Chapter Text
Dreary. An adjective that meant dull, bleak, uninspiring. Some might even say lifeless. A normal work routine: dreary. A dark sky ready to rain at a blink of an eye: dreary. Soap operas that last over fifteen years: dreary.
Shuichi stopped listening to the guidance counselor explaining how much he’ll love his new school, how much fun he’ll have, and how many opportunities he’d be presented with. There’s math club, writing club, basketball, soccer, band class for the older grades, the list went on and on. Shuichi nodded along anytime the counselor paused, so she’d be convinced he wasn’t brain dead. There’s no point in getting involved, he’d only move away like all the other times.
Ten years of age, six different schools. His range of stay always depended on how involved his parents were in a film. One time he completed two full school years before having to follow his parents to a new location. Another, he barely lasted four weeks before he was yanked out like a fish caught on a lure. Maybe that’s when he decided that school didn’t really matter, it was cheaper and easier for him to attend school than for his parents to find someone to homeschool him or babysit him.
This was the first time his parents dumped him onto someone else: an uncle he never met. If you asked him, Shuichi couldn’t tell you if the man was his dad or mom’s brother. When his parents asked if he’d like to stay with his uncle for a year while they film a movie overseas, Shuichi tuned them out like everyone else and nodded along. That’s all he seemed to be good for.
Shuichi Saihara’s life: dreary.
“We have you set for homeroom with Mrs.—“
Shuichi tapped his pen against the counselor’s desk. He wondered if she was even paying attention to him, her speech sounded over rehearsed at this point.
“Your uncle signed you up for the chess club after school because your parents said you like it. I hope that’s okay with you. The club meets today actually.”
Shuichi’s played chess maybe six times his entire life, yet he found himself nodding along anyways. He knew the rules, and he wasn’t bad at chess, he just found the competition to be boring. Whatever, at least his uncle wanted him to make friends, which is more than his parents ever tried to do. The gesture was appreciated, but he wouldn’t take it after today. Shuichi would have to tell his uncle to switch him into a reading club or something, whichever club allowed him to isolate himself from others.
“Well alright, Shuichi, you’re all set! We’re so happy to have you here at Spring Field Elementary. You’re going to make a fine student at the academy one day. I can sense it in your aura!”
Shuichi narrowed his eyes despite giving her his automated nod. Definitely a rehearsed speech. She all but forgot that he said he’d only be here a year.
“Can I go now?” asked Shuichi, not meeting her eyes.
“O-Oh,” she stuttered. She glanced at him a few times. “Yeah, sure. Do you know where you’re going?”
No. “Yeah.”
“You don’t want someone from your class to show you around?”
“Not really.”
Why did counselors always feel the need to pair him up with another student on the first day? Shuichi thought of himself as rather independent, unreliant on others due to his upbringing. He knew how to cook, he washed his own clothes, he figured out how to fix the TV once when his parents forgot to buy a new one—that’s how they always seemed to fix their problems, buy a new one instead of working on what’s broken—he even figured out the train routes home one day after no one picked him up from school when he was seven. So he definitely didn’t need a “buddy” to show him around every time he moved schools.
Well, until he roamed around Spring Field Elementary. No one warned him how massive the school building was, there were three floors and two buildings. More importantly, no one warned him his guidance counselor’s office was in the building for the younger ages. He wandered around for a little less than an hour before he realized he searched the wrong building.
Even then, Shuichi felt like a M&M in a glass bowl of Skittles. He couldn’t remember his teacher’s name, he blocked out his conversation with the guidance counselor too well. The amount of times he walked into the wrong room was embarrassing.
“Um, I’m Shuichi Saihara... I’m looking for Mrs—uh—I’m not sure where—”
“Buddy, do you need help finding the guidance office? They can help you find your classroom!”
That’s literally the response he received from the first four classrooms he stumbled into. After a while, he just started using the process of elimination. Mrs. Hackberry? No, he’d remember a name that ridiculous. Mrs. Smith? No, the sign read that she’s the art teacher. The list went on until he happened to bump into a student on his way to the guidance office to see if Shuichi had left yet.
Mrs. Yu. Ah, noted. If he wasn’t stuck there for a year, he’d brush off the embarrassment of the last few hours on top of the stupid introduction to the class Mrs. Yu did for him, but his long term stay weighed heavily on his mind, the flushed color of his cheeks never quite disappearing before the events popped back in his mind.
He buried his focus into copying the math work on the board in hopes of blending in, forgotten by everyone in the room.
“Psssst! Hey, I like your backpack. I saw it when you hung it up on the wall.”
Shuichi kept his eyes on his notes, ignoring the pencil poking his shoulder blade. Another overly positive voice to bother him. Shuichi nodded, hoping that was enough.
“I like Pokémon, too. Who’s your favorite?”
Shuichi shrugged.
“I like Chatot. It has a cool, musical design. Will you tell me yours?”
Odd choice, but Shuichi nodded anyway. This went on and on until the girl puffed her cheeks.
“You’re rude, you know that? I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, but did no one teach you how to make eye contact and smile?” Her face heated up. “Even if it’s a lie, at least be polite! Mom said only jerks don’t answer a lady.”
Shuichi blinked. No one ever talked to him like that. It was... refreshing. He gave her a small smile.
“Eevee.”
“Huh?”
“I like Eevee.”
“That’s rather dull, don’t you think?”
Shuichi’s favorite Pokémon: dreary.
She poked him with her pencil and smiled. “I’m kidding! It’s okay to laugh sometimes. I’m Kaede.”
“Shuichi.” He extended a hand.
She accepted his hand. Though her persistence was aggravating, he couldn’t help but enjoy the attention. Most people gave up on him, but Kaede drilled the question for thirty minutes into she received more than a shrug or a nod.
At Spring Field, the older kids rotated classes every hour and thirty-five minutes to “prepare for the academy one day,” so Kaede showed him his next classroom. Then that was it. She was gone. The one real person in the school belonged to other classrooms.
~🙈~
The rest of the day went uneventful, his initial embarrassment gone with his homeroom class. He arrived late to the chess club—again, the school really needed a map—but no one seemed to notice his arrival. The other students were already in the progress of games. Shuichi glanced around for a teacher, he wanted to tell whoever monitored the club that he’d only be here for the one day, but he noticed the club seemed rather... unsupervised.
“Looking for someone? Yeah, no one watches chess club. These nerds are too well behaved to act up.”
Shuichi jumped at the question as he spun on his heels toward the small child behind him. The kid appeared years younger, his face so baby-ish, couldn’t be more than seven or eight. Then again, Shuichi couldn’t judge age based on appearance, he himself looked older than ten due to his height. Oftentimes, he’d be confused for a middle schooler. Just something about those big, round purple eyes screamed trouble, a stark contrast to the innocent appearance the boy carried. He stood with a hand on his hip, adding to the sass level. Shuichi couldn’t pin down this kid based on looks.
“I know I’m cute, but take a picture or something. You’re creeping me out.”
Shuichi thought he was embarrassed before, well this topped it all. His eyes darted to the floor, away from the other kid, as the heat spread throughout his cheeks.
The kid clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. “Wow, Shuichi. I expected you’d be some snobby rich kid, not some withdrawn emo.”
Shuichi looked in his direction but not at those intense eyes. His eyebrow perked. “Wh-What? How do you—“
“I have a TV. I know a Saihara when I see one. I have eyes and a brain, you know.”
Ah, the Saiharas were in the news often. Shuichi wasn’t excluded because he was a kid. In fact, that made his spotlight stronger. Everyone always wanted to see how happy the famous Saihara family was and the amazing adventures their family took. Shuichi made sure to smile for the camera, it’s what his parents wanted.
“Earth to Shuichi.” The kid snapped his fingers in his face. “Are we gonna play chess or what?”
“I don’t really—“
The boy snatched his wrist anyways and led him to an empty spot. Shuichi sighed, sitting down in the chair. This was stupid, a waste of time. Shuichi wanted to go home.
“Let’s make this interesting. If I win, you have to answer any question I come up with. I already have a few lined up.” The boy tapped his chin as he smirked.
That piqued Shuichi’s interest. “And if I win?”
“You won’t.” The smirk grew. “I’m the best in the country.”
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?” Shuichi searched the other’s face. He shrugged. “I enjoy a challenge.”
Shuichi really shouldn’t have been surprised he lost in less than fifteen moves, but hey, he lasted longer than he expected. There’s a positive in that.
“Dang, you’re bad. You’re worse than most of the kids here.” The boy tucked his hands behind his head. “That’s a lie. Most of them lose in less than eight moves to me. So I guess you’re mediocre, not special, plain. Whatever you wanna call it.”
“Again,” demanded Shuichi.
“Nuh-uh. We had a deal! You said I could ask a question! Are you going back on our promise?” Shuichi never promised to actually go along with this, he only rolled with it like most things in his life, but guilt tugged at his heart when tears rose to the boy’s eyes. “Wah! Shuichi’s a bully!”
“Ah! St-Stop!” Other students began to stare. Shuichi held his hands up as he tried to calm the other.
“O-Okay. Ask me your question.”
The tears sucked back in his eyes like some sort of cartoon. Shuichi blinked a bunch of times as he processed what happened. This child was a demon, had to be.
“Why don’t you make eye contact?”
Shuichi mumbled as he stared at the chessboard. The other boy rapped his fingers on the table impatiently as he waited for Shuichi to speak up. God, he was relentless.
“There’s no point,” said Shuichi, barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to memorize a face I’ll never see again.”
“Hmmm? Shuichi really is an emo.” He grabbed Shuichi’s chin, leaning over the chessboard and knocking pieces onto the floor, and he forced Shuichi to stare him in the eye with their close proximity. “Well, get an eyeful, Shuichi. You’re stuck with this face forever.”
Up close, he noted how pale the boy was, how his skin clung to his bones like he hadn’t eaten properly in awhile. Shuichi memorized the different shades of purple splashed around his irises like a purple ocean wave. The way his roots were colored black but shaded purple closer to the end of his hair, like he hadn’t found the time to touch up the dye job. Up close, Shuichi could see the bruises on his neck beneath the checkered scarf.
The boy shoved Shuichi down in the seat again as he plopped back on his own.
“What...” Shuichi searched for words. “What is... your name?”
“Ah, Shuichi. I thought you understood the rules of our game. Keep up. You don’t get to ask questions.”
“But—“
“Beat me in a game, and I’ll tell you.”
~🙈~
When his uncle picked him up, Shuichi didn’t say a word the whole ride home. Neither did his uncle. Either his uncle was the quiet type or he picked up on social cues—possibly both, apparently he was a detective, and he needed those skills to assess people—and sensed that Shuichi wasn’t in the mood to talk. It wasn’t until dinner that Shuichi spoke.
“I like the chess club.”
His uncle all but dropped his fork. “Oh? Really? I’m glad you had fun.”
“Do... Do you know how to play? I need to get better.”
“Why? You want me to teach you?” His uncle smiled.
“I met this gremlin. I have to win.”
~🙈~
Shuichi searched for the boy with purple eyes everyday at school, never once spotting him in the crowd. He thought it would be easy between the purple hair, purple eyes, and checkered scarf, he’d stand out amongst the rest. No, never spotted him anywhere except the chess club. Shuichi even went to Kaede about it, she went to Spring Field her entire academic career, but she didn’t know who Shuichi described either. Kaede suggested he might be new as well, and that she just hadn’t crossed his path.
So after school he spent time in the chess club. Even on days when the chess club didn’t meet, Shuichi showed up to play, setting up the chessboard. Everyday like clockwork, the other boy arrived around five to ten minutes late, around the time the club supervisor left the room. Shuichi denied games with the other students, guaranteeing himself a match with the other.
It became routine to lose to him. After the heaviness of the first question, the others started simple. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Black.”
“Heh, emo.”
Or.
“What type of dessert do you like?” “I don’t really like sweets.”
“You’re ten... how do you not like chocolate?!”
Most of the time, the boy answered his own questions while poking fun at Shuichi. Despite his purple hair, he liked the color green. He loved any dessert with chocolate, and he loved grape soda. It was all small talk, but Shuichi enjoyed it. It wasn’t forced conversation out of being polite, the conversations were earned through a game.
~🙈~
After a month, Shuichi started bringing snacks to chess club. His uncle helped him bake brownies, and Shuichi would bring one to school a day. He’d tell his uncle it was for lunch, but he’d hold onto it all day until chess club. He’d hand it over at the start of their game. It started as a nice gesture, but Shuichi noticed the other played sloppier with a distraction. The games started averaging a little over twenty turns, which was either due to the snacks or Shuichi getting better at chess.
Either way, he wasn’t taking chances.
So Shuichi upped his snack game. He decorated the brownies in green frosting. If he found enough change lying around, he’d buy grape soda from the vending machine. The boy always greeted him with a smile and accepted his gifts.
“Shuichi, are you trying to court me? It’s working.” The boy smirked when Shuichi blushed. “I’m kidding, lighten up. Your distractions aren’t gonna work. Never forget that I’m smarter than you.”
~🙈~
Shuichi began losing in around thirty turns. The other actually stopped chatting throughout their matches, he’d wait to eat or drink until after the game, his full attention zoned in on the black and white checkered board. Each loss felt like a mini victory compared to how Shuichi played months before.
But with the longer games came the deeper questions.
“Does Shuichi have any friends? I never see you with anyone.”
Shuichi stared off to the side, finding a tile on the floor to examine. He tapped a random rhythm on his knee as he thought.
“Shuichi, look at me.”
“I-I’d like to think I have two. Kaede and...” Shuichi made eye contact with him. This conversation felt too heavy. Lighten up, the other always said. “And this purple gremlin that won’t tell me his name.”
Purple eyes narrowed at him. “You have a funny way of making friends! How insulting! At least I don’t have an emo haircut.”
~🙈~
Another deep question.
“Do you hate your parents?”
Shuichi didn’t answer. The boy didn’t push him on it, he flipped the conversation to something with less of an edge. It’s the first time he wasn’t forced into an answer. When the next day rolled around and Shuichi slipped him the green brownie, Shuichi decided he owed him an answer. They had a deal after all.
“No.”
“Hello to you, too. It’s good to see you,” said the boy, sarcasm dripping from his tone. When he studied Shuichi’s face, realization crossed his eyes. “Oh, what are we talking about?”
“Your question yesterday. No, I don’t hate them.” Shuichi sighed. “I hate that I’m yanked around like a doll, but—I—Um—I think I’d rather live like this than not have them at all. I still love them because they’re my mom and dad. It’s been months since I’ve seen them—” Has it really been six months since he started school here? His time was running out. “—but I miss them.”
The boy smiled, possibly the softest smile Shuichi had ever seen. “Good. Not everyone realizes how good they have it. Enjoy them while they’re here.”
Too heavy, too heavy, too heavy. Even the smile wavered on the other’s face. So, the purple gremlin flicked green frosting at Shuichi.
“So are we gonna play or talk all afternoon?”
~🙈~
Shuichi slammed a trophy on the table. No brownies. No grape soda. Just the trophy. The boy cocked his head to the side as he checked out the first place trophy.
“What—“
“You weren’t there,” Shuichi cut him off. He tightened his hold on the trophy. “We went to a competition, and you weren’t there.”
“I’m a busy guy,” the boy said with a shrug and a roll of his eyes. “I’m forming a secret organization, you know. We had our first meeting yesterday during school, so I had to skip.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
“Looks like you swept house. Shuichi is like the ultimate chess player or something. Are you mad because I wasn’t there to be your awesome, cute rival? I bet you found an awesome new one to replace me!”
“I won because they weren’t you.” Tears formed in his eyes, and he couldn’t place if he was upset or mad. Probably both. “They weren’t you, okay? And no one will ever be you. I didn’t want you there yesterday so I could beat you. I wanted you there because you’re my friend. I wanted to see you somewhere, anywhere beside here.”
“Sh-Shuichi, I—“ Whatever he was going to say caught in his throat, and all emotion drained from his face. “We can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to play.”
“Wh-What?”
The other silently stood up and left Shuichi alone with a trophy he never wanted and a void in his heart he never expected.
~🙈~
A month passed without the boy showing up to the chess club. Shuichi asked the others if they’d seen him around, and no one had a clue who the boy was. He was a phantom, an anomaly in the club. No name, no background, just a number in their ranks.
And everyday, Shuichi felt the void grow larger.
When Shuichi gave up hope, the boy showed up out of the blue. He carried a green tote, handing Shuichi a bottle of Snapple from inside.
“I know it’s not oolong, but I thought it might be better than nothing—“
Shuichi pulled the other into a hug and held him tight. The boy stiffened before relaxing into the embrace, burying his face into Shuichi’s chest.
“Don’t leave again,” said Shuichi barely above a whisper.
“Okay,” the other answered weakly.
They both took their sides of the table. Shuichi was too distracted, all he wanted to do was stare, absorb the image of the phantom boy in his mind forever. He wanted to keep the image of him burned behind his eyelids, wanted to remember their months of playing together forever. Their friendship tapped away in a bottle where he could reread the stories they shared.
“Checkmate.”
Shuichi lost in fifteen turns.
“You’ve gotten sloppy. Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of chess champion? You should smelt that trophy.” The boy’s smile faded as he settled on a question. “How many days do you have left?”
Shuichi noted that he should know the answer. “The school year ends in four days. I’m gone soon after.”
“Open this whenever we can’t see each other anymore.” He slipped a closed envelope from his tote across the table. “Your eyes only. After we say our last goodbyes. Promise?”
“Promise.”
~🙈~
After that, Shuichi started winning the matches between turns forty and forty-five. It took until the end of the school year, but he was winning, that’s all that mattered.
“I want to remind you that I’ve been honest in all my answers. You better not lie.”
The other smirked. “Who do you think I am? I tell nothing but the truth! Bring it on, Shuichi. Hit me with your best shot.”
“Do you go to school here?”
The boy’s mouth dropped open and shut like a fish. Heat rose to his face. “O-Of course I do! What a mean question!”
“Don’t lie to me.” Shuichi let his gaze darken.
“Fine, fine...” He chewed his thumbnail. “No, I never have. I started sneaking into this chess club last year. It’s pretty easy when no one watches the kids around here. Someone should be fired for that.”
Shuichi was careful not to word it as a question. “So you go to school somewhere else. That explains why you didn’t go to the tournament.”
“Nope.” He popped the ‘p.’ His fingers wiggled in a dramatic show of jazz hands. “I don’t go to school at all! Surprise!”
“H-Huh? What—“
He reached across the table and covered Shuichi’s mouth with his finger. “Sorry, Shuichi. Sounds like you have to beat me again to ask that next question.”
~🙈~
Shuichi beat him the next day. The other boy didn’t appear surprised. “Why don’t you go to school anywhere?”
“Duh, I’m an orphan. I bounce from foster home to foster home too much for anyone to enroll me in school.” Such a sad statement was said with humor. “I thought you were smarter than that. What a wasted question.”
“I had to hear you say it.” Shuichi held a hand to his chest. “I’m... I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re not the reason I’m an orphan.”
He locked eyes with Shuichi, seeing the curiosity, the unasked question on the tip of his tongue. He sighed. “Fine, I’m giving you a freebie here. You better savor it, I’m doing you a favor.
“I lived with my parents and my little sister. Mom was a secretary at a high end business. Dad was a doctor. They weren't big money makers like an actor and a screenwriter, but still real breadwinners.” He smiled softly as he recalled. “Then one day, Dad’s hospital was sued, and it shut down. Dad didn’t have a job. So Mom took on extra hours. They fought a lot... Yeah, a lot. Then one day, Dad caught Mom with another guy. Her boss, actually. So he... He...”
Shuichi grasped the boy’s hands and squeezed. “You don’t have to say it.”
“No, I want to. I... I should talk about it.” He shut his eyes for a moment to compose himself. “So Dad killed her and the guy in a fit of rage. Dad was never violent before, so I... I don’t get it. He...” Shuichi squeezed his hands again, and the boy squeezed back. “Well, he was arrested, been in jail since. We don’t have any other family, so my sister and I were tossed in the foster care system. We were placed in separate homes, and I haven’t seen her in... Hmmmm, two and half years?”
“I’m so—“
“Don’t say sorry. You didn’t do it.” Both boys squeezed. “Besides, she’s a brat anyways. I don’t miss her.”
“That’s a lie isn’t it?”
“Shuichi, I think you know me well enough to know.”
~🙈~
Shuichi lost the next day. It wasn’t even close. Shuichi sighed with a smile on his face, connecting the dots. He never had a chance to begin with, the boy toyed with him all this time. Regardless, he won twice and still had one last day to win. But for now, he had to answer.
“Does Shuichi really have to leave?”
Okay, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Shuichi took a sip from the Snapple the other brought as he let the question sink into his mind and his heart.
“You’ll make Kaede sad. You two really make two peas in a pod, you know. I’m kinda jealous.”
Shuichi put the cap back on his Snapple. “I hope Kaede’s not the only one sad tomorrow.”
The boy averted his eyes. His voice was small. “You didn’t answer me.”
“They’re supposed to finish filming soon. They want to take some big family vacation together to make it up to me. Supposedly it’s Disney World.”
“And then...?”
Shuichi examined the chess pieces instead of the face across from him. “And then... I go with them wherever they go next. That’s how it always is.”
“Oh. So tomorrow’s it.”
“Tomorrow’s it.”
~🙈~
Shuichi made sure to bring brownies and grape soda. The boy brought Snapple. They exchanged before the game. They made it to turn forty-five when the other made an announcement.
“Kokichi.”
“What?”
He pointed at Shuichi’s chess pieces. “You’re about to win, so I went ahead and answered the question I know you’re gonna ask. My name is Kokichi. Don’t you forget it when you move away!”
Shuichi smiled and held out his hand. Kokichi accepted his handshake.
“Hi, Kokichi. I’m Shuichi.” Shuichi squeezed Kokichi’s hand tight. “And I won’t ever forget it. I don’t have to.”
“What do you mean?” Kokichi searched his face for an answer, a trick, a horrible prank.
“I talked it out with my parents a few weeks ago. After working out arrangements with my uncle, I’m staying.” Shuichi smiled. “I’m not leaving.”
“But, you said—“
“You wouldn’t have let me win if you knew I was staying, Kokichi.” Goodness, it felt great to say his name.
“You are evil. And I thought I was the trickiest liar!” Kokichi pointed at Shuichi as his eyes narrowed. “I’m taking all my Snapples back, you jerk.”
“I still have my question to ask.” Shuichi raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
“No, I already told you my name.”
“I never actually asked that. You told me on your own.”
Kokichi’s jaw dropped open. “You’ve hung out with me too much. I’ve ruined you. You really are evil.”
“How do you feel about going to Disney World?”
Kokichi leapt across the table and tackled Shuichi in a hug. He never voiced his answer, but Shuichi knew. His arms snaked around Kokichi’s waist, holding him tight in his embrace.
Shuichi couldn’t describe his life as dreary anymore. Not when Kokichi gifted him the greatest gift of friendship his life had to offer.