The story so far: Naruto, now known as Homura Shinobu, finds herself in an unfamiliar world and joins a fight to protect four teens despite limited chakra reserves. She later causes chaos among the campers at Camp Half-Blood. Meanwhile, Luke contemplates the acceptance policy of the Hermes cabin and observes a spar involving Homura Shinobu, piquing his curiosity about her.

Annabeth

Annabeth Chase isn't sure what she hoped to achieve by bringing Shinobu to the Big House. She can't help it, though. Luke talks about the hyperactive blonde nonstop. The times they spent together were already rare. The least he could do was not bore them to death. Heck, he talks more about her than he mopes about his father and the gods. In fairness, his gripe with the gods seems to have simmered down as of late, likely thanks to said blonde.

Annabeth wishes it was thanks to her or Thalia or Grover, but she knows better. Too smart for her own good. If anything, Thalia would encourage his grudge. The daughter of Zeus isn't too pleased with the gods either. She considers the monsters coming to camp a punishment for a crime she didn't commit. Besides, she is always on patrol.

Grover buys with his responsibilities. According to Thalia, the Council of Cloven Elders is dicking him around. She might agree, but she wish Thalia wasn't so crass about it. The Council did have a strong argument. Being a unique case, they are uncertain about the best approach to handle his situation. Grover was diplomatic, likely to protect his chance of getting a searcher's license.

And herself?

They see her as too young, always the same story. They put on reassuring smiles, wanting to be strong for her when all she wants is a chance to support them. But they underestimate her. She's certain she could help if only they'd let her.

As time goes by, she seeks refuge in her books and with Chiron. The four of them are like a family – her family! But lately, their bond is slipping away. They are drifting apart and she is powerless as she watches it crumble before her eyes.

Annabeth yelps as strong arms lift her into a bone-crushing hug. Her thoughts no longer of her troubles except the increasing lack of oxygen. It seems her companion sensed her mood. While she appreciates the kind gesture, she can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. The blonde whispers comforting words – at least, she assumes they're meant to be comforting – and pats her on the head. Amidst the kindness, she worries about her ribs surviving the embrace.

She wriggles and searches for a solution, anything to break free. "Hey!" Her loud exclamation catches her captor's attention. Annabeth points towards the chessboard on the floor. The vice-like arms release her, and she falls to the grass with a thud.

Gasping for breath and rubbing her sore bottom, Annabeth wonders if this was a bad idea. No, she reassures herself, but she needs a better strategy for next time.

She had other plans, but they didn't pan out. It's been tough; Cabin 5 continues to hunt for her, despite Thalia and Luke's warnings. Yet, confronting the teen while she was with Luke didn't feel right. But making a plan to sneak past Thalia and Lukes's watch, and also avoid getting caught by Cabin 5 was easy. Nothing a young daughter of Athena can't handle. She held on to those thoughts until her seventh attempt. It is with great shame that it was luck not strategy that won her this opportunity. Annabeth spotted the Shinobu near the armoury by sheer coincidence.

Annabeth ends her reminiscence and sits by one side of the board and gestures for Shinobu to sit by hers.

The blue-eyed blonde shouts her affirmative, "Wakatta, mochiron! Watashitachi mo asobimashou, kore ga nande are!" and drops to a cross-legged position.

Annabeth refrains from berating the girl - The older blonde doesn't have to be so loud! She is right here! - and chooses instead to be thankful that the older girl is adept at taking in non-verbal cues.

Annabeth doesn't bother speaking. She reaches forward and arranges the pieces on the board. As she sets down her pawns, Annabeth ponders how to teach the game without words.

She sees Shinobu studying her actions. A demonstration is a good starting point. She turns the board sideways and plays a game with herself. She exaggerates her actions. She makes sure to show every possible move for each piece before she commits to a move. It is a lot harder than she first thought, and she finds her respect for Chiron growing with each second. Teaching is tough.

Glancing at the older girl, Annabeth restrains herself from sighing.

"Korette shogi mitai da na. Kuso, boku wa shogi ga nigate na nda. Shikamaru wa ganbatte kureta kedo, mada kare o shogi de yattsukeru ni wa hodo tooi na," Shinobu mutters.

The girl's fidgeting isn't a good sign. She can't shake the feeling that this is going to take forever.

One Loss

Chiron returns to the deck before sunset. There, he finds a young Annabeth sitting on the floor, her head in her hands, muttering to herself. "What seems to be the problem?" She seems startled at his voice and seems to miss his inquiry. "You seem troubled." He glances at the chess board laid before her. "Lost to someone?" The young girl was smart, but there were plenty of children of Athena in camp.

In response, Annabeth shakes her head. "Won three to zero. Four if you count the first. It doesn't. I had to correct some of Shinobu's moves. Chess might not have been the best choice. I forgot how complex it is with rules like castling and en passant. Why didn't I go for checkers instead?"

Chiron admits it is an amusing picture Annabeth is painting with her words. He sits across from her and he arranges the pieces to their place. She gave no protest and arranges her own pieces.

"Well?" Chiron prods. He has to admit, he is curious about what troubled the young child. As her teacher, he admires her intelligence and eagerness to learn. Her thirst for knowledge is a characteristic often seen in children of Athena. Annabeth goes beyond even that.

She hovers her hand over a pawn, appearing indecisive – an unusual behaviour for her. Annabeth is not one to linger on the opening moves. She usually has a clear plan of attack before the game even starts. She returns the pawn to its original position.

He raises a brow when she moves another pawn forward instead. Unusual indeed.

"Six if you count the last three," she murmurs so low he wouldn't have caught it without his trained senses.

"So you lost a round," Chiron says. It was simple enough math.

She shakes her head and insists, "They don't count. They shouldn't."

He raises a brow at that.

She explains, "They weren't chess."

Annabeth remains silent for five more moves. Chiron doesn't push her, though he is curious.

"For the last three, she rearranged the pieces for each and took away some in the last one," Annabeth says.

Ah. He sees how that led to defeat for the daughter of Athena. Changes to the board meant the young demigod could not rely on pre-planned routes. It must have thrown her off her game.

"Who?" He inquires, intrigued to know the person who had perplexed her. After all, she isn't the type to make fast friends. Playing seven rounds with someone hints at a bond forming, or at least the beginnings of one.

"Shinobu," she responds, frowning. "I taught her to play. It took some time, but she caught on quite well. But, she got bored, and that's when she introduced the changes." Picking up her king, Annabeth scrutinizes it. "She wasn't very good." She hesitates, implying there's more to the story. "But it's strange. I took too long. She was awful, but I took too long."

"You took too long?" Confusion lingers in his voice as he notices her struggle to find the right words to convey her thoughts. He was getting a better view of the picture but his curiosity takes second place. He decides this is a good opportunity to get little Annabeth to extend her circle. Good friends they might be, but she needs more than Thalia, Luke, and Grover.

"Have you considered, Miss Chase, inviting her for another game?" he suggests.

"You're curious?" She asks. "I don't know why you would be. She's weird but nothing special."

Chiron leans back in his seat, studying Annabeth. He can see the gears turning in her mind. It is still three moves away, but they both can already see the impending checkmate.

Chiron observed Annabeth's thoughtful expression. The centaur recognized this as a valuable teaching moment. "You know," he begins, "teaching is not limited to imparting knowledge. It's also about understanding your student and learning from them."

Annabeth looks up, her eyes reflecting a mix of curiosity and confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You mentioned that Shinobu got bored with chess, right?"

Annabeth nods. "Yeah, she did. I must not have been her thing."

"But you didn't change the game. Instead, you chose to play it six more times with her."

Annabeth blushes.

He continues before she can reply. "More than that, she chose to play this game six more times with you."

"Oh! I guess. So, she wasn't bored?"

Chiron smiles. "I can't say. I wasn't there. But the mere fact that you aren't sure makes me think not."

"I mean, it's not like I could have asked her. She could have told me so but I wouldn't have understood."

"You told me she changed the rules of the game because she got bored."

Annabeth furrows her brow in thought. "I don't know." She looked cute with her face scrunched up. "I guess she didn't like losing?"

Chiron doesn't answer, and instead asks his own question, "Tell me, what changes did she make to the game? It could not have been too complex with the language barrier."

Annabeth nods, recalling the alterations Shinobu made during their games. "She rearranged the pieces for each round, and in the last one, she took away some of them."

"And it was after these changes that you started to slow down. As frustrating as it was, I suspect you also found these games more engaging."

"I guess."

It seems he needed to be a bit more direct. "I have observed that when faced with an easy match, members of Cabin 6's attention will drift away. You are not an exception."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "You're telling me she changed the game because I got bored?"

"It is possible she appreciated your company and wanted to continue playing with you. I cannot say that she herself didn't find losing tedious. Nor can I say that she enjoys playing chess. You might be correct in your assessment of her boredom. But I ask that you don't jump to conclusions with too little evidence. It limits your view of the possibilities. So, yes, while I cannot say for certain, I would guess that she changed the rules, at least in part, for your sake."

A mix of surprise and realization dawned on Annabeth's face. "I never thought of it that way."

Chiron placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's easy to misinterpret situations."

Annabeth nodded, feeling grateful for Chiron's guidance. "You're right. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

Chiron smiles. It was a good lesson to learn, though he suspects she'll need to learn it again later. He thought about clarifying a few more things to her but thought better about it. He didn't think pointing out that she lost to a complete beginner would do her much good at this moment.

Shinobu is smarter than Annabeth realizes. She won one of three games after the rules changed. Annabeth was a child of Athena and had also played chess far longer than Shinobu. From how Annabeth told it, Shinobu only started playing when Annabeth taught her. That Shinobu won once is a feat, minor changes to the rules or not.

He looked down at the board. Perhaps this checkmate wasn't as forgone as they both thought.