Fair.

Doll sat cross legged, leaning over the table on the hand, surveying the board.

“You cant beat me you know, I have faced warriors much stronger than you and won. You underestimated me today”

Doll moves her rook forward two squares.

“Check!”

Doll sits upright and smiles challengingly at the child across the table.

The child looks down and after a minute thinking, they move their knight.

“Check…MATE!”

“NO WAY!” Doll feigned shock for the child “of all the opponents to defeat me, it was but a child, how humbling that you take my title. I shall never underestimate you again, for you are clearly a master.”

the child thanked doll for the game and went off to his mother who was calling him.

“It’s very honourable to sacrifice your game like that to a child.”

Doll turned to face the samurai who was resting against one of the chess house’s supporting poles.

“and pretty honourable of you to wait for your opponent to finish their battle before you challenge them.” Doll took a sip of her tea, it was getting cold.

“I am nothing if not a man of honour.”

“well, your own honour perhaps.”

“what other kind is there, we only have our own experience to guide us.”

“a shame, but true.” Doll agreed taking another sip of tea. “So you’re a samurai eh? I thought you guys were extinct. I especially wouldn’t expect a warrior of band to be a servant. What do you intent do do if you survive the contest, will you follow your masters will, or become a ronin?”

“I follow only my master, as such I shall not survive the contest myself.”

“…your master has a bracelet too huh, and that means the assassin I bumped into… he a friend of yours?”

“he is no one’s friend now.”

Doll finished off her tea.

“It seems your master is less forgiving than I.”

The samurai looked away in contemplation, he knew his master was not a good man, but as a samurai, his honour lay in following his master’s wishes regardless. He looked at doll as she got up from the table and took her cup back to the serving hatch and wandered, it would be a shame for the world if he defeated her in battle, but it would be shame for him if he lost himself, and his own honour was the only one he had any right to consider, he would not hold back.

Doll walked back, “ok, I’m ready when you are, but I would rather we move someplace unpopulated, I believe we can trust each other enough to travel somewhere without attacking the other?”

“I believe so also.”

Doll and the samurai left the chess house together and set off to a place where they would try and kill each other.