Ice queen

The whole room shuddered as Mimoko and Svetlana sat across from each other, their auras still flaring out at max force.

"Come on, both of you were selected, yet you're still glaring at each other?" Collette sighed.

"Oh? Weren't you hostile to Mimoko for a time?" Sandra smirked.

Collette rolled her eyes up and erased the memory from her brain. "No. Not ever."

"Then how'd you get swept 0-4-"

"Oh fine, yes, I had beef with her! But after seeing what she's capable of here, my levels of respect are overtaking my levels of hate. Those were the moves of someone that honed their body to walk the catwalk. Of course, the bigger problem is Svetlana."

"We don't discriminate because of lineage."

"I know, but I'm more worried the tsar himself might retaliate against us since he's known to keep Svetlana on a tight leash."

"What makes you think he's currently opposing her?"

"If he's allowing her to do this, that makes things worse. It means he has an angle."

"Well, we haven't gone public with the announcement, so maybe we could have everyone use stage names if they don't already have some name brand."

As Sandra approached Mimoko and Svetlana, the two showed no sign of easing up on their glares.

"Ladies, how about a change of pace. Care to discuss some chess?"

Mimoko's glare vanished. "Of course! What would you like to talk about?" she beamed.

Svetlana, meanwhile, began to frown. "Of course, when it comes to chess, she's a class of her own. But... I want to close the gap," she thought. "I'm an authority on chess too," she declared aloud.

"You said you're a grandmaster, right, Svetlana-chan?" Mimoko asked.

"Yes, in the 2600s, but I don't get many chances to play in tournaments outside Russia."

"Want to play a little with me then?"

Svetlana's eyes widened. "P- Play you?"

"Of course. I'm always looking for people to play with, regardless of skill level."

Svetlana gulped. "M- Maybe another time... I'm... a coward when it comes to gambling elo..."

Mimoko tilted her head in confusion, but decided to accept things.

"At least they calmed down," Sandra thought as she let out a sigh. "Tomorrow, we'll want you all back in order to reveal the new line. Rest up and come back refreshed," she declared aloud. 

Collette tilted her head in confusion as everyone nodded and began to head out. "I thought we were going to start doing things today," she whispered. 

"After Mimoko and Svetlana? Everyone's too shaken. They need some rest. Not to mention, this gives us some time to probe Svetlana for her true motives." 

"You think she's up to something too?" 

"I can't say, but by changing our plans last-minute, we can test her to see if she's truly here to be a model, or if there's ulterior motives." 

As if she could sense she was being talked about, Svetlana glanced over her shoulder back at Collette and Sandra. "Of course they'd be talking about me. I bet they're thinking I'm here on my father's orders... I'm not, but I doubt they'd believe me if I said that. ... I hope I'll at least be permitted to pursue my dreams of becoming a model. I doubt he'd be completely against it, since me being a model could be good for the country, but... I don't want to become a model for my country, I want to become a model for myself. Such is- ...?" 

Svetlana's thoughts came to a halt as a hand tapped down on her shoulder. 

"Want to have lunch?" Mimoko smiled. 

Svetlana was unsure of how to react to this. "Y- You're inviting me? You're the oni-tiger's friend. I want to kill him. I want to kill him! Could you possibly invite me to dine with you!?" 

"If Tanabe-kun doesn't show up, shouldn't it be fine?" 

"N- No, you- Ngh, that doesn't mean we can just dine together like it's nothing. I'm still the tsar's daughter, a princess if you will. There's optics all around-" 

"I want to get to know you a bit better." 

Svetlana held her hand to her face. "Your red-haired friend, Kazuya's sister. I kidnapped her, you know. I didn't care if Kazuya killed her, you know!" 

"Then I want to know more about you to know why you did that."

"I'm not a good person! I've killed a bunch of people!" 

"You don't seem happy about it. Svetlana-chan, why are you trying to push me away?"

"Oh for fuck's sake! Do I need to- ...!" Svetlana snarled as she attempted to reach for her sledgehammer, only to realize she didn't have it on her. "Um... Let me go grab my sledgehammer so I can-" 

"Nope, let's go on a date instead," Mimoko smiled as she clasped Svetlana's hand in her hands. 

"Wh- What!? L- Let me go!" 

"Wanna settle it in chess then?" 

Sweat slowly slid down Svetlana's face. "N- No... Let's... go on... a date..."