To Budapest in style

"Welcome back everyone! Today we're gonna be ranking the teams participating in the 2024 Chess Olympics in Budapest!" a young Indian woman with short pink hair grinned. "I'm Saloni Madhok, and joining me is my partner in crime, Indira Bahmbri!"

"Hello everyone. Are you ready for a good banter?" a woman with long curly purple hair smiled.

The two women were Saloni Madhok and Indira Bahmbri, both members of India's women's team and hosts of a chess podcast. The two were also invited to act as commentators for various chess events, gaining them quite the following in both India and the world at large.

"First up, is the shocking number 3 seed, Japan. So Saloni, you think they're overhyped?"

"Hmm, tricky. Mimoko is the real deal, and so is her mother, Maestro Himitsu. I've sunk so many points into challenging her and at best maybe I'll get a draw, but it's damn near impossible to beat her as Black."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and play as White if we face her?"

"And who would you play?"

"Probably Iori."

"I've heard she's on the rise too. Heck, the only weak link in the team appears to be the SPCM, Tenju Kuroshiro, and even then, she's been improving dramatically in these past few days."

"And so's the reserve member, Azenira."

"I guess we do have to put them in top tier..."

...

Iori grinned as she watched the live stream. "YO Mimo-chan! We're top tier!"

Mimoko gazed up for a second, before scowling and returning to the task at hand; tutoring Tenju.

"You've certainly improved dramatically, but that does make me curious; how did you get so good so quickly?"

"Yeah, with this much improvement, Prokrutka will be breathing down your neck," Iori quipped.

Tenju let out a sigh and decided to reveal her secret. "Back when I had a DESPER, someone wearing a mask with a long nose approached me and told me that in order to get stronger, I had to make one of my winning conditions "Gaining the chess prowess of my twin sister, Taira Kurashiro by having her soul merge with mine.". I didn't believe him, but then he revealed that it was possible due to Taira's soul being trapped in the Ultima-master."

Everyone went quiet and focused intently on Tenju. Daria seemed to be the only one unsurprised by this revelation though.

"When you say, "soul", just what do you mean?" Mimoko nervously asked.

"Just like what it sounds like. See when someone loses in a DESPER match and die as a result of their punishment, their soul and chess prowess are then imprisoned within the Ultima-master, so I was told. And if their souls are trapped there, they're unable to pass on. When I heard this, I decided to go with it, and after winning, I gained Taira's skills. However, her soul could not be freed. But I heard that it can be if the Ultima-master is defeated by someone who's both a non-Desperado and non-WWCF official like an executive board member, SPCM, DSPCM, or even maestro."

Mimoko went silent as she recalled what Daria had told her about the Ultima-master beforehand. "So it will be my mission to beat that villain. But capturing souls!? Just what is the Ultima-master?"

"A giant robot thing. Oki-kun told me the graveyard reaper can summon it," Iori growled.

"To be honest I don't know what that phenomenon is all about, but do tell me, when the kaise summoned it, was there a figurehead of a bald woman in bellbottom jeans and sneakers on it?"

As Iori raised an eyebrows and confirmed that was the case, Daria shook her head and revealed to all what she had told Okisato.

"She's telling the truth. I had to receive my DESPER from the Ultima-master directly and it certainly didn't gave any figureheads on it. Though Michiko seemingly did summon it."

Daria confirmed that wasn't out of the ordinary as top Desperados were said to have such an authority. Though she decided it was best not to dwell on the topic and shifted the discussion to more uplifting matters.

"I'm sure you've noticed me rocking this new outfit. It was the final thing designed by Mizuse, which is why her proteges decided to try and design outfits with a similar theme to match."

"For what?"

"For all of you, of course. We're gonna rock the Chess Olympics in style!"

...

A few days later, the day of departure to Budapest arrived. Okisato glared as he sat with the other members of the men's team in the boarding area.

"Iyah, no need to glare so much, Oki-chwan. My little scandal isn't going to drag you all down," Ginji sneered.

Okisato remained silent, not wanting to give into Ginji's provocations, but that didn't stop Ginji from keeping up the attack.

"Seriously, do you have no shame? You're representing our entire country, show some more class," Daria glared as she and the other members of the women's team arrived.

Everyone stared in awe at their outfits. While Daria had been sporting her's for a while, it now looked even better on her when standing side-by-side with the other girls.

Mimoko now sported a bra top and dress adorned with pink flames and scattering Sakura petals, along with her favorite pair of Mizuse Niimi brand white sneakers.

Iori was sporting a bra top and miniskirt adorned with crimson flames and scattering Sakura petals along with some mismatched red and black socks and her trademark glittery white sneakers.

Tenju had been given an outfit similar to her default attire, that featured a mix of white and black, along with scattering Sakura petals and mismatched black and white sneakers.

Azenira stood out the most though, not due to her blue athletic wear, but due to the fact that the Sakura petals were also blue along with the flame embroidery.

"Wow, not bad. Who designed them?" Okisato asked.

Daria quickly gave him the rundown, revealing that there were even some outfits for the guys, though they weren't quite as flashy. This was understandable as Mizuse's company specialized in women's fashion and beauty. However, Penny and Sandra wanted to design something for the men's team, particularly Okisato, as thanks for his help with saving the company.

"Oi, oi, why's my outfit orange?" Ginji snarled as he gazed at a mock-up of his outfit on Daria's phone.

"We felt it was necessary to denote your status," Daria snickered as she walked by him towards the gate.

"With outfits like that, I imagine it will relate to our performance in the opening ceremony, yes?" Okisato asked.

Before the Chess Olympics began, there first came the opening ceremony. There, all the participating nations had the chance to showcase a performance of sorts, meant to represent the culture of their nation. Okisato hadn't been briefed on anything, but after seeing the designs for the men's outfits, he knew exactly what the teams would be doing for their performance.

"So is everyone ready to board?" Daria smiled.

Everyone nodded.

"Then onward to Budapest!"