Your Knight Is Gone

It was a quiet Saturday morning in the dormitory.

But someone was already knocking on Uesugi Hara's door. "Knock, knock, knock."

At the moment, though, he was still buried under his blankets, his face pressed into his pillow as he dreamed about butterflies.

"Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock..." The knocks grew more urgent, until they finally turned into a heavy BANG!

The person outside was getting impatient.

"Who is it... this early in the morning..." Uesugi Hara mumbled sleepily. He let out a long yawn, the corners of his eyes watering, and rubbed them with one hand.

He reached for the Terminal beside his pillow. The screen showed 8:30.

Saturday was supposed to be a day off, so being woken up at this hour left him feeling downright resentful.

"Stop knocking, stop knocking! I'm coming!" He slowly threw off his covers and climbed out of bed.

He headed for the door barefoot.

As for his slippers, who knew where they had gone?

"Kamuro? Morning." Uesugi Hara leaned against the doorframe and looked at the impatient Kamuro Masumi outside. "Knocking on my door so early—what's up?"

Kamuro Masumi's gaze first fell on him—he was wearing a loose green dinosaur cartoon pajama set, with the collar crooked. She couldn't quite keep the impatience off her face; the corner of her mouth twitched, and after holding back for a moment, she managed, "Very stylish." Then she stepped aside, revealing the person behind her.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood with her hand on her cane, her silver-white hair gleaming softly in the morning light. Wearing her usual smile, she gave a slight nod and said in a gentle, clear voice, "Good morning, Uesugi."

Uesugi Hara froze for a moment, and most of his sleepiness vanished. Straightening up, he said, "Sakayanagi? Morning to you too. What's up?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze paused on his pajamas, and her smile deepened. "Uesugi's taste really is unique." Before he could respond, she continued, "Uesugi certainly does forget things easily. Today is the day we agreed to play chess."

"My taste is impeccable, naturally." Uesugi Hara sounded rather proud of himself. He patted his pajamas. "I've wanted to buy this dinosaur set for ages, but I couldn't afford it before. I saw it in the shopping district yesterday and grabbed it. What do you think? Looks good, right?" He changed the subject and recommended, "That store has a few pink ones too. They'd probably suit you, though I'm not sure they'd have one in your size, Sakayanagi."

Sakayanagi Arisu tightened her grip on her cane. A faint vein seemed to twitch at her temple. Who wanted to discuss pajama styles and sizes with him?! She was here to play chess. Chess!

She took a deep breath and did her best to maintain her smile, though her voice had grown a little taut. "Your pajamas certainly are 'special,' Uesugi. But shouldn't we talk about our chess game first?"

"Fine." Seeing that Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't interested, Uesugi Hara couldn't be bothered to keep promoting the pajamas. He turned to Kamuro Masumi, who was standing nearby with her lips pressed together, trying not to laugh.

His gaze shifted down to the chessboard Kamuro Masumi was holding. He stared at it for a moment, then looked at Sakayanagi. "Sakayanagi, are you planning to play in my room?" He had assumed she was here to take him to the Chess Club, but that clearly wasn't the case.

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile remained unchanged. "Is that a problem?"

"It's fine," Uesugi Hara said, giving another lingering yawn. "It's just a little early, isn't it?"

"It's not early." Sakayanagi Arisu leaned forward slightly, her barely concealed anticipation showing in her voice. "Besides, just thinking about beating you later has me so excited that I couldn't wait to get here."

Uesugi Hara glanced at her. She certainly sounded confident now, and she'd even brought Kamuro Masumi along as a witness. He wondered what she would look like after losing and having her spirit shattered.

"Fine." He stepped aside from the doorway. "Come in."

Uesugi Hara poured them both some water, then went to wash up. When he came back, he was still wearing the dinosaur pajamas. They hung loosely on him, but he looked a little more awake than before.

In the meantime, Sakayanagi Arisu had directed Kamuro Masumi to set up the chessboard on the desk. The black and white pieces stood neatly arranged on either side.

"What are the rules?" Uesugi Hara asked casually as he walked over, wiping his hands with a towel and glancing at the board.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in a chair, turning the cane in her lap. A calculating note crept into her smile. "I'll give you fifty thousand Points at the start of each game. If you win, I'll give you another hundred thousand Points. But if you lose..." She paused and glanced at Kamuro Masumi, standing beside them. "You'll have to 'volunteer' to work for me, like Kamuro. How does that sound?"

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. Was this little girl really that confident? Still, that worked out nicely: a hundred and fifty thousand Points a game. He could handle her easily. He agreed without hesitation. "Sure."

"Uesugi, you're certainly straightforward." Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes curved slightly as she gestured for Kamuro Masumi to move aside. "Then let's begin."

"Let's do it." Uesugi Hara sat down in the chair opposite her and nudged the board, turning it halfway around. "You go first. Don't complain later that I didn't give you a chance."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't hesitate. She picked up a white pawn with her delicate fingers and placed it on the square in front of her king. The piece made a crisp click against the board, and her smile never wavered. "Then I'll take you up on that."

Kamuro Masumi pulled up a chair and sat between them, resting her chin on one hand. Her eyes followed the pieces as they moved back and forth across the board.

The first few moves were just a mutual test. Before long, Uesugi Hara made a decisive move and captured Sakayanagi Arisu's knight with his rook.

"Sakayanagi, your knight's gone." Kamuro Masumi immediately pointed at the board. She didn't know much about chess, but she recognized the pieces.

"Kamuro, if you don't know how to play, sit quietly and watch." Sakayanagi Arisu gave her a cool glance.

Then she calmly "licked" Uesugi Hara's rook. She looked up at him with a smile, her tone faintly teasing. "Uesugi, are you... giving up already?"

"Sakayanagi, you don't understand." Uesugi Hara looked perfectly composed. "There's an old saying in Huaxia: 'Shoot the horse first when shooting the rider; capture the king first when you capture bandits.' I'm taking out your knights first, so it'll be a piece of cake to deal with your king later."

"Is that... what the saying means?" Sakayanagi Arisu blinked. Looking at how sure he sounded, she frowned slightly. She remembered that wasn't quite the original meaning.

"Of course!" Uesugi Hara slapped the table, brimming with confidence. "Just wait and see."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't press him further. She picked up the rook she had just captured between her fingertips. "Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it."

A few moves later, Uesugi Hara decisively traded a bishop for Sakayanagi Arisu's other knight.

"Sakayanagi, your knight's gone again."

Sakayanagi Arisu ignored Kamuro Masumi's loud commentary. She studied the board, then looked up at Uesugi Hara. "You really can't stop thinking about knights, can you, Uesugi?"

Uesugi Hara just gave her an indifferent smile, urging her to move.

Sakayanagi Arisu said nothing more. Her expression grew serious as she turned her attention back to the board.

But the game gradually changed. She had been in the lead at first, yet her pieces were dwindling. Her moves grew slower, and she held her fingers above the board for a long time before placing each piece. Her lashes drooped, hiding her expression.

Uesugi Hara, on the other hand, played just as briskly as he had at the start, as if he hadn't given the game any thought at all and were moving pieces by instinct.

As the game reached a stalemate, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly looked at Kamuro Masumi. "Kamuro... go to Palette and get me a latte."

Kamuro Masumi immediately objected. "Sakayanagi, are you crazy?"

She pointed at herself, then at their surroundings. They were in the dormitory!

Run all the way there to get you a latte? Then run back?

Kamuro Masumi wasn't even going to consider it.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't say anything. She simply watched her in silence. Her lashes drooped, and her face showed little expression. She didn't speak, but her gaze and the faint pressure around her seemed to ask wordlessly: Are you going or not?

Kamuro Masumi squirmed under her stare. She pursed her lips and muttered, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. What a pain." Then she reluctantly stood and shuffled toward the door.

Uesugi Hara suddenly raised a hand to stop Kamuro Masumi as she headed out. "Kamuro, get me a glass of orange juice too." He paused, then added, "Put it on Sakayanagi's tab." He turned to Sakayanagi Arisu, his expression clearly asking, "No problem, right?"

"If you want something to drink, get it your—"

"Get it for him."

Sakayanagi Arisu cut Kamuro Masumi off before she could finish.

"Got it..." Kamuro Masumi replied reluctantly, but there was nothing she could do about it.

When you were under someone else's roof, you had to bow your head.

After Kamuro Masumi left, Uesugi Hara thanked Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at him, then turned her attention back to the board.

If only his attacks were as polite as his words.

Before long, the pieces on the board gradually fell into place.

"Checkmate," Uesugi Hara said calmly, as if winning wasn't worth getting excited about.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't look nearly as pleased. Without saying much, she promptly transferred a hundred and fifty thousand Points to Uesugi Hara. Then she looked up. "Again."

"Sure!" The moment Uesugi Hara saw the Points come through, his face lit up. He quickly began resetting the board.

The same opening.

The same attacks on the knights.

The same... ending.

The same hundred and fifty thousand.

Sakayanagi Arisu lost once again to Uesugi Hara's bizarre playing style.

"Again."

"Could you stop thinking about taking my knights all the time?" Sakayanagi Arisu tightened her fingers around a chess piece. Her voice finally showed signs of losing its composure.

"All right." Uesugi Hara agreed readily enough. Naturally, he had to listen to his sponsor.

If he couldn't take her knights first... then he'd go after her bishops.

This time, he really did avoid the knights at the start. But the tide of the game didn't shift, and the ending was exactly the same as before.

"Checkmate."

The Terminal chimed, and another hundred and fifty thousand Points came through.

Sakayanagi Arisu stared at the reduced balance on the screen for two seconds. When she looked up, her voice held a stubborn note of defiance. "Again!"

"Insufficient balance."

The Terminal's cold announcement rang out in the quiet, empty room, all the more clearly for the silence.

The tension between them instantly became palpable, as if even the air had turned visibly strained.

"Um..." Uesugi Hara spoke cautiously, sneaking a glance at Sakayanagi Arisu's expression. "Should we just call this game off?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sakayanagi Arisu's usually faintly smiling cheeks slowly flushed, whether from anger or something else. Even the tips of her ears had turned pink. She lowered her eyes without speaking, but her fingers gripped the handle of her cane until her knuckles went white.

Seeing her like that, Uesugi Hara quickly changed his tune, softening his voice even more. "How about... you owe me for now? You can pay me back when you get your Points next month."

Sakayanagi Arisu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she had collected herself, and all signs of her loss of composure had vanished. Only a slight tremor remained in her voice. "All right."

"Come on, take a breath and have some water. Winning and losing are both normal. There's no need to get worked up." Uesugi Hara picked up the untouched glass of water beside him and offered it to her, worried she might be too upset to catch her breath.

"Thank you, Uesugi." Sakayanagi Arisu didn't take the glass. She rested her fingers on her cane, her voice steadier now. "I'll make up the Points as soon as possible. Let's stop here for today. I'll be going."

"Huh? Aren't you going to wait for Kamuro?" Uesugi Hara was stunned. Seeing her about to get up, he hurriedly asked.

"Kamuro..." Sakayanagi Arisu paused, as if she had only just remembered that Kamuro existed. "When she gets back, just tell her to come straight to my room."

With that, she stood with the help of her cane and turned toward the door. But her back no longer carried the composure and elegance she'd had when she arrived.

"Oh... okay?" Uesugi Hara watched her disappear through the doorway, still holding the glass of water he hadn't managed to give her.

Not long after, Kamuro Masumi finally returned with two drinks in hand.

It was already past eleven. (Palette was busy on weekends, so she'd spent time waiting in line, and the trip there and back had taken time too.)

"Where's Sakayanagi?" She handed Uesugi Hara the orange juice and asked casually, her face still showing the impatience of someone who'd just run an errand.

"She left. She told you to go straight to her room."

Kamuro Masumi's face fell. "So, who won in the end?"

Uesugi Hara didn't answer directly. He just shook his head. "If you keep dawdling, Sakayanagi's probably going to get impatient."

"Oh." Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips and didn't press him further. She'd hurried in and, still carrying the latte she hadn't gotten to deliver, hurried right back out.

After Kamuro Masumi left, Uesugi Hara was alone in the room again.

He tapped the Terminal and counted the balance on the screen. "One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand..."

"654321."

Looking at the number, Uesugi Hara couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Sakayanagi still owes me a hundred and fifty thousand, which means I've got eight hundred thousand Points in all."

Uesugi Hara was a little excited. In all these years, he'd never seen this much money before.

Sakayanagi Arisu really was his top supporter.

The next time she came over to play chess... well, he'd have to make sure she really experienced what it meant to be a welcome guest.

Meanwhile, Kamuro Masumi hurried into Sakayanagi Arisu's room with the latte she hadn't managed to deliver.

"Sakayanagi, why'd you leave without waiting for me?" She set the coffee on the table, then pressed her with another question. "And who won in the end?"

Sakayanagi Arisu ignored her question and looked up to ask just one thing. "How many Points do you have?"

Kamuro Masumi froze for a moment, but she still obediently opened her Terminal and checked. "2,530."

"...Insufficient balance." Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the screen and quietly repeated the Terminal's earlier announcement, her voice as soft as a sigh.

The air was silent for several seconds.

Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu like that, Kamuro Masumi belatedly realized what had happened. Her curiosity about the game vanished in an instant. She quietly shrank back.

Kamuro Masumi: I suddenly don't want to know who won or lost at all... Is there any hope for me now?