Kuon's resolve

Kuon's teeth clattered in fury as she made a call. 

"Kuon? What do you want?" Skaberghast's voice grumbled. 

"I DIDN'T MAKE THE TEAM! GET ME ON A NEW ONE!" 

A pause could be heard from the other end before a chuckle crackled through. "You didn't make it? The 4th round get ya?" 

"No... Mimoko... MIMOKO! THAT FUCKING BRAT RUINED EVERYTHING!" 

"Ah, in that case I'll dial up Agatha. She might be able to slot you on, but first... how convicted are you?" 

"SKABERGHAST!" 

"Shave your head and eyebrows. Then I'll-" 

Kuon hung up in fury and prepared to challenge Agatha to a game, however, she quickly found she was unavailable. "Tch... I'll head to her myself then."

...

In America, Agatha smiled as she approached Elenora. "So, we finalize the team for the Chess Olympics?"

Elenora glared skeptically. "What are you playing at?" 

"Well, see an elite player failed to qualify for her team in her home country, so she wants to swap feds and join our team." 

"Agatha, no. We're not-"

"Kuon Nanya, 2807, er, was 2807 before dipping down to 2790." 

Elenora went silent. "How did she miss out on the team?" 

"From what a lazy ass told me, the head of the JCF decided to hold some last minute qualification tournament for the women's team. It was a 6 round Swiss, but Kuon ended with 4.5 points after losing to Mimoko in the final round, and since 5 players finished with more points than her, she got the boot." 

"I've heard of the JCF leader's infamy. Hmm, Kuon would be a viable asset to the team. There's only 3 female grandmasters in the country including you and me, so adding another to the lineup would strengthen our title chances, especially given the fact that maestros can compete. However, our line-up already is solid, and since I already sent in the paperwork, kicking someone off the team won't exactly be easy. I'll head to WWCF HQ to inquire about it." 

As soon as she warped in, Elenora was quickly approached by a certain individual, inquiring as to why she was asking about changing up her team. 

"Ah, did you hear? Kuon failed to make the Japanese team. Given her strength, she'd make a valuable asset to the line-up, but I've already finalized the line-up for my team-" 

"I haven't finalized mine..." 

"Do you-"

"Yes, but she'll need to prove her resolve." 

...

Nearly 12 hours later, Kuon was seated across from Agatha and Elenora in a hotel lobby in Los Angeles. 

"I heard that you're unable to slot me onto the American team, however, there is another team that is willing to have me, yes?" Kuon scowled. 

"Correct. Apologies you had to come all the way here, but I guess it is proof of your resolve as you were originally planning to come all the way to the east coast just to beg on hands and knees to me," Elenora nodded. 

"And since I heard of your plight first, I got dibs on how to test your resolve to see if you're good enough for this new team," Agatha snickered. 

"What do you mean?" Kuon glared.

Agatha smirked and placed a pair of hair clippers along with a razor and can of shaving cream on the table. "Shave it clean! Head and eyebrows. Do that, and you prove you're serious about joining the team. Hey, you joining a rival team isn't great for us, so if this turns you away, that's good for us."

Kuon scowled. "Skaberghast... Fine, if it's for beating Hagemi, I'll do it," she thought as she grabbed the clippers and plunged them into her long blue mane. 

Agatha whistled while Elenora stared in shock as Kuon buzzed her head and eyebrows as short as she could with the clippers before lathering up with shaving cream and shaving it all smooth. 

"THIS proof enough of my resolve?" Kuon glared as she scrapped the last of the shaving cream off her now smooth bald and browless head. 

"Yup! You pass. Now complete the fed transfer paperwork, and your new team captain will meet with you shortly," Agatha smiled.

As Kuon pulled out her WWCF card and filled out the federation transfer application, two women, one with dark skin and long multicolored hair, and the other fair skinned with long red dreadlocks, approached the group.

"Like, why are you both here? Is it because of the team because like, I just saw the blurb that there's a free agent who could join us and-"

"Katie, shut up," Elenora glared. 

"The red-haired girl began to glare. "Like, don't tell me to shut up, because like, this is a free country and we can like, say what we want and- MMPH!?" 

"This is Katie Knox, an SPCM and chatterbox," Elenora scowled as she used her magic to cover Katie's mouth with icky sticky spider webs. 

Yet despite the gag, Katie still attempted to speak, albeit it wasn't as annoying with everyone unable to tell what she was saying. 

"Despite her 2565 rating, she is an international master without a single GM norm. As for the other-" 

"ALOHA! I'm Mililani Paina, but my nickname is Sherbert! Ah, it's sherbet but with an extra r because... I spelled it like that when I chose my username and never realized it was spelled wrong. But it's unique and makes me stand out more, so it's good," the dark-skinned girl smiled. 

"Mililani here is the only other grandmaster in the nation besides me and Agatha. Adding you to our might would strengthen us greatly, yet sadly, I've already sent in the paperwork, so I doubt you can be added last minute," Elenora sighed.

"What? She's not joining us?" Sherbert gasped. 

"No, for it seems the federation Agatha has goaded me into registering for is not the US. It does seem to be a suitable team though, or at least I hope it is. Ah, I suppose I should introduce myself for formalities. Kuon Nanya, currently rated 2790," Kuon stated. 

"2790!? Wow, that's really high, Nanya!"

"Ah, Nanya's actually her surname. Her first name's Kuon," Agatha smirked. 

"Ah! My apologies!" 

Kuon sighed and shook her head. "I forgot the cultural differences in America. Very well, calling me by my first name is fine." 

Katie giddily nodded her head and attempted to say something, but due to the gag still being present, only muffled speech came out. 

"Trust me, you don't want to know what she's saying. Most of the time it's just rambling for the sake of running her jaw," Elenora glared.

"Not like it'll be an issue, but how exactly did you manage to arrange I get on such a prestigious team?" Kuon asked. 

"By chance, as when I went to WWCF HQ to inquire about changing the team composition, the person I bumped into just so happened to be open to recruiting you. But if you want to hear more, you'll have to talk to her yourself. Know where the secret puzzle cafe here is?" 

Kuon nodded and got up, eventually making her way to the secret puzzle cafe. Behind the counter stood Noa Ben-Horin, the SPCM in charge of the secret puzzle cafe as well as the final member of the American women's team. At the large table sat a woman with long platinum blonde hair that obscured her right eye. 

"So you were interested in me," Kuon scowled as she sat down across from the woman. 

"Hmm, shaved head and brows. So you truly are resolved." 

"Yes, though I was surprised when I was told that it was your team instead of America's." 

"Well, your federation- Ex-federation head is rather stupid. A 2790-rated player is bound to be scooped up by those who want to win," Amelia Stavanger scoffed.