Kiyosumi
"Alright, I know we just got here but..."Hisa paused and the Kiyosumi mahjong club leaned forward in anticipation. "Let's head to the onsen!" She pumped her fist in the air. Mako face palmed, while the rest of the team cheered.
"Who are you trying to trick?" Mako asked Hisa flatly who gave a smile that seemed to say 'just go with it.'
"Let's go djey?" Yuuki immediately rushed out the room followed by the hyperactive Kana, both ecstatic at the thought of relaxing in a hot bath after the three hour long drive.
Nodoka lagged behind the rest of the team. She paused to glance over the mahjong table and caressed the tiles before finally heading toward the onsen. By the time Nodoka had walked into the changing rooms, Yuuki, Mako, and Kana were already inside the bath. Mihoko was just heading in.
"Um," Mihoko blushed. "I'll wait for you inside, Ueno-san."
Hisa smiled and waved her hand good naturedly. "Okay. I won't be long, Mihoko." With that, Mihoko stepped out of the changing rooms and entered the steamy warm onsen. This left three people still in the middle of changing.
"Haramura-san, no need to be shy. Hurry and get changed. Everyone else is already inside. The onsen here is heavenly," Hisa encouraged Nodoka with a smile, who was standing still at the entrance. Nodoka just merely nodded before slowly taking off her clothes and neatly folding them into the lockers. She checked for any creases and nodded slightly in approval after finding none.
"My, my. I see you're as proper and meticulous as ever, Nodoka."
Nodoka turned to the brunette that spoke to her. "I don't know what you mean, Kei." The said girl just shrugged and smiled mysteriously at Nodoka.
"You two seem close," Hisa noted the lack of honorifics between the two. "Have you guys met before?"
Nodoka nodded. "Yes. We met six years ago, when I was in the hospital. She taught me how to play mahjong to pass time."
"Really?" Hisa looked surprised. "Wow, no wonder."
"What?" Nodoka asked.
"It's no wonder you're the best," Hisa stated simply.
"Huh? Why?" Nodoka was still confused.
Hisa winked. "'Cause you were taught by the best."
Kei chuckled lightly and shook her head. The carefree laughter bounced off the cold stone floor. "That's not true, Hisa. There are plenty of people out there who are better than me."
Hisa raised an eyebrow. "Well aren't you humble, champion? You're always quick to downplay your skills, Kei. But I guess that's just who you are. You never underestimate your opponents. I guess that's how you're so good. But you're right, even if you are on top now, you might get dethroned this time round. Who knows, it might even be the student who surpasses the teacher." Hisa looked at Nodoka, trying to make a point.
Kei took all this lightheartedly and smiled. "I look forward to seeing how much you improved, Nodoka." She walked over and lightly patted Nodoka on the back.
Nodoka smiled. "Of course. And I'm not going to go easy on you. I'm going to the top."
"Spoken like a true champion," Kei replied. "Hard work will always pay off, Nodoka. Just don't forget what made mahjong so fun, alright? No matter how far behind you are, or how strong your opponents are, you have to try to have fun."
Nodoka nodded at the advice. It was the same advice Kei had told her years ago in the hospital. And after her recent setback, Nodoka was determined not to lose sight of her reason for playing mahjong.
Hisa chuckled inwardly. My, my. The reporters are going to eat this up. We now not only have one, but two champions. Both the inter-high and the inter-middle champion are together in one school. I hope they'll be prepared for all the interviews they're going to have to do. This is going to be great publicity for Kiyosumi, not that we need it. Hisa shivered as she remembered how the reporters hounded her and the rest of the team last year after Kiyosumi's win in the inter-high.
"Well, I'll head in first." Hisa spoke to Nodoka and Kei. "Mihoko is waiting for me."
"I'm ready too," Kei said. She turned to Nodoka. "Don't take too long now."
Nodoka watched as Hisa and Kei walked out of the changing rooms. She turned to face her reflection in the mirror. I will get to the top. President was only joking when she said Kei might get dethrone this year, but it could very well happen. It's not impossible. Kei knows this well. Kei is an extremely skilled player. It was no fluke that Kiyosumi won the team tournament last year with Kei as the captain. She is just that good. But, there is someone else out there, whose mahjong skills may be on par with, if not better than, even Kei's. That is the person I must defeat...Miyanaga Saki.
Nodoka regretted staying in the onsen for so long. True to Hisa's words, the onsen was heavenly. But the heat made her lightheaded and now she was having trouble focusing on the mahjong game in front of her. It took all of her concentration just to avoid going into the negatives. This game was really taking a toll on her.
She glanced at the person sitting across from her in frustration. The sight of the familiar purple hair only irked her further. When Hisa announced that a pro was going to come and help out, Nodoka would have never guessed it would be her. Why oh why did Hisa have to be acquainted with her? It seems as if the pro held back completely the last time they went head to head in mahjong and was now playing at her true potential. Nodoka could barely keep up. Damn that Katsudon eating pro. I've been played.
Fujita smirked. Ms. Monster Boobies is squirming. I guess she really wasn't all that special after all. As for the other two... Her gaze shifted to the blonde on her right. Fujita recoiled in surprise. What the...her right eye is open! In all of the games she's played against the vice president, Fujita has never seen her open her right eye once. I wonder why she keeps it closed normally. Maybe because it's blue, unlike her other one which is red. That's a bit strange. Fujita closed her eyes and briefly thought back to the previous games. Ms. Fukuji-san, was it? She seems to be very good at reading the flow and predicting her opponent's hands. She's very clearsighted. She's easily the second best player here at Kiyosumi...second only to her...
Fujita now shifted her gaze to the left.
Arakawa Kei. The current Inter-High National Champion.
She's a monster. I can never tell what she's thinking and there never seems to be any aggressive aura around her. When she attacks, it comes out of nowhere. If I'm not careful, I can easily overlook her and forget about her, but the moment I do, I'm dead. Unlike other monsters, like Ryuumonbuchi's Amae Koromo, she doesn't give off a deadly aura. I need to be very careful when dealing with her. What's even more unnerving isn't her playing style, but her unwavering smile. I can't tell what she's thinking. Mahjong is as much a psychological game as a game of skill and luck and one can easily tell, Kei is a seasoned veteran at mahjong. She can easily beat some of the current pros.
Fujita caught Hisa observing their game out of the corner of her eyes and smiled. You've got quite a team here, Hisa. I must say, the other schools must watch out for Kiyosumi because this team here is going to be tough to beat.
"Ron. 5,200."
The game was over. Nodoka sighed through her nose. "Good game." Amidst her panic, she ended up playing into Fujita's hand. There goes her last 2,000 points.
"Looks like I win again. That makes it five times in a row now," the pro stated with an air of slight cockiness as she got up and stretched.
Fujita glanced at Hisa, who looked deep in thought after observing the game. Catching Fujita's eye, Hisa nodded and announced, "Alright. You guys have worked hard. Go rest while Fujita pro and I prepare for lunch."
Murmurs of agreement were heard from the three. Hisa left the room promptly with Fujita following closely behind.
"They've gotten better this week, I'll give them that," Fujita said.
"And who do you think is responsible for that?" Hisa asked with good humor. "So what do you think?" she asked Fujita.
"With their skills now, they have a chance of winning the championships again, but it's not for sure. The team is stronger this year than last year though. You were lucky that you didn't lose that many players." Fujita commented.
Hisa hummed in response. "Last year, we struggled all the way until the end. This year is going to be no different, if not harder. Everyone's going to be gunning for us. We'll have to watch ourselves and be as prepared as possible."
"Have you decided on the order yet?" Fujita asked.
Hisa shook her head. "Not quite. I still haven't figured out where to place Nodoka. She plays steadily so she would do well as the third player, but I can't say for certain because I still haven't chosen between Kana and Yuuki yet. I can only decide the lineup when the team is set."
Fujita did not reply right away. "Haramura Nodoka...she's not as good as the media has hyped her up to be," she stated carefully.
Hisa looked at Fujita, her eyes twinkling with playfulness as if she were enjoying the fact that she knew something that Fujita didn't. "Oh don't worry about that. I have a plan to bring out Ms. Genius here at her best."
Fujita only raised an eyebrow and was apprehensive in asking for details. Knowing Hisa, it would probably not be understandable to the sane person. Instead, she dropped the subject and focused on making lunch. I'll leave Hisa to do her thing. My job here is done.
Nodoka stared at the tiles in front of her. Playing in Kiyosumi was a lot harder than she expected. Before, she was easily the best player in the school, that she didn't have any competition. Now, here at Kiyosumi, there were so many good players here that Nodoka felt a little overwhelmed. It was quite a wake up call for her.
The president's bad waits, the clearness and understanding that Fujuki sees the game, the ridiculous hands of Arakwa...they were all new to Nodoka. But she wasn't going to lose here. She just has to try harder. She'll show them just how good of a player she is.
"Nodoka, come here for a minute please."
Nodoka looked up from her game and looked at Hisa. "But, I'm in the middle of a game."
"That's alright. This will just take a second," Hisa said.
Nodoka reluctantly got up from her game and walked up to HIsa.
"So...this is going to sound weird, but just hear me out."
Nodoka had a gut feeling this was not going to end well.
Nodoka scrunched her eyebrows in frustration. Fujita had left, but now someone else had but dominating the games. Nodoka was giving it her all, and hugging her dear Etopen desperately like Hisa had suggested, yet nothing worked against Kei. The champion just didn't seem to have a weak spot.
The others weren't doing that much better against Kei either. Kei had been singlehandedly dominating all of the matches.
"Ron, 8000," Kei flipped her tiles over, revealing the mangan. Nodoka heard Yuuki groan.
"Ughhhh. Not again," Yuuki whined as she handed over the point sticks to Kei, who just smiled and patted Yuuki's head affectionately.
"Don't give up. You have to keep practising. You'll get better eventually. I wasn't always this good, you know," Kei said, trying to encourage the orange-haired freshman.
Yuuki merely hummed in response, too lazy to do anything else.
Kei allowed a slight frown to adorn her face in concern before replacing it with her normal smile. She got up from her seat and stretched a bit.
"Well, I think I'm good for today. I'll see you guys in a bit. I think I could use some fresh air," Kei stated as she bid everyone goodbye.
Yuuki sighed the moment Kei slipped out the room. She slumped over the mahjong table. "That girl is a monster. How many times did she win in a row?" Yuuki whined.
Mako peeked at the scoring sheet. "Um, 8, I think."
"She's a beast," Yuuki replied.
"A total beast," Kana agreed.
"My, my. Don't give up hope just yet, my cute little underclassmen," Hisa admonished them.
"Who's your cute little underclassmen?" Kana growled under her breath.
Hisa ignored the remark. "Kei was right. You guys can't give up now. Remember, we have to defend our championship title," Hisa reminded them.
Everyone went silent. That's right. We're the defending champions. We can't give up.
"Now, before we decide the final lineup, I'm going to conduct a little test," Hisa announced. "First, I would like Nodoka, Mihoko, and Kei to sit down at the mahjong table. Then, Yuuki, Kana, and Mako will take turns playing a game against those three."
Mako grimaced. "Oh, fun."
"But of course, it's not going to be an ordinary game," Hisa smiled mischievously.
"Of course," muttered Mako. Here we go again. Another one of her weird ideas.
"Nodoka, Mihoko, and Kei, I want you three to target the fourth player as much as possible. Now, Yuuki, Kana, and Mako, your goal is to simultaneously defend and attack at the same time. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, but I will be choosing the fifth player based off of your games. Understand?" Hisa explained.
Everyone nodded. "Good. Now let's get to work."
Author's note
wow, hey guys. Uh long time no see. Sorry.
I think I lost my touch. Is the story still interesting? I just didn't know how to make the training camp interesting, and I didn't want to skip the training camp and go directly to prefectures...
Also, who do you want to be the fifth player? Vote, Yuuki, Kana or Mako in the review sections please.
So yea, comments, questions, and criticism all welcome. Please review!
Sosh
