Survival Game, Book 1: The Fool

Epilogue

A warm early August breeze ruffled the treetops as it blew by, snatching up a few green leaves as it passed. It was nightfall, but even with the sun now replaced by a bright moon and twinkling stars, the air was consumed with humidity. In the midst of it all, a man stood onto the sidewalk, the rubber soles of his shoes beginning to heat from how long he stood there, idling in front of a red brick gate but making no move to open the latch and approach the door. He felt cold, despite the heat, his whole body frozen in place from the chill coursing through him. His chest felt hollow inside, and he didn't bother paying attention to anything but that wooden door across from him, beyond the gate he stood in front of. He sometimes would forget to even breath until his lungs began to burn. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, either, and nor did he care. After all, why should he? All time was good for was nothing but robbing a person and bothering to check it would just show him how many hours or days passed until time robbed his life from him next.
He let out a long sigh, the first action he'd done the whole time. Maybe it would be better if time did kill him. The door he kept watching every night would never open, or at least not for him. His presence was noted, that much was clear, but every time he'd be seen, the window curtain would be thrown up to avoid him. The person inside the house had nothing to say to him, and yet he kept on, hoping that one day it'd happen. But, it never did. "Hey, Makoto." The smug call approached him. It was the last thing he needed to hear in his time of misery. "You still hanging around here like some freak?" Makoto tried to ignore the comment, but he was forced to look at the face of Tsutomu Noguchi anyway. "Come on, we have a meeting." He dragged Makoto roughly by the wrist anyway, implying he didn't have a choice in the matter.
Makoto glanced back at the small house once more as it grew more distant, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone inside. Much to his surprise, he was met with a face looking through the window from a small gap in the curtain. The exchange between them lasted only seconds, as the face stared back with a expression of heavy grief. The curtain was pulled back once more as the eyes that met his began to glaze over with tears and they could no longer look at him. The small hope he had was crushed once more and he no longer began to resist Noguchi's pull.
The two men stopped at a local bar, where they had always met each time. Apparently one of the Knights or Rooks owned it, but Makoto could never care enough to ask which one and both classes were always there anyway. It was closed now and only the Rooks were occupying the tables as they waited. Makoto was once again the fill in for the Knights, though he never asked for it. He could only do what the Queen asked and he didn't bother to protest. Touru Uchimoto, a man that was two times the size of Makoto and much more muscular, was the first one to announce Makoto's presence. "What the hell is he doing here?" He demanded, chugging down a glass of scotch afterwards.
"He must be the replacement again. Why does the Queen even bother with the other guy if he never shows up?" The woman next to him replied, crossing her legs and leaning in her chair. She meant it as a snobby insult, he figured, but it seemed like she truly didn't know the Knight in question's name. Makoto was sure she didn't even know his name, which was fair considering he didn't know hers either. No one cared to tell him, not even Uchimoto, who was her partner. Maybe she was too good for introductions to a mere Pawn, even when that Pawn had 10 more years of working with them than she had. Not like Makoto was old, in fact he was the second youngest in the room, but the looks he used to have when he first joined at 18 had diminished into a hollow shell of what he used to be. He was certain others would think he looked twice his age if they didn't know him.
"Makoto is here because I brought him here." Noguchi glared at both of them, though by no means was he defending his coworker. "Let's just get this shit over with. I have news to tell you that the Queen thought was important." He waited until the two Rooks said nothing more to continue, the man taking another sip of scotch and the woman uncaringly twirling a strand of hair with one finger. "Azumi Kimura's little program moved to the next stage. Her group passed... all four of them." That statement instantly caught the woman's attention, looking up at him in shock.
"Passed...?" Uchimoto repeated the words for his partner. "What do you mean passed? I thought she had to put them through some tests or something." He seemed more concerned with his booze to care, but his words still came out in mild surprise. Makoto remained standing a few inches away, listening into their conversation but not joining in. Personally, he was more impressed, but he could never voice such a thing. Noguchi would immediately accuse him of betrayal. "All of them! They all have powers of their own now!" The man was currently snapping, fury blazing in his expression. "We should've never allowed them to even get their hands on the drugs! Now, look what's happening!"
"You're getting upset over nothing." Uchimoto shrugged. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're even acting scared. What the hell can those kids do? A Pawn could kill them with no effort!" His taunting only made Noguchi more furious, but he went on. "Not even Yoshimura or Furusawa are showing any interest. And playthings like that is usually something the Bishops like." He spoke nonchalantly about the subject, though even the other Rook seemed fearful. She never voiced her concerns, possibly from self-pride, but her glossy lips were pressed together in a frown the whole time they spoke.
"I'm not afraid of those kids, you can count on that." Noguchi spat out the sentence. "Kouji clings to his mother like he's some newborn whelp. As long as Yui is in my grasp, he won't do shit to me. And Shimamura doesn't seem like she'd care one way or the other about us or the program. She wouldn't take much convincing." His fury seemed to dwindle into a more arrogant tone. "And I'll leave Aramaki to you, Uchimoto, as requested. However, the other one, Ryou Nakahara... he seems to have a grudge against us without even knowing a damn thing. Worst of all, Yukimura has his hands on him. That guy talks in so many riddles you can't understand a word he says, but he's Kimura's bitch when it comes down to it. Or more like her guard dog. I forgot she already has a bitch." He gave a self-satisfied glance at Makoto, impressed with himself at his joke.
"Orimoto will more than likely go after Masaru first." Uchimoto guessed, showing a little more interest. "I can't say who's the better fighter, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue."
His partner added onto this, as if they were planning their own private strategy. "I heard Kristine was paired with Kakiuchi. You know, Miho fucking Kakiuchi. The bitch whose ruined more lives than she's been on this earth. Before she joined Kimura, she was one of the biggest informants in Japan. And Kristine wouldn't be above stooping to her level." Her words came off with a certain level of anger, as if she couldn't control it but was trying to maintain a professional status. Makoto thought she was more fearful for her career than voicing any personal grudge against Miho. He wondered if she even knew the woman personally and was only going by rumors. Even he hadn't seen the woman, nor had any Grandmaster, and some even thought she was a person made up by Azumi.
"Honestly, I don't care what they do. Until they defeat one of our Pawns, they'll be nothing but another opponent to us. No need to strategize anything this early. Let's just finish this meeting and all have a drink, okay?" Noguchi suggested, making his way to the bar in confident strides. If he had any fear before, it was completely vanished now. He poured the three of them a glass of expensive alcohol as the two Rooks joined him, with Makoto reluctantly trailing behind. "Let's celebrate this occasion, actually. To a new win for our empire." Once they all had glasses, the three made some sort of toast before they even "won" anything. They all took a drink and Noguchi sat his glass down with a satisfied expression. "Let them try to take us on..." He told the Rooks. "I imagine this will be an interesting game, no matter the players. Let the Pawns know about this matter. Tell them that the game is about to begin. And victory shall be ours."