Volume 1 Chapter 5 Afterword,... (2/2)
”Yes, please take care of me too.”
After the greetings, Kuruno-sensei took off his suit, revealing a short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt beneath.
Kuruno-sensei's habit is to remove his suit before playing, and so is wearing a short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt. This also showed that he's getting serious.
There's a little commotion at the door.
”Which one, which one? Which one's the Ryuuou's disciple?”
”Oh, Kuruno-sensei's playing!”
”This is going to be fun!”
The Kansai Shogi a.s.sociation isn't big, and rumors of 'an amazing kid' quickly spread. The staff members, honorary members onlooking reporters, and even female pros and pro players gathered to see Ai's abilities.
This strange atmosphere left Ai's father hoa.r.s.e,
”Ca-can she win…?”
”Normally, it's very difficult…but Ai has a great chance!”
As long as she played the opening right, maintained her advantage, and kept on attacking, she would have a chance…but—
”Hm…I see. How hardworking you are. Then—”
After several moves, 7th Dan Kuruno played a deviation not seen in the openings.
”…Ugh?”
Ai saw this strange, sacrificial move, and couldn't help but stop.
Gugugu. She leaned forward, twisting her fingers on her knees. Ever since the start, she had been reading cautiously. No matter the moves, she was just trying her best to read the intent behind every move, and showed her talent,
”…Like this, like this, like this like this like this like this like this like this like this like this…right!”
Ai let out a rhythmic mutter, and shoved the piece up. One strong move!
”Ohh, she's going for it!”
”That's amazing!”
The onlookers exclaimed. Such a reaction left Ai's father panicking.
”Wh-what now?”
”Ai chose to completely ignore the opponent's move and tackle head on. She's not scared of a pro's challenge. She's strong-willed.”
”That girl has such a side to her…”
Kuruno-sensei stared at the board intently, opening his mouth that had been closed all this while.
”Hmm…Ryuuou.”
”Yes?”
”I have three bags there. Please bring me the middle one.”
”O-okay!”
I took the large sports bag placed in the middle of the room. Woah!? This bag's heavy!!?
”S-sensei…! I got the bag…!”
”Hm, thanks.”
Kuruno-sensei took the bag from my hands, and then pulled out a large round machine from inside.
He placed it behind himself, and switched it on.
Bzzzzzzzttt…a deep buzzing echoed, and everyone present was left gobsmacked.
”Kuruno-sensei got to the air purifier out…!”
”He's for real! This isn't a guidance match now…the pro's going all out now!”
Th-that's one of Kuruno-sensei's '7 Tools for a Match', the anion generator!
”…Is that thing even effective?'
Ai's mother frowned. Well, it's a valid question.
”Well, the most important objective…is probably to relax. It's important to relax though.”
”What do you mean?”
”The human brain needs to filter out all uneasiness and noise so as to focus the concentration to the maximum. If there's external interference, humans won't be able to concentrate fully.”
Thus, players would try not to plan for other events before a match, or use earbuds during a match, or other methods to gather their concentration.
For Kuruno-sensei, 'anions can purify the air♪' and in that situation, he'll be able to eliminate the uneasiness—so I thought.
”He's trying to eliminate all the noise and create a situation where he can concentrate fully. That's a device needed for such a ritual.”
”But it's just shogi. Is there really a need for this?”
”Everyone here bet their lives on this little shogi board. No matter what it is, anyone will try anything that'll help them.”
I got increasingly used to the cold words of Ai's mother.
According to what Ai told me the previous day, the lady boss always hated shogi, and it was only because of the local onsen a.s.sociation's request that they welcomed the Dragon King match. The reason for that was that her father (Ai's maternal grandfather) was obsessed with shogi all day long, even abandoning his family business.
Over here, in our hearts, shogi's the only thing to live for. We might not be able to live without shogi. That's what we believe in as we continue to battle.
”I heard that in the world of GO, a pro player in China played while inserting pins into the head.”
”Pi-pins into the head? He had pins in the head during the match?”
”Shows that he really wants to win. Winning matches is the most important thing after all.”
The match quickly developed into the mid game, and then into endgame that's hard to break down.
Even a pro player couldn't break out pieces from out of nowhere like magic. To win over the enemy pieces, there's a need to rattle the opponent, and rob the enemy's pieces to increase the fighting strength.
That's why pro players will set several traps on the board, and create a minefield, blowing up any opponent who accidently entered their territory, and gradually wear down the enemy's fighting strength.
However, Ai brought her face to the board, shaking as she read the situation. She then boldly moved the piece into the minefield.
”Hm!?”
She charged right at the starter's king with ferocity, and that attack left 7th Dan Kuruno with his eyes widened.
The Silver General jumped into the enemy's territory like a dance, and skilfully avoided the trap laid out, rattling Kuruno-sensei's formation. She then attacked with both the Rook and Bishop, creating an opening. It's intense. The onlookers were thoroughly excited, the atmosphere in the room heating up, and the compet.i.tors' bloods were heating up, boiling.
”Nn…”
Kuruno-sensei folded his arms and groaned. He definitely never expected Ai to actually avoid all the traps he set up. Ai's talent really was hard to grasp.
The little traps he set up did not work. Seated before him was a budding talent about to reveal itself.
”Hmm!!”
After a long thought into this, sensei made a decisive move, deciding not to protect his King, but to attack Ai's king.
Seeing this, I whispered in a voice too soft for the players to hear,
”It's over.”
”Huh?”
Ai's father looked over at me in shock.
”The-the winner's already decided?”
”Yeah. There's a lot of moves, but Kuruno-sensei's king is going to be checkmated. All that's left is to see if Ai manages to see it…”
If Ai turned defence to attack, the situation would be reversed. It's a trap, one of the many ways to move.
There's an element of 'trust' that comes to pros.
'A pro should be stronger than me.'
'A pro should be able to read all the moves'.
People could 'trust' pros this easily, and pros would use this trust to attack the weakness in the opponent's heart.
'If a pro just attacks without defending, it means that there's no danger to the king…I got to protect it!'
The moment Ai believed that a pro's reputation surpa.s.sed her judgement, it would be the moment she lost. For players who couldn't believe in themselves, there's no victory to talk of.
So, what would Ai do? So I worried—but it was for nothing.”
”…Un!”
Ai attacked without hesitation, and checkmated the opponent. She read that the enemy's king had no room to retreat, and only trusted her judgement.
Once this move was made, 7th Dan Kuruno put his hand on the table.
”Yes, I lost.”
”T-thank you very much!”
Ai panicked, and lowered her head.
Though it was a handicap, it seemed she couldn't hide her joy after beating a pro. Her face's all red, her moist eyes showing the determination she had as she read every move, the left hand holding the fan still shaking.
After a little post mortem, Kuruno-sensei came to my side, and whispered in a voice n.o.body else could hear,
”This child's strong. Her talent won't be limited to just the Research Group level.”
”You think so too, Kuruno-sensei?”
”She beat me through talent alone.”
Kuruno-sensei grimaced, and scowled, nodding.
”This child definitely needs grooming. n.o.body will object to counting this win as two wins when it's a two piece handicap against a pro.”
Ai could be considered to have pa.s.sed the Research Group Test…
But he did not notice the conflicted look on my face, and smiled at the Hinatsuru couple standing by the side.
”Are you two Ai's parents? Your daughter really as talent.”
”R-really?”
Ai's father looked delighted. There's no parent who wouldn't be delighted by praise for their daugther.
”Yes. The accuracy as she reads the moves is really astounding. However, what's most Impressive is her strong heart. It's brilliant.”
”Heart…? Does this have anything to do with talent in shogi?”
””Of course.””
Kuruno-sensei and I said in unison.
”Almost all shogi matches end with 'surrender', which means admitting that they lost. She kept on fighting even when faced with tough odds. Without a strong heart, she won't be able to do this.”
”I see…”
”However, what's most important is the determination to stand up again after losing.”
”After losing?”
Once you lose, isn't it over? So the mother gave such a quizzical look, and sensei continued to explain,
”There are often losses when playing shogi, and surely, she'll lose when faced with people stronger than her. However, without playing the strong, she'll never dream of the thought to be stronger.”
Once she entered the Research Group and aim to be a female pro, it would mean that she would lose thousands of times.
Once the pressure of losing crushed her, or if she gave up on becoming stronger, the path would never be open to her.
”The real defeat is inner trauma. As long as the heart isn't hurt, it's not considered a defeat. So, what's really needed isn't a strong shogi ability, but a strong heart. This is the rarest talent of them all.”
Kuruno-sensei did his best to explain, and gave me a smile,
”Well, no wonder you had her as a disciple, Ryuuou.”
”No…hahaha.”
I tried to laugh it off. I couldn't be saying that she was the one who barged into my house.
”Yaichi, with such talent, perhaps you should consider having her join the Honorary Group?”
”Honorary Group?”
The father asked.
”It's an upper tier group of the Research Group, a gateway to being a pro player. There are few female players, but there's been a rise in number.”
”Do female players have to join the Honorary Group?”
”No, those that join the Honorary Group can't become female pros.”
”Okay, okay…”
I hurriedly tried to b.u.t.t in.
”Let's talk about that later…anyway, first to enter the Research Group—”
”No.”
Pikak! There was the sound of a shogi piece slammed.
The one opposing was the mother.
”The condition to have her continue playing is three straight wins. Please start the third match.”
”…Yes, understood. Let's continue with the Test then.”
Kuruno-sensei looked surprised, but he immediately realized the reason behind all this.
Shogi does not bring any benefit to life in any way.
So many people thought, and in most situations, it really was the case.
Thus, parents, especially those that really put utmost attention on their children, would normally hope for their children to give up on shogi as soon as possible. They hoped their children would take the one path to the top, and get rid of shogi from their lives. There are children who had talent, but had to give up on shogi, and all that was due to their parents' love.
Kuruno-sensei had seen many instances of this, as he had been enthusiastically promoting shogi. Thus, he quickly understood what was going on.
”If she can beat the next opponent, your daughter will definitely become a female pro.”
”Is that person strong?”
”Very—no doubt that she's the strongest female in the 1,400 years of shogi history.”
Kuruno-sensei introduced, and a pretty girl appeared before the shogi board, like a white angel descending from the skies.
””Ahh—””
Ai widened her eyes.
And I, thoroughly shocked, let out a stiff, raspy voice.
”Ane…des.h.i.+…?”
Double t.i.tle holder Ginko Sora slowly sat.
Honorary Member
”…The…'Snow White of Naniwa'…!?”
Ai's parents voiced out once they saw anedes.h.i.+ seated.
”Both of you know her too…?”
”We knew of such a person when researching through famous female pros, but why is a female pro…a t.i.tle holder at a Research Group Test?”
I hesitated over how to explain this, trying to answer the question from the father.
”Anedes.h.i.+…Ginko Sora isn't a female pro.”
”Eh? B-but—”
”Yes, she has t.i.tles in the female tourney, but she's actually an Honorary member. Because of this, she can't become a female pro.”
”Honorary…so what the Manager just mentioned?”
”It's an organization set up for those aiming to become pros. Over there, she's 2nd Dan.”
Honorary members who aren't at least 3rd Dan will carry out Guidance Matches, and of course, their winning records will be reflected in the Research Group.
I completely forgot about this…
”Basically, a Research Group is a cram school for those aiming to enter an Honorary Group. Once the rank in the Research Group is A2, that person will be a 6th Kyu in the Honorary Group.”
”W-wait a minute! You need to be C1 in your Research Group to be a female pro, right? So that means—”
”Yep, even those at 6th Kyu in the Honorary Group is stronger in ability compared to a female pro.”
People often misunderstood, but female pros and pro players are completely different. (TN: Leaving aside that, there's a difference in ranking systems. Kyu is for the lower ranks, and Dan for the higher ranks. The Dan rankings used by the kids in Chapter 3 is way different from the ones used here.)
As for where, the biggest difference would be 'ability'.
There's no female out there who could rise up to 4th Dan to become a pro player.
However—
”Sora's the first female to enter an Honorary Group and be a Dan Holder. This is one of the reasons why Kuruno-sensei deemed her the 'strongest female in history'.”
”But…why are honorary members allowed to hold female t.i.tles?”
”In the female tourneys, there are two that are open to public, not limited to female pros. Any female can partic.i.p.ate.”
These are the 'MyNavi Female Open' and the 'Female Ou t.i.tle Match'. (TN: MyNavi: )
As an Honorary Member, anedes.h.i.+ was allowed to partic.i.p.ate. She crushed all the strongest females, and obtained the two biggest t.i.tles of the female tournaments, 'Queen' and 'Female Ou'.
Female Master: Rina Shakando. (TN: 女流名跡[Myoseki], derived from one of the 105 t.i.tles in Sumo).
Female Throne Holder: Ika Sainokami. (TN: 女流帝位 [Tei-i])
Female Jade General: Ryou Tsukiyomizaka (TN: 女流玉将[Gyokushō])
Sakura of the Mountain City: Machi Kugui (TN: In case you're wondering, the women t.i.tles are fict.i.tious, except for the 'Queen'.)
And double t.i.tle holder and Honorary Member Ginko Sora, who ma.s.sacred the Queen and Female Ou.
Back then, anedes.h.i.+ was only 11, a 6th grader in elementary school.
Ever since the first female pro match she had—she never lost to a female pro.
”47 matches, 47 wins, that's her record against female pros. She never lost. The 'white' in the 'Snow White of Naniwa' doesn't refer to her skin or hair.”
Like a white start with snow piled upon it.
The real reason people called her the Snow White was because of the spotless record of being undefeated.
”Sh-she's going to play against my daughter…”
”Without any handicaps, there's no doubt she'll get slaughtered. It's a handicap match though, so your daughter has a chance of winning!”
And right when I said so, anedes.h.i.+ lined up all the pieces, and removed the Rook and a Lance, putting them in the pieces box.
A Rook-Lance handicap, or what they call the 'Ichohan' (TN: 一丁半)
When ranked Honorary member gives such a handicap, it means the opponent's ability is around C to D cla.s.s.
Ai managed to beat a pro player with a two piece handicap, so her ability should be at least D. I couldn't say that she had no chances of winning.
But on the other hand, if she couldn't beat anedes.h.i.+ in such a setup, she wouldn't be able to become a t.i.tle holder even if she became a female pro.
Because if she wants to win the biggest t.i.tle of the female tourney, she'll have to beat this monster without any handicaps.
During the short moment before the match, anedes.h.i.+ lowered her head slightly, closed her eyes, and motivated herself.
Any ordinary elementary school kid would have been intimidated just by this, and even start crying.
I wanted to cheer Ai on, but in this situation, talking with her would be no different from giving suggestions, and it would be a foul.
Ai had to face such a powerful pressure with her own strength—
”…I won't lose…I won't lose…no way…!”
Ai muttered, trying to cheer herself on. She opened the fan she held in her hands, and stared at the word on it.
”Because Master gave me 'courage'…!”
”……Tch.”
Anedes.h.i.+ glared at me…so I felt. Also, did she just click her tongue?
”Please start.”
”Please take care of me.”
”P-please take—”
Tak!!
Before Ai could lift her head, anedes.h.i.+ made the first move, exerting heaps of pressure on the opponent.
And this first move was one atypical of an opening.
At this point, Ai could not begin with a fixed opening…in a certain sense, this would be the best opportunity.
This 'fixed opening' would refer to the moves most beneficial to both sides.
In other words, by not following that fixed opening, it's very likely that a disadvantageous situation would occur.
If Ai could find the correct move, it might be more beneficial for her to not play the usual moves.
”…Like this, like this, like this…”
Ai spent a lot of time in the opening trying to read the moves, probably because she understood this, or that she sensed that it was beneficial to her. She went all out right from the get-go.
”Like this, like this, like this, like this, like this , like this, like this like this like this like this like this like this like this…”
Once she read the moves to the very last moment…she made a move!
”Great!”
”This means that she has a great chance, right?”
One great move after another, and the room was buzzing.
It was an all out fight that broke away from the norms, but Ai's performance against anedes.h.i.+ remained decent, sometimes even superior. Even the Honorary members of the Genius Clubs are giving looks of praise. She's strong!
”She's…the real deal.”
Kuruno-sensei let out a long sigh.
Ai kept attacking at anedes.h.i.+'s moves, and increased her advantage. At first, it was an 80 to 20 difference, and then it was 99 to 1.
If it were a pro match, this would be enough difference to forfeit. But—
Anedes.h.i.+ remained unmoved. That icy cold face was staring at the board.
The white skin before the match became a crimson red.
I saw anedes.h.i.+ open her fan, fanning at her neck vigorously, and said,
”Anedes.h.i.+…Sora will heat up whenever she focuses her thoughts.”
”How's that possible? Are you saying it's Wisdom fever?” (TN: 知恵熱, Chienetsu, basically teething fever, as the teeth develop in a baby, the body heat will rise)
Ai's mother pretentiously shook her head.
”It means 'a baby easily catching a fever while developing', right?”
”It doesn't seem to be medically possible, but she's definitely heating up.”
And once anedes.h.i.+ gets serious, her eyes will change colors.
The usual grey eyes would become a pale blue similar to a winter sky. I played against anedes.h.i.+ more than any others, and understood that when she gets serious, anedes.h.i.+'s basically a different person.
And the color of the eyes at this point—was an icy blue.
”…Now the show's getting started.”
The Honorary members watching by the sidelines muttered as they discussed.
”There are two end games for the Honorary Group”
As the words implied, it meant that Honorary members who sensed that the situation had turned disadvantageous against them would change their style of play to force a second end game.
Pro players would wish to have a 'perfect match record', to not struggle till death. It is an art for a pro player to understand that all is lost, and that they would offer their heads to end the match.
However, Honorary members are different.
In a Honorary Group, winning is the only answer. There's no room for any ambiguous term like 'beauty'. One can become a pro by reaching 4th Dan, and for this objective, there's a need to crush everyone else. It's the entrusted mission of an Honorary member to send the buddies they studied with for more than ten years into chaos.
An Honorary member who loses has no value.
Tak! Anedes.h.i.+ folded the fan, and made the next move with a loud click.
”The Bishop's moving back!”
”She's intending to fight until the very end…?”
She forced the one important piece she had, the Bishop back into her camp, beginning a thorough defensive match.
Anedes.h.i.+ was like a disadvantaged beast crouching down, storing enough energy, and preparing for the last hit. She kept hara.s.sing, waiting for the chance to counterattack.
”…Ku!!”
And on the other hand, Ai understood that she had the advantage, and was more cautious in every move she made, making sure she did not lose this disadvantage. She suddenly stopped her hand.
It was as though she was in the middle of a Marathon, right at the end, and worried about the footsteps behind her.
If she looked behind just a bit, the difference might have shortened, and she would let the opponent catch up.
The end game of a shogi match is a tug of war against such fear.
At this moment, an electronic sound rang, trying to rattle Ai further.
”Eh!? Ti-time's…!?”
Ai looked at the chess clock in shock. She used up her allotted time. Time limit of a move a minute.
She used up too much time during the opening. As the match dragged on too long, Ai got attacked by anedes.h.i.+ in another manner—
”Time attack”
Ai had an exceptional, otherworldly ability to read, but without time, how much she could read would also be limited. Ai could not read deeply into the moves, and her attacks were lacking in strength, ending up with her pieces being taken.
Anedes.h.i.+ moved without hesitation, using the pieces she took to strength her defences.
Ai, who had been attacking the entire time, stopped doing so.
Again and again she continued to attack, but she got further and further away from the opponent's King, her pieces taken away one after another. She had no time to calm down and respond however, and she was really anxious.
And not only her breathing.
Anedes.h.i.+ even got control on Ai's breathing.
”Fuu…ehh! Uuu…!! Huu…huuu…!”
Ai grabbed her hair and tugged at her chest, groaning bitterly. Before anyone knew it, large amount of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her face was as white as paper.
Seeing their daughter suffer so much, Ai's parents were stunned.
”A-Ai's…suffering so much…”
”It's just shogi. Why's she in so much pain?”
”Hyperventilation.”
””Huh?””
Kuruno-sensei explained,
”It's a similar symptom to excessive breathing. She's breathing too fast, and that caused her breaths to be frantic. There are symptoms like accelerated heartbeat, tightness of chest, or aching…of course, your daughter only has mild symptoms right now. However, what's terrifying is that 2nd Dan Sora might be starting this on purpose.”
””For real?””
Well, yeah.
”2nd Dan Sora managed to time your daughter's breathing, and made a move while she exhales. Your daughter will then inhale due to how nervous she is, messing up her breathing rhythm. This is how she ends up hyperventilating.”
In such a tense situation, when time is limited, even a pro would end up somewhat anxious when faced with such a move, and what was an advantageous position might end up insecure.
Shogi is an art created by humans in limited time.
There are other ways to obtain victory, not limited to just the truth on the board.
There's a situation that can't be seen from the records, a war that can't be reflected on a computer monitor; it existed between the players at the board.
Ai learned shogi through tsumeshogis and the internet, and was lacking in knowledge of such aspects.
AI was playing shogi.
And anedes.h.i.+'s was playing for the win.
”…This is too harsh for a nine year old.”
Even Kuruno-sensei, who gave a handicap, couldn't help but lament.
If I had to say s, this match was a showdown where an elementary school kid armed with a gun was facing an empty-handed killer. Even if the talents were similar, there was a vast difference in experience.
There were already more than 150 moves played, and the other matches were practically over.
Keika, Mio and Ayano were by the board, watching this intense match.
They had conflicted looks on their faces.
Of course, they're supporting Ai…but at the same time, they're jealous of her dazzling talents. It's to be expected that anyone living in the world of compet.i.tions would have such feelings.
”Haaa…haaa……kuuu!!”
Ai was wincing painfully, and made a move while left with little time, but she played the wrong move, and made a mistake. Anedes.h.i.+ calmly attacked, resetting the match from a near surrender to the starting point of the match. Despite this, Ai still had a ma.s.sive advantage.
The most important thing when mistaking mistakes is to 'forget the previous mistakes'.
Or else—
”…Ah!”
Once she made this move, Ai exclaimed softly.
It was an obvious mistake.
That move before was a risky move, but this one was really a bad move. The difference between them was instantly gobbled up.
”Wh-what happened!?”
”Multiple mistakes.”
With the father panicking as he watched his daughter in much pain, I could only inform him of this cruel truth.
”It's common in baseball too, right? If someone is to pitch in bad condition, the mistakes will keep piling up…shogi's the same. Once she starts to worry about her mistakes, she'll make one after another.”
The mistakes kept on coming, and the situation quickly became advantageous to anedehsi.
But anedes.h.i.+ didn't turn defense into attack.
”…! Argh…!!”
Ai's anxiety was clear for all to see.
She was mentally driven to the ledge, and used her important pieces to approach the enemy's base boldly.
But this move—
”…A useless attack.”
Keika lamented, and I bit my lips.
The worst move. (TN: There's a furigana attached to it, it's called Kokose (ここせ). It's the opposite of 'wait' in this sense', by playing the big pieces daringly and leaving the king exposed, aiming to checkmate the opponent's king)
Anedes.h.i.+ had been waiting for a long time…the moment Ai's body and mind couldn't stand the pressure.
This time, anedes.h.i.+ used a lot of time on this move.
She used the waiting time not just to seize the opportunity to read the board.
But also to let Ai understand that it was a bad move.
”Ah!….Ahhh, ah…ahhhhh…!”
Ai cupped her head, having realized her mistake, and groaned in agony.
At this point, the outcome was clear.
Anedes.h.i.+ overcame the handicap, and built up what could be said to be a winning scenario.
But like anedes.h.i.+'s situation from before, Ai could continue hara.s.sing in such a situation. It's not considered a loss as long as she hasn't been mentally defeated.
And that's why anedes.h.i.+ was preparing to crush Ai mentally.
”Woah! She's planning to eat all the pieces…”
”How cruel…”
Eat all the pieces—all of the opponent's pieces. Faced with anedes.h.i.+'s onslaught, the Honorary members gave disapproving scowls.
Of course, anedes.h.i.+ isn't the type of person to ease up when faced with overwhelming criticism.
At ths stage, anedes.h.i.+ had no intention of ending the match, and eliminated all of Ai's attacking pieces or the wandering pieces.
She didn't give her opponent a chance to surrender, and stomped hard on the fingers that were barely grabbing the ledge. Upon seeing this, Kuruno-sensei murmured,
”So, the 'one move to lose friends'.”
”She doesn't have any to begin with.”
I retorted. Anedes.h.i.+ had few friends. One could say that she didn't have any.
Such a scenario showed anedes.h.i.+'s determination.
The world of shogi's very small; those that knew of each other through shogi would one day meet in the battlefield.
But if both sides are on very good terms, it'll be very easy to go easy in a match, and even in a match when the livelihoods are on the line, it's hard to go all out.
Anedes.h.i.+ tried not to interact with others so much, so that she wouldn't have such an excuse.
She didn't need friends, or a lover.
The only thing she needed was shogi, an enemy.
In the future, once she leaves the Honorary group and become a pro, she'll probably keep her distance from Master and me.
Ginko Sora's such a player, and that's why I respect her.
But at this point, only at this point—
”…I hate you, anedes.h.i.+.”
Every trick in and out of the book anedes.h.i.+ was playing, the basics of these skills, are all honed through match training against me.
Ten years ago, anedes.h.i.+ and I knew each other, and ever since, we started playing shogi. No, I should say we knew of each other through shogi. The only thing relating us was shogi. Such a bond got stronger through more matches, st.u.r.dy.
As to the number of matches—it's about 50 thousand or so.
Just as how kids would try all kinds of pro wrestling techniques on each other, anedes.h.i.+ and I tried out all kinds of formations and tactics, a whole lot of tactics outside the book that are edging the limits or outright fouls. We did anything to win. To be honest, when she entered the Honorary Group, I felt the place was too gentle.
At this point, the one torturing Ai was the other me.
Once this fact was shown before me, my heart was ripped apart.
”If I…”
If I had been harsher with her.
If I could have taught her more.
If I could have played a few more matches against her.
She might be able to beat anedes.h.i.+, and wouldn't have to suffer…
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