Playing the Game

A Chihayafuru Fanfic

Presented to you by TheAncientTree

Disclaimer: This is the creation from the mind of a happy fan and no one else. I have no claims to the original source work or any other derivatives. This was written in good fun and that is all.

With that last card, it was over. After years of practice and Chihaya badgering him to play, it was all done now. This was it. This was the end. It was all over now.

In his final year of High School, Mashima Taichi finished his final match of kurata. The last Match for the Meijin title … was over.

Sweat dripped down his brow as he bowed to Wataya. The niceties were maintained as he looked into Arata's eyes and they game ending words were exchanged. Arata and Taichi both knew that this marked the end of something that held the two together for the last half decade.

It was a hard fought match in a series of close matches. Taichi had closed the gap after a two-game deficit to march back forcing a tie with two dominant wins. He wasn't prepared enough for Arata's nasty style of play but after that second loss… And with what he learned in the hallways afterwards… He refocused his efforts to combine his new defensive kurata and the offensive style that he always used as well as the mistake forcing style of Suo that he copied to storm back into contention. It had surprised Arata enough to bring him back but this last match was much hard fought and down to the wire. They both knew this was about more than just the title. It was a farewell game for Taichi and they both knew it.

It ended with a luck-of-the draw.

"Good game, Arata," Tachi broke their staring contest first as he went up to him for the first and last hug he would ever give him.

"The best man won," Arata's eyes were like granite chips as he said those words when Tachi had let go to look him in the eyes. "No hard feelings?"

Taichi just gave him a look before turning away. He knew he the truth. The things left unsaid. He knew he wasn't going to get any time to answer anyways. "We'll talk later. They are going to start the awards ceremony soon."

The post game replay was shown and the winners' interviews were long and drawn out but all Taichi could do was look at Chihaya. She was finally Queen. Everything else was just so insignificant in light of that. The Meijin match? It meant nothing to Taichi even though it ended a few minutes ago. Chihaya was his everything in that moment.

She was radiant in her kimono. Her beaming face and bright kimono combined with her happiness made it seem like she was literally glowing. Even her eyes glowed framed by her flushed cheeks and wet lashes from her tears. Her mouth was moving as she excitedly answered all the question from the media. She was being pure Chihaya.

Taichi couldn't remember a word she said. He couldn't remember a thing about the interview session or the awards session afterwards.

"Taichi!" Someone was yelling.

"Hmm?" He mumbled tiredly. He was exhausted. Luckily Kanade-san's mother was there to pick the Misusawa group up.

"Taiiii~Chi, you weren't listening to me~~," Chihaya pouted.

"Nope." He admitted as he languidly stretched his arms. "I wasn't."

"Mou~! Well, listen to me now!" Chihaya pointed at me. "Everyone else is asleep and I don't want to feel lonely."

"Fine, Fine. What is it?" He said cracking his neck.

"Well… I didn't get a chance to talk to you or Arata after the title match…" She trailed off as she looked at Taichi with worried eyes. "How… how…"

"How, what?" Taichi speared her with his gaze. Chihaya, noticing that this might not have been the best way to broach the conversation, looked away.

"Don't be mean, Taichi. I was just worried about you two…"

"I'm fine and he is fine. We are all fine." Taichi said as he touched her shoulder. " We both know that everything ended the way that it was supposed to. It isn't going to change anything."

"Well, okay then!"

It was all quiet from there.

It was only when Taichi closed the door to his room that he allowed himself to feel again. He was the president and the moral center of the club so he couldn't let himself go with everyone there and the chaos of the closing made it easier to just push everything away.

It was all over.

Next spring Arata was coming to Tokyo. Bringing with him things that Tachi just didn't want to think about. kurata. Univerity.

Chihaya.

Everything was resolved now.

Tears prickled his eyes as he crimpled the paper in his hand.

"Meijin, huh?" Taichi laughed as he looked at the award. He laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed so much that he had to cry. At least that is what he told himself as the tears started falling.

"I won? Ha hahaha. That damn bastard with his smug face and his stupid 'best man' crap… I won? Damnit! I didn't start kurata for this… not for this!" Taichi slammed his hand on the certificate.

"I thought that if I would just win this… I would feel… argg! Damnit. All these years! All this time and I still lose even when I win." He flopped on his bed.

"Chihaya… Sayonara."

The best man won and it wasn't him. He was going to quit kurata tomorrow. It was time to look forward to the future.

AN: Just a short I wrote in a half hour after I finished watching the Chihayafuru today and reading up to the current translated chapters.

As I watched the series, I just got attached to Taichi and all his suffering. I have no issues with ChihayaXArata but the plight of poor Taichi… The poor guy just never seemed to get a break at all. When I switched over to the manga, there finally seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Taichi was finally getting better at Kurata and improving. It is even heavily foreshadowed that he has a chance at Meijin as a consolation prize for never getting a chance at competing with Arata in Chihaya's heart.

From those feelings, this short was born. Even the most ardent of Taichi fans have to admit that he is going to lose Chihaya. It is pretty much spelled out that no matter how it goes, Arata is going to be her first love and that if Taichi even has a shot it will have to be as the second love.