Ciel vs Near

Young master Ciel browsed over some of the paperwork that Sebastian had laid before him.

"This is so boring," he scoffed, pushing the pile away from him on the desk. "Bring me something sweet."

Sebastian reorganized the pile, placing the stack back in front of his master. "You will ruin your appetite; dinner will be ready shortly. As for the paperwork, we have been through this, young master. You must keep the company's business organized."
Ciel's eyes fell to the pile and he gasped. "What…who in god's name keeps ordering such large amounts of my toys?"
"Whoever it is, they are great for business. This is the third order this month, is it not?" Sebastian leaned over his master's shoulder, admiring the large digits printed on the receipt.
"It is a nuisance," Ciel frowned, tossing the paper aside.
Sebastian caught it in one graceful motion, and examined the bill more closely. Smiling to himself, the butler tucked it in his front coat pocket for later. Ciel paid no mind to it, and resumed bothering over the rest of the paperwork. The butler exited the room, but only for a few moments before returning to his master's side.
After a few more minutes, Ciel snapped his fingers. "Sebastian! I want something to eat!" he ordered.
Sebastian bowed humbly. "I apologize, young master, but dinner will be postponed slightly longer than usual. We will be having company this evening."
Ciel did not look pleased. "Company at such late notice? Why did you not inform me, Sebastian?!"
"My sincerest apologies; I assumed you knew. Well then, what you have on will have to be suitable. I am certain our guest will not mind."
Dinner was held in the dining room as usual. Ciel and his servants sat in silence, impatiently waiting for their unexpected guest.
"Can't we just eat without them?" Finnian whined, placing his chin on the table and staring at the magnificent feast Sebastian had prepared.
"Finnian, please, you are getting drool on our good tablecloth," Sebastian scolded in his usual cold tone.
Instantly, the gardener lifted his chin. Ciel tapped his fingers impatiently on the table while sinking his fork into already cut ham.
"Master," Sebastian's tone was less threatening than earlier, but his words were still a warning.
Ciel was unfazed. "It is not my fault that our guest is late. If he wishes to eat a cold meal, so be it, but I will not."
The others watched quietly as Ciel finished his plate. Sebastian, although annoyed, catered to his master in every way, and took away his plate when he finished.
"I hope you prepared desert, Sebastian," Ciel said flatly.
"I have." Sebastian lifted up a large crystal plate adorned with various miniature cakes. "I was unsure of our guest's preference, so I decided to create an assortment."
Before Sebastian could even lower the plate, the door to the Phantomhive residence flung open, revealing three strange men. Famous detective, L, accompanied by his two successors, Mello and Near, entered the dining room.
The members of the Phantomhive estate stared in shock at the three detectives. These badly dressed, awkward men were their guests? What business did they want with them?
Sebastian stepped forward and bowed respectively. "Welcome to the Phantomhive estate. I am afraid you missed dinner…"
L's dark eyes lit up when he saw the cakes. "What are you talking about? This is perfect!" He exclaimed, and promptly sat on Ciel's left.
Mello took a seat with the servants, eyeing up the chocolate cake in the middle of the long table. Near just stood there, examining the room, and finally, the child executive of Phantom Toys.
"It is an honor, Ciel Phantomhive. I am a great fan of yours," Near said, sitting on the other side of Ciel.
"I assume you are the one who came for me?" the young master asked coldly, unamused.
Near nodded. "I want to challenge you. After studying the design of your toys, I realized that you have quite an intelligent mind for games."
Ciel was suddenly interested. Sebastian smirked when his master leaned forward and asked, "What kind of challenge?"
Near pulled out a checkered board out of what appeared to be nowhere. He then began setting up the usual pieces: the queen, bishops, rooks, and knights. However, the young genius replaced the kings with puppet dolls he had made of Ciel and himself. The pawns were residents of the Phantomhive estate (also including Madame Red, Elizabeth Middleford, and Alois Trancy), which he placed on Ciel's side of the board. Near's pawns were Mello, Light Yagami, Touta Matsuda, Matt, Teru Mikami, Misa Amane, Soichiro Yagami, and Halle Lidner.
Ciel smirked and admired the craftsmanship put into the dolls. "I am glad you enjoy them," he chuckled, "it saddens me that I will have to tarnish my good hospitality and defeat you."
"Quite the contrary," Near said flatly and made the first move.
The game must have gone on for hours. Pawns were the first things to go, all but Ciel's Sebastian pawn. The other's watched intently, except for Mello who couldn't care less, and L who was devouring the cakes. As the game continued, Sebastian began to feel nervous. There was no way Ciel was going to beat this boy.
With only seven pieces on the board, Near captured Ciel's Sebastian pawn with a rook, lowering the number to six. Ciel began to sweat. He couldn't lose to this child! However, Near's moves were thought about so far in advance it was as if he predicted the entire outcome of the game before it had started. With Ciel's Sebastian gone, the young lord appeared hopeless. Yet, Ciel was smiling. With the last pawn gone, there was an opening for Ciel's last pawn to take Near's queen.
The servants watched intently, stunned by that incredible move. Even Tanaka, who had somehow become the REAL Tanaka, was watching silently. Ciel sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest proudly. He had set the detective in the perfect snare. One wrong move and it was-
"Checkmate," Near murmured.
The entire room gasped. Ciel leaned over the board, trying to decipher what had just happened. He was so proud of his trap, he didn't notice his weak left front, that Near used as an opening to put his king directly next to Ciel's. Sebastian braced himself for the tantrum to follow, but it never came. Instead, Ciel laughed.
"What a game!" he chuckled. "You are truly a worthy opponent."
Near smiled slightly and stood, collecting the game and handing it to Mello. "As are you. I look forward to another game in the future."
Ciel stood with him and shook his hand. "As do I."
As the three left, L snatched a few more cakes, handing a chocolate one to Mello. "Near?" L asked softly.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you make a pawn of me?"
Near sighed, looking up at the starry sky. "I thought you knew. I will always be your pawn, L."
L started to respond, but was cut off by a loud crash inside the mansion followed by the screams of a frustrated child.