Chapter 27:

Not so lame-o

En Passant Grandmaster Volume 4

Tears poured down Carol's eyes as she watched the video of Fianna's demise. "It really is over now. Thank you."

"Looks like you were pretty brutal yourself," Iori grinned as she glanced over at the imprisoned Theresa in the distance.

"It was more the scientist guy than me."

"That guy again? Wonder what his deal is."

"More importantly, where are we?"

"Ah, guess you never came this way, but we're right by the station in Kawaguchi."

"Really? Wow, that is convenient. Ah, Mimo got left behind!"

As if on cue, Mimoko suddenly walked over and gasped at the sight of the two.

"Yo, Mimo-chan. We lived, so cancel our funerals," Iori grinned.

Mimoko stared in shock for a few seconds before gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. "It's proceeding as planned, you idiots!" she tearfully glared as she slapped the two as hard as she could.

...

"Hmm, you two employed reckless strategies, but won your games. I guess the slaps will suffice," Mimoko huffed as she finished going over the games.

"A little harsh. It's thanks to you I was able to come up with such a lit strat," Iori pouted as she massaged her cheek.

"What do you mean?"

"Heh, don't tell me you forgot our first ever match?"

"I would never, but- No, I can see where you'd justify the logic... Fine, SPA day on me to make your face feel better."

"Yay!"

"Uh, what happened in the match?" Carol asked.

Iori smiled proudly. It was just after my mom and Mika died. I was a complete wreck, so to try and cheer me up, Mimo-chan approached me..."

...

September 22nd, 2021...

In the classroom, 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.

...

Back in the present, Mimoko smiled as Iori finished recanting the memory. "That really was a fine game. Say, how about we recreate it via a practice match, that way it's logged into our profiles."

"Oh right, we didn't have these cards back then. Great thinking, Mimo-chan," Iori smiled back.

As Carol happily watched the two recreate the game move for move, Okisato arrived. "So what exactly did I miss?" he asked as he walked up to Carol.

"A lot," Carol grinned.

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+