Kate’s Request

"Check mate." The sweet and teasing voice of a young girl resounded in the terrace.

Charles Louis Dion , Ciel's chess mentor, and the best chess grandmaster in the United Kingdom, stared at the chessboard with a blank expression. He stared at the pretty young lady in front of him with bloodshot eyes and raised his finger.

"Let's play one more time," Charles said. "One more, please?"

"Eh? I don't want to. Grandpa, you're no good at chess," Kate replied sweetly. "This is already our fourth match and you haven't won even one game."

'I-I'm no good at chess?' Charles questioned his sanity. He, the most revered chess grandmaster, not only in the U.K, but in the entire world, was told by a little girl that he was no good at chess.

If his colleagues were to hear what the girl had said they would have cheered and given her a thumbs up for her boldness. Fortunately, they were not there, or else Charles might have suffered a heart attack from depression.

Ciel averted his gaze. His body was shuddering in an attempt to hold back the laughter that was bubbling in his chest. He had to give his master some face and preserve his dignity as his chess mentor.

Unfortunately, someone else thought otherwise.

A loud laughter sounded near the terrace entrance as an old man held his stomach. "No good at chess! Bwahahahaha! I'm dying! Help! I'm having trouble breathing!"

"Just go ahead and Die!" Charles roared. "Mark, you bastard! Why are you here?!"

"I came here to see how a despicable old man like you dares to bully a little girl in chess," Mark replied. "However, the way I see it, you were the one getting bullied. Hah! Wait till I tell the others about this."

"You bastard! I'll fight you!"

"Come! I'm afraid that before you even hit me your old bones are going to break!"

The two old men were about to start a scuffle but were immediately prevented by the other people who were also on the terrace. Heinz hurriedly positioned himself in the middle of the two old fogies and moved to Charle's body. Arthur and Ethan grabbed hold of Mark and prevented him from going forward.

"Heinz, unhand me!," Charles bellowed. "I'll teach that bastard that no matter how old this daddy is, I'm still strong enough to beat the crap out of him!"

"You're already so old and you dare call yourself daddy? It seems that you've been living the sheltered life," Mark sneered. "You can't even beat a girl at chess? You better resign your position as executive chairman of FIDE!"

(A/N: FIDE or The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. Special thanks to Google Senpai!)

"Unhand me! Unhand me!" Charles lost his temper because of Mark's constant taunting.

"Come! This daddy will accompany you!" Mark said, mockingly.

Arthur knew that he had to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. He was regretting his decision to call Mark and inform him that Charles had arrived at their estate. If he hadn't bothered to tell his old friend then this trouble would have been prevented.

"Bruce! Come!" Arthur ordered Bruce, A.K.A Batman, to help him drag Mark away from the terrace.

"Teacher, please calm down," Ciel said to assist Heinz in calming down his chess mentor. He felt that his mentor would have a heart attack if he didn't calm down soon.

-----

Fifteen minutes later…

"Do you want to become my disciple?" Charles asked Kate who was busy eating the chocolate chip cookies that Ciel bought for her.

"No," Kate answered without batting an eye.

"Why?"

"Grandpa, you are no good at chess. Why would I agree to become your disciple?"

"T-This." Charles wasn't able to refute Kate's logic because she was right! They played four games in a row and he didn't win. Not even once! If the children who were aspiring to become Charle's disciple heard Kate's words they would have spat at her in disdain. How could she reject the offer of one of the most renowned personages in the world of chess?

"Um, what would it take for you to become my disciple?"

"You need to beat me first."

"Then let's play again."

"No! It's too troublesome," Kate answered. "Grandpa, you said that I can ask for any request if I win against you. Since I won four times, does that mean that I can ask you to do me a favor four times as well?"

"Y-Yes," Charles answered. Since he gave his word, he couldn't take it back. He underestimated Kate. The chess grandmaster thought that Ciel was just joking when he told him about the girl's peerless talent in chess.

He still couldn't believe that he lost to a little girl four consecutive times. If he were to backout from his words, wouldn't that make him a shameless old man? He was born from a knight's family, and honor was something that was taught to him since he was young.

This was the reason Charles never vowed to do anything unless he was sure that he wouldn't lose. He became careless because he was confident in his skills, and his opponent was just a thirteen-year-old girl.

"Very well, let me hear your four requests," Charles compromised. If he were able to accomplish the girl's request, it might give her a good impression of him. He was willing to take two steps back in order to make this talented girl his second disciple aside from Ciel.

"Um, I only have one request right now. Can I put the other requests on hold?"" Kate asked.

"You can," Charles nodded his head. "As long as it is within my ability, I will grant your request."

Kate stood up from her seat and whispered something in Charles' ears. After hearing Kate's request, the old man gazed at her with a weird expression.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes!"

"Well," Charles glanced at Ciel who was currently hand feeding Chloe a cookie. "I guess it's not impossible, but are you really sure that this is what you want?"

"Un!" Kate nodded her head. "This is my request. I hope that Grandpa will be able to grant it."

Charles stroked his beard in contemplation. "Understood, but you will have to wait until you pass the entrance exam at Saint Claire Academy. Just so you know, our family is part of the Board of Directors of the Academy. As long as you pass the exam and enter as a scholarship student, I will grant your request."

"Good! We have a deal, Grandpa!"

Charles nodded his head. He felt a little sorry for Ciel, but in order to grant Kate's request, his disciple's assistance was necessary. 'I guess I need to compensate him for his troubles.'

Ciel's hand who was about to feed another cookie to Chloe stopped in mid-air.

"Big Brother?"

"Sorry, I just had a bad premonition."

"Oh no! Big Brother's bad premonition usually comes true," Chloe said anxiously. "Is it that bad?

"No," Ciel replied while giving a sidelong glance at Kate. "Someone is just up to mischief. Don't mind it."

Ciel shrugged off the feeling and resumed hand feeding his "Little Sister". He was still unaware of the small incident that awaited him once the school year at Saint Claire's Academy officially started.