Chapter 80:

A questionable move

En Passant Grandmaster

Once school got out, the chess club immediately headed off to the train station.

"We going on a field trip? Hell yeah!" Iori grinned.

"This is club-related activities. Now since Maida-sensei is doing something with the science club today, I'm essentially the one in charge, so don't any of you do anything bad," Mimoko sternly glared.

"You alright, Inoue? You seem on edge," Yuusuke noted.

Mimoko decided to quickly explain to everyone what happened to her mother.

"WHAT!? You're sayin' that maestro we met messed up your mom!?" Iori cried.

"It's very likely."

"Ugh, talk about bad timing. Okaa's still not pickin' up so I'm guessin' she's still datin' Kuon," Yuusuke sighed.

As Utami embraced Mimoko in a sign of support, Iori clenched her fist.

"That must have struck a chord with her. Seems like she truly is trying to become a better person," Okisato thought.

Once everyone reached the train station, Mimoko attempted to lead everyone to the line that would take them to Triple cedar, but Okisato stopped her.

"Marching straight there now might not be a good idea. Besides, we should check in on Himitsudono at Lagoon pathways."

"Huh? But I thought his cafe wasn't open yet."

"I read the article, and it seems like the maestro is trying to replace him. In that case, he might need our help. He's only rated 100 after all."

Mimoko paused, before agreeing to go with Okisato's plan.

...

As the chess club reached Lagoon pathways, they immediately headed for the secret puzzle cafe.

Iori immediately leapt over the bridge, but instead of landing on the bridge, ended up in the water instead. "The hell! Where's the bridge!?"

Before Iori could protest further, she suddenly felt the floor below her rising.

"Guess the bridge is up now. Thanks for checking," Yuusuke snickered as he leaped onto the bridge and walked past the soaking wet Iori towards the waterfall.

As soon as everyone entered, they noticed that instead of Himitsudono, Taira was present at the counter. However, none were able to recognize her until she spoke in order to inform everyone that there was now a 10,000 yen per person entrance fee.

"The hell!? We aren't payin' that!" Yuusuke fumed.

"Then you won't be leaving."

An iron door suddenly appeared and blocked the entrance, locking everyone in.

"Can we exchange our points then?" Okisato glared.

"F- For standard rewards, yes. Everything else, yen," Taira stated.

Okisato immediately pulled up his point menu. His eyes widened as he noticed no change in the menu, aside from the fact that the options to challenge the SPCMs from Japan were all grayed out, except for the ones he had already beaten.

"Is paying with our WWCF earned funds allowed?"

"Naturally, now just transfer the money to this account," Taira nodded as she flashed a card before Okisato.

Okisato glared at the card before minimizing his WWCF card to fit in his hand and completing some transactions.

"S- So you paid your entrance fee and spent 500,000 yen to challenge SPCM Himitsusama. Very well, I shall get her on call."

Taira then pulled out her WWCF card and sent a message to Mizuse. A few moments later, Mizuse emerged from the back room.

Mimoko clenched her fist as she me eyes with her. "Mizuse-chan... What happened to you?"

"'What happened to me'!? Pak femininity that's what!" Mizuse sneered as she stuck out her piercing laden tongue.

"So mind telling me what's going on with the secret puzzle cafes before we begin?" Okisato glared.

"Simple, Maestro Himitsu requested a change in both policy and dress code."

"And you embraced it?"

"Quite right, boy. Though the tattoos were a personal choice as I've decided it's to be the new "peak femininity".

"I was more interested in the policy changes. I could care less about your appearance."

"Boy, you should show more respect to a woman that has decided to not only shave all her hair off, but cover every inch of her beautiful porcelain skin with tattoos. Ah, the metamorphosis itself was beautiful and blissful. The hot shaving cream encasing my head and face, the hot wax, the depilatory cream, the oil massage, ahhhhhh, I want it done again and again!"

"I see. In that case, I have no remorse for beating you."

"Boy, you won't beat me. Now as per my rules, you play as white and have only 34 minutes on your play clock. Now, allow me to school you as to why you should never insult a woman's beauty, or her fetishes," Mizuse smirked as she flashed her WWCF card before Okisato.

Mimoko's eyes widened as she stared at the card. In addition to Mizuse's high rating of 2599, she was also a grandmaster.

"In jaw-dropping awe, are you not, young lady? In addition to founding and managing the world's largest fashion and beauty company, I am also an SPCM and grandmaster," Mizuse chuckled as Okisato sat down.

"Tanabe-kun, don't mess this up, please," Mimoko thought.

Okisato stared at Mizuse for a bit before smirking and moving his pawn to a3, causing Mimoko and the others to recoil in disgust.

"T- THE ANDERSSEN OPENING!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!? SHE'S A GRANDMASTER!" Mimoko shouted as Mizuse moved her pawn to d5.

"Do keep your mouth quiet, dear spectator. Lest I have it sewn shut," Mizuse sneered as Okisato moved his pawn to d4.

"Hmm, she's certainly full of herself," Okisato thought as Mizuse moved her queen to d6.

Okisato then moved his knight to f3, while Mizuse mirrored him and moved her knight to f6.

He then moved his pawn to c4, eliciting a laugh from Mizuse. "Oh you stupid, stupid, boy. That's a free pawn for me," Mizuse sneered as she captured the pawn at c4 with her d-pawn.

"You're only 24, so stop acting like you're 20 years older than me. Unless you want me to start calling you “hag”," Okisato snickered as he moved his knight to c3.

"That is why I treat you as a young boy, because you ARE younger than me, and immature and stupid as well," Mizuse glared as she moved her knight to d5.

"Guess I misjudged your character back when I first met you. I thought you were a bit more open-minded. Guess you're devolving, in more ways than one! CHECK!" Okisato shouted as he moved his queen to a4. His sadistic persona had revealed itself.

"So you had an insane side to you. I guess perhaps this is a coping mechanism for you," Mizuse scoffed as she slid her bishop to d7.

"'Coping mechanism'? For what!?" Okisato snickered as he captured the pawn at c4 with his queen.

Mizuse shot Okisato an unamused glare as she captured the knight at c3 with her knight, nor did she seem phased in the slightest when Okisato promptly captured said knight with his queen. "All the boy did was even things out," she thought as she moved her knight to c6.

As soon as Okisato moved his pawn to e4, however, Mizuse grinned and moved her queen to g6.

"Ugh, that idiot's going to lose a pawn," Mimoko growled as Okisato moved his bishop to e3.

Just as predicted, Mizuse captured the pawn at e4 with her queen, however Okisato was still in sadistic mode and moved his bishop to d3. Mizuse scoffed and simply moved her queen to e6, but Okisato didn't let up and moved his bishop to c4, prompting Mizuse to move her queen to g6.

"Obviously, pawn g3 is the right move here," Utami thought as Okisato moved his pawn to d5. "Wait, WHAT!? THAT IDIOT!" she cried as Mizuse pounced on the opportunity and captured the pawn at g2 with her queen.

"Calm down, Utami-chan. This is actually a good position for him to be in," Mimoko gumbled as Okisato captured the knight at c6 with his pawn.

"Check," Mizuse sneered as she captured the rook at h1 with her queen.

"Mimoko-sama, I fail to see how that fool can win this," Utami groaned as Okisato moved his king to e2.

"Trust me, I'm upset with his methods, but I know the winning moves when I see them. Barring no blunders, Tanabe-kun will win," Mimoko grumbled as Mizuse captured the rook at a1 with her queen.

Mizuse raised a browless eyebrow. "You think the boy will win? Preposterous! He's down both his rooks."

"Don't need 'em, in fact, you capturing them helped speed things up. CHECK!" Okisato snickered as he captured the pawn at d7 with his c-pawn.

"I fail to see what your deluded mind perceives as a victory," Mizuse scoffed as she moved her king to d8.

"Then I guess you'll find out," Okisato snickered as he moved his knight to e5.

"I do still have my queen left, and have no intention of losing it," Mizuse scoffed as she moved her pawn to e6.

"Who said I needed to capture it to win? In fact, you choosing your queen over your king, screwed you. Check!" Okisato snickered as he captured the pawn at f7 with his knight.

Mizuse's eyes widened in horror as she began to tremble at the reality of her scenario; mate was imminent. She clicked her tongue and captured the pawn at d7 with her king, however Okisato didn't let up the assault and moved his knight to e5.

"Don't need your rooks either," he sneered as Mizuse moved her king to d8.

Okisato then slid his bishop to g5, prompting Mizuse to defend by moving her bishop to e7. However, Okisato simply moved his queen to d3, forcing Mizuse's king to c8. Yet that wasn't safe either, as Okisato captured the pawn at e6 with his bishop, forcing Mizuse's king to b8.

"Guess I'll give you a consolation knight," Okisato snickered as he moved his knight to c6.

With no choice, Mizuse bit her lip and trembled in frustration as she captured said knight with her b-pawn and watched as Okisato moved his queen to b3. "Damn you... DAMN YOU BOY! HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE ME WITH AN ANDERSSEN OPENING OF ALL THINGS!" she roared as she moved her bishop to b4.

"Hey, it was your desire to protect your queen and not your king that screwed you. Then again, maybe you shouldn't have gone after my rooks in the first place. CHECKMATE!" Okisato snickered as he captured the bishop at b4 with his queen, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Okisato Tanabe (2525) Black: SPCM Himitsusama (Mizuse Niimi) (2599)

1. a3 d5

2. d4 Qd6

3. Nf3 Nf6

4. c4 dxc4

5. Nc3 Nd5

6. Qa4+ Bd7

7. Qxc4 Nxc3

8. Qxc3 Nc6

9. e4 Qg6

10. Be3 Qxe4