Chapter 478:

Out of the way, catgirl

En Passant Grandmaster

Gundega was unable to stop her teas from falling as she watched her eyebrows get shaved off and her entire face and exposed skin get lathered with shaving cream just like the top of her head.

"Happy Birthday, baby girl! Talk about a symbolic journey to adulthood! And just so you know, no one else shows up, you play alone, meaning you'll get last by default. Then you'll be reunited with the long lost father you've been seeking answers on," Melisha sadistically whispered as she shaved Gundega.

Gundega cried harder as she remembered the words Mifsud had whispered to her just moments ago. "If you want to know the truth about your father, come to the salon posthaste. But make sure you're alone from your team. Run around in circles if that's what it takes to throw them off the trail".

Gundega had not run into a single one of her teammates on the way over, but little did she know that they were all searching for her, but held up due to outside forces.

...

"LET US THROUGH! We want to get to the salon!" Ilze glared.

"No, nah, nope. Ain't gettin' past me, nya," a bespectacled girl with long green hair, cat ears, and a tail happily hissed.

This girl was Reisa Nekozuka, one of Kuon's many catgirls. She was Japanese-Palauan and smarter than Nyoan, though still not the brightest. She didn't get along well with her, nor was she as loyal or enamored with Kuon as she was. She also had heterochromia with one eye grey and the other blue, and was clad in chartreuse overall shorts, a white t-shirt, and white sneakers, opting not to wear her high school uniform 24/7 like Nyoan usually did.

"You think you can block us all? Fucking move. We got an idiot to ass kick," Santa snarled.

"Nope, no can do. Orders are to stop you, nya," Reisa shrugged.

"Who's orders?" Ilze glared as she adjusted her glasses.

"Not telling, nya."

"In that case, how about you let me pass if I beat you in chess," Ilze glared as she sent a challenge request to Reisa.

Reisa nervously scowled, but realized she had no choice and accepted the match. Getting to play as White, Reisa opened the game by moving her pawn to e4, allowing Ilze to counter by moving her pawn to e5.

"Why are you so smug? This is standard opening procedure, nya," Reisa scoffed as she moved her knight to f3.

"It is, but now I can play my best opening," Ilze smiled as she moved her pawn to f5.

"Nyahuh? What's so good about this? You just take," Reisa glared as she captured the pawn at e5 with her knight.

"And so do I," Ilze grinned as she captured the pawn at e4 with her f-pawn, eliciting groans from he teammates.

"Groans? YOU MUST HAVE BLUNDERED! Lucky day for me, nya!" Reisa gushed as she moved her bishop to c4.

"That idiot. She not get any sleep?" Santa thought as Ilze moved her pawn to d5.

"CHECK! You're off your game, which means I'm on mine today, nya!" Reisa giggled with excitement as she moved her queen to h5.

A bead of sweat began to run down Ilze's face as she scowled and moved her pawn to g6. "She's right. I really am off in the moment. Yesterday was rough, and I can't stop thinking about Gundega. I need to get through here," she thought.

"Check again, nya!" Reisa laughed as she moved her bishop to b5.

Suddenly, Ilze was back in business as she quickly moved her pawn to c6.

"What's with the shift in emotion? You're losing, check, nya!" Reisa snickered as she captured the pawn at c6 with her bishop.

"Now, I can win this," Ilze thought as she captured the bishop at c6 with her b-pawn.

"Ugh, she's still not perfect. At least it's still winning, I guess," Santa thought as Reisa smirked and captured the pawn at g6 with her knight.

"Hmmph, what a stupid cat. Knight captures g6 should have been played moves ago. Now, it's a losing move," Ausma thought as Ilze captured the knight at g6 with her h-pawn.

"YOUR ROOK IS MINE, NYA!" Reisa sadistically declared as she captured the rook at h8 with her queen.

Ilze merely smirked and moved her queen to g5, eliciting a facepalm from Santa. "You FUCKING IDIOT!" she fumed as Reisa happily captured the free knight at g8.

"No, Santa, I know what I'm doing," Ilze smiled, sweat oozing down her face as she captured the pawn at g2 with her queen.

Now Reisa's smugness vanished, as she scowled and moved her rook over to f1. Ilze, meanwhile, had regained her gusto, smiling as she moved her bishop to h3. And that was all it took for Reisa to panic and move her king to e2, blundering into mate in 5.

"I'll admit I'm off my game, but even then, I can still beat a mere drizzle like you. Check," Ilze smirked as she captured the rook at f1 with her queen.

Now it was smooth sailing for Ilze, as after Reisa was forced to move her king to e3, she delivered another check by moving her queen to e1. Reisa began hissing as she moved her king to d4, frustrated at this sudden turnaround, but there was little she could do other than hasten her demise or outright resign, which she chose not to do after Ilze checked her once more by capturing the pawn at f2 with her queen, choosing instead to fight on and move her king to c3.

"If you think I'm going to mess this up, you should shave all that hair and fur off this second. Any player of my level can win from this position even if bedridden and sick. Check," Ilze glared as she moved her queen to c5.

Reisa gritted her teeth as she was forced to move her king to b3. "I'm not like Nyoan. So keep your bald catgirl fetish to yourself, nya," she angrily trembled.

"I was just expressing my anger towards you, nothing more. Oh, and there's now a 100^ chance of checkmate," Ilze happily huffed as she moved her queen to b4, winning the game.

Reisa clutched her head and sunk to her knees in dismay, allowing the Latvians to pass. "The salon... You friend went there," she mumbled.

Ilze smiled and nodded before taking off running, the squeaks of her sneakers echoing through the hall as she ran.

"Idiot, we can't have her playing after that miserable performance. Fucking idiots are gonna pay for making me go bald for them," Santa snarled.

But before she could give chase, Reisa suddenly wrapped her tail around her, gagging her and sending her down to the ground.

"MMPH NGH MMPH NGH MMPH NGH [WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING]!?"

"I only need to let the winner pass. And with how she played, I think my loss will eventually translate to victory, nya," Reisa maliciously smiled as she stood up.

"WOW! What you just did, could you explain how exactly you did it!?" Ausma gushed as she got in close to Reisa's tail.

"NGH MMPH NGH MMPH NGH, MMPH MMPH [DON'T FUCKING GUSH OVER IT, HELP ME]!" Santa fumed.

But Ausma was too obsessed with learning about Reisa's catgirl physiology and Dzintra, was nowhere in sight. She would be stuck here and unable to stop Ilze from being registered as the second member for the team in 6B.

...

Back in the salon, Gundega cried as all the wax was ripped off her and she was lathered in depilatory cream.

"Almost done, baby girl, this stuff is my special salon-exclusive patented depilatory cream that completely destroys hair follicles for good. They'll never grown back no matter what solution you try and dump on your head, so enjoy an adulthood of baldness," Melisha sadistically cackled.

All Gundega could do was cry. Cry as the cream was scrapped off, cry as her head was lasered, cry as she was oiled, cry as her now smooth and shiny bald head was slapped, and she elicited a loud muffled moan. But as she was being encased in beauty cream, Ilze arrived.

"Where is she!? Where's Gundega!?" Ilze shouted, frantically darting her head around the room.

"MMPH [HERE]!" Gundega shouted as loud as she could.

Ilze noticed her and tearfully smiled as she ran up to her. "Don't you ever run off like that again, I was so worried I nearly lost a match to a sub-2000. Hey stylists, book me too for bald. I'm joining this tournament as baby girl's partner," she glared at Melisha as she sat down in the open seat next to Gundega.

Melisha sighed and paused Gundega's treatment, leaving her with her eyes uncovered by the beauty cream, allowing her to witness what she was about to do to Ilze. "I'm going to make you cry," she snarled as she restrained Ilze and removed her glasses.

"Do your worst. I got a wife at home whose got no problem with her wife coming home hairless," Ilze scoffed just before her mouth was sealed shut with glue.

"Tough, but I'll change that," Melisha snarled as she spun Ilze around towards the sink.

The full game:

White: Reisa Nekozuka (1544) Black: DSPCM Ilze Barons (2323)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 f5

3. Nxe5 fxe4

4. Bc4 d5

5. Qh5+ g6

6. Bb5+ c6

7. Bxc6+ bxc6

8. Nxg6 hxg6

9. Qxh8 Qg5