tsuntrader | Appointments Post

[And he quietly follows Shikamaru without a complaint, not really understanding the gravity of the sacrilege he's just spoken.]

[And into the room they go. It's... pretty bare. Bed, drawer. Shogi board on the floor, situated on a turn table. He'd only just put a back a week ago.

But for now he doesn't pay that any mind. Instead he opens his closet.

...there's more board games and the like in there than clothes. He looks proud of it. :T]

[...Whoa. Silver leans forward a little to look at all of them in awe. That many different board games actually exist?]

I favor strategy games, like Go and Shogi. Pai Sho is fun too. [And that board gets a fond smile. Chouji made that for him.] But there's a little of everything. These ones here are easier.

[And in that pile there's everything from Mouse Trap to dominoes, and various card games like Hanafuda, in addition to the usual sets. BASICALLY ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.]

...Shogi was the one you talked about before, right? [Which makes it the only one he's vaguely familiar with. Of course, he did say that these ones are easier, and he's completely unfamiliar with board games, so it's... Probably a good idea to do one of these first, right?]

That's right. [He turns a little, so he can point back towards the bed.] That's the one already out, as I play it often on my own.

On your own? [Why would you play it on your own? Can't you just make Masaomi play it with you or something, Shikamaru?]

[HE PROBABLY DOES SOMETIMES, BUT]

There's not always a good time to find an opponent, so sometimes I play against myself. It's not as fun, but it passes time.

[After a pause to consider it, he sits down in front of the shogi board, pauses to take his gloves off and dry his hands on... this t-shirt since there doesn't really seem to be something else dry enough to dry them on... And starts picking up the pieces one by one, trying to remember which ones can move in which directions.]

[Shikamaru smirks and closes up the closet door while he's doing that, before taking his seat on the opposite side of the board, which is arranged like this.

It's a nice board, so it comes up to knee level for comfortable playing. He points to Silver's front row: nine pieces that all have the same mark.]

These guys are your pawns. They can only move one space directly forward.

[Pointing to the second row now.] And those two are your Rook, and your Bishop.

[And the Rook can move all the way across the board in a straight line as long as it isn't blocked by a piece. The Bishop is the same, but it can only move diagonally.

...In fact, that's a blanket rule, isn't it? Nothing can move past another piece with the exception of the knights, which move forward two spaces then right or left one space, and those are the only ways they can move...

This is a pain to try to remember. He's quietly glad that Shikamaru's explaining it and he's not just trying to piece it together from what he remembers during that mess of an experiment.]

[He goes ahead and explains all of these now, and their movements. He takes his time with it, so Silver understands.

Eventually he comes to a certain piece though, which he lifts up to show him.]

Check it out - it's you. Sorta.

[...Uh-huh. Totally him. Right. He's a color, a metal, and a shogi piece, apparently.]

[This is like talking to Shino. He rolls his eyes and explains.]

This is the Silver General. There's two, actually. [He turns the piece over in his hand, and looks down at the second one.] If shogi tokens were real soldiers... Iiii would say that a Silver General is one of mellower ones in the group. An effective thinker that isn't as aggressive as the Gold General.

[...That's actually pretty accurate. Stupid shogi pieces...]

[He pulls out a Gold General now too, putting them both in the middle of the board where he can explain how they move together.]

These guys have complimentary movesets. Both can move one space forward in any direction. [Here he starts touching the spaces on the board with his fingers, following this arrangement.] And the Gold can move to these three spots, while the Silver goes in these directions.

Edited 2012-07-20 02:26 (UTC)

[Nod. He looks down at the board again to start to imagine the possibilities. ...And not the fact that there are two complimentary pieces called Gold and Silver generals.]

[Shikamaru goes on to explain the final pieces, then how promoting works (every piece but the King, Rook, and Bishop can promote to a Gold General once in the enemy's zone). The next part gains some extra enthusiasm: dropping.]

Dropping is the coolest part of shogi. Say I take your Rook here. [He picks it up, and puts it on the drop tray at his left shoulder.] He comes over here, but whenever I want, I can put him back into play for my army.

[Shikamaru sticks the Rook back on the board, but turned around to point at Silver's army. He sticks it back into it's rightful place a moment later.]

The reverse is also true for you, with my pieces.

[...Whoa. That adds an entire new element to the game. He could call out the loyalty implications of the game, but he'll pass.

There's an unspoken "can I try it yet?" somewhere on his face, but he's patiently listening regardless.]

[Shikamaru takes the board off the turn table now, sliding that under the bed.

Traditionally Black goes first, but since Silver is a beginner he'll extend the first play to him. He gestures at the board: your move.]

[And then they began to play Shogi. Instead of making a million beginner mistakes, Silver pays attention and takes his sweet time making moves. It doesn't leave him error free, but it definitely makes for a better learning experience.]

[Games that end too quickly are boring, anyways. It's more interesting when the other person really thinks their moves over.

Plus Shikamaru like the sound of the slow clicking tiles, himself. Between that and the rain outside...

He looks out the window, his room being one of the few in the building that has one.]

It's really coming down out there.

...It's not that bad. [It's not the storm from a month ago, anyway.] Besides, it's nice to hear.

Heh. [He wasn't complaining, for once. Shikamaru leans backwards on his hands to get a better view of the window.]

[You're gonna need those hands to play, you know. Or at least one of them.]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]

[Action, July 17th]