Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

  SPINNING DRAGON

“…… I lost.”

The second match ended without any fireworks.

The match, held at a hotel in Osaka, took place only two weeks after the first one so I went in thinking this one was a lost cause, a throwaway match.

So losing didn’t hurt that much.

This is what I said during a post-match interview.

“I’ll have the first move next time, and I’m finally getting used to playing against the Meijin after two matches. I believe I’ll be able to play better Shogi in Tendou.”

Being in Osaka, lots of familiar faces were waiting for me in the break room, ready to do their own review sessions and break down all the turning points with me. Unfortunately, without any real fireworks during the match, there wasn’t much to talk about at all.

That doesn’t mean the after-party wasn’t fun.

The S&M novelist from Kobe, Dan Onizawa, is here. But, he just waves at me on his way over to talk with Big Sis and Ai for the first time in months and looks like he’s having the time of his life. Big Sis, on the other hand, looks like she’d rather be anywhere else …… 

I also happen to run into the last person I expected to see.

“Kuzuryu-sensei, please allow me to thank you once again for looking after my granddaughter.”

“Ah …… It’s nice to see you again.”

Ai Yashajin’s grandfather.

With Akira standing just behind him, the man was very careful not to draw attention to himself and waited for the right timing to come up to me once I was by myself.

“I’m sorry, sir. You came all this way and I couldn’t give you a good match to watch ……”

“Not at all.”

The elderly gentleman slowly shakes his head from side to side.

“I may not know much about Shogi, but I know a thing or two about competition. The look in your eyes during the match, Kuzuryu-sensei, told me you’ve made an important discovery. I look forward to seeing how you use it in your upcoming matches.”

“Well, when you put it that way ……”

My heart feels lighter somehow. I take a look around the room and ask, “Is Ai with you today?”

“My lady is in her quarters, studying. Her match draws near.”

The match Akira is talking about is the Mynavi Finals.

Her match is on the same day as Ai Hinatsuru’s in Tokyo.

“…… I must apologize that I haven’t been able to work with your granddaughter much recently. I plan to accompany her to Tokyo on the day of the match.”

“Thank you very much, Kuzuryu-sensei.”

He takes my hand and starts tearing up.

“I beg you, please continue to be by my granddaughter’s side. I beg you ……”

Then, the third match.

This one is taking place in Tendou City, Yamagata Prefecture and I’m perfectly prepared on all fronts.

The city, said to be the birthplace of Shogi, is home to 60,000 people. It’s the only place in the world where people seem to eat, sleep and breathe Shogi.

Its Human Shogi event every spring is pretty famous, too.

Tendou Station is connected to their Shogi Museum. It goes without saying that there are detailed exhibits showing their traditional way to carve Shogi pieces, but they’ve also got extensive title match analysis on display.

The Ryuo Title Match is front and center. They’ve dubbed it the Match of the Century because the Meijin is on the verge of capturing the Eternal Septuple title and his 100th title season. Outside, there are posters and flags all over the town saying the same thing.

People here have caught Ryuo fever. Journalists and Shogi fans alike are there to greet us at the bottom of the station’s stairs and accompany us all the way to the arena.

Even the hotel hosting the match has gone the extra mile by renaming their designated Shogi arena, usually called the Taki no Ma, to the Ryuo no Ma.

–––All of this is getting me even more fired up for the match …… 

Determined to win, I step into the Ryuo no Ma feeling like I own the place and vow to protect this space and my pride. Refusing to leave anything out on the board, I face the Meijin head-on, fighting him blow for blow.

The first and second matches both ended early in the afternoon on Day 2, but the third match is still neck-and-neck deep into the late game.

One-minute Shogi for both of us. It all comes down to this.

–––My King is safe ………… I can win!!

Finally adjusted to this pace after a long, long dead heat, I focus the last of my strength to find a sequence that puts the Meijin’s King in checkmate.

However–––.

A strange move comes flying in out of nowhere in a match where we’ve been going full speed for so long.

“Hm! Hnn?!”

Red flags fly in my gut and I pull my hand away from the board.

That bizarre move the Meijin put down …… It looks pointless, and yet there’s something ominous about it. It feels wrong.

Like spotting a stone in the middle of the road while barreling down the freeway. That kind of move.

–––What ……!? Am I in trouble ……?!

There’s no choice but to serve away from the path I set because staying the course right now with that stone in the road might send me into a tailspin. Press forward now and there’ll be no going back. I have to read this through, perfectly. But …… There isn’t enough time to do that.

–––I need more time! Three, no just two minutes ……!

A shameful thought crosses my mind.

Not a sequence, but I can get the time I’d kill for right now by initiating a certain situation on the board. That’s what popped into my head.

But, it’s a way that some people consider disgraceful.

An option I wouldn’t normally take, one that players get grilled for when they do. But.

–––I’ve got to avoid losing three in a row …… With time, I can win this! Then ……!

The line between my aesthetic standards and my will to win is blurring quite a bit.

The match recorder starts talking as I grappled with the dilemma.

“Fifty seconds. One, two, three, four–––.”

“…… Haaa!”

It was like my fingers took control and made the decision for me.

A Repetition Draw.

I can buy time by repeating the same moves.

Since Repetition Draw rules go into effect on the fourth move, that gives me three turns worth of time.

Also, if I use all fifty-nine seconds available to me on each of my turns, I can buy quite a bit of time. Now that it’s happening, there’s more than enough time on my side.

–––Enough to read my way to the end ……!

I sit all the way down on my cushion and read as fast as I can, waiting until the exact last moment to make my moves.

However, that’s when I realized I’d overlooked something extremely important.

And, once I saw it …… reading to the end wasn’t at the top of the list anymore.

“………… Gwah?!”

The move I’m repeating puts my opponent in check each time.

–––Checkmate Repetition Draw ……!!

The players switch turns and start over for normal Repetition Draws.

But, when check is involved, the player who initiated the Repetition Draw loses after the fourth turn if their opponent’s King is in check!

In other words, four turns of this and I lose.

I was so focused on finding a way to get his King that I forgot about one of the most basic rules. Panicking, I turn to the match recorder and say.

“How many was that?! Three?!”

“……”

“That was too close?!”

The match recorder has an uncomfortable look on his face but doesn’t say a word.

Of course he wouldn’t. That number of turns determines who wins and loses right now. Telling me anything would be the same as helping.

I should know that, and I probably would have realized it if I had a cooler head right now.

But in this nail biter, knowing that I’ve taken the shameful escape route by starting a Repetition Draw to buy time and come that close to losing …… I can’t think anymore.

“Khh ……!”

I break the Repetition Draw with my head still spinning. It was a horrible move.

I knew it as soon as I let go–––.

“……………!!”

It felt like all the blood got sucked out of my body with a crack.

Sweat streams down my spine …… and immediately soaks into my kimono, which in turn weighs down the fabric and chills me to the bone. It’s like I’m wearing a boat made of ice.

The Meijin lets out a long sigh.

A very, very disappointed sigh …… Hearing it is so embarrassing, I want to die right here and now.

As soon as he makes his next move, I bow my head.

“…… I lost.”

Setting the scene was impossible. The only thing this loss did was soil the match record. A failure in every sense of the word.

“Meijin! Thoughts on your three-match winning streak?!”

“Now that the Eternal Septuple title is within reach, what would you like to say to all your supporters across the country?!”

The media swarm, brandishing their IC recorders and microphones, descends on the Meijin like a pack of wolves competing for the first bite, or sound-bite in this case. They’re also fighting to get directly behind me for the best angle, cameras at the ready.

An army of journalists and reporters circle around behind the loser’s back after Shogi matches …

Because everyone wants a picture of the winner’s face.

All the loser can do during that time is stare at the floor and endure all the flashes going off behind their head.

The agony of defeat …… and proof of your own weakness get shoved down your throat every single second.

This time, with the Meijin’s Eternal Septuple title and 100th title season just one win away, it felt twice, maybe three times more intense than usual.

The Meijin is being really nice about it, saying things like It was a close battle to the very end and I’m more interested in pursuing Shogi theory rather than the title in the next match. …… That’s exactly why trying to escape into a Repetition Draw was so embarrassing.

Finally, the interview ends–––.

“Preparations for the evening meal have been completed. Please come to the dining hall at your leisure.”

Someone working for the hotel makes an announcement, but none of the journalists is paying attention. They’re all putting what the Meijin said down on paper or desperately trying to get a few more words out of him.

Not really up for a full review session, I talk with the Meijin about the final sequence for a couple of minutes before cleaning up the board as fast as I can.

Journalists are still asking questions and the Meijin is still answering them. Nobody needs me here. So I leave my opponent to it and stand up to leave on my own.

I was just about to take a step when.

“……!!”

Pull!!

It feels like something’s pulling on me from behind. Next thing I know, my face hits the tatami mat.

I fall face first onto the floor because someone stepped on the hem of my kimono. Wham!! …… Man, that was loud.

The arena is silent again for a moment.

For the first time, everyone’s looking at me–––.

Just as I get up on my hands and knees, I hear someone somewhere say.

“…… That hurt.” 

Zing!

Anger and embarrassment come together with the pain of losing, bubbling over as everything explodes into a blaze of fury …… Tears start streaming out of my eyes.

“…………”

Unable to say anything, I practically run back to my own room. No one paid any attention to me at all.

The after-party is the last place I want to go.

I start packing to leave the instant I get back to my room.

I took way too much damage from this loss, but I’d like to secure as much time as I can to prepare for the next match. Even if I can’t win, it’s my duty as a player to put up a decent fight.

At least, I thought so at the time.

“…… Maybe I should go down there and show my face first.”

Big bag over my shoulder, I step out of my room and head toward the party.

All I have to do is say hello to a few people, that’s it. Just as I reach the entrance.

“Of course that guy’s going to lose the title. What would you expect?”

Voices come through the door and I stop, frozen. They’re journalist’s voices that I know all too well.

My feet won’t move.

“He took two elementary school girls as apprentices. One of them lives with him, right?”

“Maybe he thinks playing house will somehow result in playing better Shogi.”

“You know, the Meijin, good as he is, hasn’t taken a single apprentice yet because he’s so determined to perfect his Shogi skills. That Ryuo, he’s not good enough to actually teach people how to play.”

“Everyone singing his praises after taking the title probably went to his head. He’s still basically a kid, so I can’t really blame him.”

“Speaking of titles, Naniwa’s Snow White is shaping up pretty well to defend her title in the Women’s Throne Title Match for the third time in a row. How long do you think she can keep up the perfect streak? Then again, she’s a monster right up there like the Meijin.”

“That girl is marketable, very much so. There are rumors floating around that she’s dating Kuzuryu. I really hope she dumps him sooner rather than later.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Ginko should find a boyfriend who’ll make better headlines. Just imagine if she started going out with an actor.”

“Shogi has the Meijin, and he’ll make more than enough headlines on his own.”

“Don’t forget about Kuzuryu’s apprentices. With looks like theirs, the two of them will be household names in no time once they make their Women’s League debuts. Two ten-year-olds with enough talent to make it to the Mynavi Finals deserve to have a proper Master. That’ll be better for everyone involved.”

“However that works out, I just want the Meijin to hurry up and become the Eternal Septuple. That’s what everyone wants. Someone should just tell him to get out of the way.”

“Maybe he’s figured it out already? He’s lost three straight after all.”

“Ha-ha! Well then, he’s contributing to the Shogi world in his own way.”

Maybe I should’ve stepped in, defended myself.

Heck, it’s times like this that a competitor should say something.

…… But, it just wasn’t in me.

I’m weak, that’s the truth. It’s also true that I enjoy living with my apprentice.

He’s not actually good enough to teach people how to play.

Those words stabbed me right through my heart. They also hit the nail right on the head.

Why in the world did I ever take her on as an apprentice?

Am I more comfortable always having someone weaker than me around? What is she, my cute little pet?

I can’t deny any of those claims, there’s no way.

Rather than going into the party, I stay out of sight, sneak out of the hotel, and start walking toward Tendou Station.

It’s not far enough away to justify calling a taxi …… And I don’t want to hear whatever the driver might say when he sees my face.

“………… It’s freezing ……”

Tendou’s autumn evenings are cold enough to make the bottom fall out of a thermometer.

But what’s worse …… are all the Shogi decorations along the road. Each Ryuo Title Match poster I see feels like an icicle through the chest.

The only bullet trains still running stop in Sendai, but I don’t give it a second thought and buy one. Every moment in this Shogi-obsessed town is torture.

Walking onto the deserted platform–––someone took my picture.

It was Ms. Mato, the journalist.

“…… Even now, you take pictures? That’s cruel.”

“That’s my job.”

Lowering the camera, she takes a pen and notepad out of her coat pocket and says, “I became suspicious when you never showed up at the after-party, so I hailed a taxi and here I am.”

“You watch pretty close, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve always watched you.”

True, she’s been shadowing me ever since the first Ryuo Title Match. That’s the kind of devotion I’d usually admire but …… Right now it’s just a pain in the ass.

“So, why didn’t you come to the after-party?”

“It’s the loser’s job to fade away.”

“Would you please tell me the real reason? For me ……”

“…… I’m sure you already know without me spelling it out. Knowing you.”

Ms. Mato isn’t an enemy, I know that.

But, after hearing what those other journalists had to say …… 

“Please write whatever you’d like.”

Boarding the bullet train like it was the last step in my great escape, I left Ms. Mato standing alone on the platform.

I found a net café close to Sendai Station once I got there to kill time until the first train.

Going from a title match participant’s hotel suite to that filthy, narrow cubicle with a single chair was like moving from a castle into a pig pen. Sleep never came, so I spent the hours turning manga pages. I don’t remember anything I read, but at least I didn’t have to think about that Shogi loss for a little while.

Talk about pitiful.