Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 18 - Chapter 4.02

  Dressed for Death

A seventh match is unique.

Title series only last until the fourth if one player wins them all. No one knows if there will be anything beyond the fifth match. The odds of reaching a fifth, sixth and seventh decrease with each passing match.

That means only venues with strong Shogi connections or a history of hosting Title Matches would even consider hosting a seventh match.

But to me, Yaichi Kuzuryu, seventh matches aren’t all that unusual.

My first title match, and when I defended it for the first time, each lasted to the eighth match.

“That might not have anything to do with it, but the association sure booked a nice place.”

The garden here is so green, it's hard to believe this is in the middle of an urban environment. Just walking around it is putting my mind at ease.

This hotel used to be a summer home belonging to an elder statesman during the Meiji Restoration who happens to be one of Machi Kugui’s ancestors. I also beat Okito-sensei last year in this very hotel to claim the Crown Title last year.

―――That was also the day Big Sis turned pro.

A year has already passed since then. Part of me feels like the time flew by, but so much has happened since then that if someone said it had been ten years, I’d believe it.

If there’s anything I know for sure, it’s this.

“There have been a lot more goodbyes than hellos ……”

But I have to get used to this loneliness. If I want to be as strong as the Meijin, solitude is going to come with it …… That could mean losing a friend tomorrow over this Shogi match.

The inspection goes smoothly and I’ve got a little free time before the opening night party.

Someone asked me to meet them here before then.

“Greetings.”

“It’s been too long, Shakando-sensei.”

She’s admiring the crape myrtle tree while waiting for me at the back corner of this elegant garden.

“I’ve asked Maria to ensure our privacy. While I understand that may not be wholly enough, she has grown much of late.”

“I heard that she’s rising through the ranks, too.”

Maria Kannabe is Ayumu’s little sister and a female member of the Sub League, which isn’t all that rare nowadays. She joined at 6-kyu but is already 4-kyu. Reaching 4-kyu in the sixth grade is pretty fast, even compared to boys with potential.

“Shall we stroll?”

“Sure. Oh …… take my arm.”

“Well, well. This may cause a misunderstanding should we be seen, no?” says Shakando-sensei with a playful grin as she reaches out with her free hand. The path through the garden is kind of bumpy and trying to walk on it with just a cane for support would be dangerous.

She then looks up at me as if trying to read my mind.

“He-he …… You are easily influenced by the women in your vicinity, you see. It is rather entertaining to imagine who you are doing such things with these days.”

“You didn’t attend the first match, if I remember correctly. Did you come this time because it’s closer?”

I let her comment slide.

Bringing up a topic like this is definitely something Ai Yashajin would do.

“Why no. He extended an invitation, even procuring rooms for Maria and myself.”

“Ayumu did ……?!”

“He foresees this being a momentous occasion, no doubt. He even went as far as preparing a special set of clothes.”

“Is he planning to walk down the aisle after claiming his first title?”

This hotel hosts plenty of Shogi title matches, but it is also famous for having one of the best chapels in the country. Shogi players have had receptions there.

“You wanted to speak with me, yes? What is it about? If you want to know about Master, I haven’t seen him in―――”

“It’s about your fledgling.”

“……”

I had that feeling.

But I doubted that Shakando-sensei would bring it up the day before a title match.

It would distract me from Shogi.

―――Does she want Ayumu to win that badly?

That thought passes through my head and I immediately hate myself for it. Shakando-sensei isn’t the type who would pull that kind of underhanded stunt.

I bet she genuinely wants to tell me something somewhere she won’t be overheard and it would be better for me to know now rather than once the match gets going.

I was right, too.

“The board of directors granted her an exception and approved her taking a Professional Entrance Exam. However, she refused on the spot. The conditions were unacceptable to her.”

“I see.”

“You don’t seem all too surprised?”

“Knowing Ai, she has a reason.”

My heart skipped a few beats, actually. Why the heck did she say no?! Wasn’t that test the whole reason she moved to Tokyo in the first place?!

There are so many questions I want to ask right now, but I will myself to stay cool. Shakando-sensei will pick up even the slighted twitch through my arm right now. I have to keep my heartrate down and sweat under control.

“……… Quite strong, both you and her,” says Shakando-sensei, releasing my arm and looking up at the lush greenery overhead. “The board of directors seized me by the core, turning me into their assassin. That girl surpassed me and made it look so simple. She commands the Women’s League not with power, but with courage.”

Courage.

That word makes my tear ducts clench.

Because …… that was the first word I gave Ai.

―――She took my teachings to heart. Not that anything I have to say is worth it.

“Ayumu has grown strong as well.”

Shakando-sensei looks at me with pleading eyes.

“Do pull out all the stops for tomorrow’s Shogi, will you not? That young man has gotten this far in his pursuit of you ……”

“I have never once gone easy on him and I don’t plan to start now.”

Leaving Shakando-sensei with Maria, I head back into the building to get ready for the opening night party.

Then… the next morning.

I arrive at the arena a little early so I can prepare for the piece flip and find a lot of familiar faces waiting for me inside.

The observer is Takeru Usui 9-dan. He was the Ryuo before me. On a side note, this is the first time he’s ever worked as an observer, so this match is already making headlines.

The match recorder is Noboryou 3-dan. A person working multiple matches in the same series isn’t unheard of, but it only happens once in a blue moon.

The match journalist is Ms. Mato. She sat in that spot at this time last year, too.

Sitting behind her is Ryou Tsukiyomizaka, who seems to be having a hard time sitting on her ankles in seiza. Someone would get angry at her if she sat up on her knees at a time like this.

Shakando-sensei and Maria are standing with the media people in the corner of the room. Standing up after sitting down is a challenge for Shakando-sensei, so it’s easier for her to stay up.

Almost everyone from the Elementary Meijin Tournament ten years ago is here.

Ayumu and I didn’t play against each other back then, but I sometimes dream about it.

Our younger selves walk over to a Shogi board lit up for the cameras and play a match in those dreams.

As for the match itself, I don’t remember how it goes.

But I always wake up in a cold sweat whenever I have those dreams, so it’s safe to say they’re intense fights. I’ve even woken up in tears before, so I probably lost in some of them.

Right now, though, Ayumu still hasn’t arrived.

Just as I’m settling into the upper seat.

“Kannabe-sensei?! Wh-What are you wearing―――?”

The hallway outside the room erupts.

Ayumu wouldn’t wear his usual cape getup to a title match, but his outfit today blew all of us normal people’s expectations out of the water.

“Whoa?! That kimono! It’s ……?!”

“Pure white, top and bottom ……!”

Yeah.

Ayumu steps into the arena wearing all white.

That includes the haori jacket and hakama trousers. Even the bag around his shoulders doesn’t have a shred of color to it. Wearing that to a Shogi match is beyond unprecedented.

“I know the guy’s got a thing for white, but yeesh …… That get up is practically―――”

Ryou’s stunned mumbling sums up what everyone in the room is thinking.

“………… How dead people are dressed for funerals ……”

“I apologize for my tardiness,” says Ayumu like a samurai of old as he enters with a bow and sits down in the lower seat. His face couldn’t be more serious.

Only then did I realize I watched the whole thing play out without actually sitting down. Quickly getting into seiza, I reach for the piece box.

―――Geez! What made him choose that of all things?

Is it his way of saying we should fight like ourselves one last time?

Or ………… is he really prepared to lay down his life in this match?

“It’s time for the piece flip.” Ms. Noboryou says as she gets to her feet and procures five Pawns. “Face up will indicate Kuzuryu-Crown.”

Clackity clackity clack! Our fates are literally in her hands as Ms. Noboryou gives the pieces a few extra shakes before letting them fly.

“…………!!”

All eyes are on the piece flip of destiny. The player with the first move has won every match so far. So the chances that whoever gets it today will win go way up.

But I want the first move for a different reason.

―――I don’t want to show it if I don’t have to …… that barren wasteland.

Beating Ayumu on defense is much easier said than done. If I’m in that position, I’ll have no choice but to use the Shogi solution Awaji showed me in this one match. I can already see Ayumu in that pure white kimono, but splattered in his own blood like Ika. A future where he really is already dressed for his funeral.

The five Pawns land on a white cloth.

Ayumu takes a short breath. All eyes in the arena are on me.

Ms. Noboryou gathers up the scattered pieces and returns them.

I put those pieces back in their rightful places on my side of the board, my fingers steady as a rock.

“How about that? It’s time,” says observer Takeru Usui 9-dan before kicking off the match in a unique fashion. “Take it away, kiddos. You’re up, Kannabe.”