Collated drabbles part 1
Seeing as it's a drabble round, I decided to update with a far from complete list of drabbles written for chat and/or request posts over at room101. Currently grouped by some sort of genre or pairing list which was very difficult because some of them are really special butterflies.
I. Gen to Het or as close as I went to the concept.
[Gen?] Cockfighting
"Oh wow, look at this, Touya! Look at those cocks just butt heads like that."
"They seem to be very angry and heated right now - "
"One's gonna top the other, you just know it!"
"Definitely. They're just raring to slash at each other and see who can win this - "
"SHINDOU! TOUYA! NO NEED TO DO A BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE COCK FIGHT WE'RE WATCHING."
"I agree with Waya, for a first. It just sounds - a bit gay."
"It's not gay, and look who's talking with your prissy shirt, Ochi!"
"Oh no, there they go again!"
[Mitani/Kaneko] Washing Go Stones
The go war between Kaneko and Mitani had gotten worse when they entered high school. Of course Mitani was dragged into the club, just like before, and the only opponent on his level still happened to be Kaneko, though sometimes he did play against the new ones, Masaki and Yuuna. But Kaneko was the only one who could see beyond the ploys, and the traps behind Mitani's plays.
That didn't mean they got along; no - it meant Mitani got more and more irritated as Kaneko started to get better. Kaneko was maintaining her grades while juggling both go club and volleyball efficiently, while Mitani was spending more and more time after school in smoky go clubs with old men.
"Why don't YOU try to be an Insei?" Kaneko asked him during their punishment. Their fight had today had escalated to the point that Mitani turned the goban over, spilling the stones to the floor. Kaneko had replied by throwing one of the go ke at him. And thus Akari ordered them to wash all the stones after their club.
"I don't want to be one!"
"Well, who says you're so great at go, anyway? If you don't even have the courage to try you obviously don't want have it. You can't even match the Kaio go club last tournament."
"That was a fluke, dammit!"
"There's that terrible game between you and Kishimoto in junior high. Don't tell me you're proud of what happened then?"
"Shut up!"
"Since you like go so much, why don't you try to be a go pro like Shindou anyway?"
"What? From Insei to Go Pro? Lay off my case, Kaneko." He finished rubbing the stones dry, and dropped his batch into the waiting go ke. "I'm done. And if you're gonna be like that I don't want to play go with you anymore."
"You'll have to come back for the team tournament next month, you know," Kaneko reminded him as he picked up his bag to go. Mitani waved the comment off, but Kaneko knew, deep inside, Mitani was going to come back for their next club meeting, and he'll be playing against her with all his ploys, and she can annoy him about his future some other day. After all, they were young, and Mitani's go was still progressing. And while it was, she would be there, to help him every step of the way.
[Gen] Nice girls
"I can't believe it." Kaga munched on his sandwich, still agog at the remembrance of seeing Tsutsui, quiet little Tsutsui, walking with a girl in what appeared to be a date. His former shougi clubmate Makie blew bubbles into his cola while listening to Kaga rant about it. "I had girls giving me chocolates during Valentine's. I had girls asking me out even now, I just turned them down because I didn't even know them, they were all 'Iyaaan, you're just so cool, Kaga' which weirded me out, you know? But Tsutsui wasn't even that popular in school. I think the only chocolates he got were from his kouhai in the go club. And that girl was hot, man. She was pretty and she seemed nice. I like nice girls. I should find myself a nice girl. Why don't nice girls go for me?"
"You almost sound like you're envious of Tsutsui." Makie's tone was amused. "Just because Tsutsui was the geeky megane boy in the go club doesn't mean he can't get a nice, pretty girlfriend."
"Then tell me, why him, and not us, huh? We're cool. I have a motorcycle. Hey, and I'm good-looking." Makie stifled a laugh into a cough. "I should, no, we should go out to Shibuya and look for girls. We really should. I mean, we part the motorcycle in front of the station and find a nice older woman - maybe someone one of those in the university. Let's go do karaoke with them. It'll be fun, they like younger boys."
"You might have a problem with the good girls because of that attitude, Kaga." Makie sighed, finishing off the soda. "Oh, well, let's go find some girls then, if only to shut you up. Anyway, nice girls don't hang around Shibuya, so if you want them let's just find them in some other place."
"Good idea. Let's go."
As they left the store Makie asked in a high-pitched voice, "Why don't you go for a nice boy instead, Kaga-kun?" and was promptly beaten up by the other boy.
[Kishimoto/Hidaka] These windows have eyes
Hidaka watches Kishimoto from afar. This is their routine.
Most people are unaware that Hidaka and Kishimoto are neighbors, and had been so since they were children. Only their families know that their rooms are right across each other, separated by a mere seven feet of pavement.
Kishimoto's room has no curtains, and on lazy days Hidaka will watch him as he moved about, studying, relaxing, seeing the private side of the stern-faced boy he could never approach.
It is Hidaka then who knew that Kishimoto cried when he left the insei program. It is also Hidaka who knew Kishimoto's first kiss was with his middle school tutor, a pretty college student. She was Kishimoto's first love and first heartbreak, and for over a year Hidaka watched over him, not knowing if she should dare to reach out and comfort him.
Surprisingly it is Kishimoto who does so, soon after the embarrassment with Touya Akira. "It is the right thing, but I expected you to handle it much better, Hidaka-kun."
She stops breathing. "Kishimoto?"
"I really thought that given what I've observed about you when you're at home, you'd be more gentle with their mistakes." And with that final shot Kishimoto leaves.
Hidaka stares at Kishimoto's retreating back, surprised that apparently, she is not alone in watching people through windows.
[Kaneko/Mitani/Akari] A period to their friendship
Akari is the popular one, the pretty one. Akari is sometimes slightly ditzy, especially when it comes to things about Shindou, but then with her looks it came out charming. Kaneko would be the stoic, serious one, her jokes coming out not quite right because of her straight-faced delivery. Mitani is friends with both, and Mitani is caught in between.
There was that one unfortunate time when Akari had come on to him, and too high with her scent and with his desire he agreed. It was only after, in the dim pink-shaded light in her room, did he see her turn away, and touch the photograph of the Haze go club, tears welling in her eyes as she stares down at her childhood friend. It doesn't stop this from happening again, when Akari gets news of his victories, his rivalry, and Mitani lets it happen.
No such unfortunate time will happen with Kaneko, but then if it does happen Mitani isn't certain what he'd do. He's learned enough. But when Kaneko directs one of her rare smiles his way, he realizes she was pretty in her own way. He thinks that if it was going to ever happen between them, he'd be the one offering, and Kaneko might just look at him and turn him down. Kaneko sees everything, and he doesn't doubt she knows what's between him and Akari.
In between university classes Mitani wonders, if he would ever dare to reach out to Kaneko that way, and if when that time comes, their uneasy friendship will be broken apart. Mitani fidgets, and it's Kaneko, not Akari, who lays a hand on his shoulder and tells him to settle down.
[Gen] Shouting matches
"Now see here, Su Yeong, I know THAT EVIL ONE is your friend, and you respect him and all that, but he is an asshole and even if he goes all all Mother Theresa before me, I won't believe it, uh uh, not for one second." Shindou's voice carried over the low murmur of games in the Touya go salon, but that was usual. What wasn't usual was who he was arguing with. Shindou and Su Yeong had met up for their promised game, and their small talk soon degenerated to a fight over their differing opinions over one Ko YeongHa.
"He is not THE EVIL ONE at all, and stop calling YeongHa that! I'd never thought you'd be so narrow minded, Shindou! As if you're not a brat yourself sometimes!"
"Look, pot calling kettle now!" Shindou huffed.
"SHINDOU!"
"Young master, it's unusual to see Shindou get along with someone else," one of the customers said, and the other regulars laughed and nodded. Touya felt a twinge as he watched the two argue and lay down stones for a quick haya-go. It had been strange to see Shindou play anyone else with so much spirit - Touya usually just looks at Shindou's kifu, or play against him, but Shindou was always so serious with his games, he'd thought their shouting matches over the board were special.
Apparently not, he thought, chagrined. Shindou and SuYeong were holding the go ke covers, and it seems like they're about to throw them to each other. He sighed and stepped up to intervene.
"Shindou, there are other people in the room."
"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Touya," he said, abashed. He looked around and realized the other games have stopped, and the players were watching them amused.
"Well, it almost seemed like a regular day, expect the young master wasn't the one shouting with you."
"You mean you get into shouting matches with your rival all the time, Shindou?! You're such a hopeless brat!" SuYeong crossed his arms. "And you tell YeongHa's a brat!"
"Stop that you two." Touya tried to get them to quiet down, but they were too busy shouting at each other to notice him. He sighed and just let them be. After all, when he and Shindou get in their shouting matches, no one could stop them.
[Gen] Fashionable, isn't it?
"Oh God," Hikaru groaned. "This can't be real. The world has got to be ending."
Such proclamations of doom and woe were common with the young pro, so Waya simply chucked the crumpled paper napkin his way. Hikaru let the ball bounce against his head without his usual roar of fury, so he must be really upset. "What are you looking at?"
"It's a sign that some self-appointed god of fashion said we're gonna be stuck in a sea of argyle for the rest of the year." Hikaru flung his manga away with a snort of disgust. Waya picked it up, flipping through the pages. What he saw set him off laughing.
"It's not funny! Argyle looks old, and uncool, it's just like paisley[1]. You can't escape the old grandma look of those two!" Hikaru grabbed at his bangs. "This is not how it's supposed to be! I'm supposed to be the cool one! I should be the one in the magazines! Not Touya!"
"It's not like your preference for the number five isn't obvious with your clothes," Ochi muttered from his corner. Hikaru stood up, about to charge the other boy, but Isumi stepped in between.
"What's this all about?"
"The end of fashion as we know it." Hikaru slumped in the booth, and refused to talk. Waya was still laughing in one corner. Isumi decided they were both insane, and checked out the pages of the weekly manga serial.
Right smack in the middle of a glossy three page special was Touya Akira, dressed in a sleeveless purple argyle sweater and white shorts, looking slightly uncomfortable as he posed by a fence. The words "Purple is the new black" followed by three exclamation points ran alongside the photo, highlighting the gushing commentary about the newest model of Jerry Pro productions. Right beside the main photo were pictures where the photographer did their best to make Akira look cute - even to the point of resorting to teddy bears and puppies. And he was still wearing purple - in prints, on his hat, even a plush suit in deep purple that made Akira's green hair stand out like -
"He looks like an eggplant," Waya managed to gasp out, and the idea of a Touya!eggplant got Hikaru out of his snit. They collapsed in one heap, laughing, while Isumi and Ochi pretended they weren't with the two crazy people in the booth.
II. Alternative Universe and crossovers
Outclassing them all
It didn't explain how Shindou can be so good at this, Touya Akira thinks, watching the other boy perform running leaps all across the activity area. No one alive deserved to be that good. Even the rumors of secret training sessions with the mysterious Sai cannot and will not explain how Shindou, a complete novice in their art, can outperform and outlast all their competitors.
A chill of dread slides down Akira's spine, as Shindou finishes his set with a flourish. And then it is Akira's turn. He takes a deep breath, and grabbing hold of his ribbon, he sets off to the tune of "I'm like a bird."
Grande 555
Waya groaned as his character died another agonizing death in the hands of a female paladin by the name of CC Lemon. He didn't understand how anyone with the name of a drink could be so good in Grande 555, a MMORPG he and the other insei had begun playing just a few months ago. The only ones who turned down the game were Iijima and Isumi, both citing they were too busy with other things to play.
"I'll beat you," Waya muttered, reviving his character for one more round.
Half an hour later, he was punching the wall again in frustration.
***
Isumi stretched, letting the screen flash "victory" over the latest pvp win.
He shook his head. Waya's Zelda was quite persistent, but he knew Waya's techniques inside out, and he didn't want his character, CC Lemon, to lose.
He sighed when he saw the screen flash with another challenge from Zelda, and settled down for another long fight.
Rabu-Rabu Pink Senshi
"Oh, no, not this. I'm okay with the flashy stroke effects and the stupid magical incantations, but not this!" Waya cried, staring down at his transformed clothes. Or rather, at what's under then.
Hikaru flailed about, his hair now topped with two odangos. "NOT A SEIFUKU!" he complained, trying to pull the skimpy skirt down in an attempt to cover his ass.
"You're missing the point, we're GIRLS!"
"Well, they did say that if we agreed we'll be magical characters. The title of Rabu-Rabu Pink Senshi Waya gave it all away," was Hikaru's nonchalant reply.
Waya simply facepalmed and wished he'd never been born. Or met that weird black cat that reminded him of Honinbou Kuwabara somehow.
[Tenipuri xover] Chobits AU
Marilyn was annoyingly, hopelessly helpful. Tezuka couldn't understand where she got her streak of humanity, considering that she wasn't even alive in all the sense of the word. He believed it was Inui's fault - he could always blame Inui when his devices malfunctioned - but it definitely had something to do with the set of subroutines the other man had programmed the other week. How a rounin that could be so good at programming kept failing his entrance exams was still a mystery.
This time Marilyn had found a crumpled up man by the garbage dump, and insisted on getting it hidden from the cold. Man might be the wrong word at this point, for even Tezuka could see it wasn't breathing, and the cold skin had the resiliency of plastic. Normally, persocons were not thrown aside in an apartment's garbage dump, and the paradox of seeing such an expensive persocon in the trash made Tezuka pick it up and bring it inside.
It took most of the hour to figure out how his connections worked (refusing to call his friend for fear Inui would trash it), and it embarrassed Tezuka to find the on switch was located somewhere on the lifeless doll's groin. One would think his devilish schoolmate, Fuji Syuusuke, had had a hand in making this. He quietly huffed into his messy hair and closed his eyes, repeating the quiet mantra, 'It doesn't count, he's a bit of machine."
He could hear a faint whirring noise deep inside the persocon, and then it the whole body seemed to power up and fill up with energy. Slowly, eyelids opened to show dark pupils, which dilated and focused on his face. A stream of guttural words stopped when Marilyn hopped on his chest and turned aquamarine-bright eyes at him.
"Based on my synch recognition he speaks Korean, Tezuka-sama!"
A Korean made persocon. Interesting.
"Do you speak English?"
The persocon frowned blankly, as if processing what he said. "Yes," it managed.
Tezuka poined to his chest. "Kunimitsu Tezuka. And this is Marilyn." The mini persocon hopped off and performed a tiny curtsy.
"YeongHa. Ko YeongHa."
Tezuka turned to Marilyn. "He speaks and understands English. I guess his learning and language modules are still functioning."
"I can download a Japanese language pack online and load it to him, if you'd like, Tezuka-sama! I'm currently downloading a Korean pack so I can explain some items for him." she chirped. Ever so helpful. "But what do we do with him now, Tezuka-sama? He looks so cold and lonely."
That he didn't, not really. The spare shirt he found for the persocon fitted perfectly, but Ko YeongHa was too busy looking around his sparsely furnished apartment to look lost and cold. Tezuka privately thought the persocon was all set and used to having someone do his bidding, rather than the other way around. He closed his eyes. "He stays tonight, but tomorrow we ask Inui if someone's missing a persocon. After tennis practice, that is."
"You're so nice, Tezuka-sama!" Marilyn rushed and explained everything to the full-sized persocon, and Tezuka rubbed his forehead hoping this wasn't the wrong decision.
He wouldn't be surprised if this will be a decision he'll regret for a long, long time.
Oh my cosplay!
"How can he win against me?!" Shindou fumed, tossing his head and letting the odango and hair tails bob every which way. His costume was perfect. He had spent hours of intensive practice and sewing - not to mention the torture of waxing his legs to its smooth paleness.THIS was a masterpiece, much better even than his spectacular National Alchemist with the magic trick of "transfiguring" his arm to a weapon.
"I even DYED the rest of my hair yellow for this! Do you know how many hours I spent just to make these wings? Or how Akari drilled me to walk on these heeled boots? And to lose to Touya!"
He flopped down gracelessly beside Waya's rpg assassin character, and granted their unwary audience a peek of his tiny white underwear. Tsutsui squeaked and threw his coat over Hikaru's legs, but Shindou quickly pushed them aside.
"Well, you have to admit, Touya's costume is unique," Tsutsui timidly pointed out.
"Yes, plus points for bravery in pulling that off."
"I can be more daring than that! I can carry off Princess Leia's golden bikini if I have to!"
Waya rolled his eyes. Shindou glared up at the stage, where a blue skinned guardian force stood in all his - her - its naked glory, his green eyes narrowed in amusement as the Moon Princess flounced off the scene.
Loveless AU
Hikaru carelessly rubbed against Ogata's hand, his striped orange ears twitching with pleasure at being close to his Master. Touya watched the display silently, the only sign of irritation being his stiffly held black tail.
"No wonder that name was carved on his neck," Touya said, betrayed.
Ogata fingered the word he had carved when he first received Hikaru as his Weapon. "Why, do you think so little of his loyalty you believe him to be truly 'Faithless'?"
Hikaru was at Akira's side in the instant Ogata launched his spell, the chain pulling taut between them. Akira clutched at the collar closed on his throat, and Ogata smiled at his pain, the humor not quite reaching his eyes.
"Akira, do you know why I never appeared before you in all those years you thought me gone?" he purred.
"The years of disappearance, let the night swallow the words of the one who was Lost," Hikaru declared, and the shadows surged forward, swelling to a black mass under Ogata's feet.
Ogata eyed it. "Night turns to day, let the light spread throughout the land."
Hikaru hissed as the shadows vanished in the bright flash that came from Ogata's hand. Akira grabbed hold of Hikaru's hand, stopping him from another spell.
"What?!"
"He's not alone."
"Oh, you noticed his presence already?" The orange-haired man appeared at Ogata's side, smiling at their shock.
Ko YeongHa shifted closer, lightly touching Ogata's sleeve. "Time to face our battle in earnest, little ones."
[holic xover] Be careful what you wish for
Le Ping had heard the story from one of his HongKong cousins. They'd met during a family reunion he hadn't originally wanted to attend, but he'd been coerced in the end. His cousin was very pretty, with long silky hair held up by elaborate ivory sticks, and her stories of Japan were interesting. He wanted to know everything about Japan, wondering what Isumi-san might be doing, but her stories were different from the lives of wei qi he knew so well.
"There is some place magical in Japan, and you can go there and make one wish, but the price is quite high."
"How did you know? Did you try making a wish?"
The peony flowers on her dress rustled as she moved. "I did. I'm still paying for it now, but then my wish was not for me, so it's all right."
"Why would you waste your wish for someone else?"
And she'd smiled mysteriously. "You'll know maybe."
Le Ping thought of that story again, when he finally got to join the Hokuto cup and lost against his lookalike - that game had been embarrassing as hell with Isumi watching on silently laughing at the scenario - and he wanted to prove he was better than that 'Waya'. With the thought in mind he wandered the streets of Tokyo, until he found an empty lot in between buildings. "This must be it," he muttered. "But it was supposed to be a house, wasn't it?"
The roar of a motorcycle deafened him, and he turned to see a young man in a loud Hawaiian shirt stop right before the gate. He smirked at Le Ping and stepped inside, vanishing from sight.
Le Ping rubbed his eyes. "It is magic!" he exclaimed, and closed his eyes, thinking very hard of his wish. When he opened them again he saw not an empty lot, but a gothic style house behind the gates. And the man in the Hawaiian shirt was there beside a boy with glasses, looking at him curiously.
"Yuuko-san said there was someone at the gate. Huh, wonder how she figured that out?"
"Don't come in if you don't know what's good for you!" the boy with glasses exclaimed. "YOU'RE JUST TOO YOUNG TO GET MIXED UP WITH THIS, I KNEW IT. YUUKO-SAN IS SINKING TO SERVING KIDS."
Le Ping blinked at them, not understanding a word they said.
"He doesn't look like he understood us. Let it go, Watanuki, she's waiting for him anyway." Hawaiian shirt stepped aside as glasses flailed on. Le Ping wondered if it was a new welcome greeting style he'd not heard of.
The lady of the house knew Chinese, it seemed, and had smiled at his wish. "You want to be the strongest you can be in go? Did your cousin Mei Ling explain how this shop works?"
"Yes she did. Well, she tried to. She wasn't very clear about stuff."
"She didn't tell you what she paid for her wish?" At his shake of the head she gently nodded. "Well, if we will grant your wish, you have to learn a couple of things. And do things for me. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, no problem! I can do lots of things."
Yuuko smiled slyly up to the Hawaiian shirt. "That reminds me of someone I know. Well then, you may run errands for me, along with Kaga-san here. Your wish and his are different, but I know you'll get along."
"I don't need anyone to babysit me!" He shouted, but Yuuko was talking to Hawaiian shirt already. "I don't know Japanese, I know, but I can have YangHai go with me and stuff. We're only here for a week, and I want to be the strongest in wei qi when we go back to China!"
"What you wish for and what you say you wish for are two different things. But don't worry, Kaga's good with kids."
"I don't want - " he shouted exactly as Hawaiian shirt said, "I'm not gonna take care of brats!"
"The language barrier is going to be a problem. Ah, I have just the thing!" Yuuko clapped her hands. "Bring the ears, Watanuki!"
"Not the ears!" Kaga gritted out, and his tone made Le Ping turn to him. Glasses had disappeared, and came back with two matching - well, two matching somethings.
"WHAT IS THAT?"
"These," Yuuko began as she patted them, "are the translators you will need to understand each other. If you both want your wishes to come true, you'll have to bear with these for the time you're together." She grinned wickedly. "Don't worry, I'll try to give you easy errands, after all, you both are such manly boys, I don't want you to have a weird reputation."
Kaga and Le Ping looked at each other, and even without translators they were obviously thinking along the same lines.
'What did we get ourselves into?'
III. Kaga/Tsutsui
Your smile is a tattoo
Kaga dared him to do it, and as soon as he nodded weakly he was marched off to the nearest shop. It would be made in black, he explained, and fade to a deep brown and then tan till it left the skin unmarked and clean.
Tsutsui lay down on the mat, and the thin needle pressed down on his skin left a trail of cool ink. Several strokes down he whimpered. He was sensitive there, and Kaga knew it. He sat by the bed, watching as Tsutsui tried not to squirm away and smudge the art. "It won't be long now," Kaga murmured, playing with Tsutsui's hair. "Let's just wait for it to dry."
And that meant he couldn't put his shirt back on until the henna dried on his skin, in public. Tsutsui clutched his shirt to his chest, but Kaga pulled his arms down. "Stay like that." And he did.
Tsutsui tried to avoid the other boy's gaze, but Kaga's eyes stayed on him. Tsutsui could feel the heat of his gaze travel from his neck down, taking in the flush staining his cheeks and chest. Kaga spoke to him about everyday things, smoking ciagrette after cigarette, but it was almost like Kaga expected him to undress further under the bright artificial lights.
When enough time passed it was Kaga who wiped the dried henna off his skin with a wet towel, pressing lightly to make sure it would not smudge. The tattoo artist had left them earlier for a cigarette break, and in the quiet booth Kaga ran a finger over the name tattooed on Tsutsui's back. He shuddered.
"Hey Tsutsui," he whispered, nipping lightly on Tsutsui's nape. "When will you let me mark you for real?"
"A tattoo is permanent," he hedged, pushing his glasses up his face with trembling fingers.
"That's why I want you to." Kaga finished with the kanji of his name. "It'll be for the both of us. I'll get a tattoo of your name."
A tattoo, like a permanent mark Kaga was his. It was still too much to contemplate at this point, they were still young, barely out of high school and taking a break before university. Kaga must be playing around like always, that's what he thought.
Tsutsui walked away and pulled his shirt on, avoiding the answer. He hid the tattoo and the declaration it contained. "Let's go find the others, I need to eat."
Kaga tapped the fan on his shoulder, grinning. "Take your sweet time thinking about it, Tsutsui. But the offer's open whenever you want to."
Tsutsui didn't look back, but he was smiling as he walked past the tarpaulin door.
Clueless
Tsutsui had a bad feeling when he saw the dark sky, but thought it could just be the coming dusk. It'd been raining earlier, so he came to school with an umbrella, but it was gone when he came back. He'd waited for the rain to stop, but it didn't.
'It's so cold.'
He clasped his bag against his chest and started to run home.
"Oi, it's you, Tsutsui!"
"Kaga?" All he could see through the rain streaming on his glasses was a blur of red hair. It stopped raining on him, and he realized Kaga was carrying an umbrella.
"You're all wet!"
Kaga was ever the master of insightful comments.
"Hu-hu-hai..." Tsutsui chattered.
"Idiot, come on." Kaga handed him the umbrella. He took his coat off and placed it around Tsutsui's shoulders.
'It's warm even in this cold.'
"Where are you taking me?"
"Tell me how to get to your house."
So Tsutsui told him, still holding his bag against his chest. And when they got their Kaga didn't even ask for permission, just herded him straight inside and into his room.
"But you're so cold!" He placed his hands against Tsutsui's clammy cheeks. The othey boy looked at him through lashes made spiky by the rain, unaware he looked like he was waiting for something.
Kaga swallowed. Hard. "Idiot. No need to get wet. Let's get you out of those!"
"Kaga!" But the other boy had his hands on the fastenings of his coat. A moment of silence when Kaga took his coat off and unbuttoned his shirt. They were still tucked into his pants.
"Ah...I'll go down and see if there's something hot for you."
Tsutsui was left alone, wondering if it was just his imagination, or Kaga had just turned as red as his hair.
An unusual OTP
Ah summer. The time for short sleeves, even shorter shorts, and trips to the beach. But Kaga wasn't enjoying the perfect weather today, in the annual Haze Go Club beach party. He couldn't figure out why, but maybe it was related to Tsutsui, who had other plans.
Study plans in the middle summer, hah! Kaga thought, frowning as the other splashed about in the beach. Who would want to study when the sun was shining like this?
"Moping, Kaga-sempai?" Akari asked.
"Just enjoying the view," he lazily replied.
"I think you're gonna enjoy the view over there better." Akari pointed to a distance where the restaurants were. Kaga followed it with his eyes, and saw a group of people reading books and enjoying ice cream and shaved ice.
Tsutsui was with them, enjoying what looked like a cup of Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Enjoying it was a mild word. He looked blissful as he brought the scoop up to his mouth, and when he closed his eyes to savor the flavor Kaga got a shock right to his groin.
Kaga stood up and headed to the waters, wanting to cool down after seeing Tsutsui's sensual smile over the ice cream.
[KH AU] Cohabitation
"Breakfast!" Tsutsui's bright greeting and the smell of sausages broke through Kaga's sleep-induced haze, and he sat up, yawning from the mess of blankets on the lone futon in their 1k apartment. Tsutsui was already laying the plates of their Western breakfast - Tuesdays and Thursdays were reserved for that treat - and the toast, omelettes and sausages looked very appetizing after last night's workout.
Kaga and Tsutsui had finally formulated a mutually satisfying agreement of cohabitation (those were Tsutsui's words to Hikaru when he tried to pry whatr Akari meant exactly by 'their sempai living together') when they entered university. That first year in university had been a chaotic time - with the Invasion and then finding out Hikaru and some select go players had skills they would need to keep their lives Dark-free. Kaga was more succinct about it, saying, "I told him, you cook, I fight, we can find a place to be safe at night. Good enough?"
Kaga had expected the setup to continue on to its inevitable sexually satisfying conclusion within the first month, but here they were, nearly six months together and he hadn't even kissed the smaller man. He sighed. Tsutsui was so skittish when it came to all matters about sex, and he should know - after all, he knew that Tsutsui almost had his hand jobs down to a schedule. He would wake up at five and step inside the bath for a quick wank, before making breakfast. Well, he was also down to some sort of schedule anyway - ten o'clock before he had to pick up Tsutsui from his shift at Lawsons - Kaga didn't think his roommate would appreciate waking up with a hardon pressed to his ass. No matter that it's a perfectly nice, pert ass, Kaga thought regretfully.
Kaga watched Tsutsui remove the green apron he used to keep his clothes clean, and as Tsutsui knelt down to eat, he spied the shadowy form peeking out of the table.
Kaga took a flying leap over the table, barely causing a clatter as he avoided the plates and toast. He had snatched the switchblade from its sheath on his belt and stabbed the Heartless before Tsutsui could even react. As the creature faded to smoky wisps, Tsutsui eyed their undisturbed meal. "I'm getting good at this leaping over the table to kick ass routine in the morning, don't you think?" Kaga grinned, proud of his performance. "Not Keyblade Master level, I know, but then not everyone can be our little kouhai."
"Just make sure you finish the toast this time, the last time you didn't you ended up battered and bruised because you had no energy," Tsutsui reminded. Kaga sat down meekly and picked up the bread knife and fork.
Sandwiches
"Kaga," Tsutsui whispered, not really expecting this from the other boy. "Kaga." His voice was desperate, surprised at the bold move the shougi king played in their non-romance.
Kaga grinned, biting into the sandwich with relish, as if he intended to bite into something else. Tsutsui gulped down, fanning himself. Kaga licked the dripping mayo off the bread, and Tsutsui had enough.
"Ah," he groaned out, pouncing on the other boy. Kaga grinned before the sandwich was wrenched from his hands. Having a desperate, hungry Tsutsui mewling in satisfaction as he ate through the sandwich was priceless.
"For anything else, I have my club funds," he murmured, wiping a bit of mayo off the bespectacled boy's nose.
My sweet prince
"No! Stop it I'm not your damned pincushion!" Kaga's voice rose above the controlled chaos, and the two girls jumped aside as Kaga stormed out of the makeshift changing area. Some of the props crew scurried away before Kaga could run them over. He pointed to Tsutsui, busy by the sound system controls, and said, "You do it, at least you won't make me bleed to death."
Tsutsui sighed. Trust Kaga to know that he was the only boy in their class to get high marks in home economics. "I'll do it." He got the strips of lace and braid they were trying to add to the outfit and pins and instructions from the costume designers, before following Kaga to their makeshift changing room. A few minutes of behooved silence passed, before he said, "Kaga, they were only trying to fix your costume."
"I don't give a damn, they could be more careful - ow, you're not doing much better." Kaga didn't like this one bit, but at least Tsutsui wasn't pricking him with pins all the time. "Who said I was going to dress up as a fucking prince for this play, anyway?" he muttered, fidgeting as the raspy material scratched his arms.
Tsutsui refused to mention the overwhleming majority of the girls had voted for Kaga to be the prince of their class play, and he privately believed a lot of the boys also voted in Kaga's favor, if only to avoid the itchy outfit. Kaga kept lifting his arms to get as much of the cloth away from his skin, and it was keeping him from doing this right.
"Kaga, if you don't stay still I won't finish this." Even the normally patient Tsutsui was getting annoyed, kneeling before Kaga as he made sure the length was correct. As he did so his hands would occasionally brush against Kaga's thighs, and it made him hot inside.
"It's fucking hot." Kaga fidgeted, restless, and as he fanned himself the shirt hitched up, ruining the line of his basting. Tsutsui grabbed hold of a length of lace, twisting and wrapping them around Kaga's wrists. "What the hell?"
"Stay still so I can get finish this!"
Kaga fumed in silence. Tsutsui finished the pinning and it weighed heavily on his mind, what he can do for a reward. His position in front of the other boy gave him ideas, all of them naughty. Tsutsui thought, 'I might as well give in, since I'm on my knees already.'
He smiled, flushing pink. "Good. Now I'll give you a reward for being so obedient."
Kaga choked on his cry as Tsutsui unzipped his pants and proceeded to perform his reward.
Panda-san
The panda was cute, Kaga supposed. He doesn't get why Tsutsui wanted it, but sure, if that was the case. He got a few coins and prepared to do his best on the UFO catcher.
In half an hour he'd spent almost his entire allowance for a stuffed animal he could purchase on a toy store for half the price, but he wanted to win it, so he tried once again. The panda goggled at him, so close, yet so far away.
Running out of money besides for his fare he decided to call it a day. "I'll get you," he muttered, pointing to it. "Stay there."
***
Waya blinked at the item blocking his view of Isumi's face.
"What's this for?"
"I was trying to get that pink dinosaur for my cousin, but I caught this instead. Can you keep it? She doesn't like pandas."
Waya glanced down at the pile of stuffed toys in the UFO catcher, and noticed that of all of them, this panda was the only one wearing a camouflage shirt.
He shrugged. "Oh well, it's not like anyone's gonna see it in the apartment."
***
"NOoooooooooooooooo~Panda-san where did you go?" The loud wail from the arcade echoed down the shopping district.
I. Gen to Het or as close as I went to the concept.
[Gen?] Cockfighting
"Oh wow, look at this, Touya! Look at those cocks just butt heads like that."
"They seem to be very angry and heated right now - "
"One's gonna top the other, you just know it!"
"Definitely. They're just raring to slash at each other and see who can win this - "
"SHINDOU! TOUYA! NO NEED TO DO A BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE COCK FIGHT WE'RE WATCHING."
"I agree with Waya, for a first. It just sounds - a bit gay."
"It's not gay, and look who's talking with your prissy shirt, Ochi!"
"Oh no, there they go again!"
[Mitani/Kaneko] Washing Go Stones
The go war between Kaneko and Mitani had gotten worse when they entered high school. Of course Mitani was dragged into the club, just like before, and the only opponent on his level still happened to be Kaneko, though sometimes he did play against the new ones, Masaki and Yuuna. But Kaneko was the only one who could see beyond the ploys, and the traps behind Mitani's plays.
That didn't mean they got along; no - it meant Mitani got more and more irritated as Kaneko started to get better. Kaneko was maintaining her grades while juggling both go club and volleyball efficiently, while Mitani was spending more and more time after school in smoky go clubs with old men.
"Why don't YOU try to be an Insei?" Kaneko asked him during their punishment. Their fight had today had escalated to the point that Mitani turned the goban over, spilling the stones to the floor. Kaneko had replied by throwing one of the go ke at him. And thus Akari ordered them to wash all the stones after their club.
"I don't want to be one!"
"Well, who says you're so great at go, anyway? If you don't even have the courage to try you obviously don't want have it. You can't even match the Kaio go club last tournament."
"That was a fluke, dammit!"
"There's that terrible game between you and Kishimoto in junior high. Don't tell me you're proud of what happened then?"
"Shut up!"
"Since you like go so much, why don't you try to be a go pro like Shindou anyway?"
"What? From Insei to Go Pro? Lay off my case, Kaneko." He finished rubbing the stones dry, and dropped his batch into the waiting go ke. "I'm done. And if you're gonna be like that I don't want to play go with you anymore."
"You'll have to come back for the team tournament next month, you know," Kaneko reminded him as he picked up his bag to go. Mitani waved the comment off, but Kaneko knew, deep inside, Mitani was going to come back for their next club meeting, and he'll be playing against her with all his ploys, and she can annoy him about his future some other day. After all, they were young, and Mitani's go was still progressing. And while it was, she would be there, to help him every step of the way.
[Gen] Nice girls
"I can't believe it." Kaga munched on his sandwich, still agog at the remembrance of seeing Tsutsui, quiet little Tsutsui, walking with a girl in what appeared to be a date. His former shougi clubmate Makie blew bubbles into his cola while listening to Kaga rant about it. "I had girls giving me chocolates during Valentine's. I had girls asking me out even now, I just turned them down because I didn't even know them, they were all 'Iyaaan, you're just so cool, Kaga' which weirded me out, you know? But Tsutsui wasn't even that popular in school. I think the only chocolates he got were from his kouhai in the go club. And that girl was hot, man. She was pretty and she seemed nice. I like nice girls. I should find myself a nice girl. Why don't nice girls go for me?"
"You almost sound like you're envious of Tsutsui." Makie's tone was amused. "Just because Tsutsui was the geeky megane boy in the go club doesn't mean he can't get a nice, pretty girlfriend."
"Then tell me, why him, and not us, huh? We're cool. I have a motorcycle. Hey, and I'm good-looking." Makie stifled a laugh into a cough. "I should, no, we should go out to Shibuya and look for girls. We really should. I mean, we part the motorcycle in front of the station and find a nice older woman - maybe someone one of those in the university. Let's go do karaoke with them. It'll be fun, they like younger boys."
"You might have a problem with the good girls because of that attitude, Kaga." Makie sighed, finishing off the soda. "Oh, well, let's go find some girls then, if only to shut you up. Anyway, nice girls don't hang around Shibuya, so if you want them let's just find them in some other place."
"Good idea. Let's go."
As they left the store Makie asked in a high-pitched voice, "Why don't you go for a nice boy instead, Kaga-kun?" and was promptly beaten up by the other boy.
[Kishimoto/Hidaka] These windows have eyes
Hidaka watches Kishimoto from afar. This is their routine.
Most people are unaware that Hidaka and Kishimoto are neighbors, and had been so since they were children. Only their families know that their rooms are right across each other, separated by a mere seven feet of pavement.
Kishimoto's room has no curtains, and on lazy days Hidaka will watch him as he moved about, studying, relaxing, seeing the private side of the stern-faced boy he could never approach.
It is Hidaka then who knew that Kishimoto cried when he left the insei program. It is also Hidaka who knew Kishimoto's first kiss was with his middle school tutor, a pretty college student. She was Kishimoto's first love and first heartbreak, and for over a year Hidaka watched over him, not knowing if she should dare to reach out and comfort him.
Surprisingly it is Kishimoto who does so, soon after the embarrassment with Touya Akira. "It is the right thing, but I expected you to handle it much better, Hidaka-kun."
She stops breathing. "Kishimoto?"
"I really thought that given what I've observed about you when you're at home, you'd be more gentle with their mistakes." And with that final shot Kishimoto leaves.
Hidaka stares at Kishimoto's retreating back, surprised that apparently, she is not alone in watching people through windows.
[Kaneko/Mitani/Akari] A period to their friendship
Akari is the popular one, the pretty one. Akari is sometimes slightly ditzy, especially when it comes to things about Shindou, but then with her looks it came out charming. Kaneko would be the stoic, serious one, her jokes coming out not quite right because of her straight-faced delivery. Mitani is friends with both, and Mitani is caught in between.
There was that one unfortunate time when Akari had come on to him, and too high with her scent and with his desire he agreed. It was only after, in the dim pink-shaded light in her room, did he see her turn away, and touch the photograph of the Haze go club, tears welling in her eyes as she stares down at her childhood friend. It doesn't stop this from happening again, when Akari gets news of his victories, his rivalry, and Mitani lets it happen.
No such unfortunate time will happen with Kaneko, but then if it does happen Mitani isn't certain what he'd do. He's learned enough. But when Kaneko directs one of her rare smiles his way, he realizes she was pretty in her own way. He thinks that if it was going to ever happen between them, he'd be the one offering, and Kaneko might just look at him and turn him down. Kaneko sees everything, and he doesn't doubt she knows what's between him and Akari.
In between university classes Mitani wonders, if he would ever dare to reach out to Kaneko that way, and if when that time comes, their uneasy friendship will be broken apart. Mitani fidgets, and it's Kaneko, not Akari, who lays a hand on his shoulder and tells him to settle down.
[Gen] Shouting matches
"Now see here, Su Yeong, I know THAT EVIL ONE is your friend, and you respect him and all that, but he is an asshole and even if he goes all all Mother Theresa before me, I won't believe it, uh uh, not for one second." Shindou's voice carried over the low murmur of games in the Touya go salon, but that was usual. What wasn't usual was who he was arguing with. Shindou and Su Yeong had met up for their promised game, and their small talk soon degenerated to a fight over their differing opinions over one Ko YeongHa.
"He is not THE EVIL ONE at all, and stop calling YeongHa that! I'd never thought you'd be so narrow minded, Shindou! As if you're not a brat yourself sometimes!"
"Look, pot calling kettle now!" Shindou huffed.
"SHINDOU!"
"Young master, it's unusual to see Shindou get along with someone else," one of the customers said, and the other regulars laughed and nodded. Touya felt a twinge as he watched the two argue and lay down stones for a quick haya-go. It had been strange to see Shindou play anyone else with so much spirit - Touya usually just looks at Shindou's kifu, or play against him, but Shindou was always so serious with his games, he'd thought their shouting matches over the board were special.
Apparently not, he thought, chagrined. Shindou and SuYeong were holding the go ke covers, and it seems like they're about to throw them to each other. He sighed and stepped up to intervene.
"Shindou, there are other people in the room."
"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Touya," he said, abashed. He looked around and realized the other games have stopped, and the players were watching them amused.
"Well, it almost seemed like a regular day, expect the young master wasn't the one shouting with you."
"You mean you get into shouting matches with your rival all the time, Shindou?! You're such a hopeless brat!" SuYeong crossed his arms. "And you tell YeongHa's a brat!"
"Stop that you two." Touya tried to get them to quiet down, but they were too busy shouting at each other to notice him. He sighed and just let them be. After all, when he and Shindou get in their shouting matches, no one could stop them.
[Gen] Fashionable, isn't it?
"Oh God," Hikaru groaned. "This can't be real. The world has got to be ending."
Such proclamations of doom and woe were common with the young pro, so Waya simply chucked the crumpled paper napkin his way. Hikaru let the ball bounce against his head without his usual roar of fury, so he must be really upset. "What are you looking at?"
"It's a sign that some self-appointed god of fashion said we're gonna be stuck in a sea of argyle for the rest of the year." Hikaru flung his manga away with a snort of disgust. Waya picked it up, flipping through the pages. What he saw set him off laughing.
"It's not funny! Argyle looks old, and uncool, it's just like paisley[1]. You can't escape the old grandma look of those two!" Hikaru grabbed at his bangs. "This is not how it's supposed to be! I'm supposed to be the cool one! I should be the one in the magazines! Not Touya!"
"It's not like your preference for the number five isn't obvious with your clothes," Ochi muttered from his corner. Hikaru stood up, about to charge the other boy, but Isumi stepped in between.
"What's this all about?"
"The end of fashion as we know it." Hikaru slumped in the booth, and refused to talk. Waya was still laughing in one corner. Isumi decided they were both insane, and checked out the pages of the weekly manga serial.
Right smack in the middle of a glossy three page special was Touya Akira, dressed in a sleeveless purple argyle sweater and white shorts, looking slightly uncomfortable as he posed by a fence. The words "Purple is the new black" followed by three exclamation points ran alongside the photo, highlighting the gushing commentary about the newest model of Jerry Pro productions. Right beside the main photo were pictures where the photographer did their best to make Akira look cute - even to the point of resorting to teddy bears and puppies. And he was still wearing purple - in prints, on his hat, even a plush suit in deep purple that made Akira's green hair stand out like -
"He looks like an eggplant," Waya managed to gasp out, and the idea of a Touya!eggplant got Hikaru out of his snit. They collapsed in one heap, laughing, while Isumi and Ochi pretended they weren't with the two crazy people in the booth.
II. Alternative Universe and crossovers
Outclassing them all
It didn't explain how Shindou can be so good at this, Touya Akira thinks, watching the other boy perform running leaps all across the activity area. No one alive deserved to be that good. Even the rumors of secret training sessions with the mysterious Sai cannot and will not explain how Shindou, a complete novice in their art, can outperform and outlast all their competitors.
A chill of dread slides down Akira's spine, as Shindou finishes his set with a flourish. And then it is Akira's turn. He takes a deep breath, and grabbing hold of his ribbon, he sets off to the tune of "I'm like a bird."
Grande 555
Waya groaned as his character died another agonizing death in the hands of a female paladin by the name of CC Lemon. He didn't understand how anyone with the name of a drink could be so good in Grande 555, a MMORPG he and the other insei had begun playing just a few months ago. The only ones who turned down the game were Iijima and Isumi, both citing they were too busy with other things to play.
"I'll beat you," Waya muttered, reviving his character for one more round.
Half an hour later, he was punching the wall again in frustration.
***
Isumi stretched, letting the screen flash "victory" over the latest pvp win.
He shook his head. Waya's Zelda was quite persistent, but he knew Waya's techniques inside out, and he didn't want his character, CC Lemon, to lose.
He sighed when he saw the screen flash with another challenge from Zelda, and settled down for another long fight.
Rabu-Rabu Pink Senshi
"Oh, no, not this. I'm okay with the flashy stroke effects and the stupid magical incantations, but not this!" Waya cried, staring down at his transformed clothes. Or rather, at what's under then.
Hikaru flailed about, his hair now topped with two odangos. "NOT A SEIFUKU!" he complained, trying to pull the skimpy skirt down in an attempt to cover his ass.
"You're missing the point, we're GIRLS!"
"Well, they did say that if we agreed we'll be magical characters. The title of Rabu-Rabu Pink Senshi Waya gave it all away," was Hikaru's nonchalant reply.
Waya simply facepalmed and wished he'd never been born. Or met that weird black cat that reminded him of Honinbou Kuwabara somehow.
[Tenipuri xover] Chobits AU
Marilyn was annoyingly, hopelessly helpful. Tezuka couldn't understand where she got her streak of humanity, considering that she wasn't even alive in all the sense of the word. He believed it was Inui's fault - he could always blame Inui when his devices malfunctioned - but it definitely had something to do with the set of subroutines the other man had programmed the other week. How a rounin that could be so good at programming kept failing his entrance exams was still a mystery.
This time Marilyn had found a crumpled up man by the garbage dump, and insisted on getting it hidden from the cold. Man might be the wrong word at this point, for even Tezuka could see it wasn't breathing, and the cold skin had the resiliency of plastic. Normally, persocons were not thrown aside in an apartment's garbage dump, and the paradox of seeing such an expensive persocon in the trash made Tezuka pick it up and bring it inside.
It took most of the hour to figure out how his connections worked (refusing to call his friend for fear Inui would trash it), and it embarrassed Tezuka to find the on switch was located somewhere on the lifeless doll's groin. One would think his devilish schoolmate, Fuji Syuusuke, had had a hand in making this. He quietly huffed into his messy hair and closed his eyes, repeating the quiet mantra, 'It doesn't count, he's a bit of machine."
He could hear a faint whirring noise deep inside the persocon, and then it the whole body seemed to power up and fill up with energy. Slowly, eyelids opened to show dark pupils, which dilated and focused on his face. A stream of guttural words stopped when Marilyn hopped on his chest and turned aquamarine-bright eyes at him.
"Based on my synch recognition he speaks Korean, Tezuka-sama!"
A Korean made persocon. Interesting.
"Do you speak English?"
The persocon frowned blankly, as if processing what he said. "Yes," it managed.
Tezuka poined to his chest. "Kunimitsu Tezuka. And this is Marilyn." The mini persocon hopped off and performed a tiny curtsy.
"YeongHa. Ko YeongHa."
Tezuka turned to Marilyn. "He speaks and understands English. I guess his learning and language modules are still functioning."
"I can download a Japanese language pack online and load it to him, if you'd like, Tezuka-sama! I'm currently downloading a Korean pack so I can explain some items for him." she chirped. Ever so helpful. "But what do we do with him now, Tezuka-sama? He looks so cold and lonely."
That he didn't, not really. The spare shirt he found for the persocon fitted perfectly, but Ko YeongHa was too busy looking around his sparsely furnished apartment to look lost and cold. Tezuka privately thought the persocon was all set and used to having someone do his bidding, rather than the other way around. He closed his eyes. "He stays tonight, but tomorrow we ask Inui if someone's missing a persocon. After tennis practice, that is."
"You're so nice, Tezuka-sama!" Marilyn rushed and explained everything to the full-sized persocon, and Tezuka rubbed his forehead hoping this wasn't the wrong decision.
He wouldn't be surprised if this will be a decision he'll regret for a long, long time.
Oh my cosplay!
"How can he win against me?!" Shindou fumed, tossing his head and letting the odango and hair tails bob every which way. His costume was perfect. He had spent hours of intensive practice and sewing - not to mention the torture of waxing his legs to its smooth paleness.THIS was a masterpiece, much better even than his spectacular National Alchemist with the magic trick of "transfiguring" his arm to a weapon.
"I even DYED the rest of my hair yellow for this! Do you know how many hours I spent just to make these wings? Or how Akari drilled me to walk on these heeled boots? And to lose to Touya!"
He flopped down gracelessly beside Waya's rpg assassin character, and granted their unwary audience a peek of his tiny white underwear. Tsutsui squeaked and threw his coat over Hikaru's legs, but Shindou quickly pushed them aside.
"Well, you have to admit, Touya's costume is unique," Tsutsui timidly pointed out.
"Yes, plus points for bravery in pulling that off."
"I can be more daring than that! I can carry off Princess Leia's golden bikini if I have to!"
Waya rolled his eyes. Shindou glared up at the stage, where a blue skinned guardian force stood in all his - her - its naked glory, his green eyes narrowed in amusement as the Moon Princess flounced off the scene.
Loveless AU
Hikaru carelessly rubbed against Ogata's hand, his striped orange ears twitching with pleasure at being close to his Master. Touya watched the display silently, the only sign of irritation being his stiffly held black tail.
"No wonder that name was carved on his neck," Touya said, betrayed.
Ogata fingered the word he had carved when he first received Hikaru as his Weapon. "Why, do you think so little of his loyalty you believe him to be truly 'Faithless'?"
Hikaru was at Akira's side in the instant Ogata launched his spell, the chain pulling taut between them. Akira clutched at the collar closed on his throat, and Ogata smiled at his pain, the humor not quite reaching his eyes.
"Akira, do you know why I never appeared before you in all those years you thought me gone?" he purred.
"The years of disappearance, let the night swallow the words of the one who was Lost," Hikaru declared, and the shadows surged forward, swelling to a black mass under Ogata's feet.
Ogata eyed it. "Night turns to day, let the light spread throughout the land."
Hikaru hissed as the shadows vanished in the bright flash that came from Ogata's hand. Akira grabbed hold of Hikaru's hand, stopping him from another spell.
"What?!"
"He's not alone."
"Oh, you noticed his presence already?" The orange-haired man appeared at Ogata's side, smiling at their shock.
Ko YeongHa shifted closer, lightly touching Ogata's sleeve. "Time to face our battle in earnest, little ones."
[holic xover] Be careful what you wish for
Le Ping had heard the story from one of his HongKong cousins. They'd met during a family reunion he hadn't originally wanted to attend, but he'd been coerced in the end. His cousin was very pretty, with long silky hair held up by elaborate ivory sticks, and her stories of Japan were interesting. He wanted to know everything about Japan, wondering what Isumi-san might be doing, but her stories were different from the lives of wei qi he knew so well.
"There is some place magical in Japan, and you can go there and make one wish, but the price is quite high."
"How did you know? Did you try making a wish?"
The peony flowers on her dress rustled as she moved. "I did. I'm still paying for it now, but then my wish was not for me, so it's all right."
"Why would you waste your wish for someone else?"
And she'd smiled mysteriously. "You'll know maybe."
Le Ping thought of that story again, when he finally got to join the Hokuto cup and lost against his lookalike - that game had been embarrassing as hell with Isumi watching on silently laughing at the scenario - and he wanted to prove he was better than that 'Waya'. With the thought in mind he wandered the streets of Tokyo, until he found an empty lot in between buildings. "This must be it," he muttered. "But it was supposed to be a house, wasn't it?"
The roar of a motorcycle deafened him, and he turned to see a young man in a loud Hawaiian shirt stop right before the gate. He smirked at Le Ping and stepped inside, vanishing from sight.
Le Ping rubbed his eyes. "It is magic!" he exclaimed, and closed his eyes, thinking very hard of his wish. When he opened them again he saw not an empty lot, but a gothic style house behind the gates. And the man in the Hawaiian shirt was there beside a boy with glasses, looking at him curiously.
"Yuuko-san said there was someone at the gate. Huh, wonder how she figured that out?"
"Don't come in if you don't know what's good for you!" the boy with glasses exclaimed. "YOU'RE JUST TOO YOUNG TO GET MIXED UP WITH THIS, I KNEW IT. YUUKO-SAN IS SINKING TO SERVING KIDS."
Le Ping blinked at them, not understanding a word they said.
"He doesn't look like he understood us. Let it go, Watanuki, she's waiting for him anyway." Hawaiian shirt stepped aside as glasses flailed on. Le Ping wondered if it was a new welcome greeting style he'd not heard of.
The lady of the house knew Chinese, it seemed, and had smiled at his wish. "You want to be the strongest you can be in go? Did your cousin Mei Ling explain how this shop works?"
"Yes she did. Well, she tried to. She wasn't very clear about stuff."
"She didn't tell you what she paid for her wish?" At his shake of the head she gently nodded. "Well, if we will grant your wish, you have to learn a couple of things. And do things for me. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, no problem! I can do lots of things."
Yuuko smiled slyly up to the Hawaiian shirt. "That reminds me of someone I know. Well then, you may run errands for me, along with Kaga-san here. Your wish and his are different, but I know you'll get along."
"I don't need anyone to babysit me!" He shouted, but Yuuko was talking to Hawaiian shirt already. "I don't know Japanese, I know, but I can have YangHai go with me and stuff. We're only here for a week, and I want to be the strongest in wei qi when we go back to China!"
"What you wish for and what you say you wish for are two different things. But don't worry, Kaga's good with kids."
"I don't want - " he shouted exactly as Hawaiian shirt said, "I'm not gonna take care of brats!"
"The language barrier is going to be a problem. Ah, I have just the thing!" Yuuko clapped her hands. "Bring the ears, Watanuki!"
"Not the ears!" Kaga gritted out, and his tone made Le Ping turn to him. Glasses had disappeared, and came back with two matching - well, two matching somethings.
"WHAT IS THAT?"
"These," Yuuko began as she patted them, "are the translators you will need to understand each other. If you both want your wishes to come true, you'll have to bear with these for the time you're together." She grinned wickedly. "Don't worry, I'll try to give you easy errands, after all, you both are such manly boys, I don't want you to have a weird reputation."
Kaga and Le Ping looked at each other, and even without translators they were obviously thinking along the same lines.
'What did we get ourselves into?'
III. Kaga/Tsutsui
Your smile is a tattoo
Kaga dared him to do it, and as soon as he nodded weakly he was marched off to the nearest shop. It would be made in black, he explained, and fade to a deep brown and then tan till it left the skin unmarked and clean.
Tsutsui lay down on the mat, and the thin needle pressed down on his skin left a trail of cool ink. Several strokes down he whimpered. He was sensitive there, and Kaga knew it. He sat by the bed, watching as Tsutsui tried not to squirm away and smudge the art. "It won't be long now," Kaga murmured, playing with Tsutsui's hair. "Let's just wait for it to dry."
And that meant he couldn't put his shirt back on until the henna dried on his skin, in public. Tsutsui clutched his shirt to his chest, but Kaga pulled his arms down. "Stay like that." And he did.
Tsutsui tried to avoid the other boy's gaze, but Kaga's eyes stayed on him. Tsutsui could feel the heat of his gaze travel from his neck down, taking in the flush staining his cheeks and chest. Kaga spoke to him about everyday things, smoking ciagrette after cigarette, but it was almost like Kaga expected him to undress further under the bright artificial lights.
When enough time passed it was Kaga who wiped the dried henna off his skin with a wet towel, pressing lightly to make sure it would not smudge. The tattoo artist had left them earlier for a cigarette break, and in the quiet booth Kaga ran a finger over the name tattooed on Tsutsui's back. He shuddered.
"Hey Tsutsui," he whispered, nipping lightly on Tsutsui's nape. "When will you let me mark you for real?"
"A tattoo is permanent," he hedged, pushing his glasses up his face with trembling fingers.
"That's why I want you to." Kaga finished with the kanji of his name. "It'll be for the both of us. I'll get a tattoo of your name."
A tattoo, like a permanent mark Kaga was his. It was still too much to contemplate at this point, they were still young, barely out of high school and taking a break before university. Kaga must be playing around like always, that's what he thought.
Tsutsui walked away and pulled his shirt on, avoiding the answer. He hid the tattoo and the declaration it contained. "Let's go find the others, I need to eat."
Kaga tapped the fan on his shoulder, grinning. "Take your sweet time thinking about it, Tsutsui. But the offer's open whenever you want to."
Tsutsui didn't look back, but he was smiling as he walked past the tarpaulin door.
Clueless
Tsutsui had a bad feeling when he saw the dark sky, but thought it could just be the coming dusk. It'd been raining earlier, so he came to school with an umbrella, but it was gone when he came back. He'd waited for the rain to stop, but it didn't.
'It's so cold.'
He clasped his bag against his chest and started to run home.
"Oi, it's you, Tsutsui!"
"Kaga?" All he could see through the rain streaming on his glasses was a blur of red hair. It stopped raining on him, and he realized Kaga was carrying an umbrella.
"You're all wet!"
Kaga was ever the master of insightful comments.
"Hu-hu-hai..." Tsutsui chattered.
"Idiot, come on." Kaga handed him the umbrella. He took his coat off and placed it around Tsutsui's shoulders.
'It's warm even in this cold.'
"Where are you taking me?"
"Tell me how to get to your house."
So Tsutsui told him, still holding his bag against his chest. And when they got their Kaga didn't even ask for permission, just herded him straight inside and into his room.
"But you're so cold!" He placed his hands against Tsutsui's clammy cheeks. The othey boy looked at him through lashes made spiky by the rain, unaware he looked like he was waiting for something.
Kaga swallowed. Hard. "Idiot. No need to get wet. Let's get you out of those!"
"Kaga!" But the other boy had his hands on the fastenings of his coat. A moment of silence when Kaga took his coat off and unbuttoned his shirt. They were still tucked into his pants.
"Ah...I'll go down and see if there's something hot for you."
Tsutsui was left alone, wondering if it was just his imagination, or Kaga had just turned as red as his hair.
An unusual OTP
Ah summer. The time for short sleeves, even shorter shorts, and trips to the beach. But Kaga wasn't enjoying the perfect weather today, in the annual Haze Go Club beach party. He couldn't figure out why, but maybe it was related to Tsutsui, who had other plans.
Study plans in the middle summer, hah! Kaga thought, frowning as the other splashed about in the beach. Who would want to study when the sun was shining like this?
"Moping, Kaga-sempai?" Akari asked.
"Just enjoying the view," he lazily replied.
"I think you're gonna enjoy the view over there better." Akari pointed to a distance where the restaurants were. Kaga followed it with his eyes, and saw a group of people reading books and enjoying ice cream and shaved ice.
Tsutsui was with them, enjoying what looked like a cup of Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Enjoying it was a mild word. He looked blissful as he brought the scoop up to his mouth, and when he closed his eyes to savor the flavor Kaga got a shock right to his groin.
Kaga stood up and headed to the waters, wanting to cool down after seeing Tsutsui's sensual smile over the ice cream.
[KH AU] Cohabitation
"Breakfast!" Tsutsui's bright greeting and the smell of sausages broke through Kaga's sleep-induced haze, and he sat up, yawning from the mess of blankets on the lone futon in their 1k apartment. Tsutsui was already laying the plates of their Western breakfast - Tuesdays and Thursdays were reserved for that treat - and the toast, omelettes and sausages looked very appetizing after last night's workout.
Kaga and Tsutsui had finally formulated a mutually satisfying agreement of cohabitation (those were Tsutsui's words to Hikaru when he tried to pry whatr Akari meant exactly by 'their sempai living together') when they entered university. That first year in university had been a chaotic time - with the Invasion and then finding out Hikaru and some select go players had skills they would need to keep their lives Dark-free. Kaga was more succinct about it, saying, "I told him, you cook, I fight, we can find a place to be safe at night. Good enough?"
Kaga had expected the setup to continue on to its inevitable sexually satisfying conclusion within the first month, but here they were, nearly six months together and he hadn't even kissed the smaller man. He sighed. Tsutsui was so skittish when it came to all matters about sex, and he should know - after all, he knew that Tsutsui almost had his hand jobs down to a schedule. He would wake up at five and step inside the bath for a quick wank, before making breakfast. Well, he was also down to some sort of schedule anyway - ten o'clock before he had to pick up Tsutsui from his shift at Lawsons - Kaga didn't think his roommate would appreciate waking up with a hardon pressed to his ass. No matter that it's a perfectly nice, pert ass, Kaga thought regretfully.
Kaga watched Tsutsui remove the green apron he used to keep his clothes clean, and as Tsutsui knelt down to eat, he spied the shadowy form peeking out of the table.
Kaga took a flying leap over the table, barely causing a clatter as he avoided the plates and toast. He had snatched the switchblade from its sheath on his belt and stabbed the Heartless before Tsutsui could even react. As the creature faded to smoky wisps, Tsutsui eyed their undisturbed meal. "I'm getting good at this leaping over the table to kick ass routine in the morning, don't you think?" Kaga grinned, proud of his performance. "Not Keyblade Master level, I know, but then not everyone can be our little kouhai."
"Just make sure you finish the toast this time, the last time you didn't you ended up battered and bruised because you had no energy," Tsutsui reminded. Kaga sat down meekly and picked up the bread knife and fork.
Sandwiches
"Kaga," Tsutsui whispered, not really expecting this from the other boy. "Kaga." His voice was desperate, surprised at the bold move the shougi king played in their non-romance.
Kaga grinned, biting into the sandwich with relish, as if he intended to bite into something else. Tsutsui gulped down, fanning himself. Kaga licked the dripping mayo off the bread, and Tsutsui had enough.
"Ah," he groaned out, pouncing on the other boy. Kaga grinned before the sandwich was wrenched from his hands. Having a desperate, hungry Tsutsui mewling in satisfaction as he ate through the sandwich was priceless.
"For anything else, I have my club funds," he murmured, wiping a bit of mayo off the bespectacled boy's nose.
My sweet prince
"No! Stop it I'm not your damned pincushion!" Kaga's voice rose above the controlled chaos, and the two girls jumped aside as Kaga stormed out of the makeshift changing area. Some of the props crew scurried away before Kaga could run them over. He pointed to Tsutsui, busy by the sound system controls, and said, "You do it, at least you won't make me bleed to death."
Tsutsui sighed. Trust Kaga to know that he was the only boy in their class to get high marks in home economics. "I'll do it." He got the strips of lace and braid they were trying to add to the outfit and pins and instructions from the costume designers, before following Kaga to their makeshift changing room. A few minutes of behooved silence passed, before he said, "Kaga, they were only trying to fix your costume."
"I don't give a damn, they could be more careful - ow, you're not doing much better." Kaga didn't like this one bit, but at least Tsutsui wasn't pricking him with pins all the time. "Who said I was going to dress up as a fucking prince for this play, anyway?" he muttered, fidgeting as the raspy material scratched his arms.
Tsutsui refused to mention the overwhleming majority of the girls had voted for Kaga to be the prince of their class play, and he privately believed a lot of the boys also voted in Kaga's favor, if only to avoid the itchy outfit. Kaga kept lifting his arms to get as much of the cloth away from his skin, and it was keeping him from doing this right.
"Kaga, if you don't stay still I won't finish this." Even the normally patient Tsutsui was getting annoyed, kneeling before Kaga as he made sure the length was correct. As he did so his hands would occasionally brush against Kaga's thighs, and it made him hot inside.
"It's fucking hot." Kaga fidgeted, restless, and as he fanned himself the shirt hitched up, ruining the line of his basting. Tsutsui grabbed hold of a length of lace, twisting and wrapping them around Kaga's wrists. "What the hell?"
"Stay still so I can get finish this!"
Kaga fumed in silence. Tsutsui finished the pinning and it weighed heavily on his mind, what he can do for a reward. His position in front of the other boy gave him ideas, all of them naughty. Tsutsui thought, 'I might as well give in, since I'm on my knees already.'
He smiled, flushing pink. "Good. Now I'll give you a reward for being so obedient."
Kaga choked on his cry as Tsutsui unzipped his pants and proceeded to perform his reward.
Panda-san
The panda was cute, Kaga supposed. He doesn't get why Tsutsui wanted it, but sure, if that was the case. He got a few coins and prepared to do his best on the UFO catcher.
In half an hour he'd spent almost his entire allowance for a stuffed animal he could purchase on a toy store for half the price, but he wanted to win it, so he tried once again. The panda goggled at him, so close, yet so far away.
Running out of money besides for his fare he decided to call it a day. "I'll get you," he muttered, pointing to it. "Stay there."
***
Waya blinked at the item blocking his view of Isumi's face.
"What's this for?"
"I was trying to get that pink dinosaur for my cousin, but I caught this instead. Can you keep it? She doesn't like pandas."
Waya glanced down at the pile of stuffed toys in the UFO catcher, and noticed that of all of them, this panda was the only one wearing a camouflage shirt.
He shrugged. "Oh well, it's not like anyone's gonna see it in the apartment."
***
"NOoooooooooooooooo~Panda-san where did you go?" The loud wail from the arcade echoed down the shopping district.