Stealing the Wind- Part 6

On reflection I was wrong about Yumi's dealer pseudo-limit hand way back when, not because it was Pointless, but because it was 2 base points for the 7-man only wait and 10 for weakly closed, making the hand 40 with 4/6, a limit. It's a difference of 300 points or so, but being wrong is being wrong.

Another late chapter. And as usual, I struggle to get to grips with Nodoka. I'm not a fan and I find it hard to write material with her, but hey, a man has to try. Can't ignore the canon main character's wife altogether.


"Let's have a good game," Kanbara said, looking between her opponents with a cheerful expression.

"Good luck." Hajime looked across the table, her expression thoughtful.

Kanbara opened her starting hand, her expression calm. A good starting hand. I can work with this. As East, I'll go for it. On the eighth go-around, she discarded a 3-pin sideways. "Reach."

Several turns later, she pushed her hand open. "Ron. Reach, Pointless, Dora 1." She placed the Dora aside, flipping over the tile beneath it. "Reverse Dora 1. 11,600, please."

In the bonus hand, Hajime called riichi on the eleventh go-around. Kanbara broke up her hand and played defensively. "No-ten," she said eventually, closing her hand.

"Tenpai." Hajime pushed open her hand. Reach, pointless, two red fives.

"No-ten," the third player said.

"Tenpai," said North, relieved to make back a few points from her huge initial loss.

"Yes, yes," Kanbara said, paying 1500 points to North. I used to think this was all there was to mahjong. Then I met Yumi.

In East Two Hajime called twice in quick succession, focusing on pin. It's obvious, but I'll take it. I can always tsumo.

Hey, hey. I liked this hand. "Pon!" Kanbara completed her pon of 4 man, sliding it to her side of the table, before discarding the 9-man. The 8 followed in quick succession. Two turns later, Hajime discarded the 6-sou. "Ron." Kanbara pushed her hand open. "Endless, One Red Five. 30 base points, so 2600 with the stolen combo. And the Reach stick, of course."

Hajime frowned. I suppose she's not total rubbish. Her defensive sense, at least... from what I remember of the Team Tournaments, she didn't win much, but she didn't really deal in either. This kind of cheap mahjong can really get you if it's East-only, though. Hajime opened her starting hand, deftly placing a North on top of her hand before discarding it. I'll mix it up with this hand.

On the twelfth go-around, Kanbara discarded a 3-man. This tenpai just isn't coming...

"Ron." Hajime ran her fingers across the top of her hand, her tiles cascading open one after the other. "Endless, Pointless, Dora 1. With 30 base points as dealer, 5800."

Kanbara winced. Hidden tenpai, huh? And she passed up a win from North on the 6-man last turn. That's Ryumonbuchi for you. 32,900... my lead is looking shaky.

That brings the distance under 5000. I'll over-take you next hand, Hajime said, her eyes determined. I won't let Touka down. I only want to see Touka smiling, so I'll win and win.

On the third go-around, the current South called pon on the red dragon, while on the sixth, Hajime called pon on East. Two turns later, she called chi on 3-pin, incorporating a red five pin.

Kanbara frowned. Let's call that tenpai. The cheapest it could be is 5800, but it may well be higher. No sign of the Dora or the other red fives. She dealt a safe tile from Hajime, the 9-man.

"Ron." The current South pushed open her hand. "Red, Dora 2. With 30 base points and one combo, it's 4200."

Kanbara sighed. "Yes, yes." This is not my day. Now I'm on 28,700, just like Ryumonbuchi.

A thousand point hand won't cut it, but two thousand points will. The other two can win with limit hands, when you account for the player on 19,100 currently being the dealer. Hajime frowned. It's a sudden death race.

Sorry, but I'm good at this kind of short sprint. Kanbara grinned as she opened her hand. Two red dragons and one red five... the necessary components of a swift victory.

Kanbara pushed two Red Dragons open as the third was discarded. "Pon!" She discarded East.

"Pon." Hajime pushed open two of her tiles, discarding the 2-man.

Kanbara frowned. I suppose it would be too much to ask, that she doesn't have a second double.

The dealer drew and discarded North.

"Pon!" Hajime took the tile, sliding the meld into place. My scoring wind, so I have enough.

She has enough. Kanbara smiled as a 6-man was discarded, pushing open a red five and a seven man. "Chi!" Filling in an ugly centre-wait to get my tenpai... lucky. She discarded the 3-man. Now it's real sudden death.

We both have tenpai, and neither of us will bail. We'll just draw and discard until one of us wins. Hajime threw down a 2-pin.

If you read Yumi's club records, you'll find her rate against us is 1743. Momo is on 1612. I'm on 1432. It's embarrassing, since I'm the president and all. Kanbara reached for the wall, seizing her draw and raising it to eye-height. But that and this have nothing to do with each other. I'll just do the best I can. She slammed the 1-pin down face up, before pushing open her hand. "Tsumo. Red, Dora 1. 500, 1000. Bad luck."

Hajime nodded, pushing her hand closed. "Thank you."

"Thanks for the game, everyone." Kanbara yawned, standing and turning away. "On to the next game, I guess... at least we didn't go into South." She walked away, smiling. Well, I did pull out a win against Ryumonbuchi's third player. But 30,700 hardly feels like a real win. Winning percentages be damned, my wins always end up being this cheap. It's hard to break into the top 10 like this. Kanbara rubbed her head thoughtfully as she walked down the corridor to her next game-room. Guess there's nothing for it but to do it bit by bit.


"You mean to say that we lost the three most important games?" Touka said, sounding incredulous.

"Even if you say we lost, we all came second by slender margins," Jun said, putting her hand on her hip. "And our opponents got lucky, as well. Well, Koromo was down 10,000, but if Kiyosumi's Captain went nuts hitting a dealer counted yakuman, that's not something that can be helped."

"There's no time," Tomoki said quietly. "Not in East-only."

"Don't worry, Touka," Hajime said cheerfully. "We haven't lost much. We're all going to rake in the points for the remainder of the afternoon, right?"

Touka bowed her head, closing her eyes. "Those players, getting in our way again... how are we going to stand out like this?"

"Koromo enjoyed her game with the Rinshan-user," Koromo said amicably. "And I'm still third overall. There's nothing to complain about, is there?"

"You're just being too stiff, Touka," Jun said. "Anyway, I need to get going. Room 24 is on the other side of the building."

"You need to get going as well, Touka," Hajime said. "It's your game with Nodoka, right? It's important." She touched Touka's shoulder before pulling her hand away as if stung. She's... cold...

"Nodoka Haramura is just a passing point." Touka opened her eyes, blue irises glittering under the lights of the lobby. "Since they're standing in the way of our visit to Tokyo, I'll have to crush them all."

Jun sighed. "I see. We'll leave it to you."

"I'll be going now." Touka turned, sweeping away.

"Touka," Hajime said softly. She raised a hand hesitantly. "Shouldn't we stop her?"

"I don't think we could, even if we tried," Jun said. "Anyway, isn't it fine? If it's that Touka, Nodoka Haramura won't know what hit her. Anyway, I really do need to go. See you guys at six."

"This is why I wanted to win," Hajime said, sighing. "Touka really wants us all to go to Tokyo, together..."

"It's an unnecessary worry. Koromo is strongly placed, and won't lose to these normal humans." Koromo smiled. "All we have to do is win, and put her minds at ease. Then when she returns, we can greet her with pride."

Hajime nodded, her fists balling. "You're right. I'm going. I'm going to do my best."


Ryumonbuchi split up, each going to their own room, to play their own opponents. All of them, in their own way, burned with the desire for victory. But the Touka who settled into her seat at the table burned with a cold fire, eyes tightly focused on a narrow spot right in front of her. I must win... just why that is true, is almost beyond me, but the necessity of victory is something I certainly feel. She ran her hand across the edge of the table, looking up slightly as Nodoka Haramura sat down. If I recall correctly, you're currently seventh. One behind Jun, three above Hajime and eleven above Tomoki. By beating you here, they will all be exalted. And I will stand out, as well. She stared thoughtfully at her own hand. It seemed as if her arm was blurring, wrapped in a kind of hazy flame only she could see. I won't lose.

Nodoka hugged her penguin, her face calm. She played with her characteristic speed and precision. On the sixth turn, she discarded an East sideways. "Reach."

"Nodoka Haramura breaks away from the pack with her early dealer Reach!" The commentator frowned. "Since all her discards are Ends, it's going to be very hard to defend against that Reach."

"In a situation like this, the first tile is always a gamble," Fujita said. "What's interesting is what comes afterwards. Do you press ahead for a counter-attack, or do you fold and keep defending for the rest of the hand? Either way, that three-way wait on 2, 5 and 7 Man is going to be hard to dodge. And with two Dora and two Red Fives, dealing in is going to hurt."

Touka drew and discarded 1-pin without hesitation. Next to her, Nodoka drew and discarded with equal speed.

"They've passed the one-shot," Fujita said. "Now what? A digital player like Ryumonbuchi will probably fold on her weak hand, but as for the others..."

On her next turn, Touka drew, flipping a 5-man on top of her wall. She slid it into her hand. Following that, she discarded a 4-pin from her hand.

Fujita narrowed her eyes. "She held the wait, but she had safe tiles. Why the 4 pin? Next to the 5-pin... it's neither a safe discard, nor a necessary one."

Over the next two turns, Touka drew the 5-man twice more, including the red one, dropping the 5-pin and the 7-pin from 7-7-8 pin as her hand moved to one away from tenpai. Nodoka calmly drew and discarded, while the other players bailed, steadily discarding safe tiles.

"It looks like Touka Ryumonbuchi will need to drop the 5-man when she reaches tenpai," the announcer noted. "It's her only option for a pair on a Pointless hand."

Fujita nodded slightly, resting her head on her right hand.

The next turn, Touka drew to tenpai with a 9-pin. She paused almost imperceptibly, before discarding the 8-sou.

Fujita frowned. "She goes into a pair wait she can't win on without calling Reach and then doesn't Reach? Just what is she doing?"

The next turn, Touka drew a 2-man. She discarded the 7-sou.

"Once again, Touka Ryumonbuchi avoids dealing in," the announcer said. "This is really quite remarkable."

"Not really. If she thinks 5 man is a live tile, of course she can't deal 2-man either," Fujita said. "But if she's not going for it now, what has she been dealing dangerous tiles for up to now?"

Nodoka continued to discard her draws. My waiting area has become more obvious, both due to my own discards and North's discarding live tiles in other areas. But my chances of tsumo are still good.

Two turns later, Touka drew, slamming her 8-pin draw sideways. "Reach!"

The announcer blinked in astonishment. "Unexpectedly, Touka Ryumonbuchi has finally moved! An extremely late Reach on a pair wait for the 2-man, without changing her hand? This couldn't even be explained if she was a novice!"

Touka leaned forwards as she took her next draw, pulling it across the table and placing it face-down in front of her hand. She flipped it with one finger, revealing the 2-man. "Tsumo," she said quietly. She pushed open her hand, reaching for the dead wall and flipping over the 1-man. "Reach, One-Shot, Strongly Closed, Reverse Dora 2. 2000/4000."

The announcer blinked silently for a few moments. "Touka Ryumonbuchi wins, with a hand exploding in value from luck alone! But her defence can't be called a matter of luck. What do you think, Miss Fujita?"

"It's hard to say," Fujita said. "Logically speaking, that was a fluke. But the delayed Reach declaration was perverse."

The next hand progressed rapidly, with the new Dealer calling pon twice on the 3 and 6 pin by the seventh go-around. Nodoka swiftly changed to defensive play, holding all her pin tiles and discarding elsewhere. On the ninth go-around, East placed a 3-pin on top of her hand. Still 1 shan-ten. But I'm really going for this hand, Toi-Toi, Full Flush. Any Dora would make this hand a real monster. There's no reason to hesitate. "Kan!" She slid the 3-pin into place, drawing from the dead wall and discarding. She flipped the new Dora, frowning. 3-sou. Not in my suit.

A turn later, Touka pushed open four 3-sou from her hand. "Kan." She deftly formed the closed kan, drawing from the dead-wall and discarding an 8-pin sideways. "Riichi!"

Dora 4! But that's my tenpai! "Pon!" East hurriedly formed the pon, picking up the 5-pin and discarding it.

"Ron." Touka pushed open her hand, eyes impassive. "Riichi, Dora 4, 1 Red Five." She pulled out the Dora tiles, flipping over the Reverse Dora. "Reverse Dora 2. 16,000." Her voice was calm, almost flat, and her face displayed no emotion. Only the outstretched hand hovering over her fallen tiles showed she knew she had won.

"Blink and you've missed it! In an instant, Touka Ryumonbuchi's hand erupts from 1-shan ten with one red five to Dora 4 tenpai and takes flight with Reverse Dora! Terrifying luck!"

"And she was pair waiting again," Fujita said, frowning. "Just what is this?"

Stay calm. This kind of thing can happen in mahjong. Luck is just selection bias. It all evens out in the end. Nodoka frowned. That thoughtless playing style won't be rewarded in the long-term. She hugged her penguin as the dice began to spin. But it's so odd, I can't stop thinking about it. Last time I played this person, she was so emotional. I didn't pay any attention of course, but even tuning the outside world out I could still feel ripples of that. Right now, though, she's so... serene. Silent.

The third hand ended by the twelfth go-around, with East dealing into Touka's Reach. "Ron." Touka pushed her hand open. "Reach, Pointless, Endless, Three Colour Straight, Dora 2. No Reverse Dora. 12,000."

"From a turn three tenpai on Reach Pointless, Touka Ryumonbuchi trades up to a Three Colour Straight and then breaks up and replaces her pair to add Endless, Dora 2! And her Reach is just in time to head off the Dealer, who was waiting for Toi-Toi, Red, Green, Three Closed Pons!" The announcer frowned. "Three hands, three wins! Will the storm abate now it's Touka Ryumonbuchi's dealership, or has she only just begun?"

Fujita frowned. "This is definitely abnormal. In the Team Tournament, if you recall, for many consecutive hands Koromo Amae's opponents stalled out in 1 shan-ten, but this is different. Every time, the Dealer has pressed ahead with a strong hand, and every time, Ryumonbuchi has won big from their aggression. In a sense, giving an opponent a powerful hand they can't quite win is more effective and powerful than freezing them in one shan-ten."

"You're speaking as if Ryumonbuchi is controlling the entire table," the announcer said. "Surely it's just a lucky streak?"

"If so, that's fine. But she's playing abnormally. Her ordinary play-style doesn't need that kind of luck." Fujita frowned. "Either way, the emotional damage of these sudden defeats must be piling up on her opponents. Dealing in while protecting your strong tenpai is the worst kind of defeat."

Touka's unfortunate opponent fell forwards, her body shaking. She stared at Touka with wide, pained eyes.

Touka pressed the dice, settling back with a heavy expression. And so the peons fall before me. You're next, Nodoka Haramura. Once I've crushed you, I can wrap up with a tsumo win. Touka began to take her tiles, her expression totally blank. From what I recall, you have a statistical playing style. That will snare you and drag you under the water, just like all the rest.

Nodoka hugged her penguin tightly, shivering. What is this? What is this oppressive chill? Even though she barely announces her wins, they're scary. She's scary. This is even worse than Saki. It's as if no matter what I do, I can't raise a hand to her!


In a smooth corridor beneath a high ceiling, in front of large double doors, Nodoka stood, clutching her penguin tightly, doing something she had never done before. Greeting Saki after a loss.

"Hi, Nodoka." Saki smiled awkwardly, her hands loosely by her side. "Sorry. Even after we promised to go to the Nationals, I messed up and the lost the game."

Nodoka searched for words. They didn't come easily. Saki was so amazing it had been hard to imagine she'd ever lose a match she felt strongly about, no matter the opponent. And then Koromo's strength had unfolded itself, high-scoring hands falling face-up time after time, and she'd doubted her team-mate for the first time. But it wasn't Koromo Saki had lost to.

"You did it, Yumi! You're the best!" The black haired girl hugged the older, taller girl, while the rest of the team crowded around them, eyes bright. It was hard not to be bitter at that scene.

"The Captain gets the flashiest role, but that's all," Yumi said. "I was just lucky, and this victory belongs to all of your combined efforts."

Nodoka returned her attention to Saki, closing her eyes. "It was a good game. We don't have anything to be ashamed of."

Saki nodded, stepping closer to Nodoka and looking down at the floor. "They were amazing. All of my opponents really were amazing. I'm glad we came here."

"They were amazing," Nodoka agreed. She blushed slightly, feeling tense about Saki's closeness. "But I think you were amazing. Watching you, I could see it... you really had found a path to victory against that points gap. It was something only you could do."

Saki nodded. "Even so, I lost." She looked up, her eyes meeting Nodoka's. "But it's not over. I'll beat all comers at the Individuals. We'll go to the Nationals, and we'll meet my sister."

Nodoka blinked, surprised by her passion. The old Saki might have crumbled from this loss, but her eyes were so... strong and serious... "You're right. It's not over yet."

"Let's go."

Nodoka turned and followed Saki back to their team's room, her expression tightening. She'd been naïve to think that Saki was unbeatable. Of course, Koromo wasn't unbeatable, either. The fickle heart of a game of chance wasn't that naïve. Nodoka thought she'd learned that lesson, long ago. She'd reflect on it. But even so, over many games, true strength showed itself... and Saki and her wouldn't lose.


Nodoka took her tiles after Touka, narrowing her eyes. What am I thinking? Anything as nonsensical as an invincible opponent doesn't exist in mahjong. My mahjong isn't useless against Saki. It isn't useless against this person, either. I may win and I may lose, but that's governed by luck and skill. However strange or cold she might seem have nothing to do with it. Mahjong knows no kings! All that is just a useless distraction. What happened in the hands before this one have nothing to do with it, either. Nodoka opened her hand, then slapped her cheeks twice with both her hands. After noticing her manner, I started to forget. I need to remember again...

Touka's eyes widened factionally as Nodoka began to draw and discard at a blistering pace again. If I recall, she began playing normally in the third hand. So the angel Nodochi has returned... it makes no difference. Right now, everything is before me.

On the seventh go-around, Nodoka called pon on the 9-pin, discarding 5-man.

"Nodoka Haramura is 1-shan ten for a monster hand!" The commentator said excitedly. "At best, Toi-Toi, Three Colour Triple, Three Closed Pon, Dora 3!"

"It says a lot about this game that a direct hit with that wouldn't even mean Nodoka wins," Fujita said briefly. "In any case, Ryumonbuchi is also 1-shan ten for a double limit."

Touka placed a 3-man on top of her hand, regarding it impassively. Tenpai. Full Flush, Riichi, One Red Five, waiting for 4 or 7 man. This is over. "Reach!" She discarded the 9-man sideways. A moment later, she blinked, her expression briefly blank in confusion rather than in indifference. She didn't pon it?

On her next turn, Nodoka drew the fourth 9-man. She discarded it without hesitation. Over the next two turns, she discarded the next two, absorbing a second 4-man into her hand as she did so. She held an 8-man as well, discarding it when Touka also discarded one. Two turns later, she called pon on the 1-sou, discarding a safe North.

This was outside my expectations, Touka mused, eyes widening in surprise. I can't feel the scent of my winning tiles any more. Her expression broke into momentary surprise as she placed a 3-pin in her discards.

"Ron. Toi-Toi, Dora 3. 8000." Nodoka's face was blank, except for a slight smile.

"Why?" Touka asked guardedly, passing over the points. "Why did you pass up the much stronger Three Colour Triple hand?"

"I don't get any points if I deal in," Nodoka replied calmly. She sounded slightly puzzled.

Touka blinked slowly. Surely anyone but Koromo and I, who know for sure, would try to force it through by luck? Even though I won, what is this feeling of hollowness? Hasn't this woman, in this place, played me while I was immersed in the totality of the flow, and escaped unscathed? Touka stood, her expression cold. No matter. I'll carry on crushing other players, so my sworn companions can thrive. A single player defying me is a matter of no consequence.

"Nodoka Haramura shut down her perfect game with a win in the last hand," the announcer said. "But Touka Ryumonbuchi still wins strongly on 53,000 points! Her abnormal, high-scoring play is a far cry from her usual measured play-style, but regardless, she continues to be a very strong contender in this tournament."

"It certainly was abnormal," Fujita said. "But when all's said and done, Nodoka Haramura finished second, on 29,000. She's totally minimised the potential damage of Touka Ryumonbuchi's consecutive victories for her own prospects."

"Almost," the announcer agreed. "But with this strong performance, Touka Ryumonbuchi overtakes Hisa Takei and draws very close to Nodoka Haramura in the overall rankings. There's still everything to play for as we determine the top 30 who make the cut for tomorrow."

Nodoka smiled slightly as she left the room, heading for the next table. One or two freaky wins wouldn't set the standard for this tournament. Just as Saki had opened her eyes and felt renewed determination after her loss, true strength was something much quieter and deeper than that.


Several hours later, the Ryumonbuchi team drove home in their limousine. Jun sighed, holding Koromo's petite body as she slept in Jun's lap. "I can deal with one big kid who goes to sleep early after mahjong, but two is too much."

"Touka's just really tired," Hajime said, toying with Touka's blonde hair. Touka was sprawled across the back seats, her head resting on Hajime's lap. "This happened at the Nationals last year, as well. I think when Touka becomes cold like this, her level of concentration really tires her out, or something."

"You can sleep off tiredness," Jun said. "But it sounds like she kicked ass out there. Pity we couldn't watch."

"Mm." Hajime sighed. "I can't argue with the results, but I wish she wouldn't exhaust herself like this. I wanted to tell her about my wins this afternoon."

Touka shifted, slowly drifting awake. She stretched, idly rubbing her forehead.

"Looks like you'll get your chance," Jun said, smiling.

Touka blinked herself to awakening, looking upwards and frowning. "Hajime?"

"Good evening, Touka." Hajime smiled.

Touka realised where she was lying, and abruptly sat up. She clapped her hand to her forehead again, wavering dizzily. "What happened... earlier this afternoon..."

"You won four times in four games," Jun said, grinning. "And you beat Nodoka Haramura, as well. As a result of those wins, you jumped to fourth in the rankings. In other words, you really stood out, Touka. The announcers were talking about you a lot."

"Ah, I remember..." Touka sighed. "I can't believe I wasted a chance to beat Nodoka Haramura. That style's not me at all."

"It seems pleanty you to me, though," Jun said. "Much more so than Nodoka's style."

"Shut up," Touka said sourly. "And if I went up to Fourth, I also screwed up. I wanted to make some of our opponents lose points so you could all rank higher, but I can't do that without winning and going higher than you people!"

"Of course," Jun said, looking at Touka like she was an idiot. "And we don't need your help, anyway. We're pleanty strong."

"It's good you're winning, Touka," Hajime said patiently. "It means you're standing out, right?"

"I suppose so," Touka said. She frowned thoughtfully. "I want Ryumonbuchi as a whole to stand out, though. If just Koromo stands out, isn't that a little lonely for her?"

"We're doing fine, Touka," Hajime said, smiling. "Jun's right in this case. We'll be fine without your help, so you should just play for your own sake."

Touka nodded. "Then I'll say bye-bye to that silliness involving one-shots and flow. Playing like that is really boring."

"You often one-shot with your normal play-style, though," Tomoki said, smirking at Touka's glare. "It's hardly like Nodoka Haramura at all."


"Well done, everyone," Yumi said, looking around at the rest of Tsuruga. "Momo, you're currently twelfth, so good job for hanging in there. I expect you'll start going up the rankings tomorrow in the longer games. Kanbara, fourteenth is also good. Mutsuki, it's a shame you've slumped a bit, but at 24 you've at least made the cut. Good work for that, it's been extremely competitive."

"I'm sorry," Mutsuki said, sighing. "I couldn't keep up with my pace from this morning... especially after I played the girl that Ryumonbuchi warned us about."

"The brown haired girl with a white uniform?" Yumi said, frowning thoughtfully. "What was it like?"

"Just as we were told," Mutsuki said. "I tried my best, but things went to South, and then she just won and won. That loss shook my confidence."

"Don't let it bother you," Yumi said firmly. "We all have bad games, and there are any number of strong opponents here. Tomorrow is a new chance."

Mutsuki nodded. "I'm using this as a chance to study, like you said."

"Good. Make good use of this time." Yumi glanced sidelong at Kaori. "And I'm very impressed. At thirty, you're scraping home, but you made the cut for tomorrow."

"I see." Kaori sighed. "I'm almost disappointed. This is really tiring."

"How many yakuman did you win this time, hmm?" Kanbara said, slapping Kaori on the back.

"Three," Kaori said, rubbing her back and frowning. "That hurts..."

Kanbara stopped, blinking. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Kaori said. "Is that odd? We played a lot of games today, so it's expected to get one or two yakuman, right?"

Yumi coughed. "Well, let's not over-think this. Whatever you're doing, Kaori, I want you to keep doing it. And don't let it get you down if your opponents start whining or anything."

Kaori nodded. "That did happen, but I won't let it get me down."

"Good. Well, let's go home. Everyone get a good rest before tomorrow." Yumi turned away, walking towards the exit.

Momo put her head close to Yumi, smiling slightly. "I'm beginning to think that once you've had a chance to train her, Kaori will be worse than the Rinshan girl and the Bunny girl."

"I wonder," Yumi replied quietly. "I'm not taking anything for granted."

"There are a lot of strange people in this world," Momo said playfully. "People like me, for a start."

Yumi chuckled. "A fair point."

"Can I sleep over again?"

"My parents are back, I'm afraid," Yumi said.

"I see. That's a shame." Momo stepped away, turning around and walking backwards in front of Yumi. "In any case, the number five does suit you, Captain. But I think you can do better still tomorrow."

Yumi grinned. "I'll just do what I can. But I'll give it a try."


Rankings

Saki Miyanaga, +273

Yuki Kataoka, +265

Koromo Amae, +259

Touka Ryumonbuchi, +237

Yumi Kajiki, +223

Mihoko Fukuji, +218

Hisa Takei, +215

Jun Inoue, +207

Nodoka Haramura, +207

Mako Someya, +194