CHECKMATE.

ANTHONY.

I didn't know what to expect as I stepped into the arena, my eyes surveilling the audience as I watched Frederic leave his seat. He gave me a thumbs up, smile on his face as he confidently headed out to prepare for his match. I grinned. The timing of our matches was unfortunate.

He wouldn't be there to see me tear this guy to shreds.

I stared at my competition curiously, analysing her movements. She was a Rook, the same rank of mine, but I wasn't concerned, even by her confidence. Her fox appeared next to her as she cackled.

"You're going down pretty boy."

"You know," Jimmy crawled off my shoulder as I tightened my gauntlets, laughing at her comment.
"I'm not above hitting a girl."

She sneered, grabbing her axe. "That's because you were one."

As the bell rang and the match began she lunged toward me, immediately aggressive. But my mind was still stuck on her comment.

My eyes turned crimson red.

"What's the matter?" She teased, taunting me as I dodged her attacks. I kept defensive, keeping my eyes on the floor to avoid her fox's attempts to trip me up with their fast dashes. I needed to concentrate. I can't let her get to me.

I have to keep my head down and make sure everything's okay.

Think about puppies. Kittens. Bunnies.

Shit.

I socked her in the face without hesitation, causing her to stagger back in surprise. I gritted my teeth, running towards her without hesitation.

She was going to go down.

I didn't want to think about him anymore.

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The first thing I noticed about him was his long slender bunny ears. Pale white, flowing with the wind and contrasting with his scarlet red hair. His tail was less noticeable but still there, a tuft of white vaguely visible from where he was sitting. I couldn't help but stare at him, enamoured by his appearance. At the time, I even thought he was a girl at first.

Almost instantly he looked back at me, catching my gaze. My face turned red. I looked away, embarrassed that he saw me watching. He stared at me curiously, yellow eyes sparking with intrigue.

"I'm a boy." I jerked up. It was like he read my mind. All my instincts were telling me I should run away. He was a strange boy with a strange appearance and even stranger mannerisms, but for some reason I couldn't help but move closer. There was something so...alluring about him. Almost a morbid form of beauty that I couldn't keep away from. So instead of calling my father or running away, I sat by his side.

I wanted to get to know him.

"I'm ******." I said, laughing to myself at his dry comment. 

"Are you sure? It doesn't feel like that's what you want to be called."

I stared at him confusion. His face remained the same, but softness began to creep into his voice, eyes looking at me with a surprising amount of empathy.

"I can see it. It hurts to say that name, right?"

That comment took me by surprise. And yet...

I felt like I could trust him.

"....Yeah. You got me. That's the name I was...given." I scratched my head anxiously, looking down, trying to verbalise the feelings I'd never expressed before. I felt the world dematerialise around us. In that moment the boy didn't feel like a stranger, but a friend.

A close one.

"So what's your name? Not the name you were given.  Not the name people expect of you. The one that was already yours."

"Oh." I said, a smile appearing on my face.

"Well..." I hesitated, but I felt myself immediately feel calmed at the presence of his glowing gaze.
"I...I'd really like to be called Ant if that's okay."

"That's a nice name."  He hummed thoughtfully, the lighter patches of his skin contrasting with his darker skin tone. In this tranquil moment we shared I noticed his beauty more and more, and I could feel my heart flutter with every second we spent together. I'd never really felt like that before, not for a guy or a girl, and I couldn't help but smile.  He stared up at the sky, listless as he did, before finally saying:

"It's nice to meet you, Ant. I'm Lepus."
"Hey Len!" I remarked, grinning from ear to ear. For the first time since we met, he gave out a light chuckle.
"Len, huh?" He smiled, eyes still focused on the wondrous sky of colours and clouds.

"I really like that name."

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The sounds of the crowd cheering filled my ears. I panted, somehow simultaneously exhausted and restless, sweat dripping all over my body. I could feel my mood returning to its default, hoping no one was able to see the colour of my eyes during the fight. I didn't want a situation. Not again.

I turned to face my battered opponent, watching her scrape herself off the ground. Surprisingly, she didn't look mad, smiling at me coyly, not even bothering to try and fix her frazzled white hair.

"Not bad, pretty boy." Her fox coiled around her shoulders, purring as she stroked them. She confidently walked off the stage, wiping blood from her mouth inspite how how much she was limping. She froze when she reached my side, holding my shoulder and leaning into whisper.

"I'm Shino. Sorry about riling you up. Just wanted a fair fight." She handed me a chit of paper before sashaying away, seemingly happy that she lost.

"Call me later!"

Curious, I opened up the chit to reveal a business card, the text causing me to clench the sheet nervously.

Susanoo Shino
Paranormal and Historical Investigator
Chimeras, Morphers, Ghosts aplenty!
Send a letter for more details:
999-4789320-1222456 A9ER Lane

Chimeras, Huh?

I walked off the stage, waving and winking to everyone as I did, stuffing the business card into my pocket and clutching it with fury. I won the match, but it was clear the war was just beginning.

And it's time for me to play by her rules to get what I want.

A/N:
Hi everyone!! hope you all had a wonderful new years and thank you for the wait :) checkmate is now officially off hiatus! stay tuned for more updates!! If all goes well I will also be uploading some additional chapters today to celebrate new years. I really appreciated you guys for reading this story and I hope you'll stay till the end to see more of Anya and Frederic's adventures !

Here's to a new year and new memories,
lonelover15