Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Eight of Diamonds - Part Two

A/N: Since I don't know much about chess, I've decided not to write the game in details. Use your imagination~

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Each group of sixteen players walked up to a box on either side of the large scale chessboard. Each of them reached in, pulling out a piece of paper with their roles on it. Kurenai and An did the same, checking their role before showing it to their team.

Kurenai - Queen

An - King

"An, do you know how to play?" Kurenai asked.

"A little," she said. "Used to play when I was younger but not anymore."

"Can you teach me the rules?"

Although she looked calm and almost emotionless, An was baffled on the inside. When Kurenai first came to the Beach, An was one of the first to vote for her to stay. She was impressed with the fact that as a single player, she brought them three high level cards. Since then, An had wanted to see for herself what Kurenai was made of.

Yet here they were, finally participating in a game together, and Kurenai was asking her about the rules of chess.

Chess was not a game that could be taught in a short period, especially when they only had minutes to spare before the game started. Still, An did her best explaining the basic rules and the role of each piece.

"Okay, so pawns can move two spaces at first, then one space after and can capture diagonally. Rooks can move any spaces vertically or horizontally. Bishops can move any spaces diagonally. Knights move in an L shape. Queens can move any spaces vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Same goes for the Kings but they can only move one space."

"Yeah, that's about it."

Honestly, An was a little worried. While she could probably carry the game, they did not know their opponents. What if they had a chess genius among them? It was always better to have two brains than one, and she was counting on Kurenai to be that second brain.

"Listen, unless you have a strategy that would work, you listen to what An and I say. You do not move unless we tell you to," Kurenai said.

"Why should we listen to you?" a man asked. "Who are you to determine our moves? You're the Queen, you don't have to worry about anything. Some of us are pawns, we'd just die."

"This is chess. Like it or not, some of you will die," An stated, looking at the man who spoke. "But the fact is, unless you are a chess master, then your only chance of survival would be to listen to us. Of course, if you are seeking death, I wouldn't stop you."

"You don't even know how to play," the man pointed out. "I heard you asking her for the rules."

"Then please, be the leader."

"But remember that you are carrying fifteen other lives on your shoulders."

Rather quickly, the man shut up; he was no match for the two women.

Once all roles were assigned, all players stepped onto the chessboard.

The entire floor was made of coloured glass, but it was transparent enough for them to see the mall underneath. It was a long drop down below. Stepping onto her space, Kurenai took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She really did not do well with heights.

"You alright there?" An asked.

"Huh? Yeah...it's just...a little high."

Keeping her eyes forward, Kurenai clutched her hands in tight fists.

Her first game, she was up in the Tokyo Tower. She kept cool the entire time and played the game to win though the height was always on the back of her mind. It helped that she was inside the building and could not see how high up she was. The shopping mall was significantly shorter than the tower but the glass floor was torturing.

GAME START

Since they arrived on the rooftop first, Kurenai's team was assigned the white side and had the first move.

An called out the first move while Kurenai kept quiet and watched. While she understood the rules, it was better to observe the actual gameplay before she called out any moves.

Both teams were cautious with the first few moves but eventually, they had to start capturing the opponent. With it being their turn again, An called out the move, having their pawn touch the opponent on the shoulder.

PLAYER CAPTURED

Instinctively, everyone started looking around to see what would happen to the player captured. It was game over for them but how? Laser? Shot from a distance? That was when the floor under the player opened up, dropping them about five stories.

"When a player is captured, the player will be dropped," An said, recalling the rules. "So that's what it means."

The game moved rather quickly from the first capture as players were dropped one after another and soon, half the board was wiped out. Kurenai could not help but look down, seeing the lifeless bodies splayed five stories below. Cold hearted, but she did not care as much about the dead players as she did about not being one of them.

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

According to An, the current board showed them to be at a disadvantage. With her eyes still closed, Kurenai visualised the board from a bird's eye view. She replaced the players with the chess pieces they corresponded to; it was better to detach herself emotionally and look at this as the game solely.

Just as An was calling out a move, Kurenai interrupted her.

"No, don't move," she said. Thinking for another few seconds, she pointed at the man who doubted them before. "You, move."

"What the fuck? No. I'm not listening to you. She's the one who's been playing this, and you've done nothing."

"Move your ass, or drop dead."

Begrudgingly, he moved as Kurenai told him to.

Now that she had taken over, An was starting to see what Kurenai was really made of. The moves she made seemed erratic but in reality, she had a strategy. She was simultaneously avoiding having any of their players captured while advancing the board, flipping the game to their advantage. And she was doing it so subtly that the opponent did not notice.

They had a smug look on their faces, thinking that they had the game in their pockets.

As it was their turn to make a move, Kurenai saw an opportunity for her to capture one of the opponents. She was about to move when she realised something.

"An, the floor."

Where previous players were dropped, the space was still opened, leading straight down to the ground floor. They had been so focused on the game that no one realised the empty spaces. It was a miracle neither side made a move onto these spaces earlier.