Provoking the French team

While the men's team cruised to victory with relative ease, the women had a much more difficult bout. The pre-match tension was also much more intense as Mimoko found herself in the death glare of a young woman covered in tattoos and sporting a short black and pink bob.

The woman was Collette Femme-Fatale, a model, fashionista, and France's top female chess player. Today was supposed to be her rest day, but upon hearing that France's opponent would be Japan, she forcefully insisted she play.

"You killed her... YOU killed her!"

"I did not, nor did okaa-"

"BULLSHIT! You're the last one that played her, and what happened? She died!"

As Mimoko started to become flustered, Daria walked over and put her hand on her shoulder, reminding her what had been discussed last night.

"You sure have some gall cowering behind your daughter. You're a failure of a maestro. If I was maestro, Mizuse wouldn't have died!"

"Lol, that's rich calling her a coward considering you're French," Iori snickered.

The remark quickly got her the ire of the entire French team.

"Oi, ya wanna try saying that again?" a girl with brunette hair tied up in a ponytail snarled as she cracked her knuckles.

The girl was Alice Utsugi, a French-Japanese beautician, international master, and SPCM. She was also a twin, with her younger twin sister, Mimosa also playing for team France. Mimosa was more quiet and sported long dyed green hair. She was also an international master, possessing the same rating as her sister, however she was a photographer and was not a SPCM like her sister.

"You tell her, Ally. French people aren't cowards, we face adversity head on, and crush it," Mimosa smiled as she pecked a kiss on Alice's cheek before sitting down across from Iori. "Since our father's Japanese, we're both quite fluent in Japanese, meaning I can convey this message in a language you understand; you are a vile, shit-spewing slutty whore that would be dead in a ditch if you didn't have those surgically enhanced breasts. Only the foulest of degenerates masturbate to you and find any arousal in a flat tittied ugly arrogant bitch like you."

Iori's eye twitched as she looked ready to bust a vein. It had been quite the while since someone had directed an insult at her that pissed her off THIS much.

"Oi, this sexy body's 100% natural, so don't fucking slander my natural beauty, ya fucking submissive cuck bitch. You're so fucking "Le dead"."

"You botched the comeback. Typical for a bitch like you that has to rely on unemployed degenerate men to pay your living expenses."

"You looking to get cancelled!? My fans hate being looked down on."

"That's my line. I'll be putting you in your place. And as for your degenerate fans, I've already reserved my right to refuse services to them. You wouldn't believe how many of those degenerates come to gawk at me making love with Ally."

Iori blinked as she tried to process what she just heard. "Wait... you saying you make out... with your sister!?"

"Yes I am. In fact, we're married regardless of what law or society says."

"You look like twins... Wait, are you biologically-"

"Yes, we are. And we've had sexual intercourse multiple times," Alice glared as she put her hand on Mimosa's shoulder.

"And you're calling me and my fans degenerate. You two are literally "incest is wincest"."

"And? We care not what you think. We love each other deeply and have been together since conception. If any try to rip us apart, we'll glue our lips to each other. We are not afraid to be open about our love, even if society may scorn us, so don't call us cowards, trash!"

Iori let out a sigh before a gentle smile formed on her face. "Alright, I was wrong. You clearly aren't cowards... CUZ YA COME FROM ALABAMA WITH A BANJO ON YOUR KNEE!"

"TU ES PUTAIN DE MORT, SALOPE [YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, BITCH]!"

As a malicious grin formed on Iori's face, Mimoko covered her head with her hand and turned back to face Collette. She was half expecting Collette to be in more agitated state, but she was surprisingly calm. Though that calmness came with a catch as now Collette felt the entire Japanese team itself deserved to be humiliated.

"Mesdames, nous jouons toutes pour gagner. Je veux les écraser, 4-0 [Ladies, we all play for wins. I want to crush them, 4-0]."

Mimosa and Alice nodded as did the remaining member playing, Fifi Bealieu.

"Sorry maestro. I know you're cool, but your teammates aren't. So I'll be crushing them," Fifi smiled.

Like Alice, Fifi was not only an international master and SPCM, but also worked in the fashion industry. While she wasn't a beautician, she was a clothing designer that looked up to Mizuse much like Collette. While she shared Collette's grief over Mizuse's passing, she didn't blame Daria or Mimoko for it as she knew it was out of their control. Though that didn't mean she was gonna go easy on her opponent, Azenira.

"You're an SPCM, right? So if I beat ya, I get the badge and goods, right?" Azenira grinned.

"Well someone's a go-getter, but you're right. You beat me, you get the rewards. Of course that's only IF you beat me."

As Azenira's grin grew wider, a scowl began to form on Tenju's face as she sat before a glaring Alice. "And why are you glaring at me? You know I don't echo the sentiments of m obnoxious teammate."

"I'm glaring at you for a different reason; I heard what happened with you and Taira... My heart goes out to Taira."

"Thank you for-"

"You on the other hand disgust me. You not only leeched off her, but couldn't even do your duty as an older sister and protect her."

Tenju scowled, but remained calm as she would need to muster all her wits in order to prevail over Alice.

Daria shot Iori a glare before sitting down in a spectating chair next to France's reserve member, Fleur Monique. Much like the others, Fleur was also an SPCM and worked in the fashion industry, however, she was only a candidate master. She did take the award for most flamboyant appearance though. Wild multicolored hair along with tattoos and piercings adorning her head and face, quickly turned heads in her direction. She was also smitten with Fifi though struggled to find the courage to confess. Unknown to many though, she was actually the quintuplet sister of both Ina and Miga Kirikawa, having immigrated to France in order to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer and model. While she had long abandoned her original name of Fufu, she did remain close with her siblings.

"It's been a while Fleur. I hate to ask this, but you wouldn't happen to know Ina's whereabouts, would you?" Daria asked.

"Miga not find anything? Well, I can kind of sense she's here in Budapest, but if what I heard was right, the Fairy league likely has her captive. Sorry, I know you're worried about her too. Miga's an arbiter though, so maybe try asking her."

As if on que, Miga appeared, now sporting a snazzy business suit and heels. She had also tied her hair back in a ponytail and done her makeup, giving her a far more mature look.

"Ah, a spectating maestro. I've got something for you," Miga grinned as she pressed her finger on Daria's lips while shoving a small note into Daria's breasts.

Daria giggled and shot her a playful wink before Miga nodded and went to work, ordering all players to cease chitchat and start their clocks. Daria quickly retrieved the note and scowled as she read it's contents.

"Report: Mari (Michiko) Suou and Baba Bashame have managed to manipulate not just their ratings, but also successfully managed to change their identities, likely thanks to some inside help, Melisha most likely. She didn't outright deny it, and even hinted that the two are likely here as players, though who they could be is unknown. All she revealed was that they are likely to be found amongst top teams. Be on the look-out, as if you manage to spot them, we want you to capture them, posthaste following the match."

...

At one of the boards, Mari glared as a sense of unease overtook her. "That bitch Marianne is here. Shit. And that bitch is forcing , me to play. Well whatever. She worked her magic so I doubt Marianne will be able to spot me," Mari thought as she made her first move.