Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 16 - Chapter 3.4

  THE ASSASSIN’S ROMANCE

“Do you know what happened following the Shogi boom that took place after that Meijin claimed all seven titles?”

The Sage’s one-man show in the Sendagaya Association’s basement continues.

“An unprecedented recession, that’s what. This Ginko Shock is nothing. It gets boring when everyone knows exactly who’s on top. That’s why Rina chose to share her titles with pretty young girls strong enough to catch her eye.”

I guess the Sage’s tongue got cold feet considering those pretty young girls are standing right here. I’m worried how they’ll react …… But I don’t have a counterargument, either.

“So you see, Rina didn’t bother with Women’s League players. She constantly studied how to play against the orthodox of the orthodox. That includes Static Rook and Ranging Rook.”

I’m convinced. Especially now after watching the third Women’s Legend Title Match.

“Another reason lies with the inferiority complex her Master had toward the end of his life. A monster created by deceased so-called prodigies in order to satisfy their own egos …… That is the Assassin, the greatest masterpiece of the Women’s League known as Rina Shakando.”

“………… Hey, Trash.”

Ryou’s eyes lock onto me.

“I’m getting hungry, so let’s get something delivered. I’ve got a hunch we’re in for a long story ……”

“…… That’s not a bad idea. It’s dinner time, too.”

There wasn’t much of a chance to eat anything during my bookstore tour today, so I’m famished. That being said, I’d better get Kayaoku-sensei’s opinion on what to order.

“What would anyone like to eat?”

“Ramen.”

Master and apprentice harmonize.

Which reminds me that Kyoto is one of the few ramen battleground areas in Kansai, and they tend to like thicker, flavorful soup. When I asked Machi why that is, she got philosophical on me, saying “…… Living in the oldest town, we have grown weary of the traditional ……” Kyoto sounds surprisingly dark.

Once the four of us are slurping down ramen delivered from a nearby shop, the Sage picks up where he left off.

“Back when Rina first hit the scene …… there was nothing more humiliating for a pro than losing to a Women’s League player. There was a thing in the Sub League where they had to shave their heads if they lost to a girl.”

“Patronizin’ us, huh ……?!”

Ryou, who’s already finished eating, snaps her chopsticks clean in half with one hand to vent.

As a former member of the Sub League herself, I’m sure she went through a lot of that stuff.

Oh yeah. Big Sis had to deal with the Crush Ginko Sora Group when she was there, too. I think that had more to do with her personality than with gender, though ……

“Then did Shakando-sensei have a huge winning percentage against pros? Is that why they called her the Assassin?”

“Nah, only about 30 percent.”

“30?”

That’s still pretty darned high.

But high enough to warrant being called an assassin?

“Want to know something interesting? About 30 percent of the pros back then opposed the chairman in those days.”

“……!!”

Then that means–––

“Did the lightbulb come on? Yes, she was the chairman’s personal hitwoman.”

Seiichi Tsukimitsu is the chairman now, but of course the chairman he’s talking about is someone else entirely.

The previous chairman and the chairman before him were both Kanto players and stayed in power for a long time.

Their power came from ……

“Professional Shogi players are all self-employed, and all are pretty much kids who never grew up. People wouldn’t listen to you unless you were strong on the board. That means that everyone on the board of directors and the chairman had to have a track record good enough to back them up. Plenty of them were active players, but …… sometimes that wasn’t enough to keep everyone in line.”

“Thus the Assassin was deployed?” asked Machi.

There’s no shame in losing to another pro as a pro player.

However …… losing to a Women’s League player?

“She needed influence to appease her senile Master and to improve the status of Women’s League players within the Shogi world. The chairman back then needed an assassin to maintain his power. It sounds ludicrous now, but there were some high-ranking players who publicly stated they would retire immediately if they lost to a woman.”

“…………”

The darkness I just got a glimpse of is so deep that I forget to breathe as Kayaoku-sensei goes on.

“The reason they created a system where Women’s League players could play against professionals was so that Rina could do her dirty work.”

It’s true that matchups could be manipulated …… by pulling a few strings on the board of directors. With enough influence, you could even choose who goes against who.

“Those who supported the board’s decisions were saved, and those who opposed them were mercilessly slain. Fans ditched you if you lost to a woman, and any income you got from advisor positions and private lessons ran dry. Players didn’t get paid as much per matches as they do now, so that was the same as death.”

“W-Wait a second! Are you saying that Shakando-sensei …… lost on purpose?!”

“I don’t exactly have any physical evidence to back that up. No obvious bad moves show up on any of her match records. Just–––”

“Just what?”

“That was seen as a technique in those days. People we call competitors were still few and far between 30-some years ago.”

“This is starting to sound real fishy if you ask me,” says Ryou with a glare strong enough to kill.

I don’t blame her. Who could shrug off being told that the positions they’ve worked for their whole life only exist because of a bunch of backroom deals with, “Oh, I see”?

“That hag fixed matches on her own? Show me some proof, why don’t ya?”

“I have proof.”

“That being?”

“I was allowed to win.”

“…………”

The loudmouthed Ryou Tsukiyomizaka doesn’t know what to say.

But the apprentice is immediately convinced.

“That confirms it, right there.”

“See? Well, fixed matches did exist as part of the Shogi world in the past. The same is true for sumo wrestling. Shady phone calls coming in right before matches used to be a thing.”

“Calls? … People were that direct about fixing matches?”

“No, no. They just said an account number and hung up.”

“You mean a bank account?”

“Transfer money into it, and they’ll let you win. No money and the gloves come off. I tell you, it was mighty tempting when one of those calls came in and I was down for the count.”

The Sage adds that, fortunately for him, there was no way to transfer money he didn’t have …… He’s chuckling at his own joke, but I don’t think it’s funny at all.

“Got off topic, didn’t we? Now, where was I?”

“Elaborating on how Shakando-sensei was a blunt instrument for the chairman at the time. It must be difficult, having the memory span of a goldfish at your age,” Machi chimes in.

“Oh, that’s right. The chairman, being from Kanto, had been a given for decades, and the biggest pain in that chairman’s neck was–––”

“Kansai ……”

Kayaoku-sensei gives me a satisfied nod after I finish that sentence for him.

“There was a certain issue that Kanto and Kansai nearly came to blows over back then. Any idea what that was?”

“No clue. There always seems to be an argument going on ……”

Kansai people see Kanto people as arrogant snobs and people in Kanto call people in Kansai annoying. So yeah, neither side likes the other. I mean, they call me the Demon King of the West. All I’m doing is playing Shogi ……

But the next thing out of the Sage’s mouth blows my expectations out of the water.

“Arranging for a new Shogi Association Building.”

“?! Th-They’re connected ……?”

The press conference announcing that Akira’s company is going to build new Shogi Association Buildings in Kanto and Kansai happened yesterday. Shakando-sensei is going to oversee the whole thing.

Everything’s all linked in an intricate web like Shogi pieces fitting together ……

“Nobody was against rebuilding the Kanto Association Building. No fresh coat of paint could salvage that old rust bucket. The problem was that the directors wanted to sell the relatively new Kansai Association Building to secure the funds. That plot was a hot commodity, being walking distance from Osaka Station and on the main drag. The directors wanted to auction it off to the highest bidder and buy cheaper land or rent out a few floors of a multistory building somewhere with the money left over.”

“Kansai would be up in arms.”

“Yeah, no kidding. The Don of Naniwa, Tatsuo Zaou put together a group to shoot down those plans at every turn. There was a serious proposal to split the association into two separate entities at one point.”

Knowing how much Zaou-sensei loves pro wrestling, I can see him doing just that. He’d found a new Japan Shogi Association in a heartbeat.

“But Kansai is only one fourth the scale of Kanto, right? How could they survive on their own?”

“The key was one person in particular: the youngest Meijin the Shogi world has ever known, Seiichi Tsukimitsu.”

“Ah!”

Oh yeah. That’s when–––

“At that time, the current Meijin’s 7-title fever had already cooled. Then Tsukimitsu reclaimed the Meijin title after being titleless. That extra year as Meijin is what turned him into the 17th Eternal Meijin, and he claimed Dragon King Ryuo that same season. His second golden age had just kicked off.”

“I see …… With those titles in Kansai, breaking away could have been a realistic option.”

Those years could be called the Kansai Renaissance.

After Tsukimitsu-sensei lost his titles, Kansai plunged into the dark ages until the Worldly Maestro distinguished himself. Now, here I am!

“The Assassin’s mark was Seiichi Tsukimitsu. Should Kansai’s highly treasured Meijin Ryuo be toppled by a Women’s League player, everyone would think Kansai wasn’t up to snuff after all. No sponsor would ever sign with them, even if they did form their own association.”

Machi doesn’t sound amused as she says, “Wouldn’t the Meijin Ryuo being bested by a Women’s League player damage the whole Shogi Association’s reputation beyond repair?”

“Guys who think that far ahead wouldn’t be stubborn enough to start this feud in the first place.”

“Wait a minute. Tsukimitsu-sensei and Shakando-sensei never played in a league match… at least I don’t think they did.”

I don’t remember coming across any match records.

I’m sure of that because I just went through the association’s entire collection of Shakando-sensei’s match records in the database. Why? No comment.

“That’s right. The Assassin infiltrated Kansai on her own, but she never made it to Seiichi Tsukimitsu. An ironclad wall got in her way.”

An ironclad …… wall?

“Rina always, always finished off her targets. Whatever name came down from above, she found and eliminated them without question …… Except for one.”

“That person was the ironclad wall?”

“That he was. Rina lost their first match and could never beat him after that. Seriously, those matches couldn’t even be called Shogi.”

A Kansai player who went against Shakando-sensei and was still young at that time?

Hmm …… No one comes to mind.

“But, Shakando-sensei beat Natagiri-sensei and Mr. Oishi when they were up-and-coming players. Actually, she destroyed them. How could anyone else–––?”

“Love got in the way.”

That came from so far out of left field that my mind went blank.

Love? Wait–––

“Then Shakando-sensei …… fell for one of her opponents?!”

“That’s right. They nearly got married, too.”

Mar–––

“MAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED?!”

Hold up, hold up! Just hang on a second …… Wait?

The whole reason we came here to ask about Shakando-sensei’s past was to help Ayumu with his marriage proposal, but ……

–––If Shakando-sensei is already in love, doesn’t that mean it’s game over?

W-We just dug up one heck of a bombshell ……

“The Women’s players here in Kanto still like gossiping about it … though it seems like you were in the dark, eh, Ryou?”

“…… Don’t have friends to gossip with anyway,” Ryou snaps under her breath and roughly props her feet up on the table. 

Well, it’s no wonder she doesn’t have friends. Acting like this all the time scares everyone away.

Meanwhile–––

“…………”

Machi isn’t saying anything. She’s got that I knew all along look on her face, sort of like she’s enjoying our reactions. The wily fox is scary, too.

“It was quite the spectacle. I showed up early at the association with my camera and waited for the Assassin to show up. Who knows, Kansai players might try to kidnap her before she got inside the association, right? Kanto and Kansai were at each other’s throats and Rina Shakando was just that hated.”

“Kidnap her? No matter the reason, that’s way over the line ……”

“Well, it turned out I wasn’t the only one who thought something might go down.”

“?! Who–––”

“Rina’s opponent that day was already waiting at the association building entrance when I got there.”

For whatever reason, I can visualize the events of that day nearly 20 years ago very clearly.

A young, beautiful and lethal Shakando-sensei slowly making her way down Naniwa Street.

And standing in front of the red brick building …… a resolute, handsome young man.

“That player smiled from ear to ear at the opponent carrying pieces meant to kill him …… at the hobbling assassin with a cane, Rina Shakando. I’ve been lookin’ forward to our match, he said while offering his hand. Let me help ya inside.”

Women’s League players were scorned in that era.

… Called the Assassin, forced to take on all these dirty jobs.

And here was her target, treating her with more kindness than she’d ever known ……

“…… Yeah, I’d get the hots for him, too,” the scary one …… Ryou says with a soft twinkle in her eyes. 

Considering Shakando-sensei’s love knights and chivalry, she must’ve been head over heels.

Kayaoku-sensei softly adds, “I thought he was a heck of a guy. Given that his older brother apprentice was Seiichi Tsukimitsu, he had a hard time getting out of his shadow. But I was certain that it was only a matter of time before the Meijin Title was his …… Think about it. The guy was so manly that in a single blow he knocked out the Assassin, who’d never shown any interest in men whatsoever. It was a no-brainer!”

Hm? Older brother apprentice? Tsukimitsu-sensei?

That would mean the ironclad wall was …… Tsukimitsu-sensei’s younger brother apprentice?

“………… Huh?”

Part of me probably knew exactly who Kayaoku-sensei was talking about from the very beginning.

 Knew …… but my brain refused to say his name.

Because seriously ……

“Um, would you hold on a second, please? Was he …………? He wasn’t–––”

The person blocking my best friend’s marriage couldn’t be my––––––, could it?

“That he was. Has it finally dawned on you, Ryuo?” says the Sage with a smirk as he names the ironclad wall.

“Kousuke Kiyotaki. Your Master, the one and only.”