Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 4 - Chapter 4.3

  ENEMY

“Out with it.”

The instant the staff told us to take a break in the commentary hall, Big Sis pulled me into the break room, shoved me against the wall and started the interrogation. She’s got me pinned … except it’s with her foot rather than her fist ……

“What’s this thing Sainokami was talking about? What answer is she waiting for? I can hardly believe the two of you have ever even seen each other, let alone spoken. She seemed awfully friendly if you ask me.”

“………… I met her playing Shogi online in junior high school ……”

I planned on taking this to the grave with me but …… There’s no fooling Big Sis when she gets like this.

“Here’s someone with an interesting style I remember thinking back then, and we started playing a lot …… At some point we started using the chat feature after matches ……”

“Ohh? So, you were picking up girls in the chat?”

“No! …… I didn’t know who my opponent was and never thought they could possibly be a girl my age. Sure, we were playing on fast speed but they kept up with me when I was in the Sub League with a dan rank, so how could I know ……?”

“And? When did you first meet?”

“…… When I got 4-dan.”

I dig up some memories I was hoping to keep buried forever.

“Ika was already in the Women’s League and moved to Tokyo from the countryside to go to high school. I’d made the decision not to play Shogi on the Internet once I got into the Sub League’s 3-dan division, so I didn’t pick up any bad habits–––.”

Shogi over the Internet feels so much different from playing someone face-to-face on a board.

I guess …… It feels more like a game.

Bad moves don’t really matter because you can simply reset after you die, and manners don’t matter much because you can’t see your opponent’s face.

Having that mindset as a Sub League member or pro in league matches is a pretty common way to end your career. Then there’s the fact that you’ll lose strong training partners if you make it that high up the ladder.

…… It’s just … sometimes playing Shogi over the Internet is the only option–––.

“Ika lived in a small town in Tohoku without any strong opponents at all until she graduated junior high. That’s why she craved matches against me.

“After turning pro in the fall of my last year in junior high, I started living on my own as soon as I graduated.

“Then, once I had Internet in my apartment, I decided to log on to Internet Shogi for the first time in a long time …… and Ika was there.

“I want to meet you.

“That’s when that message came.

“I had a match in Tokyo, so we agreed to meet up at the Association …… She was just as surprised as I was. What were the chances we were both pros … and to think that was Ika Sainokami the whole time ……?”

“…… And?”

Big Sis presses, her voice colder than the Arctic.

“Ika got all excited, saying it was destiny or something but yeah …… We started playing against each other whenever I had a match in Tokyo if our schedules allowed it–––.”

“So you were secretly dating a woman on your business trips, yes?”

“No, no! Versus matches!”

“Where did they happen? These versus matches?”

“Well ……… cafés that had private rooms, karaoke boxes ……”

“That’s what dates are! I oughta shove a pike through your skull?!”

“W-What choice did we have?! The Tokyo Association isn’t like the one in Osaka! They don’t let players have Practice Sessions or versus matches in the building!! And I only met her a few times!!”

“…… And? I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Yes. This is the important part.”

I brace myself and go right to the core.

“Right after I won the Ryuo Title Match, Ika sent me a message that said, Date me–––.”

Wham!!

Big Sis’s low kick catches me square in the knees and I go down like a corn stalk cleaved down by a scythe.

“Hey?! W-Why’d you kick me?!”

“Huuh? I didn’t kick you.”

“You sure did?! Heck, you still are?!”

Wham!! Wham!! Wham!! Big Sis’s foot mercilessly rains down on me as I curl up into a ball on the floor.

“Some girl liked you, so what? You got full of yourself and put the moves on her, didn’t you?”

“I-I said no! There’s nothing between us, absolutely nothing!!”

“But she’s still waiting for an answer, right? Knowing you, you’ve left her hanging, keeping her as a backup until you want her … like some piece on your piece stand.”

“I told her no, I swear! I don’t even play against her anymore!! We’re over, finished!!”

“Oh, so she’s an ex?”

“I’m telling you, she’s not!!”

That’s when.

“Master? Are you in here?”

A knock on the break room door and Ai Hinatsuru’s voice.

“Ai’s photo session is still going on, so she asked me to go get something for lu-ahh ahhhhhh––––––!!”

What she saw when she opened the door–––me on the floor against the wall with Big Sis slamming her foot into my ribs. Ai rushes in to stop the brutality.

“Wh-What’re you doing!? Why’re you hurting Master?!”

“Don’t get in the way. I’m extracting information about his ex-girlfriend.”

“Okay. Let’s hear every detail.”

Ai puts her kitty cushion down on the floor and sits on her ankles on top of it. She’s there for the duration!

Using my arm to protect my head from Big Sis’s heel, I get up just enough to ask my apprentice.

“A-Ai …… How’re the others?”

“Ai’s photo session won’t end any time soon and Keika’s match ended in a draw, so she’s still playing. But that’s not important. Master? Who is your ex-girlfriend? Do I know her? Are you still in contact with her? Does keeping this a secret from Auntie and I mean that you still have feelings for her?”

“C-Calm down! And she’s not my ex-girlfriend!!”

This girl’s relentless?!

“Sainokami,” Big Sis tells Ai while driving the heel of her loafer deep into my side.

“That’s his ex’s name. I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

“Isn’t she …… who I’m playing next ……?!”

“Apprentice meets ex in the final round, funny how things work out. Which are you rooting for, Yaichi?”

“Listen, she’s not my ex-girlfriend! …… But, yes Ai. She’s your next opponent.”

Ika only had three minutes of waiting time because she was late for the first round, but she won without breaking a sweat.

Her opponent was Kazumi Houroku women’s 3-dan: the same person who overwhelmed Keika in the challenge matches, no pushover.

And Ika treated Houroku women’s 3-dan … like a little kid.

“…… I really don’t think I should tell you about this before your match. But since you’ve heard this much, not knowing the rest would make it hard to concentrate on your match, so I’ll talk–––.”

Then I tell Ai everything I told Big Sis.

Once I was done, Ai said, “Basically …… an ex-girlfriend.”

“Why?! Why is that the only name for her?!”

Big Sis and Ai are usually at each other’s throats, but this part of them is eerily similar.

“It’s not like Ika …… She doesn’t like me at all. She wants a personal Shogi training partner all to herself all so that she can get stronger.”

Extreme egotism. That’s how Ms. Shakando described her.

“I asked her why she wanted to date me. What do you think her answer was? Because I’m good at Shogi … I can play Shogi with you as much as I want if we’re dating. Would you be happy if someone said that?”

“……”

“She even told me not to play against anyone else. She said if I had that much free time on my hands, she wanted me to play against her. When she told me with a straight face that I should prioritize her over my league matches, I thought she’d lost her mind.

“Ika made her feelings perfectly clear last winter at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: If I have you, Yaichi, I don’t need anything else.

“With that, I watched her take off her glasses, watch, shoes, she even took her wallet out of her purse and threw them all into the pond …… At first, I thought she was being overdramatic to get my attention.

“But she was far more serious than I ever imagined.

“She was sounding and acting crazy, so I tried to put some distance between us when I said no. I used my losing streak at the time as an excuse, telling her I wanted to focus on Shogi.

“Ika didn’t give up. It didn’t matter how many times I turned her down.

“That’s when the incident happened.

“I’m coming i~n.

“I thought she was joking around when I got that message, but when I went back to my apartment right afterward …… and found her lining up pieces on my Shogi board with a big smile on her lips, she said, Yaichi. Let’s play Shogi♡

“As if trying to prove her point, that screw-loose smile was the only thing she had on while sitting in front of the board.

“In other words, she was butt naked.

“I love you♡ I don’t need anything else♡♡♡

“I ran away, screaming at the top of my lungs all the way to Master Kiyotaki’s house and begged him for help.

“Once he knew what was happening, Master talked with Ika’s Master …… and I hadn’t seen her since …

“…Until two weeks ago–––on the day of the challenge matches.”

“What is this girl?! Showing up at Master’s house, unannounced and n-naked …… She sounds like a total pervert!!” yells Ai once I finish talking. Big Sis looks at her and jerks her head to the side.

“Well, that’s strange. I seem to remember hearing something right up that alley not too long ago ……”

“I wrote Master a letter first and had clothes on!!”

“Sure, sure.”

Big Sis barely acknowledges the grade schooler’s outburst and turns her ice-cold glare back to me.

“And? Who else knows about this?”

“Master Kiyotaki, Ika’s Master …… And the association Board of Directors. I think Ms. Shakando knows about it too. Since Ika doesn’t listen to what her Master says, the Women’s League might’ve had to step in.

“Despite all that, they couldn’t even keep her in check for a year.

“Ika is my problem, and I accept that. I sowed the seeds that got me into this mess ……

“Then I ran away, leaving other people to clean it up.

“If I were still living alone, it might be okay to talk with Master Kiyotaki again and let the cycle continue.

“But now, I have Ai.”

“……!”

Big Sis and Ai gasp at the same time.

“I must protect my live-in apprentice. That’s why I have to make sure there’s no chance Ika will ever show up at the apartment again. I’ll take care of this myself this time.”

Before, it was just a private issue between two titleholders, so it could be taken care of under wraps.

“This is no time to be worried about the Shogi world’s reputation or damaging my title. Now that there’s something much more important on the line, I should’ve taken care of it much sooner …… Ai, I’m sorry you had to hear this right before an important match–––.”

“…………”

Ai is sitting on her ankles, silently staring at the floor.

Did I scare her? She’s probably shaken at the very least.

Pathetic …… I failed as a Master.

Just as I was starting to hate myself–––Ai says in a wispy voice.

“…… When Sainokami-sensei tells Master she …… l-loves him …… It bothers you, right?”

“Hm? Y-Yeah …… Of course. I don’t have any feelings for her at all.”

“Understood.”

Ai straightens her posture and clenches her fists right above her knees.

“So that she doesn’t bother Master anymore …… I’ll tell her no for you on the board!!”