For the love of the game

Tracing Yumi Kajiki's passion for Mahjong

Chapter 1

On most days, Tsuruga Academy was known for being a busy and lively school. That's why I found it amazing how it always became quiet as midterms approached. Many hurried home, while some went to the library to study. In addition, all club activities are temporarily postponed, and so very few people had any reason to stay after school. Even the tiny mahjong club wasn't exempt from this.

Despite repeatedly telling myself of this fact, I still found myself walking towards the club room.

There's a very high chance that no one else will come. Even if there was someone present, it would be highly unlikely for there to be enough players for a game of mahjong.

I was well aware of the situation, but that didn't stop me from going.

Breaking away from routine proved to be more difficult than I expected. As I continued walking down the hallway, I stopped for a moment when a few students came up to me.

"Excuse me, are you Yumi Kajiki?" One of them asked.

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"

"We saw your match against Ryuumonbuchi and Kazekoshi last week. It was awesome!" Another student cheerfully chimed in. "Who would have thought that our school would actually have made it to the championship round of the prefectural tournament."

"Really!? That's great." I was pleasantly surprised. Up until now the mahjong club was completely unknown to most students. Some even thought that no such club existed in Tsuruga.

"It's sad that you didn't win, but we want to wish you and your club the best of luck at the upcoming individuals tournament." With a light bow and a quick wave, the students left as quickly as they came.

Though our team had lost the prefectural finals, our club had garnered some fame. I couldn't help but let out a smile at this unexpected outcome.

Though the conversation was brief, I felt energized. My desire to play mahjong today was strengthened even further, and in a few seconds, my pace quickly became brisk.

I had finally reached the mahjong club room. It was empty.

"As expected." I whispered to myself as I sat down and turned on my laptop.

A few seconds have passed. I never realized it until now, but I could've sworn I felt a faint presence in this room. If this happened a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have paid any attention to this feeling. But lately, I've learned to listen to these hunches because of a certain person.

"Momo, are you here?" It was both a declaration and a question, directed at no particular direction. To other people it would've looked like I was talking to myself, but the longer I stayed in this room, the more I believed that she's here.

"I'm right here senpai." Out of the left corner of my eye I spotted Momo, standing beside me with her hand on my shoulder. Her form appeared as quickly as her response.

"So I was right." I let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to see you Momo."

Momo giggled. "You're getting better at this." She sat down next to me and grinned. "You detected my presence faster this time, by about... 0.935 seconds. Maybe I should take my stealth mode up to the next level."

I laughed at Momo's compliment, exaggerated as it may be sometimes. "Well, I'm glad that I've improved. It'd be shameful if I didn't strive to better sense your presence."

"If it's you senpai, I have no doubt that you can do it."

"You sure are optimistic when it comes to me." I replied while I checked with my laptop on any mahjong-related news, particularly the Nagano prefectural finals tournament.

"Hey, that's us, the Tsuruga mahjong team!" With excitement in her voice, Momo leaned forward, our cheeks briefly brushing against each other, and pointed at the screen, which displayed an online news article.

Momo once told me that she didn't have a lot of pictures of herself due to her lack of presence. Even if she managed to be included in a group photo, her image was often blocked or partially cut off to the side. To have a picture where she is not obscured must have been extremely rare for her. Her happiness was mirrored in me as I found myself wearing a warm smile on my face.

"Yes, everyone is in the picture." I continued reading through the article in question. "I'm surprised that they even gave us a half column's worth of coverage. It could be because of our school being completely unknown when it comes to mahjong. Our performance at the prefectural finals has caused a stir."

Considering that we were able to hold up against Ryuumonbuchi and Kazekoshi, Nagano's two mahjong powerhouses, I suppose most people assumed that we wouldn't even put up a fight.

"More people in our school became aware of our club's existence ever since the tournament." My encounter with those students while heading to the club room was one such example. "If this keeps up, I think our mahjong club will be attracting some new members."

"I'm sure it will happen eventually." Momo smiled. "Some of my classmates have even started talking to me ever since they saw me in the tournament on television."

"That's great news." My smile immediately mirrored the happiness coming from Momo. To the average person, this achievement may seem trivial. But for Momo, who lacks presence even from an early age, this feat is monumental.

"Things are definitely looking up for the mahjong club." I leaned back from my chair, enjoying both the peacefulness of the room, and Momo's presence.

"You're really passionate about mahjong, and I think all those years of playing have finally paid off."

"That's not entirely true. You make it seem like I've been playing mahjong since the day I was born. It's only been..." Like a reflex, I quickly blurted out my response faster than my mind can process.

I stopped mid-sentence, hopefully she didn't catch on to what I just said.

"It's only been what senpai?" Intrigued, Momo leaned forward towards me, our faces only a few inches apart. Her eyes stared intensely at mine.

Too late, it just happened.

"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing special." I turned away, hoping that she did not notice the blush that coloured my cheeks. "By the way, how are you midterm studies going? I can tutor you if you need any help."

Looking unconvinced, Momo pouted. "Hmmm... senpai is changing the subject. What is it that you were about to say earlier?"

"I'm actually serious when I said that I would help you with your studies." The last thing I'd want is to see you fail your classes because of mahjong.

"Well, I'm glad that you're concerned about me senpai, but I'm confident enough that I can at least have a passing grade. Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about Kanbara-senpai?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "For someone like Kanbara, getting average marks on even half of the subjects would be lofty goal." Numerous memories of trying to get that flighty girl to stay focused and study more came back as I placed a hand over my forehead.

"What about you senpai? There are no club activities for this entire week, so there's really no need to visit the club room."

"With midterms coming next week, and the university entrance exams in a few months from now, it feels like everything is happening too fast." I walked up and stood by the window, looking out towards nothing in particular. "Sometimes I'd like to go back to those times when all I had to worry about was getting better at mahjong."

There was a moment of silence, but it was short-lived as Momo spoke up. "So senpai, about that thing you said that was cut off..."

I quickly turned around, facing her with a look of surprise. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" It seems I'm not the only one guilty of abruptly changing the subject.

"Well, you looked very melancholic earlier so I thought that changing the subject back to mahjong would cheer you back up."

I rubbed the back of my head, contemplating on how the conversation ended up at this point. "I guess it's understandable to be curious about my past mahjong experiences."

Momo nodded enthusiastically, silently urging me to continue.

"I've never told anyone about this, so please don't laugh." A brief pause filled the room. "I've only been playing mahjong for less than five years. And I was also very terrible at it for quite some time."

I wasn't expecting a reply immediately, since this information is contrary to the assumptions most people had about me. However, the last thing I wanted to hear was laughter, which was what broke the silence in the room.

"Hey! I said not to laugh."

"Sorry, I was thinking how this totally clashes with the composed strategist persona you always show to others." Momo said this between bouts of laughter. "It reminds me of the time when Fujita pro thought you were the mahjong club's president during the tournament."

"Only to find out that Kanbara is actually the club president." I wasn't present when she said that, but I've heard the commentary when I watched the match replays. "Honestly, I'm not even sure how this misunderstanding started."

"I find that part of you very cute senpai." Momo said without an ounce of shame.

"What?!" This girl never ceases to surprise me, but it a surprise that I welcome. "How is that cute?"

"You always appear cool and calm. At a glance, you play mahjong effortlessly, but in reality you're actually earnest and hardworking." Momo tilted her head to one side and smiled.

My face must have turned a little red, because I found myself turning my face sideways and covering one of my cheeks with my hand. "Well, I guess you are right. Now that I think about it, I did come a long way from when I started."

Momo leaned forward, still smiling. "So... What was senpai like before playing mahjong?"

"You really are curious aren't you?" It seems we are back to square one.

"Of course. It's only natural to want to know more about someone you like."

There was a pause. Multiple thoughts, both positive and negative, were circulating in my mind. Am I feeling nostalgic? Am I compelled by a desire for self-expression? Or do I want Momo to see a side of me that everybody else doesn't know about?

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let out a contented sigh. Perhaps my actions are motivated by all of these reasons, but there is one thing that is certain.

I have decided that I want to tell Momo my story.

"I've never told this story to anyone until now, it might be a little awkward, but I'll give it a try." After taking a seat I gestured for Momo to have a seat as well. "This could take long, so you should have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

"Senpai, you're the best." Momo immediately took a seat beside me and cuddled.

Author's Notes: Usually, when I write fanfictions, they are usually short and within the comedy/parody genres. This particular fanfiction is an exception. This is an origin story. Paying homage to my favorite, yet under-appreciated side character in the mahjong anime Saki: Tsuruga Academy's badass normal tactician Yumi Kajiki. Lack of content and backstory normally bums me out. Sometimes, if I really like a character I get inspired to extrapolate on their backstory and give them the love and attention that is lacking from the original source.