Mama rabbit

Hagemi glared as Okisato stood across from her. "I know what you want, and you're not getting it."

"If I beat you at chess?"

"What makes you think I'd accept a challenge while my mind's a mess?"

"Fair point. But I do want to help your son."

"You can't... Once summoned to the tournament, you will be taken there, unless you somehow croak before then. But that man... Why was he here!?"

"I know you know who that man is, and I'm sure Maestro Himitsu knows too. I just need to rematch her-"

Before another word could be uttered, Hagemi sent Okisato a challenge request.

"Seems your mental state improved. Let's move to the secret puzzle cafe for this, shall we?"

...

Back in the awards hall, Yuusuke stared blankly at the letter. "... Why am I getting invited to this? Is it a joke? I mean, that guy was in a bunny suit. No way that's meant to be taken seriously."

"Trust me, those guys sound like lousy news. Well, not for me since they could be my ticket to becoming a maestro," Xiu smirked.

"If you've seen them before, you should tell us what you know about them," Mimoko frowned.

"Don't talk to losers who didn't make finals."

"Want me to beat you again? I'm quite curious myself as to who these people are," Peter glared.

"Ugh, I already told you; I don't know jack about them. All I know is what they said to Xiao Lin..."

...

A few days ago in China, Xiu laughed as Xiao Lin angrily frowned at the chessboard before her. "You lost! You lost another challenge! At this rate, they might let you play in tournaments considering you play like a 2000!"

"Xiu, how many challenges have you lost?"

"Uh, for SPCM duties? I decided to be more lenient with those, use them for practice. Besides, I kinda dig what that Lithuanian DSPCM does for his challenges, so I decided to try that out for a bit since the only way people can fodderize you is if they beat all your SPCMs or play you in a tournament."

"What makes you think I lose in tournaments!? The only fluke loss in the Chess Olympics was to that Noa girl! I beat everyone else!"

"Not Maestro Himitsu."

Xiao Lin trembled with fury as she let loose a frustrated scream. "GRRRRAAAAAAHHH!"

Pwoof!

Appearing before the two in a puff of smoke was a hooded figure. "Oo... Ooobabba oo ba," the figure stated.

Both Xiao Lin and Xiu blinked in confusion.

"Oh, that not lingual enough for you? How would you like it? A servin' of southern? A highland feckin' fling? Or just some of that HWUAT!?" the figure grinned as they threw off their cloak to reveal themself as a young-looking white-haired woman with a bunny ear headband clad in a green trench coat, cream yellow shirt, cuffed blue jeans, and white sneakers.

"And you are?" Xiao Lin snarled.

"Mama rabbit. Usagi, guess that is easier. You don't look like the type to call anyone "mama", even if they're older than you," the woman snickered.

"What do you want?"

"I wish to test you, see if you really maestro material, or if we made a mistake all those years ago."

Xiao Lin's eyes began to bulge in terror. "Y- You're from the Maestro Project!?"

"Ye fecking dun tootin I totes be," Usagi winked as she struck a cute pose. "Xiao Lin, I'll be frank; your actions and performance as maestro have raised some big questions. We can understand waning with age, but Wiley's still 3000-level while well past 50 while you're what, 34, 35 years young? I get it, that's old. I'm in my early 40s and no way I'll ever play at my peak again, but here's the deal, you tried to manipulate your win rate by utilizing that kung-fu trial. The physical kind, as kung-fu chess is a recognized variant. Ah, and for this next bit, we'll have to speak in private."

...

"...And that's pretty much it. When Xiao Lin returned, she was pale n' shaking and holding a letter like the one Yuusuke just got," Xiu sighed.

"The maestro project... Okaa-chan said she wouldn't divulge anything on that until I beat every maestro," Mimoko frowned.

"Then it seems your new goal is clear," a voice stated.

Everyone turned to notice Amelia Stavanger standing before them. That being said, she was a tad unrecognizable as she had dyed her hair and eyebrows platinum blonde, along with trading in her heels for a pair of slip-on platform sneakers.

"You're Amelia-chan, right?" Mimoko asked.

"Yes, changed up my hair a bit, also ditched the heels for more comfortable sneakers. But as I was saying, you should seek out the maestros and beat them, then, find and beat the Ultima-master."

"The Ultima-master?"

"Yes, I think with the Jobberslayer League making their move, it's time to finally try and shut down the Ultima-master for good. However, if you wish to get the president's blessing, you'll need to have beaten all 7 maestros. I believe you have currently beaten 2 so far. You'll have to find and beat all the SPCMs of the other 5 in order to challenge them, which is easier said than done, especially for the 7th maestro."

"What do you mean?"

"That's for you to find out," Amelia huffed as she turned away.