The pieces are in place

****

"...Hah...What do I do?"

I'm currently sitting on the floor, leaning to the side of my bed and looking at the white ceiling of my room. Sighing softly as I think of what I had just done. I challenged the student council president to a game of chess for the club's survival and to advertise it in the coming school festival. 

"What's wrong, Naoto-san?" Megumi, floating on the carpet asked me what I was concerned about. 

"I just challenged Hasegawa-san to a chess game."

"That's right, Naoto-san."

"But..." Although me challenging her to a chess game was complete of my own volition, one thing concerns me. 

"How am I supposed to play when I don't have any pieces?" 

Chess pieces are a necessity when playing chess. A long time ago, the pieces were already provided to you. But in today's world, it's required that you bring your pieces. Some say it's for the player's preference, others say they do it because they "trust their pieces". Regardless, if you want to play chess, then you need your chess pieces, which I don't have.

"What are you talking about Naoto-san? You do have pieces."

"What do you mean?"

"Check your left pocket." Her strange comment confused me but I trust her. I reached for my left pocket. My fingers touched something woody. I took it out of my pocket. Its color was white with what seemed like a crown on top. 

"?! This is..." I was shocked by what I was holding. A white queen chess piece. But it wasn't any ordinary queen piece, it closely resembled the one I found a few days ago. No, maybe it is the same piece. I couldn't mistake it for anything else. The scratch on the crown portion confirms it. It was my queen. The same queen that I used when I played chess before. Just by looking at the piece, I can feel it calling out to me.

"How did this get in here?"

"Remember the day you found it?" 

It was the following day when I fought Megumi. I found the piece laying on the ground of the complex. That time, I was wondering what was it doing there. I threw it away a month ago, but it magically found its way into my apartment. Then, I remembered that I put it in my pocket after I examined the piece. So that's why it was there. But still, that doesn't explain one thing.

"How did it make its way to my apartment?" 

I didn't know how it got into the front of my apartment. It weights so it couldn't have just been blown by the wind so the only culprit would be a person. But who would leave something like this on the asphalt?

"I placed it there."

"YOU did?!"

"Sorry, Naoto-san." My comment might've been a little harsh.

"No, no, it's okay." So that's why it was there. But...

"Where did you find this?" 

It's been a month since I threw away my pieces so it's should've been at the garbage dump now. So how did she do it?

"At the outskirts of town, near a landfill." 

"What?" I was right that it should've been there, but she said it was near it, not in it. I'm sure that my other pieces got shredded into bits but how did this survive? Maybe it was dropped in the middle of transportation? That's the only plausible explanation for this piece not getting destroyed.

"When I took a closer look at it, I could feel your presence in it. Like it was deeply connected with you." 

My presence? Deeply connected with me? Did my queen not want me to part ways with it? At the time, I was consumed with intense feelings and I instantly threw my case on the ground, which the pieces burst out of. Despite me trying to quit chess at the time, it seems like this queen doesn't want to let me go. Somehow, I feel that it and Megumi had something in common.

"So, I took it and made some modifications."

"Modifications?"

"Firstly, it's the reason why we can telepathically communicate."

"This?" That's a surprise. I thought we were able to do this because she did something to me in my sleep. Guess that's not the end all be all of it.

"As long as that's close to you, we can do so."

I guess I gotta have this in me at all times if I want to play chess.

"Also, take a look at this." She pointed to the top of the crown. A small ball, almost like a button was on top of the crown. That part is ordinary to every queen.

"Try pressing that." I was a little confused as to why she was telling me to press the small sphere on top of the queen. But, I did as she said and pressed on the ball. My thumb sunk a bit. It was a button.

Suddenly, something materialized in front of me. Bit by bit, something black came into existence seemingly from nothing. When the object finished materializing, its shape was square with a top handle. It was a black briefcase, floating in the air, which materialized as a result of me pressing a single button.

"Wha-" I tried my best to say something but I was in shock by just what happened. It reminded me of the time Megumi did the same thing a couple of days ago and the result was a chessboard, complete of pieces.

"What is this?" Eventually, I managed to ask her.

"Open it up and see what's inside." 

She wanted me to see it for myself. I put my hands below the case and catch it as it suddenly falls. I placed it on my lap. The case looked like it was made of leather. I unlocked the lock below the handle and opened the case. 

"?!What is..." What I saw blew my mind. 15 chess pieces are all laid out in their placements in a soft material. There was a slot fit for each piece in chess. They were placed like you would at the start of a game of chess. The pawns were in front, all lined up. Behind them were all the other pieces. But something was odd. These aren't just ordinary chess pieces. These are...

"My old chess pieces?!" No, they weren't my actual pieces. I can tell just by looking at them and they didn't radiate anything, unlike the queen. But for some reason, they resembled the pieces I used to play with. It was like a perfect copy. How?

"How did you..."

"I based the design on the queen. I wanted it to be similar in design so I did my best." She's implying that she was the one who made the pieces.

"You made this?" 

"Something like that. I told you that I want to see you play again. So I prepared everything."

These spirits can do anything, can't they? They can float, use telepathy, and create anything they want. I'm in awe. The fact that she made this for me to be able to play again just amazes me. 

"See, Naoto-san, you do have pieces."

I grabbed the king from its placement and looked into it. It closely matches my old king. I look back at the queen on my other hand. Looking back and forth, I could feel the connection they have. Although they weren't the same, they emitted the same aura. It was as if they were made for each other. Somehow, I feel that their relationship is a bit similar to me and Megumi's.

"Yeah..."

I put back the king in its slot. There was only one slot without a piece, next to the king. The slot for the queen. I placed the queen in its rightful place. The slot was like a throne for the strongest piece in chess. All the pieces were in their proper places. The army was now complete. I closed the briefcase and locked it.

"Thanks, Megumi."

"No worries, Naoto-san. Shall we get some sleep?"

It's past ten now so it was the optimum time for sleep.

She is the reason why I have these pieces, so I have to show my gratitude. I have to win tomorrow. For her, for Kinoshita, and the club. Tomorrow, I'll make my return to chess. With Megumi by my side, I know that I can't lose. I smiled as I slowly dove off into sleep...

To be continued...