Chapter 1- First meeting

Disclaimer - I don't own Saki, and certainly won't make any money from it in any way, shape or form. All credit goes to the wonderful managaka Kobayashi Ritz and the team that animated it.

About the story: I picked this up one day when I was suitably depressed about the lack of translated Nodoka x Saki material on the internet and it has become a useful go-to hobby of mine to add to it. It is far bigger than I ever thought it would become. Beware of yuri should you choose to read this child of mine.

Note that I will occasionally use notes to indicate things I think are worth mentioning at the start and end of chapters. If a mahjong hand is confusing or if there is a noticable mistake please don't hesitate to point it out to me and any and all criticism is welcome, but don't feel pressured to review. I will write it whether I get 0 or 200 reviews. It really is a fun hobby of mine, so everything else is just a bonus.

One more thing I would like to add before I quit this overly long segment (Would this be called an author's note, I wonder? It's certainly strange to consider myself an author of anything)- I will do everything I can to make sure neither Saki nor Nodoka (or anyone else for that matter) become too powerful, regardless of how tempting it is for me to do so, although Nodoka will be stronger than she is in the anime. Consider yourself warned.

Haramura Nodoka was angry. In fact it would be fair to say she was as angry as she could remember being in recent memory, and to make things worse she was live on television. She was not angry because she was losing, despite how likely that seemed. She had lost before, both online and in real life, but she had never quite felt like this. This is not the first time this girl who was the root of Nodoka's anger had been in the lead in a game of mahjong, and it was not the first time she looked utterly disinterested either.

Despite her frustration at her current situation she could not help but think about the first time she had seen this harbinger of irritation. Their first encounter was an uneventful and one-sided one, and Nodoka did not consider the meeting to be a fated one. She would not admit it to herself, but one day she would be sorely tempted to consider it as such regardless of how illogical it was.

It had taken place in a pretty albeit modest garden that was situated around the side of the hotel. The hotel was a grand building that was utterly packed with people who were involved in one shape or another with mahjong, and the girl had been quietly reading a book next to a tree away from the noise. It had been pure chance that Nodoka had passed that way, but the girl hadn't noticed her. Nodoka on the other hand had recognised her immediately; she was the main talk of the tournament after all.

It helped that Nodoka had watched several of the girl's matches on television, where she had become familiarised with the girl's appearance. She was a reasonably pretty girl with thick brown hair that reached down to her shoulders, and whilst she was mostly normal in appearance, her eyes were somewhat peculiar. They were a rare shade of dark red that was somehow striking. The girl, along with her sister was a big favourite of the press, but Nodoka wasn't sure the praise was wholly deserved. The girl was clearly talented, and Nodoka could not question her results, but to say the girl was reckless was more than a simple understatement.

In the end she did not approach the girl, although she had been sorely tempted. She was almost desperate to know why the girl felt the need to declare reckless kan all the time, but approaching her just to ask her that would have been extremely rude and so she endured it. Instead she reminded herself she would have a chance to see the girl in action at the team tournament final which was the one match of that particular tournament that Nodoka was in Tokyo for.

Nodoka had watched the entirety of that match, and the girl Nodoka was playing against now had entered the final round with a significant gap between her own team and the team in first place, yet her team won overall almost comfortably thanks to her captain's round. Whilst the girl absolutely deserved to win, it annoyed Nodoka that the girl looked so bored whilst she won the match. Why does she even play if mahjong is so boring? Nodoka felt particularly bad for her opponents. Losing to someone who doesn't even like mahjong must be extremely frustrating. Nodoka had thought that at the time, and was finding it to be absolute in its truth.

Nodoka's own team were unfortunately swiftly defeated in the qualifiers previously in the year, although she couldn't blame luck there, or a bored opponent for that matter. Her team were not noticeably better or worse than the teams they had faced in the first round, so it wasn't much of a surprise when they went out. Nodoka thought it was slightly harsh that only the first placed team made it through each round, but she could understand it given the amount of teams that signed up for the tournaments. She far preferred the way it worked on the net, where bonuses were awarded for both second and first place, which made luck less of a factor in the long run.

Her middle school team's lack of success depressed Nodoka, and she would have far preferred to get to the final of that tournament, but it at least represented an advantage in the individuals. Nodoka knew the girl opposite's play style inside and out, whilst Nodoka herself was still a relative unknown despite her own undeserved media attention that she received far too much of. It's true that she won the prefectural individual tournament in Nagano, but there were many players who had won such tournaments and they did not seem to receive the same attention that Nodoka did.

Nodoka had managed to get a hold of the girl's play records from not only her own prefectural middle school tournament, both from the individuals and the team tournament, but also from several of her other tournaments. The records were acquired via a reporter who was largely responsible for Nodoka's own media hype, although she hadn't achieved nearly as much as the girl opposite her. Not in real life at least. The reporter's name was Nishida, and the records had cost Nodoka just a half-hour of her free time for a pre-match interview which she had given a few hours earlier.

Nodoka had studied the records so meticulously that she almost knew them by heart, whereas all of her own records were hidden behind her pseudonym on the internet. She had not sought out nearly as many records for her other two competitors, but then again they were not winning competitions against professional players. In truth, Nodoka hated looking up records of other players, but there was something about this girl's play records. Against most opponents Nodoka believed in her own play style to take her to the win, but she was less certain when it came to this girl, and judging by the current score her caution was well-founded.

However, even after studying the records so thoroughly she could not understand the girl's thought process and the so-called advantage certainly didn't seem to even slightly matter. Nodoka let the current score wash over her. It's not over yet. She looked up at the girl opposite, who glanced back at her, which for some reason caused Nodoka to find the need to quickly avert her eyes, and she could feel the blood rising to her cheeks in her embarrassment. She was usually fine with looking people in the eyes, but there was something about this girl's garnet-red eyes that unnerved her.

Perhaps it was the pressure of the situation that caused her to feel so flustered. Or maybe it was because of the dominating display the girl seated opposite to her displayed in the team matches and now in the individuals. She was just as reckless as ever but her current position in first could not be denied, nor could her status as the team tournament's Most Valued Player which was rightfully awarded to her. It could even have been the look in the girl's eyes. She did not just seem bored as in her previous matches, but somehow sad as well, as though this tournament was not good enough for her.

Nodoka supposed it could also simply be nerves. This was the first time she had reached the final of such a big competition, whereas the girl opposite her was back-to-back winner of the inter-middle team championships, and could soon be the back-to-back winner of the individuals as well. She had also played in other more prestigious tournaments where she had even beaten professional players. It was no coincidence that Shiraitodai started to win the middle school tournaments the year she began playing for their team. Whilst Nodoka did not appreciate her reckless style of calling Kan at every opportunity, she could still see the girl's talent in her game records.

Clever, tactical and logical play was right there alongside her illogical gambits and Nodoka thought the girl was above middle-school level, at least when she played logically like that. Nodoka had good reason to think she herself was above middle-school level as well however. There was not only one middle-school player who had one-upped pros at the table – Nodoka's own record online was better than that of a lot of professionals', so she was not about to give up now against a fellow middle-school player, no matter how highly rated she was.

The girl, in contrast to Nodoka herself, seemed to have nerves of steel. No, that's not right. She just doesn't care enough to be nervous... Nodoka felt her fist clench around the hem of her skirt. What happened to her to make her act this way? She wasn't always like this… The clips that Nodoka had watched of her early career showed her to be, for the most part, a cheerful, enthusiastic, albeit quiet player. And yet the only smile that ever graced her face during her recent games was a small, sad thing that did not remotely resemble the smile the cute young girl seemed to always have on her face as she played.

It was only the recent clips where she looked like this; a girl who looked like she had been defeated even after her victories. Her recent record was not quite as impressive as last year's either, and she had taken some surprise defeats although that wasn't enough to stop her from winning several tournaments, in particular those with her Shiraitodai team.

South round 3- Oribe Agiri's Dealership- (Karatsu Middle school)

A quiet "pon" from the girl woke Nodoka from her stupor. A set of 6-Pins? Such a call could easily become a problem for Nodoka and she knew it. If she has decided to just go for quick tanyao and other fast hands to extend her victory to end the match as soon as possible there may not be a lot that I can do about it. Nodoka's dealership was up next so a cheap win for the girl opposite her would not be the end of the world, but that did not mean that Nodoka was prepared to give up on the win just yet.

"Chi!" she called clearly when the player to her left discarded a 4-wan. Nodoka prided herself on her speed. She could outrun this girl with a bit of luck, she was sure of it. A small win was not likely to do much here given the current point spread, but it was better than letting her win. "Pon" she called on that same Kaisei student when she discarded an 8 wan. She could do this, and she was soon in tenpai when she drew the last of the 6-pins. She looked up at the girl opposite. Can you keep up with my speed?

Even Nodoka was surprised when the player who discarded her winning tile was none-other than the Middle School team tournament MVP herself. "Ron! Tanyao and a dora. 2000 points please!" She said, too loudly. Nodoka was mournful of her manners, but it was the first time anyone had directly scored off of this girl during the match so far. It was a fairly meaningless win considering the point tally; she was still about 20,000 points down from the girl, but it meant that she was not infallible. Logic is still the answer, and not any kind of reckless luck-reliant play style.

Winning hand- 2P 3P 4P 5P 6P 2S 2S [4W 5W 6W] [8W 8W 8W] (4P)

Dora indicator(s): - Hatsu

Yaku: Tanyao

"Oh… Okay." The girl said quietly, almost under her breath. Whilst she was pleased that the girl sounded slightly surprised, the meekness of the response did not please Nodoka. She didn't even look at Nodoka as she passed her the two point sticks. Nodoka glared holes into the arrogant inter-middle Team champion. The cheek of it! This is the final of the individual Middle School tournament! Yet the girl still seemed like she didn't care at all and moreover now appeared to have decided it would be a good idea to be looking off into space somewhere.

South round 4, Haramura Nodoka's Dealership (Takatoobara Middle School)-

If that's how it's going to be, then I'm going to give you the match of a lifetime. It was Nodoka's dealership this round and the hand she received was full of potential. After quickly calculating several possible discards she went with one of her non-seat wind tiles, a west wind. It was the final hand of the first hanchan and Nodoka was not about to let this girl mock them any longer.

This is perfect. Her tiles came together nicely, and by the 9th turn she was able to declare riichi on a Haneman or even possibly a baiman if she was lucky enough to get an ura dora or an ippatsu. She decided that it was a good idea to Riichi with this extremely promising four-sided wait, and did not hesitate. Come the 13th turn, much to her delight, she drew one of her winning tiles.

"Tsumo" she declared calmly, "Riichi, honitsu, haku and a dora. That will be 6000 from everyone." She had taken first place, and it'd been almost too easy. To Nodoka's delight the arrogant girl across from her was staring wide-eyed at her. That's right. You won't have it so easy this time. Now it was just a matter of protecting the lead. No, now's the time to use my dealership to extend this lead as much as I can in order to give myself the best possible chance to protect it in the next hanchan. A renchan here would really put the pressure on that girl over there.

There was also another possibility that Nodoka was aware of. The player on her right had only 10800 points left. If I can just attack her directly with the next hand I could end this prematurely for an upset win! I can end this whilst I am the dealer right now!

Winning hand- 1S 2S 3S 5S 5S 5S 6S 7S 8S 9S Haku Haku Haku (9S)

Dora indicator(s): 4P - 9W

Yaku: Tsumo, Riichi, honitsu, yakuhai

South round 4, bonus round 1, Haramura Nodoka's Dealership (Takatoobara Middle School)-

Sadly, the hand she received on her first dealer repeat was not nearly on the same level of the hand on her previous draw. Nodoka did not mind, reliance on luck was for fools. "Pon!" she called, as soon as the opportunity presented itself. A quick (or as quick as she could make it, it really was a bad hand) tanyao was the obvious option with the hand she received, and would help extend her dealership into the next round. On the 15th turn however, the player to her left became the second player to score off of the girl opposite. "Pinfu, Iipeikou and a dora. 4200 with the bonus stick please." she declared solemnly. "Okay" once more from the girl and there was not even a hint of surprise this time.

Winning hand- 7W 8W 9W 3P 3P 4P 4P 5P 1S 2S 3S Pei Pei (5P)

Dora indicator(s): 8W

Yaku: Pinfu, Iipeikou

Nodoka frowned slightly as she glanced at the girl's discards. It makes no sense to discard that red 5 pin there… Could she have deliberately dealt in to the other girl's hand? Why would she do that? To end my dealership? With a dora tile of all things? I knew she was reckless but that's just unbelievable… Nodoka was confused; her hand was getting nowhere fast anyway, and as far as she could tell 5-pins looked dangerous even for her own hand. She had nothing suji to a 5-pin there, nor any 5-pins themselves.

She supposed the girl couldn't know that Nodoka's hand wasn't progressing, but playing into someone else's hand was never a good idea, especially with a tile that seemed dangerous to all of the other players. Dumbfounded, she got out of her seat and headed for the lobby area. There would be a 5 minute break in between hanchan and Nodoka did not intend to spend it seated in the play area.

"Please wait, Haramura-san!" Nodoka had not gotten far before she felt a hand lightly grasp her arm. Annoyed, she turned around to find the inter-middle team tournament champion and MVP staring into her eyes. "That was fun!" she exclaimed excitedly and there seemed to be something completely different about the girl's atmosphere. Where did the bored girl who was just sitting opposite me go? Nodoka was at a loss for words. Doesn't she know how inappropriate it is for competitors to interact like this in the middle of a game?

Nodoka was about to let the girl have it when she realised the uncaring look was completely gone from the girl's eyes, and that she seemed somehow happy. It worked to a vast contrast to the girl from earlier who wore the same clothes and the same face but whose smile was not a shadow of the one Nodoka was seeing now; it truly was a beautiful smile that lit up her face to great effect.

The girl seemed so enthusiastic and genuinely honest in the outburst and her smile was so bright that Nodoka felt herself blushing. She quickly looked away when she realised how she was ridiculously blushing in middle of the hallway, but she was struggling to respond to the sudden intensity of the girl. She forced herself to squeak out a "yes, I'm having fun too" and quickly found herself wondering what it was about the girl that flustered her so.

The girl was relentless. "Let's play again after this!" she said loudly, drawing stares from the people walking past.

Nodoka's eyes widened. "We are in middle of a match right now, you know?" she scolded, but she could not keep the amusement out of her voice. This girl really is unbelievable. "We have to be back in erm," Nodoka looked up and checked the clock, "right now actually."

"Okay then, Haramura-san!" Miyanaga Saki responded. Before Nodoka realised what she was doing, she grasped the girl's hand and began to lead her back to the play area. Nodoka was mindful of the blush that was threatening to set up shop for a good while on her face and even more mindful of the people gawking at her as she led the girl back to the match. She silently cursed herself for being so easily embarrassed.

The Shiraitodai High school team captain didn't understand what was going on. One problem was that her sister Saki had suddenly reverted back to her old +/- 0 style, and she was doing it in the middle of the final of the individual tournament no less. She seemed to be comfortably winning when out of nowhere the pink haired girl with the overly large chest had landed a seemingly unplanned direct hit on her. This was not a particularly troublesome problem. Teru had faith in her sister's ability to come back to win the game, even against the strongest of opponents, and this Haramura Nodoka did not seem particularly strong.

The real problem was that she could not find Saki during the Interim. Where on earth has she gotten to? Saki was fully aware that she was supposed to stay by the exit and wait for someone to come and meet her there to make sure she didn't get lost. It was also true that when Saki was surprised by something during a match she would often fall apart, and Teru wanted to talk to her before she made it back to her match to make sure that she was holding it together.

She was relieved when she looked up at a monitor and saw her sister being led back to the playing area by the pink haired girl. Holding her hand even? What on earth is going on with Saki today? The rest of the Shiraitodai team were just as confused. Oohoshi Awai, who was not able to enter the individuals this time due to exam re-sits, could not understand it either when Teru asked her about it. Teru did not have to feign surprise when the camera zoomed in on her sister's face, either. She's smiling? Saki is smiling… whilst playing mahjong?

The second hanchan was not going well for Nodoka so far. In the first hand of the new hanchan Miyanaga Saki, who was quickly becoming her bane, declared riichi on the first turn, and if that was not enough she then won by ippatsu tsumo for 2000/3900 points. That kind of luck seemed to follow her everywhere, although they had not seen any Rinshan Kaihous yet at least. This was obviously not much of a surprise; to specialise in such a rare yaku was the height of ridiculousness. She seemed like she was eager to get them though, and had already declared Kan several times in the first hanchan, even when it made no sense that Nodoka could make out to do so.

There were not any particularly large hands scored since her lucky double riichi, and the game had been mostly even with the other two girls at the table taking small victories as well. Whilst Nodoka had won a few hands herself it was clear was that there was a girl who was slowly but surely catching up with her. It was a girl with a beautiful smile. "Tenpai" Nodoka announced at the end of the latest round. Nodoka let out a sigh of relief when the girl who had been assigned the seat opposite to her once more declared she was no-ten. Her last dealer round was finished, leaving only two hands left.

Nodoka knew the risks associated with being last dealer. A direct hit could easily end her hopes of winning the championship in the cruellest way possible; being leapfrogged in the last hand of the last hanchan. Tsumos were also far riskier and would be easier to overtake her with. Winning the penultimate hand here with a decent hand so that she could just defend in the last hand would probably be the best case scenario. "Pon!" she called on a set of 5-wans. Cheap and fast is the logical path to victory here.

"Ch-" Nodoka started as the girl to her left discarded her 2-sou… only to be interrupted by the girl opposite.

"Kan!" Miyanaga Saki announced. Nodoka immediately noticed this was not the meek voice of the first hanchan that was being used, but the excited and enthusiastic voice of the girl who had just assaulted her in the lobby. Nodoka could not help but let out a startled "oh," sound as the girl took her tile from the dead wall. She discarded a red 5-sou from her tiles.

Nodoka frowned. There were now three 5-sous in the pond, and Miyanaga Saki was in possession of all of the 2-sous making her own 3 and 4 sou tiles all but worthless. Nodoka was at a loss. Is this a trap? It's obvious that I'm going for Tanyao, which means a wait for a 3 or a 4 sou would likely trap me here… and this girl is smart enough to know that. But what are the chances of her being tenpai after that kan anyway? Nodoka wanted to risk it but knew it would be wiser to bail at this point. She would be leapfrogged with any kind of direct hit, and if it were large it could easily ruin her chances of a victory. She had to minimize that risk.

Frustrated, she discarded a 4 pin that was already present in the girl's discards, ruining one of her melds in the process. She looked up at the girl responsible for forcing her to bail like this, but she was already looking right back at her, and moreover she was smiling again. Nodoka immediately felt herself blush and she again had to look away. What is wrong with me? I shouldn't be getting embarrassed like this here in such an important match! I need to concentrate now, more than ever!

Nodoka almost gasped when the girl to her right then proceeded to discard a 4-sou. It was the first sou tile she had discarded that hand apart from a single bird tile at the start of the hand. She must have had the same sequence as me… Instantaneous despair set in for the girl, "Ron. Just a honitsu, 3900 please." Miyanaga Saki called out, still smiling and even taking a moment to glance in Nodoka's direction who could not find it in herself to return the gaze. The poor girl, now surely out of the running with her dealership ended, hung her head in disappointment. Nodoka actually did gasp when she saw the revealed hand. It would have been a mangan if she hadn't called that kan… She really is such a reckless… and such a talented player.

Winning hand- 4S 7S 7S 8S 8S 9S 9S Xia Xia Xia [2S 2S 2S 2S] (4S)

Dora indicator(s): 4W

Yaku: Open Honitsu (worth 2 han)

Yaku without the kan: Closed Honitsu (worth 3 han), Iipeikou (1 han)

Fukuyo Kouko: "Ohhh myyy goddd and for the very last round our two frontrunners are neck and neck! What do you make of this situation Kokaji-pro?"

Kokaji Sukoya: "Special credit has to go to our dark horse, Haramura Nodoka. She's somewhat surprisingly lived up to her hype, and she certainly showed her skill in that last hand, avoiding Miyanaga Saki's trap like that."

Fukuyo Kouko: "Surprisingly? Envy is an ugly emotion, you know?"

Kokaji Sukoya:"Wha~?! It just… I didn't mean… I just meant she hadn't played an opponent of Miyanaga Saki's calibre before today... Anyway… When she called that kan, Miyanaga Saki appeared to draw that 4 sou from the dead wall on purpose, setting herself up for a single wait on another 4-sou for her pair."

Fukuyo Kouko: "Surprisingly high level play here at the middle school individuals! As to be expected of the Middle school team tournament's MVP and champion!"

Kokaji Sukoya: "The surprise is that it's not just her… It's well-known of course that Miyanaga Saki has even won tournaments where my fellow professionals competed, and so it was expected for her to comfortably take the win here today. She is the only middle-school mahjong player playing in this tournament who has beaten a professional in an official match at all… and there are not even many players at college level who have managed that, never mind middle school players. I expect the last round to be exciting."

Fukuyo Kouko: "You heard it here first, folks. Haramura Nodoka still holds a slender lead over Miyanaga Saki at the start of this last hand! Can Shiraitodai Middle Schools' Miyanaga Saki take the hand for a come-back victory or will Takatoobara Middle Schools' Haramura Nodoka hold on?"

Kokaji Sukoya: "Erm… Those aren't the only two players playing you know…?"

Fukuyo Kouko: "AND WE ARE OFF!"

Kokaji Sukoya: "We still have several minutes whilst they draw before the next hand begins…"

Nodoka could not calm down. She did not think it would ever be this close. Even the two players dwindling behind could come back to win with a sufficiently large hand at this point and she was a mere 800 points ahead of the girl opposite which meant that the smallest win would give either of them the victory. I just need to calm down. Be rational, concentrate and give myself the best odds of winning this hand. It doesn't matter who my opponent is, I just need to play my own Mahjong. If I can just win this hand or force a draw whilst I am in tenpai or even if someone other than that one girl directly hits someone else I will win! Please just let me win here the odds are in my favour no matter how you look at it!

She locked eyes with Miyanaga Saki, and she did not look away this time. She was not going to back down now. She was ready and she was willing to fight for this win. Nodoka knew that speed was still the key here. It didn't matter how much she won by as long as she won. No one will be able to keep up with me!

Fukuyo Kouko: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are actually off! Haramura Nodoka leads off as the final dealer; let's see how this one plays out!"

Mahjong terminology:

Winning hands.

XW (where X is a number) is for man tiles. Ie. 1W = 1-wan

XP indicates pin tiles. Ie. 2P = 2-pin

XS indicates sou tiles. Ie. 5S = 5-sou

Xia = West wind

Ton = East wind

Pei = North wind

Nan = South wind

Chun = Red Dragon

Hatsu = Green Dragon

Haku = White dragon

Now for the hands themselves.

Open calls are always depicted by []. Ie [Chun Chun Chun] = called set of red dragons.

This goes for open kan as well. [1W 1W 1W 1W] = Open set of 1-wans. This terminology will be the same for both late and open kans. This means that if someone calls a pon of a tile, then adds the fourth later it will be written in the same way a kan called directly from a discard will be.

Closed kans are different, they will be indicated by {}. Ie. {4S 4S 4S 4S} = Closed kan of 4-sous.

The winning tile is indicated by (). Ie. (5S) = hand won with a 5-sou, regardless of whether it was won by tsumo or ron. This will always come after the hands themselves.

Dora indicator: This is the tile that is visible on the dead wall. Ie. if the dora indicator is 4S, that means that the 4-sou is the new dora indicator, but the new dora is actually the 5-sou.

Ura dora: Denoted by - after the dora indicator. Works in the same way as above.

Example hands.

Winning hand- [1P 1P 1P 1P] {2P 2P 2P 2P} {3P 3P 3P 3P} 4P 4P 4P 5P (5P)

Dora indicator(s): 4S, Nan, 6W, 1W

Yaku: Tsumo, Chinitsu, Toitoi, Sanankou, Sankantsu, Rinshan Kaihou

Explanation: Saki's winning hand against Koromo in the anime. The 1-pins are an open kan, the 2 and the 3-pins are closed kan. She won with the red 5-pin from the dead wall. Doras are not included in the yaku. The comma seperates each kan dora (and its paired ura dora, if applicable)

Example of riichi with a kan:

Winning hand- 1W 2W 3W 4W 5W 6W 7W 8W 9W 4P {8P 8P 8P 8P} (4P)

Dora indicator(s): 5W - 2P, Nan - 8W

Yaku: Riichi, Tsumo, Ittsu.

Explanation: In this hand, the player recieves 3 han for dora, one normal dora, and two ura dora. The 5W makes the 6W a dora, the 3P makes the pair of 4-pins dora as well. The kan adds a normal dora, and if the player who is in riichi wins they get an ura dora as well. The ura doras are always to the right of the -'s whilst the normal doras are to the left. Each pair is seperated with a comma as before.