Chapter 17:
En Passant Grandmaster
As Okisato left the school grounds, a girl with cat ears and a tail watched him from atop the school roof. "Nyan nya? The tiger is leaving, nya? I should follow him, nya. He might go someplace good, nya,” she thought before leaping into the air.
...
At a bustling pub in the next town over, Maida sipped up her beer with a straw as her friend snided her. "Mayana, why you sippin’ up beer through a straw? You a kid or something?"
"I prefer to drink in moderation. The straw increases my chances of doing so," Maida sighed.
"Huh? You still sober? You a heavy weight? More booze for me, yay!"
"I do not wish to drink anymore, in fact I would prefer to catch the train home."
"Beep beep! Wee Wee! I'm a bird!"
"Shinomiya, you drank too much."
"How!? Ima light weight!"
"My point exactly, a sip of alcohol is too much for you. I guess this means I will accompany-"
Thud!
Maida let out an annoyed sigh as her friend fell asleep at the counter. "I stand corrected, I'll drop you off at the capsule hotel."
As she began dragging her friend away, her eyes narrowed as soon as she stepped outside. Noticing the capsule hotel nearby, she quickly rushed over and deposited her friend. When she turned and stepped outside, she was approached by Okisato.
"And why are you out at this hour? Are you angered with me that your transgression was discovered?" she glared as she cautiously stepped back inside.
"No, I was just hoping to get you to supervise the chess club," Okisato nodded.
"Why would I? First, I have never played chess, nor do I have any affinity for it. Second, I do not need another hindrance in my life. Third, I am already committed to science."
"How about just for the weekend so we can participate in the tournament?"
"No, there are no benefits, only negatives. Now please step aside, lest I report you for harassment."
"I haven't harassed you, all I've done was ask you a question."
"Don't play dumb, you have been shadowing me since I exited the pub."
"I just wanted to ask you my question."
"Then the answer is no. Now head home, and don't bother me anymore."
Okisato let out a sigh as Maida walked away. "I guess I'll have to get desperate tomorrow- Well, perhaps I'll end up convincing Maida-sensei after all," he thought as he glanced up towards a building.
While it was difficult to see, the silhouette of a cat-like girl quickly leapt into the moonlight before vanishing a second later.
...
As Maida walked through the park on her way back home, she went on guard as she sensed someone following her. "Tanabe-kun, I WILL report you for harassing me so don't-"
"NYAHO!"
Maida glared in confusion as she found herself face to face with a girl with cat ears and a tail. "A cosplayer? Hmm, that uniform's from a school in the next prefecture over. Are you a student?"
"NYO! I'm here to nyab you, nya."
"To- MMPH!?"
Maida's eyes went wide with fear as the girl immobilized and gagged her with her tail.
"Nyow, let's have some fun," the girl snickered as she pulled some zip ties out of her pocket and began restraining Maida’s wrists and ankles with them.
"Her tail was able to restrain me! C- Could she be an extraterrestrial!? A mutant!? I NEED to know!" Maida thought as she attempted to speak.
"Sorry, nya, but you need to stay muzzled, nya," the girl sneered as she slapped some duct tape over Maida’s mouth and let her fall to the ground with a thud..
Maida moaned and struggled aimlessly as she gazed up in fear at the catgirl. "She used modern means to restrain and gag me. I doubt she's an extraterrestrial, but she's clearly dangerous. Though why am I being kidnapped? ...! Did Tanabe-kun arrange this!?" she thought as the girl pulled a DESPER out of her pocket with her tail.
"Oi, that's my homeroom teacher, could you not kidnap her?" Okisato glared as he arrived.
"Mmmph ngh! Ngh mmph NGH mmph ngh [Tanabe kun! So this IS your doing]!" Maida glared as the cat girl slammed her foot down on her.
"Nyahaha! So the oni-tiger is here to try and prove he's the king of the cats. Well, I'm going to take you down and avenge Inojin, nya!" the catgirl snickered as she activated her DESPER.
Maida's eyes widened as the scenery changed to a giant chess board surrounded by stonehenge-like monuments. She tried to make sense of the phenomenon unfolding before her, but her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly found herself imprisoned inside a large black queen. A gelatinous substance within the queen held her in place as she watched Okisato and the catgirl meet at the center of the board.
"Oi, what's the big idea? Why's Maida-sensei in my queen?" Okisato glared.
"For odds, nya!"
"'Odds'?"
"NYES! My rating's only 900, but yours is 2434, nya! So, I'm using odds to even the game, nya. For you, 2 1/2 odds will be in play, nya!"
"’Two and a half’? What do you mean?"
"Pawn and two moves odds, nya," the girl maliciously grinned. "As for the half, if you lose your queen, the teacher dies regardless of the end result, nya."
Maida's eyes went wide with terror. "D- 'DIE'!? I must be having a nightmare, this can't be real! Yet, it all feels real. W- What is all this!?" she frantically thought.
"And what about for us?" Okisato asked.
"You lose, you die, nya! I also keep custody of the teacher if you lose or draw, assuming she's still alive by that point," the catgirl snickered.
"And if I win, Maida-sensei goes free and you get a punishment."
"Exactly, nya."
"In that case, let's experiment, though I first want to know who exactly you are."
"You've nyever heard of me!? NYAH! I'm Nyoan Nyakuoji, everyone's favorite femme-fatale feline school girl and the future leader of the Desperado league! Nyahaha! I'll be grandmaster too after I beat you, nya!"
"You're a high schooler?"
"Nyess! I'm a 3rd-year highschooler at Mimineko gakuin. My birthday is February 22nd, I'm 18 years old, and 152 cm tall. I like all things neko and became a nekomimi," Nyoan giggled as her tail moved around in a happy manner.
"Are your ears and tail real?"
"NYESS! As prize for winning a DESPER battle, I got nya nya neko ears and a tail, nya."
"So does that mean you have both human and cat ears?"
"N- Nyess?"
"That's kind of gross."
"NYAH!? HOW DARE YOU, NYA! Wait are you going to-"
"Yes, if you lose, you lose all your hair and fur."
"NYO NYOT MY NEKO EARS AND- Oh, that's fine, nya. WAIT! ALL MY HAIR AND FUR, NYA!?"
"Yes, I'm curious to see how you'd look as a hairless cat girl; especially, how weird you'd look with two sets of ears."
"Ny- You're evil, but FINE! I'll make sure to kill your teacher, nya!"
"Then let's begin," Okisato glared.
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