Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.3

  PRACTICE SESSION

“   4 Five Pawn,” Ayumu says out of nowhere the second I step into the room.

My mind makes the switch instantly, visualizing a Shogi board that doesn’t exist.

My mental Shogi board.

“   6 Eight Silver.”

I say back.

The Practice Session underway, both of us are still on our feet.

Ayumu’s standing by the window and wearing his usual cape. It matches this room’s old European theme to a T.

But, Shogi is all that exists in our minds right now.

“   9 Five Pawn.”

“   7 Three Bishop Promotes.”

First comes a yagura, Ayumu’s specialty.

I doubt that most people would understand our conversation even if they wrote everything down and tracked our moves on an actual board.

Of course, it takes a great deal of Shogi knowledge to do this but …… it’s not like he and I are just naming spaces back and forth.

We’re listening for the slightest waver in the other’s voice.

Pauses.

Tiny shifts in posture.

And facial expressions.

Our brains are fiercely dissecting all that at once, swapping information in a blur.

It’s a bizarre exchange, like we’re melding together everything that we have without making any physical contact whatsoever.

“   4 Six Silver.”

“   4 Five Pawn.”

“   taken with Silver.”

“   7 Three Knight.”

The reason I came all the way to Tokyo to have a Practice Session with Ayumu comes down to one thing: neither of us were satisfied without meeting face-to-face to swap info. anymore.

Most of the things we should pick up on get cut out when doing Practice Sessions over the Internet.

It’s like the way couples feel like something’s missing when all they do is call and text each other. Shogi is the same way at the high levels.

“   3 Five Pawn.”

Next is the Bishop Exchange. Ayumu blasts through my outer defenses like peeling back layers of clothes to get to my core in one swift strike.

“   6 Five Silver.”

“   4 Seven Promoted Pawn.”

“   5 Four Silver.”

“……?!”

Ayumu falters for the first time after hearing my move.

A slight pause in his thought process which had been keeping pace with mine.

“……   6 Three Pawn?”

“   6 Eight Gold right.”

“……!!”

Sway …… Ayumu loses his balance and grabs the windowsill for support.

“   8 Six Pawn.”

I say my next move just as he was about to recover.

“   taken with Pawn.   8 Seven Pawn.   5 Three Knight Promotes.”

“   8 …… Six, Rook?”

“   3 Nine Rook.”

“?! …… Thr- …… Nine Rook?”

Ayumu gasps, his fingers crawling up his cheeks with his head in his hands.

I speed up my thought process even faster, to the point that saying my moves out loud feels unfair.

There’s a massive tree inside my head.

An endless tree unconfined by my brain, infinite branches reach out in all directions. I slice off one of the big ones. The remaining branches continue to spread, sprouting even more branches to form brand new standards.

After my match against Jin Natagiri 8-dan–––I could clearly tell that I was stronger than before.

My mental Shogi board became clear and I could see even deeper into deviating sequences than ever before.

–––I broke the wall.

That was the first time I had that feeling after turning pro.

It made me realize just how risky my Shogi was. It’s crystal clear to me now.

But, part of me wasn’t sure if this change was my Shogi skill improving. I needed to know for a fact if these sequences I was reading would actually work.

That’s why I needed to meet Ayumu like this today: face-to-face.

“………   2 Four Pawn.”

His breathing steady, Ayumu took his hand away from the windowsill. What’s this ……?

“?   taken by Silver?”

“   taken by Pawn.”

“……?!”

Now it’s my turn to be surprised. He took it with the Pawn, not the Silver ……?!

“   6 Five Silver right.   taken by Silver.   taken by Silver.   3 Six Pawn.   4 Five Knight.   taken by Pawn.”

“……   3 Four Pawn?”

“   taken by Silver.”

“?! ……   5 Five Bishop!”

“   6 Two Rook.”

“??? …………!!”

What a shocking turn of events! Ayumu just disproved all of my research and hit me with a brand new deeper sequence.

No matter how well two players know each other, there are certain things they won’t show each other as long as they’re pros.

However, Ayumu just showed me.

We’ve known each other more than six years, but this is the first time he’s let me see this much.

I’m happy, but also kind of sad at the same time.

He and I already know …… know this will be our last Practice Session.

Revealing something he would never show.

Bearing it all, we delve deeper into each others’ minds.

Sharing all that we’ve researched, all that we’ve read, melding our knowledge together–––.

Then let it all fly.

“…… Haaa …… Haaa …… Haaa ……”

Next thing I knew, both of us are sprawled out on the floor.

Our overworked brains are starved for oxygen. We must’ve passed out. I’m gasping for breath like I just ran as hard as I could. But I also feel accomplished, like I put in a hard day’s work.

Glancing at the clock–––five hours have already passed.

“…… Ayumu. You alright ……?”

“…… In … deed ……”

“…… Five hours, huh? Sure was jam-packed ……”

Could’ve sworn …… we started a second ago.

Then again, it also feels like we’ve been playing for a month.

There’s no way we’d have been this efficient, exchanged so much information if we’d used an actual board.

The top pros don’t use a board when doing review sessions most of the time. Most do what we just did: say a few words here and there to communicate.

Players moving pieces around during the review sessions after title matches is merely for the fans, but they stop once the reporters disappear.

The brain is so full of information after ten-plus hours of Shogi that the players only need a few keywords to reference certain spots during the match.

If both of them were reading in the same way, they wouldn’t even mention spots on the Shogi grid. Saying things like there and that one are enough.

I’ve heard that the Meijin can do whole review sessions by just pointing in the air.

“Haha! …… Messed that up. Maybe it’s that, what do you call it, youthful indiscretion ……?”

“…… I as well … I have never revealed that much to anyone before.”

Both of us are too embarrassed to look each other in the face.

For opponents, there’s a certain line that absolutely can’t be crossed.

But …… The two of us, Ayumu and I, just crossed it.

It’s awkward, putting it into words but …… That’s proof of our friendship.

–––I want to go against you in the Ryuo Title Match.

That’s why we’ve been doing these Practice Sessions. We both want to take down the Meijin.

And, if Ayumu becomes the challenger, then we’ll meet again as enemies.

My research to defeat him begins tomorrow. It’s my duty as Ryuo, and Ayumu understands that.

That’s why …… For the two of us, this will probably be our last Practice Session.

“Time sure flew by …… I was the challenger last year, and you’re going against the Meijin this year.”

“I shall slay the God. Then I shall rise to meet you on your throne. Prepare yourself.”

“Oh, I can’t wait. It’ll be a lot easier for me if that’s the way things work out.”

We share a grin.

Ayumu is sitting on his knees and I straighten my posture with my legs crossed.

“Well? I know that your early game is perfect but …… When it comes to playing against the Meijin, have you found any promising strategies?”

“The God–––.”

Ayumu called the Meijin God.

It’s partly an inside joke among young players, and also partly because we revere the man like a deity.

“He doesn’t try to evade the best strategies of his young opponents. That is especially true for those he faces for the first time. It’s safe to say he takes them head-on without fail. That is where my victory lies.”

“…… I agree he does that a lot, but ……”

Even in yesterday’s match against Mr. Shinokubo, the Meijin defended against his best strategy and won easily.

“Do you think he’d do that in an important match he needs to win to become the Eternal Septuple?”

“He will,” said Ayumu with all certainty. “Because his victories will cease should he not.”

“……?”

“The God has too much on his plate. Not only must he play a large number of matches, he has duties to fulfill to the Shogi world involving event appearances and speaking to the press …… all of which chips away at his time for Practice Sessions. But one cannot prevail in the modern Shogi world without the latest research. Therefore–––.”

“…… He uses league matches in their place?”

“Everyone plays their best trump card when facing the God. The latest and best research is laid before him like offerings. So long as he doesn’t avoid them, that is.”

“It sounds pretty efficient when you put it that way, but …… But nobody can win like that, right? That’s the same as putting yourself in a hole in the early game on purpose.”

“Agreed. Victory would be an impossible feat for mere humans like us ……”

…… But, if it’s the Meijin.

“The God weathers the storm during the mid-game. Then he unleashes his wrath in the late-game. That’s what makes it possible. At least, until now.”

“Until now ……?”

“Tell me, what did you make of the final sequence in yesterday’s Emperor League Title Match?”

“……!!”

“I believe I bore witness to a monumental event during that match as well. However, once I studied the records myself post-match …… I derived that that was not a favorable move. The God made an error.”

Then, with a heavy heart, Ayumu told why he thought he could win against the Meijin.

“That man–––he is a god no longer.”