Chapter 55:

A hair stakes match

En Passant Grandmaster

Iori trembled in shock with her mouth hung open as she stared at her final-round opponent seated across from her.

"Once I win, you'll shave your head in repentance for all the vulgarity you've shown both me and Mimoko-sama," Utami glared.

"Well if I win, your ass is going bald, browless, and getting a lame-ass head tattoo!" Iori retorted.

"Very well. I would be humiliated beyond hell if I were to lose to you now."

"Hmm, but you're the one that's gonna lose. You really think I'd let primo content like your humiliation shave slip through my fingers? Especially since I can effortlessly beat you with the madness you fear?" Iori calmly thought as she maintained a terrified expression on the outside.

Iori opened by moving her pawn to e4 followed by Utami moving her pawn to c5. She then moved her pawn to c4 while Utami moved her knight to c6.

"Knights really are the best piece, they can wreck so much havoc!" Iori thought as she moved her knight to e2.

Utami then moved her pawn to e5 while Iori moved her pawn to g3. "Taking some precautionary measures, but giving up control in the process," Utami thought as she moved her knight to f6.

Iori then moved her b-knight to c3, followed by Utami moving her pawn to d6. "What to do? OH!" Iori thought as she grinned and moved her pawn to d3.

Utami quickly moved her bishop to e6 while Iori moved her queen to b3. Then, Utami moved her knight to d4.

"Hmm, she could screw me if I don't capture that knight. Buuuut, me goin’ bald would get a lot of clout. Not to mention, Oki-kun seems to have somethin cookin. Me wreckin’ Tami-chan could end up screwing me over in the long term. So let's see how good she really is," Iori thought as she grinned and captured the pawn at b7 with her queen.

Just as Iori predicted, Utami moved her knight to c2, forcing her to move her king to d1, and allowing Utami to snatch up her rook at a1 with her knight.

Noticing that Utami still wasn't up to par, Iori decided to offer a little test and moved her knight to b5. Utami took notice and moved her rook to b8.

"Free pawn, YO!" Iori shouted, much to everyone's annoyance as she captured the pawn at a7 with her queen.

"You're definitely getting punished for your disturbance," Utami growled as she moved her bishop to e7.

"You're gonna look good with my grinnin’ face inked on the back of your shiny bald head," Iori snickered as she moved her pawn to d4.

"You would degrade my image with your likeness for a simple video!?" Utami glared as she captured the pawn at e4 with her knight.

"Uh, yeah?" Iori shrugged as she captured the pawn at c5 with her d-pawn.

"Perhaps... I need to rethink things," Utami glared in disgust as she captured the pawn at c5 with her d-pawn.

"Lol, so long queen," Iori snickered as she moved her king to e1.

"I can't believe you... I have decided your punishment. Checkmate," Utami glared as she moved her knight to c2.

"Eh... EEEEEHHHHHHHHH!? NO WAY! I CALL CHEATING!"

Much to Iori's dismay, the victory was legit. The queen had the d-file covered, and the knight had her king in check. Nothing could capture it and there was nowhere to move.

"You lose, now to the hotel salon. I want to get your punishment in motion so I can watch Mimoko-sama's game," Utami glared as she began dragging Iori out.

"Well, she's certainly got a dominatrix streak going. Sucks that it's gonna be the end of my hair follicles, but I guess I'd rather lose all my hair for the rest of my life, than a friend," Iori somberly thought as she maintained her streamer facade on the outside.

...

“So what are we doing for you?" Michiko asked as Utami dragged Iori into the hotel salon.

"I want her bald. Her eyebrows too please," Utami glared.

"Oh, perfect. Shaving heads are my specialty. Right this way."

"Actually..."

Iori began to scowl as she heard what Utami requested. "NO WAY! That's SO LAME!" she fumed as Michiko let out a heavy sigh and dragged her over to a chair.

...

Iori scowled as she gazed down at the clean floor then back up at her now bald and browless reflection in the mirror. "So this was your punishment? Lame."

Despite her bald appearance, Iori was in fact simply wearing a bald cap. Sensing that Iori would likely capitalize on her punishment, Utami had opted to instead just force her to wear a bald cap to prevent her from getting a consolation prize. And it had worked as Iori was pissed and demanding that Michiko just shave her anyway.

"Sorry, but I'm not the kind of woman that goes against my customer's wishes to suit my own agenda," Michiko huffed. "Now that bald cap took a hell of a time to put on without cutting off any of your hair, so you damn well not ruin it until your so-called "punishment" is over."

"You half-assed it though. I advertised my punishment as EXTREME so why didn't you hide my eyelashes?"

"Because it's impossible to hide them, that's why. Use video editing software if you want to make it look like you have no eyelashes without actually plucking them out."

"Yeah, yeah," Iori grumbled as she hopped out of the chair and pulled out her phone. "KYAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M BALD! MY EYEBROWS ARE GONE TOO! I'M HIDEOUS... PSYCH! It's just a bald cap! My eyebrows are also chillin’ just fine under some latex. Originally, I was prepared to sacrifice all my hair follicles for the views, but Lame-tami decided to half-ass things and ordered me to just wear a bald cap for the rest of the day. Welp, guess I'll make use of it!"

Just then, Mimoko and Utami entered the salon. Both looked extremely flustered with Mimoko's face bright red and Utami looking like she was ready to kill someone.

"H- How could he utter such a thing!?"

Iori naturally asked for the details, but not before trying to prank Mimoko that she had actually shaved her head, resulting in her receiving a mighty slap from Utami.

"Maybe I should have had her shave you for real, or at least done something about your vulgar mouth," Utami glared.

"I could sew her mouth shut or just use a gagball if you want," Michiko smiled as she opened a drawer full of gagballs.

"Uh, w- Why do you have so many?"

"Cuz some of my clients just love being humiliated. These ones also come with lock and key, so the victim can't remove it themself. Want one?"

Utami glanced at the drawer of gagballs before glancing back over at Iori. "Well, I wouldn't mind shutting her up for the rest of the night."

Michiko nodded before quickly approaching Iori and gagging her before she could react.

"MMPH!? NGH MMPH NGH!?"

"Sorry, but that's the final part of your punishment. It will also keep you from just ripping off your bald cap so that's another plus," Michiko smirked as she handed the key to the gagball to Utami.

"MMPH NGH MMPH!" Iori tearfully glared as she ran up to Utami.

"You will stay like that for the rest of the night," Utami scoffed as she began to head towards the secret puzzle cafe with Mimoko.

"Oh, want a leash too? I've got plenty of those as well," Michiko smiled as she opened a drawer filled with collars and leashes.

"What the hell is wrong with your clients!?"

The bigger oddity was that Mimoko was still in a dazed state and her face still bright red. Even Michiko took notice and decided to ask what happened.

"In that case, allow me to explain, since I saw everything," Mizuse smiled as she strolled in.

The full game:

White: Iori Ishikiridokoro (1144) Black: Utami Enoki (1001)

1. e4 c5

2. c4 Nc6

3. Ne2 e5

4. g3 Nf6

5. Nbc3 d6

6. d3 Be6

7. Qb3 Nd4

8. Qxb7 Nc2+

9. Kd1 Nxa1