Monster Under The Bed
As the first half of the captain match of the finals of the Inter-High mahjong tournament ended, the four high school age girls- Miyanaga Saki, Takakamo Shizuno, Oohoshi Awai and Nelly Virsaladze- got up for the break, knowing that when they returned, the tournament would be decided. Shiraitodai was in the lead, but with the relatively small point spread, it was possible for any of the other three schools- Kiyosumi, Achiga or Rinkai- to take first place, and with it, the championship.
During the break, Shizuno went to the bathroom, and took a quick walk around the hall, to refresh herself and clear her mind. The efforts the others on her team had made so far, as well as her own in the first half, had given her a chance at winning, and the second half would decide everything.
Shizuno took a moment to reflect on where she and the others stood at the moment. She, Ako and Kuro had accomplished the goal that had caused them to form the team. They had gotten to play against Nodoka's team again- even if Arata, the only one who had not heard of Nodoka before, was her opponent in the vice-captain round- and spoke with her after years of separation. Despite that, Shizuno did not yet feel fulfilled, and still sought to win the tournament. Two of their members and their coach had come for different reasons- Yuu wanted to play alongside her sister and their friends, Arata initially joined as a favor to Kuro, and Harue coached in the hopes of freeing herself from the failure that haunted her. While none of them specifically entered to win the tournament, they saw it as the ultimate goal, something they could achieve for their school that had always been an underdog in the tournament.
As Shizuno passed by the women's restroom on her way back to the arena, she was suddenly gripped with terror. A familiar oppressive feeling came over her, as though the air in the hallway had become heavier.
Saki slowly walked out of the women's restroom, toward Shizuno, each of her steps seeming to be accompanied by an audible thud. Electricity seemed to be sparking out of her eye, and Shizuno imagined it conducting through the air, and coursing through her body. As terror seized Shizuno, she was overcome with a desire to run away, but fear drained her of all ability to do so.
Suddenly, the door to the women's bathroom reopened, and a voice Shizuno recognized called out.
"Please wait, Saki-san!" Nodoka said, rushing out while drying her hands. "Let me show you back to the arena."
Saki stopped, tripped over her feet and fell on her face. The intimidating aura around her dissipated immediately, and Shizuno let out a sigh of relief as the tension faded. For a moment, she found herself questioning whether the person before her was the same opponent she feared so much, perhaps the one player who stood the best chance of overtaking Oohoshi Awai in the final round. At this moment, Shizuno had the presence of mind to realize that Saki had been going the wrong way.
Shizuno then turned and saw Nodoka walking over to Saki and helping her up.
"Nodoka!" Shizuno said. Although it had been two days rather than several years since they last saw each other, they were still surprised- but also pleased- to cross paths.
"Shizuno!" Nodoka said. "Saki-san, I'd like you to meet Takakamo Shizuno, my friend from Nara. Shizuno, I suppose by now, you've met Miyanaga Saki-san, my friend and teammate from Kiyosumi, right?"
"I have, but Miyanaga-san's reputation precedes her," Shizuno said. "While preparing for the nationals, we played the second-place schools in seven nearby prefectures, including yours. We were able to win at least some of the time, except against two people- Arakawa Kei-san, and Amae Koromo-san. Amae-san mentioned that she, playing at full strength, had lost to a 'Rinshan-user' of Kiyosumi, and I suppose it's your friend, right?"
"That's correct," Nodoka said.
"Koromo-chan told me a little about you," Saki said to Shizuno. "She said you'd gotten stronger while facing her. The five of you defeating my sister's team in the semi-finals is also quite impressive."
"Amae-san lets you call her by her first name?" Shizuno said, incredulous. While she was relatively informal in most cases, she reserved a certain amount of politeness for relative strangers and her elders. Koromo was a member of both groups, even if she didn't look to be part of the latter.
"Yes; she's not too fond of my using '-chan' on her, but I can't help it," Saki said. "There are three sides to Koromo-chan. The first, the one that you and many of her other opponents have experienced, is her as a mahjong monster. The second, which is most apparent to people who don't play or watch mahjong, is a girl who looks and acts younger than she is. The third is a lonely girl who misses her parents- once you understand all there is to know about her, you stop being afraid of her."
"The same applies to you, Saki-san," Nodoka said. "As I've gotten to know you, I've learned about your various quirks. I've also learned about the hardships you've been through in your past, and your desire to reunite your family. And as for your mahjong skill," Nodoka said, before turning to Shizuno, "I can safely say that it's not an exaggeration, Shizuno."
"This reminds me," Shizuno said. "When I was younger, before I met you, Nodoka, I once thought there was a monster under the bed, like some kids my age do. Did you ever have a phase like that, Nodoka? Miyanaga-san?"
"Definitely not!" Nodoka said, and Shizuno was unable to tell whether it was proof that Nodoka's refusal to believe in the supernatural extended back to when she was a young child, or whether she, like always, was unwilling to disclose embarrassing information.
"Not that I can recall," Saki said.
"The morning after that, my mom said that people are often afraid of things that aren't real or aren't a threat to them," Shizuno said. "But when I asked if that meant being afraid was a bad thing, she told me that there were some things even adults were afraid of- sometimes for good reason- and that fear often told me when something is dangerous. She concluded that I shouldn't fear things that don't threaten me, or let fear override rational thought."
"That's some good advice," Nodoka said.
"In any case, Miyanaga-san," Shizuno said, getting to her point. "You are as good as I'd first imagined, perhaps even better. But I, Ako, Kuro-san, Yuu-san and Arata-san have gotten much stronger since we formed our team. We've gotten out of some tight spots and defeated opponents many of us, including our own friends, thought we had no chance against. Maybe you'll be next in the series."
Saki smiled and nodded.
"I know that's a possibility, as Koromo-chan said I might not be able to defeat you," Saki said. "I didn't contest that point, and only said that it might be a fun game against you. So far, that's been true. Shall we get back to the game, then?"
"Yes, let's!" Shizuno said, once again reminded of the excitement of seeing a difficult opponent. Shizuno and Saki then returned to the playing hall, in time for the final game of the tournament to begin.
As Shizuno sat back down at the mahjong table, she remembered her mother's advice. There were some times when people are right to be afraid. Indeed, Saki was more or less a normal girl outside of the mahjong table. But Saki was a monster at the mahjong table, one she would have to defeat in order to bring victory to Achiga.
Despite- or rather, because- of the long odds, she knew she could not be paralyzed by fear or despair. Kuro had regretted falling prey to that in her semi-finals match with Teru, and while she knew that there was a vast gap between her skills and Teru's, she was able to contend with her more effectively in the finals. In this match, there would be no second chances and no teammates to pick up after her, so Shizuno had to end the match with Achiga in the lead- in order to do so, there was very little leeway for things to go wrong.
But one thing was true above all else. Saki, the opponent Shizuno feared most of all, also expressed a certain level of unease in her chances of victory with Shizuno as her opponent, which, on the other side, implied that Shizuno had a chance. In spite of that, Saki still saw the game as a fun one, and Shizuno concluded that, no matter how difficult the struggle ahead would be or how terrifying her opponents were, she would enjoy it.
Author's Notes
Thank you for reading this fic.
I wrote this in response to the interesting juxtaposition of how Saki comes off as scary during her brief encounter with the Achiga team at the start of the Nationals. Interestingly enough, in the Nationals Arc version of that scene, Shizuno ends up scaring Saki.