What are they?

"Who or what are you?" I asked the girl floating above the chair she's sat on. It then occurred to me that I hadn't yet introduced myself.

"My name's Shinji. Naoto Shinji." I reached out my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Shinji-san" the girl responded and shook my hand.

"As you may know, my name's Megumi. And I am a spirit." She put his hand on her chest, introducing herself.

"Can I ask what's a spirit?" I asked Megumi-san. That question has been bugging me ever since we first met outside.

"Ah yes. Spirits are supernatural beings who help people who are playing chess." She answered.

Chess, huh...

"They could only be seen by people who have spirits themselves." She continued.

"Wait, so how can I see you? I don't have a spirit." I asked.

"Ah yes. That is because people who are playing chess extremely well or masters of the game can also see these spirits." She answered.

Masters, huh? Maybe he has one as well. Well, I have played pretty good chess for some time. But I've already forgotten about it. I decided to do so after "that."

"So, masters can see and have spirits, right? Then do their opponents see them while on the board?" I asked again. If these spirits can be seen while players are playing, that could cause trouble. Especially during tournaments, where no distractions or noises are allowed while it is ongoing.

"Well, that's because spirits can turn themselves invisible and telepathically communicate with their partner. Of course, their opponent and their spirits can't also see them when they do this."

Guess that's how it is.

"So, why are you here?"

She was waiting outside for some reason. I wondered what was the reason.

"That is because I was waiting for someone worthy."

"Worthy?" I thought aloud.

"Yes. I have been searching for a person deserving of my guidance for over a year now."

One year? That's a long time.

"I've had several partners in the past, but unfortunately, they weren't worthy." She continued.

If her previous partners couldn't be worthy, then how can I be?

"So, um, how do you know if someone is worthy?" I asked.

"By playing chess." She declared.

So I gotta play chess again, huh?

"If you beat me in a game of chess, you are deemed worthy."

I gotta beat her, eh? I promised to not play chess ever again. But...

"I see. Let's do it."

I said it. I was going to play chess again. I didn't want to, but part of me felt that this was going to be great. Plus, if I say no, her coming here would be useless.

"I understand. Then..."

She closed her eyes and put her hands in front of her chest. A bright light emitted from them. I had to close my eyes due to the brightness. I slowly opened them to see what was happening. Black and white bits of some substance was slowly materializing from the light and landed on the table. A checkered board with 32 pieces of what looked like wood painted, half black and half white. A chessboard with its pieces formed and laid out in front of me. The light faded and she brought her arms to her side. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me with a small smile.

"Now then, Shinji-san. Shall we play?"

To be continued...