Part Eight:

Waya had to think through the situation carefully. He was roommates with Shindo so that was a plus already, but the bleached blond still seemed jumpy around him. Waya hadn’t even tried to get Hikaru to speak to him last night, for the blond had covered himself with the blankets and had refused to talk to him in return.

Patience is a virtue, he thought to himself. But then again, I have Touya breathing down my neck, ready to pounce on Shindo if I don’t make a move soon.

Their afternoon match was against Australia and if that were won, they would have two days to relax until the elimination matches began. Two days to show Shindo how much he really cared. He bit his lower lip in thought and stared morosely at the ceiling. What in the world could he do with Shindo, especially in a country that he was not familiar with?

Kim!

He jumped off his bed and reached for the phone. The Japanese-American had given them his phone number yesterday and dialing it quickly, Waya tapped his fingers restlessly on the table.

Come on…come on…

“Hello, Hayakawa residence?” came the cheerful female voice over the line, after five more rings.

“Ah…moshi moshi. Could I speak to Kim, please? This is a life and death situation.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“If you had placed the black here, white’s territory would have diminished considerably. There was no way it could have moved.”

“Hmmm…but if white had come over here, black would have been in serious trouble.”

Ochi pursed his lips at the stubborn argument and he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He hated discussing games with Shindo. The bleached blond seemed to think that he was right in everything and arguing with him was useless. Scowling, he lifted his gaze and asked coldly.

“Why are you playing with me now? I thought you would have wanted to play with Waya or Touya.”

Shindo stiffened at the question, before reaching for the stones to pack them up quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Is it so wrong to ask you for a game now?”

“Well, since we got here you haven’t asked me for a game and now…”

“And now I asked you for one, so sue me!” Shindo rose to his feet. “I’m going to go study some kifu. Thanks for playing in the first place.”

Leaving the pouting boy’s presence, Shindo made his way to the patio and sat down on a lounge chair. The crisp morning air did more to calm his nerves and he could almost feel himself relaxing. He closed his eyes and stretched languidly as the sounds of the cars below him didn’t seem to be as annoying as he thought they would be. He got to his feet and leaned over the balustrade, watching the tiny dots for cars that moved below him. He glanced across the street and smiled softly at the view of the beautiful, lush trees that made up Central Park. He would have loved to visit the famous park, but he wanted to go with someone. Thoughts of asking Ochi were out of the question and to his surprise; he had not seen Touya or Waya since he woke up this morning.

I wonder where they are…feh! Who cares where they are? After that…that…thing they did to me last night.

He pouted and closed his eyes. If he didn’t care, why then was his heart pounding with excitement? It had looked like Waya and Touya had been fighting over him and knowing that the idea was clearly stupid, Shindo refused to put any stock in it.

~ Sai…do you think I over reacted yesterday? Do you think I pushed them away? ~

The spirit shook his head slowly. ~ No, Hikaru. It was all new and rather…surprising to say the least, but I don’t think you did anything that didn’t need to be done. ~

~ So where are they? Are they avoiding me now? Maybe they hate me, Sai. ~

~ I doubt they do, Hikaru. Oh, look…here comes Waya now. ~

Shindo spun around with his heart rate quickening as he stared at the approaching figure of Waya. The redhead was dressed in casual jeans and a black t-shirt with the words ‘New York’ on it and on his handsome visage was a small smile that had Shindo blushing lightly.

“Hey, Shindo, whatcha doin’ outside here?”

Hikaru could only stare at him as he gripped the edge of the balustrade tightly. “I was just…enjoying the air. Where…” he licked his lips and tried again, since his voice seemed to be coming out in thin gasps. “Where were you this morning?”

Not that I care…

Waya gave a small secretive smile and leaned upon the rail as well. “I was just thinking of what a big jerk I was to you yesterday, Shindo and I want to make it up to you.”

“Ma…make it up to me…me?”

“Yeah!” Came the enthusiastic reply. “That’s why I want to take you out to town today. We can go hang out without those noisy Americans interfering. So, what do you say?”

Shindo’s eyes widened as his blush deepened. “But…but you don’t know anywhere around here! Where could we go?!”

Waya smirked and winked. “Leave it all to me, Shindo. I have everything under control. So, meet me in the lobby after the match today and we’ll get going, okay?” And before Hikaru could think, Waya leaned closer to place a soft, chaste kiss on his cheek. He backed away with a bright smile. “See you later, Shindo!”

Hikaru stood immobile, a trembling hand reaching up to caress his burning cheek in astonishment, as he watched Waya walk away from him. What the hell was going on? Was this a…date?

“A date with Waya? Kuso!” He ran nervous fingers through his hair and sat heavily on the lounge chair. “Oh, God…what…what am I going to do?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening….

~ How do I look, Sai? ~

The spirit giggled and nodded enthusiastically. ~ You look fine, Hikaru. I must say black does suit you quite well. ~

~ You think? I don’t look too overdressed or anything? ~ Shindo stared at his image in the mirror with a worried frown. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and matching slacks, which did more to highlight his bleached blond locks and the green of his eyes.

~ Let’s hurry already, Hikaru. We are going to be late! ~

~ Sheesh, Sai. Anyone would think it was you going for the date…I mean…going out! ~

“This is not a date. It’s just Waya taking me out for the evening that’s all.” He licked his parched lips and nodded curtly. “Okay, Sai. Let’s do this.”

He stepped out of the bedroom and began to make his way past the living room, where Ochi and Touya sat watching some American TV show. Hoping he could escape unnoticed, he immediately froze at Touya’s voice.

“Where are you going to, Shindo?”

Damn!

“Ah…I was just going down to the lobby, Touya.” Why did he sound so guilty? It wasn’t as if he was doing anything wrong…was he?

Akira tore his gaze from the TV screen and glanced back to take in the full sight of Shindo. He sucked in a harsh breath at how good the other boy looked and he felt a dull flare of jealousy at Waya’s good fortune. Shindo was beginning to get uncomfortable at the intense scrutiny from Akira and shifting from one foot to the other, he tried to tear his gaze away.

“I have to get going now,” he finally blurted out quickly. “You two…er…have fun.”

Ochi made a small sound of disgust, while Akira smiled weakly. “You too, Shindo. You too…”

Hikaru gave another small smile and made a beeline for the front door. Unfortunately, he found himself bumping into Ogata, who had chosen that moment to come into their hotel room.

“Aaah…gomen nasai, sensei,” Shindo apologized quickly, as he tried to steady himself.

“Going somewhere, Shindo?” Ogata asked with a wary look on his features.

“Ha…hai. Someone is waiting for me downstairs…”

“Where is Waya?” Ogata asked rather impatiently. He was already beginning to glance around the living room for the telltale red hair. “I hope he hasn’t gone anywhere without letting anyone know now, has he?”

Ochi chose that moment to make his voice heard. “Shindo and Waya are going out tonight, Ogata-sensei.”

Hikaru scowled and interjected quickly. “But we will come back soon! We promise! There is just this movie that we have to go to…”

“Then why don’t we all go to the movie? I have several tickets here to see the latest release at a nearby theater. Consider this a reward for your excellent play this afternoon, hmm?” And not giving anyone a chance to protest, Ogata nodded curtly. “Hurry up, everyone. I will be waiting for you all in the lobby downstairs.”

Shindo felt ridiculously close to tears as he watched Touya and Ochi go to their bedrooms to get their jackets.

This.Is.Not.Happening! Waya is going to be so pissed off at me!

All thoughts of spending a fun evening with the redhead flew right out the window and Shindo could only imagine the look that was bound to be on Waya’s face once he was told the news.

~*~*~*~*~

“THEY ARE WHAT?!”

“Shsssh…keep your voice down, Waya-kun. It’s okay…we can still have fun on our own later on. I mean, Ogata-sensei said it was only for a movie…”

Waya was already shaking his head in refusal. There was no way in hell that he was going to watch a movie with the other man and not only that…have Touya and Ochi tagging along. This was supposed to be his day, dammit! Ogata couldn’t do this to him!

“No way in hell am I going to go out with him! Where is he?” he asked, glancing around the lobby quickly. He could see Touya and Ochi step out from the elevator and his anger grew tenfold. He was sure that Akira was jumping with glee inside at having ruined their date.

I will get him back for this! I swear it!

Touya walked up to the duo with a small smile on his handsome features. “Has Ogata-sensei come down yet? He did tell us to wait for him…”

“No, he hasn’t!” Waya snapped. “And you know what? We don’t have to wait for him either. Come on, Shindo. Let’s get going. Let those three have their own fun…” He tugged restlessly on Hikaru’s arm and began to lead him out of the building, ignoring the small protests that accompanied the action.

“Waaaya…we have to wait…”

“Yoshikata! Where do you think you are going to?”

Waya sucked in a harsh breath and sighed in defeat. This was hopeless. All his plans were ruined. Gone. Wasted. Pointless – that was until the soft whisper against his ear made him see reason.

“Why don’t we just go along with them for the movie and then we can escape when it’s almost over, hmm? The theater will be dark and so there is no way they can spot us when we leave.”

Waya tried hard to control the shiver at the husky tone and he nodded weakly. Shindo was too close to him and realizing the way they both looked, Waya smirked and stole a glance at Touya as if daring him to make a comment about their close proximity. He didn’t know if he ought to feel disappointed at the blank look that was given to him in return. Akira didn’t even look as if the situation fazed him, he only spun around and began to follow Ogata and Ochi towards the waiting limousine.

“Yeah…” Waya finally muttered softly, as he placed his hand over Shindo’s. “Let’s escape when the lights go out…”

~*~*~*~*~

Waya and Shindo made sure they sat behind Ogata and the others, once inside the theater. The movie was action-oriented with a world famous movie star in the lead role, which would have appealed to both boys if only the others hadn’t followed them. However, they both found the time to tease each other, making corny jokes and giggling like teenage girls as they waited impatiently for the previews to be over with. Waya would throw some popcorn at Shindo and the blond would do the same. Unfortunately, Waya became a bit too enthusiastic in his throwing and some ended up falling in Ogata’s hair.

“Oops!”

Ogata cleared his throat and shook his head rapidly, getting the popcorn out and in a tone that was as cold as ice, he spun around to glare at both boys. “You will behave yourselves, or you will be kicked out of the theater, do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” Waya nodded with a wide grin. “Sorry about that. It won’t happen again…sir.”

As soon as Ogata spun around to face the screen again, Waya raised two fingers behind his head and made a particularly, funny face, which sent Shindo into peals of laughter. Waya slapped a hand over Hikaru’s mouth and made a hushing motion, but he could barely contain his own giggles and soon enough, both ended up laughing themselves silly.

Touya could only listen with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He clenched his hands on his lap and struggled to keep his eyes pinned on the large screen, but that was becoming harder to do. So, what if he had kissed Shindo? It still looked as if both he and Waya had an even stronger bond now. Touya felt like he had little to no chance of ever getting that comfortable with Hikaru. He didn’t know what the boy liked. He didn’t know the kinds of places they could go or things they could do together besides playing Go and there was certainly no way that they would play Go on their date. Sighing heavily, he subjected himself to listening to the hushed whispers and soft giggles, even as his heart seemed to ache with a pain that would never go away.

I don’t think I could ever win. Compared to Waya…I am terribly boring and have nothing really interesting to tell Shindo.

The movie began and the lights went dim, giving the theater a cozy feel. Twenty or so minutes into the movie, Waya nudged Shindo’s arm and nodding, Hikaru rose to his feet and began to walk out of the theater, grateful for their seats being close to the entrance. Once outside, he stuck his hands into his pockets and paced around impatiently. He could feel his body throb with excitement and he wondered what Waya had in store for them tonight. Would he finally get a chance to steal his first real kiss with the redhead? Touya had felt incredible, but how would Waya feel?

“Boo!”

“Baka!” Shindo cried out as he almost fell from the surprise hug from Waya. He laughed and playfully shoved Waya away from him and in no time, both were running down the theater lobby in a game of hide and seek. After five minutes of this and two warning glares from some policemen, Waya wrapped his arms around Shindo’s shoulders and led him towards the condiment bar. They ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the assortment of candy at their disposal and having enough money to spend, they stuffed their pockets with as much gummy worms, sour skittles, jelly beans, sweet tarts and licorice sticks.

“The limo should be waiting for us outside,” Waya announced loudly as he led them out of the building. Hikaru was busy chewing on a red licorice stick and juggling with the brown bag, filled with candy, in the other hand. “Ah! There it is! Let’s go, Shindo!”

“Whoo hoo!” They climbed into the large car and made themselves comfortable in the back seat. “Where are we going to first, Waya?”

Waya grinned and tossed a guidebook towards him. “Wherever you wish to go, Shindo-kun,” he said with a warm smile. “I told the driver to take us to the best places to visit in the city.”

“Can we go to Yankee Stadium then?” Hikaru asked in excitement, almost bouncing in his seat. “Come on, come on! I want to see Yankee Stadium first!”

Waya snickered and moved closer to him. “Fine, fine…Yankee Stadium it is. Hey, driver!” He pressed the button that wound down the black partition and called out. “Could you please take us to Yankee Stadium?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Huh? He speaks Japanese?”

Waya nodded and smirked. “He sure does.”

“How did you…?”

Waya placed a finger against Shindo’s lips to silence him. “I have my ways, Hikaru. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

~*~*~*~*~

The man stared at both boys with a skeptical frown on his features. He really shouldn’t be allowing kids into the building, but the desperate looks on their faces was enough to do him in. For one thing, they were clearly foreigners and must have had come a pretty long way just to see what Yankee Stadium was like and secondly, their limo driver looked like he was going to start bawling for them at any second. He sighed and scratched his head.

“Geez, fellas. The stadium is closed to the public for now. I mean, the team isn’t even in town right now and if the boss hears that I let you guys come in…”

“We aren’t going to do anything, honest!” Waya pleaded.

Hikaru nodded fervently. “Please, sir. We just want to see what the field looks like. The Yankees are my idols and I would love to have a chance to see what it really feels to be in the great Yankee Stadium! Pleeeeeease!!”

Toby Smithy, a Yankee Stadium janitor for over thirty years, sighed heavily and finally gave in. “Alright, boys…but just for an hour tops. You can take a look around and don’t go touching anything you shouldn’t, got that?”

“Hai!!”

With impossible grins on their faces, Waya and Shindo almost pushed poor Toby to the ground as soon as the doors were opened. They ran down the long walkway, which seemed a bit eerie as no one was in sight. Hikaru could almost feel and hear the sounds of the throngs of people that would have walked down this same path. He could smell the hotdogs and the beer that would flow from the empty stands. He could hear the cries of the enthusiastic crowd as their team scored another run.

“This way, Shindo!”

Hikaru ran after Waya as they made their way up the stairs and into the stands. Shindo sucked in a harsh breath as his gaze fell upon the most famous baseball park in the world.

“Wow….Waya…it’s…it’s…beautiful…”

The redhead could only nod in silent awe at the hushed whisper from his friend. The baseball field that they had only seen on television or read about in magazines was finally before them. And with the fading light of the evening sky, dusting its long shadows across the field – the stadium seemed to harbor an almost mystical aura around it. As if hypnotized, both boys walked down the stairs all the way to the bottom stands, their gaze never leaving the diamond-shaped playground below them.

“Let’s go down there,” Waya said softly.

Hikaru swallowed and nodded. They both jumped over the rail and walked into the field itself. Shindo could feel his body trembling in excitement. He stepped up to the pitcher’s mound and stood there with his eyes closed. He could hear the crowd screaming his name. It was the final inning in Game Seven of the World Series and everyone was relying on him to pitch the last batter out. One more fastball and the championship was theirs.

Waya stepped up to the batter’s box, a few feet away from Shindo, and held up an imaginary bat. “Come on, big shot! Throw me your best fastball and watch me hit it out of the ballpark!”

Shindo opened his eyes and smirked. “Are you sure you are ready to be clobbered, Waya-kun? No one can hit my fastball, you know that!”

“Just throw it, loudmouth!”

Shindo growled. “Here it comes!” And fixing his imaginary baseball hat, he spat out to the side of the mound and glanced back at his imaginary teammates. With a curt nod, he turned back to face Waya, a dangerous glint now in his eyes. He licked his lips and held his hands high above his head and with a quick move that rivaled any pitcher, Shindo let loose his ‘ball’ and watched with abated breath as it sped towards Waya.

Waya held his stance and with a loud cry, swung his ‘bat’ as hard as he could. He dropped it and began to run around the bases, hoping to get to home plate before Shindo caught it.

“Aaaah! It’s an in the park homerun!” Shindo announced as he picked up the ‘ball’ and began to run towards home, waiting for Waya to come around, so as to tag him out. Waya picked up his speed and cursed loudly. He would have to slide if he had any chance of getting the run and doing just that, he was stunned to find himself barreling straight into Shindo, causing them both to fall flat on the dusty earth.

“You are out!” Shindo bellowed as he wrapped his arms tightly around Waya’s waist, holding him prisoner.

“Kisama! I got here before you!”

“No, you didn’t! I tagged you out, fair and square!”

“No, you did not! I got here before you…”

“Aaaaaaargghhh!”

Both boys screamed as the sprinklers suddenly came on. The water soaked through their already dirty clothes and hair and they struggled to find their footing. With a loud laugh, Shindo shoved Waya back to the ground and in seconds both boys were rolling around on the wet grass in a mock wrestling match, the water still splashing around them in torrents.

Finally panting for air, Hikaru got the upper hand and pinned Waya to the ground by straddling his hips and holding his wrists within his hands. Laughing uncontrollably, he lay his head upon Waya’s soaked shirt, trying to catch his breath.

“Shi…Shindo…” Waya panted out harshly, as he tried to hide how much Hikaru’s position was affecting him. A dull blush was coming to his features now and he found his heart pounding with anticipation.

“What is it, Waya?” Shindo asked softly as he lifted his gaze to pin smiling green eyes on his partner and friend.

“I…I…will…will you kiss me, Shindo?” he finally asked softly, with hope in his golden depths.

Hikaru gasped in surprise before allowing a small smile to come to his lips. This was the chance he had been hoping for and Waya had asked for it…first?

“Not if you kiss me, too,” Hikaru teased even though his voice trembled with emotion.

Waya needed no second bidding and closing his eyes, he groaned softly as he lifted himself to claim Hikaru’s lips in a tentative kiss. It was feather light, barely ghosting each other as they both tried to savor the moment. Shindo tightened his hold on Waya’s wrists and pressed his lips harder against the redhead’s. He whimpered as he felt Waya part them for him and remembering what he had done to Touya, Shindo slipped his tongue into the warm cavern, exploring and tasting the boy he had longed for so long.

Waya whimpered and struggled to release the hold Shindo had on his wrists. He wanted to hold the other boy. To feel Shindo totally and completely and just relishing in this kiss alone was not enough. He bucked up gently, gasping within the kiss as the dual ache in their lower regions almost sent them both crying out in…

“HEY!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KIDS THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

Both boys pulled away from each other and stared guiltily at the bright light that was now focused on them. Blushing heavily, they jumped to their feet and apologized profusely. But Toby wasn’t having any of that. Cursing himself for allowing the ‘the damn gay’ boys to use his field as their bedroom, Waya and Shindo were unceremoniously kicked out from the stadium.

For several minutes, they stood beside the waiting limo, not really sure of what to say to each other. Finally, Waya sighed and eyed their messed up clothes. “Gomen nasai, Shindo. I was hoping to make this night, kinda special…”

“What are you talking about?” Hikaru asked with a warm smile. He wrapped his arms around Waya’s waist and lay his head upon the strong shoulder. “I will never forget this night, Waya-kun. I got a chance to go to Yankee Stadium and to finally…kiss you…”

Finally?! Waya’s eyes widened in shock. Did Shindo really feel the same way for him…?

“Shindo…”

Hikaru pulled away and stared at the redhead. “Hmm? What is it, Waya?”

“No…nothing.”

“Well, come on, then! The night is still young, ne?! Let’s go see some other place!” And tugging lightly on Waya’s arm, Hikaru began to lead them towards the waiting car.