Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 6 - Chapter 4.5

  BOARDS AND PIECES

“What’d you think?”

“I-It ………… it was very …… um ……”

I ask my apprentice for her thoughts on the Tachimori Ceremony, and Ai Hinatsuru blushes light pink as she tries to find the right words but only umms and uhs are coming out. Seems like it overwhelmed her a bit.

“…………”

Ai Yashajin looks lost in thought. She might be trying to piece together the secret to the Go world front runner’s strength after seeing her in action.

Once Shumai-sensei finished cutting the grid, she imprinted four stars on the board before covering the whole thing with another piece of wood to protect it. She then took the whole thing into a special chamber called a urushimuro to let the lacquer slowly dry.

“Ten years ago, Master took Big Sis and I to see how boards are made because we were pretty rough on them back then.”

Big Sis would pelt me with pieces or try to throw the whole board, legs and all, at me whenever she lost. She did whatever she felt like. Although, Big Sis still tries to throw boards at me, legs or no …… 

“We saw Shumai-sensei’s father do tachimori …… and we’ve been very careful with boards ever since.”

The persistent passion that goes into making boards.

That mystical moment when a piece of wood becomes a board.

They defy logic, and they’re exactly what made us believe in the Shogi gods …… 

“You’re talking about the day I first met you and your elder sister apprentice, yes? I was only a child back then, waving around a toy sword rather than a real katana …… Sure takes me back.”

“By the way, Shumai-sensei.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think that virginity has any connection to Shogi strength?”

“What? Of course not. Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?”

From you.

Ai Hinatsuru puts her hand on her heart and says, “This is such a relief! I was so worried when I put a crack in the board Master brought to celebrate defending his Ryuo title. I had no idea what to do but …… I’m so glad it’s good as new!!”

“Defending the Ryuo title? Oh, no, no.”

“Uwhee?”

“That wasn’t for me. It’s for you, Ai.”

“Wha? …… Whaaaaaaaa–––?!”

“Since you, Mio and the others are getting serious, I thought you should have equipment to match. So, this is perfect. I want you to use it for practice sessions. My 7-sun board is a bit too big for you girls, right?”

“B-But …… I-I-I-I can’t accept this! It’s worth too much!”

Grimacing as I watch Ai Hinatsuru shake her head back and forth so fast she might take off like a helicopter at any second, I explain why I ordered the board for her.

“Whenever an apprentice goes pro or joins the Women’s League, their Master always marks the occasion with a gift. Big Sis and I received gifts from Master Kiyotaki, so you not accepting mine would put me in a tough position.”

“B-But ……”

“The two of you rose so quickly that I didn’t have much time to prepare. I had to start scrambling last August and asked some Women’s League players I know for advice ……”

Ryou Tsukiyomizaka and Machi Kugui nearly suckered me into buying kimonos, but I decided to keep it simple in the end.

“That board, you see. It’s both a reward from me now that you’ve come into your own but also my last lesson to you just as my apprentice. So please, I want you to have it.”

“A lesson …… for me?”

“Yes. And of course, I have something for you too, Ai Yashajin.”

“Huh? For me? …… Like what?”

“Pieces.” Shumai-sensei answers her for me. “I used my connections with komashi piece makers to order a one-of-a-kind set. Don’t forget that this is Douguya Suji, where customers can get anything under the sun.”

Sensei gets a piece box down off a shelf.

This one isn’t designed for matches. It’s a plain, flat box meant to be on display.

“Yaichi asked that these pieces be made specifically for you, Miss Yashajin. Rather than having a deity reside within them, he instead wanted them to house a soul.”

“Hah! How absurd,” Ai snaps back at her. “Boards and pieces, they’re just equipment. Saying there are gods or souls inside them is just superstition.”

“Is that so? You felt something when you saw Shumai-sensei’s tachimori, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I admit she’s honed that technique to an almost mystical level. Anyone would feel like they’re playing against a god after their opponent reads far deeper into the match to make a miracle move.”

That’s probably the reason why so many young pros see the Meijin as a god.

But, Ai Yashajin didn’t stop there.

“So then, what do you have to say for soulless Shogi software? A great match is a great match whether it’s played on computer or not.”

“…… Yes. You have a point,” I nod and say. “By the way, Shumai-sensei. About those pieces I ordered …… Is there anything you’d like us to check while we’re here?”

“There is.”

She nods as she opens the box. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was talking to Ai Yashajin.

“They’ve only just gone through base carving and the Seto polishing process, but I’d like you to make sure the characters are correct.”

“The characters?”

“Yes. Without the daughter’s approval, I can’t be sure.”

“Huuh? What are you talking about?”

Ai Yashajin takes the box from her, looking like she couldn’t believe that she had to do something so pointless.

“It’s just the characters, so it’ll be Kinki or Minase anyway–––.”

But the moment she saw each of the pieces lined up side-by-side in the piece box, Ai was lost for words.

Then, she stares at them, trembling.

“T-This ……! This writing, I’ve seen it before ……!!”

“Ten-chan? What’s wrong? Who wrote them?”

“……………… Father …………”

“Wha?! But, Ten-chan, your father is ……”

My first apprentice is floored.

Yes. Both Ai Yashajin’s parents have passed away. But.

I explain how I set this up.

“I managed to dig up some old match records written by your father and had his handwriting used for these pieces.”

The way he wrote each character was preserved right there on the match record.

Even though most match records are kept electronically today, pretty much all of them were written by hand back when her father was playing.

“B-But how …… Where could you possibly have found father’s handwriting ……? Grandfather said he got rid of everything ……”

“Your father was a member of a university Shogi club in Tokyo, remember? I was certain they’d have some old records filed away somewhere. Also, I knew there’d have to be some somewhere in Kansai because he grew up here. Someone good enough to become the Amateur Meijin would’ve been in tournaments and clubs and probably going in and out of Shogi classrooms all the time. I asked everyone I could think of who might have an idea where to start looking …… and found someone who knew him much closer than I expected.”

“Who?! Who knew father?! Who found his match record?!”

“Mr. Kagamizu.”

“Kagamizu? That old man in the Sub League ……?”

“It’s because Sub League members help organize amateur Shogi tournaments. Mr. Kagamizu left his hometown in Miyazaki and started living on his own in Osaka when he was thirteen, meaning he’s been part of amateur tournaments for almost seventeen years. Of course he’d know your father.” 

Although, he didn’t just know him.

Mr. Kagamizu told me that Ai’s father built him up quite a bit.

“He was Static Rook party through and through and played well enough to put professional players to shame. He was rather harsh on me, to tell the truth. His family circumstances most likely prevented him from pursuing his own professional career …… and he left that dream in the hands of a whiny little kid like me,” he’d recounted with a twinge of loneliness in his eyes. A few phone calls to some of his old connections and he tracked down an original match record for me.

“Mr. Kagamizu isn’t the only one. Players in Kansai, Kanto …… people involved in Shogi at every level went above and beyond for you.”

“But …… why ……?” Ai asks, her tiny body shaking up a storm. The answer’s obvious.

“They all wanted–––you to have a chance to play Shogi with your father again.”

Ai Yashajin collapsed in tears when she heard that.

“Fa ……… Father! ……… Fath …… er ……!!”

“Your father’s soul lives on in those pieces. I know so because you remembered him as soon as you saw those characters …… Yeah?”

“……! ……!!”

My second apprentice picks up pieces and clutches them to her chest as tears roll down her cheeks. She’s trying to talk while nodding up and down, but no words are coming out.

“Wonder where the Shogi gods are? This is what Master Kiyotaki told Big Sis and I ten years ago.”

Thinking back to what Master’s voice sounded like that day, I pass on the same lesson to my own apprentices.

“Shogi gods reside within those who love Shogi.”

Master gently rested his hands on our heads when he told us.

That’s why you treasure the board and pieces.

That’s why you respect your opponent.

That’s why you fully commit yourself to each and every match.

That’s why …… you should play Shogi with as many people as you can.

“Ai,” I look at my first apprentice.

“Yes …… Master?”

“It makes me happy to know that you want to be by my side. But I want you to have your own life, your own world from now on. Now that you have your own board, gather around it with as many people as possible and expand your horizons.”

“……… Yes!”

She looks up at me with a lonely, almost sad look in her eyes–––.

But they’re gleaming with strong determination.

The chick that could only waddle after its parent has grown into a hardy swan in no time at all.

“Ai,” I say to my second apprentice.

Turning to look at her, she raises her tear-soaked face.

“As a player, I admire your determination to make it on your own steam.”

“……”

“But, please remember this one thing. You’re not alone.”

“…………… es …………… Yes ……!”

Ai Yashajin answers with a toddler’s straightforward honesty, massive tears leaking out of her eyes.

Those tears glistening like diamonds are surely part of the beautiful soul living within her.

I wanted to hug my two apprentices like I did not so long ago, but I didn’t.

Instead, I put my hands on their heads. Ai Hinatsuru looks up at me with wide eyes and Ai Yashajin is still sobbing.

Everyone is on their own when playing Shogi.

But no one can get stronger by themselves.

Even if you fight alone and feel like you’re getting stronger by yourself, there are so many other souls living in your Shogi …… They fight alongside you. Just like how I felt everyone there with me when I fought against the Meijin.

Now that my apprentices are in the Women’s League, our bond will last forever.

But at the same time, that bond is no longer a one-way street.

Shogi is deep …… It expands to infinity, just like the people it binds together.

We’re not good with words. Awkward, too.

Fighting is the only way we can express ourselves.

But we can learn about each other using a board and pieces.

Deeper, and more intensely than any other method in the world.

“No matter how much you love something, there will be hard times when you do it for a living. You will question yourselves and shed many tears over and over again throughout your life so long as you stay on this path. There’s nothing wrong with playing as an amateur, but …… Becoming a Women’s League player means there will be no escape from those questions and tears.”

With both my apprentices taking their first step down a road of no return, I gave them one last parting gift.

“That’s why I want you to always remember how much you love Shogi.”

Shogi will always watch over you if you have that love in your heart.

That’s got to be what we call the Shogi gods.

“…… Let’s get stronger … together.”

Not as Master and apprentices.

But as allied players aiming for new heights. That’s what I tell the two girls.

Wishing for the Shogi gods to bless my two precious apprentices.