A God's Chessboard

V. The Angel Is Soaked In Blood

Disclaimer: All characters, laws of the universe, and original plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: Remember how I said that I was going to have the Massacre chapter as two chapters? Well, I decided to do one because two were too short.

I decide that I hate funerals. I'm pretty sure that most people do, but for the wrong reasons. Shisui would most definitely not enjoy me, Sasuke, and Itachi moping around like lost dolls. And he hated long, grandiose speeches, such as the one performed right now.

"...and thus the life of Uchiha Shisui, who will remain in our hearts always," the speaker finishes, and I breathe an inaudible sigh of relief. Beside me, Itachi is solemn and gaunt, but I can see an almost unnoticeable twitch developing above his right eyebrow.

Sasuke squirms, and I turn to him and mouth, Stay still. I'll give you training later. After that, all fidgeting ceases at once, and my cute brother decides on frowning at the man at the podium instead.

I give Shisui asphodels, symbolizing My Regrets Follow You to Your Grave. After Sasuke finishes placing his flowers on the coffin and clambering down to meet me, he growls at some of the Uchiha whispering about the rumors of Itachi and Shisui's death. I, in turn, give them my most frigid stare under my fan, and they hurry away.

"...That was not necessary," Itachi says after a while. I give him a simpering stare, and he looks away.

"Shisui would never have killed himself, nii-san, but it's stupid to think that it has anything with you," I say dismissively, nodding along with Sasuke. Itachi simply raises his brow and inclines his head to Otou-san, who is motioning for us to follow him.

"Any spars or training between any of you shall be put on hiatus," he commands us. My jaw drops open, as does Sasuke's. When we stare disbelievingly at our father for a few more seconds, he adds, "Meaning you as well, Itachi."

"W-what the hell brought this along?" I sputter incredulously, not even bothering censing my language. Fugaku gives me a firm look.

"It is to my attention that all three of you have caught some...unwanted attention," he says stiffly. I suddenly understand what he means. The Elders of the Clan have been constantly pushing for me to receive official membership into Konoha's ranks, to, and I quote, "show off", and it has only been a year or so since Sasuke has been improving rapidly. Otou-san, I know, has never completely accepted the coup d'état. Ever since the Yondaime and him have been on decent terms with their wives, he never has needed to push for more power, as the Hokage has already put his advice in high favor.

"However, this does not, under any means, regard training alone," Fugaku continues. I raise my eyebrow questioningly. "Training Grounds 44, I have heard, has been in particularly useful in preparing shinobi into future settings."

A grin suddenly spreads across my face. What Otou-san is insinuating couldn't be more clearer than day. "In other words...Hokage-sama granted us permission," I say gleefully, not even bothering to correct my slip up.

"No, the Hokage has granted each and every one of you individual permission," Fugaku corrects me, but I can see how he raises his voice purposely as he emphasizes the word individual, alerting the Uchiha around us. Sasuke perks up, while Itachi remains expressionless. And I glance at Shisui's coffin again and suddenly feel lonesome.

The next day, I bring Shisui seven zinnias. Remembrance Always.

But seven months later, as the grave is burning, the gardens dying, and the houses of the Uchiha Compound swallowed up in flames, I can only cry and watch and wonder how on Earth I could have been so carefree before.

"You seem oddly subdued," Kurama observes. I look up, twirling the pencil over the diagrams we had made.

I shrugged. "You know what's coming up next. I'm just...really worried," I admit, chewing my lip anxiously. "Fuck, I don't even know what I'm going to do, or what Tobi's going to do, or even if they decided on a coup d'état at all..."

Kurama grumbles. "Keep the depression down. While you're going nuts, she's," and here the Nine-tailed Beast gestures to Kyōki with one of his tails. "Getting excited. Drives me crazy."

I raise my eyebrows at the informal tone. Kyōki is indeed fidgeting against one of the walls, a sadistic smile curved onto her face. She prowls my mindscape with vigor and nearly kills me during our daily spars, but it's nothing unlike what I'm used to. "Really?" I don't lower my voice, as being in Kurama's cage apparently cancels out all noise from outside.

"Yes, really. And it is best to bide your time on this," Kurama commands me. "You still have more or less six months left. With, of course, my advice."

I snort. "I had no idea you cared for me so much." The words And I'm grateful goes unsaid.

Kurama rolls his eyes. "Of course not. It just means that That Man's accomplice will be there and we will not, under any circumstances, ruin this chance," he snarls, suddenly turning predatory. I nod silently.

The next day, I go to Sai's apartment.

"I need a favor."

Sai blinks owlishly at me. "Excuse me, Chiyoko-san?"

I tap my foot gently, none too happy about this—but it had to be done. "I need you to do me a favor, Sai."

My first friend's face turns carefully blank. It has been a while since he has shown that expression, just as when he had first met me, and I loathe it. It screams of what he has grown up with, and Kami knows that I hate people that screws my friends. "Yes?"

"I need you to talk to Danzō." Almost immediately, Sai's mouth opens to deny anything to do with said man, but closes it abruptly. I tighten my smile, knowing that Sai has realized how serious this is. "And I need you to spy on him."

"I have no idea of who you are talking about, Chiyoko-san," Sai says carefully. I want to shake him and shriek about how serious this is, but he's not finished. "But it is possible that I can spy on whoever you are talking to."

My jaw drops to the floor. "W-what?"

Sai raises his eyebrow toward me. "Whatever I have said in the past five seconds, I will deny them, Chiyoko-san. However, whatever I have said in the past five seconds, I do mean."

And I suddenly tackle him to the ground, hugging him for being there when I really, honestly-to-God needed him, and Kurama is grumbling at me for invading personal space, but I don't care. Because this is Sai, and I am incredibly grateful for him.

It is dinner, and I eat at the table, eyeing my father and Itachi critically. Both have dark circles under their eyes and a noticeable air of weariness around them, so I decide to start the conversation.

"How was training going, Aniki?" I ask Sasuke, who in turn chatters away. Mikoto gives a smile in his direction. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sai, who have joined us for the day for dinner, throw the talking around to so-and-so and who-did-what. It really is amazing, I marvel, at how perceptive Naruto could be about village affairs.

These days, Mikoto is the only one holding our family together. Itachi grows more distant by the passing day and Otou-san returns from arguing with the Elders for hours in the evening, tired and unsuccessful. I spend more time in my room with Kurama and training with Sasuke, who grows more bitter at me being able to so easily beat him. When I try to hold back, he can always sense it.

In other words, my family is straining on threads alone.

And I can only watch and stare as it sinks lower and lower in water.

"Why are you here?"

Kyōki twirls a finger in her hair before smiling. "I'm the dark part of you, obviously."

"Uh-huh. I doubt that," I say skeptically. "Hell, you're nicer than me. If anything, I'm the dark self."

Kyōki pouts. "Don't say that," she says innocently, but there is an edge in her voice I can't describe. Kurama watches us warily from his cage.

"Come on, then." I ready myself into Sen Sutairu, going for another spar. But she is not listening. Instead, she is staring at me like she can't believe what she is seeing. I frown. "Is there something wrong?"

She shakes her head. "Oh, nothing." Kyōki smiles, baring her teeth, and I have a second to snap myself into shape as she aims straight for my throat.

This is insane, and she can tell it too. We have fought, many times in the past, but never this violently. As she pierces with deadly accuracy towards my heart and my throat, I am doing everything in my power to avoid it. I have no idea what would happen if I killed Kyōki—but I also don't intend to find out.

"What are you doing?" I shout as she whips through another series of hand seals, and barely missing the columns of fire shooting towards me. She doesn't reply, however, and I roar in frustration. This results into me using everything I have in my arsenal, which she dodges easily.

In the end, she is clutching my throat, holding me up high, and I can see a heavily concentrated face down below me.

"Do you know what I hate most of all in the universe, Chiyoko?" she rasps out, beads of sweat trickling down her face and blood smearing her clothing. "I hate the kings. I loathe them with every fiber of my body, because they are the ones that haven't suffered. They crave immortality and riches obsessively, and they. Don't. Know. What. They. Are. Talking. About." she growls, unsteadily leaning back and forth.

She gives a bark of laughter, and her eyes are transfixed on my face. "Yet the kings rule the world, because of money and prestige and everything else in between. How ironic, that they didn't so much as lick a boot to deserve it." I listen silently, because she continues with a hysterical grin on her face. "Didn't deserve it deserve it deserve it deserve it—" she repeats, and I cut her off.

"Am I a king, then?"

Kyōki refocuses on me. "No," she replies dully. "No, you aren't. But it doesn't mean I can't kill you." Her hand tightens around my throat, and I cough blood out.

"Why would you?" I ask, repressing a smile of my own.

"You aren't a king, and yet you are," she says. "You have everything you want, and yet you crave for more. You could rule the world with your powers alone, and yet you don't. Weak," she scoffs in disgust, looking conflicted. I barely hear her as she goes past the second sentence.

"I could rule the world?" I say, raising an arched eyebrow. "I doubt it. Even with so many lives behind of me, I'm not even to the standards of Obito."

She snarls. "You don't understand. You could be so much more, and you are so much more..." She paces around the room. Kurama watches us in contentment, obviously relaxed at the setting.

"You are favored by Fate," she finally decides. I snort at the Neji-like statement, before she adds, "By the Shinigami as well, although you don't know it."

I am alert and wide awake. "What do you mean by the Shinigami? Do you know how to break the curse? What about—" My sentence is cut off as she squeezes, and I smile weakly.

"You won't kill me," I state. Her eyes narrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You, my dear Kyōki, are just like me. We have one singular, completely joined goal, and that is to survive." I watch her go through a series of emotions, then shuts off completely. This is one of the worse kinds of risks—you have no idea of what your opponent is going to do next. But everything I've said so far is true.

"Why can't I?" she snarls. I can see her scramble for a reason, until I say—

"You can't, because you love me."

Her eyes widen momentarily, but I'm not finished. "You can't, because despite the fact that I may or may not be a king, I am still you. And because I am still you," here, I lean forward to her face and whisper out my last words. "You cannot kill me, as the person you hate and love."

And then she roars and a long katana appears in her hand, swiping towards me, and I stare and wonder if this is the end when it stops. She's shaking now, unsteady and unsure of where her footing is, and I am being released and falling to the ground. Kyōki takes deep shuddering breaths.

"I need your trust," I state bluntly. "In other words, I need your power and your mind, and everything that goes along with it."

She stiffens. "How do I know that you aren't a king?"

"Because I'm you," I say. "Because, if I ever start going down that path, you will be there to stop me. You will be my partner, Kyōki. You will be there every step of the way."

"What if you aren't there?" she whispers, trembling, suddenly looking vulnerable and miserable, and I think vaguely in my head if this is what I'm really afraid of. To be completely alone and have to live an eternity without knowing that your real self is there.

"I will be."

"Danzō is planning to massacre the Uchiha Clan."

I smile sadly. "I know," I say to Sai, who looks like he's struggling to say what's next. He stops short at my answer.

"You—"

"I knew a long time ago," I say kindly. "That's why I asked you for a favor, you know?"

Sai's eyes widen, and he clutches my sleeve in an uncharacteristic amount of panic and urgency. "Then—we have to hide you! You can escape from Konoha—it can't be that hard. If—"

"Sai-chan, are you actually saying that you're worried for me?" I ask amusedly. Sai stops, then slumps. I flick his forehead playfully. "Kami, you act as if the world is falling. They do say that negativity affects the brain. And don't worry. I'll figure out a way."

Sai nods, any traces of vulnerability from before gone into one wave of professionalism. Then, he suddenly shakes his finger at me immaturely. "You better not die!" he shouts, running away and looking back to me. "Or else he'll kill me!"

And I burst out laughing, wondering if 'he' was Sasuke or Naruto or Danzo, or anyone else in between.

Two Months Later

There is a woman in the mirror who I don't know.

She has pale, drifting hair and the beautifully molded face of an aristocrat. High cheekbones and naturally sharp eyes only further accent this fact. Kyōki regards the Kage Bunshin I made especially for her with a giddiness I didn't know she had.

"This feels weird," she says, testing her new anatomy out. I agree with a nod of my head, feeling two bodies—one sitting on her bed, and one admiring herself in the mirror—speak as one in their minds. "I mean, a good kind of weird, but weird nevertheless," she clarifies.

Futari no Itai, a new seal I spent months researching with Kurama, directly links myself and Kyōki, no matter distance and speed. It is somewhat similar to Pein's Six Path's of Pain this way, but is almost like sharing two bodies in one—meaning coordination can either be a lot easier or harder whether you apply it well enough.

But it's still awesome, Kyōki smirks confidently in my mind, twisting the mind link we share.

I snort. Since when did you help any?

I gave you the idea! Kyōki sounds indignant despite the insinuation. I shrug, playing with the family photo on my nightstand. It holds me and Sasuke tugging on either side of an annoyed Itachi, while Mikoto smiles and Fugaku stands stoically behind us. Itachi and Otou-san had collected the two copies of "professional" ones, while the rest of us grabbed an individual photo of us just being silly.

"Imouto?" Sasuke peeks into my room. Kyōki poofs instantly, making my brother's eyebrows rise at the noise. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay," I say, smiling and unmoving. Sasuke sighs, knowing what was inevitably coming next and crosses his arms defiantly. I resist the urge to giggle.

My brother sits next to me. "Can you come to dinner?" he grits out, looking like he would like to be anywhere but here. I clap my hands and pinch his cheek affectionately.

"I'd be delighted to, Aniki. Honestly, I swear you're going more Uchiha-like by the day."

One Month Later

Itachi hates the Council with his entire heart, but he buries it all under the sense of duty he has for Konohagakure. It is unfair, especially for his family, but it is worth it when he wakes up in the middle of a scream, waking up from the nightmare of Sasuke. That, he tells himself grimly, is the only reason why he was doing this apart from peace.

During those last seven months, Itachi learns to hate his sister.

He loathes doing so, but Chiyoko is the one that has always fueled Sasuke on. The oil on the engine, in other words, and Itachi can't stand the thought of her body smeared with blood in front of his feet. So he learns to hate the one he has grown to love, and there is always understanding in her eyes, as if she knows what he is going through.

But he can't, Itachi tells himself somewhat desperately. He can't get attached. So even as a group of Uchihas corner him, interrogating him about the reason of Shisui's death, he stays silent, letting them believe of him distancing himself from the clan. But as he returns to the main compound with his father, it is Chiyoko who is there, practically shoving homemade scones into their arms and telling them to shut up and sleep.

So, really (and Itachi hates himself for this), he is actually somewhat glad when Madara joins him for the massacre. Because then he at least doesn't have to kill everyone on his own.

But as he shunshins to the Uchiha Compound, blood has already tainted the air, and Itachi can only run to see who has slain the bodies before him.

There is a woman slaying Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. She wears a dark cloak embroidered with a white circle on her back, and a masquerade mask is perched delicately on her face, covering her eyes and nose. Chiyoko Uchiha, Fugaku and Mikoto's adopted daughter, is sprawled on the futon, her eyes dead and her heart not beating.

"How...?" Mikoto Uchiha rasps out, staring blankly at the broken seven year old on the floor. "Who...are...you...?"

The woman has a wisp of a brittle smile on her face, but it is wiped off at the sound of her voice. "My orders are to kill, madam. I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of your questions."

Fugaku coughs, blood splattering on the floor. "Tell me, is...the Council...behind this?"

She sighs. "And here I was, thinking that it was going to be an easy job. Unfortunately, yes. Behind the Yondaime's back, of course, but the Council nevertheless. Such assholes," she suddenly growls, her voice strangled and foreign. Fugaku stiffens.

"You remind me...of her," Mikoto says softly, inclining her head to her daughter. "Very...outspoken. Same...tone. Beautiful."

They do not notice her flinch.

"Take care of Sasuke..." The Uchiha matriarch is whispering furiously now, determined to get her last words in. "Itachi...is very...stoic, but he's...sweet-hearted. My darling, darling sons. Take care of them, Chiyoko."

And they die the moment Itachi Uchiha swings the door open furiously, Sharingan spinning and facing the one his mother has recognized as her own daughter.

"Who are you?" My brother is surprisingly vicious for one who is about to do the same thing as I have today. I hold the tears that threaten to pour before intoning my voice into a sadistic drawl, fingering the bloody kunai in comfort.

"Aww," I coo, activating Mokakē, the result of me and Kurama's hard work. In my head, Kurama is strangely...supportive? Sympathetic? And is silent, watching our surroundings. "How's our little clan murderer?"

Itachi stiffens. "How do you know that?" he says, his voice steadying in monotone, poised to fight. He is inches away from attacking, I know, but if there is one thing I have learned about my brother, it's that he gathers all available information before killing his objective.

"The same way I'm just like you, Itachi-kun," I purr. "Misunderstood, no? Unforgiving. Merciless. Weapons."

My brother's eyes are cold and calculating, and I want to hug him and scream that it's me. But it isn't, because he thinks that the Kage Bunshin on the floor is me and dead. So I play my part, because Sasuke needs Itachi more than anything, and he deserves better than me.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Itachi-kun, you cute little brother hasn't came back yet."

Itachi goes rigid as right on cue, Sasuke comes bursting in, absorbing the bodies with shaky defiance. I watch him, slightly impressed at how improved his reaction compared to canon.

"Sasuke, run." My elder brother's voice is strained. I tilt my head and curl my fingers around the kunai. "Run."

"No." Sasuke is unsteady, but he stands his ground. I smirk.

"Sasuke. Go alert the Hokage now." This is probably as close as Itachi can get to shouting. Which apparently my Aniki senses as well, but he ignores it. So my eldest brother does the only thing that will catch my attention off Sasuke, and he attacks.

It is a short but beautiful fight, and I can't help but keep the sick grin off my face as Itachi fights with full force. It's thrilling and scary, because I have to hide Sen Sutāiru while making sure I don't kill him.

And then I suddenly sense another chakra signature, one that's rusty and old and most of all powerful, and Obito Uchiha is right outside the compound. I snarl, Kurama rumbling behind me in simultaneous agreement, and I strike the moment Itachi is off guard. My brother instantly shields himself against Sasuke, thinking that my target was him, but I ignore both.

Obito Uchiha is good. Scratch that—make it very, very good.

And I know that I can not take any chances on this.

"My. This is interesting," he says mildly. My lips turn down, mostly because he's not so much as breaking a sweat. True, I'm not breaking a sweat either, but I'm supposed to be better than him. Kurama is urging me to release his power, which I instantly ignore, because a) it would instantly give away my identity and b) it's probably exactly what Obito Uchiha wants.

Which is also fucking annoying, because, as I have stated before, I am supposed to be better than him.

My breath grows progressively ragged, while he is standing on thin water as well. We have almost completely destroyed the room, moving subtlety to the courtyards instead. And Itachi and Sasuke have escaped, no doubt to inform the Yondaime about the matter.

So I fight harder than ever, until we're both gasping, blood seeping down our backs and arms and barely holding up at all. But I still have energy left—just for Sasuke and Itachi—so it is with satisfaction that I perform Satsugai, Mito-sensei's own creation and very, very dangerous to its user.

In the end, I think Obito Uchiha is lying on the ground, bleeding and beheaded.

I am wrong.

I barely avoid the seven kunai that sharply veer towards my head. When I whirl around, intent for all purposes to finish off what I have started, the body is gone and I am steaming with anger and disappointment—all towards me.

And then I can hear sirens wailing and the powerful signatures approaching, so I disappear in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke can admit that he is the tiniest bit envious of his sister.

While Chiyoko never really shown off like other children their age, instead pushing attention on him instead, he could never really quite get how effortlessly she did things. From washing the dishes to beating Itachi, of all people, in spars, it was done without complaint and without boasting.

But Sasuke had to be a fool not to notice how strained their family was these days. Nii-san and Otou-san did not bother being on speaking terms, instead depending on Kaa-chan to relay messages. Chiyoko, in turn, tried to be as upbeat and caring as usual, but there were dark circles of where her eyes were.

So Sasuke strived being a Uchiha. He trained harder, longer, and more brutally than ever before. But it is not enough. True, he lasts longer against Imouto, but she is still holding back. And he begins to resent her for that.

But all of it disappears when he sees her body stained with blood and dead.

Oka-san and Otou-san is enough, but Chiyoko is a different matter. It does not mean that he loves them unequally, but Sasuke has no doubt whatsoever that his sister could take out the entire jounin platoon blindfolded. So it is at that moment that Sasuke knew he was going to die.

But That Woman spares both of them in favor of sparring with another man, one that he does not know. And it infuriates and relieves Sasuke, because he still has Itachi-nii alive and well. But The Woman sends another message to them, and it is this: you are weak. You are weak enough that I will not bother killing you. You are so weak that I refuse to acknowledge you, and instead torment you to the ends of the world.

But then the medical-nin scramble orders to carry his sister to the hospital, and Sasuke can only watch in desperate hope because this means that Chiyoko is somewhat alive. True, she is in a coma, they inform him later, but she is alive and breathing.

And that is what matters.

I'm sorry. I truly am. If this somehow destroyed any strands that you have for continuing this, then please understand that this is not the end. On the other hand, seeing as this is not the end, don't spam this. I have no qualms whatsoever if you want to critique mistakes within grammar, but there is a fine line between spamming and critiquing.

I also apologize for the lateness of the chapter. From Thursday to Saturday I had no power or wifi connection at all. :( Really ruined my day, but at least I updated it now, neh?

Please leave a review on your way out.

Preview of next chapter:

"We have a new member," Itachi intones. Sasuke and I whip our heads toward him, different emotions running through our heads.

"His name..." Itachi pauses, and a glimmer of darkness flickers across his face. I have barely any time to wonder why when he opens his mouth again.

"...is Tobi Uchiha."