A FINAL BOOST
“Tsubasa, Maria. Thank you for coming to the practice session today. Help yourself to anything you like.”
“…………” (Gulp ……)
In the dining hall of Tokyo’s HinaTsuru Inn.
Tsubasa Gakumeki Women’s 1-kyu and Maria Kannabe Sub League 4-kyu sit on either side of Ai Hinatsuru at the counter, their stomachs growling.
Not only had they spent many hours holed up in a tatami room playing Shogi until now, but Ai’s father was also whipping up some of the most delicious-looking food they had ever seen before their very eyes ……
“Thank you for all you do for my daughter. My wife also wanted to greet you today, but she is unfortunately a bit under the weather.”
“……”
Ai was unsure how to take her father’s words.
If seeing her in so much pain was what caused her mother to get sick with worry …… Ai couldn’t help but feel responsible.
–––But she could be a little nicer ……
Although Akina, her mother, traveled to the venue of the first match to help her dress and decorate her hair, she left right away without waiting for the conclusion of the match.
She had taken the stance of now is the time for self-reliance after the second match and hadn’t even spoken to her daughter face-to-face since.
–––Maybe she really wanted me to follow in her footsteps as the owner after all ……?
That seemed to be the only explanation for her mother’s curt demeanor.
“You are of age, isn’t that correct, Miss Gakumeki? Would you be interested in a hard drink?”
“Um ………… Ah, y-yes …………”
“May I recommend this sake as a light appetizer before the main course? It’s a pure rice wine from Ishikawa Prefecture called Tsuru no Sato. This particular bottle has been aged for three years.”
“Y- …… Yes, please …………!”
Once she had bowed her head enough times to thank him for the trouble of preparing it for her, Tsubasa took the glass in both hands.
Then she downed the glass of clear liquid in a single gulp. After so many fierce, drawn-out battles against Ai during their practice session, she had become extremely thirsty.
“Phew ………… That’s goooood …………”
“Tsubasa. Thank you very much in advance for working the fifth match.”
“O-Oh ……! It’s nothing. This is an important match …… for you ……!”
A mental hurdle came with working as a match recorder for a younger player, but doing so for a title match was downright painful.
The number of people willing to work as match recorders in recent years had declined for that reason. As such, an automatic system to record matches using artificial intelligence had recently entered the testing phase in the Women’s League.
Despite all that, her friend volunteering herself to work as the match recorder meant the world to Ai Hinatsuru.
“A-And ………… There’s some…thing I want …… t-to say to ……. Shakando-sensei ……… Nghzzz ……”
“Uwhaa?! T-Tsubasa?! Did you fall asleep?! Tsubasa!”
Ai shook her friend to wake her. However, it seemed that one glass was enough to knock her out completely.
“What is it that she wants to say to Shakando-sensei? I’m curious ……”
“Venting her frustration, no doubt. To tell Master how much she suffered after being ushered into the Sub League by her hand,” said Maria.
“Do you think Tsubasa would say things like that?”
Ai curiously tilted her head as she draped a blanket over her older friend’s shoulders while she slept.
“Now is not the time to discuss such things. There’s a more important matter at hand.”
“Wha-? What is it?”
Barely any time passed between Ai’s casual response and a yelp of disbelief.
“WHAAAT?! G-Grandpa-sensei and Shakando-sensei?!”
“Indeed. Which would indicate that your Grand Master and my elder brother are rivals in love. Ayumu has already proposed to Master.”
“He asked her to marry him?!”
“That he did. Before your Master’s very eyes, he said, Marry me once I become Meijin. It is for that reason my elder brother has redoubled his efforts to claim that title.”
“B-But …… Shakando-sensei and God-sensei …… Their age gap ……”
“The soul cares not for numbers.”
“……!!”
Maria’s resolute words shook Ai to her core, to the point that she forgot to breathe.
“Marriage is two souls harmonizing as one. Things such as age have no meaning.”
“…… Aren’t you surprised at all?”
“Surprised, you ask? Hardly! Not after that fool has been having visions of grandeur about taking Master as his wife after taking the Meijin title for his own for as long as one such as I can remember.”
“Uwhaaa?!”
That indicated Ayumu had romantic feelings for Rina Shakando ever since he became her apprentice.
He would’ve been the same age as Ai …… around 11 years old.
“Men cannot help but fall for women with Master’s beauty, grace and Shogi prowess. Your Grand Master is a buffoon. Though my elder brother’s Shogi senses leave something to be desired, even one such as I, his younger sister, must admit that his fashion sense is second to none.”
“That cape is pretty cool.”
Ai gave a strong nod.
Romance between Master and apprentice was not an irrelevant topic to her.
What kind of face would Yaichi make if she asked him for a date if she became the Women’s Legend?
“Oh, I get it …… That’s why God-sensei’s Shogi was so incredible in that A League match ……”
That match had become the predominant topic within the Shogi world.
Ai remembered how her guardians in Tokyo, Jin Natagiri and Tamayo Rokuroba, had returned to the apartment in the early afternoon following that epic battle and then slept 30 hours straight.
Seeing someone devote themselves physically and mentally to such an extreme both came as a shock to Ai and made her cringe at how naïve her own approach to Shogi had been ……
Maria, on the other hand, had a much harsher appraisal.
“Yes, the opponent was top ranked in A League, but the match took place immediately following an utter beat down at the hands of the Meijin. Had my elder brother not been able to defeat a man in that sorry state, he would have had no chance of dethroning Meijin even if he became the challenger.”
“But …… the Meijin turns 50 really soon, right? God-sensei is only 20. Even if it takes a few years, he’ll naturally–––”
“Drakin will rise to A League after two years.”
“……!!”
“Though vexing …… That Trash Ryuo is strong. Unfairly so. In terms of age, he is two years my elder brother’s junior. He shall become stronger still ……”
“Master will ……”
Ai could only watch in surprise as shades of terror passed over Maria’s face.
Nonetheless, Ai began to have more complex feelings than adoration for her Master who could instill fear of this degree in others.
“In order to combat that Demon King, my elder brother must tip the seven-stage Meijin battlefield into his favor. From his perspective, this season is one of his few chances to do so. If he intends to carve his name into history as an Eternal Meijin …… this could very well be his final opportunity.”
“Does God-sensei–––”
“Of course, he is aware. Master as well, in reality ……”
“?”
Ai couldn’t understand why the Sub League member her own age had fallen silent and looks over at her.
“Ai Hinatsuru.”
Maria squares her shoulders and makes direct eye contact.
“Please! I beseech you to set Master free!!”
“Huh ……?”
“One such as I am not telling you to seize the title for your own. More along the lines of ……”
Maria lowers her head, bobbed hair cat ears and all, as low as she can, while searching for the correct words. The ones that would help Ai understand her request.
However, the perfect phrase never came.
“I believe that Master has been lying to herself about her own feelings. Both on the board and off it. She …… is too constrained by the events of the past ……”
Her deceased Master’s obsession with the Meijin title.
Her time as the so-called Assassin.
Her past relationship with Kousuke Kiyotaki.
Her sending talented girls like Tsubasa Gakumeki into the Sub League.
Each of these chains from the past continued to prevent Rina Shakando from moving forward in a different sense than her disabled leg did.
“However she will not listen to one such as I off the board no matter what. Thus, she must be convinced on the board, yes? Don’t you agree? Don’t you?!”
“I …………”
Ai was about to say, “I couldn’t possibly,” out of reflex.
How …… could someone who still didn’t know how to fight, like herself …… accomplish something like that ……?
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login