A Castle in the Trees (Saiouma Fantasy AU) (HIATUS)

11

im so good at dying besties 

anyways here's an update so i can live to see another day

"Checkmate." Celeste declared, Shuichi watching with his brow furrowed as her delicate fingers moved her rook piece into the correct offensive position to capture his king.

Shuichi, who had at least moved past the phase of not remembering the names of any of the pieces and their use, had about five pieces left on the board as opposed to Celestia's several.

Kokichi watched with feigned boredom as the two faced off, sitting against a tree. "Jeez, can you two wrap it up already? I'm tired of watching Shuichi lose miserably!" He whined. He was proud of Shuichi despite his griping. Just a little bit.

He had slowly been getting better with each match and had watched with interest when the two of them played each other, and Kokichi and Celeste both knew that with practice and some teaching, he would become skilled at the game. It was only his first time playing, anyways. No one expected him to be a perfect strategist, despite his preexisting intelligence.

"Patience, brother. You've always been good at that." She remarked sarcastically. "Besides, it seems your dear friend is stuck once again."

"No, maybe I can..." Shuichi trailed off, reaching for his knight in a futile attempt to stall the inevitable. Celeste shook her head.

"I'm afraid that won't work. The way the knight moves does not allow it to protect your king."

He let out a slight grunt of frustration, realizing he had nothing more to do. "Fine... you win." He sighed, handing the game to her.

She smiled at him. "Good game."

Kokichi huffed from the corner. "Oh, come on! How many times are you planning on losing to her?" He chastised Shuichi as Celeste began to put all the pieces back in their proper starting position for the next game.

"Does it matter...? It's only a game, and playing is fun." Shuichi responded.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't lgive me that. There's no point in playing if you don't win! That's what games are made for!"

His sister chimed in. "Well, if you have the game all figured out, why don't you go up against him and prove how utterly fantastic you are? I am interested in seeing if your mouth matches your skill."

Shuichi was uneasy with the prospect, knowing that Kokichi probably had a million different strategies stored away in that lying head of his that he had no way of even beginning to best. He was about to say something, but Kokichi responded for him.

"Sure!" He wandered to the board, and Celeste shifted over to allow him to sit down on the opposite side of Shuichi, where all the white pieces were lined up. He grinned at Shuishi deviously.

"You ready to start?" He asked.

He most certainly was not, and knew that Kokichi definitely didn't have the decency to not gloat when he won. Celeste, while clearly superior and about as warmed up to him as the lake in the middle of January, was humble and didn't rub how much better she was in his face.

Kokichi was prouder and quite more obnoxious, and although they were definitely more of friends, he wasn't looking forward to losing to him.

"...Yeah." He replied nonetheless. It's just a game with my friend, what am I so scared of? If nothing else, it's at least a chance for me to improve.

"Alright. Kokichi, do not even try to pull anything. I will be watching the match very closely." Celeste declared sternly. "And that goes for you too, Shuichi." The last part was a bit unwarranted, as he didn't seem like the type of person to cheat, but she thought it was only fair.