I was looking at this window that was on my laptop monitor and I looked at the clock on my laptop. The time is 9:23pm, so I close my laptop and get into bed.

Looking at the ceiling I pick up my phone and look at it. A new notification from Lynk pops up so I open it only to see it's a message from Sakura.

"Hey Ishikawa-kun, sorry if I upset you with something that you just left like that" I read the message out loud.

However I reply back with a message that I apologize for leaving like that and then I decided to look for other valid information about Hana so I logged into the browser on my phone.

- What else could I find out about her? Hm.

Scrolling through the sites I'm curious about a site called ' ChessMaster.jp '.

- ChessMaster? Is that a game or?

Clicking on the site opens Hana's user page, and what amazed me was that she won 1432 chess games with 0 losses.

I sat and stared at the sheer number of wins she had made on this app and was amazed but at the same time a strange feeling hit me.

Closing the phone screen I look around the room and notice nothing unusual but just the feeling that I was being watched by something, clearly it couldn't be anyone, I just made sure I closed the door.

Anyway, I open my phone again and keep looking at her page noticing other new things, the fact that she played in a competition in Japan and won.

- But it's just a game, it's not really a competition, is it?

Clicking on more details about the competition I see that not only is it an online chess game but it also has annual competitions in Japan in person and not just in front of a screen.

- Apparently it's not just a game, does chess have anything to do with her being a person?

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I know, chess is associated with strategy and complex logic and many people say that most manipulators are those who are good at chess because as you control the pawns on the board, so you control the people.

- Even so, why am I her target? Why is she trying to use me as a pawn?

I stare at the screen with a neutral face without any visible emotion. " She could be a manipulator then? If I take it logically, so far she has acted like a simple mindless human but she may be hiding something worse than that in her ". I say in my mind while still looking at the phone screen that starts to close.

Once my phone screen closed I put it on the table and got out of bed, heading to the bathroom.

Turning on the light, the bathroom lights buzzed in my brain giving me a little shiver. Looking in the mirror at myself, I turn my gaze to my hands that are clutched to the edges of the sink.

- If she really is a manipulator, how many people has she manipulated before?

A door appears, on it is written the name ' Hana ' and inside is Hana playing chess alone with a small candle beside her.

" Oh, sorry pawn " she says taking a pawn from the board.

Still playing she looks up and her eyes, her light colored eyes seem to read every move in the darkness.

"Darkness, something many are afraid of" she says looking at the chessboard again.

She takes other pawns out of the game and smiles at the same time, but a subtle smile, not too visible, and after she finishes the game she blows out the candle.

Darkness taking over and nothing is visible in Hana's room.

The sound of flowing water takes over my ears, in the stillness of the house it was only the water that could be heard and I put my hands in the water and rub my face.

The cold water made me shiver for a few moments but then I turned off the water and looked in the mirror. The water on my face was dripping drop by drop, the sound of the drops soothing me somehow.

Finally I took a towel and wiped my face and this time I faced the door. Staring at the pattern of the door I eventually exited the bathroom and walked back to my room.

"The game of a manipulator is to push all the important pawns aside so that nothing gets in their way" I say out loud and lay down on the bed.

- This is the thing I learned from my grandfather, only he told me in a different form, he told me that everyone plays an important role in life and their role can be to push people away or bring them and others closer together.

I was looking at the open screen of my phone, which was also the only source of light I had at hand.

Looking through messages and emails I finally got out of apps and just looked at the phone screen and all the apps that were on the phone desktop.

Suddenly I get a glimpse of a bubble in the corner of an app so I click on the app, the app is still a social app except you can post photos and stuff on it.

The app loads and I look at the notifications I've received recently and there's a notification that the app is changing its terms and conditions and all users who haven't had activity in the last year at least 2 times will have their accounts deleted.

- What a load of crap.

I go off the app notifications and look at random pictures on the app, scrolling down I see pictures of chess, competitions and other chess related stuff in general.

"Interesting" I say and just look around bored.

- Maybe it might even be worth becoming a chess player.

I was looking at these pictures and clicking on an account is the school's official chess games account, the pictures were of all sorts of students being in chess matches and nothing unusual until I notice in one picture a familiar figure.

" Teacher Yamada? Is she organizing these matches or is she just there to watch the match? " I say in thought and zoom in on the picture.

And yes, that's Professor Yamada herself except she's probably just a visitor and nothing else.

- Normally there are speci

alized people in charge of chess games and they are not the teachers in the school.