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shivalries) wrote2024-03-08 09:39 pm
shivalries) wrote2024-03-08 09:39 pm
Monochrome Checkmate - A Solitary Throne Chapter 1
Season: Spring, one year ago
---
Location: Student Council Office
Mao: Excuse me...
(Wait, nobody's around. Weird, I thought I'd at least find Hasumi-senpai, since he's here so much you'd think he lives in this place. Huh, maybe he took a pee break?)
(No, he'd probably either lock the door or get somebody to stand watch while he's out. He seems the type to fuss about security.)
(Like, it's actually scary how thorough he is. He'll always put used documents through the shredder and stuff...)
(It's almost as if... something has him always on his guard.)
(Doesn't sound like anything I'd wanna get wrapped up in. Yep, definitely not gonna pry.)
(If nobody's around right now, guess I'll just come back tomorrow.)
(I came here to submit an accounting report for those concerts that've been happening a lot lately... DreamFes, I think they're called?)
(But, man... It kinda feels like they're treating me like a real student council member, if they're letting me handle such important documents.)
(I'm not a member yet, at least not officially.)
(But they seem to have taken a shine to me somehow. Guess it's 'cause I always go at my work seriously and don't complain. They're probably so understaffed, they'll take all the help they can get.)
...Hm?
(Well, that's careless. They just left an important-looking document out in the open.)
(I shouldn't touch it without permission, but... maybe I'll just turn it over and put a book or something on top so nobody can try to read it through the back.)
(It'd bother me if I just left it there, anyway.)
(...What's this?)
(Why's Ritsu's name here? Did he screw something up?)
(C'mon, man. He's already got one strike from being held back a year... Any more trouble and he might just get expelled.)
(Huh... What even is this paper? A list of recent DreamFes participant names?)
(There's a DreamFes marked with today's date called "Checkmate"... and Ritsu's name is under it.)
(Hmm... Doesn't sound like he's in any kind of trouble, at least. In fact, he's actually performing...)
(That means he's decided to put in some effort, right? I should probably go cheer him on.)
(...Though, I wonder what this letter next to the DreamFes title is supposed to mean?)
(Most of these events are marked "D" or "J" or "O", but Checkmate's the only "C".)
(Is it some special kind of DreamFes?)
(That's... not just because C is the first letter in "Checkmate", right? That wouldn't make sense for the other letters.)
(Huh... It's all a mystery to me.)
(Hold up, I shouldn't even be looking at these files in the first place. I'm just an outsider giving the student council a hand here and there.)
(...Well, since I don't have anything else to take care of, guess I'll call it a day.)
(Part of me wants to go support Ritsu at this Checkmate thing, since I wanna see him actually doing idol stuff.)
(That paper didn't say where it's happening, though. Probably in the auditorium?)
(Maybe I'll take a peek on my way home.)
(I dunno what this is all about, but I'm rooting for you... Ricchan ♪)
---
Location: Checkmate Stage
Ritsu: Ah— Something tells me Ma~kun's totally thinking about me right now.
I mean, he's pretty much always thinking about me, just like I'm pretty much always thinking about him.
This must be love... Love's what connects me and Ma~kun, no matter when or where.
Arashi: Oh, I totally agree. That's true love right there.
I'm sooo jealous that your love life's going swimmingly...
Kunugi-sensei and I are always missing each other these days. He's gotten so busy after becoming faculty supervisor for the student council.
Izumi: And I honestly do not give a shit right now. Quit wasting your breath on that and focus on rehearsing. We might as well be an impromptu mercenary group right now, remember?
Checkmate is a vital show for us, and we can't afford to slack for even a moment. I want us all to at least be on the same page before it starts.
Got it? This is no time to fool around. Put your backs into it.
Arashi: Ugh, for real? You should be happy that we even bothered to answer you when you decided to call on us out of nowhere. Isn't that right, Ritsu-chan?
Ritsu: Don't be so casual with me. I'm just here to repay you guys for looking out for me, okay? I don't wanna owe you, that's all...
I'm not here to look for friends.
Arashi: Oooo, aren't you ice cold? It might be temporary, but we're still going to fight as allies. Why don't we try getting along? ♪
Ritsu: I don't see why we have to. I just wanna get this over with and go home to sleep.
Izumi: (*Sigh*... Are we gonna be okay with these guys? This is tooootally nerve-wracking. Everything would go to shit if we lost this, so I scraped together some forces as fast as I could, but...)
(All I've got is a stupid romance-for-brains four-eyes who's all talent but zero motivation, some half-dead greenhorn I picked up on the side of the road...)
(And then there's me and... Leo-kun.)
(Can we really win against Chess like this?)
(They're the largest unit left over after the big split, and in keeping the name "Chess", it sounds like they believe they're the true successors.)
(I mean, they're still just a bunch of nobodies, but they outnumber us by a lot.)
(I know performing isn't all about numbers, but having more people makes them louder, at the very least. It'd only be human nature to look their way.)
(Leo-kun said he was gonna go find some people to help out, too, but...)
(I dunno how well that'll work out. Like me, he's not the type to have friends.)
(Ugh, things are looking bleak... How did it even get to this point?)
---
< A Heart Rusting Over Chapter 5 || Masterlist || A Solitary Throne Chapter 2 >
---
Location: Student Council Office
Mao: Excuse me...
(Wait, nobody's around. Weird, I thought I'd at least find Hasumi-senpai, since he's here so much you'd think he lives in this place. Huh, maybe he took a pee break?)
(No, he'd probably either lock the door or get somebody to stand watch while he's out. He seems the type to fuss about security.)
(Like, it's actually scary how thorough he is. He'll always put used documents through the shredder and stuff...)
(It's almost as if... something has him always on his guard.)
(Doesn't sound like anything I'd wanna get wrapped up in. Yep, definitely not gonna pry.)
(If nobody's around right now, guess I'll just come back tomorrow.)
(I came here to submit an accounting report for those concerts that've been happening a lot lately... DreamFes, I think they're called?)
(But, man... It kinda feels like they're treating me like a real student council member, if they're letting me handle such important documents.)
(I'm not a member yet, at least not officially.)
(But they seem to have taken a shine to me somehow. Guess it's 'cause I always go at my work seriously and don't complain. They're probably so understaffed, they'll take all the help they can get.)
...Hm?
(Well, that's careless. They just left an important-looking document out in the open.)
(I shouldn't touch it without permission, but... maybe I'll just turn it over and put a book or something on top so nobody can try to read it through the back.)
(It'd bother me if I just left it there, anyway.)
(...What's this?)
(Why's Ritsu's name here? Did he screw something up?)
(C'mon, man. He's already got one strike from being held back a year... Any more trouble and he might just get expelled.)
(Huh... What even is this paper? A list of recent DreamFes participant names?)
(There's a DreamFes marked with today's date called "Checkmate"... and Ritsu's name is under it.)
(Hmm... Doesn't sound like he's in any kind of trouble, at least. In fact, he's actually performing...)
(That means he's decided to put in some effort, right? I should probably go cheer him on.)
(...Though, I wonder what this letter next to the DreamFes title is supposed to mean?)
(Most of these events are marked "D" or "J" or "O", but Checkmate's the only "C".)
(Is it some special kind of DreamFes?)
(That's... not just because C is the first letter in "Checkmate", right? That wouldn't make sense for the other letters.)
(Huh... It's all a mystery to me.)
(Hold up, I shouldn't even be looking at these files in the first place. I'm just an outsider giving the student council a hand here and there.)
(...Well, since I don't have anything else to take care of, guess I'll call it a day.)
(Part of me wants to go support Ritsu at this Checkmate thing, since I wanna see him actually doing idol stuff.)
(That paper didn't say where it's happening, though. Probably in the auditorium?)
(Maybe I'll take a peek on my way home.)
(I dunno what this is all about, but I'm rooting for you... Ricchan ♪)
---
Location: Checkmate Stage
Ritsu: Ah— Something tells me Ma~kun's totally thinking about me right now.
I mean, he's pretty much always thinking about me, just like I'm pretty much always thinking about him.
This must be love... Love's what connects me and Ma~kun, no matter when or where.
Arashi: Oh, I totally agree. That's true love right there.
I'm sooo jealous that your love life's going swimmingly...
Kunugi-sensei and I are always missing each other these days. He's gotten so busy after becoming faculty supervisor for the student council.
Izumi: And I honestly do not give a shit right now. Quit wasting your breath on that and focus on rehearsing. We might as well be an impromptu mercenary group right now, remember?
Checkmate is a vital show for us, and we can't afford to slack for even a moment. I want us all to at least be on the same page before it starts.
Got it? This is no time to fool around. Put your backs into it.
Arashi: Ugh, for real? You should be happy that we even bothered to answer you when you decided to call on us out of nowhere. Isn't that right, Ritsu-chan?
Ritsu: Don't be so casual with me. I'm just here to repay you guys for looking out for me, okay? I don't wanna owe you, that's all...
I'm not here to look for friends.
Arashi: Oooo, aren't you ice cold? It might be temporary, but we're still going to fight as allies. Why don't we try getting along? ♪
Ritsu: I don't see why we have to. I just wanna get this over with and go home to sleep.
Izumi: (*Sigh*... Are we gonna be okay with these guys? This is tooootally nerve-wracking. Everything would go to shit if we lost this, so I scraped together some forces as fast as I could, but...)
(All I've got is a stupid romance-for-brains four-eyes who's all talent but zero motivation, some half-dead greenhorn I picked up on the side of the road...)
(And then there's me and... Leo-kun.)
(Can we really win against Chess like this?)
(They're the largest unit left over after the big split, and in keeping the name "Chess", it sounds like they believe they're the true successors.)
(I mean, they're still just a bunch of nobodies, but they outnumber us by a lot.)
(I know performing isn't all about numbers, but having more people makes them louder, at the very least. It'd only be human nature to look their way.)
(Leo-kun said he was gonna go find some people to help out, too, but...)
(I dunno how well that'll work out. Like me, he's not the type to have friends.)
(Ugh, things are looking bleak... How did it even get to this point?)
---
< A Heart Rusting Over Chapter 5 || Masterlist || A Solitary Throne Chapter 2 >