In the classroom that was adapted into a makeshift mahjong club room after the last class of the day, in the back near the window, a willowy redhead wrapped her arms around another girl. The girl being held was very busty and had womanly hips. It was only in the pout she had on her face anyone watching might have guessed she was younger than she looked.
"It isn't going to happen again, sempai," she said, annoyed. "I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm not a fool iike Mako. You aren't going to charm me and break my heart."
At that, the older girl being addressed made a tsk sound. "Nodoka-chan, you're a brilliant mahjong player, though not more intelligent than Mako, as you should know by now. And you're a great student, much better than me. But if you think Mako is a fool, you really have a lot to learn, you know."
As luck would have it, the topic of their spat was coming through the door already, and had heard both remarks.
"Don't mind, Nodoka-chan," she said, making a motion to wave it away. "For sure, I thought I was a fool many times over Hisa. But you know, it's better to try than not to try. Nothing with us was sudden, I think you didn't know much about us. We slowly moved together into being a couple, and we slowly moved away. Hisa was always honest with me, and that's how I knew we were heading for a break."
"How can you stand it?" Nodoka blurted out. "What's the point of losing your head over a playgirl like her?" Nodoka had tears in her eyes, although if either Mako or Hisa had said so, she would have denied it and stomped off.
"Playgirl?" said Hisa, more amused than offended.
"Well, Nodoka-chan, not all playgirls are the same. And this one didn't really get that way until after we weren't together. I was her first just as much as she was mine."
Nodoka paused instead of continuing to rant. She didn't know that much about their relationship, just that they'd had one and that Hisa had broken it off with Mako to go chasing everything cute in a skirt at their school.
"She's no cheater, Nodoka. After she decided it wasn't enough, what she felt with us, yeah, she started accepting some of the confessions she kept getting. When we were girlfriends, we used to laugh about how many she got every week. Of course, I didn't think it was funny after we broke up. But while she was together with several girls, it was always one at a time, and she was always evaluating them. Is this the one? Is this going to be love? And it was always just sex, but that's fun, too, Nodoka."
"And as for what you were thinking, only you would know that, Nodoka-chan."
"Well ..." said Nodoka. "I looked up to sempai. I thought she was so cool and amazing ... I was naive."
"And now I'm not?" Hisa said, with mock indignation.
"Well ..."
"Look at what Mako and I have achieved with our mahjong club. We have you, we have Yuuki, we have permission to participate in tournaments as far as we can go, and even a little money to help us. We have that boy that wants you and keeps getting enslaved by Yuuki to keep us amused. I think that's pretty cool. Other schools are at least talking about us. I think we will give Kazekoshi a very hard time, and Ryuumonboshi, too. They've started discussing us as serious rivals. A year ago, we didn't even exist."
"But even taking advantage of your naive kouhai, that's the mark of a playgirl."
"Well, Nodoka-chan," Mako said. "If that was where Hisa was at, she'd be sleeping with Yuuki instead of you. She's more naive AND more kouhai-ish."
Nodoka was still pouting, but she wasn't squirming, even though Hisa was still embracing her from behind.
"Nodoka."
Nodoka didn't move.
"You get it, right? I only want to do things with you if you want them. I don't want to make you sad or mad or anything. It's like Mako said - I am still looking, and this is the only way I know how to look."
"Did you..."
Nodoka was turning red and knew it, and that just made her mad at Hisa.
"Did I what?" Hisa asked gently.
"Did you sleep with Fujita-pro?"
"You know, Nodoka-chan, I don't kiss and tell, but if that's important to you?"
Nodoka just nodded.
"Yeah, we were together."
"Nodoka, that was a while back, and it lasted longer than I thought it would," Mako added.
"I never would have thought of Fujita as being someone who would tease you or taunt you about something like that, Nodoka-chan," Hisa said, thoughtfully.
"She didn't... She thought she was being sympathetic, I think."
"I wanted to try being with an older woman. I knew she liked girls, I admired her, and actually, she has a great body and is very dashing. It was nice not being treated like the boyfriend, too. And Yasuko - she really isn't trying to sleep with Koromo, you know. It's just like she says, she has a kind of motherly feeling for her. In case that was what bothered you about Fujita-pro."
"So is that why she's so helpful? Because Hisa-sempei paid with her body?"
Hisa laughed. "No, she says now that we have you, we're almost coming together as a great team. One more really good player, that fits with us, and we'd be regional or even national contenders. And she likes being in on that. She loves mahjong. She's not like Ryuumonbuchi - always stressing over her place and standing as if she has to do seppuku if she loses."
It was an accurate description of Touka, but Nodoka refused to smile.
"Anyway, Nodoka-chan, forgive me? These things don't always have to end on my part, or on my terms. Sometimes it's not enough for the other person, and I am okay with that. I just don't want any bad energy between us."
A ilttle reluctantly, Nodoka nodded. After a bit, she apologized to Mako for slurring her.
"I already agreed with you, Nodoka-chan. I just wanted you to realize that sometimes, by not being a fool, you're being even less wise. A broken heart is painful, but so is a cold heart."
Mako came over and embraced Nodoka from in front. Sandwiched between her two sempais, Nodoka was miffed over the fact that she found it, in fact, very comforting.
"A year, Nodoka-chan."
Nodoka waited.
"She had dated a lot, not really steady, in middle school, before we got together. The loneliness on her part was mostly self-imposed, at least at high school that first year, because she was so dedicated to mahjong. That's what she picked to make her mark, and it just wasn't popular - no one wanted to talk about it. It was a depressing topic. Everyone knew we weren't capable of competing. At home she didn't have much of a family life, but at school she could have discussed magazines and idols and boys and her looks and charisma would have made her super popular. But she gave us a year to work out, and that's a long time. The girls after me might have had some complaints, but I really don't."
Hisa finally spoke up. "To celebrate our anniversary, Mako and I skipped the whole day of school, and spent it in bed."
Mako giggled. "Yes, we felt very outrageous. In hindsight, it was mostly goodbye sex, but it was amazing. When you know you aren't going to do anything but eat, sleep, and make love the whole day, it's such a free feeling."
It wasn't worth it, Nodoka realized. She couldn't even compete with Mako. Not by miles. The real fools were the ones since then who thought they could tame Hisa. The quicker she ended this, the fewer tears she'd shed.
"I forgive you, sempai."
"You've already learned something, haven't you?" Hisa said. "Because you learned how to say that so that it also means 'Let's stop.' Right?"
"I forgive you, sempai, but let's stop," Nodoka affirmed. But Hisa was charming coming, staying, and going. She'd always have a tender spot for Hisa, she realized. She hoped it worked the other way, too.
Months later, Nodoka and Mako were alone in the club room.
"Guess what, Nodoka-chan?"
"What?" Nodoka said, startled.
"I have given up on Hisa."
"What, now?"
"Yes, just now. What we didn't think would happen? It has happened."
"What do you mean, sempai?"
"I remember."
"..."
"When she talked about playing in middle school. There was one girl she spoke of so romantically, without realizing it. It made me a bit jealous."
"And she re-met her?"
"Yep. It's Kazekoshi's captain."
"Oh, the pretty girl who keeps one eye closed and it's almost as if she knows what everyone has ..."
"Yeah, the pretty girl. I would say with the big breasts, but you wouldn't, I understand."
"Hey!"
"Anyway, my instincts were right. Hisa's been transformed overnight. They're both hearing wedding bells."
Nodoka remembered what started this conversation.
"I'm so sorry, sempai. I had no idea you were still keeping Hisa so close in your heart. To have that sort of dream for so long, and then suddenly have it end, must be sad."
"Yes, of course it's sad. But I suppose it also means I'm finally free. Free of false hopes and any obligation to the girl I used to be. She's going to have to face reality and move forward."
"What will you do?"
"Well, I am no cool sempai Takei Hisa, but in fact, I sometimes get confessed to. I won't be as picky as Hisa, I'm going to go out with the very next one. I already copied Hisa, by the way."
"What does that mean?"
"Fujita. And Hisa's right, she really is sexier than you think. Very dashing, in perfect shape, knows how to make love superbly. Her only downside is she smokes a lot, but even that makes her look sexy, though i am not fond of the smoke. After our fifth time, I got her to switch to vapor, and she only complained a little. Just think what Yasuko must have been like in high school ... a real trail of broken hearts, I bet."
"Still ..."
"Still nothing. However it happened, it's happened for two of the three of us who had that conversation not all that long ago. I don't see why it can't happen for me."
"What do you mean?"
"Nodoka-chan, don't be like that. Denying everything is silly with people who know what's right in front of their faces."
"I know you mean Miyanaga-san, but why would you think that?"
"You can't be in the same room without taking her hand. When she's not there, she's the first thing you ask about. And if she didn't like you back, she'd object to the way you smother her, and overwhelm her with conversation. Afer you win, you fret until she hugs you. At official events you go get drinks for both of you, without even thinking about it. When you get to where she's sitting, if you're both tired, you sometimes linger behind her chair with your arms around her. Half of your conversation with other people is about her. It's become a routine for both of you to give each other massages at the end of a tournament day. When we're all sleeping on futons on trips, you two sleep soundly only if you're cuddling."
Nodoka's face got redder with every sentence.
"What would she say if she knew about me and Takei-sempai?"
"Same thing she would say if she didn't: 'Haramura-san, I don't understand any of this romance and date and drama stuff. I just know I like Haramura-san, isn't that okay?' And then she'd give you that innocent, sweet smile and hug you and you'd melt like always. ... Also, it's not all bad."
"What isn't?"
"Not being two absolute virgins. If you were at Saki's level of innocence, it would take you both years to get to A. You might never get to B or C. Unless you want that, you should thank the gods you know what it's like to get physical with your girl."
"Wow, I feel so ... old and cynical or something."
"That's mainly due to your chosen love, she makes us all feel that way. Heck, she probably even makes Yuuki feel that way. I don't think Saki ever even caught on to the fact that her childhood friend has been coming on to you all this time. And I guess it's also due to knowing me and Hisa. But we're not oddities, just a little more honest than average. Like I said, it's not all bad. You go through stages, and it's all part of growing up."
At that moment, there was a knock, and Mako said "welcome."
The door opened slowly, and Fukuji Mihoko came in. She was dressed modestly, with a somewhat large bento in a furoshiki. "Please forgive the disturbance," she said meekly.
Mihoko felt a very strange energy the second she stepped through the door. It was almost like a very intense mahjong match with four monster players, even though there were only two girls standing and talking. Was this what Kiyosumi was like all the time? Maybe having only a skeleton group meant you had very intense personal relationships. Against her normal habit, she opened her eye.
Somehow, it was all centered on Hisa, she realized. As she'd suspected, something about Hisa's charisma created a pull that held the entire system together, but this was something more, and she felt immediately jealous. No. After weeks and months of fumbling and agonizing, she was done being insecure, she reminded herself. Even if both of these girls were Hisa's active girlfriends, which didn't feel like it was the case, she would fight both of them for Hisa. She tuned her awareness and realized that the situation didn't call for her to do anything but what she was already doing. Still, the tension was uncomfortable. "Ueno-san, you are MINE," she thought. It was a little like a mantra.
The door opened again, and Miyanaga Saki stepped inside. Instantly, Mihoko could feel all the tension in the room dissolve. Again, it was a little like a mahjong monster match-up. Miyanaga looked at Mihoko and said "Hey, Kazekoshi's captain! Hisa-sempai said she was running late and could you meet her at the gate now?" True to her resolve, Mihoko politely said her farewells and scurried off to meet Hisa.
Even Saki was sensitive to the mood sometimes. "Haramura-san, is something going on?"
"Nothing that shouldn't be, Miyanaga-san. But when was the last time you and I went off and had a good, long talk. Just the two of us?"
"Oh my, Haramura-san. I think it's been quite a while. Is that what you want to do?"
"It's what we need to do, Miyanaga-san. We're going to the kissaten by the station. There's a topic we need to discuss, and we shouldn't put it off any more."
As Nodoka pulled Saki out of the room, she could feel the energy between them changing. But why did it feel exactly like she was about to make a last-hand rinshan kaihou?