"Hey Ren!"
Ren Amamiya had just walked out of his second year classroom and looked towards the staircase, where a blond haired teenager waited for him. If one hadn't known about the two delinquent status, it would have been easy to wonder why the two hanged out. Ren was a quiet seeming boy, while the one known as Ryuji Sakamoto could simply be described as loud.
Of course, both being two of the so called 'Phantom Thieves of Heart' that had stolen the distorted desires of Shujin Academy's Olympic Hero, such descriptors were somewhat relative.
"Yes, Ryuji?" Ren asked as Ryujin stopped leaning on the wall, rolling one of his shoulders before giving Ren a hopeful look.
"So, are you free this afternoon? I got something that I want to do, but I can only do it with another person, and I don't exactly got anyone else to do it with."
Ren quickly went through his schedule in his head and didn't think of anything pressing. He jostled his bag for a bit. A moment later, Morgana's head popped out of his bag and looked up at him.
"Yeah, Ren? What do you need?" "Morgana, do I have anything I really need to do today?" "No, can't think of anything. Besides, you guys just stole Kamoshida's treasure. I say that even phantom thieves need to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor every once in a while."
Hearing that, Ren nodded. "Yeah, looks like I got nothing on my schedule right now. So, what do you want to do?"
The grin that came on Ryuji's face could have split anyone else's mouth in half. "AWESOME! Also, today's just a nice day to be outside. I'm gonna go ahead and get my stuff, you go ahead and meet me at the entrance to Inokashira park."
"Oh, that does sound nice." Morgana commented as he peeked out of the bag. "If you don't mind, I'll take a walk around while you're with Blondie."
"Alright, just watch yourself." Ren said as he walked down the stairs. "After all, wouldn't want to have to find you in the pound. We should probably invest in a collar for you."
"NO! NO COLLAR BECAUSE I'M NOT A CAT!"
Ren had to admit, having gotten to know Ryuji over the past couple of weeks, and fighting through Kamoshida's palace with him, he had thought that he had managed to get a pretty solid grasp on his blond-haired friend. No offense to Ryuji, but he did seem to wear his heart and feelings on his sleeve. Sure, he may have wore them a bit too loudly and nearly given their position and group away quite a bit, but that was something that Ren accepted.
Still, seeing Ryuji carrying an actual shogi board was something he didn't expect to see.
"Come on, I think I see an empty table over there." Ryuji pointed his head towards it, and Ren could only take a seat as his comrade put the board in front.
"Shogi?" Ren asked as he looked at the board. A part of him wondered if Ryuji even knew how to play. Then the person in question gave Ren a hard look.
"Yeah, something wrong with that?"
Knowing a loaded question when he heard it, Ren simply waved his hands off. "No, you're just full of surprises."
Hearing that, Ryuji's grin came back. "Hey, no problem. Just... everyone takes one look at me, and shogi player doesn't come up."
As he talked about how annoying it was to deal with people to think that he enjoyed doing more 'thuggish' things, Ren noticed how Ryuji was already setting up the board. If there was any doubt that Ryuji didn't know what he was doing, the speed and surety he was placing the pieces down alleviated them. Heck, he was certain Ryuji only needed to feel the characters on the tiles before putting them on the right square.
"Alright," Ryuji took a seat on the other seat. "You want to go first or me?"
Ren thought about it. He wasn't much of a shogi player, but he at least understood the basics. For now, he might as well let Ryuji go first, then react off that. "I'll let you go first."
Ryuji smirked. "No offense, but you just made a huge mistake. Well then…"
Cracking his neck, Ryuji picked up one of the pieces Ren remembered was called a pawn. Moving it one space forward, thunder (at least what it felt like to Ren) echoe as Ryuji smashed the piece down. Sitting back, the smirk grew wider. "PREPARE YOURSELF, REN! THE SHOGI PUNK'S IN ACTION!"
'Shogi Punk? Is that a name he came up for himself?' Ren thought as he responded.
However, it wasn't long before Ren blinked, wondering how Ryuji managed to take all his pieces and threaten his king. With a final clack, a promoted rook blocked off any escape for Ren's king, the only piece that he had left. Leaning back, Ren stared down at the board.
Overwhelming. If there was a word to describe Ryuji's playstyle, it would be overwhelming. Every move that Ren tried was countered instantly, every piece gobbled up and put on his side of the field, even just the way Ryuji sat across from him just made his friend seem so much bigger than he was.
Ryuji might as well just found a fire hose and blasted him for a couple of minutes.
"Checkmate, Ren! Ha ha, that was fun! Though, for next time, let me warn you, don't let me set the tempo, otherwise," Ryuji pointed down at the board. "You're gonna get creamed."
"Noted." Ren said as Ryuji began to pick up the pieces, pausing to look up at Ren.
"You wanna play another game?"
Ren thought for a moment, before nodding. As Ryuji started to set up the board again, the bespectacled student remembered something earlier that was said.
"So...Shogi Punk? Is that something that you came up with on your own?"
Ryuji looked up from the set-up board. "Naw man. That's what the shogi magazines call me."
At that, even Ren couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle. "Ok, pics or it didn't happen."
"Oh, don't worry. I have plenty of pics!"
"Did you really have to say like that?"