Yumi: Part 8, Human Element

This wasn't easy. Feedback is especially valued here since if I've written yuri romance a few times, I certainly haven't done this before.


"Now, then," Ryūmonbuchi-san said, glancing at her opening hand briefly before looking straight at me. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"Agreed," I said evenly. Ryūmonbuchi-san is East. Ideally, I want to win here and prevent her from building up momentum. Luckily, this hand looks like it will develop pretty fast. The more I control the flow, the faster Momo will disappear. She's getting better and better and that... and she's my secret weapon here, so I'll go for it right from the start.

The first few draws were quite useful for me, and my hand began to take shape. So far so good.

Kunihiro-san drew and instantly placed her tile down in front of her.

"Chi!" Ryūmonbuchi-san slammed the tiles home at the side of table, smirking.

I frowned slightly. Calling this early? That's abnormal. Ryumonbuchi-san is a theory player, so it's even more unexpected coming from her.

The next turn, Kunihiro-san took in the tile she drew and passed out an East wind.

"Pon!" Ryūmonbuchi-san called again, watching me intensely. A triple of East wind, double wind. That's painful.

My next draw was no use at all. It doesn't matter, though. Even if I'm falling behind in terms of forming my hand, I'm still closed and I'm pretty sure I can keep it that way. Between her discards and her calls, it's all too easy to read her hand. It looks pretty big, but she'll have to get a tsumo or a win off Kunihiro-san. This one hand's worth of good luck isn't unusual for her, but it will turn in the end.

Two turns later, Kunihiro-san dealt out a tile Ryūmonbuchi-san called on again. "Pon! Riichi!" Ryūmonbuchi-san threw the stick down, discarding a tile sideways in front of her. "Here I go!"

I managed to get tenpai two turns later. It's a two-sided wait on a closed hand. No need to shy away from taking her on head-on. "Riichi."

Kunihiro-san dealt a safe tile again, then Ryūmonbuchi-san drew. Her expression of glee deepened. "Tsumo!" She flipped her hand open. "2000 all."

I passed over the points with a neutral expression. I'm instantly a long way down on her, that hurts. But that's Ryūmonbuchi-san's luck for you. You have to absorb damage like that from time to time.

But in the fourth turn of the next hand, the same thing happened again. Kunihiro-san dealt a tile she drew that let Ryūmonbuchi-san call instantly. That worried me. I've found one rule helpful in my time playing mahjong. One time is a coincidence. Two times, no matter how unlikely, is a pattern. And when I stop focusing on Ryūmonbuchi-san, Kunihiro-san looks quietly pleased with herself. Is this on purpose? Can she read into Ryūmonbuchi-san's hand so much she can do that deliberately? It's too early in the game for the discards to provide clear information. That shouldn't be possible.

But it happened in the sixth turn, as well. Pon on three 9 pins, then Ryūmonbuchi-san drew another 9-pin. "Kan!" She added the tile to her tri, drawing from the dead wall. She smirked at her draw, sliding it into her hand and discarding another tile. "Riichi!"

Ryūmonbuchi-san did say something like that, these rules being a test of insight. But while Kunihiro-san is strong, she's not like Inoue-san or Koromo, people whose insight can be said to be unnatural. If that's the case, how is she doing this? I wouldn't worry, but Ryumonbuchi-san's luck means she'll be able to make winning hands even when open.

Momo coughed slightly as she discarded her draw, a 4-suu. My eyes widened slightly. "Pon!" I slid the tiles home on my side of the table, discarding one of my useless tiles. No time to worry about closed or open, right now I need speed.

Kunihiro-san glanced sidelong at Momo, frowning slightly, before taking her new draw into her hand and discarding another tile.

Ryūmonbuchi-san hesitated for a moment before opening her hand. "Ron. 2400."

I bit my lip. Was that also deliberate? It's possible Kunihiro-san wants to protect Ryūmonbuchi-san's time as dealer, but it's not as if my hand looked threatening or complete. Or is it Momo, rather than my hand, they were threatened by? That doesn't make sense either... unless it was something else Momo was doing.

"It's okay, senpai," Momo said, smiling faintly. "I'll support you."

My eyes widened slightly as I glanced at her. Yes, that's also a possibility. An explanation for how Kunihiro-san can deal into Ryūmonbuchi-san's hand flawlessly. By playing the same opponent many hundred times, you grow to understand a team-mate's mahjong in a way that's impossible for others. Not just their tiles and their play-style, but their body language... players strongly immersed in real-world mahjong can manipulate that. I taught Momo that lesson myself. To do it this perfectly might require an even closer insight than that of a team-mate, but regardless, it's possible. Further, I've been approaching this game from a conventional mindset. I can't confirm it without seeing Kunihiro-san's hand on an exhaustive draw, but it's probable she isn't trying to win for herself at all. She can use otherwise useful tiles to support Ryūmonbuchi-san. Compared to my one hand, the opposition could be said to have two... being left flat-footed is an inevitable result of that. Thanks to Momo, I've realised that just in time.

I put the last tiles of my opening hand into place, glancing at it briefly. It didn't look like a bad hand, and it's shape was good for my purposes. I nodded. "I'm counting on you, Momo."

"However much you conspire, the result will be the same!" Ryūmonbuchi-san said firmly, dealing her first tile.

I smiled as Momo dealt a Chun. "Pon." I brought the tiles home, glancing across at our two opponents. Now that was pure luck, not insight, almost certainly. But a little luck is necessary to step forwards.

Ryūmonbuchi-san called one of Kunihiro-san's tiles on the third draw. "Chi!"

No matter. We're just getting started. Momo drew and dealt one I could call on the fifth draw. "Chi."

Kunihiro-san's sixth tile also let Ryūmonbuchi-san call. "Pon!"

On my eighth, I completed another tri with my own draw, three 7-wans. Normally I'd keep this hidden, but right now I need to maximise Momo's information. "Pon." Nearly there. I dealt the spare tile.

"Pon," Ryūmonbuchi-san said firmly, taking my tile to finish the tri.

Momo dealt the missing 7-wan.

"Kan." I drew from the dead-wall, getting nothing useful. But my hand came together the next turn on its own. "Riichi!"

Kunihiro-san's next draw let Ryūmonbuchi-san call her final meld. "Chi! Riichi!" She grinned, apparently exhilarated. "It's a head-on battle, Yumi Kajiki!"

It's a matter of luck, however I look at it. She's really quite rude in person, but I suppose she doesn't mean anything by it. I just nodded.

As it turned out, this time fortune favoured me first. "Tsumo," I declared, pushing the tiles I had left open. "1000/2000."

"Just as I'd expect of Kajiki-san and Toyoko-san, you're quick to understand," Kunihiro-san said amicably.

"Thanks for that compliment," I said calmly. Honestly, I'm upset I didn't understand this much sooner.

"Just understanding won't help you, though," Ryūmonbuchi-san said. "The true battle's just beginning."

I narrowed my eyes. Yes, that's certainly true, though not in the way she intends. I won't let this simply be a slugging match where we both race as pairs for tenpai using calls. Now I understand the rules of the game, I'll aim for the openings they create.

Since Momo was East now, I did my best to support her in turn. But even for me, it's difficult to read into Momo's hand and discards, since everything she does is shrouded in her personal lack of presence. Kunihiro-san was in fine form, too, pushing Ryūmonbuchi-san to an early tsumo, 500/1000.

It's a shame to waste Momo's turn at East, but I was next. I frowned thoughtfully as I completed my initial hand. 7200 between myself and Ryūmonbuchi-san. That was rough. But this hand looked promising. With it, I might have a chance to make my next move.

Initially we followed the same pattern as before, a race to call on tiles. But my chance came on the ninth turn, with another of Momo's deals. "Kan." I slid the tiles into place, drawing from the dead-wall. Lucky. My hand was in good shape on a double-pon wait, 8-pin and 2-sou. Normally I'd throw this 9-pin away and go for the bigger hand, but not this time. I dealt an 8-pin after a single glance at Ryūmonbuchi-san's hand. "Riichi."

There is a rationality that exists beyond calculations of probability.

A turn later, Kunihiro-san dealt the 7-pin straight after drawing it. "Pon!" Ryūmonbuchi-san said instantly.

That is the human element. "I'm afraid not. Ron." I pushed my hand open calmly. "2400."

Ryūmonbuchi-san stared at my hand, looking displeased for the first time all match. If it was her, she would most likely have kept the 8-pin. But Kunihiro-san didn't look especially shocked. She's someone who plays Koromo Amae regularly. Of course she has the tenacity to keep fighting even after being burned once. That's why I'll pursue that second shot as fast as I can, while this loss is still fresh in her mind. If I'm forceful and lucky, I'll be able to create that illusion in her. The illusion that the if the first time was coincidence, the second time is a pattern.

I began to build my wall again. That hand was significant for one more reason. I was still quite a way below Ryūmonbuchi-san, but Kunihiro-san was trailing significantly. The actual difference between our two teams was slight. If we kept pressing here, we could easily take the lead.

Our luck wasn't good in the next hand, though. Kunihiro-san continued to feed Ryūmonbuchi-san, whose hand developed faster than mine. Her hand was big, as well. Pon on 9-wan, Pon on Hatsu. This could be bad. Things got even worse when Kunihiro-san dealt a Dora, 3-pin. "Pon!" Ryūmonbuchi-san said cheerfully. "Riichi!"

Not good. I absolutely had to win here, even with this small hand. I glanced sidelong at Momo, but she couldn't deal anything useful. My tile, though... I drew a 2-pin. This is risky, but I don't have any choice but to go for it. I dealt a 1-pin from my pair, sliding the 2-pin into place. It's a hell wait, but it's not completely blind of me. Ryūmonbuchi-san is greedy. It's all meaningless if I don't get tenpai, though.

Luckily, we managed to get through the enemy rounds without anything happening. I breathed out slightly, relieved. If it's Ryūmonbuchi-san, one-shot tsumo is more common than it has any right to be.

Momo dealt her draw instantly. My heart leapt. I was waiting for that. "Chi!" I threw out my last useless tile sideways. "Riichi."

Two turns later, Kunihiro-san drew something, glancing at me and frowning. I looked back evenly. Will you come? Or will you bail here?

She dealt it. 3-pin.

I opened my hand before Ryūmonbuchi-san could declare kan. "Ron, Dora 1. That will be 2900."

"How could you play like that?" Ryūmonbuchi-san said, looking incensed. "Is robbing a kan your special move or something?"

"I don't have anything like that," I said, frowning taking the points I'd won. "I just got lucky, that's all." It'd have been great if Ryūmonbuchi-san had dealt it, and it was actually robbing a kan, but this was lucky enough in itself. It was also reliant on their weaknesses. Whether Kunihiro-san played the odds, or wanted to make Ryūmonbuchi-san's big hand even bigger, or had sensed my challenge and felt the need to go in fighting against that, I don't know. But those ways of thinking aren't enough.

Now I'm leading Ryūmonbuchi-san, just about. But in terms of team scores, we lead by a long way now. My direct hits are telling, and Kunihiro-san is lagging behind.

Momo beamed at me. Ryūmonbuchi-san looked petulant. But Kunihiro-san held my gaze when I turned to her, her eyes determined. I'd hoped to crush her spirit, but it looks like I achieved the opposite effect. Now she's looking at me rather than Ryūmonbuchi-san, and her eyes are more alive than I've seen so far. "Touka, leave this next hand to me."

Ryūmonbuchi-san smiled again. "Ah. I'm counting on you, Hajime."

I smiled as I began to form my hand. So you're finally awake? If she's coming at me again, that's all the better. I came here because I wanted to fight strong opponents. That feeling of wildness, that thrill of taking someone head-on and trusting in your skill, luck and intuition... that's what all of us seek here. I slid my last tiles into place. So come.

* * *

Extra: Mahjong Notes

That was the last hand I intend to show of this match, since this is hard to write, Koromo is still to come and you're probably all here for the lesbians anyway. I may have made mistakes, but I've done my best to combine accuracy to the letter of the rules with flagrant violation of their normal outcome in the true spirit of the series. I'll be explaining some of my underlying work here so the knowledgeable can correct me and the new can understand a little more.

The match begins with Touka East, Momo South, Yumi West and Hajime North. I contrived this position so Yumi could call chi on Momo's tiles and Touka could call chi on Hajime's tiles.

Yumi's flashier moves here rely on the fact that winning takes precedence over calling on tiles discarded, something she also used to rob Saki's kan in the anime.

Hands are approximated rather than exactly worked out. That would be too much work, and in any case would be tedious to read.

Too much information? Not enough? I'm open to suggestions on format, since this is all very new to me.