And this one is from bookshop's charity ficathon, which is currently on a day-long hiatus because of the LJ content strike, but which will be back tomorrow and you should all go participate in.
This is Ko/Hon, but not nearly as Ko/Hon as I would like it to be.
Apologetics. Hikaru no Go, implied Yongha/Suyon, 872 words.
"Yongha's really not so bad," Suyon suddenly blurts, and Hikaru almost chokes on his burger.
They finished their game, their big rematch, and Hikaru won (of course, says one part of his brain, and you mean "phew", says another) but it was hard to discuss it with all the old guys cutting in excitedly, not even in Japanese, so, "You wanna grab a burger?" Hikaru said.
So now they've been through the whole thing, and Hikaru's pointed out the messed-up ko fight that cost Suyon the game and only rubbed it in a little; then they've tiptoed around the subject of the Hokuto Cup by talking about their matches against the Chinese team (the word "scary" comes up a lot -- even though you guys beat them, whispers a voice in the back of Hikaru's head), and Suyon's been introduced to tonkatsu and Hikaru's been informed that international flights really suck, and then Hikaru went to get a cheeseburger because he was still hungry, and he'd just sat down and started eating it when Suyon apparently lost his mind.
Hikaru takes a big, noisy slurp of his soda, both to stop himself choking and to stall for time before he has to say anything, because Suyon's turned out to be a pretty OK guy now he's grown out of that bratty stage he was in when they first met, and Hikaru would prefer not to call him a deluded moron if he didn't have to.
Hikaru's straw makes that nasty sucking sound that means his soda is all gone, and he glares at Suyon over the lip of the cup, because he still hasn't worked out what the "nice" version of "Your friend's a disrespectful jerk, Suyon," is.
"I mean," Suyon says hurriedly, haltingly, "he's actually really nice. He taught me a lot. And funny. Hard-working. Just... nice." He looks down at the table, and -- yes -- Hikaru is absolutely sure he's blushing.
"He said all that stuff about Shuusaku," Hikaru says, and a part of his conscience that sounds exactly like his mother tells him that he shouldn't have said that, Suyon's trying to apologise for his friend and it's shameful to embarrass him like that. But Hikaru's really, really mad about that, still, really mad and humiliated because I couldn't punish him for those words adds a traitorous, quickly squashed inner voice.
Suyon cringes, and gives Hikaru an odd sort of seated bow. "I'm sorry," he says, using the wrong word. "That's not what he said, to begin with. It was a mistake. But when he found out about it," he frowns, "he thought it was funny. He made it into a joke. I got so angry. That's not my Yongha-- the Yongha who's my friend," he stammers, correcting himself. "And then you challenged him, and he got mad. And your game -- I saw the gibo. You, um." He gives Hikaru a look that Hikaru recognises from having used it many times himself: it's a look that says please don't hit me, I'm just the messenger. "You surprised him. You scared him. He got angry at you." Suyon bows again. "I'm sorry for him," he says, straightening up. "I just... I didn't want you to think he was always like that."
Hikaru is very quiet for a minute. He's thinking about the end of the tournament, about the taxi Team Japan shared back to the Ki-in. Touya was squashed between Hikaru and Yashiro in the middle seat, and as he felt the warmth of Touya's leg pressing into his own, Hikaru suddenly realised that he wanted to reach over and touch Touya, and never stop touching him, and he's incredibly scared of this realisation and hasn't worked out what it means yet. But he thinks that he must have looked then pretty much like Suyon looks now.
"You're chasing after him," he says slowly.
"I'll never catch up to him," Suyon says. "He's too good. In ten years he might be the strongest living player. A player like that doesn't need to stop for anyone -- but he stopped for me. He taught me how to grow. I have to chase after him; I couldn't play go if I didn't." He flushes, and looks down at his hands, folded in his lap. "I'm sorry. I'm saying strange things."
For several minutes they sit in silence. Hikaru waits until he's absolutely sure he's beaten back the urge to say something about Sai. Then he says, "I guess because Team Korea won the Hokuto Cup they'll have it in Korea next year."
Suyon blinks. "I don't know," he says. "I suppose so."
"I'll just have to make sure I'm on the team so I can come to Korea and kick his ass, then," Hikaru says, grinning widely; grinning because even though he'll probably never be able to explain to Suyon why, he understands now.
Suyon looks at him for a moment, then a tiny, shy smile sneaks onto his face. "Who says you'll be playing Yongha?" he says. "It might be me."
"I guess it might," Hikaru says, standing up. "C'mon. I hope you've got some room left. I need to show you what real ramen tastes like before you go home."