"Hmmmmmmm... That Rook; surprisingly looks like it wasn't there before, does it?"

"I don't know," Anasthese played coy, "Does it?"

In chess, ...or in gambling atleast, it's common for the hustler to throw a few sleight of hands in. This is not only to be expected, but is tradition even, and alongside the usual trashtalking and bantering, is what sets gambling apart from ordinary chess. There is one battle over the board, and one battle off the board.

That said, usually, the mark would be the one on the receiving end of the cheat. Only the hustler is allowed to execute it. Or to be more precise... no customer in the entire history of ever has gone off and tried counter-cheating the hustler. Never in his wildest dreams would he expect Anasthese to deal the preemptive strike. And at move 16, no less, just straight up getting that in there without hesitation. She trying to out-hustle him or something?

"Damn!" called Net. He was watching the tennis club girls practice below. "That underhand is fire ♡♡♡~"

"Hey, pay attention, perv!" barked Anasthese.

"Why. Mukuro's just gonna lose, right..."

"N—!?"

Sad as it sounds, Mukuro couldn't quite bring himself to disagree. He probably doesn't even hold a 2% chance of winning. He's holding her down for the moment, but not out of a testament to his skill — it's thanks to the pawn he sacrificed earlier. This advantage came at a cost, and once it disappears, which it will, that kickback is going to hurt massively.

"C'mon, wind. Work your magic!" Net chanted, leaning so far he might fall.

"Atleast someone's having a good time..." said Mukuro weakly.

Anasthese pouted and returned her attention to the board, though he was sure she's still watching Net out of the corner of her eye. Chessplayers have good peripheral vision.

In any case, Mukuro now realized a problem. He didn't notice it earlier, but after seeing that Re8 sleight of hand, he was sure. He's not exactly playing at his 100% yet.

He's not sure what's amiss, but he's still not reaching that state of being in the zone, of being completely engulfed in the flow of attack. He could usually go into a game guns blazing from the start, but today, something was just missing.

This doesn't mean he played bad moves, he's doing quite well for the moment in fact. Anasthese's tremendous defense aside, he did lure the d-pawn onto a potential danger zone at e4, and most of Anasthese's pieces are still sleeping in their starting square. He's doing a fine job of keeping the pressure. He does want to show Anasthese a wild game, and unlike Net, he doesn't doubt for a second this is the real deal he's facing. So this wasn't a problem with the moves he played; if anything, this was more an issue of his "mindset" behind the moves.

A gambit needs aggression. It needs a no holds barred, "no tomorrow" mindset. A good move played without aggression is ten times worse than a bad move played with absolute, pure killing intent. You have to bluff your opponent into panicking, because once the pieces clear off the board, you're a lion fighting with no teeth, and even if you are playing good moves every turn, if you're giving off the killing intent of a cash register, then you should never play a gambit ever again for the rest of your career.

A gambit is a way of life. You will only be as strong as your spirit is...

"You know..." started Mukuro. "You're betting $10,000 on the line for this game. I know it's just pocket change for someone like you, and it's probably no skin off your back even giving it away. But from where I come from, a bet is as good as a man's honor.

"It's not really fair that I stand to win $10,000 from this game, but there's no penalty for me in case I lose. Ah, and before you say anything! This is not me trying to be a gentleman or whatnot... I'm saying.

"'—I, as a hustler, cannot play my full potential unless I stand to lose something too..."

Anasthese sat in silence.

"A prize to win is, sure, very glamorous-sounding, but, I dunno... I guess it still sounds too unreal? Haha."

Mukuro just had a mental image of himself winning the money and not spending any of it, preserving it like some archeological relic or an autographed CD from a famous seiyuu.

Anasthese's brows curled up. "De?"

"So, here's a proposal. If I lose... I have to recruit one member to this club by the end of the school term."

"Haah!?" cracked Net, unable to help returning to the game, "The fvck kind of penalty is that? You want to recruit more members yourself!

"Hey, here's a nice penalty for you," he said, now with a sinister tone, "When you lose, (not even an "if," huh), you have to recruit a girl into our club."

"—!!"

Mukuro's mind raced. Is that even doable? This club has seen nothing but guys joining since its founding, girls don't like chess, that's just fact. Out of the 500 girls currently attending Futenma High, is there actually someone who'd be willing enough to join a worn-down, boring, dying club like the chess club?

"You don't have to make life harder for yourself," sighed Anasthese.

"No!" said Mukuro, making up his mind. "...I'll, I'll do it. If I lose, I have to recruit a girl into this club..."

Anasthese was about to argue some more, but seeing the determined look on Mukuro's face, closed her eyes and decided better. She placed the hustled Rook back on its starting square. Mukuro is giving himself a penalty, just so he can be motivated to not lose this game. He doesn't want this opportunity of a lifetime to go to waste; he wants to fight Anasthese as if his very life depended on it.

"Alriight~! But just so you know," trashtalked Anasthese. "I'm not a student here, so don't come crying when you can't find anyone to join."

"Thanks," Mukuro replied, lifting his Queen. "But on the contraire, I'll be eating gyuudon everyday from now on."

17. Qc4+!!

"Didn't your mother teach you never to play f6?"

"Hey, you leave my mother out of this," Anasthese played along, moving her King. This atmosphere she's giving off.

He just said a minute ago that he needed some penalty as a mental grip, but right now, he's not even thinking of that, or the $10,000 in front of him. Right now, he's back at a beachside hustling park, and Anasthese is just a regular customer looking to prove what she's got. It's just another day for hustling curious customers. There's nothing to get scared of.

18. Ng6+!

A Knight sacrifice to nail the coffin. This is the point of no return, the crossing of the Rubicon. Mukuro will be down a whole piece now as opposed to just a pawn, but the ensuing attack should more than make for it.

"Oooowu, scary~" taunted Anasthese, not panicking even one bit.

18. 0w0 hxg6

19. hxg6 Re8

20. Rf2 0_0!?

"Nah—. You can' do datt, boi~"

20. ... Qe6!

A Queen trade to prevent checkmate, and Mukuro can't run away without facing a Queen check himself..

"Ah, shiett."

But while the Queens are removed off the board, (Qxe6, Rxe6)

—that only highlights the problem of Anasthese's sleeping pieces.

22. Rh2+! ÒwÓ

Mukuro doubles Rooks on the open h-file. Anasthese runs for dear life to avoid checkmate.

22. (ÒωÓ)Ψ Kg8

23. Kg2 Kf8

24. Rah1

"Fvck off, scrub!"

24. ... Ke7

25. Rh8

"Lemme just slide into them DM's real quick~"

25. ... Kd6

26. Rg8

Picking up the g7 pawn.

Even though Anasthese has three pieces, the b8 Knight is helpless to join the battle, and even moreso, the a8 Rook. It's up to the e6 Rook to defend everything. This is exactly what he's been waiting for.

26. ... Re7

27. Rhh8!

Banking both Rooks into Anasthese's backrank. That Knight is now getting taken for sure, unable to run away because the a8 Rook is undefended. Mukuro will now be taking back the rewards for his sacrifice, with extra.

27. ... e3

Anasthese desperately runs the her passed pawn down the e-file as a last resort, but Mukuro had prepared for this. Rule of the square, the King is just in time to block the pawn from promoting.

The pawn runs, and the King chases.

27. ... e3

28. Kf1 e2

29. Ke1!

He's done it! He's defended everything. Next move, Mukuro is dropping the Knight, which throughout the whole game had not even left it's starting square. This is the true highlight of a gambit. Just being one move behind can have dire consequences, and even though Anasthese had defended up to this point, by Mukuro's nonstop attack, Anasthese had neglected to develop that Knight. Now it will not have anymore chance to spring into actio

...or so he thought.

Just then, the unthinkable happened...

29. ... Na6.

Mukuro, thinking it was a panic escape, went to grab the free Rook. It was only when he'd hit the clock that he realized, albeit too late.

That was nowhere near a panic move...

Anasthese was heading straight for promotion.

"—!?"

Mukuro dropped a Rook back to help, but it was useless. The Knight tore through the board like a heat-seeking missile, unstoppable. In just three moves, Mukuro went from thinking he's won, to facing a completely unsalvageable loss.

31. ... Nc2+

The pawn promoted, and Mukuro had to give up his Rook just to prolong the game —and his suffering, a bit longer...

Where? he thought desperately. Where did I go wrong?

He was not keeping track of the game anymore, he's just playing moves on autopilot. He was still trying to understand what just happened. He was winning. He had kept Anasthese one move behind throughout the whole game. He was in control.

How did that Knight shoot out of nowhere and end the game?

35 moves... 40 moves... 45 moves... It was on move 47 that Mukuro, whole Knight down, resigned... He was still sweating from what he just witnessed. Anasthese knew. She knew the whole time she had counterplay, it didn't matter how much pressure he exerted. It didn't matter how much he paralyzed her pieces, or how many moves he stayed ahead: she could activate them with a snap of her finger.

"Well, that was a good game," said Anasthese, offering a handshake.

Mukuro did not take it, still entranced by the move he witnessed... To go back to the analogy, he was busy popping balloons, thinking he was matching Anasthese's speed, when in fact...

Anasthese could pop two balloons with one shot.

It wasn't even a contest; she was in a far league of her own. Even if Mukuro could redo that game again, knowing what's gonna happen, he doesn't have a clue which move is the losing move. This is no longer a depth within his understanding; he's out of ideas...

Transcript of the game:

https://lichess.org/study/wwgSKvBA

"Wohow! Sucks to be you," sang Net, "Guess now you have to recruit a girl into this club." (Oh no, I completely forgot) "...So?

"Why are you still here..." Net shot at Anasthese.

"I'm not leaving until I get one match," smiled Anasthese.

"You know we could just call the guards and you'd be out of here in five seconds, right?"

Anasthese laughed out loud. "Is that really only how far you can think ahead? Even if I get barred here, I can just follow you home. I can follow you when you go out to eat, go out to the arcade, even a restraining order won't protect you anymore... You've lost the moment you came to school today."

She's planning to stalk me!?

"Oi, oi, this is one dangerous chick you've brought here," said Net to Mukuro. "For a chess genius, she sure has a couple of screws loose. Why am I the one getting the short end of the stick here?"

"Don't ask me, I can't read minds," he sighed, "How 'bout you just play her. You know, rip it off quick like a band-aid."

Net mulled the idea. "Well, I do have a general idea of how she plays..."

"Confident," said Anasthese. "You think you can beat me?"

Net glared at her. "You think you can beat me?"

"Positive," said Anasthese. "I predict you wouldn't even last 40 moves."

"Heeeh..." Net glowered, "Is that so?"

The two continued to glare at each other, unmoving, unrelenting... Net thought back to the days he played Rei: their styles seemed awfully similar, his and hers. But he could tell. Without a doubt, Rei was clearly much stronger.

"You think you're some kinda hotshot now, just because you beat a small fry like Mukuro?"

"Teh—! Small fry???" he stammered. "You can barely beat me once every five games!"

(There it is again! Another contradiction. How has he beaten Rei, when he can't even beat an intermediate player like Mukuro?)

"This and that are different things," smirked Net. "I assure you. This bitch won't land a win."

Anasthese now took this as a personal insult. "Then, I guess this means you're accepting the challenge?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. Same time..."

Net confidently picked up his bag and prepared to head out the door.

"...Come here if you want to see something you've never seen before."

"Ah, you're leaving already?" Mukuro called out. Net waved his hand. Only the two were left in the room now...

A long silence descended.

...

....

.....

...............................................................................

"—Ummm," stuttered Mukuro, feeling himself go hot. "Should I walk you home?"

It was quite deep into the sunset now. Households were beginning to turn on lights, and the city bridge started its evening routine of holding congested traffic from spilling down the riverbed.

Out on the sidewalk, Mukuro and Anasthese were walking together like a couple.

Holy shit, what's with this situation??? It's almost like this is a date!! Mukuro couldn't help but think, his heart pumping like a steam engine. Anasthese though, was too preoccupied with sightseeing the various shops and establishments only found in Japan.

"Sore ni shitemo, that was quite the tactic you pulled," said Mukuro, trying to make small talk. "First time I've seen a Knight come flying out like that..."

Anasthese wasn't listening.

Ah. Now that he said it out loud, he thinks he finally understood what happened. It's because his King was forced to block Anasthese's marching passed pawn. If Anasthese had gotten the Knight out first, and then marched the passed pawn, Mukuro would be in time to stop it. But the slight re-ordering of the moves caused him to make redundant walks, thus, —being one step too late.

Aaah, and I was so proud of that King walk, too. I thought I had everything defended... But Anastasia wasn't even worried, because she saw my King was sitting in her direct line of fire...

Ironic. That I pulled a gambit, yet I was the one a tempo too late...

"Ne~, what exactly are those things?" Anasthese pointed to a row of washing machine-like devices with knobs.

"Ah, that's a gacha." Mukuro snapped back to the present.

".?"

"—A gacha is like a randomized toy dispenser for kids. You put a coin and and it gives you a capsule which contains toys from a prize pool. Here, I'll show you."

Mukuro led Anasthese to the gashapon and inserted a coin. Anasthese watched in fascination as Mukuro turned the lever, and a spherical, plastic capsule dropped out. He opened it to reveal a small, plastic alligator toy inside.

"Ooooooo~" beamed Anasthese, now interested. "Let me try."

She inserted a few coins, and eagerly browsed the prizes. "Hmmmm... I think I like that whale one."

She spun the knob. The first plastic ball dropped out. She went to open it, but disappointment filled her face as she got the starfish. She tried two more times, and, too, got a giraffe and a koala.

"Ahaha, there's quite a large prize pool inside there," chimed Mukuro. "Part of the fun is not knowing what you're gonna get."

Anasthese however, looked like she wasn't gonna let this go. She was looking at the gacha like it murdered her family.

"You. Coin. Now."

"Eh?"

...That day, Mukuro discovered what it felt like to get mugged.

"Why's it still not coming out???" Anasthese wailed as a seashell dropped out on her twentieth attempt. "Maybe we should try again another day?", was something Mukuro was on the verge of saying. Anasthese clearly did not understand the concept of luck. She would even go so far as to take another kid's coins, (which, of course, led to loud crying), justifying it by shoving a stack of dollars into his hands and repeating "What? I tripled his money. He should be thanking me right now," over and over again.

...

....

"Nee," Anasthese casually called out during a long tirade of failed pulls, "What kind of chess does Net play?"

Mukuro was taken by this question, and even moreso that he doesn't know how to explain Net's playstyle despite having played with him for so long...

"Eeto~, I'm not really sure how to describe it," he fumbled amidst the sound of clicking machinery. "I'm not even sure I understand it myself. He's always had a very erratic way of viewing things..."

Again. Like Rei and Amane, here was someone who couldn't put it to words what this Net does...

"Then answer this," said Anasthese, who had paused on pulling her next gacha... "Is it true he can't beat you?"

Ah, Mukuro felt he knew where this was going. Anasthese beats Mukuro, and Mukuro beats Net.

By simple transposition, Anasthese beats Net.

...but things are not that simple.

"It's true," he sighed. "Of the games we've played, I'd say maybe three out of five I've won, with all the rest being draws/wins for him. But that's not to say he's a bad player though! He's actually— Well... he's a terrible player. His technique is horrible... But he has his plus sides, too! He could definitely give me a run for my money on a good day—"

"It's fine..." replied Anasthese. "It's not like you have to defend him. This will all be over tomorrow anyway."

That's right. This will all be over after tomorrow... I did have my hopes up, but seeing him today, I have to say, I'm highly disappointed...

This guy is just a fellow apprentice who befriended Rei. Rei went easy on Net, that's all there is to it. That's the only reason his name would have any place in Rei's immortal game...

I'm going to show him how unworthy he is to even stand across the same board as Rei. I shouldn't even be wasting my time here anymore, I could just get on a flight right now and go back to America.

"So that bitch chickened out afterall," is what Net would say.

Can't have that now, can we?

As Anasthese drowsed in thoughts, a unique, golden gacha ball suddenly dispensed out of the machine.

"Woah!" screamed Mukuro, "You actually got a premium capsule??"

"Nani sore?" said Anasthese, opening it. It contained a diamond earring inside.

"That's like, a mythical drop that no one has seen before!! (Anasthese chucked it inside a bin.) Aaaaagh!?"

"Why would I want a diamond earring, I could just buy one at any jeweler," soured Anasthese, continuing to pull.

Mukuro could not believe himself right now... "I'm... I'm gonna go grab a drink," he said defeated, heading to a nearby soda vending machine. Anasthese continued to pull for minutes. You'd think she would have gotten everything inside by now, but the gacha dispenser just never seemed to run out of prizes. The discarded garbage piled up more and more as Mukuro watched from the sidelines drinking a coke.

"This thing is magic," Anasthese panted, almost out of coins.

"Here, let me try," Mukuro prompted, as he did get some change from the vending machine. He weaved in, put a coin in, and pulled the slot. Out came a gacha.

He opened it.

"Ah, bear," he said disappointed.

"This thing is busted, I tell you," remarked Anasthese.

"Well, that's how gambling works," said Mukuro, heading back. "You win some, you lose some. Anyway, haven't you had enough already? What are we gonna do with all this junk you pulled out?"

"Just leave it out on the streets and write: Free Toys. Problem solved."

"That's littering," sighed Mukuro.

"It's charity," corrected Anasthese. "Hmm?"

She noticed there was another gacha that dropped out when Mukuro rolled his turn.

"Ah, that does happen from time to time," he said, looking for a piece of cardboard to write on. "Especially with old machines. You sometimes get two gacha. But the opposite can happen, too, where the dispense slot blocks up and you don't get anything at all. I've wasted quite a lot of money myself on gacha malfunctions. This is more likely whenever the gacha shells are cylinder-shaped. It can happen to ball shapes too, just rare."

Anasthese had gone quite for a while... "You okay?"

She was crouched over the gacha machine, her back turned to him. Her shoulders were shaking. He went over to see what's wrong.

"Ah." Mukuro couldn't help but smile.

He had drawn the whale on his accidental free gacha.

"I've lost," said Anasthese, defeated... The goddess of luck smiles upon the boy in a bandana.

Anasthese accepted her whale, and headed on her way... The next time he saw her would be the next afternoon, as the two who are going to duke it out, Net vs Anasthese, wait patiently for the time to strike 5 o'clock.

Time control was 15 minutes, no increment; Anasthese playing White this time, and Net choosing Black.

"You sure you're doing this?" asked Mukuro, slightly worried. "You saw how she dismembered me yesterday."

"That's 'cuz you suck..." said Net. "I ain't you tho."

"Oho, big words. Make sure you don't resign just ten moves in like how our last game went."

"Shut up! You misplayed that game and you know it."

"Yeah yeah, sure..." dismissed Mukuro.

Frankly, he doesn't know how this battle will turn out...

Anasthese is strong. He can't see himself outsmarting her in a game. He doubts he could even beat her, Queen up; that's how large the gap is between their understanding. If he were to place a bet right now, Anasthese definitely takes the cake.

Net just has no way of winning. Anasthese's defense is fool–proof, there are no holes to exploit. As someone who's played against both, Mukuro knows Anasthese has no chance of losing today. 100% sure. Her falling for a trap is something he can't even imagine...

But having said that, this is, — to stress, their very first game. Anasthese has no clue what to expect from Net's play right now. If she could play solidly and methodically, she should have no problems, but in this scenario, he'd say it's actually Net who's getting an advantage...

Anasthese is severely underestimating Net. And this would only become easier and easier to do once the game starts. Net's moves already look unpromising enough to Mukuro; someone who's never seen it before would consider it even more nonsensical and clumsy, unaware what hidden poison Net is brewing. If Anasthese starts treating him with no caution like an average player, she could have the rug pulled right from under her nose.

He still expects her to win.

But since this is Net we're talking about, maybe... just maybe...

*Tap!

Net slammed the button of chess clock, starting the game and the countdown for White.

"Finally," said Anasthese, "I thought I was gonna die from all that dilly–dallying."

1. e4! —

King's Pawn Game, Mukuro gulped. Anasthese wants to settle things right off the bat. This could go a lot of ways. Based on experience, Net will go for either a Traxler or an Alekhine, but the dangers of provoking Anasthese here is too heavy. He should opt for a Berlin defense instead. Get rid of those Queens early...

Net picks up the d–pawn.

1. e4 d5!

What?

Scandinavian Defense. Also known as The Center–Counter. It has close ties with the Caro–Kann, with an immediate d5 instead of the c6–d5 preparation.

Why Scandinavian? Net has never used this opening as far as I know...

"Hmmm, Scandi huh..." remarked Anasthese. "I personally don't like this opening. Cool name, but nothing eventful ever happens out of these games..."

He's planning to hole up on the Queenside. And the solid grip on the center makes it hard to pawnstorm the King. One of the main advantages of the Scandinavian is of how forcing it is. There's really no better move for White other than accepting the mainline, so for Black, this is a "One Shoe Fits All" weapon against e4.

Anasthese could go for this. Same-side castle, and winner will be decided by endgame knowledge... But why does she feel like she will get disappointed by this? Just looking at Net, he doesn't give off the air of someone who studies endgames. If her eyes aren't deceiving her, he doesn't even give off the air of someone who knows how to play the Scandinavian.

What's with this guy, she thought. He looks like he just found out about this opening yesterday and decided he wants to try it out. Even a slow, methodical grind will be enough to leave him half-dead. Hmmm...

Now, where's the fun in that~

Anasthese picks up her d–pawn. "Oi, oi, oi, this ain't even funny anymore," said Mukuro.

1. e4 d5

2. d4! —

By transposition of move order. Another Blackmar Gambit...

"Ah, don't get the wrong idea," started Anasthese. "My Blackmar is not some half–baked attack like Mukuro's. This is a true, One Shot, One Kill bullet."

"Yeah, he does suck, doesn't he," (hey!) said Net, snatching the pawn. "One checkmate, please!" he taunted.

"Fu fu fu~, The fool has cut his own head and will not survive to see move 50. Mark yourselves lucky, pheasants," said Anasthese, her expression turning sinister...

"Today, you shall witness how a true master plays a gambit."