Before I could speak, three figures entered the cafeteria.

A guy in a sharp, grey suit, with silver hair and blue eyes, wearing a disarming smile. To his right a girl with green hair, a backwards cap and a punkish energy struck a peace sign letting the world know she had arrived. The left girl was harder to sum up, a long winter coat, wild turquoise hair that fell onto her snow-like skin and eyes that didn’t reflect any light. An odd crew.

Yanagi Yuki

“Yanagi Yuki is in the building! Hi, hi! Put your hands up, but don't dance, you’re under arrest!”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Relax Yanagi-san, they appear to be just as lost as we are.”

The group drew closer, Akari changed to a defensive stance. It was nice to know she treated everybody as a potential threat.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Please don’t be alarmed, I’m coming over to introduce myself. I’m Tsuchiya Rodion, it’s a pleasure to meet you. And this is Asai Ren, please excuse her silence, she is not the talkative type.”

Asai Ren

“Hm.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Might we inquire as to who you are?”

We told them our names and recounted our meeting.  A short while passed while we discussed how we made our way to the cafeteria.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Interesting, you don’t remember anything either… forgive me if this sounds crass but it’s a relief. We’re in the same boat at the very least.”

Naito Akari

“I’d put a hole in that boat and watch it sink if it meant sharing it with dead weight. Let’s skip the pleasantries and discuss our escape plan.”

The warden Naito Akari didn’t entertain small talk but Tsuchiya-san had a presence that put you at ease. He seemed reliable. But Naito Akari was right, everybody was trapped here and the sooner it took to realise that, the quicker they could get over it. The group absorbed what she said. There was an eerie silence before Tsuchiya-san spoke.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“You bring up a good point. Let’s cut to the chase then and discuss our current predicament.”

Yanagi Yuki

“The hell are we gonna discuss? Some guy threw us in a box as a joke right?”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“We’re trapped, it’s true. But it doesn’t feel like a prank. I can’t think of a reason why we’re here but I can speculate. We can’t let the stress of the situation stop us from thinking.”

Naito Akari

“The amount of people present suggests the work of an organisation. Kidnapping multiple people within the same timeframe requires a wide network, logistical capability and a clear hierarchy of operation. This isn’t the work of an individual.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“And this facility feels high tech, it’s too big and modern to be something off the grid, you would need planning permission for something like that. We must be near civilisation at least. The best place to hide a tree is in a forest. It’s smart, bold even,if we’re reported missing the last place people would look is somewhere like this.”

Yanagi Yuki

“So you’re sayin’ we’re gonna rot here?!”

Naito Akari

“It looks like this one’s thinking stopped a long time ago, from birth perhaps.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“On the contrary Yanagi-san, it should inspire hope. If we can find a means of exit and signal to the outside we’re here, there’s a chance we’ll be saved.”

Yanagi Yuki

“Hell yeah! We just have to find this organisation or whatever and beat ‘em senseless until they tell us!”

Naito Akari

“Your existence at least proves it’s not human trafficking or ransom.”

Naito Akari raised her head and appeared to look down on Yuki, as if to imply her existence wouldn’t merit paying to acquire her. Yanagi-san beamed her shark teeth smile at Akari.

Yanagi Yuki

“Yeah, I’m priceless!”

What should have been a critical hit was effortlessly parried. I saw Akari’s cheeks blush, her face screwed up. I couldn’t help but be somewhat amused. Bravo, Yanagi-san. With that moment out of the way, Tsuchiya-san continued.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“For now, let’s work with the information available to us. We should talk about ourselves and see if any commonalities arise or if we can jog anyone’s memory. Would anyone like to start?”’

Naito Akari

“I refuse to participate.”

She didn’t have a problem with suspecting me but she refused to reveal anything regarding herself? Having such a troubled girl in the mix made me nervous. But this presented a chance to open up.

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I’m a highschool student at Majiro high. My grades are average, I’m not especially skilled at anything. I’m part of the going home club. I have a lot of hobbies, like playing games, sleeping and reading Manga. I only remember getting into bed before waking up here.”

Yanagi Yuki

“I went to Yuudai-High but I dropped out! Tests and stuff are too hard right, who needs ‘em? I only feel alive when I’m goin’ fast so I skate everywhere! I love graffiti, it’s an artform ya know? And my dream is to tag the Whitehouse! And the last thing I remember is…we were out of pudding!”

Naito Akari

“Yuudai-High, is that not a private all girls school?”

Yanagi Yuki

“Oh, my Dad is some top business guy so he pays! He runs some company or somethin’? ”

Naito Akari

“If we’re merely props to muddy the waters in a ransom investigation for you, I’ll make sure you perish.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“It’s doubtful. If the kidnappers wanted to stop police interfering with a kidnapping investigation they would simply grab people from the same area. Yuudai-High, Rhodes International and Majiro-high are quite far away from each other.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I think so.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I’ll go too. I’m a chess grandmaster. I attend Rhodes International school in Tokyo but I mostly focus on my career. I remember coming back from a tournament to my apartment but that’s it.”

Asai Ren

“I like Coffee cake.”

I thought knowing a fellow Coffee connoisseur would help relieve her tension so I flashed her a thumbs up. She looked away, staring into space.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“It’s unfortunate there’s no common trend to go off. I trust Naito-san would reveal something if it was relevant, the same for Asai-san. We can only wait for more people to arrive for now.”

Like previous games, there would be no relation between members of the group. But the Gamemaster was far from random, he picked people that would put on a good show. It was no different this time. That said, I was playing the part of captive. I did my best to keep morale up but I had to showcase some anxiety. It was hard to feel bad, the outside world didn't seem that interesting, no point crying over spilled milk. Inside here you would be provided with everything. Escape was impossible, we would live our lives here until death. But if we accepted that and became friends, it wouldn’t be so bad. The killing I could prevent myself.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Lost in thought Fuyuichirou-san? How about a friendly game of chess? I keep a travel set in case I bump into anybody.”

Naito Akari

“Another child I have to babysit. Both of you play in your corner while I think.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Quite the charmer isn’t she?”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I’m sure she’ll calm down soon.”

He looked at me and smiled, the same disarming smile he wore at the start. The girls went to sit together while Tsuchiya-san and I sat in the corner. The small, cheap plastic set clapped down on the table.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I suppose you know how to play already since you came here. You can be white.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I played a little before. Please go easy on me.”

I picked up the pawn and the atmosphere changed. I looked up and saw the friendly exterior was replaced with a colder, calculating presence. His facial muscles became tense and unmoving, his eyes opened wider. He was taking in everything, from the board to each movement of my hand. Was it a friendly game or something more?

I moved my pawn to the centre and took the E4 square. In Chess, it’s common for your first move to control the centre. He sat back for a moment and thought.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“An E4 player, you made an aggressive move which prefers an open field for attack. However, it prioritises king safety, you tuck away the most prized piece for safekeeping allowing you to focus on the assault. Protecting what’s precious to you before moving forward, is that the sort of man you are Fuyuichirou-san?”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“Nothing so calculated as that, I just play what I feel.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I’m a believer in the board revealing who we are. Lips can lie, appearances can lie, but how you play reveals the truth.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“And what are you hoping to be revealed?”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I’m not the confrontational type so I’ll move my pawn to C5.”

He ignored me. Was he trying to rattle me? It didn’t seem in character for him. His eyes pierced my soul, hoping to uncover something. He wanted to figure me out.

It’s common for play styles to reveal something about your personality. But E4 is the most common opening move, there’s nothing to infer from it. But it’s likely he told me to see how I would react. Not a bad strategy. That said, Chess is a conversation between two people.

While I revealed things, so too would he. And already he tipped his hand this early into the game. Playing C5, the start of the Sicilian defense, is one of the most aggressive responses. Bluffing about being the non-confrontational type was a smokescreen. Lips truly could lie, I was well versed in it. I wanted to know more. I had to keep up with his play to prolong the game. We continued with various moves and before long we reached equality.

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I guess I’ll move my knight ”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“You’re pressuring me by developing your forces. If you had instead kept the momentum going, the initiative was yours. But you want to be certain your attack will be the decisive blow? Not much of a risk taker.”

He continued to bait me. Had I pushed forward, I would have fallen into his trap and it would have meant my loss. He expected me to fall for it. He wasn’t averse to using underhanded methods.

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“As expected of a Grandmaster, you’re completely right.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“No. I can tell that you knew it was a trap. Every piece we pushed so far seemed like nothing to you.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I just got lucky.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“That’s wrong. However, we’ve simply followed a script so far. It’s easy to be good when the moves are so obviously laid out before you. What will you do against this?”

His Queen lapped onto the flank right near where my forces were massed. He moved his most valuable piece straight into my territory. It was a bold move. He was right in my face telling me he was here, what was I going to do about it? Barbaric, imprecise, it didn’t fit his playstyle.

He wanted to see what I would do with fresh meat dumped in front of me. Would I devour it? Would I play with it? It was tempting to take it. But a passive, less revealing move was best.

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“Too much for me, I’ll defend.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“But keeping the opportunity to attack open, you’re quite shrewd aren’t you Fuyuichirou-san? I’ll pull my Queen back for now.”

He made a risky move just to gain more information into my character. It was a move that forced me to reveal something. But he didn’t push his luck. He made a tactical retreat. I felt like I uncovered enough within him for now. There was no sense in continuing, it was time to end it. I moved my knight forward. A complete blunder.

My Knight was left completely defenceless at the mercy of his entire army. He took it without thinking. A kinder person may have offered a takeback or offered some advice but he took it straight away. He let his instinct for victory takeover instead of letting the game continue. It was useful to know. He made a critical mistake assuming the board couldn’t lie, had I launched a single piece forward it was game over. But this clear showcase of failure should have taken me off his radar. I had nothing to hide, there wasn’t somebody to be concerned about. I was just a normal, average student.

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“Ah, I messed up. Chess is too mentally exhausting.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Don’t feel bad, you did well. You made sensible moves.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“ Let’s play again some other time.”

I shook his hand and prepared to leave the table. His hand gripped mine harder, he didn’t want me to leave. The wide, pale blue eyes shot through me, the same cold stare he gave me at the board. It was hard to tell who the real Tsuchiya Rodion was at this point. It was clear I wasn’t going anywhere for the time being.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Why did you throw the game on purpose?”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“You think too highly of me, I just made a mistake.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I’ve played many opponents in my career. Even the best succumb to anxiety and stress. In their moves, on their face, you could see the effects of their brain tying itself in knots, trying to make sense of what lay before them. Even in a casual game, a slight raise in their heart rate.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I’m just easygoing I suppose.”

He stretched his fingers towards my wrist.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“A steady pulse, perfectly calm.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“Let me go.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“You’re bleeding.”

He unclenched and I looked down at my hand, the one Tsuchiya-san was shaking. Nestled inside was the Queen. Its small, pointed crown tips pressed into my palm. His strong handshake had forced the spikes in. The skin tore and coiled around the now blood covered chess piece. He picked the Queen up and put it in the box. The warmth returned to his face.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I must confess, I want to know who you. Chess reveals the man. Or so I thought until today. I realise I'm no closer to figuring you out than I was thirty minutes ago.”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“I’m just a normal guy with lots of hobbies.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“You know, I participate in many tournaments across Japan. I played students from your school Fuyuichiriou-san, Majiro high. Recently in fact.”

He stepped closer. His body towered over mine.

Tsuchiya Rodion

“They altered their uniform two years ago. You seem to be using the old one. Did you not get the memo? Or perhaps, you don’t really attend there?”

His tone was that of a teacher who just caught a student in a lie. It was true, this uniform belonged to a contestant from an earlier game and I never attended high school. So his little game was a tool to see if I would crack? If I were the type to break this easily I would have been killed by now

Tsuchiya Rodion

“I visited there once, could you perhaps describe the exterior at least?”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“A modern building, it’s surrounded by trees and fields of grass, precisely three on each side. It has 3 floors. Our mascot is a black and white bear. And I think you’re misinformed about the uniform change, it’s the same as it always was.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“Was I mistaken then?”

Fuyuichirou Hakaku

“It seems so.”

Tsuchiya Rodion

“It appears so. I’m glad we could clear up that misunderstanding. Why won’t we rejoin the others?”

He returned to the friendly Tsuchiya-san from earlier but he kept the voice of his shadowy self as he said that. He didn’t trust me and he made it clear. The pat on the shoulder was just for show. It didn’t look like he had any plans of sharing these suspicions with anybody. What exactly did he plan to do?