31

One week later (Onari age:16 ~one year before canon)

"Hohohoho!" Yu Wu laughed her young mistress laugh.

She was currently perched atop the entrance gate to a school. Onari stood off to the side a little ways away with an impish smirk on his face. The pair of Dao Companions had officially started their tour of Japan, and their first stop was Kuoh. More specifically, Kuoh Academy to visit the devil heiresses that went to school there.

They had arrived at the school early, and watched the sun come up together. They knew they had to be diligent if they wanted a chance at beating their target's daily schedule. Over the years they had been doing the tour, this act had evolved into one of their most treasured traditions: messing with the devil heiress known as Sona Sitri.

"Please get down from there, Yu Wu-san…" an exasperated Sona said, barely holding herself back from facepalming.

"Of course! It is only right for this young mistress to meet her rival on equal ground!" Yu Wu declared, stepping down from the gate and striding up to Sona.

Two of Sona's peerage members, Tomoe Meguri and Ruruko Nimura, muffled their giggles with their hands. Sona's queen, Tsubaki Shinra, shot them a scathing look. Onari also made himself known, walking up to Yu Wu's side and giving Sona and her peerage a casual wave.

"Yo," he said. "It's been a while."

Sona sighed, "Indeed it has, Onari-san. I see that neither of you have changed at all in the past year."

Yu Wu scoffed, "Change!? This young mistress says perish the very thought! If this young mistress was not true to herself, then she would never be capable of matching her rival, the great devil heiress Sona Sitri!"

Sona sighed again, "Please… Please don't call me that…"

"I don't know, I think that title suits a lady of your station~" Onari teased, smirking.

Sona went to reply, but Tsubaki interrupted her before she could speak by clearing her throat, "Apologies, my king, but maybe the two of you should continue this discussion in private…"

Sona looked around. It was early enough that not many people were roaming the streets of Kuoh, but the ones that were occasionally shot curious glances at the small group that had gathered in front of the school.

"... Yes… Quite…" Sona conceded. The only visible hint of her embarrassment was the almost unnoticeable coloring of her cheeks. Onari and Yu Wu shot each other quick, satisfied looks at the inconspicuous evidence of their teasings' success and fist bumped over their bond.

The pair were led into the school by Sona and her peerage. The only sounds that echoed through the hallways as they made their way to the student council room were the group's footsteps. The soft taps of multiple pairs of shoes impacting the linoleum floor marked their journey.

They eventually reached their destination. Sona let everyone in, and Tsubaki immediately set about making tea for their guests. Sona took her place behind the student council president's desk, sighing as she settled into the comfortable and familiar seat.

She always found dealing with these two people to be trying on her mental state. Whenever they visited, she had to find little ways to deal with the hassle they caused her.

It wasn't to say that she hated either of them. In fact, Sona quite liked Yu Wu's boisterous, positive nature and the one-sided rivalry the young mistress seemed to have with her. And Onari was always easy on the eyes. The almost constant, teasing smirk that seemed to say that he knew more than she did never failed to send shivers of desire down Sona's spine.

"Ahem," Sona cleared her throat, shaking off that naughty thought. "Well… It seems that we have some time before my partner in ownership shows up for the day. Would either of you care to join me for a game of chess?"

"Of course! Another of our classic games of wit, skill, and mental quickness! I will not lose this time, my rival!" Yu Wu exclaimed.

Sona, knowing that Yu Wu would immediately accept her challenge, had already started laying out the board and pieces. She chose black, allowing Yu Wu to make the first move. Yu Wu gazed at the board, pretending to consider her options intensely.

"~Help me!!!" she whined at Onari through their bond. "You know how bad I am at this stupid game…"

Onari managed to keep his chuckle at Yu Wu's antics from showing to the outside world, and directed her move. Sona instantly answered back with her own move. And so the game progressed. Onari would feed Yu Wu a move, and Sona would consider her options and reply.

Onari was well versed in the world of strategic games. Much of his past life had been spent obsessing over various boards and games. It was one of the only ways he could feel that he had power. It was one of the only ways he could feel the rush of a well-earned victory.

Testing his skills against Sona through Yu Wu was, in a strange way, nostalgic. It brought him back to his roots. It brought him back to the days when he would battle with his brother with only his mind. Every decision mattered, every possibility had to be accounted for, and Onari felt that he could just let his mind melt into the trance of the game.

Yu Wu contributed to the game with her own consistent interjections to make it look like she was actually playing. A constant stream of "Hohohoho!", "Hmm!", "Aha!", and "Of course!" filled the silence of the room. Tsubaki served the tea, but otherwise, the rest of Sona's peerage stayed quiet in the background.

In the end, Sona had to announce Yu Wu's victory. Yu Wu was so engrossed with her act of playing the game that she didn't even realize she had won.

Sona was struck almost speechless, "... That's… Checkmate…"

"Hoho-... What?" Yu Wu said, sputtering to a stop in the middle of one of her exclamations. "O-Of course! 'Tis only natural! This young mistress has spent an entire year sharpening her skills after all!"

"Y-Yes, q-quite…" Sona said, reeling from her first ever loss. "... I suppose congratulations are in order. You played a very good game. It was interesting to the very end."

"Bah! Where's your fire, my rival!? Yes, you have been beaten, but that does not mean you can not come back stronger!"

Onari and Yu Wu stared in awe as Sona started to chuckle. It was the first time either of them had seen the stoic heiress laugh at all. And neither of them had thought her laughter to sound so unexpectedly adorable.

Sona sighed as her giggles came to an end, "Haaa… You're right. When you come back next year, I'll give our match my all."

Yu Wu flashed Sona a genuine smile, "I look forward to it, my rival."