"And… checkmate."

Takumi couldn't suppress the smug smile that was inching its way onto his face. The girl he was playing with had never seen his bishop coming to corner her king. She sighed loudly, but the sound was drowned out by the swell of cheering from the crowd around them.

Okay, maybe it wasn't a crowd. The chess club wasn't very big, after all.

"Good game," remarked the girl, extending a hand over the chessboard. "You're really good at this."

Takumi laughed as he shook her hand. "What else do you expect from the head of the club?" he asked. "Thank you, though." With that, he turned his gaze to the rest of the group. "Anyone else want to take me on?"

"It's almost class, actually," said Takumi's friend Oboro. Chess bored her to tears, but she came sometimes to spend time with him. "We've got math next. Hinata said he would meet us there."

"All right," Takumi responded. He stood up to address the others again. "Today's meeting is over, everyone. Thanks for coming. Don't forget; the chess tournament is in a few weeks. Make sure you're all practicing."

The group dispersed, chattering amongst themselves as they went, and leaving only Takumi and Oboro. The silver-haired boy went right to gathering up the chess pieces and putting them away. Oboro trailed aimlessly after him as he went. "You excited for the tournament, Takumi?" she asked. "Think you're going to win again this year?"

"Probably."

She laughed. "Oh, you don't have to be so humble."

Takumi put away the last chessboard and turned to her. "What's the sense in pretending, Oboro? I'm good at chess. That's why I'm the head of the club."

"Really? I thought it was because the old head got too busy with schoolwork to manage the club, and knew that you were the one with the least of a life," teased Oboro.

Takumi scowled. "No," he hissed.

"Heyyy, don't give me that look. I'm only joking." She grinned widely at him. "Anyway, I gotta go touch up my makeup now. I'll meet you in math, okay? Hinata should be there by now."

"All right," replied Takumi.

She flounced out of the classroom with a wave. Takumi went to go pick up his bookbag, but his mind was somewhere else completely. Although he liked to think that he'd been chosen as the new head of the chess club because he'd never lost a game (not counting, of course, the time when he'd had the flu and had fallen asleep on top of the chessboard. A very scared ninth grader had won that game, and Takumi's friends hadn't let him forget it ever since.), what Oboro had said was technically true. He was the only member of the chess club who had come to every meeting since the beginning of the year. That meant that he was reliable, yes, but what else did it imply about him?

Takumi tried not to dwell on it. He did have a life. He saw his friends on a regular basis, and sometimes he was home when his older sister, Hinoka, threw her parties, even if all he did was sit in the corner with a book. He did everything that a normal sixteen-year-old boy would do; he'd even tried vodka once. (It sounded much cooler if he left out the part where he had immediately started coughing and spluttering all over his friends. That was another thing they would never let him live down.)

Takumi was shaken from his thoughts at the sound of the bell. "Math," he muttered. "Shit. Did I do my homework?"

Of course you did your homework, you dumb pineapple. You have no life.

He gave a long sigh, picked up his bookbag, and headed out of the classroom.

For someone who loved something as nerdy as chess, Takumi was surprised that he didn't enjoy math more. It wasn't like he did badly in it, because he didn't. It was just boring as hell.

Now I know how Oboro feels coming to chess club, he thought, glancing over at his friend. She was doodling something all over her notes.

At the end of class, she and Hinata came over to Takumi as he was packing up his books. "Dude, did you see Spray Tan Guy?" snickered Hinata. "I almost couldn't see him against that orange poster at the back."

Takumi couldn't help but laugh. He had a nasty habit of nicknaming people instead of learning their actual names, something that Oboro and Hinata had subconsciously started doing from spending time with him. These nicknames could come from anywhere; their appearance, their demeanour, or even what they said or did. There was a boy in Hinoka's grade who the three of them had nicknamed 'Mayo Guy' because they saw him squirt mayonnaise out of his sandwich once. Once.

"We'll meet you outside, all right, Takumi?" said Oboro.

"Okay," replied Takumi, throwing his notes hastily into his binder.

His friends left the classroom together, Hinata still talking about Spray Tan Guy as they went. Takumi continued gathering up his books. As he was doing so, a soft voice from behind him said, "Excuse me."

Takumi turned around. Standing there was a boy from his class. He was tall and slender, with neatly combed blonde hair. Headband Boy, thought Takumi with a faint trace of surprise. Headband Boy, aptly named for the thin black headband that he always wore, sat a few seats in front of Takumi. Other than that, Takumi only knew one thing about him; this boy was their class's resident genius. But unlike the other obnoxious smart kids who were constantly at the teacher's beck and call, Headband Boy was very quiet about his intelligence. He aced tests and scored nineties, but Takumi could count the number of times he'd heard the boy speak on his fingers.

"Can I help you?" Takumi asked.

"I hope so," Headband Boy responded curtly. "Your name is Takumi, correct?"

Takumi nodded, sticking his math textbook into his bookbag. "That's right."

"And you're the head of the chess club?"

Takumi paused. He hadn't been expecting that. "Er, yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering when and where your club meets," explained Headband Boy. "I'm interested in joining."

"Oh?" Takumi said. "Well, we're always happy to have new members. The chess club meets on Thursdays at lunch, in room one-fifty-five."

"Thursdays at lunch? So… today's meeting has already passed, then?" Headband Boy asked.

"Yes. Sorry about that," replied Takumi. "I'll look forward to seeing you there next week, though."

"Yes, same for you," said Headband Boy. "And, ah… thank you, Takumi."

With that, he gave a terse nod and left the room. Takumi watched him go- Headband Boy had never said a word to him before, let alone an entire conversation- before gathering the rest of his supplies and leaving the class as well.

Oboro and Hinata were waiting near the door. "Hey, what took you so long?" asked Hinata. "Were you talking to Headband Boy? I could've sworn you two were staging your exits there."

"Very funny, Hinata," Takumi grumbled. "But yes, I was talking to Headband Boy. He wants to join the chess club."

"Oh, really?" Hinata looked down the hallway, where Headband Boy was a tall purple speck retreating into the throng of students. "He looks the type, I guess. A bit nerdy. No offense, though, Takumi," he added quickly as the silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh."

"So what's his real name?" Oboro piped up.

"What?"

"Headband Boy," she clarified. "That's what we always call him, but what's his real name?"

"I… oh," Takumi trailed off upon realizing that he hadn't bothered to ask. "I don't know. I forgot to ask him."

Hinata laughed. "Shit, that's gonna be awkward next week at chess club." He stuck out his hand, miming Takumi's voice. "Good to see you, Headband Boy. Welcome to chess club, Headband Boy."

Takumi shrugged. "It's okay; I bet one of my sisters knows him."

"Takumi, we're in his class and we don't know his name," Oboro pointed out. "You really think Hinoka or Sakura would know him?"

Takumi gave a long sigh. "Okay, maybe not. I'll figure it out, though."

Hinata opened his mouth to say something else, but just then, the bell rang. "Shit, we're going to be late," he said. "See you after school, okay, guys?"

Takumi and Oboro both waved goodbye to him, and the three of them went their separate ways. As Takumi walked toward his next class, he found himself stuck on Headband Boy. Gods, what was that kid's name? They were in the same class, after all; why didn't he know his name?

Come to think of it, he thought, you don't know many people's names, do you? You call them by ridiculous nicknames, but you don't know who they really are. How shallow are you?

It was an unsettling realization, but not one that stuck with Takumi. In fact, he forgot all about Headband Boy until exactly one week later; the next chess club meeting.