The final holdouts

Zsa Zsa glared as she saw the footage of Collette being shaved. "So Collette is playing too. Zsa Zsa will as well. One of you, join Zsa Zsa in bald," she ordered.

The others stared at each other and sighed before Jolán opted to volunteer for the deed.

"Are you sure? You're a married woman unlike the rest of us," Piroska sighed.

"I'm the best one here though. If we want to win this, we should send our best," Jolán stated as she followed Zsa Zsa out.

...

Mayane scowled in confusion as Yara happily skipped towards her. "Why are you bothering me now? I'm trying to read a book.

"Mayane said she'd play with Yara, and to come fetch her here."

"I said no- AYANE!"

But Yara didn't care for excuses and promptly dragged Mayane away with her to the salon, kicking and screaming.

"NO! LET ME GO, YOU IDIOT!"

"Yara saw they made Jasmina smooth like a dolphin. Yara wants to be smooth like her too!"

"DO IT WITH AYANE THEN!"

"Mayane's smarter, and she already said she'd help Yara."

"THAT WAS AYANE, YOU IDIOT!"

As Yara continued to drag Mayane away, Ayane watched from a secret vantage point. "Sorry Yara, but Ayane hopes you lose this bad. Mayane needs to go down," she thought as a scowl formed on her face.

...

"Like hell I'm shaving my head!" Caoimhe fumed.

"Oh, stop bein' so hissy. Hair's just hair. It'll grow back," Keira scowled.

"You shave your head then!"

"No problem. Me hair's a bitch to wash anyway."

"Even though it's on the short side?" Doireann frowned.

"I ain't pairin' with you!" Croía glared.

While Croía had been eager to volunteer to partake in the 6B tournament, finding her a compatible partner, or rather anyone that actually wanted to be her partner, was baffling the Irish women's team to no end.

"Spirituality... One often shears the hair atop their head for greater spirituality and detachment from materialistic values. A chance to become closer to nature and spirit is a path I'd proudly walk. But young Croía's resolve is too brash, too rooted in materialistic glory. A shame, but I shan't lend my life upon her shoulders," Fidelma frowned.

"We don't want you playing. You're the weakest out of all of us here, maybe even the worst-rated player in the tournament," Doireann added.

"Factually incorrect. There are players rated less than Croía."

"Yeah, yeah, nerd. You've got one of those executive board chip thingies on you, so why can't you pair up with her? I'm sure you'd be able to offset her stupid," Caoimhe scowled.

"Twas merely an indulgence of curiosity. I refuse to make use of it as I feel it is an unfair ability."

"See, she's already talking like a monk, so shave her bald with Croía."

"A monk I am not. Just an intellect with an interest in becoming more spiritual."

"And that's what monks-"

But Fidelma refuted her, going into a long discussion on the religious nature of monks, refusing to yield until her lecture was complete. When that finally happened, Keira came at her with a proposal.

"How about you n' me just shave our heads bald?"

Fidelma humbly accepted, but Croía naturally threw a fit, prompting the others to hold her back as Keira and Fidelma headed out.

"YE CAN'T KEEP ME FROM GLORY! I'M GONNA SHAVE ME HEAD N' WIN THAT SHITE TO PROVE I'M IRELAND'S CHAMPION!" Croía shouted as she struggled to break free.

...

Aya trembled with excitement as she stared at the news. "Bald... ALIENS LOVE BALD WOMEN! We gotta get our heads shaved professionally!"

"Damn right! I hear bald's the key to unlocking your spiritual powers, that's why monks shave their heads all the time," Laia grinned.

"And you two seem to share a braincell. Not my problem, so have fun... But if this is a government conspiracy, make sure you hide a micro camera on your persons so everything is recorded," Immaculada nodded.

Little did everyone know that Immaculada was in right ballpark in regards to this whole event.

...

Minoo let out a heavy sigh as she ran her hand through her hair as she walked down the hall with Alma.

"Art thou sure of this?" Alma asked.

"Hey, bald's gamer, and I'm gamer. Besides, I feel I need to make up for getting kidnapped."

"Twas not a rifle for us."

"But if you had lost or drawn? It would have spiraled into a major scandal for not just us and Portugal, but possibly Japan as well since that catgirl's from Japan."

"So thou wish to go bald in repentance?"

"I'm going bald cuz it's gamer. And do you have some play that's mandating you go bald?"

"Nay, but I surmise a gig of said nature will appear momentarily. Thus, I shall have this head of mine shaved smoothly bald."

...

"And they require women to go bald. They must share my enjoyment of watching others be humiliated," Vlatka scoffed.

"Uh, this mean we're participating?" Nela asked.

"Yes, now head down to the salon with Snežana."

"Wait, Dunja's not competing!?"

"You question my decisions too much. Perhaps they can also sew your mouth shut as well."

Nela shot Vlatka a glare, but ultimately obeyed her order and headed out with Snežana.

"Whatever, bald'll help my basketball, but it'll look weird," Nela thought as she winced and scratched her head.

...

"And with that, I nominate Freidl," Isolde scowled.

Friedl shook her head in dejection as she realized she was probably going to be forced to participate in the 6B tournament. "It's always me..."

"Then with that decided, how about Matsuba joins her," Arii smiled.

"Me? But Almuth's the next closest to bald," Matsuba protested.

Almuth scowled and shook her head. "I refuse to team up with that hideous thing."

"That's too far! Friedl had no control over how she was born!"

"Yet she doesn't do a damn thing about it. Plastic surgery and a wig could turn her life around, but nope, ugly front n' center."

Matsuba clenched her fist, but smiled as she turned to Arii. "In that case, Arii and I will shave are heads.

The statement caught everyone off guard, but before anyone could react, Matsuba grabbed Arii's hand and began running out with her.

"W- Wait! Matsuba, this is crazy-"

"We've already done lots of other crazy things together. Why not cause a ruckus online with a chrome dome?"

Arii nervously laughed, but beneath her smile was raw anger. "Matsuba, you're so dead for forcing me into this," she thought.

...

Tola sighed as she and Lea walked to the salon.

"Huh? of course you're gonna shave your heads. Why wouldn't we miss out on this chance for massive publicity!?" were the words Tufa had told her just moments ago.

Tola was not on board, but was unable to refuse.

"Even Tsehay was egging me on, and she's the closest to bald out of all of us. Invoking Golda's potential participation did little to sway her either. Ugh, I wasn't even for dying my hair like a melted rainbow, and now that I've finally started to get used to it, Bzzz, you're going bald! And why is Tula forcing Lea to shave with me? She still has amnesia, so shaving her bald might worsen her psych. Plus, I've seen her eye behind her hair... Why, Tula? Why must you be so fame-driven all the time?" Tola dejectedly thought.

...

Ria smirked as she proudly strutted to the salon with Endang.

"Really not being coy about this, are you," Endang smiled.

"Nope, I've been waiting for this day for years. Bastards won't be able to do shit when I'm bald."

"And you think they won't just slap wigs on you?"

"They can try, but this shit's public. Just look at the uproar online for Arina, Iolanda, and Gisella," Ria grinned as she flashed her phone.

"And there was barely any fanfare when I lost a bet and had all my beautiful hair shaved off," Endang fake-cried.

"Everyone thought you were basically bald anyway."

Endang pouted and turned her head. "You should treat your partner better."

"Why's that?"

"Because if you don't, she might throw on purpose."

"Oi, is your ego THAT fragile?"

"Keep provoking me and you'll find out the hard way."

And with that, it looked likely that the only holdout for the tournament would be Mongolia. While it meant Korea could still participate, New Zealand and Iceland were now locked out, unless some of the remaining teams decided to pull out just before reaching the salon.

For Ethelreda, this meant that a gruesome fate awaited her if none of the other teams dropped out.