chapter four;

ANOTHER QUIET DINNER WENT BY WITHOUT dabi burning down the dining hall, much to kurogiri's pleasure.

     it was quite normal now for youko to dine with shigaraki for dinner. though that was about it.

there was nothing more to their silent relationship than dining together and barely talking because one was perhaps a bit afraid and the other was just socially awkward.

"do you know how to play chess?", shigaraki suddenly asked, making youko look up.

     "m-me?"

     "obviously! does it look like I'm talking to anyone else?", shigaraki scowled.

     "o-oh...umm...no", youko replied.

     "come by my room later", shigaraki demanded, to which youko had just squeaked out an "okay".

_♚_

youko gripped tightly onto kurogiri's hand as the two arrived in front a set of doors that led to shigaraki's room.

kurogiri knocked as youko's ears perked up at the faint "come in".

the two entered as youko had to squint in order to see her surroundings. it was abnormally dark and there were many pieces of furniture she need to avoid bumping into.

     the only light that was visible was from a black candle that was lit by a flimsy orange flame.

     "tomura, it'd be best if you lit up your room so her highness could see", kurogiri said, though it was more of a strong suggestion.

a click of a tongue was heard as kurogiri took the initiative to light the entire room up, giving youko a better view of shigaraki's room.

     not entirely meaning to be rude, but youko internally cringed at the sight of midnight snacks littered across shigaraki's table, along with piles and piles of paperwork.

the strong smell of sake withered away as kurogiri slightly opened up a window so that the candles didn't blow out.

besides the mess, shigaraki's king size bed actually looked very comfortable and appealing. the fuzzy dark blankets, the expensive pillows, and the brown teddy bear that was plopped on top of—

     'wait! teddy bear?!'

     shigaraki, catching the little girl's surprised gaze, motioned her to come over to his bed, where the teddy bear—that was the size of chicken—sat.

"leave us, kurogiri".

"goodnight then, your majesty and your highness", kurogiri bowed as he exited shigaraki's room.

youko then looked back at shigaraki, who had stuffed the bear into the little girl's arms.

     shigaraki had kurogiri prepare the present since he couldn't trust anyone else to complete such a simple task.

     the man complied due to the fact that his master suggested buying youko some presents, as that was one way to spoil a child.

     "thank you your majesty!!", the little girl smiled as she squeezed the fluffy brown bear, while shigaraki set up the chess pieces.

     "come here", he commanded as youko did as told.

youko plopped onto the couch beside shigaraki, who was in a black yukata.

the little girl watched as shigaraki finished placing the petite pieces onto the chessboard that was filled with black and white squares.

     "these are the pawns. they can only move one space at a time except at the beginning; they can move two", shigaraki explained, to which youko intently listened.

     shigaraki tried to explain it as quickly as possible while also making sure that the girl knew what was going on.

"so the king is the most important piece?", youko confirmed.

     "every piece is important", shigaraki said. "though sacrifices are needed to keep the game going. hence as long as the king is standing, there's still a chance. even if it's slim".

youko thought that perhaps shigaraki took the game a bit too seriously, but nevertheless nodded in agreement.

     "now, which color do you want? black or white?"

"mm...I'll pick white!!", youko smiled as she sat on the other side of the chessboard, clutching tightly onto her newly made friend.

"white always makes the first move", shigaraki instructed, to which youko had moved one of her pawns two steps ahead.

shigaraki simply copied the girl's movement until there was enough room for the both of them to move pieces that were other than pawns.

"wait! where did my bishop go?", the girl confusingly asked as she didn't even notice it being eaten by shigaraki's rook.

     "you were too focused on keeping your queen alive", shigaraki stated, not going any easier on youko even though it was her first time playing.

     "mm...can we play again?", youko requested, clearly not happy with the game ending in less than 5 minutes.

     "you want to...play again?"

     youko eagerly nodded her head with enthusiasm as she reset all the pieces, making shigaraki slightly grin.

     "don't regret losing again".

     "I promise I'll beat you!", youko claimed as she moved her pawn once again.

     after hours of playing chess, youko lost round by round.

     there seemed to be no hope, as the little girl just couldn't beat shigaraki no matter what! shigaraki was determined to keep his 73 long streak of victory, as even the birds chirped for his wins.

     "wait...birds...chirping??"

     youko glanced towards the window, noticing that the sun was slowly rising above the mountains; a slither of light aiming into shigaraki's dim room.

     "your majesty we have to sleep!!", youko exclaimed as she quickly grabbed onto the male's wrist and pulled him towards the bed.

     shigaraki confusingly complied as the two snuggled under the black furry blanket.

     "what—"

     "kuro's going to come in sooner or later! he always checks on me to make sure I'm asleep early in the morning", youko explained as she quickly shut her eyes.

     shigaraki raised a brow as indeed, kurogiri did quietly enter shigaraki's chambers, forcing the male to pretend to sleep along with the little girl.

     kurogiri inched closer to shigaraki's bed as he inspected the two, who were trying to breathe as normally as possible.

     the misty man caught sight of the pieces that weren't put away. in fact, it seemed as if they had stopped playing in the middle of a game.

"you two can stop faking it now", kurogiri said, to which neither youko or shigaraki moved an inch.

the man sighed as he swiftly left, quietly closing the door behind him.

"like father like daughter".

youko peeked open her right eye as she sighed a breath of relief, noticing kurogiri's absence.

shigaraki promptly did the same as he just stared at youko, who giggled like she had rebelled for the first time and didn't get caught.

"should we continue our gam—"

"no. sleep", shigaraki commanded, to which youko just pouted and closed her eyes once more.

shigaraki stayed awake for a while longer just to make sure that youko was truly asleep before he followed suit.

     the two shigarakis lightly snored as they started their day off napping away, from playing chess the entire night.

     indeed, like father like daughter.

✦ . . . . ────────☀️