Collette and Mizuse

In the moments leading up to Alice's loss, queen c1, c-rook c8, rook f3, h6, rook g3, knight d5, h3, f6, queen captures h6, and queen c7 had been played in the Collette vs Mimoko game. The low time was starting to creep up on Collette and effect her psyche, but what was truly worsening her thinking was seeing her teammates losing. And with Alice now out, pressure was now on her to deliver a win, otherwise it was game over for France.

But pressure and anxiety are a perfect recipe for blunders, as evidenced by Collette playing queen h4. Mimoko saw it immediately and captured the knight at e5 with her f-pawn, though Collette didn't care and promptly captured the pawn at b5 with her rook. Mimoko slid her queen to d7, resulting in Collette moving her rook to a5. But the rook was the least of Mimoko's concerns as she moved her pawn to e4.

Rook g5 was the best move, but Collette went queen g5, dooming her chaces should Mimoko see it and respond with a-knight c7, which she naturally did.

Now holding back tears, Collette moved her queen to h5 while Mimoko pressed her pawn onward to e3. Collette desperately brought her queen to e2, but knight f4 forced it away, this time to capture a pawn at c4. But now Mimoko could push her pawn to e2 and Collette couldn't stop it.

Rook e5 was played, but thanks to Mimoko moving her c-knight to d5, Collette made a fatal blunder and moved her king to f2, and she knew it as soon as Mimoko captured the pawn at e5 with her rook.

"H- How about a draw?" Collette trembled while choking back tears and extending her hand.

"My apologies, but no," Mimoko frowned.

While she didn't like making her opponents cry, Mimoko would never accept a draw when she knew she had a winning position and with mate in 10, her position was most certainly winning.

"No... NO!" Collette tearfully fumed as she captured the rook at e5 with her d-pawn.

Life had always been rough for Collette growing up. Not only was her parent abusive, she was also deemed ugly by society and frequently bullied. Eventually, she found herself homeless living on the streets, slowly dying as malnourishment began to afflict her. Though as fate would have it, Mizuse Niimi just so happened to be in Paris that day, and upon noticing her, treated her to a meal.

...

"So what's the deal, philanthropist?" Collette snarled as she devoured three steaks.

"I noticed you rotting away in the alley, and decided to extend a hand, in hopes of getting you back on your feet," Mizuse nodded.

"How, ya gonna give me a job or something?"

"Perhaps. Are you interested in fashion?"

Collette paused before bursting into laughter. "Yeah right. Everyone calls me the ugly muckling. That's why I'm here starving cuz nobody wants me."

"Then all the more reason to eat up so you can be healthy again, because I think you have a future."

"The hell makes you think I'm not fine as is!?"

"I can see your ribs."

"And you ever hear of body positivity?"

"I have, but malnourishment is NOT beautiful."

Collette once again paused, but this time decided to let Mizuse say her piece.

"You invoked body positivity, well I do believe in body positivity, HEALTHY body positivity that is."

"And that means?"

"I once met a morbidly obese woman. Like you, I offered to give her a better life, but she refused to lose weight, invoking body positivity like you."

"And?"

"She's dead."

Collette went quite as sadness flooded into Mizuse's eyes.

"Because she believed her current state of body was fine, she refused to change, and thus succumbed to a premature death from her morbid obesity. I truly despise those that approach a morbidly obese or malnourished woman and tell them they are beautiful as is and that society should except them for how they are. That's not helping them, it's killing them. If that woman I mentioned hadn't been fed so much of that drivel, she could have taken steps to live a healthier and longer life. The same could happen to you. If you stubbornly think the world should accept your malnourished self, that malnourished body you're so proud of will become the death of you! That's why I only believe only in healthy body positivity. If you can't live a healthy lifestyle with the body you've got, you shouldn't be proud of it and seek positive change. All I'm asking is for you to eat up to the point where you're not malnourished so that you can live your life beautifully."

"Please, there are folks that would love and accept a woman that's 1000 pounds overweight or just skin and bones, so shut the fuck up."

"And that is admirable, but if they do not try to help said women live a healthier lifestyle, they are just as complicit in her death as those that fed her the drivel that she didn't need to make change for the better.  Think of it in a different way. If you adopt a dog that's been abused and starved to the point where it's skin and bones, would you say people should except the dog for how it is, and not take steps to make it healthy?"

Collette began to tremble. "That's not fair, you're trying to merge two completely different things."

"Not at all. When people can see a person or animal is clearly in an unhealthy state, would they not try to help them?"

"And what if they don't want help? Some of us just want to die."

"The fact that you yourself have devoured the food before you proves deep down, you want to live and change for the better."

This time, the line resonated with Collette and she decided to consider Mizuse's offer. But it still wasn't convincing her to trust Mizuse. Thus to lighten the mood, Mizuse suggested they play some chess.

"Surprised you know chess. I thought shogi was all the rage in Japan."

"It most certainly is, but it's thanks to chess that I'm the successful woman I am today. If I had never met my savior, I'd be dead on the streets..."

"What do you mean?"

Mizuse informed her of what her past had been like, causing Collette to go pale. Now she was able to see that Mizuse truly was different from the other philanthropists that would simply chuck her some money or offer to hire her for a spell.

"I actually played chess in the day, but I was the only girl doing it. And since I was ugly, I was teased and ended up leaving."

"Then showcase your peak femininity by becoming a grandmaster. For that, none shall judge your appearance, but like modeling, it will require a healthy mind and body."

"Huh? But all chess consists of is moving pieces. Babies can lift the pieces."

"There were many great chess prodigies who could have lived longer if they made healthier life choices. Perhaps you've heard of Mikhail Tal, the 8th world chess champion? There were times he'd drink and smoke excessively before and during a match, and sadly it took it's toll on him. It matters not how you look, so long as you're healthy. Oh, and checkmate."

Collette froze and stared at the board before bursting into laughter. "Now that's a riot. Me a grandmaster? I can't even beat a rich snob like you."

"Well this "rich snob" also aspires to be a grandmaster and is inching ever closer to it. If I'm lucky, I might even attain the title before my 22nd birthday."

"'22nd birthday'!? YOU'RE ONLY 21!?"

"Ara, my apologies, but yes, that is my age."

"Y- You're younger than me!"

"Hmm?"

Realizing she had no out, Collette revealed she was actually 30 years old.

"Ara, ara, and you were hung up on being "ugly"? Girl, you're slaying at your age with that face. Just get your body healthy and the world had a femme-fatale model ready to slay it."

It was that moment that Collette truly formed a kinship with Mizuse. And in just a few short years, Collette had not only become one of France's top models, but also the top female player and a grandmaster. Adopting "Femme-Fatale" s her surname, Collette now sought to spread Mizuse's influence worldwide. She also founded charities seeking to combat obesity and hunger, even adopting a young orphaned girl from Africa in order to give her a better life. And that was all in addition to the regular donations she'd make out to animal shelters in order to help the animals there get back on their feet and find their forever homes.

Mizuse had saved her, which only made learning about her death all the more devastating for Collette. The day Fifi broke the news to her was the worst day of her life. And from it a hatred towards the ones she deemed responsible for Mizuse's death was born. Daria for not being able to prevent it, Michiko for brainwashing Mizuse to the point where she'd tarnish her own legacy, and Mimoko and Utami for being the ones to ultimately beat her in that fateful game of chess, resulting in Mizuse's death.

And now, one of the ones Collette despised so much was about to beat her, resulting in her becoming the reason for her team's defeat. And with all that upon her shoulders, Collette began sobbing uncontrollably, yet still despite all that, refused to resign.