Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater
(featuring the Kuga-Fugino family pets)
Duran stared at his opponent, keeping his eyes locked on his foe's. Of course, the problem with doing that with Kiyohime was that she had twelve of them, so while one head was matching Duran in a stare-down, the other five could be off doing who-knew-what. That was part of what made her such a tricky opponent.
The key, he knew, was to keep her in front of him at all times. A direct assault was something he could deal with. It was in his nature, really. A look at him would tell anyone that. His natural weapons were all forward-facing: he had teeth and he had claws like any normal dog, but even his ability as a CHILD, the twin side-mounted cannons that ran along his flanks, reinforced that rather than diversified it. They added a ranged attack, but it was all unidirectional. Forward, straight ahead, advance directly at the foe.
In this, he reflected the nature of his mistress, the admirably focused and direct (or singleminded and tunnel-visioned, but Duran didn't choose to accept the opinions of Nao Yuuki about the people he cared for) Natsuki Kuga. That wasn't to say that Natsuki couldn't be discreet when she wanted to be, but subtle and labyrinthine was not her style.
On the other hand, subtle and labyrinthine suited Shizuru Fujino to a T. Natsuki's lover liked to lay traps within traps, get people moving in one direction only to find they'd taken a road that lead exactly where Shizuru wanted them to go. Kiyohime had actually been one of the strongest CHILDs in terms of raw power, probably thanks to Shizuru's obsessively all-consuming love for Natsuki, but still would burrow up from beneath in a surprise attack, or strike from multiple directions with her many heads. She was a tricky, tricky opponent. Duran needed to keep things direct, open, and simple if he hoped to defeat her.
After due consideration, he reached out and pushed his rook forward three spaces with his paw, then sat back on his haunches and waited for her next move.
"I think," Natsuki commented to Shizuru, who was stretched out on the couch with her feet in Natsuki's lap for a footrub, "I liked it better when our pets were playing tug-of-war."
~X X X~
A/N: Technically, Kiyohime has fourteen eyes, or at least the main body really looks like it has a pair of its own, but those don't get involved in stare-downs so Duran's not counting them. Oh, and for the curious, they're playing shogi rather than chess.