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. I will need to kick someone off the team though, but only if Kuon actually agrees to join. 

...

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

"So you did come all this way to join the team. Given your prestige, I see-" 

"Ah, but are you REALLY willing to do what's necessary to make the team? It will require some logistical headaches for us," Agatha snickered. 

"Agatha-" 

"What do you mean?" 

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." 

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 you're on the team." 

Kuon nodded and pulled up her WWCF card as Elenora angrily turned to Agatha. "Why did you have her do that!?" she whispered. 

"Mm, because," Agatha shrugged. 

Once Kuon was registered with the US Chess Federation, Elenora quickly began filling out the team application. "You're lucky the deadline for submitting this 7th and that Agatha managed to catch wind of you wanting to change federations before I submitted this," she grumbled. 

"It wouldn't be an issue for me if my old federation never held such a tournament. It was all because of Mimoko! Mimoko... MIMOKO! She'll pay for all this!" Kuon fumed. 

"Anyway, guess we should introduce you to the rest of the team. Come with me to the secret puzzle cafe here," Agatha smirked. 

...

Arriving at the secret puzzle cafe with Agatha and Elenora, the three were approached by two women, one with dark skin and long multicolored hair, and the other fair skinned with long red dreadlocks. 

"Like, why are you both here? Is it because of the team because like, I just saw the blurb that there's this new member who we've never ever met and like-" 

"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 sub-2400 rating, she is an international master, but given we now have you, we can safely relegate her to the alternate board, board 5, as some call it. 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. But now that we have your might, we might actually be the top seed going into this for both men and women," Elenora noted. 

"Seems the team is capable then. Ah, I suppose I should introduce myself. Kuon Nanya, currently rated 2790," Kuon stated. 

"2790!? Wow, that's really high. And you're joining us, Nanya?" Sherbert gasped. 

"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. Now lets begin our strategy meeting proper," Elenora glared.