Chapter 239:

Daria and Doraaki

En Passant Grandmaster

Doraaki trembled as Daria displayed her WWCF card. "H- Hold on, M- Maestro Himitsu!?"

"In the flesh and without the face paint, though this is technically an undercover look," Daria grinned.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be so young. I always thought you were much older."

"Well, I am... 40."

"FORTY!? No way! You're playing with me!"

"In that case, I'll reveal my true identity since you're the only SPCM that doesn't know it yet..."

Once Daria finished explaining, Doraaki began somberly staring at the ground. "Hey maestro, can I talk to you about my troubles?"

Daria naturally agreed to listen as Doraaki thanked her and took a deep breath. It turned out the main thing on her mind was what led to all this; her loss to Mizuse, who at the time had already been brainwashed by Michiko.

"I saw the game log. So do you want to go over it, play by play?" Daria asked.

Doraaki nodded and began recounting the game. "I opened the game with d4, then Mizuse, er I guess maybe it was actually Michiko, went d5. I then went for a queen's gambit with c4, and she accepted it..."

...

As Doraaki stated, the game between her and the brainwashed Mizuse opened with her going d4, Mizuse going d5, and then her playing c4, the Queen's gambit, which Mizuse accepted by capturing the pawn at c4 with her d-pawn.

"Wow, you actually took it," Doraaki whistled as she moved her pawn to e4.

"Don't mistake, I did it because I have confidence in this match," Mizuse sneered as she moved her pawn to e5.

"Seriously, did going bald make you go crazy?" Doraaki glared as she moved her knight to f3.

"Nay! It enlightened me! Now Ai-sama's will has been bestowed to me, and soon it will be to you as well," Mizuse squealed as she captured the pawn at d4 with her e-pawn.

"Then why the hell did you say I'd be under Michiko's control?" Doraaki glared as she captured the pawn at c4 with her bishop.

Mizuse scowled and quickly moved her bishop to b4, prompting Doraaki to move her b-knight to d2. "You remember the extra losing conditions I put on you, yes?" she snarled as she moved her knight to c6.

"That I'd become Slick's bitch? Yeah, you think I'm stupid? Mizuse would never pull bullshit like this, but then who's pulling the strings? Michiko's a red herring and I can't imagine Maestro Himitsu doing this, so maybe... Safumi!" Doraaki exclaimed as she moved her knight to g5.

The move was symbolic in the fact that it not only blundered the game away, but also made in conjuncture with Doraaki's falsely guessing the mastermind.

At this point, Michiko took brief control over Mizuse and chuckled. "Yes, congratulations, oh brilliant sleuth. Safumi is the ringleader," she sneered as she captured the knight at g5 with her queen.

This caused Doraaki to huff with confidence as she moved her bishop to b3, completely unaware of her peril, until Mizuse captured her pawn at g2 with her queen. Doraaki then misstepped and moved her pawn to a4, allowing Mizuse to move her pawn to d3. This caused her to panic and move her pawn to f4, sealing her fate.

"Well that was easy. Guess I'll focus on Safumi and have Mizuse go on autopilot," Michiko shrugged, as she ceased controlling Mizuse directly after capturing the pawn at e4 with her queen.

At this point, the game was over as once Doraaki moved her king to f2, Mizuse responded by moving her bishop to c5, forcing it to g3. Next came queen g6, sending the king to f3, and finally knight to e5, forcing Doraaki to capture said knight with her d-pawn.

"No! Mizuse, why!?" Doraaki cried.

"Because a pawn is a pawn. You may just be an annoying brat, but I won't pass up a free pawn. Checkmate," Miichiko sneered as she took control of Mizuse one last time, in order to move her queen to g4, winning the game.

...

"So that's what happened then. I see. You were playing well up until the 7th move, but made the wrong play, completely costing you the game," Daria stated.

"I was playing well?"

"Yes, perfectly up to that point, but I assume you forgot that your dark-squared bishop was blocked by your knight. It's a fairly common mistake at your level, so no shame."

"But it does shame me. It... It lead to so much suffering."

"I understand. My apologies."

"I wasn't offended or anything, in fact, I'm glad you're even bothering to give me the time of day... I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. It shows both on and off the board. But still, the fact that you're giving an idiot like me the time of day... it really warms my heart. In fact, there are many times I feel like I don't belong with the others."

Daria smiled warmly and patted Doraaki on the head. "Because you're not the greatest at chess? Nonsense. 700 is still a respectable rating in my book. You achieved that all on your own, and try your best to play well. That and your personality can liven up the mood, so don't go thinking you don't belong. In fact, we've all been missing you. I'm sorry it took so long to save you, but now I'm here."

"I see, thanks Maestro. And sorry about all the trouble- UGH!"

Doraaki suddenly clutched her head in pain as Michiko's voice began echoing in it.

"Oh annoying a-pawn, thou lack in intelligence, and are a far cry from my level. A perfect pawn for me, I use thee for all thine worth."

Doraaki began clutching her head and screaming in pain as Michiko took over her body.

"Well, well. That bitch Mari certainly had her fun, but thanks to you, now I'm free, and Doraaki's suffering inside my body right now," Michiko sneered.

Daria glared and immediately reached into her pocket, yet went pale as she realized her only DESPER key had been used up.

"Ah, out of keys. That means I can just run away. And what a shame; my DESPER can still be activated too," Michiko sneered.

"Then play me! I'll agree to whatever punishment, should I lose!"

That line was all it took for Michiko's ego to get the better of her as a memory from her childhood came flooding back to her.

The full game:

White: SPCM Himitsukun (Doraaki Soten) (700) Black: SPCM Himitsusama (Mizuse Niimi) (2599)

1. d4 d5

2. c4 dxc4

3. e4 e5

4. Nf3 exd4

5. Bxc4 Bb4+

6. Nbd2 Nc6