idiocy.

And all the while, Hidaka smiled. She had to admit, it had been an eventful day. Still, she knew that hard part was over, and she was glad to be able to just relax for now…

That is, until Kishimoto stopped dead, and looked back at her, curiosity on his features.

Hidaka looked back, somewhat unnerved. "What is it, Kishimoto-kun?"

He crossed his arms, in a gesture Hidaka recognized, and rather didn't like.

"Pool?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow, obviously expecting answers. Miya grinned. Mizuno blanched. Hidaka groaned.

"Oh, hell."

OMAKE

"So, where are we going to meet them?" Aoki inquired, looking at Kuno. "And do they really think that Yun-sensei won't notice when the first and second boards – of both gender, I might add - and 3rd and 4th strongest male players just don't show up?

He shrugged. "Miya said not to worry. They're picking out a place now; I think; they want to be able to play go as well, so it'll probably be a salon.

Aoki nodded. "Figures. I wonder where, though?"

"I'm not sure yet, it's probably somewhere within walking distance…" Kuno looked at his phone as the text alert went off, and was promptly surprised by his phone yet again. "Oh man, Miya…"

Aoki looked at Kuno strangely. "Kuno? What's up? Where are we going?"

Kuno merely held out his phone in response, trying hard to keep a straight face. Aoki read the message – and started to laugh uproariously, scaring the hell out of everyone in the corridor.

"You guys know where Touya's Go Salon, is, right?"

OMAKE 2

It had been a long, hard day. That was the thought going through the head of one Touya Akira, as he trudged to his father's salon, as he always did after school.

"School is starting to get harder now…" he lamented, as he kept walking, the knowledge that he had to play catchup weighing heavily on his mind. While he didn't mind schoolwork, it did interfere with his go, and he wasn't sure if the tradeoff was worth it.

A second later, he was furiously shaking his head, trying to dislodge the traitorous thought. "Of course it is!" he said aloud, ignoring the looks that other people gave him. "If I don't keep up with school, I might end up like Shindou…"

Silently resolving to never let that happen, Touya walked through the space that the automatic door left for him, and was greeted by Ichikawa-san's voice.

"Oh, Akira-kun!" she exclaimed, looking over. "You came just in time! You have some friends from school..."

These words stopped him cold. "Friends?" he thought warily. "I only know a few first years, and I didn't tell any of them about this place…"

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the main area –

And got the shock of his life, as he saw Hidaka-sempai and Kitajima-san yelling at each other, while Mizuno-sempai and Hirose-san were trying – unsuccessfully – to stop them. Meanwhile, Kuno-sempai and Aoki-sempai were playing each other, both coming close to hysterical laughter watching an old man lose a verbal fight to a girl less then half his age. Miya-sempai seemed to enjoy himself simply by being there (and giving little smiles to all the females in the room, much to the delight of the old women.)

Touya was sorely tempted just to turn and run; unfortunately, Miya-sempai saw him. "Hey, Touya! Nice digs you got here!" he called out jovially, waving a hand. "Hey, has Aoki asked you about bumper stickers yet?"

The green haired boy simply ignored his crazy sempai and turned to the seat nearest the Kuno/Aoki game, knowing who he would see. He looked steadily at the stoic boy, who was peacefully drinking coffee and reading a novel (while observing the game at steady intervals) while generally looking unconcerned with the chaos going on, much to Touya's chagrin.

"Kishimoto-sempai," Touya acknowledged – through gritted teeth. "Please explain. NOW."

Kishimoto looked at him and gave a casual shrug. "We held a vote."

"And?" Touya demanded, obviously not liking this turn of events. Kishimoto merely shrugged again.

"Isn't it obvious? Democracy works."

Author's Notes: Whew. Finally, it's done. This fanfic originally stemmed from my desire to step a bit deeper into the world of HnG, and after reading the manga a few times, I thought the Kaiou bunch would be a really good way to do that. To recap (note: most first names are made up, but all surnames come from the anime/manga, with two exceptions):

Kishimoto Kaoru: 3rd year, captain of Kaiou Go Club. Tall, wears glasses, very blunt and insightful, has deep voice – occasionally mistaken for someone called Tezuka, for some reason. Very mature for a 15 year old. (No, seriously. He's 15.) I had to play him off as the straight man for around half the story, but I think I kept most of his personality intact.

Hidaka Yuri: 3rd year, female first board. Helped Touya out when bullies came, and talked later about it with Kishimoto. Tall, blond, and pretty well developed for a 15 year old.

Miya Yoshimaru: Here's where the fun starts. Miya was originally a character that appeared in 2 or 3 chapters, and had a few more background appearances; in other words, I had to make his personality up myself. From his few appearances, he seemed really easygoing; this, his loud, boisterous personality.

Mizuno Natsuki: Again, a background character with all of 2 lines in the manga, and one in the anime. (All of them "Hidaka-san!") Yet another personality that had to be supplied by me. Hopefully it worked out okay. Fictional name, all the way through.

Kuno Takeshi: Kaiou's second board. Appears in two episodes, and whomps Tsutsui in their match. Typical blank slate.

Aoki Daisuke: The large guy that played (and lost to) Touya, right after he appeared in the club. Said to be a really nice guy; hence his jovial personality.

Nakai: Throwaway character in the manga, throwaway character here.

Amamiya: Third board for girls. Doesn't even have a line in the manga or anime, but seems like a older version of Haze's Kaneko. Also a false name.

Touya Akira: Self-explanatory, but I wanted to flesh his relationships in Kaiou out here. There's no way he would hold a grudge against the entire club, right? Besides, he really should have interacted with Kishimoto and Hidaka more.

I also know I kinda left the whole "Kishimoto as an insei" thing hanging, but I'm saving that plot point for a second story… not sure when it'll be written, but it'll come out eventually. As for the Great Wall Fuseki… go to Sensei's Library and look it up. It's quite interesting, actually. And... that's it. Hope you all enjoyed this one; it took quite a while.