Negotiator

As the sun rose over Kawaguchi the next day, Hagemi made her way over to Tokyo. Once she arrived, she made her way to a hotel conference room where she was greeted by a woman with long silver hair and lapis-lazuli-colored eyes.

"Oh so good to meet you. I'm Pnina, head of Pnina Sapir enterprises," the woman smiled as she shook Hagemi's hand.

"So you want me to join your team for the chess league, right?"

"Hmm, that's the trouble I'm in you see."

"What do you mean?"

The door to the next room opened as Mimoko stepped out. "Shousen-chan?"

"Mimoko? Are you on this team?"

"Not yet, officially," Mimoko sheepishly chuckled as she took a seat.

"Now allow me to lay things bare. Currently, I have yet to finalize my team, though I do currently have three of the six spots filled. One is a GM, one's a guy, and one I could count as either a rising star or the designated female spot. Mimoko here is interested in joining the team, however, she comes with a condition; for the under 2000 spot, I must slot your son, Yuusuke Shousen."

Hagemi began to scowl. "Are you telling me I came all this way just to do some permission slip signing-"

"No. The reason I called you here is because I want to recruit you."

Hagemi went silent.

"I heard you turned down the offer to join team Ewetube, a wise choice, thus I figured you'd be seeking another team, perhaps one that is geared towards winning the whole thing. Imagine you, Mimoko, and the current rising star on one team. That's domination! You'd be designated as the top 100 player while Mimoko would slide down to the rising star spot! She'd rack up guaranteed wins, especially since her closest rivals would be stuck on other boards, or on the same team as her. But the problem..."

"Only two players max from a single federation per team."

"Exactly. Hence, I've called you two here to settle it out. I'm hoping you're able to convince Mimoko to drop the condition I add your son to the team."

"Sounds like you don't have an under 2000 yet. I don't mind Yuusuke playing."

"I do. Him on the team means you can't be on the team, then I have to go out and find someone new. You and Mimoko joining the team would make everything go so much easier for me."

Hagemi shook her head. "I don't see any reason why I should join-"

"Noa Ben-Horin, Collette Femme-Fatale, Fran Mizura. Those are the three currently on the team."

Hagemi grimaced and shook her head.

"I had a great player in mind to be on the team, yet she's completely incompatible with Mimoko. In her own words, she wants to face off against her and beat her. I've had to invest a great deal in Mimoko, and I'm not going to leave emptyhanded."

"Then sign Yuusuke."

"Why? I want an under 2000 player that can dominate, not one who will jeopardize the team's chances each round."

Hagemi scowled in silence as Mimoko began to frown.

"Looking at his recent performances, I'm sorry, but there's no way I feel confident about his prowess. Although, I'm willing to give him a chance. If he can beat me, a 2016-rated individual, I'll allow him to join. But if he loses, you and Mimoko join without protest."

Hagemi clicked her tongue. "So that was the angle. Fine, I'll put my faith in Yuusuke for once. When and where you wanna settle this?"

"Tonight. But if he refuses to show up, that's an automatic forfeit. Now care to sign here?"

Hagemi stared at the paper she was handed and sighed. "I'd love to challenge you myself, but given the fact Mimoko's not speaking up, I'm guessing she went through a similar song and dance. I may be harsh on Yuusuke, but I'm not gonna fight his battles for him. He wants to grow, he's gotta fight em himself," she grumbled as she signed the form.