Some Things Change

by Ju

"Is this really alright, Hikaru?" Akari asks for the fifth time, her hands twitching before her as if they would fidget if she'd let them. The pleats of her skirt brush her knees with every step, still unfamiliar to her, as are the many identical corridors that she cautiously leads Hikaru along.

"Geez, I said so a million times already, didn't I?" Hikaru shoves his own hands deeper into the pockets of his jeans as he follows slowly, glancing curiously into each classroom that they pass, wondering if Akari might be lost. His jeans are getting frayed at the hems, he suddenly notices; maybe it's because he walks with his hands in his pockets too often, the extra weight pushing his pants down so that the ends drag along the ground. Not that he really minds, seeing as his fan happens to fit most comfortably in the back pocket of these particular jeans. He knows, though, that Touya will make a politely insulting remark about him being unable to dress himself in decent clothes.

"Well, yes, but shouldn't we really be paying you? Since we're taking up your time and you normally charge by the hour, don't you?" Akari frowns as she speaks, but then her face brightens when she realises that she's managed to find the right classroom. She slides open the door.

"It'd just feel weird if you paid me. I mean, we were friends back when we still wore diapers," Hikaru grins as he walks in after Akari, as the roomful of people suddenly fall silent. They stare at Akari, who's now blushing furiously and staring at the floor, and they stare at Hikaru, who stares back at them.

"Uh, hi," he greets with a smile that's more amused than embarrassed. "I'm Shindo Hikaru."

"Hi Shindo Hikaru," some of the girls chorus back at him, before giggling madly. They're the ones with the copies of Weekly Go clutched in their hands, Hikaru notices.

An older woman, probably the teacher, steps forward. She looks slightly surprised to see him. "Welcome, Shindo-sensei. Thanks for coming."

"No problems," Hikaru replies as professionally as he can, which is to say not very. Peering around the room, he notes that many of the guys, and some of the girls, too, also look as surprised as the teacher. Maybe they didn't believe Akari when she told them that she knew him? It doesn't concern him either way; he's just here to teach, like he promised Akari he would.

"So," he says, finally taking one hand out of his pocket to scratch the back of his head. "Should we, uh, play some games?"

And Akari watches as Hikaru is beseiged by the giggling girls, who demand firstly autographs, then a multiple game with all four of them. Most of the club members begin to drift forward, crowding around the table to get a better view, while a handful of the boys decide to start playing on their own in the corner. The teacher gives Akari a pat on the shoulder and a smile as she passes by to also join the crowd, and Akari wonders what she was really expecting when she asked Hikaru to come.

One multiple game of shidougo becomes two, then three, until everybody in the club, even the reluctant stragglers, has had a turn playing with Hikaru. He's patient with all of them, regardless of how many stones they place and how many questions they bombard him with, and Akari is lightly admonished for a silly mistake just like anybody else. She really isn't sure what she was expecting.

Hikaru, barely taxed by the number of games he's just played, gives her a grin as the goban are being folded up and put away. "This was fun. Would you mind if I brought someone along next time? Waya, or maybe Touya. We could play an exhibition game or something."

The go club members gasp and chatter and giggle, more because of the mention of Touya's name than Waya's; Hikaru consciously files this away for later, reminding himself to let Waya know all about it. Akari just nods, the words next time echoing quietly in her mind.

The two of them walk out of the school surrounded by a small horde of students, then head for home with a chorus of Bye Shindo-sensei! and Thanks Shindo-sensei! floating after them. Hikaru's hands are back in his pockets, the hems of his jeans dragging along the ground, and Akari grips the straps of her schoolbag to stop her hands from tugging at her skirt.

"This is just like old times, isn't it?" Hikaru suddenly says, halfway to his house.

Akari looks at him questioningly.

"I mean us, walking home together," he explains. "Like when we were in primary school."

"Yeah," Akari replies, with a small smile that fades when he looks away.

They reach Hikaru's house first, and he gives her a quick wave and a Bye! over his shoulder as he bounds up to the front porch. She continues walking with her eyes fixed to the ground, requiring no concentration to find her own house two blocks away, squinting in the twilight as she tries to insert her key into the front door. It really is just like old times, she thinks as she lets herself in; Hikaru never had the courtesy to walk her home when they were children, either.

fin