A short one-shot I wrote after PE class(our sport: chess). I wonder why...that among all my games in chess, they all end in draws.
Warning: The characters are a bit OOC…I think.
I do not own NuraMago, nor did I invent chess.
"Hmm..."
"..."
"Ah...here."
Tack.
Tack.
"Checkmate."
"...nani?"
"I win."
"Mou ichido onegaishimasu!"
"...doushite? Don't you get tired of playing?"
"D-demo...Onegaishimasu, Itakuuuu..."
The boy sighed, and began to rearrange the chess board, putting all the marble pieces in their respective positions. He and his companion were to play their 13th match already, and he wondered why his opponent didn't get tired of playing...or losing. Itaku has won the last twelve games...all in less than 10 moves.
"Here, you play the white pieces."
Tack.
A pawn was moved first.
"...Hey," he picked up a black pawn and moved it two squares forward, "do you even know how to play?"
His opponent looked up and stared at him innocently, unconsciously moving the ivory knight onto some random square. He sighed again, then picked up the knight and placed it onto the correct square it was supposed to be in, "A game of chess is like a war, you have to protect your king at all costs...and in order to do that, you need to focus and move the pieces accurately."
"...hai."
Itaku moved another of his pawns.
Tack.
"Ah..."
And another.
Tack.
"Un..."
And a bishop.
Tack.
"..."
He raised a brow at the girl, seeing as she was hesitant to move another of her chess pieces. The girl glanced at him before looking back down at the board. Itaku leaned his back against the wall, his right arm on top of his knee. Silence enveloped the whole room, only the flickering flame from the lamp moved. Everything else...stagnant.
The girl moved her pawn.
He did the same.
She moved her rook.
Tack.
He captured it.
She looked at him with a pouting face. The flickering light from the lamp which illuminated her face only made it look cuter...for Itaku that is. The kamaitachi gave her a small chuckle, and she moved another of her pieces.
The last piece the girl moved: the bishop. Seeing that it was placed on a square diagonal of Itaku's pawn, it allowed him to capture it. As he did, the girl could only click her tongue.
"Aww." She moved another pawn.
"You seriously don't know how to play this game, do you?" he asked as he moved his knight to capture the said pawn. "I thought Rikuo taught you how to play?"
"Ano...he did, but..." the girl scratched her cheek with her index finger."I can't really understand him since his friends were always there, back at the main house. Especially that human girl...whenever we would play, she would suddenly pop out from nowhere...I can't even remember the pieces' respective moves since we were always disturbed."
"Tch, that idiot." Itaku sighed in annoyance before leaning forward. Looking down at the board, he motioned her to move a piece, "Move any chess piece that you want to move."
The girl obliged, and picked up a pawn, moving it forward. Itaku diagonally moved one of his bishops into a square perpendicular to where the white king was.
"Check."
"Hmm?" the girl frowned, pulling her hair downward in annoyance. "Kōheide wanai, Itaku."
"What? It's perfectly fair. It's a chess game, and its main goal is to capture your opponent's king." He looked at the golden-eyed maiden, who pouted at him. It was obvious that she was annoyed. A few more moves and Itaku would win the match...again. "Your turn."
"Tsk." the other picked up a rook, and was about to place it on a square diagonal its original position.
"Matte-" Itaku stopped her from placing the piece on the said square. He wrapped his hand around hers, and positioned her hand above an area vertical to the original square. "The rook represents the fact of watching, of observing our inner world…a tower in which you are able to observe everything. You can only move the rook forward, backward, or sideways with an unlimited and unoccupied number of squares."
For the maiden, she could only stare at the hand which held hers. She flinched at the warmth she felt envelop her hand. Of course, being a yuki-onna, she's sensitive to heat. This time, however, she did not mind the warmth that started to invade her. The girl felt her face heat up and blushed crimson from contact. Oh how lucky she was, for the orange light that glowed from the lamp helped hide her blush from being seen. Itaku looked at her with curious eyes, "Are you listening?"
Her head snapped back up, only to see that their faces were only a few inches apart. She felt her face grow hotter, and as if out of instinct, she dropped the marble chess piece and pulled back her hand.
"H-hai! I-I…yes! Tower! The rook…the rook, forwardbackwardsidewardsonly !" the snow maiden laughed nervously, gripping her furisode tightly. She looked away and bit her lower lip, hoping that her reddened face would return to normal.
The kamaitachi shook his head, and moved his bishop diagonally. "The bishop is the piece that can move in a diagonal direction. It is suitable for play and a decisive piece in the game."
"So it's good to use for capturing enemy pieces?"
The boy nodded, and moved a white pawn diagonally, capturing one of his. The other did not mind though, she just watched him intently. "The pawns are the fighters in the first line. They can make only one step forward, or diagonally when they conquer. They don't have powers, they have to earn them. Many times they are sacrificed in order to defeat or protect a more valuable piece. There are no battles without defeats and sacrifices, after all."
"…Just like us?"
Itaku blinked at her, before looking down at the board once again, "Yeah, just like us. But as I've said, pawns can be promoted into more valuable pieces."
"If that's the case, can I become a bishop?" The girl giggled at the thought of becoming like the said piece.
"Iie. You're more suitable to be queen." Itaku said as he moved his rook forward a few spaces. The yuki-onna flushed at his statement, "Then…can you become a king?"
"I think more of myself as a knight."
"Sou desu ka…"
"Speaking of which, the knight's special ability lies in its flanking and the ability to charge. Knights are also the only pieces that are allowed to jump other pieces. They move in the shape of an 'L'."
White porcelain hands moved the white queen a square to its left. After doing so, she continued to stroke and feel the marble piece, "And the queen?"
"Others consider the queen as the female sovereign and head of the state, therefore being the most powerful piece. The queen has full freedom of movement in any direction. On the other hand, the king…" The boy picks up his king and holds it up to his eye-level, examining it, "the king is he who rules the land and the people; a man with the title of ruler, but with limited power to rule; the chief piece. The king has always been an object of security and defense, rather than one of attack or offence. It is a known fact that a country will be powerless without its king, thus, making it the weakest…yet the most important piece in the game."
Silence filled the room once again.
"Hey, how about this? Let's switch the roles of these two pieces. The King then becomes the most powerful piece, and the queen becomes the weakest…and most important."
The snow maiden looked at him questioningly, "What for?"
Itaku ignored her question and placed his king four diagonal squares away from the other's queen. He stood, smirking down at the lady.
"Checkmate."
The girl frowned and stood, her hands on her hips, "Hey! That's not fair…?"
The flame from the lamp flickered off.
A few seconds later, sounds of falling and rolling marbles echoed. Chess pieces tumbled and fell from where they stood. The scratching of the wooden chess board was heard. The yuki-onna gasped at the force which pushed her backwards, pinning her to the wall. She glared intensely at her attacker, "I-ITAKU!"
"Shhh…" the boy hushed.
"What are you-?"
Her body tensed as she felt his hot breath brush on her ear. She tried to push him back, but much to her dismay, she cannot. Itaku IS known to be one of the strongest fighters in Tōno…how would she be able to match with his strength?
She shivered the moment the kamaitachi buried his face on her neck.
"Don't you think chess would be more fun like this…instead of playing it on board?"
"W-what?" The maiden swore that she heard a certain tone in his voice. Something…that she knew she only heard for the first time. She felt like her legs were ready to give in, and if it were not for the arms that held her around the waist, she would have already melted to the ground.
The shōji door suddenly slid open, and dim light infiltrated the room; however, it was not bright enough to illuminate the whole room, and only the doorstep was brightened. The girl was able to see a couple of figures enter.
"O-OI! Why is it so dark in here?!"
She figured that the one who called out was Kubinashi.
"Where are Reira and Tsurara?"
And that would be Kejōro.
"Rikuoooo~? Itakuuuu~?"
That would be Awashima…in her female form.
The sound of something sharp hitting the door was heard. It was more like metal…which...Itaku…threw…
"Sh-shit! I think I found Itaku! RUN!"
Awashima's voice became more and more distant after she ran down the halls. Footsteps running after her resounded. You would even hear Kubinashi crying out for Rikuo…and Kejōro screaming in fear.
"Matteeee! We still have to find theeeem!"
Yukari's voice was drowned by the sound of the sliding door.
"What did you do that for?!" the yuki-onna hissed, obviously not impressed with Itaku's action. She then heard a small deviant chuckle. The girl gasped as she felt warm lips on the corner of her mouth.
"I can't let them know that the dark and deviant king has captured their most precious snow queen."
Author's notes:
First of all…
Before all you haters complain and bash me about this fic, let me tell you one thing…FVCK YOU.
So what if I support RikuTsu, ItaRei, ItaTsu, or their love quadrangle? This is my life, I happen to support these pairings, and I don't live to please you. If y'all gonna go bitchin' about it, then don't do it here. If you don't like any of those pairings, then why read the fanfic, right? As simple as that. SIMPLE LOGIC.
Oh, and if you think that I'm such a smartass telling you about logic…well shut up. Do you fvcking want me to go public static void main(String [] args) throws HatersOffACliffException on you? Or how about going modus tollens and see if there are any fallacies in your statements?
Anyway, yes. I know…and I hope I left you wondering about which Yuki-onna was with Itaku. If I'm nice enough, I might even tell you on my next fic.
I would also like to apologize for not being descriptive enough (I'm actually the limited-dramatic perspective type of writer)…and for saying such mean things to haters.
Itaku's surprisingly talkative, don't you think?
TRANSLATIONS:
"…nani?" – "…what?"
"Mou ichido onegaishimasu!" – "one more time, please!"
"...doushite? Don't you get tired of playing?" – "…why? Don't you get tired of playing?"
"D-demo...Onegaishimasu, Itakuuuu..." –"B-but...please, Itakuuu…"
"…hai." – "…yes."
"Ano…he did, but…" – "Well…he did, but…"
"Kōheide wanai, Itaku." – "Not fair, Itaku."
"Matte-" – "Wait-"
"Daijoubu desu ka?" – "Are you alright?"
"Sou desu ka…" – "I see…"
"Matteeee! We still have to find theeeem!" – "Waaaaaiiiit! We still have to find theeeem!"