Rain

By SVZ

SVZ's note: I'm incredibly new to the fandom of Hikago, so I'll apologize in advance for any errors. I know I'm not the greatest with grammar and spelling, so please forgive me. I hope you enjoy the drabble-fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go—otherwise, I would have continued the series instead of cutting it off so suddenly… I'm only borrowing the lovely, cute characters and I will return them when I'm done. Well, maybe.

It was raining.

Raindrops fell in thick, wet, drops outside, and it caught citizens off-guard. It had been a very nice day out only minutes before, and now people were getting drenched waiting for their buses or hurrying home.

Luckily, Akira Touya was already in the bookstore before it started to rain hard. His hair was slightly wet, but he would live, as long as he didn't get of the books in the store; wet. However, he would have to stick around the bookstore for a little while, as he didn't have an umbrella on him (nor was he willing to buy one of those overpriced, tacky-looking, one thousand yen umbrellas). It suited him fine though, as he had been hoping to buy some interesting reading material. He had been in the bookstore for about twenty minutes, before his attention got focused elsewhere.

Akira was in an awkward position. Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another while pretending to flip through his Weekly Go magazine, only feigning interest in a magazine he usually devoured with fire in his eyes, while he silently debated with himself.

Having being brought up as a polite, but distant boy, Akira never really had friends his age. He got along quite well with adults, but with people his own age… he never really learned how to "fit in" with them. As expected, he was cordial and polite, but he had always kept his distance, therefore many people would misinterpret his shyness as arrogance.

Therefore, he didn't know what to do at the current moment. After all, he did see Shindou enter the bookstore about five minutes ago, looking soaked to the skin and looking like a drowning kitten.

Akira had been ready to go up to him and tap him on the shoulder, but Shindou didn't head towards the manga section, as expected. In fact, Akira thought he was having trouble with vision at first… Shindou was in the Historical Literature section.

Now, Akira was incredibly curious. He had eavesdropped and knew Shindou well enough that he usually only cared for manga or books about Go. His friend had often teased him that his only other passion, aside from Go, was Shounen Jump. But from what he could see, Shindou had "The Tale of Genji" and several other classics carefully tucked under his arm, and he was making his way towards the cashier.

Akira hesitated. Should he call out? Akira knew that Shindou thought of him as a rival and a friend, and while Akira wasn't sure if "friend" was the right term… he was grateful and flattered that his opponent thought of him as one… but Hikaru was quick to call many people his "friends". As for himself, he didn't usually talk to Shindou much aside from Go matches and anything Go-related. Hmm... maybe he could invite Shindou to play a game…

The thought barely registered in his head before the next thing he saw, caught him off-guard. Shindou had turned to look out the window while the cashier was putting his purchases in a plastic bag. This gave Akira a perfect view of his profile and he was shocked to note that Shindou's green eyes were abnormally bright, as though holding back tears.

Something made Akira check his watch. It told him the date—it was May 4th. Tomorrow was Boy's Day—and over the years, Akira had noticed that Shindou was always more withdrawn around the beginning of May and especially on the fifth—he was almost cold, and he tended to walk around with a dull look in his eyes, as though he had lost someone very special.

Akira also recalled that this was when Shindou started to quit all his games all those years ago… maybe he wasn't too far off. Maybe he did lose someone on May 5th. It would certainly explain a lot of things, but whenever Akira mentioned the topic, Shindou would suddenly leave or change the subject abruptly.

There was just too much of Shindou for him to take it. Akira had been aware for a while that his feelings towards Shindou was more than simple rivalry—he liked Shindou. Really liked him. Love knew no boundaries, and it wasn't gender-biased. While he kept the feeling to himself, as not to make the other boy uncomfortable—he was sometimes frustrated about his affection for his rival.

Shindou seemed so simple, at first. He was likable, laid-back, loud, a genius at Go—if not anything else, and was all-around cheerful. However, there was much more to him than that. There was an aura of mystery around him—and a lot of questions haven't—and maybe won't ever—be answered. He was fiercely protective of Shuusaku.

Akira shook his head, deciding not to approach Shindou, after all. He knew that it would be a while before he would see Shindou again—as he would probably go to Hiroshima the next day, as he had overheard Shindou telling Isumi-san and Waya-san a few days ago.

On a second thought… Akira looked over at the umbrellas they were selling for a ridiculous price. Sighing deeply, he dug out some bills with his hands and grabbed the least hideous-looking one and brought it to the counter.

After paying, he ran out and caught Hikaru a few blocks away.

"Touya?" Hikaru asked, looking surprised. He was holding his bags of books rather protectively, trying to shield it from the rain.

"I was at the bookstore."

"Oh, I guess I wasn't paying attention," Hikaru remarked in an uncharacteristically soft voice. He glanced at his bag, wondering if Akira was going to question about it. He wasn't sure if he could answer if Akira did.

Akira frowned. Shindou's thoughts were transparent to him, but he avoided saying anything, and he just stepped a bit closer to the other boy, to shield him from the rain.

Hikaru glanced up at the umbrella. "You actually paid for this?"

"Shut up. It's for your benefit—you look like a drowned cat."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Touya… Let's go to my apartment—I have some packing to do—but I can at least offer you some hot tea."

"Fine." Akira pulled Hikaru closer to him, so the umbrella protected them from the pouring rain. They slowly walked towards Hikaru's apartment in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

Fin

Random, I know. But the idea struck me when I was trying to fall asleep ; It's a bit OOC, and pointless, but I'm kinda proud of it. (After all, it's actually a Hikago fic. Sorta.)

Hope I didn't screw up any facts. If I did, please correct me so I won't make a complete fool of myself.