[Hikaru sighs to himself, uncapping first a blue pen and then a red one. He's been consistent in his notation for a couple of years now--blue ink for Black, red ink for White.] Of course you weren't, [he mutters, marking down his memorable opening move of 4-4. He can almost taste the spice of Touya's palm and how it felt against his hungry mouth. He ended up visiting the tip of every single finger, and finally Touya's wrist, during the very complex puzzle that decided the game.] And, believe it or not, it's always this clean, so it's not like I cleaned it up just for you. [Carefully, but quickly, he proceeds through the game without smudging any of the numbers along the way.] When he was here, Waya said something about how he didn't expect my room to look like this, so...
[He looks up at yet again, when Touya takes it upon himself to inspect the bookshelf up close. There's a whole lot of history on those shelves--they tell a story of their own, if anyone could be bothered to read it. Manga, video game guides, sports magazines, just that sort of stuff was all he had for a long time... then books on Go started creeping in. Eventually, the books on Go crowded out everything else. It got harder to keep up with his old hobbies as his preoccupation with Go got that much deeper.]
But, good. That's good to hear. It's supposed to remind you of me, I think. Just like your room reminded me of you.
[Touya's hands all over a goddamn volume of manga shouldn't seem as intimate as it does. He says he wants to see everything, too, and Hikaru swallows, his throat working around a lump of anticipation. What else does Touya want to see, and when did he start wanting to see it? Is he trying to make up for lost time or something?]
Hey, while you're over there... grab that yellow binder for me. Right above you.
[It's positioned two shelves up from the manga collection, a brighter than bright yellow. It has the same dimensions as Sai's neutral purple binder. Its width and generous weight proves it has the exact same purpose of storing hundred and hundreds of records. This binder is Hikaru's personal archive, which he doesn't hide away like he does Sai's. It, too, offers all the games he can possibly remember, many of which Touya has never seen before, obviously. Not only the games against Sai. Everything. His efforts as an insei, and the pro exam, and...
Hikaru is poised to mark down Black's next move, but the way Touya is looking at him gives him pause. It isn't the indecent shine of yesterday, or a chilly, commanding spear aimed at his weakest of weak points. No, it's more like a sci-fi tractor beam, quantized and inexplicable, keeping their eye contact locked in place.]
You... [Self-consciously, he runs a few his fingers through his still-damp hair, knowing it's going to be a mess by the time it dries.] I'm glad you're here, [he says, because he shouldn't let Touya think that isn't true,] but you really didn't have to drop whatever you were doing for my sake. If you were doing stuff at school, or...
no subject
[He looks up at yet again, when Touya takes it upon himself to inspect the bookshelf up close. There's a whole lot of history on those shelves--they tell a story of their own, if anyone could be bothered to read it. Manga, video game guides, sports magazines, just that sort of stuff was all he had for a long time... then books on Go started creeping in. Eventually, the books on Go crowded out everything else. It got harder to keep up with his old hobbies as his preoccupation with Go got that much deeper.]
But, good. That's good to hear. It's supposed to remind you of me, I think. Just like your room reminded me of you.
[Touya's hands all over a goddamn volume of manga shouldn't seem as intimate as it does. He says he wants to see everything, too, and Hikaru swallows, his throat working around a lump of anticipation. What else does Touya want to see, and when did he start wanting to see it? Is he trying to make up for lost time or something?]
Hey, while you're over there... grab that yellow binder for me. Right above you.
[It's positioned two shelves up from the manga collection, a brighter than bright yellow. It has the same dimensions as Sai's neutral purple binder. Its width and generous weight proves it has the exact same purpose of storing hundred and hundreds of records. This binder is Hikaru's personal archive, which he doesn't hide away like he does Sai's. It, too, offers all the games he can possibly remember, many of which Touya has never seen before, obviously. Not only the games against Sai. Everything. His efforts as an insei, and the pro exam, and...
Hikaru is poised to mark down Black's next move, but the way Touya is looking at him gives him pause. It isn't the indecent shine of yesterday, or a chilly, commanding spear aimed at his weakest of weak points. No, it's more like a sci-fi tractor beam, quantized and inexplicable, keeping their eye contact locked in place.]
You... [Self-consciously, he runs a few his fingers through his still-damp hair, knowing it's going to be a mess by the time it dries.] I'm glad you're here, [he says, because he shouldn't let Touya think that isn't true,] but you really didn't have to drop whatever you were doing for my sake. If you were doing stuff at school, or...