Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 11 - Chapter 1.3

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MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

“Let’s pick up the pace! We should be able to make it just in time for the last express train!”

I speed up and pull Big Sis along by her wrist because I can’t count on her to keep up or walk straight the way she is right now.

The rain is still coming down hard and, at this rate, I don’t think it’ll ever stop. Osaka station is jam-packed with people, so it’s stiflingly humid and the floor is slippery.

–––Other people probably think we’re a couple, holding hands like this ……

Slightly early Tanabata holiday decorations are swaying in the air, glittering.

Ignoring them, I vent a little frustration.

“Jeeze! I haven’t had to put up with a sudden trip like this in a long time.”

“…… This isn’t a trip.”

“Oh, that’s right. It’s a journey to die.”

Then, what am I supposed to call it? A final destination?

Suddenly, I’m reminded of a book.

Midnight Express. Mr. Kagamizu lent it to me a while back.

I ended up returning it to him without reading much at all, but it was a thing for a bit when I was in the Sub League. The book is an old journal written by somebody traveling from Asia to Europe.

–––Now that I think about it …… Sota said he read it, too.

Sota Kunugi.

Rising through the Sub League like he was on a high-speed elevator, he’s made it all the way to the 3-dan division as a sixth grader and currently leads the standings without a single loss. Seriously, he’s a prodigy among prodigies.

–––Unlike Big Sis, he’s probably already started researching for the next match.

The undefeated Sota is the powerhouse in the division with Mr. Kagamizu and Mr. Karako right behind him with one loss a piece. I bet he can sit in front of a board without a second thought and still have all the confidence in the world.

Then again, maybe he is so zoned in on promoting to 4-dan that his focus might start slipping?

–––That’s an optimistic way to look at it ……

The pressure that comes with being at the top of the 3-dan division is immense.

But counting on it to crush an opponent for you would be a mistake.

Going on a trip now is the same as suicide. I know that. But Big Sis really might lose her mind if she stays in Osaka like this ……

Wait a sec, didn’t Mr. Kagamizu tell me something when he lent me that book?

“You can’t exactly travel abroad when you hole up in your room to play Shogi from dawn to dusk. That’s why I read this book to distract myself from the urge to get away. That, and–––.”

“And?”

“The name Midnight Express comes from fugitives making their escape. Perfect for Sub League members, don’t you think?”

Runaway fugitives.

That fits our situation perfectly.

It’s impossible to separate Shogi from our memories of Osaka. No matter where we go, we can never escape from it.

Shogi is a prison, a cage. At some point, the whole city became divided into an 81-space grid to us, just like a Shogi board. That’s why we’re running away, getting out of the city.

All so that we can play the Shogi we love as much as we want.

Yet, that’s the reason the two of us left our parents’ houses in the first place: to become children of the house that revolves around Shogi.

The last express train headed north is surprisingly crowded.

Since we managed to get the last two reserved seats that were side by side, I get Big Sis situated in the window seat before I put our luggage up on the rack and sit down in the aisle seat.

Then, I take out the drinks and snacks I bought at the station and offer them to her.

“Want something to eat?”

“…… No,” she answers flatly as she stares into the pitch blackness outside the window. It sounded like a strong refusal.

“I see. Let me know if you change your mind.”

Big Sis is the type of player who eats next to nothing during her matches.

Since the 3-dan division plays two matches during their Regular Activities, that means Big Sis probably hasn’t eaten anything at all. She might not even have had dinner last night.

–––Didn’t eating actually make her feel sick back when she was a kid ……?

Memories start coming.

Big Sis used to be so much weaker than she is now and was in and out of the hospital a lot. She’d also get fevers quite a bit after playing Shogi.

If she won, she’d be satisfied and that was that, but she’d get worked up if she lost and kept challenging me as many times as it took for her to win. The problem was that she could tell right away if Master or I were trying to lose and threw a temper tantrum. Talk about handful ……

“Yaichi.”

“Hm? Want a snack after all?”

“Hand.”

“Ahh …… Sure.”

I do as I’m told and take her hand again.

The first day that Master brought us to the Kansai Shogi Association, he gave us this very direct order.

“Always hold hands whenever ya two leave the house. I’ll kick ya outta the Shogi family if ya don’t.”

He told me, “Protect a girl younger than you.”

To Big Sis, he said, “Make sure your younger brother apprentice doesn’t get lost.”

If he’d outright demanded that we hold hands, I’m sure the two of us would’ve let go the first chance we got.

Because of Master Kiyotaki’s approach, we got past normal kiddie reactions, got along surprisingly well and the two of us were able to keep holding hands no matter where we went.

It was that way for years and years.

Except one day we let go of the hand the way we were never supposed to.

And ever since that day, Big Sis and I have walked our own Shogi paths, alone.

The first one to let go was–––.

“Big Sis. At least drink some …… Huh?”

I pause in the middle of the sentence.

Because I feel something against my shoulder.

That, and I can hear light breathing.

“…… You’re always the first to fall asleep. Some big sister you are.”

Then, it finally hit me.

Just how tired I am.

“Wheew–––––– ………………… That was a long day ……”