Wanna Play a Game? [Saruyuki|Ask]

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]Amelie's compliments are met with clumsy, awkward silence from her male opponent, who finds himself incapable of responding with gratitude on account of how utterly forthright she was being. Was this symptomatic of personal weakness? Hardly, no, especially considering that she was able to recognize—and even validate—that Saruyuki's beliefs were coming from a good place. But this entire experience was as new to him as this game of chess; he wasn't used to being on the receiving end of anything outside of hostile energy, black eyes, and broken bones.

Of course, Saruyuki hadn't expected her to take the strongest piece in the Black army, the Queen herself, and push her into play by one square. Perhaps he had erred in attempting to defend his pawn from what would have otherwise been an inevitable attack? Maybe, but Sun Tzu once claimed that opportunities always existed amidst even the greatest chaos, and even the lowliest soldier could prove invaluable if deployed in the right moment.

A large bead of sweat rolls down his temple. When Amelie asks him a question regarding another movie, one that just so happened to share her name, Saruyuki shakes his head and says, "Never heard of it. Does she kick a lot of ass?" Although he chuckles to break the tension hanging from his shoulders, his own inquiry is delivered with earnest curiosity. From how eloquently she pronounced its title, it didn't sound like a martial arts epic, but perhaps this was a subtle cue to branch out and try new things, much as he did with today's game.

As vestiges of the evening sun began to blanket Miyashita Park in vibrant and colorful hues, Saruyuki studies the layout of the board and, after nearly a full minute of deliberation, he makes a play that was he was utterly banking on to do one of two things: either this would completely throw Amelie off her game and get her to start plotting more elaborate moves, or it would provide her with enough incentive to get extremely aggressive. Either of these options were fine; after all, being a newbie at chess, Saruyuki didn't anticipate much further than his own decisions.

However, he was sure to capture her attention.

He pushes the King forward one space.

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]Saruyuki's exchange with Amelie was definitely one-sided, that much even he could determine for himself. Even a total chess novice would have berated him for making such a questionable play, but her? This was far more difficult than any fight he had ever involved himself with, and it was an encounter that was liable to keep him awake at night, for reasons he would never fully comprehend.

The mere thought of being unable to know who he was dealing with made Saruyuki visibly squirm in his seat, and the abundance of questions made him feel like he was being interrogated. Who exactly was this woman, really?

"I exercise?" Saruyuki's tone elevates, as if he were asking a question himself. "Honestly, I'm a pretty boring person to be around. I can't really make it any more apparent than I have already." His self-deprecating comments are punctuated with forced laughter, his only means of defense against Amelie's penetrating inquiries. "Besides, I, uh..." The boy's attitude seems to waver between self-debasement and uncertainty, but he cannot bring himself to commit to a full-fledged lie. Not when he's been so candid this entire afternoon. "I don't exactly have a lot of friends."

He pushes the King forward another square, as if to illustrate this with a visual reference. If only she knew what Saruyuki did. What he really had to contend with every day. Maybe she'd understand why, then – why he hesitates to give it his all, why he cannot simply reach out and lean on the shoulders of other people, reveal himself as openly as he would like to.

Memories of his father's drunken rage, both fresh and old, smolder like hot coals beneath Saruyuki's wooden attempt at a happy smile.

A cell phone vibrates furiously in his left pocket.

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]Once again, Saruyuki finds himself at a verbal crossroads, unsure of which option to take upon being presented with some not-so-subtle commentary on Amelie's part. She wasn't mistaken, to say the least; most Japanese people considered somebody with a profound lack of companionship to be a red flag, regardless if it was enforced on a social level or deliberately self-induced.

But, he kept forgetting she wasn't Japanese. Or maybe this was a product of something that could transcend cultural backgrounds, something Saruyuki lacked the capacity to identify with? Or was she merely just willing to put up with such a harebrained opponent? Who knew? He sure as hell didn't.

And speaking of things that Saruyuki was utterly clueless about: the announcement of the game's first instance of check results in him practically gawking at the board's setup, realizing that his deliberate attempts to send a rather clever message were being met with merciless retaliation from the Black army. Jeez, even when she's holding back, she doesn't play around... Saruyuki ponders to himself, scratching his temple with a finger as if he were hoping to claw his own brain out.

Perhaps for the first time throughout this whole encounter, Saruyuki attempted to do what he normally did in a physical engagement, yet neglected to do everywhere else; he tried to think several steps ahead. Alas, he was being forced—no, corralled—to move the White King leftward so that Amelie could ultimately use her pawns to trap it.

He could have moved it backwards, but that in itself would have been a deliberate act of desperation on his own end, a means to stall for time he simply just didn't have. If he moves upward, the Queen could also intercept. Anywhere else in that same general direction, the Black King's bishop would have swept in to block its advance.

Another axiom from Sun Tzu scrolls through Saruyuki's mind, which helps to ease the disappointment settling in his heart: "He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, shall be victorious." And if there was anything he could take away from this experience, it was that there was a distinctive difference between quitting and surrender.

On the plus side, he didn't have to worry about any mutinies.

The phone in his pocket rumbles ever more viciously, which steals the teenager's attention away from this losing battle. He knew exactly who was trying to contact him, but rather than drag an unrelated person into his growing list of personal issues, he simply closes his eyes and smirks. His hamfisted attempts to be clever aside, bad moves were bad moves, no matter how he sliced the cheese.

"I think you got me cornered, Amelie-san. I know when I'm beat," Saruyuki throws his hands up apologetically, shrugging, although he does this without the intent to seem flippant or uncaring for his opponent's victory, which was genuinely a deserved one. "I probably shouldn't have done it, but I wanna think I made the right move anyway. A king should face death with honor instead of trying to live on borrowed time."

Just then, a bellowing yawn follows, one that could not be more perfectly timed. "Besides, it's getting late, and I've got school tomorrow. Last thing I need on my record is another detention." Unfortunately, his headache hadn't exactly faded since that earlier mishap, and Saruyuki was willing to attribute his poor sense of gameplay to it. He just hoped it wouldn't bear a negative impact on his ability to concentrate in the classroom.

A tinkling chime then emanates from his pocket, serving as an audible cue that he had missed a phone call. Deliberately ignoring this electronic tone, Saruyuki stands up from the park bench with his sack of DVDs in tow, and offers a hand to Amelie, halfway out of remorse for being what she probably would have considered a 'poor sport', and halfway out of gratitude for putting up with him in a way he never truly had a chance to appreciate before.

"It was good playing with you. I might just ask my uncle to gimme some lessons one day, so then I can actually stand a chance in a real game," Saruyuki postulates aloud, feeling satisfied enough to know that he could accept his defeat with some semblance of dignity.

Whether she accepted his parting handshake or not, Saruyuki was able to leave Miyashita Park feeling refreshed in spite of his fall, and—surprisingly enough—a little smarter. He smiles to himself, rolling his injured shoulders.

Maybe he ought to play chess more often?