[VIDEO] 005 ☽

[messianic]

[This is a tired Minato on your SFCs today, Vatheon. It's been a few days, but what could he do? Pull people out of their safety to ask them to help him? Distract from the effort to save the city because he has a somewhat selfish request to make?

Of course not. But now that the fish monsters are gone, he has no issues with asking. Because after Aigis' breakdown, this has to happen.

At the very least, he's no longer very sick.

But first--]

I hope everyone is alright. It seems like most of the creatures are gone, but there might still be a few we missed, so be careful. If anyone is in need of any healing, please let me know. I'd like to thank everyone who helped with the Defense Force as well.

[Even if they didn't stop every death, it was a start. He has to believe they can get better from here. ...Ahem.]

If...there's anyone who is good at fixing things, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. I need some help with something really important.

[For a moment, he looks sad, but then he shakes it off. He's about to shut off the feed from there, when he seems to remember--]

Ah...one more thing. Adachi-san seems to have gone home. At least he wasn't hurt by the monsters.

[...a contemplative shake of his head and he shuts off the feed.

Click!]

Comments

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

I've heard of chess! I got Red a chess set, once. It sounded like a game he'd like, and they talked...

[ His excitement fades as he thinks about it. ]

But I don't know how to play. And I don't have a set of my own.

[messianic]

[...He nods.]

That works, then. I doubt Red will mind us using his.

I can teach you, if you'd like.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

...all right! I'll go get them.

[ N darts up the stairs to find the chess set.

Luckily he finds a normal box of the game with it, and brings it down. So their choices for pieces are black, white, and a cranky set of Wizarding chess pieces who complain loudly about not being used the moment N opens their case. ]

[messianic]

[He peers at the wizarding chess set with a vaguely confused expression.

Quietly.

For a long moment.

...

And then he reaches for the normal set.]

We'll use these.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

[ 'Why not us?' demands one of the pieces, before N shushes them with promises that he will play against Red once he learns. With some grumbling, they let him close their case back up. ]

Red normally just has them sitting out in his room.

[messianic]

[...huh. Minato speaks while setting up the board.]

It might be just that he doesn't have any opponents.

Maybe we can change that.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

Maybe!

[ N peers at the board. ]

So how do we play?

[messianic]

[When the board is all set up, he points out the king.]

The goal is to capture the king with one of your pieces.

Each piece moves in a different way. These are the pawns.

[He indicates them quietly.]

They can only move one space forward. They capture pieces to the diagonal.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

Diagonal. Okay. What happens when you capture a piece?

[messianic]

It's removed from the board. The easiest way to get to the king is to remove the other pieces in the way.

[Ahem.]

This is the rook; it can move in straight lines, horizontally or vertically. Then you have the knight, which moves like this.

[He picks up the piece in question, demonstrating the different L shapes it can make.]

The bishop moves diagonally and the queen can move in whatever direction you'd like her to. They all capture the piece that is in their path.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

[ N absorbs this with obvious curiosity. ]

Can you capture your own piece?

[messianic]

[A shake of his head.]

You can't.

The king, here-

[He taps the piece quietly.]

Can move one square in any direction.

[Almost as helpless as a pawn, really.]

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

...huh. Okay. So you win when you capture it.

[ Such a limited range of motion for such a important piece, while the Second in Command can move wherever it likes...

N has to shove away thinking about that quite abruptly. ]

[messianic]

Exactly.

[He pauses, and shrugs.]

Technically, you win when you get a checkmate--that is, when the king can't move anywhere else or you'll capture it. It's the same idea, though.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

Okay! I think I understand it now.

[messianic]

Would you like to give it a try?

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

Sure! Who starts?

[messianic]

White generally starts.

[He nods to N's side, which happens to be white.]

That means you go first.

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

Oh! Okay...

[ White versus black...heh.

He picks a pawn at random and moves it forward. ]

[messianic]

[White versus black indeed, and for once Minato's thoughts are along the same lines, but he simply picks up a pawn and moves it as well, silent, not appearing to take things too seriously--though of course, appearances can't always be trusted.]

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

[ N becomes entirely focused on the board, though his moves are clumsy and questionable. ]

[messianic]

[...hmm. It makes Minato's moves easier, but he's not going to go easy on N just because he's getting used to it. That won't help him learn.

So he makes a few more moves towards cornering his king. He's not particularly practiced in chess, but basic strategy he has had in bucketfuls.]

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

[ Hmm.

One can almost hear the sounds of N starting to get it.

His moves begin to be more defensive, working against Minato. ]

[messianic]

[Aha...that's better. It's getting more challenging now, though the head start Minato received is proving very helpful in trying to pin N down.]

[singularjustice.livejournal.com]

[ That it is. N's hand twitches to make a move and then it falls as he realizes he has nowhere to move; his king is trapped. ]