Yahukai (2)
First east hand, third dealer repeat. Dora indicator: Sou 8. Yuuki: 63.500 points. Kuro: 22.000 points. Saki: 12.500 points. Suzu: 22.000 points. Dealer: Yuuki. Saki's hand: Man 3,3,4; Pin 5,5,8,8; Sou 4,5,5,8; North, Hatsu.
Saki's body was trembling. With glassy eyes she sorted her tiles, her hands moving automatically. Was this real? Was this really happening? Saki was long past pinching herselft to see if she was dreaming, and yet she doubted herself. When she played Mahjong, she could feel the flow of the tiles, could see where her hand was leading her, knew how to manipulate the game in her favour. But in this game she felt as if she wasn't even participating.
Across the table Yuuki smiled like she aready won. Saki knew this was correct.
If I continue like this, I will definitely lose. I have to get a grip. I'm not just playing for myself here. I'm playing for Yuuki!
Saki glanced across the table. Her friend sat leaned back in her chair, hands on the chairback.
Yes ... this is who I am fighting for! And not only Yuuki. If she has become like this, then my other friends are in danger too! And Nodoka ... she never believed in any supernatural powers ... I wonder if she is ok in a place like this.
Saki took a deep breath.
Now ... let's see what we got. With a hand like this, I could go for Chiitoitsu, but if I'm playing against Yuuki in the east round it will be too slow. And there are only two more 8 Sou left ... I might be only two tiles from tenpai, but I can't call anything if I go for it. I have to call aggressively if I want to complete my hand in time. I wonder if I can also throw Yuuki off-balance if I change the drawing order ...
A chance. Kuro discarded 5 Man. Saki called immediately.
"Now what will this be, I wonder?", said Yuuki. "Are you hoping to finish your hand before mine? Maybe I should tell you that this game is not in your control. You, a mere human, could have no chance against a demon like me! Not to mention that the other two players at the table are my pawns. I control the whole flow of this game!" Yuuki laughed a devilish laugh. "Your struggle is pointless. You should just give up already."
"No!" With a rush of emotion Saki cried out to her friend. "I can't give up this fight! I know that you are here somewhere, Yuuki, and I won't let you down!"
"Oh please! Your friend is long gone. I am all that remains. All that should remain! All her life she channeled my power, used me for her Mahjong, but now the tables have turned! Her spirit resides in me, and I am finally free! Now discard your tile!"
Yuuki had stood up, towering over Saki, an evil spirit looming over their game. Saki was cowering in her chair, feared to look up, up into the cold eyes she didn't recognise. She reached for her tiles, slowly, carefully, winced when she touched them as if expecting another outleach. None came. She took the 8 Sou. As she put it into her discard pile, Saki let out the air she had been holding. Her shoulders lowered, and her grip untightened.
Yes ... even if this demon says that Yuuki is gone, I don't believe it. I can't believe it!
The next round of discards yielded no tiles for Saki.
This is bad ... Yuuki is probably already in tenpai, and I can't advance my hand as fast as I want to ... I need to draw something now or I will lose!
Saki drew a 3 Sou. This sets me up for a San Shoku Doujun. I still need two Pin tiles for it though, so it's unlikely to happen. But I can't complain about that now ... I have other problems. Nobody else has discarded any honour tiles yet. For now I can get rid of the second 3 Man, but if I want to keep advancing my hand I'll have to discard my honours ... but now that I think about it, only Yuuki has been winning hands or calling tiles until now. If Kuro and Suzu really are only pawns I can probably get away with playing dangerously.
She smiled when Suzu discarded a 5 Pin. I can change the drawing order!
"Pon!"
I can feel the flow of the game changing! This isn't unwinnable anymore! Yuuki didn't smile anymore. Her gaze was fixed on Saki's discard pile, anxiously awaiting her tile. Saki discarded her North tile.
Yuuki instantly snatched it up. "Now what about this?", she said. "You really think you had me worried when you tried your little trick? Don't make me laugh! See? I'm already back on track!"
I feared this would happen ... but my feel of the flow has come back. I'm still in this.
"If you are oh-so-confident now ... then let me see how you deal with my Riichi!"
Yuuki slammed her tile on the table. It left scratches on the plastic as she turned it sideways, pulsing with anger like Yuuki's veins.
"Y-you can't declare Riichi on an open hand! That's against the rules!" said Saki, but Yuuki only smiled.
"I'd like to see you stop me. This is my playing field, and I make the rules!"
"I – I –" Saki had no response. Frustrated, she looked to see what Yuuki discarded.
Th-that tile! I can't believe it!
"P-pon!" Yuuki's face turned pale at the sound of Saki's voice. She watched her opponent take the tile as if she were watching a ghost.
With this she will lose her Ippatsu! The tiles are on my side! And what's more, I'm in Tenpai now!
Saki held her breath when Yuuki drew her tile. The latter looked at it for a few seconds, her face distorted in disgust. With clenched teeth, she put it into her discard pile.
Saki still held her breath. Her heart beat fast, and sweat dripped from her chin. Painfully slow she turned the tile up.
"Tsumo." Saki's voice was shaky. "Tanyao. 300/500."
Third east hand, fourth dealer repeat. Dora indicator: Pin 4. Yuuki: 16.800 points. Kuro: 15.600 points. Saki: 72.000 points. Suzu: 15.600 points. Dealer: Saki. Saki's hand: Man 1,1,1,9,9; Pin 9,9; Sou 1,1,9; South, Hatsu, Haku.
Yuuki was shivering. Her gaze was flickering over the table, anxiously, looking for salvation were none was. Since Yuuki's dealership had ended, Saki had won every hand. Yuuki's points were dwindling as was her spirit. Just how could that girl keep on winning? How, when they were battling here, in Yuuki's own realm? Yuuki's fingers were drumming on the table, almost cramping, and her face was glistening. She was losing, and demons are sore losers.
With this hand I can get Chinrouto! If Yuuki get's hit by a direct Yakuman, she'll go bust! I have to make this one count!
Saki was playing with confidence now. She didn't know what had happened in the first few hands, but now she was back in her element. More, she was feeling better than she ever had playing Mahjong. The tiles felt like they were flowing through her hands as she drew them, and the waves she made in winning were beating ever higher. Now, they were crashing down on Yuuki like a tsunami.
"Ron! Dealer Yakuman, 48.000!"
All colour left Yuuki's face, much like her points. Her eyes were glassy, her hands shaking in disbelief.
"No ... this cannot be ... I can't accept this ... I won't accept this!" With a scream Yuuki jumped out of her chair. Her shadow extended, slithered over the table, grasped Suzu and Kuro by the neck.
"Don't forget who you're playing against! I'm the Demon of the East Wind! This is my realm, and I make the rules!", Yuuki screamed, screeched, a shrill sound. The shadow was pulsing now. It lifted the two girls in the air, wrapped itself around them.
"Wh-what is going on here?!" Saki had to watch horrified as not Yuuki's points, but Suzu and Kuro's points went down, while the girls were lifted high. As their points reached zero, the shadow let go of them, let them crash on the ground. They didn't get up.
"You – what have you done to them!?" The girl's voice was shaky.
"Oh don't throw a fuss now. I did tell you that it's game over once you reach zero points. It's their own fault for being weaker than me. Still ... I can't believe I had to go to such lengths against a mere human. To get me to zero points ... but it is still the east round! I will finish you no matter what!"
Third east hand, fifth dealer repeat. Dora indicator: North. Yuuki: Zero points. Kuro: defeated. Saki: 120.000 points. Suzu: defeated. Dealer: Saki. Saki's hand: Man 2,2,2,4,5; Pin 2,3,6; Sou 3,3,3; East, Chun.
How am I supposed to defeat her? No matter what I do, she won't go below zero! It's like she is invincible! Even though my hand is good, I can't beat her with just normal hands. Just what am I supposed to do?
Saki rubbed her temples. Playing Mahjong, that was one thing. She could do it almost automatically, but now that she needed to concentrate on this problem, making discard decisions became increasingly hard.
Should I discard my wind tile? It is a dora, but so far Yuuki has always had a lot of East tiles in her hands ... I guess it can't hurt to keep it for now. Giving her the chance to call it would give her three dora. The thought alone is scary.
Yuuki had stopped making snarky remarks on Saki's playing style. She was not nervous anymore like she was just minutes before; now she concentrated completely on the game.
It's just the two of us playing now, so the game goes a lot faster ... but my hand just doesn't seem to advance ... it's as if the tiles can tell that I don't know how to win.
Saki drew her tile for the turn. A second East! That put's me into tenpai. But I need a third East tile to win since I don't have any other yaku ... it would also be kind of funny to defeat the Demon of the East Wind with it's own tile ...
Saki paused. Wait ... with it's own tile ... that's it! That's gotta be it! I need to win with the East tiles! But Yuuki probably has at least one of them herself, and just waiting until I draw it is risky. I don't know if I'll get as good a chance for this again! I have to somehow make her discard it!
Saki picked up a tile to discard, but instead she let it flick through her fingers.
"You know Yuuki ... I've been wondering ... since you're the Demon of the East Wind, do you always have to win with the East tiles?"
"What do you mean? I can win however I want to! I'm not limited to any tiles!"
"Really? Because every hand you've won had at least three East tiles in it. Are you sure that's not your weakness? It makes your hand pretty easy to read if you always have the same three tiles in it, you know?"
"What is this? Are you trying to insult me? A weakness? Pah! You make me laugh! I shall show you this 'weakness' you're talking about!"
"Oh? Now I'm interested. Bring it on then!" Saki discarded her tile.
"You will regret this!" Yuuki's eyes were glaring red. "Here! See this 'weakness' of mine!" She slammed her tile on the table. An East tile.
Now I've got you!
"Ron! Yakuhai, 1000 points!" Saki smiled a victor's smile.
The tiles began to glow as the hit the table. Beams of light shot out of them, pierced Yuuki through the chest, expanded and slowly lit up her whole body. The girl let out a scream. Her whole body was on fire now, a fire so bright Saki had to avert her eyes. The scream went on and on, turned into an ungodly screaching, high and low at the same time. Then, it ended. When Saki looked up, her friend was lying motionless on the floor. The tiles on the table were glowing faintly.
The Demon of the East Wind: Defeated!
