A new conspiracy [Side Story 6 End]

The scenery returned to normal before Michiko let out one last scream before having her consciousness returned to her original body.

Daria quickly caught Doraaki and held her until she regained consciousness. Once she did, Doraaki immediately bolted up and clutched her mouth. Noticing she was a bit pale and green, Daria gave her some space as she headed for the side of the boat and vomited. Once she had calmed down a bit, she turned to Daria with tears in her eyes.

"Maestro... It was so painful. Being trapped in Michiko, being forced to be that sleezeball's bitch, being abused by Mari. Wa- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Daria warmly smiled and comforted Doraaki, assuring her that all would be fine. "I'm, sorry my oversight led to all this. Don't worry, mommy won't let it happen again.

"M- Mommy?"

"Ah! My apologies. See I tend to view all of you SPCMs as my daughters, with the exception of Himitsudono of course."

"Uh, so you view him as your son?"

Daria blinked in shock before bursting into laughter. "He's actually a few years older than me! Oh Doraaki, I've missed the lovable side of you."

Doraaki couldn't help but muster a smile as well as she continued to embrace Daria in a hug.

...

At the dock, Mari and Bashame frantically scrambled out. Mari still protested the retreat, but at this point decided to just accept it.

The two didn't get far though when a girl suddenly blocked their path.

"Alright, that's far enough!"

The two went on guard, but as the moonlight illuminated the girl's face, they went pale as if they were seeing a ghost.

"N- No... You're dead! I saw Bashame behead you!"

"That's the funny thing. I can actually regrow my head like a hydra. Of course, that's all I'll reveal about my technique," Miga smirked.

Bashame and Mari attempted to flee in the other direction, however, Prokrutka stood in their way along with a squad of WWCF officials.

"Well, well, well. I received report about rating inflation and use of unauthorized electronic devices."

Both Mari and Bashame went pale and began scrambling away, but to no avail as both were caught.

...

At WWCF HQ, Doraaki finished sealing her DESPER away as Daria headed for the holding area to interrogate Mari and Bashame.

"Ah, Maestro Himitsu. This girl, Mari Suou, previously went by the name, Michiko Suou, was found guilty of unauthorized use of a WWCF microchip which she used to not just inflate her rating, but cheat as well."

"And the other one?"

"Baba Bashame, 103 years old, no data present."

"She's over 100 years old!? Well, guess maybe she was able to de-age thanks to a DESPER... Hmm, did either of these two have DESPERs on them?"

Prokrutka shook his head, causing Daria's brow to furl. Something wasn't right. The DESPER key had clearly forced Mari into a match with her, yet if Mari had no DESPER, how was it possible?

The interrogation proved fruitless as well on that front. Mari spent the entire session shouting and screaming.

"YOU FUCKING HAG! THEY'RE GONNA KEEP ME HERE FOR AT LEAST 50 YEARS! And my hair... MY HAIR! THEY'RE GONNA SHAVE IT ALL OFF TO EXTRACT THE CHIP, DAMMIT!"

"That's on you for cheating, not me. Now tell me more about this Bashame."

Mari went oddly silent refusing to even scream aimlessly, though the tears continued to pour out of her eyes. It seemed like things would end here until she finally muttered, "Don't touch Bashame... I was in hell before I met her. She saved me..."

At this point, it was evident the two were hiding something. However, the mystery would not be solved today, as Bashame also refused to say a word. Things were further interrupted by Raymond's arrival, who informed Daria of what had happened at Streama festivalen.

"Mimoko's missing!? Why didn't you tell me earlier!?"

"I informed Himitsudono immediately, and he made the call not to disturb you until your mission was over. Now you are dismissed. Miga shall inform me of the finer details of the mission."

Daria accepted the reasoning and immediately warped over to the secret puzzle cafe in Tokyo. There, she found all her SPCMs gathered with the exception of Himitsudono and Carol.

"Oh, hey maestro. Why are you so frantic?" Doraaki asked.

"Probably because of what went down at the convention," Safumi grumbled.

Rodeo quickly informed Daria that Himitsudono was already upstairs at the dome along with Okisato and a few others. Daria thanked him and ran out, as the SPCMs began to talk amongst themselves.

"So I missed a whole damn tournament that could've got me on the national team?" Doraaki asked as she gobbled down a beef rib.

"Please, you wouldn't have won," Safumi growled.

"You didn't either. In fact, you lost to a toddler," Tenju scoffed.

"She's a prodigy, dammit! I bet she'd kick your ass too!"

As the girls began bantering, Rodeo nervously stood behind the counter watching. "... I'll just act like I'm not here, he thought.

...

Back at WWCF HQ, Raymond scowled as Miga briefed him on the mission. "So Ina has been captured and sent to England?"

"Yeah, I stored part of my consciousness there until I could grow a new head."

"That technique of yours, just like a hydra, if your head is cut off, another one can grow."

"Yup, I can even regrow a body from the head, but that usually causes me to end up naked, so I just opt for regrowing the head. I'm surprised that DESPER thing managed to grant me such a broken ability."

"True, it is impression, though some of the credit falls to you for your creativity. Now, go with Maestro Himitsu to Tokyo posthaste. Mimoko Inoue and many other chess players from this "Jester" fellow's scheme. Some Desperados are involved too, but it seems they aren't the ring leaders. I shall stay here and interrogate the prisoners."

Miga nodded and immediately headed out. Once she was gone, Raymond made his way to Mari and Bashame's cells. He entered Mari's cell and stared maliciously at the restrained Mari.

"Now Mari, do you know who I am?"

Mari trembled and replied that he was Raymond Redfield, the WWCF president.

"Yes, a good show if I say so myself."

Before anyone could react, Raymond suddenly knocked out the guard. Mari stared in shock for a few seconds before a malicious smile appeared on her face. "Seems calling you ahead of time was a worthwhile investment."

...

In Tokyo, Daria arrived at the dome to find a small crowd of people present. Just as Rodeo said, Himitsudono was there, but what surprised her was Raymond's presence.

"Hmm? Ah, it is you. You are the mother of Mimoko Inoue, yes? A word in private if you will."

Daria nodded and went over to a secluded area to speak with Raymond. However, she was caught off guard when Raymond asked her to brief her on her mission.

"Didn't you say Miga would brief you?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

"Back at HQ, you said I was dismissed and that Miga would-"

"Maestro Himitsu, ever since I received word on this incident, I have not once returned to HQ."

That statement caused Daria to go pale. If the real Raymond had been here the whole time, then who was the Raymond she saw just a little while ago?

...

In a dim candle-lit salon, Mari smirked as she sat and watched all her hair plummet to the floor. "So this is the price I pay. Well, not like I mind," she snickered as her head and eyebrows were lathered with shaving cream.

"Oh? You're not gonna bawl your eyes out? Thought you were the type that cared about your hair. Or are you the type that's willing to go bald to improve your sports performance?" a woman snickered as she shaved Mari.

"Oh that's a tale, see some hag tried to pass off as a college girl, and had the gall to call ME old, saying she'd still look better than me even if she was bald. Well I send the words back at her. I am bea- AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?"

The woman in the shadows laughed as Mari began tearing up at her now bald and browless appearance. "Girl, we haven't even started. There's still the eyelashes, the depilatory cream, the laser, the wax, and another round of shaving cream," she sneered as she tilted Mari back and encased all her exposed skin in shaving cream.

As Mari continued to cry, Bashame sat next to her in a chair encased in wax. She was already halfway through her bald makeover, and while she was fine with getting it, she was hopeful Mari wouldn't need to be subjected to it as well.

As the shadowy woman finished the shaving, she went on to the wax, leaving all but Mari's eyes uncovered.

"Oh don't worry. You'll never have REAL hair again, but fake hair is a go. In fact, it's better in the long-term that you be hairless."

About 30 minutes later, both Mari and Bashame sat completely hairless. Mari's tears continued to fall, but at this point she had begun to accept her reality. The shadowy woman sensed this too and suddenly flicked on the lights.

"Now, since you two are wanted women, I'll have to get intense with the plastic surgery. But fear not, you'll both be able to participate at the Chess Olympics."

"Baba thinks we should be lying low instead."

"And shall I extract the Shock fishy chip from Miss Mari and put it back in you?"

Bashame went quiet and resigned herself to her fate.

"Excellent, now how beautiful will I end up making you two?" Melisha mused.

[Side Story 6 End]