Erich tapped his cigarette on the bowl next to him to knock the ash from the tip, then brought it back to his mouth and inhaled. It was a habit he’d never managed to completely shake after the Great War, especially when he needed to think.

Like right now.

He stared out at the lake, picking out the scattered members of his flock, and let his thoughts rove. It was all well and good to contemplate more in the safety of their bedroom, where he could put aside his duties as Clan Head and flock leader and protector, but under the light of day his desire felt… selfish.

Humans were dangerous, especially humans with powers like Urahara Kisuke. The Empire had mostly left his people alone so long as they swore service and fulfilled their agreed-upon duties, but even that hadn’t entirely saved them from the occasional opportunistic soul… or Emperor.

Erich blew out smoke and watched it drift away as he took another drag.

The chances that Urahara would betray them were high. Few humans, even empowered humans, could resist the lure of his kind.

(He had been a secret known only to those in power, his people a trump card rarely used and carefully hoarded.)

(Until a megalomaniac grabbed the reins and suddenly nowhere was safe.)

“Maa, that’s certainly a look, Erich-san. What’s got you thinking so hard?”

Erich looked over at Urahara as the man approached, taking in his carefully casual steps and the way he used his sword-cane for more than show. “Lexi clear you, then?” he asked instead of answering, unwilling to get into his tangled thoughts on trust and betrayal.

“In the end,” Urahara agreed with amusement, lowering himself to sit on the edge of the porch not far from Erich. “And then I wrote a letter for her to send. Hopefully my friend won’t be too mad at me for this.”

He snorted in amusement and snuffed his cigarette out, singing a quick snatch of song to whisk away the traces of smoke and heal the damage to his lungs. “Your friend will be as mad as necessary to convince you to think before you act.”

“Maa, maa, Erich-san is so pointed!”

“Erich-san found you collapsed and incoherent on the lake-shore, bleeding out and poisoned. Excuse me if I think your friend’s inevitable reaction is justified.”

Urahara laughed awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his head. “Ah, well… when you say it like that…”

Erich rolled his eyes at Urahara’s casual act, refusing to rise to the bait. Silence settled between them, oddly comfortable for all they barely knew each other, and he let his mind wander back to his previous worries. Urahara fascinated him, but was it worth the risk to his flock to entertain that fascination?

(He knew how others in his flock would see it, knew they would call him human for his worries, but those pieces of learned behavior had saved them time and time again.)

(He wasn’t willing to discard them no matter how human they made him.)

The sense of rising restlessness at his side drew him from his thoughts once more and he glanced over at Urahara, catching the man fidgeting with his sheathed blade and staring thoughtfully at Erich. “Bored already?”

“Sorry, I’ll go… find somewhere else to be,” Urahara murmured, jerking his gaze away and gripping his cane-sword tightly.

“Do you play chess at all?” The question escaped before he could censor himself, but he wasn’t about to take it back. Not when it earned him a startled, interested look and a quieting of the sense of restlessness he’d been getting from Urahara.

“I know the rules,” Urahara agreed. “It’s not a game I usually play but I do know it.”

“Wait here a moment.” Erich rose from his seat and headed back inside to where Ren and Mami kept their handful of board games. There weren’t many — they didn’t play much beyond cards — but chess was one they pulled out more often than not, so the plain black box was right on top of the stack.

He pulled the box out and gave it a considering look. It was a good set, a simple set, one just like every other competitive chess set in the world. It revealed nothing but that he liked chess.

(How… boring.)

(If he wanted to test Urahara, impersonal wasn’t the way to go.)

Erich set the box aside and reached deeper, fishing out the midnight blue box tucked to one side. He opened it and gave the pieces a quick check and — satisfied with what he saw — strode back outside to where Urahara was waiting.

The man looked up as he approached, a smile growing as he saw the box in Erich’s hands. “Maa, that certainly looks like a fancy set.”

“It is,” Erich agreed as he sat down and placed the box between them. “White or black?” he asked as he started pulling the pieces out and arranging them on the board.

Not that the pieces were truly ‘white’ or ‘black’; he’d carved and colored them himself, choosing pale sky blue and midnight blue as his colors to better fit the theme of the set.

(Wind and water, land and sea… the pieces were types of fae that he missed with all his soul.)

(Japanese yokai and kami just weren’t the same.)

Urahara leaned back and rubbed at the back of his neck again, giving Erich a faintly sheepish smile. “I have no preference. Whichever you’d prefer.”

Erich shot him a considering look, then spun the board so white was next to Urahara. “We can trade if you want more than one game,” he suggested as he straightened up and let his hands settle in his lap.

“Sounds good,” Urahara agreed as his gaze flickered between Erich and the carved pieces, before he carefully plucked one up and moved it.

Erich leaned forward. Made his move. Watched as Urahara gave him an unreadable look and countered.

They traded moves in silence, cautious and probing, watching each other the whole while.

Each piece Urahara captured he examined, fingers curled carefully and eyes alight with curiosity.

(What was he gleaning from each one?)

(What conclusions was he drawing from their match…?)

Erich mentally shook the thoughts free and refocused. Urahara was a challenge to face, requiring all his concentration, but it was… fun. Interesting, even. It was obvious the man hadn’t played often, but he had a quick, cunning mind and a solid grasp of the rules and how to make them work in his favor.

(He wanted as he hadn’t in decades.)

(Yes… if the man conquered Concealment, he would have no complaints.)

(He almost couldn’t wait.)