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31_days2006-11-12 11:56 pm
issen4.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2006-11-12 11:56 pm
[12 Nov] [Hikaru no Go] The Shape of the Stones 5/10
Title: The Shape of the Stones 5/10
Day/Theme: 12 Nov/ little anodynes that deaden suffering
Series: Hikaru no go
Character/Pairing: Isumi/Waya, future Isumi/Le Ping
Rating: General
--------------------
Le Ping, when he opened the door, was wearing a thin cotton shirt and shorts that showed his bony knees. "Isumi," he said, and took an involuntary step backwards, before he called, "Yang Hai!"
Yang Hai appeared too, and upon seeing Isumi, he pulled the door opened wider, and ushered him in.
Isumi found himself sitting down and someone--probably Yang Hai--pushed a cup into his hand. The smell of oolong made him look up in puzzlement. Not the green tea he was expecting...
Yang Hai met his eyes with a shrug. "I prefer this--can't get used to the green tea. Le Ping likes it, though," he said, glancing at an empty cup on the table. A portable Go set on placed next to it.
"But what are you doing here so late, Isumi?" Le Ping asked.
Isumi stiffened. "I... I wanted to take you out for dinner," he said, saying the first thing that came to his mind.
Le Ping gave him a look that said he was crazy. "Isumi, it's eleven at night," he said. Then he ducked when Yang Hai attempted to rap him on the shoulder. "Ow!" he grumbled, rubbing his head, where Yang Hai's second attempt with his knuckles had succeeded.
"Brat," Yang Hai said, and looked at Isumi. "You look pale. Did you eat any dinner?"
Isumi could feel himself give a start, and he looked away from the both of them.
"You know I didn't have a choice!" Waya had said after they had sat at the dining table for ten minutes. "Makoto and the others love to gossip. Goodness knows what they would have said about us."
He had said nothing.
"We are not like Shindou and Touya," Waya continued, his words coming faster and faster, "you know very well that they don't give a damn about the Go world so as long they can keep playing with each other. And they have Touya Kouyo-sensei to back them up, so they don't have anything to worry about."
He bit his lip at that, and asked, "Is that what you think of Shindou and Touya? Especially Shindou, who is your friend? That he is successful because of Touya-sensei's influence?"
Waya's expression was startled, almost affronted. "I didn't mean that!" he said. "I just don't want everyone to think that we-" he made a frustrated, unhappy sound. "But you know the Go world... it's so traditional, and it's like an old boys' network..." He fell silent then.
He was not wrong--like him, Waya had heard plenty of sly, malicious remarks about Shindou and Touya's relationship, and speculations about what they did in private. It was true that Touya Kouyo's stature protected them somewhat, an advantage they didn't have. And yet-
"There are other couples," he said to Waya.
Waya looked at him. "And you know what people say about them," he said. "They're just second-rate players, and they'll never make anything of themselves, and-" he stopped.
He was not aware that he had stood up. "I see," he said, collecting his bowl and chopsticks, and carrying them to the sink.
After a while, Waya said to his back, "Why can't we just go on as before? We've been doing fine all this time, right?"
He blurted, "I've been waiting-" and stopped himself. "Never mind. I'm going out."
He had walked the streets of Tokyo for hours, hugging himself against the cold night air, before he finally found himself at the hotel.
"Well," Yang Hai was saying, "maybe not dinner, but we could have a late night snack." He was pulling something out of his suitcase.
"Oh!" Le Ping exclaimed, and dug into his own suitcase.
"Good thing the hotel provided us with an electric kettle," Yang Hai said.
Isumi looked on in astonishment as the two of them unearthed a number of white, plastic containers. "Is that cup ramen?" he said as he identified the labels. "You brought cup ramen from China?"
"Cheaper than buying them here," Yang Hai said, and made a remark to Le Ping in Chinese, who went to fill the electric kettle.
He couldn't help his lips quirking up in a smile when Le Ping presented him with a steaming cup. The picture of the dancing chicken on the label proclaimed the flavour, and the hotel room was filled with the smell of instant ramen. He felt ravenous suddenly.
"Chopsticks," Le Ping said in Japanese, holding out a disposable pair.
"Thank you," he said. Chinese ramen tasted different from the Japanese type--saltier--but he ate with relish, noticing Le Ping and Yang Hai eating theirs cheerfully, exchanging soft comments between bites.
When they were done, Le Ping stood up, evidently energized by the food. "Igo!" he said to Isumi, "let's play a game!"
Isumi was feeling more like himself, and awkward enough to want to leave. "I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you from your rest."
Yang Hai snorted. "From the looks of it, Le Ping wants you to play Go first."
"Yeah!" Le Ping said. And his hands were wrapped around Isumi's arm, warm and insistent, tugging him to the table.
---------tbc---------
Day/Theme: 12 Nov/ little anodynes that deaden suffering
Series: Hikaru no go
Character/Pairing: Isumi/Waya, future Isumi/Le Ping
Rating: General
--------------------
Le Ping, when he opened the door, was wearing a thin cotton shirt and shorts that showed his bony knees. "Isumi," he said, and took an involuntary step backwards, before he called, "Yang Hai!"
Yang Hai appeared too, and upon seeing Isumi, he pulled the door opened wider, and ushered him in.
Isumi found himself sitting down and someone--probably Yang Hai--pushed a cup into his hand. The smell of oolong made him look up in puzzlement. Not the green tea he was expecting...
Yang Hai met his eyes with a shrug. "I prefer this--can't get used to the green tea. Le Ping likes it, though," he said, glancing at an empty cup on the table. A portable Go set on placed next to it.
"But what are you doing here so late, Isumi?" Le Ping asked.
Isumi stiffened. "I... I wanted to take you out for dinner," he said, saying the first thing that came to his mind.
Le Ping gave him a look that said he was crazy. "Isumi, it's eleven at night," he said. Then he ducked when Yang Hai attempted to rap him on the shoulder. "Ow!" he grumbled, rubbing his head, where Yang Hai's second attempt with his knuckles had succeeded.
"Brat," Yang Hai said, and looked at Isumi. "You look pale. Did you eat any dinner?"
Isumi could feel himself give a start, and he looked away from the both of them.
"You know I didn't have a choice!" Waya had said after they had sat at the dining table for ten minutes. "Makoto and the others love to gossip. Goodness knows what they would have said about us."
He had said nothing.
"We are not like Shindou and Touya," Waya continued, his words coming faster and faster, "you know very well that they don't give a damn about the Go world so as long they can keep playing with each other. And they have Touya Kouyo-sensei to back them up, so they don't have anything to worry about."
He bit his lip at that, and asked, "Is that what you think of Shindou and Touya? Especially Shindou, who is your friend? That he is successful because of Touya-sensei's influence?"
Waya's expression was startled, almost affronted. "I didn't mean that!" he said. "I just don't want everyone to think that we-" he made a frustrated, unhappy sound. "But you know the Go world... it's so traditional, and it's like an old boys' network..." He fell silent then.
He was not wrong--like him, Waya had heard plenty of sly, malicious remarks about Shindou and Touya's relationship, and speculations about what they did in private. It was true that Touya Kouyo's stature protected them somewhat, an advantage they didn't have. And yet-
"There are other couples," he said to Waya.
Waya looked at him. "And you know what people say about them," he said. "They're just second-rate players, and they'll never make anything of themselves, and-" he stopped.
He was not aware that he had stood up. "I see," he said, collecting his bowl and chopsticks, and carrying them to the sink.
After a while, Waya said to his back, "Why can't we just go on as before? We've been doing fine all this time, right?"
He blurted, "I've been waiting-" and stopped himself. "Never mind. I'm going out."
He had walked the streets of Tokyo for hours, hugging himself against the cold night air, before he finally found himself at the hotel.
"Well," Yang Hai was saying, "maybe not dinner, but we could have a late night snack." He was pulling something out of his suitcase.
"Oh!" Le Ping exclaimed, and dug into his own suitcase.
"Good thing the hotel provided us with an electric kettle," Yang Hai said.
Isumi looked on in astonishment as the two of them unearthed a number of white, plastic containers. "Is that cup ramen?" he said as he identified the labels. "You brought cup ramen from China?"
"Cheaper than buying them here," Yang Hai said, and made a remark to Le Ping in Chinese, who went to fill the electric kettle.
He couldn't help his lips quirking up in a smile when Le Ping presented him with a steaming cup. The picture of the dancing chicken on the label proclaimed the flavour, and the hotel room was filled with the smell of instant ramen. He felt ravenous suddenly.
"Chopsticks," Le Ping said in Japanese, holding out a disposable pair.
"Thank you," he said. Chinese ramen tasted different from the Japanese type--saltier--but he ate with relish, noticing Le Ping and Yang Hai eating theirs cheerfully, exchanging soft comments between bites.
When they were done, Le Ping stood up, evidently energized by the food. "Igo!" he said to Isumi, "let's play a game!"
Isumi was feeling more like himself, and awkward enough to want to leave. "I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you from your rest."
Yang Hai snorted. "From the looks of it, Le Ping wants you to play Go first."
"Yeah!" Le Ping said. And his hands were wrapped around Isumi's arm, warm and insistent, tugging him to the table.
---------tbc---------