Blame game

In an instant, Mimoko, Carol, and Iori all had their hair, eyebrows, ans eyelashes restored to how they had been before being shaved off, which for Mimoko meant...

"UGH! Why's my hair permed and orange!?"

"Lol, cuz that's how it looked before it was shaved off," Iori snickered as she began styling up her "horns".

The gang along with Carol and Ina then found themselves back in Kawaguchi right by the chess center, just as the sun was about to peek up over the horizon. A scowling Daria along with a woman in a business suit that looked identical to Ina were present, appearing to be having a serious conversation about something. However, with the sudden arrival of the chess club plus Carol and Ina, that conversation was quickly put on hold. 

"Mimoko!? You're back!" Daria cried.

"Okaa-chan! My hair... WAAAAH!" Mimoko cried as she leaped into Daria's arms. 

"Don't worry, we can fix it. But I thought you liked being bald." 

"I can't just show up to school bald..."

"No worries. Though I don't think any places are open yet... Eh, I'll just call in sick for ya." 

"It's morning here!? Fuck, I don't wanna go to school. I'll just skip too," Iori smirked. 

"I think we all are too tired to attend school. Perhaps we should head home and rest," Okisato mumbled as he began to trudge away. 

"Oi, not on your life. Now that we're back, tell us what really happened with Numakawa," Yuusuke glared. 

Okisato let out a sigh. "He's dead. Red Reaper killed him." 

"I bet you're responsible for this."

"... Agreed," Rodeo mumbled. 

"Because Oki-kun warped away to China? He was protecting me! None of us knew ole graveyard had a cheat ability!" Iori fumed. 

"Why couldn't he have just warped back after winning the match!? If he didn't spend so much time there-"

"Shousen-kun, please don't blame Tanabe-kun for this. He didn't know how relentless that monster was," Mimoko frowned. 

"And much as I hate to say it, your friend kind of did himself in," the woman in the suit frowned as she turned to face the group. 

"Ah, this here is my younger sister, Miga. She's a higher-up in the WWCF," Ina smiled as she gestured to the woman in the suit. 

"As I was saying, your friend bears the brunt of the blame for his own demise. He opened with g4, dammit. Then lost in under 10 moves," 

"But... he saved me," Yuzuha trembled. 

"Maybe, or maybe he didn't even register you, simply corrupted by his own ego."

"Get lost. We don't need you dissing Numakawa," Yuusuke snarled. 

"You're actually the main reason we're here. You see... Hagemi's been captured by the Fairies."

Yuusuke's eyes widened. "HOW!? She's 2808, and can just warp away!" 

"Not if she's in suspended animation." 

Yuusuke went quiet. 

"In the first place, we explicitly told you all NOT to come with us, however, you decided to lead everyone to Haneda in order to try and rescue Mimoko," Daria glared. 

"B- But Tanabe-"

"The boy was approved by the president for a different mission. Skaberghast's presence was unaccounted for, but he never would have had any fuel if you hadn't gathered everyone in the first place. Perhaps Hagemi was right; you becoming vice-president has only worsened your growth." 

"Are you saying... this is all MY fault!?"

"If we want to assign singular blame, yes. You also further messed up the mission while in London. Ina reported that your innate fear of Hagemi caused a disruption in the group, leading to Heather jumping in and managing to get lucky by knocking out Hagemi," Miga scowled. 

"And me. Shouben was being such a baby, he wouldn't march forth," Utami huffed. 

"YOU were the one dragging us around trying to find Inoue! You're the one-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! Yuusuke, your mother was worried sick when you got warped away before her eyes. She couldn't focus on the mission proper because you were a constant worry in her mind!" 

Yuusuke began to cry as he attempted to run away, yet fatigue caused him to trip and fall down onto the grass. 

"Seems running is all you can do. What a disgrace. That being said, we do have some Fairy Executives in captivity. I'm sure we'll be able to negotiate an exchange with the Fairies, so save the tears for when your mother beats you to a pulp when she's back," Miga snarled.

The others silently agreed and began going their separate ways, with only Rodeo staying behind to comfort Yuusuke. 

...

Back in London, Scharlachrot sighed as the chessboard vanished. "And they're gone. Guess we really did lose to them. That being said, we did at least gain a consolation prize in the form of Hagemi Shousen."

Heather meanwhile began panicking as her body began moving on it's own and headed for the palace. "S- S- SCHARLACHROT!"

"Don't worry, I'm coming with ya. Wouldn't wanna stand ya up. Heh, to think an ugly duckling like me would grow into a swan and get to have sex with a fairy queen... one last time," she trailed off as she took note of Red Reaper eyeing her movements.