Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 7 - Chapter 5.2

  AWAKEN! GEEZER STYLE

I thought about raisin’ the white flag the moment my Bishop got snatched.

“…………… Haaaa ……”

The youngens that I built up, that I watched grow are now passin’ me by.

Especially the ones I put my heart and soul into raisin’ don’t show me a lick of mercy anymore. Regret bites at me every time I see one of them do somethin’ I taught them.

Like Ayumu here, claspin’ his pants just above the right knee …… Seeing him still rememberin’ to do what I taught him some ten years ago nearly makes my heart snap in two.

–––A youngen like that ain’t gonna have no weak spots ……

But, I got through it.

It was knowin’ the Sub League member sittin’ on his ankles directly on the tatami is watchin’ me play that helped me get my head on straight.

Seein’ him stick with it, fightin’ tooth and nail reminded me of all those youngens who played along with me at the Kiyotaki Classroom.

I have to keep goin’, for everybody that helped me research for this match and everybody who’s always been there supportin’ me.

There is another reason, too.

Somethin’ I want to try before givin’ up.

Somethin’ I heard about in Hozenji Yokocho after my L-B matched finished up ……

“…… Ever heard of Flavor of Kyoto, Taste of Naniwa?”

“?”

Ayumu’s eyes glance up for a second but look back to the board just as quick. He’s probably thinkin’ it’s just an old geezer talkin’ to himself.

Yep. I’m a geezer.

Sure, I’m usin’ software, wearin’ hip-hop swag along with the kiddos and lettin’ my youth shine through. But, at the end of the day, a geezer’s a geezer.

No matter how many of their words I try to use or how many of these messenger apps I download, I’m just the butt of the with-it kiddos’ jokes.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from spendin’ time with the youngens, it’s this.

Geezers can’t turn back the clock no matter what.

–––Players feelin’ their skills slip away can choose one of two paths ……

The first, go to the youngens to learn the latest strategies.

The other, hide yar age and go down with yar best strategy.

Unfortunately, geezers can’t cram information into their heads like the kiddos can, and people’ll figure out they’re over the hill sooner or later.

Geezers are doomed to fail no matter which path they choose.

That’s why I think I’m gonna try walkin’ right between the two.

Rather than keep drawin’ the same old weapon I always have, I’m gonna give it some new edges and keep on swingin’!

“Now that is–––Geezer style!!”

–––Point, geezers don’t give a darn ’bout who’s got more pieces.

“As far as skill goes, I was already down a Bishop! Ya can go ahead and have it!!”

I get off my cushion, fling it off into the corner of the arena, and set my knees down on the tatami mats to get back into fightin’ mode.

Everythin’ a geezer says comes with contradictions, just like havin’ more pieces leads ya to victory. Kinda like that boss that keeps changin’ his mind, geezers change up their playin’ styles whenever they feel like it. If there’s one thing us old guys are good at, it’s puttin’ kiddos in tough spots.

“One, two, three, four. Four Pawns …… eh.”

First, I get an idea of what’s on my piece stand and what I can do with them.

Then, I give my opponent a full servin’ of Pawns right to the King’s face, snap, snap, snap, snap!!

“Kaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

“……?!”

Seems my Pawn parade’s got Ayumu guessin’.

Geezers barely had spare change to work with growin’ up, so geezers know how to get the most outta their minor pieces. Youngens who grew up with convenience stores could never walk into an old candy shop with 100 yen and walk out with a basket full of goodies like we figured out how to do. Bein’ thrifty is what geezers do best.

“Hangin’ in there? Had enough of the muddy, gritty back and forth? Hm?” I say lookin’ up at him.

’Course he’s ignorin’ me, but geezers are used to gettin’ ignored by the young folks. No damage whatsoever.

Now that I’m older, I get to do to the youngens everything I hated the vets doin’ to me back in the day.

“It’s (the one) fun thing about bein’ a geezer!”

––– Point, geezers should get up in the youngens’ business.

And also not forget to sneak in a few pieces around their King in the meantime.

Geezers look like they don’t care about nothin’, but are really pretty sensitive. They have to fight back the jitters just pressin’ the send button on a message to a fine lady they happened to meet or even their own daughter ……

Next up, I start movin’ pieces left and right.

It’s a tactic to keep the other guy from focusin’ on just one spot. Doin’ this’ll make it harder for the youngens to use their best weapon, readin’ deep. Geezers have a boatload of experience failin’ in all sorts of ways. Can’t count how many times I messed up havin’ this done to me ……

“……!!”

Ayumu’s line of sight keeps goin’ back to the right side of the board.

That’s right, ya keep lookin’ over there.

Perk up those ears while yer at it.

“……………………………”

The kid’s usin’ all his senses, everythin’ he’s got to figure out what I’m after.

The song I requested is finally startin’ to play.

A nyugyoku march–––the openin’ stanza.

“So, now, now. Time to get movin’?”

I send in more Pawns from my piece stand and start promotin’ them into Golds one by one.

Crows and geezers both like shiny stuff. ’Course that ain’t the only reason I’m upgradin’ the Pawns, just sayin’ we can relate.

Double nyugyoku and draw–––basically a stalemate when both Kings reach the other side of the board.

Force a draw like that and ya get a rematch with offense and defense switchin’ sides.

Thinkin’ about it in Ayumu’s shoes, he’d be losin’ this massive lead he’s got on me and should do everythin’ he can to avoid a draw. Meanin’, he’s got to get rid of those Promoted Pawns I scattered around the board.

“Kh …… Blasted Sub-Golds!!”

Sub-Gold? Ah, the golden Promoted Pawns, maybe?

The lingo kiddos use these days is too far-fetched for geezers like me to get …… Ayumu’s real hot under the collar, though. That much I do get.

“Good, good ……”

If there’s one thing geezers are good at, it’s irritatin’ the youngens by gettin’ up in their faces. My never-say-die, stubborn as all hell playin’ style has muddied up Kanto’s bright young star’s latest strategies.

–––Now feels about right ……

Computer-sensei can’t figure out the really sensitive timin’ like this one.

Somethin’ tells me the software ratin’ is lookin’ pretty lopsided against me right about now …… But software can’t calculate what’s happenin’ in Ayumu’s head, now can it?

“Nn-gahh!!”

After pilin’ more Pawns into his territory, I smack one down right behind a Gold defendin’ my King.

“Low Sub ……?!”

More weird words pour outta Ayumu’s mouth in surprise.

Can’t blame him though.

No doubt he’s caught the scent of a nyugyoku and a possible draw by now, but playin’ a Pawn there’d be for holdin’ my ground and bracin’ for a fight.

His spirit’s got to be shakin’ as much as his eyes right about now.

Ayumu’s hit peak confusion.

Which, in turn, made him do this.

161st move–––6 Six Gold. He completely wasted his move.

“What have I done?!!”

It hits him right when he takes his hand away.

Then, he starts poundin’ his fists into his legs, tryin’ to vent frustration.

This’ll be bitin’ him for a while. Skilled as he is, Ayumu’s insistence on perfection won’t let him forgive himself for messin’ up.

“Ah, youth ……”

On the other side of the coin, geezers forget standards and even their own matches against different strategies all the time. The silver linin’ is that we also forget our mistakes. Bein’ behind by a Bishop is long gone (in my head, anyway).

Now it’s time for me to do somethin’ about these pieces comin’ at me.

I take the Promoted Lance Ayumu set up as a stagin’ ground to nyugyoku and, presto, formations are equal again!

“Hehehe ……”

Flauntin’ the Lance I just took, I smack it down and say, “Ya know what’s perfect for flat formations like this ……? A nice, sharp skewer ……”

Ayumu ignores my musin’.

But, with his attention on that Lance, his King should start headin’ for the hills.

–––’Cause he’d lose if I came for him head on ……

So, he goes into his bag of tricks to pull out all the smoke and mirrors he can find to keep that from happenin’. Geezers can’t win the fast battles because our reflexes ain’t what they used to be. Frankly speakin’, it’s scary.

But, ya know? Geezers ain’t just gonna give up.

It all makes sense now.

All that chit-chattin’ the vets did to ease their nerves was also a darn good tactic.

Usin’ their influence to change up the rules was cheap, but now I understand the strength it takes to be willin’ to go that far.

They were desperate for a win, desperate enough to sacrifice their own pride for an edge in battle. All to keep on livin’ as a player …… So they’d have at least one more match of Shogi to play, the game they loved.

I think that’s pretty cool.

Right now, I think so with all my heart. Geezers are pretty darn cool.

Ayumu Kannabe is a good kid. I ain’t got nothin’ against him personally.

He and Yaichi’ll be the ones carryin’ on the Shogi world’s torch for a long time comin’.

’Course he’ll promote.

Truth be told, I’d love for him to rise all the way up to A with a perfect record in the Placement Matches, a fittin’ and glorious entrance for the Meijin Apparent to have in title matches.

Most likely, the Shogi world’s feelin’ that way, too.

“But, I ain’t takin’ it layin’ down! I’m fighin’ destiny!”

Why would I? –––’Cause that’s the epitome of geezer style!!

I smack down my next piece, my inner competitor dead set on makin’ that epitome a reality. Other people in the arena flinch at how loud that was, but I couldn’t care less.

Ya know why–––?

“I’m a geezer …… And geezers can’t read between the lines worth a damn!!”