Stealing the Wind: Part 4

I've been leaving this for too long, so here's a double update.

The lobby of the tournament building was packed full of students, nervously waiting for the competition to begin. Yumi craned her neck, looking up at the electronic displays. "So those are our tables... I don't recognise any of the names. But don't let your guard down. There may be any number of strong players we don't know."

"We'll be careful," Kanbara said.

"In any case, these rapid-fire East only matches are going to be a test of endurance," Yumi said, glancing at the other players. "Don't get dispirited just because one or two losses. These games are so short it's easy for weaker players to defeat stronger ones. But over time, that will even out, and the consecutive games will cut away the element of random chance. The Team Tournament notwithstanding, this is the best chance for the five of us to show our own strength. Win or lose, let's all play mahjong we won't regret."

"I will," Mutsuki said.

"I'll do my best," Kaori said. "Though I don't think I have any strength to show yet."

"Wahaha. Just have fun out there," Kanbara said cheerfully. "That's the important thing."

"I'll be fine," Momo said quietly, clutching Yumi's sleeve. "I'll win for you, so win for me."

Yumi smiled. "Leave it to me."

Yumi opened her eyes as the dice spun, noticing the other three players glancing right at her. It looks like they're aiming for me after seeing our victory in the Team Tournament. East and West aside, the problem is South. Susobana High School's lead-off. Judging by her play against Mutsuki in the Team Tournament, her skills are above average. Yumi narrowed her eyes as she took her first four tiles. It doesn't matter, though. I'll show you why there's no such thing as three on one at a mahjong table.

By the sixth go-around, Yumi slammed a West against the top of her hand, frowning. Tenpai. But this trash hand is Reach only right now. Normally I'd discard this closed pon of West and aim for something a little better, but the Dora South has gone twice already, and everyone's discards are normal. This low-point hand might be a good chance to test the waters. She picked up the 2-pin, sliding it sideways into her discards. "Reach." She cleanly placed a thousand points at the top of her discards.

Susobana's lead-off grimaced as she drew a live tile. This hand has a nice shape for Endless, Pointless, Reach. But it's still two shan-ten. It can't be helped. I'll play around her here. She dealt a two-pin from her hand.

Yumi frowned as the game developed. East is on tilt, while West's discards are really erratic. It's hard to tell if she's bailed or not. Naturally, South is different. Her defence is water-tight.

East frowned at her draw, sliding it into her hand and pulling a 2-sou out. "Reach!"

"Ron." Yumi pushed her hand open with one motion. "Reach only." She pulled apart the dead wall, flipping over the reverse Dora. "1000."

Susobana's lead-off frowned, toying with the corners of her brown hair irritably. I knew her play was erratic, even in the game where she crushed Akari. But is she just a lucky idiot?

Three hands later, Susobana's lead-off pushed open her hand, her expression still sharp. "Ron. Reach, Pointless, Dora 1, Red Five Pin... no Reverse Dora. 7700." She took the points from one of the other players. Coming into the last hand, that puts me on 38,700. Tsuruga is second on 26,000. If the other two were better at defensive play, I might have had the time to tsumo and take points from her.

Yumi frowned as she took her new tiles. My starting hands and draws have been the worst. But I'm dealer now. I need to make something happen with this hand. Her eyes gleamed as she opened the first four tiles, noticing the two 6-pin. Dora 2. Finally, a chance.

On the tenth go-around, Yumi finally got her tenpai. Reach, Pointless, Dora 2, waiting for 5 or 8 man. The problem is whether this 9-man will pass the current South's Reach, since her discards have suggested an end hand since the start. She's discarded the 6-man, and called Reach on the 8-man. Yumi's eyes flickered briefly over the discards across the rest of the table. No, this is a chance. I'll take it. Yumi discarded the 6-man sideways. "Reach."

Susobana's lead-off frowned as it came to her turn. Now her? I wanted to win with this hand, but now I'll have to bail. But I don't have safe tiles from both of them at once. Should I prioritise Tsuruga, since her dealer hand is strong enough to justify the second riichi? She bit her lip, studying the discards. No, I can see a way. That was the last 6-man, so that riichi tile didn't come from 667man. My 8 man pair has gone twice before, as well. It will pass!

Yumi frowned slightly as the 8-man hit the table. "Ron." She pushed her hand open. "Riichi, One Shot, Dora 2... no Reverse Dora. 11,600."

Susobana's eyes widened in shock. In the face of an opposing Reach, she passed up the two-sided wait and Pointless to wait on the 8-man with 7 and 9? I can't understand it! How could she wait on that tile?

"Thanks for the game," Yumi said, taking the point sticks her opponent limply offered her. "It was a pleasure." She stood abruptly, turning and leaving the room. First win. I'm only just getting started.

"That was our fifth hand replay, an unusual win from Tsuruga Academy's Captain, Yumi Kajiki," the male commentator remarked. "Of course, there's been some interest in Yumi Kajiki since her strong performance in the Team Tournament. What do you think, Miss Fujita?"

"It's not a move that can be dismissed as amateurish, even if you could call it erratic," the pro said, frowning. "An amateur would take the two-sided wait every time, and deal into the Dirty All Ends Reach hand. But I don't think it was purely defensive, either."

"If you don't mind me saying so, that hand reminded me of your own play," the male commentator said.

"The come-back win? Well, I'll admit she has a good sense for it," Fujita said. "But I would have delayed the Reach there and gone for a hand that could settle things in one hit without relying on one-shot. Though as she was East, there was no necessity to do that. It's ultimately a matter of personal preference."

"I see. Regardless, a fascinating unorthodox win. It makes me anticipate what else she might show us today and tomorrow." The commentator tapped a button on the display in front of him, moving onto the next hand. "And a fierce win continues to blow in Room Sixteen. Kiyosumi's Captain, Saki Miyanaga, wraps up her own game with yet another Rinshan Kaihou win! Truly uncanny! Her fifty-six thousand point win sees her break away from the pack as the first games end."

"Full power right from the start, then," Fujita said thoughtfully. "I take back my earlier doubts about her. Koromo Amae will have serious competition for the top place, if that girl is on top form."

"Speaking of Ryumonbuchi's Captain, we have another unusual development in Room Twenty-Three," the announcer said, clicking on again. "It seems that even though Koromo Amae is already leading her table by forty-four thousand three hundred points, she has refused to pass the dealership in East Four and is playing a Bonus Hand. Her confidence is frightening."

"Koromo did that last year, as well," Fujita recalled. "It required a ruling from the referees to determine the legality of it, since it can slow down the tournament with her consecutive wins." Fujita smiled. "I like it, though. Opponents who can't take advantage of that recklessness of hers deserve to be taken for everything they're worth. Kazekoshi's Mihoko Fukuji pulled off a comeback against Koromo last year by taking advantage of it, for a start."

"A rematch between those players is among the most anticipated of this tournament," the announcer said. "As I recall, many were disappointed Fukuji didn't take the Captain's seat in the Team Tournament for that reason." He clicked through games again. "The results of the first games continue to flood in. Just like last year, the Team Tournament finalists are placing very strongly indeed. Hisa Takei, Nodoka Haramura, Yuki Kataoka, Touka Ryumonbuchi, Jun Inoue, Kana Ikeda, Mihoko Fukuji... these familiar names once more demonstrate their power."

"It's to be expected," Fujita said. "However talented you are, it's hard to develop as a player without regularly crossing swords with powerful team-mates. This is why I find players like Yumi Kajiki a little unusual."

"It appears the first yakuman of the tournament has been won in Room Thirteen," the announcer said. "We are replaying the hand in question now. It would appear that Tsuruga's Kaori Senoo achieved a comeback victory with a tsumo on Three Big Dragons." He frowned. "If I recall, Senoo also won a yakuman hand in the Team Finals. It's a remarkable coincidence."

"I hope that one case is just a coincidence," Fujita said. "It's not as if she's Teru Miyanaga." She narrowed her eyes as she scrolled down her list of results. "But it looks like I'll have to take my words back one more time. With Kaori Senoo's win, Tsuruga Academy has five wins in five games."

"A perfect start," the commentator noted. "But that kind of result, too, can only be considered a coincidence."

"Of course. Even Seeded National Teams would need luck to do the same thing." Fujita narrowed her eyes. "But at the same time, it's possible that their president's strength wasn't cultivated in isolation, after all."

"Their president..." he frowned. "Yumi Kajiki is generally considered a stronger player than Satomi Kanbara, though."

"Oh." Fujita blinked, coughing. "That's just a judgement based on a few han-chan in the Team Tournament, though. As Kanbara is the president, it wouldn't be surprising if the opposite was true..."

"It's true that Tsuruga's Captain is often mistaken for their president," the male announcer said diplomatically. "But as they are a largely unknown team, their true strength remains uncertain. Of course, Kiyosumi is the same."

"Quite." Fujita narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure this tournament will be much more interesting than last year's one on one battle between Kazekoshi and Ryumonbuchi."

In the final game of the morning, Momo sat quietly in her seat, glancing briefly to check the scores. East Four. The point leader is on 32,100, I'm on 29,500. It's essentially anyone's game. Momo smiled. I feel like I'll be the one to win, though. She opened her starting hand, swiftly sorting her tiles. Even when I play mahjong, I don't stand out very much. There's no time for me to disappear in these East-only games. Even so, I can still win. But my normal play-style isn't very exciting. I collect small wins, and minimise my losses. Every so often, I'll have a particularly good or a particularly bad game. Unlike Yumi, I don't tend to win in a flashy way. It's not the kind of play-style that attracts attention.

Momo's eyes darted sideways as the player to her left discarded a red five pin. "Chi." She slid the tiles home in her corner of the table, discarding a 7-pin. But that's fine. There's someone who regards my play with expectation, someone who is interested in my boring mahjong. In a boring way, I'll get results, and come running to her side with a smile on my face. Momo grinned as another player discarded a 3-man. "Ron. Endless, Three Colour Straight, Three Red Fives. 8000."

Momo stood and left the table, stretching her arms and grinning. That's the last of the morning games. I should be strongly positive so far. I just need to make it through to tomorrow, then I'll really take off. She blinked as she stepped outside, noticing Yumi waiting by the door. "Yumi!" Momo ran forwards, tugging on her sleeve. "I won."

Yumi blinked, her eyes focusing on Momo's face. "I see. That's good. I managed to put someone under 0, so I had the time to stop by."

Momo giggled. "You're on fine form, then."

"Yes. Though that particular victory was mostly luck. Two dealer limit direct hits will go a long way." Yumi smiled. "Let's meet the others and have lunch."

"Sure." Momo stayed close to Yumi as they threaded their way through the corridor, passing the other players in the tournament. "By my count, I'm +115 or thereabouts."

"That's a strong start," Yumi said. "If you can do that well in East-only games, there should be no problem in the East-South games to come tomorrow."

"That's my plan," Momo said, smiling. "I'll keep winning. How about you? What's your rate?"

"I'm +168," Yumi said. "So far so good. I'm feeling sharp, and luck's in my favour as well. But we're at an early stage right now. If possible, I'd like it if we could avoid big name games this afternoon, and continue to harvest points from the other players."

"That would be good," Momo said. "I want to be playing East-South games before I take on the other finalists."

"Mm. But it's advantageous to the rest of us, as well." Yumi settled onto a bench in a lobby, looking up at the scoreboards. Players from a variety of different schools continued to pour into the lobby, craning their necks to see the rankings. "Let's see... I'm sixth, you're twelfth. Kanbara is sixteenth, Mutsuki twenty-third... Kaori is twenty-ninth." She blinked. "I didn't expect Kaori would be doing that well."

"She has good luck," Momo said.

"So it would seem." Yumi looked up as Kanbara, Mutsuki and Kaori approached. "Ah, here you all are. Everyone looks like they're doing well. Let's go forwards at this pace."

"Wahaha." Kanbara glanced up at the scoreboard. "Looks like I'll have to pick up the pace. But we brought food." She tossed Yumi a can of coke. "Let's relax for a while."

Yumi caught it, nodding. "Yes. Mental exhaustion is a serious problem in these kind of extended events. But Kaori, you're doing well to be on +13."

"I'm positive?" Kaori said, looking surprised. "I've been losing so much, though."

"Well, plainly you've also been winning a fair amount," Kanbara said, patting her on the back. "I'm impressed."

"Maybe it was the yakuman hands," Kaori said thoughtfully. "I guess they're worth a lot, after all."

Yumi stared at Kaori in shock. "Yakuman? You won a yakuman hand?"

"I won two," Kaori said proudly. "The one with all the dragons in it, and 13 Orphans."

Yumi clapped her hand against her forehead, staring at the younger girl. "You won two yakuman hands in eight han-chan? Something like that can happen?"

"Is that really so amazing?" Kaori said. "The Team Tournament saw three yakuman in ten han-chan, right?"

Yumi frowned. "Don't take that series of games as your baseline for usual. Kana Ikeda and I were both really lucky, as of course were you... but if we're considering the games you've played alone, you've won three yakuman in ten han-chan. That's absurd."

"Wahaha. Well, from another perspective, even after winning 64,000 points, Kaori still gets whittled down to +13," Kanbara said. "You still have a way to go, Kaori."

"Exactly," Kaori said, frowning. "If I can't do better even after that much luck, I'm not very good. I wish you'd let me play before today."

"No, the plan where I refused to let you play is a great success," Yumi said firmly. "Just keep playing as you are right now, and try various things out. This is an important chance for you to learn. I want you to approach this from that perspective. Of course, try to win as well. But feel free to experiment."

"Thanks," Kaori said. "I'll try."

"In any case, isn't Kiyosumi on a roll?" Kanbara said, looking up at the scoreboard again. "Miyanaga is their Captain, right? First place with +221, and from what I remember, Yuuki Kataoka is their first player. Second with +182 isn't anything to sneeze at."

"I played against Kataoka in the Team Tournament, and she didn't seem like anything special," Mutsuki said thoughtfully. "She just won a single big hand. Jun Inoue and Mihoko Fukuji were much more imposing."

"If it's just a fluke, I doubt it will last. On the other hand, Koromo Amae's Third Place with +177 is a weaker performance than I'd expect from her. Especially in comparison to Miyanaga." Yumi frowned. "Is she off her game, I wonder?"

"On what planet is third place and +177 the scores of someone off their game?" Kanbara asked wryly.

"I suppose so," Yumi said. "It's just a little strange."

Momo tugged Yumi's arm. "Yumi, isn't that Kiyosumi's Captain?"

Yumi frowned, looking up. "So it would seem."

"What is she doing?" Kanbara mused, watching as Saki looked around nervously, with her hands held closed to her chest.

Yumi frowned, standing up. "What's wrong? Are you looking for something?"

Saki blinked, stepping backwards. "Ah. I'm sorry. Do you know the way to the Third Break room?"

"If I recall correctly, it's up the corridor in front of you, the fourth room on the left," Yumi said, looking slightly bemused. This is Kiyosumi's Rinshan demon? Compared to her presence in the Team Tournament, she's like a different person.

"Thank you," Saki said, before looking up and pausing.

"Ah! It's the Rinshan Kaihou user, and Tsuruga!" Koromo ran forwards, waving enthusiastically. Her floppy red bunny ears bounced as she moved. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," Yumi said reflexively.

"This is becoming something alarming," Kanbara said, gazing warily at the other Ryumonbuchi players.

"Good afternoon to you all," Touka said coolly, shaking out her blonde hair and glaring at the other schools. "Koromo, we still need to eat lunch. As, I'm sure, do our rivals. Perhaps this can wait for another time."

"I'm greeting the players I'll be opposing in this tournament," Koromo said, folding her arms and smiling. "They promised that we would play together again, so fate will ensure our destined clash on this fine day."

"The player distributions for the afternoon session of play are now being displayed," a female voice stated, echoing from the speakers attached to the walls. "Please be at your allotted starting room by 2:10."

Koromo's smile widened into a wolfish grin as she looked across at Saki. "Look, if you must. I have no need to look."

Yumi ran her eyes down the board, blinking in surprise. "Room 8, 2:10... Saki Miyanaga and Koromo Amae."

"Worry about yourself," Jun said, grinning as she looked up at the boards. "It looks like you'll be my opponent for the 3:00 game."

"I see," Yumi said, narrowing her eyes. "That should prove to be interesting."

"And it looks like I'll be facing Ryumonbuchi's Centre player again," Kanbara said, sighing. "Yumi and I wanted a peaceful afternoon, and all."

"Finally. Finally, I will show the world once and for all who the true idol is!" Touka said, pointing to the board and beginning to laugh. "5:30... prepare yourself, Nodoka Haramura!"

"There she goes again," Hajime said, cocking her head. "I'm very sorry. Touka and Koromo tend to get overly excited about mahjong."

"No, don't worry about it," Yumi said politely.

"I'll leave here," Saki said, smiling faintly. "I need to return to my team. But I won't lose this afternoon. I'll only be able to see my sister if I go to the Nationals." She walked past Koromo, eyes straight ahead. "So I'll crush anyone who gets in my way."

"Try if you will," Koromo said. "That is the most fun kind of game, after all."

Yumi bit her lip, watching stiffly as Saki walked out of sight. And in an instant, she's back to form. But Koromo's prediction was even more eerie. Why does it feel like these two are altogether different creatures?

"Her sister, at the Nationals, is it?" Touka said once Saki was out of earshot. "I see. So our previous hypothesis is most likely correct. That girl is almost certainly Teru Miyanaga's sister."

Yumi stared at Touka. "Once you've said it aloud, it seems likely... but that shouldn't matter to us."

"New national players like yourselves may not realise this, but Teru Miyanaga is the real thing," Touka said. "The kind of player that even I'd tremble in fear against. Koromo, when you're playing Kiyosumi's Captain, don't hold back in the least. Without experimentation, relying on your instincts alone. This is the first and last time I'll give you an order in this tournament, so please humour me."

"If my friend Touka insists to that degree, I will do as you say," Koromo said. "That girl isn't Teru, though."

Yumi frowned. So even Ryumonbuchi is afraid of the National Champion. I suppose that's to be expected.

"Wahaha. You're speaking as if mahjong skill is a hereditary thing," Kanbara said playfully. "I've seen a lot this tournament, but I don't think I can accept that one just yet."

"It sounds silly, but I wonder," Hajime said. "Touka and Koromo are also related, after all."

"I see. When it's pointed out to me, you can certainly see the family resemblance," Yumi sad politely. Ryumonbuchi Touka's play-style is something anyone could do, with enough work. Her orthodox play is probably stronger than mine, but it's not a matter of heaven and earth like Koromo. It's an odd comparison to make.

"In any case, I wish you all the very best," Touka said coolly. "But we won't allow things to end like they did in the Team Tournament. Oh, and I'll tell you something useful, as well. Today, I played an unknown whose comeback rush in South had to be seen to be believed. I can't remember her name, but if you play a girl in a white uniform with long brown hair, take any risk to end it before the South round."

Yumi frowned. "Since it's a warning from you, I'll bear it mind. But why are you giving us advice?"

"Koromo still wants to play with you," Touka said haughtily. "Try not to get eliminated before that happens. Koromo, we're going."

"Okay." Koromo ran back to Ryumonbuchi, turning and waving at the others. "Bye-bye!"

"Wahahaha." Kanbara grinned. "Their confidence is worrying, even after we beat them in the Team Tournament."

"Well, their strength is real," Yumi said. "But I take back what I said earlier. When I think on it, the chance to make Jun Inoue lose points is a valuable one."

"Your confidence is also pretty worrying," Kanbara said. "But I'm used to that."