Bloody tears

Utami slammed her fist down on the table as Mimoko informed her of the attack. "Those foul fiends. They were targeting you!?"

"Uh, they tried to kill ME!" Iori scowled.

"So? I only care about Mimoko-sama's well-being and safety, not yours."

"BURN!" Carol jibbed as Iori began to sulk.

"Though this is a serious matter. Carol has yet to become an official SPCM, so she doesn't have Caïssa's blessing yet. Iori doesn't either. Plus, there's that Desperado you mentioned. It sounds like Professor Skaberghast," Daria scowled.

Utami's eyes widened as she immediately recognized the name. The others also recognized the name from Okisato's debriefing, but only Utami had met him prior.

"That guy was super sadistic, like, attractively sadistic," Iori noted.

"Iori-chan's odd tastes aside, he really did strike me as a malicious monster," Mimoko noted.

"Well it makes sense. He's actually one of the DESPER's main inventors so I'm told, yet despite that, not even he is aware of everything it can do," Daria stated.

"So he's carrying out field experiments on his own?" Carol asked.

Everyone agreed that was likely, especially after Utami added the fact that during her encounter with Skaberghast, he had also done some field testing with the DESPER.

"And now, let's change topics. Iori-chan, care to explain your actions during the match?" Mimoko glared.

Iori fidgeted as she was hoping Mimoko had forgotten about that. Seeing that it was not the case, she decided to claim it was because she was really pissed off about almost dying, which was technically the truth. Yet Mimoko felt there was a bit more under the surface. Before she could press any further though, the pairings went up for the 5th round.

No one seemed to have any standout matchups except for Daria, who was paired against Tenju Kuroshiro. Better known as SPCM Himitsutan, Tenju was one of the surviving SPCMs from the Michiko incident, however, she had suffered grievous wounds, both physically and mentally from the incident. She had previously been confined at the WWCF's holding facility, but had been released and had since vanished without a trace, until now.

Daria took a deep breath as she figured this reunin would become quite turbulent. As soon as she entered the playing hall, she immediately spotted a girl covered in bandages sitting at the board she was to play out. As soon as the girl noticed her, she snapped.

"YOU! ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED YOUR FACE!"

"That's my line. Just where have you been, Tenju?"

Tenju gritted her teeth in frustration before grabbing a cup of water and chugging it down. "None of your business, false savior."

Daria let out a sigh. Tenju had every right to be mad at her for allowing Michiko to get the better of her. However, even if she had caught on to Michiko's plan, she might not have been able to save Tenju's twin sister and fellow SPCM, Taira.

"Now I hear you've moved on and even opened up a new secret puzzle cafe here. Did Taira mean nothing to you!?"

Before Daria could properly respond, the round began, forcing everyone to go quiet. Tenju scowled and quickly opened by moving her knight to f3 as Daria responded by moving her pawn to d5.

"It seems we will have to converse through the board," Daria thought as Tenju moved her pawn to d4.

However, as soon as Daria moved her knight to f6, Raymond suddenly approached the board, and informed the two that they were to relocate to a more secluded area. There, he would personally supervise the match, and allow conversation.

Daria nodded as she realized this meant she could attempt to have a heart-to-heart with Tenju. Unbeknownst to her though, Raymond actually had ulterior motives in mind.

Once the relocation was complete, the game resumed with Tenju moving her pawn to c4 and Daria moving her pawn to e6. Despite the relocation, both players remained silent and continued playing. E3, bishop e7, c captures d5, e captures d5, and knight c3 were all played in silence.

It wasn't until Daria castled king's side on her 6th move that she decided to start the conversation. "Tenju, I respected Taira greatly. Her loss was just as devastating to me as it was to you."

"Well yeah, you lost your best tool. I lost my sister!" Tenju retorted as she slammed her bishop down on d3.

"Tenju, I never viewed Taira or any of you as tools," Daria sighed as she moved her rook to e8.

"BULLSHIT! I've heard of your recruitment scheme! You want grandmasters to replace Taira and Mizuse! You won't tolerate low skill, because you want to maintain your reputation as the most challenging maestro!" Tenju shouted as she castled king's side.

Daria let out another heavy sigh as she moved her bishop to g4. It was clear to her Tenju was not thinking straight, yet there was little she could think of to say that would calm her down. Thus, a period of silence once again overtook the game as Tenju decided not to continue the conversation and simply moved her pawn to h3.

As Daria became more consumed with thinking up a good response to ease Tenju's mental state, Raymond was more focused on the gameplay. After bishop h5, queen b3, bishop captures f3, queen captures b7, b-knight d7, g captures f3, and knight f8, he noted that the game was dead even.

This was noteworthy due to the fact that Tenju was currently playing well above her previous skill level. Yet, it didn't last as Tenju moving her bishop to b5 gave Daria the ability to gain an edge by moving her rook to b8.

Raymond began to shake his head as Tenju captured the pawn at a7 with her queen. "So this is her limit. Perhaps she'd still stand a chance against an average grandmaster, but not a maestro," he thought as Daria moved her queen to c8.

Tenju quickly captured the rook at e8 with her bishop, giving Raymond some slight hope she could at the least continue to make the best possible moves. But after Daria captured said bishop with her knight, Tenju responded by moving her pawn to e4, worsening her position. Now Daria was able to get her knight to f6 as Tenju captured the pawn at d5 with her knight, one move too late. To be fair, Tenju could easily regain the advantage should Daria fail to make the best move, yet bishop d6 was in fact the best move, and after Tenju responded by moving her bishop to g5, Daria's advantage was solidified, and would only increase as she moved her rook to a8.

This forced Tenju to capture it with her queen, and subsequently lose said queen to Daria's queen. Now Tenju was beginning to feel dejected and moved her pawn to f4. Daria moved her pawn to c6, and while Tenju did respond perfectly by moving her pawn to f5, it did little to change her fortunes, even after Daria captured her knight at d5 with her c-pawn and she captured her knight at g6 with her f-pawn, Daria's advantage was simply insurmountable.

"Now the big question is when do I try to start up the conversation again," Daria thought as she captured the pawn at e4 with her d-pawn.

The task was easier said than done. Now that she was in a losing position, Tenju was prone to respond more erratically than before. While mating her was easy, getting through to her with words would be a trial.

Tenju began trembling and gritting her teeth. While she knew the odds were against her, she wanted to beat Daria to "avenge" Tenju, yet now that was slipping away. "I wish Taira was never bewitched by you. Check!" Tenju glared as bloody tears began to ooze out of her eyes while she captured the pawn at f7 with her g-pawn.

The sight of Tenju's bloody tears caused Daria herself to begin tearing up. "So you can't even cry properly now. That's just a fate too cruel," she trembled as she captured the pawn at f7 with her king.

The statement and sight of Daria crying quickly threw Tenju off in more ways than one as she moved her bishop to e3. "D- Don't mess with me!"

"I am not. Tenju, my tears are genuine," Daria declared as she moved her queen to c8.

Tenju shook her head in distrust as she moved her king to g2. No matter how much Daria claimed she was being genuine, she wouldn't believe it. Daria's tears continued to fall though, smearing her makeup as she moved her queen to f5.

"Oh how thematic! Your makeups smearing just to try and make me feel for you! FUCk OFF!" Tenju shouted as she slammed her pawn down on f3.

Daria merely let out a sigh before moving her queen to g6. "Check. Now how about I tell you more about myself."

"Not interested," Tenju snarled as she moved her king to f2.

"Why is that?" Daria asked as she moved her bishop to g3.

"Because I HATE you!" Tenju retorted as she slammed her king down on g2.

"As Maestro Himitsu?" Daria asked as she moved her knight to f6.

"What do you mean? OF COURSE I DO! THAT'S WHO YOU ARE YES!?" Tenju shouted as she slammed her king down on h1.

"Yes, that is who I am. But that is only one side of me."

Tenju's eyes widened as Daria wiped away her makeup and let down her hair. "The pairings simply listed my name as "Himitsu" however, that is not my real name. I apologize for not telling you or most of the others this, but my name is Daria Inoue," Daria declared as she moved her bishop to b8.

Tenju stared in shock for a few seconds before scowling and moving her bishop to g5.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation. You see, Michiko and Himitsudono were the only ones who knew this before the incident. Mizuse only found out hours before, and that was likely the reason she was the first to be targeted by Michiko," Daria surmised as she captured the bishop at g5 with her queen.

Tenju remained silent and captured the pawn at e4 with her f-pawn as Daria continued. "I actually grew up in the same neighborhood as Michiko. I viewed her like a little sister, but I guess she truly hated me. I never realized it was hatred instead of simple annoyance, and that is my biggest regret," she stated as she moved her queen to e3.

Tenju once again remained silent and moved her pawn to e5.

"Michiko hated me long before I became maestro. But it still hurt me when I met with her, and she had not one shred of remorse for her actions. She was my closest friend, yet she stabbed me in the back, hurt my friends and family, and even took my 12-year old son from me," Daria stated as she captured the pawn at h3 with her queen.

Tenju began trembling as she moved her king to g1. "...You kidding me?"

"Hmm?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? YOU TRYING TO CLAIM YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF HELL I'M GOING THROUGH JUST CUZ MICHIKO KILLED YOUR SON!?"

Daria moved her queen to g3 and tried to explain further, but Tenju quickly cut her off.

"YOU DON'T KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT ANY OF US! DO YOU KNOW WHY TAIRA WAS SO SHY!? WELL THIS IS WHY!" Tenju shouted as she slammed her king down on h1 and ripped the bandages off her head and face. "YOU SEE THIS!? TAIRA HAD HORRIFIC SCARS LIKE THIS SINCE BIRTH! AND EVERYONE MOCKED HER FOR THEM! SHE DIDN'T DESRVE TO SUFFER! I HAD TO DEFEND HER! BUT THEN THAT FUCKING TEACHER BULLIED HER AND THAT LED TO EVERYTHING GOING WRONG!" Tenju shouted at the top of her lungs as she slammed her king down on h1.

"Tenju, Taira revealed her secret to me. In fact, she revealed it to President Redfield as well," Daria stated as she moved her king to e6.

"LIES!" Tenju shouted as she slammed her a-rook down on e1.

"Not in the slightest. In fact, I was still against the idea of having her jointly run a secret puzzle cafe after seeing her scarred face. You see, I believe that anyone can be good at chess, no matter their appearance or moral compass. Yet Maestro Himitsu insisted on it, and ultimately beat me in a game of chess to force my hand," Raymond stated as Daria moved her knight to g4.

Tenju however, didn't believe a word of it. "Taira never said a word of it to me. THAT MEANS YOU'RE BOTH LYING TO TRY AND MANIPULATE ME!" she shouted as she slammed her rook down on e2.

Daria took a deep breath before moving her bishop to a7. "Taira requested I never tell you of it, and before you cut me off, the reason for that was because I offered to give her the option of having her face fixed with-"

"YOU HATED HER FACE TOO!" Tenju shouted as she slammed her pawn down on d5.

"And that is the very reason Taira refused to do it. Because she feared it would only hurt you," Daria stated as she moved her king to e7.

Tenju's heart began to pound out of her chest. Had she still had sweat glands left, she would have broken into a cold sweat. "N- No... It's not my fault... IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" she shouted as she slammed her pawn down on d6.

"I never said it was," Daria sighed as she moved her king to e6.

"BUT I TOLD HER THAT I'D MAKE EVERYONE STOP MOCKING HER FOR HER SCARS! I- I said that those trying to make her fix her face really just wanted to do it for the sake of their own eyes... IF I HADN'T TOLD HER THAT, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN LIVING A BETTER LIFE!" Tenju cried as she slammed her rook down on f6.

"Taira cared about you. In fact, you were the one she cared most about. After all, you were by her side from the start," Daria smiled as she captured the rook at f6 with her g-pawn.

"DON'T SAY THAT! I couldn't protect her. I hurt her. I can't even join her in heaven. AT THE VERY LEAST I CAN BEAR THE PAIN SHE FELT FROM HER SCARRED FLESH FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!" Tenju cried as she captured the pawn on f6 with her e-pawn.

"That's not the case," Daria argued as she moved her knight to e5.

Tenju let loose a depressed smile. "I wasn't brainwashed by Michiko like the others. I joined out of free-will, all in hopes of saving Taira. But I was tricked. Now I can't even die, and even if I did... Taira's soul is still trapped in that eldritch robot," she tearfully chuckled as she moved her rook to g2.

Daria shot Raymond a glare as she now fully connected the dots. "So you used the DESPER in an attempt to try and free her soul," she sighed as she moved her queen to h3.

"Yeah, and it failed. All I was able to do in the end was use it to make my chess skills similar to hers. And look! All it did was get me mated!" Tenju tearfully smiled as she meekly slid her rook to h2.

"No, you played well. In fact, Taira would be proud to see it. Even though you were the older sister, she always worried about you."

"But she can't even smile down from Heaven!"

"Then I promise you this; my daughter, Mimoko will vanquish the Ultima-master."

Tenju sat in silence as more bloody tears continued to pour down her burned face. Daria stared at her and asked her one final question before the match's end. "Do you want us to help fix up your appearance, and try to give you the ability to cry normally again?"

Tenju tearfully nodded yes, as Daria smiled and won the game by moving her queen to f1. "Then consider this checkmate the start of your new growth. And if you ever need a motherly figure to help guide you, I'll be here."

"P- Promise?"

"Yes. I promise," Daria smiled as Tenju got up and embraced her in a hug.

The full game:

White: SPCM Himitsutan (Tenju Kuroshiro) (1362) Black: Maestro Himitsu (Daria Inoue) (3200)

1. Nf3 d5

2. d4 Nf6

3. c4 e6

4. e3 Be7

5. cxd5 exd5

6. Nc3 O-O

7. Bd3 Re8

8. O-O Bg4

9. h3 Bh5

10. Qb3 Bxf3

11. Qxb7 Nbd7

12. gxf3 Nf8

13. Bb5 Rb8

14. Qxa7 Qc8

15. Bxe8 Nxe8

16. e4 Ng6

17. Nxd5 Bd6

18. Bg5 Ra8

19. Qxa8 Qxa8

20. f4 c6

21. f5 cxd5

22. fxg6 dxe4

23. gxf7+ Kxf7

24. Be3 Qc8

25. Kg2 Qf5

26. f3 Qg6+

27. Kf2 Bg3+

28. Kg2 Nf6

29. Kh1 Bb8

30. Bg5 Qxg5

31. fxe4 Qe3

32. e5 Qxh3+

33. Kg1 Qg3+

34. Kh1 Ke6

35. Rae1 Ng4

36. Re2 Ba7

37. d5+ Ke7

38. d6+ Ke6

39. Rf6+ gxf6

40. exf6+ Ne5

41. Rg2 Qh3+

42. Rh2 Qf1#