#49 Competition and Bet

When I came back to my room I decided to call Sakayanagi.

"Hello, who is calling?" After a few seconds, she accepted the call and I was already able to hear her usual playful voice.

"Hi, it's Walker, in case you didn't guess it already." I had a hunch that she already knew it's me.

"I wouldn't say I guessed it...I just heard of your fateful encounter with Kamuro-san. Partners in crime, fufu" Only when she mentioned it and laughed a bit, I realized how stupid it sounds... I just hope Kamuro didn't think I was hitting on her.

"I needed to get your contact information from her so you can't really expect me to ask her when she is so suspicious of me..." She really got me with her previous words but I didn't want to let her know so I just explained why I said those words to Kamuro.

"Fufu, it definitely worked...You are a really interesting individual, Walker-kun" She said mysteriously and in a pretty quiet voice but I guess she just didn't say it directly to microphone. She is probably together with Kamuro right now, which isn't really surprising.

"I am pretty sure that Kamuro-san wouldn't agree with your words. Anyway, what about that dinner? Do you still want to do it?" I referred to me strolling around all alone but it was more like a defending myself with someone's else name.

"Maybe she thought so before but what about now hm? And of course, I still want to meet up with you for dinner, you promised after all." It seems my only way to flee was closed down. To be honest, I don't really want to meet up with someone like Sakayanagi. I will have to be careful when talking with her face to face.

Sometimes even I make pretty ridiculous promises...

"Alright, is tonight ok with you?" I asked her, resigned to my fate.

"I will make time for you any day" She probably said this with a straight face.

"...Ok? Do I have to...like wear something formal?" I had no idea what should I wear... The last time I wore a suit was during my lunch with Sae-chan but I didn't wear it because I thought about it as a date. I just wore it because I felt like it but we are speaking here about Sakayanagi...She has that princess vibe around her...

"Fufu, are you perhaps thinking about something rude? Of course, you have to wear formal clothes, dummy." I heard her quietly chuckle when she said that last sentence.

Jesus, what's up with woman's intuition?!

"Ok, see you tonight" I said and after she said her goodbye, I ended the call.

Why does it seem like she was joking around when she mentioned formal clothes...

But there is no escape for me now... If she was really serious and she takes some dress too then I will look like an idiot if I will come there with just a casual T-shirt and jeans. Whatever...

...

Later that day, I went to the restaurant near the Keyaki Mall to meet up with Sakayanagi.

I sat down at the empty table and waited for her.

While I was browsing the menu I heard the sound of cane hitting the floor so I looked up from the menu and saw Sakayanagi wearing light blue dress.

I unconsciously smiled at her due to my desire to laugh aloud even though I hold it in.

She also noticed my weird smile so she frowned.

"You are thinking about something rude once again, right?!" She said with furrowed brows.

You can't really blame me...

Your petite body and that dress make you look like a doll.. Pfft

"Not at all, please..." I stood up, took her cane and helped her to sit down. I also noticed that she had a small bag in her other hand but I didn't dare to touch it since I wasn't aware of what's in there.

"You have good manners but shouldn't you say something?" She said with an amused smile.

"Umm... You look good in that dress?" I decided to play a little dense. It's not like I helped her because I am 'gentleman'. I helped her because I never noticed her whining about her health condition. That alone makes me admire her strong will.

"Do you really mean it? Who would look better in this dress, me or Karuizawa" She said with a light smile.

I see, it seems that she investigated me a bit.

Should I say: 'That dress would be pretty small for Karuizawa, especially in chest's location.'

...Nah, I still want my head to remain intact. She probably has a sword hidden inside that cane, like Kisuke Urahara. Now that I think about it, she is like his incarnation. She is smart and playful but when she is angry she looks pretty dangerous even with that petite body of hers.

"I see you've made your research. I think it suits you better since light blue isn't really Karuizawa's color." I used color as my shield and didn't dare to compare their bodies.

"Oh? What kind of color would suit her?" She asked me with a curious expression.

"I always thought that girls dislike when boys start talking about another woman while being with them...You didn't invite me here to actually speak about Karuizawa, right?"

"Well, not especially about her but I didn't invite you with any special intention in mind. I just wanted to talk to you face to face in a quiet place because you piqued my interest."

"Then even more reason to quickly stop...Don't you know what is the saying? Interest can quickly change into love without you even being aware of that." Even though it sounds a bit narcissistic, I might be able to shake her off me.

"Fufu, I definitely heard about that but why is it necessarily a bad thing?" She chuckled a bit with her hand covering her lips.

...Whatever, she won't let me off.

...

"Can you tell me what's so interesting about me? I asked when we received our meal.

"Of course, it is your origin" She said with her usual playful smile but when I heard her words, my smile disappeared and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What do you know?" I asked her while looking straight into her eyes without blinking.

"Don't worry, I don't know much because 'he' wouldn't tell me more. I just know the reason for you being in Class D is your origin" She said while lightly waving her hand in denial. She sounded sincere, maybe she didn't want to ruin the mood.

Also, the way she said 'he', it sounded like that person is really dear to her. Therefore I doubt it's Class A's homeroom teacher, she must have a connection with someone from higher-ups, maybe even someone from the government.

Anyway, that person probably didn't say more than necessary or he might lose his position.

"I understand now but there is nothing interesting in my origin, no, I would say it is a polar opposite of the word interesting." I honestly said because even I didn't think that my origin (living out of the civilization) is anything but interesting, unless...that person knows my or rather this body's true origin. That would definitely make it a more complicated matter.

"Well, I actually didn't need him to tell me that information because you already somewhat piqued my interest the first day we met at this school. Also, conversations with you are always interesting and fun" She said with a genuine smile and when I heard her, I couldn't help but remember the scene how I bumped into her.

After that, we enjoyed our meal and talked from time to time about everyday things.

When the waiter took away our dishes, Sakayanagi bought something from her bag and start to set it up on the table.

"Shall we play a few games?" She asked me with an excited smile when she was done setting up the chessboard.

When I saw that I had a complicated expression on my face.

"You don't want to?" She also noticed my expression and immediately asked me with a slightly sad expression.

I must admit she looked quite adorable with that sad expression.

"It's not like I don't want to, more like I don't know how. I have never played chess in my life" In both of them which is pretty pathetic, now that I think about it. But I can't help it, I never thought about it as fun...

"Then I can teach you. I feel honored to be the first to play with you, fufu." She said with a smile.

Ok...that sounded weird but whatever.

"The ultimate aim in the chess game is delivering a checkmate, in other words trapping your opponent's king...." She started explaining rules but we had only time for basic rules or we would have no time to play at all...

"Alright, I think I can play a bit. I will learn as a game progresses" I said with a thoughtful expression while watching the chessboard.

"Alright, you have white pieces so you start first. I will go easy on you." She said with a kind smile and motioned me with her hand to start.

...

--First game--

How would I describe the first game? Only one word - Disaster

I lost even before I knew it but I still carefully observed and memorized every move she made.

She had a casual smile like she was expecting me to lose miserably even though she went easy on me.

"Let's play another, this time don't go easy on me" She looked surprised by my words but she immediately formed a satisfied smile

"Fufu, that's the spirit"

Even though I said her not to go easy on me, I am pretty sure she will hold back even if she will make better moves than before.

--Second game--

The second game once again ended with my defeat but I wasn't disheartened, instead, I was feeling more and more confident while observing every move she made to ensure my doom.

Of course, even though she played much better than before, I was still able to retaliate a bit before my defeat.

"You played better than last time by a considerable margin. Maybe you have a talent for chess" She said with a happy smile.

I didn't even let her see everything but I am still skeptic whether I should try to really win or not. It's pretty obvious that she is professional in chess and she likes to play it a lot. I am not sure if I can win but I am slightly confident to end the game in a draw. But if I do this then she will only turn to be more vigilant against me and I will just reveal things while gaining nothing at all...

"Sakayanagi-san, how about a bet?" I asked her with a serious expression.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?" She asked me with a curious expression.

"8 more games. If I can defeat you in our 10th game then I want to form a truce between Class A and Class D for the rest of our first year" I said with a smile seeing her curiosity.

"Fufu, you really know how to make everything more interesting. Why not... and if you fail to win then I don't even want anything, after all, it's your first day playing the chess" She said with a smile, she probably thought that I am overly confident to the point of being arrogant.

"I can't really call that a bet if you won't win anything...How about I tell you a few things about my origin you are so interested in? If I lose that is." I honestly didn't like to make bets without betting anything at all... It won't give me enough adrenaline and desire to win.

"Sure, let's do it your way. In case you win, do you want to specify what kind of truce? And do you want to make it official bet on paper?" She easily accepted and asked for more information.

She isn't arrogant...even though she is confident in winning easily she still asks me for more information...she is good, hehe.

"In case there will be a special exam that will force our two classes to compete with each other then there is nothing to do but I want us to compete without any schemes. Competing with just our abilities alone. And I will just trust your word to follow the rules of bet in case you lose"

"Alright, I have no problems with conditions" She said with a confident smile.

Even though I said I will trust her word and I think that she will honor our bet, I still like to have insurance, I was recording our conversation on my phone ever since I asked her about the bet.

--Fifth game--

We were currently in the middle of the game and no one would still be able to tell who will win.

It was my turn to make a move but I closed my eyes for a while before opening them and instead of making a move, I turned at Sakayanagi.

"It's your win, let us start the sixth game" I said with a smile and if anyone was watching our game he would have thought that I just gave up but Sakayanagi instead looked surprised and then she frowned. She probably didn't think that I would just give up a game without any reason.

--Tenth and last game--

"This is the last chance for you to win, Walker-kun. But I must say that you perhaps have a talent comparable to me when it comes to chess" She kindly reminded me with a very kind smile. I noticed that every time I improved she started playing even better and with an excited smile. After the game, she looked at me with more and more friendliness visible in her eyes.

I was once again first to make a move but I instead closed my eyes and cupped my fingers just to make it look more mysterious.

If I, myself can't win against you then what if it will be YOU playing against you?!

I started to visualize all kinds of moves Sakayanagi used today and started using them while also predicting her counter moves. Like this, I imagined several thousands of different moves but I was still unable to find the right way to win. After all, we didn't have enough time for her to show me all of her moves.

When I reopened my eyes I realized only around 5 seconds passed by while I was thinking of a strategy.

Sakayanagi was looking at me with a patient smile while supporting her chin with her hands.

My eyes became similar to hers, full of cunningness hidden behind the playfulness.

She became slightly startled when she saw her 'own eyes'.

I made my first move based on what she would do and this didn't make her expression any different, however, when my 10th move was the same as what she would do, she frowned. I was making the counter-moves she would have thought as the best option. She was practically playing against herself right now.

It was visible that she was having a harder time playing than before because she was taking longer breaks before making her move while I already had my hand ready on which piece I wanted to move even before she moved hers.

But in the end, I wasn't able to win and I had to end this game by a draw.

She went really easy on me back then...she was much stronger than I anticipated. I thought that I would be able to win but it seems that she was hiding most of her strength.

"Fufu, you are really something else, Walker-kun. Was this really your first time playing chess?" She laughed in relief but she was still aware that we played only 10 games... She probably didn't even want to know what would happen if I had more experience in playing chess.

"It seems that bet is invalid." I formed a forced smile. I showed her my talent to quickly pick up on the new things without winning anything. Tsk, if I knew that she was so good then I wouldn't bother to bet. Hopefully, she will only think of it as me having great talent in chess.

"No, it's you win...You were able to end the game in a draw while I was playing with all I've got. Even if you would lose but would be able to make me this serious, it would be your win...

I had no problems with accepting that because she was really hiding most of her strength.

It was already pretty late and we decided to go back to the dorms. Since it was already so late, there was no one waiting for Sakayanagi, not even Kamuro. I decided to walk with her back to the dorms but in the middle of the way there I had to stop and clunch my head.

Shit! What kind of headache is that? Is it because of overusing my brain during my competition with Sakayanagi?

Sakayanagi also stopped when she noticed me stopping and when she saw me clutching my head she turned a bit worried.

"Are you ok? Do you need something to drink?" She approached me so fast that I wasn't even aware that she could move so fast considering her health condition.

"I am fine...just a usual migraine, nothing serious." I said with a forced smiled.

I bit my tongue to force myself to walk Sakayanagi home. The faster it will be done, the faster I can tend to my problem.

When we finally arrived at her dorms, I was able to leave for my own dorms but I wasn't aware that she stayed there for a while even after I left.

"Walker-kun..." Sakayanagi mumbled with a guilty face.