Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 7 - Chapter 5

  B-2 DIVISION FINAL MATCH

“Well, I’ll be goin’,” a fully dressed and prepared Kousuke Kiyotaki said to his daughter. Just like always.

The only difference today was the extra bag in his arms. It held the kimono he was planning to wear for today’s match.

“Sorry to ask ya to get it ready outta the blue like that.”

“It’s fine. Compared to all the other things you’ve asked me to do recently, Father, this was nothing.”

“Ya may have a point there.”

Father and daughter shared a laugh.

“…… I’ll be comin’ straight home tonight no matter what ends up happenin’. Could be pretty late, though, so go ahead and hit the sack.”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay up and wait for you.”

I could never get to sleep without knowing the results …… Keika thought but didn’t let the words escape her throat.

There were so many things she wanted to ask.

–––Are you serious about retiring if you get demoted? Can you survive without Shogi in your life?

–––Why are you saying you want to quit right when we finally became a true family?

–––Have I …… been supportive enough as your daughter?

However, Keika kept all those questions locked away.

Instead, she yelled out to her father as the man walked down the street away from her.

“Don’t give up!! Don’t give up, Father!!”

Kousuke didn’t turn around but waved his hand high over his head in response.

Kousuke changed into his kimono upon arriving at the association and stepped into the Onjyoudan no Ma 30 minutes before the match was scheduled to begin.

Sub League members were still hard at work making preparations inside the arena.

“Mornin’. Mind if I take over?”

“Huh?”

If the appearance of a man in a full kimono wasn’t startling enough, Kousuke’s request to take over had them completely bewildered.

Reason being, they had just started cleaning the board for the match.

“…… Sure, here ……”

“Thanks.” Taking a cloth from one of them, “Haaa …… Alright!”

Kousuke sat down on his ankles, straightened his posture and wholeheartedly committed himself to wiping the board spotless.

His kimono’s fabric was thick and heavy.

His brow shone with sweat in mere moments, but Kousuke didn’t let up. Each swipe across the board was just as strong as the last.

Though he had worn traditional Japanese clothing as a match observer many times over the past few years, never once had he done so as a player. Kousuke continued meticulously cleaning the board to remind himself how it felt to be in battle. Strength in each and every muscle.

––– …… Demoted on the spot with a loss …… Talk about high stakes ……

He tempered his heart like steel.

Each stroke across the board fell like a hammer, driving the blemishes out of his fighting spirit.

–––It’s all outta hand …… I’ll fall when I fall, no matter what I do ……

Kousuke tore those thoughts away with every swipe of the cloth.

He worked his spirt down to the point where only a pure desire for a good battle remained.

“Yeah …… That’s got it.”

Looking at his own reflection on the shimmering Shogi board, Kousuke’s heart and mind were crystal clear.

At long last, other players started entering the arena.

A total of eight matches were to take place in Kanto today. In Kansai, five.

Of those five, Kousuke’s match would surely draw the spotlight. Partly because rankings were on the line …… but his opponent would be the main attraction.

The B-2 Division final Placement Match.

His opponent had been determined the moment this season’s Placement Matches had been announced …… more than nine months prior.

Kousuke had been overtaken by a mixture of complicated emotions when the schedule was revealed.

He was very familiar with his opponent and had known him for years.

At the same time, it wasn’t someone from his generation like Hiroshi Muroga.

He was from a much younger generation …… One younger than his own daughter. He had even done instructional matches against this opponent, giving him handicaps in the past.

“Can I give it all I’ve got, knowin’ I’m facin’ him? Or–––.”

The room suddenly tensed.

The few conversations happening vanished as a sense of prickly unease gripped the arena like an electric shock.

A unique aura only donned by those who command trust in the Shogi world–––those unanimously recognized as strong.

“…… He’s here, eh?”

Today’s opponent.

Recognizing his adversary, Kousuke …… felt the flame in his chest burn even brighter.

Meijin Apparent–––Ayumu Kannabe 6-dan.

“Beg your pardon.”

Flipping his trademark white cape over his shoulder, the young man gallantly strode to the lower seat.

The sight of Kousuke’s kimono did nothing to break his usual, even-keeled aura.

––– …… Cool as a cucumber, that one.

Even though the people of Kansai had grown to expect Ayumu’s unusual fashion sense, it made an even greater impact.

Which was strange because it made wearing a kimono to the final Placement Match seem like par for the course by comparison. Kousuke felt he’d already lost a battle before the war got underway.

–––I gotta admit …… Never thought such a quiet kid would turn out like this ……

As his apprentice Yaichi’s closest friend, Ayumu had spent many nights playing Shogi at the Kiyotaki household in his youth.

The Ayumu of those days kept to himself and was rather shy. Kousuke still saw him as a reserved boy.

–––But, his Shogi was always solid. Attack or defense, it didn’t matter. He always stayed straight and true.

He played like a king.

Ayumu’s talent was impossible to miss even when playing against him and his apprentice on two boards simultaneously. What’s more, Kousuke felt the boy’s willpower might even exceed Yaichi’s.

He was sure Ayumu would grow strong.

Strong enough to challenge him one day.

But, never this soon and in such a consequential match like this one …… Kousuke marveled at the Shogi gods’ whimsical nature as he lined up the pieces.

“It is time. Kannabe-sensei, the opening move is yours.”

The match recorder was a young man who frequented the Kiyotaki Classroom.

He was also the kyu-ranking Sub League member for whom Kousuke had once been forced to give up his seat in the Player’s Room.

Now, the two were allies diligently committed to reaching the same goal.

Apparently, the young man had taken a page out of Hiuma Kagamizu’s book and refused a floor cushion for this long endeavor. Kousuke felt a small rush of courage well up within him at the sight.

That courage became the fuel that drove him forward to meet Ayumu head on in a Double Yagura match.

Both combatants were particularly skilled with yagura castles.

Ayumu’s formation was the epitome of modern Shogi, seamlessly combining “strong defense, aggressive attack and an unbreakable line.”

Meanwhile, Kousuke had constructed a thick yagura, one designed to absorb punishment.

Each player executed their individual styles with enough precision to be called textbook Shogi.

The match followed their specialties to the letter with Ayumu on the offensive and Kousuke matching him blow for blow as the two fought neck and neck–––However.

“Now ……!!”

66th move.

Kousuke sent his Knight into the fray. The piece came down with a confident snap, filling the whole arena with the sound of assured victory.

The sense that told him to calmly send his Knight toward the center of the board was the direct result of working with young Shogi players like Sota Kunugi and other Sub League members.

“?!”

This timing caught Ayumu off guard.

His fingers, which had been flying across the board at a breakneck speed up until this point, came to a standstill as he sunk a great deal of waiting into planning his next move.

“……? ………!!”

Through taking several minutes, Ayumu came to the realization that Kousuke’s Knight jumping forward had tipped the scales against him.

“Tsk ……!”

Pounding his fists into his own thighs to vent frustration, he sent a Silver forward to neutralize the new threat posed to his front line.

–––Let youth shine through!!

Kousuke’s fingertips pulsed with new life as he fought to extend his lead. His playing style transformed into a free-flowing, almost nimble front as opposed to his classic ironclad defense.

This sequence, painstakingly acquired from weeks of researching with software that he himself had difficulty learning how to use, had forced Ayumu into a defensive position despite starting the match on offense.

Kousuke’s adept use of his Bishop allowed him to trample his opponent’s offensive formation with Promoted Pawns and drive Ayumu’s Rook into retreat.

This new borrowed clothing was now as comfortable as his own skin and Kousuke utilized it to the fullest.

“Alright ………… Alright. That’s goin’ my way ……”

He spoke aloud, reassured by his advantage.

The very fact that the saying having more pieces leads to victory exists in the Shogi world shows that no matter how Shogi senses change, the value of pieces themselves stays the same. It’s become a good luck charm of sorts.

–––Makes a geezer like me feel like he can take on the world!

The formations clearly showed Kousuke held the advantage.

Claiming this position in the early game against one of Kanto’s most prominent young players, on defense no less, was a magnificent accomplishment.

“Kh …… ’Tis inevitable!!”

An invigorated Ayumu deployed a Silver directly in front of Kousuke’s formation.

It was nothing more than a forced offensive, a knee-jerk reaction to knowing that he would be overrun without taking drastic measures. Rather than a logical strategy, Ayumu’s competitive drive was behind this attack …… That’s how Kousuke read the situation.

–––Tradin’ a Silver for a Gold? Seems a bit ……

Losing a defensive Gold would certainly hurt, but when he took his current advantage into account, Kousuke reasoned he could methodically break down his opponent’s assault and claim victory.

Therefore, he went ahead with the exchange.

That was a mistake.

Ayumu immediately deployed his newly claimed Gold directly in front of Kousuke’s Bishop.

“Agh?!”

Kousuke literally jumped out of his cushion in that moment.

His Bishop was cornered.

“W-What’ve I …… Spacin’ out like that …………”

He couldn’t believe it himself.

“Got so caught up with the Knight …… Completely forgot about the Bishop ……!”

–––I’m officially over the hill.

His heart knew it to be true.

Then, Ayumu simply placed the Bishop he claimed for free on his piece stand. The piece was pinched between his white-gloved fingers.

Kousuke saw it like the young man had his very life in his grasp.