Relentless (Book 2)

Shinobi Chess- Sasuke, Katsu

Sasuke awoke that night to an awful pain that had unfortunately become familiar to him. That was the price for possessing one of the scrolls. But for some reason it felt more intense than usual. Lifting his sleeve to examine his forearm, Sasuke realized why. Instead of a few letters or numbers or even a small picture, an entire paragraph burned on his skin.

The very last and beginning is what you seek so aimlessly. What wilts but weak plants in rays of the sun? Mean ideas are to be considered without disregard. Water.

Staring at his forearm in bewilderment, Sasuke grunted. The riddles never made sense. Without his consent, his body rose from his bed and began to walk to Katsu's room. She had ordered him to notify her immediately any time new information arose. He knocked continuously in an obnoxious fashion until Katsu opened the door looking very sleepy until she saw it was him.

"What is it?" she asked.

Wordlessly, he showed her his forearm.

Eyes widening, Katsu moved to write down the riddle onto parchment paper. She studied it for a moment before looking up at him. "Is your skin hurt there?"

He shrugged impassively. "It is very hot."

"Come sit down and I'll get some ice to cool it off."

Forced to comply, Sasuke followed her out of the room before sitting at the kitchen table. Glancing at the chess board set up there, he noticed that the white pieces had vanquished the black ones.

"So the bastard won then?" he asked.

"Yeah," Katsu said, looking at the board ruefully. "The lake was freezing."

"How on Earth could you possibly lose to him?"

"Hey, the game isn't easy!" she snapped. "It requires lots of strategic thinking."

Sasuke's ears perked up discreetly. "It does?" He eyed the board suspiciously. "Just out of boredom induced curiosity, what does this piece do?"

Katsu made her way around the table with a small pack of ice that she set on his forearm. The burning sensation dulled quickly. She took the small figurine out of his hand. That's an anbu black ops member," she replied, handing it back to him. "They can only move diagonally," she adding demonstrating it for him.

"And that one?" he asked, pointing at the tallest figure on the board.

"That's the Kazekage. This is an old board from the Sand Village. That piece can only move one space but in any direction."

"That's really lame. Shouldn't he have less restrictions?"

"Well, he's the most important piece in the game. The point is to protect him and get to your opponent's Kazekage. When that happens, the attacking player says 'checkmate' and wins the game."

"What are the weird pointy ones in the front?" Sasuke inquired.

"Those are the basic shinobi," Katsu replied. Ninja like Kakashi and I. "They're allowed only one space forward each turn except at the beginning where they can move two spaces. Or if they are attacking an opposing piece, they are permitted to move once diagonally."

Sasuke stared at her blankly.

"It's not so bad once you've played before."

"All of those rules sound like unnecessary hassle."

Katsu shrugged. "It's the name of the game, I suppose. If it were easy, it wouldn't be fun."

Sasuke grit his teeth together, his black eyes menacing. "Just finish explaining," he said darkly.