[incomplete]
Who: Dai and Nii.
What: Chess!
Where: Dai's Penthouse ... Actually, yeah. :( Dai's Penthouse.
When: Massive backdate. About a week and a half ago.
Maybe it was a little rude to invite guests when he had someone recovering from horrific trauma in the same house, only a few rooms down the hall and around the corner. It seemed insensitive, intrusive, and even if Ritsuka was quite likely to sleep through the whole event, Dai did find himself daydreaming about how he'd be able to get out with him if this Nii person proved to be a bigger threat than he could handle. Just idle little thoughts, really.
But better he meet him here than abandon Ritsuka, he supposed.
Dai stood in the dining room, setting up the black and cream-white pieces on the smooth reflective board, stained and varnished hardwood without a hint of a smudge or blemish or fingerprint. It was a little chipped and weathered, and clearly very old, but it looked well-kept and well cared for regardless. As it ought to.
Frankly, he'd been surprised that he still had it, stored away and preserved exactly the way he'd last seen it. Part of him had expected it to be gone like everything else was, like all of the rest of the world and all the people he used to play with. Along with all the things that made it a memento, that made its value sentimental as much as numerical.
The last game he'd played on the board had been with Fallon, and it had been a stalemate. A long, long time ago now, but he still remembered the way Fallon would play; decisive, cunning, but everything was a feint. One final, decisive strike, a stab that made all the pieces fall into place, and checkmate. Dai's fingers drifted bare across the wood, carressing it like something beloved.
The time before that, it'd been against Caim. Caim was too hesitant when he played, never knew which piece to chase, never knew which openings were the real ones. Dai had won that one.
Dai's brow furrowed as he stood back to look at the board, beautifully lit in the bright light from the window, streaming in and brightening the table. His mind drifted away from the unpleasant subject, and back to the task at hand and the guest in question.
There was certainly something suspicious about Nii. It was obvious and overbearing, a madness that didn't need words to be described, and that Nii probably knew he was projecting. It was malevolent and heavy, and although there were power dampers, although Nii was likely to be no match, it was...
Exhilerating, in a way.
Well. It was daunting as well, in some sense, but how long it had been since his last real challenge? He'd fought Namae, and that had been entertaining enough, but there was no struggle, no challenge. He was a dog he could provoke into action, but all of those actions were so futile.
Nii thought he was powerful. He certainly didn't seem concerned about any vulnerability since he arrived, and if that meant something, well. Dai wanted to see it. He'd see why he was so confident, so sure of himself and charismatic.
And he'd see if he couldn't fracture that facade, and learn something real from him.
What: Chess!
Where: Dai's Penthouse ... Actually, yeah. :( Dai's Penthouse.
When: Massive backdate. About a week and a half ago.
Maybe it was a little rude to invite guests when he had someone recovering from horrific trauma in the same house, only a few rooms down the hall and around the corner. It seemed insensitive, intrusive, and even if Ritsuka was quite likely to sleep through the whole event, Dai did find himself daydreaming about how he'd be able to get out with him if this Nii person proved to be a bigger threat than he could handle. Just idle little thoughts, really.
But better he meet him here than abandon Ritsuka, he supposed.
Dai stood in the dining room, setting up the black and cream-white pieces on the smooth reflective board, stained and varnished hardwood without a hint of a smudge or blemish or fingerprint. It was a little chipped and weathered, and clearly very old, but it looked well-kept and well cared for regardless. As it ought to.
Frankly, he'd been surprised that he still had it, stored away and preserved exactly the way he'd last seen it. Part of him had expected it to be gone like everything else was, like all of the rest of the world and all the people he used to play with. Along with all the things that made it a memento, that made its value sentimental as much as numerical.
The last game he'd played on the board had been with Fallon, and it had been a stalemate. A long, long time ago now, but he still remembered the way Fallon would play; decisive, cunning, but everything was a feint. One final, decisive strike, a stab that made all the pieces fall into place, and checkmate. Dai's fingers drifted bare across the wood, carressing it like something beloved.
The time before that, it'd been against Caim. Caim was too hesitant when he played, never knew which piece to chase, never knew which openings were the real ones. Dai had won that one.
Dai's brow furrowed as he stood back to look at the board, beautifully lit in the bright light from the window, streaming in and brightening the table. His mind drifted away from the unpleasant subject, and back to the task at hand and the guest in question.
There was certainly something suspicious about Nii. It was obvious and overbearing, a madness that didn't need words to be described, and that Nii probably knew he was projecting. It was malevolent and heavy, and although there were power dampers, although Nii was likely to be no match, it was...
Exhilerating, in a way.
Well. It was daunting as well, in some sense, but how long it had been since his last real challenge? He'd fought Namae, and that had been entertaining enough, but there was no struggle, no challenge. He was a dog he could provoke into action, but all of those actions were so futile.
Nii thought he was powerful. He certainly didn't seem concerned about any vulnerability since he arrived, and if that meant something, well. Dai wanted to see it. He'd see why he was so confident, so sure of himself and charismatic.
And he'd see if he couldn't fracture that facade, and learn something real from him.