Chapter 338:

SPCM Himitsuue

En Passant Grandmaster

Meanwhile, Okisato had made his way over to the women's section, with Miralem following close behind, and stared at the state of things on the women's side.

He took notice of the state of Daria's game, and how Xiao Lin was very much screwed, but his bigger concern was on the lower boards. Mimoko's game had progressed a bit, with e6, d4, c captures d4, knight captures d4, knight c6, knight c3, knight f6, b-knight d3, and d6 all having been played, with the still very much even.

Iori was in the roughest shape of everyone, both physically and on the chessboard. Following Jia's play of knight f3, Iori had moved her queen to g4, prompting pawn to h3 from Jia, forcing Iori to wrack her brain as to where to put her queen. If she was in top condition, this scenario would be nothing for her, but her cold was effecting her thinking, causing her to think much longer on stuff she'd normally get instantly.

"Ugh, e4? E6? G6? ...Think... e6," Iori thought as she sniffled and moved her queen to e6.

Jia on the other hand, had every reason to feel good about herself as she moved her pawn to e4. Her plan was obvious, and had Iori been in top form, she would have been grinning from ear to ear as she moved her knight to c6. Instead, she was trembling and wiping her watery eyes as she made that very move, making it all the more appetizing for Jia to play queen d5, prompting a trade of queens.

This play significantly reduced Jia's edge, but she still maintained an edge nonetheless. But if Iori didn't trade queens, Jia's advantage would grow once more.

"Ugh, why's my head pounding so much!? I was feeling fine this morning... Ugh, I wanna sleep," Iori groggily thought as she began to glance around once more.

Upon noticing Okisato and the state of Daria's game, she quickly slapped her face and shook her head madly. "Head in the game! This is survival. I gotta survive, and flex on this powdered hag!" she thought as renewed vigor coursed through her.

The final game of note to check on was Tenju's game. After Bao brought her queen out to b6, Tenju had managed to accidentally find the best move of knight c3, frustrating Bao as she captured the pawn at b2 with her queen. But Tenju was still far from home as Bao's attack forced her to move her bishop to d2 in order to avoid Bao completely seizing the day.

This was a relatively simple move to find, so simple the old Tenju could have found it. But Bao was too consumed with rage to think that part through, or her next move as pawn to d6 caused everyone watching the game to do a double take.

Tenju herself stared in shock, but hesitated before moving. "Taira... Please, show me the way," she thought as she closed her eyes.

A visualization of both the board and Taira appeared in her mind. This visage of Taira was the manifestation of her chess prowess which Tenju now possessed. Staring at the board, the visage began showing Tenju a possible line. Rook b1, queen a3, knight b5, queen captures a2, and knight c7, check, forcing the king to d8 and winning the rook.

Tenju opened her eyes and proceeded to move her rook to b1, frustrating Bao greatly as she moved her queen to a3. Next came knight b5, but instead of capturing the pawn, Bao moved her queen to a4. But it didn't matter; knight c7 was still on the way.

"Check. Bao, this isn't me, it's all Taira. Say what you will about me, but don't diss her prowess," she glared as she moved her knight to c7.

Bao began gnawing harder on her gag ball as she angrily moved her king to d8, allowing Tenju to capture the rook at a8 with her knight. "Damn leech! 'Don't diss Taira's prowess'!? YOU STOLE IT FROM HER! LIKE HELL I'D LOSE TO A FRAUD LIKE YOU!" she angrily thought as she violently captured the pawn at a2 with her queen, sending said pawn toppling over the table.

"Well at least it didn't go flying," Miga thought as she walked over and picked the pawn up, shooting Miralem a glare all the while.

Miralem shot her a smirk back, but the state of Tenju's game genuinely intrigued him, as did the game between the maestros. But it was the Tenju game that drew his attention and Okisato's as Tenju moved her rook to a1, sending Bao's queen away to c4. Tenju closed her eyes once more to consult with the visage of Taira in her mind, and it paid off, for not even Bao expected her to capture the pawn at a7 with her rook, not even the commentators or most of the people watching the game could make sense of it. The only folks with their eyes on the game that had even seen it were Okisato and Miralem.

"Now that's a riot. I remember hearing she was a clingy wreck that barely had a rating above 1000, but look at her now, she's finding shit not even Bao could see. And with Oki moping around here, I can enjoy my time as a spectator," Miralem thought.

One who was not relaxed was Bao, who furiously captured the pawn at d5 with her knight, her anger only continuing to peak after Tenju found pawn to e3. "The hell is she finding this shit!? Taira... the true SPCM Himitsuue, are you really fine with your deadweight of a sister wielding your prowess?" she thought as she thought back to a conversation she had with Taira...

...

Bao watched as Taira finished up her game and began to head out. "Your clingy sister didn't come?"

"I- I told her to wait back in Nagasaki... S- She should be fine. Y- You're here with me."

"Say, I know Himitsutan claims she's trying to protect you, but don't you think she's just being a clingy sis-con? I heard you can't even have your own proper secret puzzle cafe thanks to her."

Taira paused and stared up at the ceiling for a bit before composing her thoughts. "Tenju-nee... is weak. Rather, afraid. She's afraid that a day will come when she can't protect me, o- Or more accurately, another day when she can't protect me. She may be clingy, but she's really scared. She doesn't have my talent at chess, and feels as though she's just hindering me. If I could give some of my talent, in exchange for her... cute looks, I'd do it in an instant, as would she."

...

"And in the end, your leech of a sister not only got your prowess, but you got reduced to a charred, hideous, husk. I heard about your scars from Maestro Xiao Lin... And hearing her talk about you so mockingly... filled me with pure hatred! Taira, I respected you. But your sister, I don't think I'll ever respect her," Bao thought as she moved her queen to e4, and intensified her glare.

Tenju could sense Bao's hostility and disdain for her, however, she wasn't seeking to earn her respect. All she cared about was winning the gold medal, something Taira had never been able to do. But to do that, she had to plow down Bao. For if Bao fell, China's hopes of winning the match would crumble.

"Check. That's all I'll say, except for this; I'm going to do my part to win team gold for Taira," Tenju declared as she moved her bishop to a5.

Tenju's heartfelt motivation, however, was having the opposite effect on Bao, as Bao just couldn't acknowledge that she, someone she despised, now had the prowess of someone she respected. And at that point, Bao's eyes began to bulge as she chomped her rubber gag ball in half. Though self-control still remained as she managed to just barely hold her tongue while moving her king to d7.

But more reason to rage was on the way as after Tenju moved her knight to f3, Bao moved her queen to f5, allowing Tenju to move her bishop to d3, sending the queen to h5. But if that wasn't bad enough, bishop b5, check was next, allowing Tenju to get another word in.

Though ironically enough, "Check", was all she ended up saying, and wanted to say, as Bao, in an attempt to cut her speech off, slammed her knight down on c6. Bao's breathing was getting heavy, her look was getting more deranged by the second, all that coupled with her already intimidating appearance gave her the appearance of a deranged street thug ready to go on a murderous rampage.

The rampage would have to wait though, as Tenju went after the home turf, moving her pawn to g4, threatening the queen. But Bao countered aggressively, saliva oozing out of her mouth as she captured the pawn at e3 with her knight, threatening to take Tenju's queen if she so chose to take hers.

Tenju's hand reached for the pawn, but the visage of Taira materialized before her, stopping her and directing her attention towards the knight instead.

"Capture the knight!? ...I trust you," Tenju thought as she captured the knight at e3 with her f-pawn, shocking even Okisato.

"She... She found it!"

Bao was also surprised, but rather than recoil in shock, a deranged smile began to spread on her face. "What an idiot! She had a chance to trade, but now, you'll never get my queen!" she thought as she shot Tenju a disrespectful smile and moved her queen to h6.

Time seemed to slow as Tenju noticed the e5 square glowing on the board. Looking up, she saw the visage of Taira once more. This time, her hair had parted, revealing an unscarred smiling face beneath.

"Taira... One day, your soul will truly be freed from that monstrosity, then we can truly be one and I can hear your voice in my mind once more."

Everyone stared as Tenju reached for her knight and moved it to e5. "Check."

Bao scoffed at the attack and marched her king forward to e6, but the assault didn't let up as Tenju delivered another check by moving her knight to c7, sending the king to f6.

"And now for a flashy check," Tenju declared as she castled king's side, reigniting Bao's rage.

However, the horrified looks on her teammate's faces gave her pause. "What are they all- ...!"

Bao's jaw began to drop in horror as well as reality finally began to set in; she was about to get mated.

"Now that's a rare sight. Don't think Bao's jaw dropped at all when I beat her. Sure it was all stitched up back then, but her eyes didn't show any sign of caring. But now, she's on the national stage, and this is gonna cost her team the win. I think we might actually get some tears out of her," Miralem gleefully thought.

When she worked as an SPCM, Bao could care less about what befell her in the games. Sure, she could get angry, but ultimately, she could deal with it. But at this moment, her loss would cost her team the victory. Xiao Lin was going to lose. She was going to lose. Even if Xiu and Jia won, that would only be a draw at best, while Japan would only need a draw to win, which was possible on boards 2 and 4.

Bao knew she was going to lose, but pride prevented her from resigning and she played on, moving her queen to f4. Tenju captured said queen with her rook, delivering another check and sending the king to g5. Then she captured the pawn at f7 with her knight, checking the king once more and this time sending it to h4. And with a slight nudge of her queen to e1, Tenju was now a move away from mate as Bao's only move was to move her king to h3.

"No... NO! HOW COULD I LOSE TO YOU!?" Bao cried aloud as she slammed her king down on h3, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"Because Taira is within me. That is why I am now SPCM Himitsuue, because she is one with me. And as one, we beat you, Bao. Checkmate," Tenju declared as she moved her knight to g5, winning the game.

Bao sunk her head into her hands, mumbling, "I'm sorry!" over, and over again as she sobbed. Japan now led the match 1-0, soon to 2-0 as Xiao Lin was looking really cooked.

"Bao lost!? Ugh, her damn temper got the better of her! I think once we get back to the room, I'll tie you up and shave you bald for the work you're requesting of me. Don't worry, I'll make sure to step ALL over you as an act of mercy," Xiu thought as her ability to maintain the mischievous smile currently plastered on her face became just a tad harder to do.

The full game:

White: Tenju Kuroshiro (2222) Black: Chen Bao (2523)

1. d4 Nf6

2. Bf4 c5

3. d5 Qb6

4. Nc3 Qxb2

5. Bd2 d6

6. Rb1 Qa3

7. Nb5 Qa4

8. Nc7+ Kd8

9. Nxa8 Qxa2

10. Ra1 Qc4