Those deemed jobbers

Yuusuke blinked as he found himself standing on a dimly lit stage.

"We're here. Now, stand tight until the curtain rises," Bon growled as he strutted away.

Able to walk freely, Yuusuke attempted to escape, yet found his path seemingly blocked by invisible walls.

"It's useless. We have you boxed in," Bon's voice called out.

"Like I'd believe you," Yuusuke grumbled as he sat down on the floor.

"I said STAND tight, not sit tight!" Bon yelled as a high heel came flying towards Yuusuke, bouncing off the barrier encasing him, ricocheting back into the darkness.

"The heck's standing gonna do for me?"

However, Bon had seemingly left, or chosen to remain silent. Thus, Yuusuke waited until finally, the curtain began to rise.

"Welcome one and all to the execution of the biggest embarrassment to the chess world!" Mama rabbit cheered as she stepped onto the stage holding a microphone. "Today, we've gathered 8 of the greatest disgraces to the sport, the ones with great chess lineage, but spit on it every day, THE JOBBERS!"

The masked crowd all erupted in rabid cheers.

"Ah, but sadly only one can be eliminated, the one who fails every challenge thrown at them! And who will be competing? Hmm? Do you want to know?"

"TELL-US! TELL-US!"

At the venue's entrance, the bouncer struggled to contain his libido as he stared at one of the guests. "Girl, you got some smooth legs. But, why sneakers and suspenders?"

"Peak femininity," Mimoko huffed as she stormed past the bouncer with Okisato by her side. "Why do we have to wear these masks?" she whispered to Okisato.

"Uh... Standard underground anonymity protocols," Okisato shrugged.

The two made their way to some open seats a few rows right by the balcony.

"And now, the contestants! First up, the failure birthed from great, Hagemi Shousen, YUUBSKE SHOUBEN! Oh, sorry, said that wrong. Nah, no respect for trash here!" Mama rabbit laughed as a light shined down on Yuusuke. "Next up, oh, this might be a big secret. DON'T CARE! "Executive board member", SIR SHIT ZIGLER!" she cackled as a light illuminated a flustered Sir Kit Ziegler.

"Oh, Peter took him out easily. I think Shousen-san will be fine," Okisato nodded.

"Our third participant? OH MY, A QUEEN! NOPE! JUDWIGA ABGAROWACK!" Mama rabbit grinned as a light shown down on Jadwiga, furiously banging on her encasement.

"Huh? Tanabe-kun, she's the one from Team Poland, the one you and Okaa-chan-"

"I know. Guess her gambit got her here. If Shousen-san plays Black against her, easy win," Okisato nodded.

Mimoko's lips curved into a frown. "I don't think Yuusuke-kun knows about the gambit, nor would he play it if he did."

"Too prideful, huh? This is why Utami will always be superior to him."

"Are you saying Utami-chan would-"

"Next up... Uh, clean-up aisle... I mean Isle... the heck are we? BRUNO BROOMACA!" Mama rabbit sneered as a light shined down on an annoyed Bruno.

"Bruno... Ah! Okaa-chan told me about a janitor who is weak against the Sodium Attack!" Mimoko cried.

"And our next guest... UGH, SO HOT! I'M... Yumehara... don't ya know?" Mama rabbit swooned in a deep voice as Yumehara was illuminated by the light, basking in it with his arms outstretched.

"Um, who?" both Mimoko and Okisato cringed.

"And sixth, blugh! I'm feelin' sick, but so's this girl. Send some healin' power to our girl, AIGUL ORUJOVA!" Mama rabbit smiled as a light illuminated Aigul.

Okisato squinted as he caught on to Aigul trying to send a message. "'I-was-set-up'... I've never heard of her, but her intro seemed a bit off from the others. This warrants further digging," he thought as he pulled up a miniaturized version of his WWCF card.

"And the penultimate reveal... MAESTRO JOBBER LIN!" Mama rabbit gleefully scoffed as Xiao Lin was illuminated by the light, furiously banging her clear cage with her cane and shouting something that couldn't be heard.

"Ah, these cages these disgraces are kept in are soundproof, so we can't hear their screams, well, at least not until we flip the switch and turn the sound off for them." Pretty nice, right? And now, the final reveal..."

Steam burst out of the stage as a trapdoor opened up. A choir and orchestra began performing as out stepped none other than... Kisha Shinbun.

"WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE!?" Kisha fumed.

"And the roster is set! Dark Passant!"

A man looking similar to D.R. Passant, with the exception of his turquoise-colored skin, jittered onto the stage. "Bebebebebebebebebebebe!" he muttered as he began spinning around in a circle, before stopping and holding up a handful of colored balls.

"Alright, the pairings have been set! Listen up, folks! The way this tournament works is that if you win, you're safe, and out of the tournament. Lose, and you degrade further and further until the finale. Get your bets in now, because the pairings are... ON THE LEFT SIDE, KISHA VS JADWIGA, AND AIGUL VS XIAO LIN! ON THE RIGHT, YUUSUKE VS YUMEHARA, AND BRUNO VS SIR KIT! 2 minutes to place bets!"

As the audience collectively leaned their heads down to focus on their betting apps, Okisato and Mimoko remained staring directly down at the stage.

"Pretend you're betting," Okisato muttered as he wrapped his arm around Mimoko and began pointing randomly at each of the players.

"Wha- Tanabe-kun-"

"We can't stand out. Otherwise, your little plan will fail before it starts."

Mimoko scowled, but begrudgingly followed his orders and began pretending to place bets.

"Now, the bets have been closed, so let the tournament... BEGIN!" Mama rabbit proclaimed as she jubilantly outstretched her arms.