Chapter 391:

Iori and Mimoko

En Passant Grandmaster

"So where ya wanna go for our date, Oki-kun?" Iori grinned.

"When did this become a date?" Okisato grumbled.

"Uh, now?"

There was no shaking Iori off, but Okisato did not want her making any romantic advances. Luckily, he had the perfect way to distract her from the topic, so he thought.

"So about the Estonian-"

"Nah, this is date-mode. We don't talk about other girls and guys, just you n' me."

Okisato let out a heavy sigh. "Then how about we first plan where to go sightseeing?"

"Budapest castle. Mimo-chan and her mom are heading there, and naturally, I wanna go to since it's the most primo sightseeing place in the city."

"How have you been doing with your videos lately?"

"Struggling to get them out. With the tournament, I can't do any of my normal stuff, but... I took a page from Hikaru Nakamura and just started posting recaps of all my games. It's a win-win-win! Mimo-chan's mom says reviewing games is good, it gives me content, and even helps me realize ways to improve myself."

"That does get me curious, what first got you into chess?"

Now it was Iori's turn to let out a sigh. "I just said no talking about other girls and guys, but guess since I'm the topic of discussion, you get a technicality. Alright, so you already know I'm a murderer, but I doubt Mimo-chan knows. And well, I kind of hope she doesn't find out, or if she does, at least remain friends with me..."

It was one of the rare times a genuinely somber expression overtook Iori's face, which in turn only made Okisato more intrigued to listen. Iori's friendship with Mimoko in general was also something he had long been curious about.

"So I first met Mimo-chan in middle school. Back then, I was still fully psycho. At the time, we were just classmates, which meant she was nothing more than a potential target for me to satisfy my sadistic tendencies with. But then, I killed my mom and Mika... That messed me up in ways I could never imagine. I thought it would all be fine after a day, because surely a messed up psychopath like me wouldn't have a place within her for caring about others. But me caring for my family was the root of my journey to murder in the first place. My parents were lousy people growing up, but as parents, they were some of the best. Sadly, one of their old bullying victims, Rio Segawa, got on a power high after becoming prefectural governor. And for act one of his abuse of power, he went full dictator and got my dad thrown in prison for bullshit. And worse, he was killed in prison shortly after, likely by that fucker's hand. Yet he wasn't done yet, as he wanted to make my mother suffer more! That's why it's my worldview that humans are sadistic; they just crave suffering. Anyway, I murdered someone, got money, and won't bore you with the details."

"I don't particularly mind."

"But I don't feel like spilling my whole backstory. Anyway, after wallowing in sorrow for a few days after I killed mom and Mika, Mimo-chan approached me in class trying to comfort me. To take my mind off things, she suggested I try out chess, and well, things just clicked. Yet I ultimately played like a noob."

"What do you mean?"

Iori pulled out her WWCF card and pulled up a game. "This happened before either of us got these cards, but Mimo-chan had written down the match from back then, so for a practice match, we played the old game against each other. It went something like this..."

...

Iori scowled as she stared at the chessboard. "The fuck I supposed to do? Chess isn't exactly the language of the land here."

"Don't worry, this is only a practice match," Mimoko smiled as she opened the game by moving her pawn to e4.

Iori scowled and moved her pawn to e5, still not interested in the slightest. And after Mimoko moved her knight to f3, Iori's strategy became apparent as she moved her knight to f6. Yet Mimoko saw things differently.

"Petrov's Defense? Not bad," Mimoko smiled as she captured the pawn at e5 with her knight.

"Pet-what?"

"Petrov's Defense, it's the name of the opening. It's also a high-level one that often leads to a drawn endgame."

"A draw? That sounds lame-o as hell," Iori snarled as she captured the pawn at e4 with her knight.

"Draws are fairly common at the high levels, but I get why you'd feel that way. Decisive results are more exciting," Mimoko smiled as she moved her queen to e2.

"Lame, you're only moving your queen up a space. You said queens can go anywhere, so why hold back?" Iori asked as she moved her queen to h4.

"Because this is a game of strategy, meaning that charging all the way forth isn't always the best course of action," Mimoko smiled as she moved her pawn to d3.

"I go for the kill. Check!" Iori shouted as she captured the pawn at f2 with her queen.

"Hmm, I see what you're thinking, but I'm a pawn up," Mimoko stated as she captured the queen at f2 with her queen.

"So? Pawns are pawns," Iori scoffed as she captured the queen at f2 with her knight.

"In chess, being a pawn up or down can be the difference between a decisive result and not," Mimoko stated as she captured the knight at f2 with her king.

"You're bringing the lame-o king out? Check, dumbass!" Iori snickered as she moved her bishop to c5.

"While the king is quite weak, it is the core of the game, and thus, the most important piece on the board," Mimoko declared as she moved her bishop to e3.

"Why can't the king actually do cool shit then if it's so important? All it feels like is some sleezebag politician that just cries like a bitch and hides behind beefy bodyguards," Iori growled as she captured the bishop at e3 with her bishop.

"Then your analogy is off, because should you take down the king's defender, the king is capable of striking back," Mimoko smiled as she captured the bishop at e3 with her king.

"But it's also a scrawny cuck that can barley sting you with a punch," Iori scowled as she moved her knight to c6.

"Old and frail, perhaps, but not the way you put it," Mimoko scowled as she captured the knight at c6 with her knight.

"What? My vocabulary's lit!" Iori smirked as she captured the knight at c6 with her d-pawn.

"Well, if it helps you feel better, then so be it," Mimoko happily sighed as she moved her bishop to e2.

"Still don't get this shit though. Well whatever, I got street smarts," Iori shrugged as she moved her bishop to g4.

"You're only just starting out. Besides, I didn't really explain castling or en passant that well," Mimoko smiled as she captured the bishop at g4 with her bishop.

"En pa- wait! Shit! I just threw away a bishop! Ngh, I still got the rook. Guess they can become bodyguards," Iori frowned as she moved her rook to f8.

Mimoko extended her hand towards her bishop, but stopped just before touching it, instead grabbing her rook and moving it to e1.

"Huh? What was that about? Well, whatever. Shit's just a game to pass time to anyway," Iori thought as she moved her rook to d8.

A smile began to form on Mimoko's face. "Iori-chan, you said the king was "lame" and weak, yes? Well, allow me to ask you a question; can the king checkmate?"

Confusion overtook Iori's face. "Uh, you said king's can't be on adjacent squares from each other, right? That means they can't even get close to each other, so the answer's no."

"Wrong. Checkmate," Mimoko giggled as she moved her king to f2, winning the game.

Genuine shock overtook Iori's face as her jaw began to drop. "N- No way... Oi, this ain't funny. The king's lame-o, so how the hell... How the hell can it do that!?"

"Via a discovered check from the rook, that's how."

"Discovered- ...!"

It was that moment that things finally clicked for Iori. Tears began to manifest themselves as she bit her thumb in frustration.

"Fuck, this was all a game of the mind. I have the street smarts to pull off perfect crime murders, yet I embarrass myself like an idiot here!? I mean, if it was for a stream, sure, but now, I just feel... shitty. ... I'm gonna conquer this shit like I'm Genghis Khan," she thought as she looked back up at Mimoko. "You know where to learn chess?"

Mimoko's smile widened as she happily confirmed she did. And that was the moment Iori truly took up an interest in chess.

...

"And whelp, that's that. Shit wasn't easy to achieve, but I managed to translate my street smarts into chess talent, and now can mate fools with Bongclouds and the lame-o king," Iori smirked as se finished telling her story.

"Hmm, I never knew any of that. Thanks for sharing. Though how long ago was this practice match?" Okisato asked.

"Just after Mimo-chan beat maestro Boomer, so about a few weeks ago. Me taking out the ponytailed fuck with a king mate got me feeling nostalgic, so I asked Mimo-chan if she remembered the game, and she did. Then we just played it out in a practice match in order to stuff it in the database. Heh, I really should do a video on the topic. Thanks for the idea, Oki-kun!"

"No problem."

"Now off to the castle! I want some good vlog footage!"

And with that, the two headed off to Budapest castle.

The full game:

White: Mimoko Inoue Black: Iori Ishikiridokoro

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nf6

3. Nxe5 Nxe4

4. Qe2 Qh4

5. d3 Qxf2+

6. Qxf2 Nxf2

7. Kxf2 Bc5+