"Check."

Crystal smiled at Matt as he scratched his head, adjusting his goggles from time to time. He was becoming increasingly frustrated. He was undefeated games master- except when it came to chess. He eyed the girl in front of him, who he could tell was hiding a very smug smile under that innocent exterior.

She had just taken his bishop. Not looking good for him. Maybe he worm out of it. Chess was a sport, and every sport was not necessarily a game as such. If he lost, he could say that it was a sport, ergo, he was still the undefeated champ. Not his most glorious moment, and he knew very well it wasn't elegant. But still. He wasn't ashamed. He was a sore loser.

He saw a way out. Castling with his rook, he slapped the timer, letting Crystal go again.

They had both decided to bunk off school for the day. Matt had hacked into the lecture hall computer, which was recording his law lecture, as well as Crystal's General Chemistry. They could listen to it later.

The room was pretty much void, apart from the both of them. Romeo and Skye had gone off into town to shop for groceries (the first went for the women). Pearce was sound asleep after minding the five drunk lords through the night, and Krusty was still conked out pretty good. He was the very definition of apathy- but his IQ certainly made up for his habits. He certainly could afford to lose some brain cells.

Matt bit his thumbnail as Crystal moved, wishfully begging whatever deity that was up there. Don't let Crystal see that opening. It was obscure and against pretty much anyone else (Near and Mello excluded), he could have been confident that he could win. Yet, with his co-hacker, he really couldn't tell. His better judgment was telling him to think up of a good excuse for losing.

And apparently the little devil on his shoulder was right. A couple of slaps on the clock later, her queen moved on square diagonally.

"Check… mate."

He scrutinized the board, even though a glance was enough to tell him that she was right. He, Matt Carter/Trix/Mail Jeevas, had lost. And the game hadn't lasted more than fifteen minutes.

"Aw. Don't be so glum, Trixie. Better luck next time. Or not."

She grinned and deftly reset the board, barely even looking at it. Matt could easily tell- she was a fanatic about the game.

"Damn. You really like chess don't you?"

She looked up.

"Mmm. I was a chess champion once upon a time. But I haven't lost it have I? Or maybe I have. No offense, Trix, but you really suck at chess."

He had to agree. By regular people standards, he was on a whole other level. But in a warehouse full of some of the smartest people to roam the lands, his chess skills were meagre.

He had an excuse though. One, his intelligence wasn't in the strategic area. That was Crystal's forte. Two, he had only spared a glance at the checked board thrice in his life. Stuff like that just wasn't as good as blowing someone's head off in a sick headshot in Modern Warfare.

"Okay, okay. I concede. But I don't really see the point. Either you capture the king or you don't. It's not very exciting is it?"

Crystal looked up with an expression he just couldn't place. She slowly lowered the black king onto his rightful place. Her face bore a mixture of wistful sadness, defiance and softness.

"Think about it this way. The dangerous games we play- the missions that define us. Isn't it a bit like chess itself? We use people- pawns."

She flicked over a black pawn to make her point.

"Then, we ourselves are the knights, bishops, rooks and queens. Hellbent on protecting our king. Doing whatever it takes."

Down went a white knight, bishop, rook and queen.

"We fight the enemy with everything we got."

A black bishop, knight and queen hit their sides.

"… All to defeat their king- the Mafia, Yakuza, you name it…"

She slowly toppled the black king.

"To make sure that our King stands. And who… you may ask is our king?"

She picked up the white king and held it on the palm of her hand, looking at it intently.

"The people. The innocents in this world that the law just can't protect. We fight for them because they can't fight against the injustice."

She quickly straightened the pieces and carefully put the white king back.

"All we're playing is simply one giant game of chess. It's the only game that truly matters to me. So far, I've never lost. And I pray that I'll never have to."

Matt simply stared at the woman seated in front of him. She looked small, so disarming. Walking down the street, you would simply look at her and notice a pretty face, but the next second, move on to the next thing on your agenda. No one would spare her a second thought. Yet, seeing her speak in such a way reminded him of exactly how… powerful the six of them were in the world. How powerful she was.

It was affirming and it was a bit terrifying too. Nonetheless, it made him proud. L was making the world better in his own way. They were doing it in theirs. He was suddenly infinitely glad he left Wammy's House. If being a contender for L's successor meant waiting for the real one to die, it just wasn't worth it. Besides, that was more Near or Mello's thing. They were smarter, they were craftier.

Matt alone couldn't handle the weight of the world like L did. His skills were unparalleled elsewhere. Yet, in this group, his weaknesses were compensated for by people like Crystal and his strengths were allowed to shine. Nobody here was perfect, yet together, they balanced each other out perfectly.

Just like a chess army.

He smiled. They would take down the bad guys one by one. Or die trying.

"Well, I'm going to go take a piss. And a shower. While eating Sour Patch Kids. And then get dressed for the party. See ya later Trixie."

He snapped out of his daze in time to see Crystal get up off the floor and he nodded. Ruffling the red hairs on his head, she shuffled off, yawning into the back of her palm. He watched her go.

Somewhere out there, his sister, Melanie Jeevas was out there. Hopefully alive and well. He could never search for her- she would undoubtedly have a new identity and be living now in a different country. The pain of her loss would always stagnate, throbbing in a specific spot in his chest.

At first, he thought that the stabbing pain would never lessen. Broken shards of glass seemed pierce his heart at remembering the innocent three year old face looking up at him for guidance. Guidance that a six year old brother just couldn't give. But, nine years later, he found a modicum of solace.

Crystal was very different then- even amongst them. Her hair was a natural honey brown that painfully resembled Melanie's and though she seemed tough, she was a very vulnerable soul. Withdrawn and shying away (not so much shying as beating-down-with-a-stick) from any and all human contact, she segregated herself from the rest of the world- including the five of them. When he first came, he was struck. It was what he thought Melanie would be like if he could see her today. It instinctively made him want to protect her.

Even though she was eighteen then- a year older than himself, she seemed younger than him. And that's how he had always perceived her since. His younger sister.

Over the following months, he slowly got closer, got her to open up with the greatest difficulty. And she had blossomed, amongst the six of them at least. It was what he felt was his biggest achievement and made him feel worthy again. The pain of leaving Melanie behind didn't seem so bad.

He shut his eyes again.

Over the years, he had tried his utmost to curb the memories. To say his past was unsavory was an understatement. Saying it was an understatement was also an understatement. But his mind never let him forget. He didn't possess Crystal's ability to retain memory as pictures in the utmost clarity- no. But had OCD- instead of smoothing blankets, he hoarded memories. And unfortunately, he had a penchant to remember the bad ones more vividly.