Become the Master of Your Own Life

“Big …… Sis ……?”

Ginko Sora, possessor of two women’s titles, slowly sat down.

☗ Sub League Member

“Na …… Naniwa’s Snow White ……?!”

Ai’s parents said together once they saw Big Sis take a seat.

“You know who she is ……?”

“We came across her while investigating the Women’s League Players. But, why would one of them ……, a title-holder no less, be involved with a Practice League Test?”

Not sure where to begin, I do my best to answer Ai’s father’s question.

“Big Sis …… Ginko Sora isn’t in the Women’s League.”

“She’s not?! B-But——.”

“Yes. It’s true that she holds women’s titles. However, she’s a member of the Sub League and can never join their league.”

“Sub League …… Is that what you mentioned before, Sensei?”

“It’s an organization that supports people trying to become professional Shogi players. Ginko currently holds a 2-dan rank in that league.”

Sub League members 3-dan and below give Practice League members instructional matches. Of course, those wins and losses affect how Practice League members are graded.

I completely forgot about that ……

“Originally, the Practice League was designed like a school to prepare its members to test into the Sub League. Anyone who achieves an A2 rank in the Practice League can join the Sub League with a 6-kyu ranking.”

“Wait, wait just one minute please! A C1 ranking in the Practice League was required to join the Women’s League, right? If that’s true then——.

“You are correct. The very lowest ranking members of the Sub League, the 6-kyus, are stronger than Women’s League players.”

People often get them confused, but Women’s League players and pro Shogi players are completely different.

What’s different? The biggest difference would be Shogi Skill.

You have to achieve 4-dan in the Sub League in order to go pro, something that no woman has ever done.

Actually——.

“Ginko is the first woman in history to join the Sub League——let alone achieve dan. That’s one of the reasons that Kuruno-sensei referred to her as the best female in history.”

“But …… Then why does she have Women’s Titles if she’s a member of the Sub League?”

“There are many tournaments for Women’s League players, two of which are open for anyone to participate, even if they’re not Women’s League players, as long as they’re women.”

Those are the Mynavi Women’s Open and the Women’s Throne Tournament.

That’s why Big Sis could join despite being a member of the Sub League and thus plow her way through all the best Women’s League players who happened to be there on her way to claiming the Queen and Women’s Throne titles, becoming the best in the world of women’s Shogi.

That includes Women’s Legend—Rina Shakando.

Empress—Ika Sainokami.

Women’s King—Ryou Tsukiyomizaka.

Yamashiro Ouka—Machi Kugui.

All the way up to the Queen and Throne title holders, absolutely flattening them to become the two-title-holding member of the Sub League Ginko Sora is today.

She was eleven at the time. A sixth-grader.

After claiming her titles, Big Sis has never lost to a Women’s League Player, not once.

“She’s a perfect 47-0 in those matches. The real reason she’s called Naniwa’s Snow White has nothing to do with her hair or skin. White stars piled up like falling snow. A pure white record that has never been dirtied by defeat. That’s why.”

“And … Ai … Ai’s going to face her ……?”

“She would get thoroughly gutted in an even match, for sure. However, there is a handicap. Ai has a fighting chance!”

Just as I said, Big Sis removed a Rook and a Lance from her side of the board when she finished lining up her pieces and placed them in the box.

She’ll play without them. The one-and-a-half handicap.

Members of the Sub League with a dan only do this when playing against rank C or D members of the Practice League.

Considering that Ai just beat a Pro in a two-piece handicap match, that would put her at least at a D, so it’s not hopeless.

Putting it another way, even if Ai became a Women’s League player, she’d never win a title if she can’t beat Big Sis with this kind of advantage.

Because she’d have to beat this monster on an even playing field to get one.

“…………”

Big Sis lets her head droop ever so slightly and closes her eyes to focus in the short time before the match begins.

Normal grade schoolers would be overwhelmed by her sheer aura right now. Heck, they’d be crying.

I’d love to give Ai a few words of encouragement, but talking to the players at this point would be considered receiving outside help and she’d forfeit the match for breaking the rules. Ai has no choice but to face this pressure on her own but——.

“…… I won’t lose …… I, will not lose …… Never ……!” Ai whispers to herself as she opens the fan clutched in her hand and reads the characters written on it with fire in her eyes.

“Because master has given me courage ……!”

“…………………………………………………………………… Tsk.”

For a second there, I could’ve sworn that …… Big Sis was looking at me. Did she just snap her tongue?

“Please begin.”

“When you’re ready.”

“Re …… Ready wh——.”

Snap!!

Big Sis makes the first move before Ai finished her bow. She’s piling on the pressure right from the get-go.

Also, her first move wasn’t standard.

Ai can’t rely on what we practiced anymore …… But, this could be her best chance in a way. Standard formations benefit both players no matter who goes first.

In other words, the first one to deviate runs the risk of putting themselves at a disadvantage.

If Ai makes the right move, she’ll be in a better spot than if they both played by the book.

“…… Here, here, here ……”

Maybe she understood that, or perhaps her instincts picked up the scent of opportunity.

Ai uses her precious waiting time in the early game, poring over it, reading the board like water pouring into a hot spring. Full power right from the start.

“Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, hereherehereherehereherehere——.”

After considering as many options as possible …… she makes her move!

“Nice one!!”

“Think she might pull this off?”

Positive comments come flooding in from the gallery.

A contest of strength outside of the standard playbook. But Ai matched Big Sis blow for blow. Actually she’s putting on a show, pulling ahead of Big Sis and receiving looks of praise from the group of geniuses known as the Sub League. She’s good!

“She’s …… The real deal.”

Kuruno-sensei let out a long sigh.

Ai aggressively rejects Big Sis’s advances and widens the lead the handicap gave her. If the balance of power started out 80/20 in her favor, it became 99/1 in no time at all.

Pro Shogi players throw in the towel after falling this far behind——but.

“…………”

Big Sis doesn’t seem anxious at all, staring down at the board without mercy like that.

A hint of red has spread out over her skin. It was pale white before the match started.

Eyes glued onto Big Sis as she opens her fan and vigorously waves it at her neck, I open my mouth and say, “Big S …… Ginko runs a fever when she takes a match seriously.”

“Preposterous. Are you saying she is having a psychological growth spurt?”

Ai’s mother shakes her head as if she doesn’t believe a word I said.

“Are you referring to the fever babies get when teething or learning new things?”

“I know it doesn’t make much sense from a medical standpoint. But she really does run a fever.”

To top it all off, Big Sis’s eyes literally change color when she’s determined to win.

Those eyes are usually an ash color, but they take on the light bluish tint of a winter sky. I sat across a Shogi board from Big Sis more than anyone else in the world, so I know. Big Sis’s face changes when she’s serious.

And right now, her eyes——are ice blue.

“…… All right, the fun starts now,” I heard one of the Sub League members watching the match say.

“Sub League matches have two late-game stages.”

Once Sub League members realize they’re against the ropes, they make that saying come to life by changing their strategy and playing for the second late game.

Pros want to leave a beautiful record behind. Rather than suffering through an ugly struggle for no reason, Pros will stick out their own neck once they’ve accepted their own defeat. It’s one of our aesthetics as professionals.

But things are different in the Sub League.

Might equals right for them. There’s no room for vague concepts like aesthetics in a realm where winning is everything. It’s all about achieving 4-dan and going pro. They destroy everything and everyone in their way in order to do so. Relationships built over ten years of practicing get thrown to the wolves. That fate awaits all members of the Sub League.

Lose in that league and you may as well have fallen off the face of the earth.

“…………”

Snap! Big Sis closes her fan with a loud crack and puts a piece onto the board with the same intensity.

“She pulled her Bishop back!”

“Guess that means she’s in it for the long haul ……”

Her Bishop, the only big piece at her disposal, is now behind her front lines in a strong defensive move.

Like a wounded beast crouching low and saving its strength for one final blow, Big Sis is looking for a chance to counterattack.

Meanwhile, Ai has realized how far ahead she is but, “…… Kh!”

Suddenly Ai becomes overly cautious, too worried about losing her advantage to make another move.

It’s the same pressure a marathon runner in the lead would feel once they heard footsteps gaining on them from behind.

Even the slightest peek over their shoulder would allow their opponent to catch up and ultimately pass by them.

Shogi’s late game is a fight against that fear.

To make matters worse, an electronic beep also caught up to Ai, echoing through the arena at the same time.

“Huh?! Al-Already ……?!”

Ai looks at the match clock in shock. Her waiting time gone, it’s one-minute Shogi from here on out.

She used a great deal of it in the early game, allowing Big Sis to draw out the match and unleash another attack to put even more pressure on Ai.

Time Attack.

Ai’s ability to read the board borders on insane, but there’s a serious limit to how much she can read without time. Her offense loses its edge without time to think through her options, and one of her pieces get taken.

Big Sis adds that piece to her own forces without the slightest hesitation.

“……!”

Ai should be attacking, but her hand stopped.

She’s been making aggressive moves this whole time, but the enemy King keeps getting away. Only her pieces are getting taken. But there isn’t enough time to regroup and change strategy. The pressure only keeps building.

It’s not just the time.

Big Sis is literally controlling when Ai takes a breath.

“Haa ……… Gh! Uwh ……!! Haa ……… Haa ……!”

Ai’s pulling her hair, scratching at her chest and groaning in pain. Big droplets of sweat show up on her cheeks seemingly out of nowhere, and her face is as white as a sheet of paper.

Ai’s parents watch their daughter suffer with growing unease.

“A-Ai …… She looks so miserable ……”

“She’s only playing Shogi, so why is she in so much pain ……?”

“She’s hyperventilating.”

“What?”

Kuruno-sensei explains, “Symptom wise, it’s the same as breathing too hard. Breathing more than necessary puts strain on the lungs, increases the heart rate, causes dizziness, chest pain and can be overwhelming …… Of course, it’s not that serious, but what’s scary is that Sora 2-dan is making her do it rather than there being a natural cause.”

“She couldn’t be?!”

Yes, she could and is.

“Sora 2-dan is watching your daughter breathe and timing her moves to land just before Ai exhales. That triggers a nervous reaction, so she breathes in rather than out and this throws off the rhythm. That’s what triggered the hyperventilation.”

Even pros under pressure with no time to spare will start panicking in that situation. Whatever slight lead they had can very easily slip through their fingers.

Shogi is a game where humans have limited time to make their moves.

As long as that’s the case, there’s victory to be had outside of the Shogi board.

A victory that no record will show, one that no computer screen could ever hope to mimic, one that only takes place when two people sit across from each other around a Shogi board.

Ai learned how to play with Shogi puzzles and over the Internet, so she doesn’t have enough experience on this battlefield to know how to fight, overwhelmingly so.

She’s playing Shogi.

However, Big Sis is fighting for victory.

“…… This is too much for a nine-year-old to handle.”

Even Kuruno-sensei, the one who set up the match, groans.

Seriously, this match is like giving a grade schooler a gun and telling her to kill an unarmed assassin. Their talent may be similar, but one has way more experience.

Over 150 moves have been made and most other matches have finished.

Keika, Mio and Ayano have all gathered around the board to watch this heated brawl.

Each of them is watching the match with mixed feelings.

They’re cheering for Ai … But they’re also jealous of the talent shining through. Then again, it’s only natural for people living in such a competitive world to react like that.

“Haa …… Haa …… Kh!!”

Ai’s face contorts in agony as time catches up with her. She makes a move, but a careless one. In other words, she messed up.

Big Sis calmly punishes her for it and brings her forces, which were once on the brink of defeat, back to the same strength ratio as the beginning of the match.

That being said, the fact that Ai still has an overwhelming advantage hasn’t changed.

The most important thing for a player to remember after making a mistake is to immediately forget about it.

Because if they don’t——.

“…… Ah!”

Ai gasped right after making her next move.

It was a questionable one at best.

Last turn was basically just a wasted move, but this one was bad any way you look at it. The strength gap just got a lot smaller.

“W-What just happened?!” Ai’s father asks upon seeing the look of agony on his daughter’s face.

And I tell him the painful truth, “Consecutive mistakes.”

“Think about it like in baseball. If you pitch with a bad image in your head, the runs start piling up …… That happens in Shogi too. You start making bad moves trying to recover from one mistake.”

Making two mistakes in a row, the battle formations start to favor Big Sis almost in the blink of an eye.

Be that as it may, Big Sis didn’t move to attack.

“……! Why you ……!!”

Ai is getting frustrated.

Losing the contest of wills, Ai boldly moves one of her big pieces to the front lines.

However, this is——.

“…… She’s forcing the issue,” Keika whispers beside me and I bite my lip.

The worst move she could make, kokose, hoping the opponent will play along.

Big Sis was waiting for this attack …… Waiting for a moment when Ai couldn’t take the physical and mental pressure anymore and exploded.

“………………”

This is the first time Big Sis has used a good chunk of waiting time.

However, it’s not because she saw an opportunity and wanted to read as much of the board as possible to take advantage of it.

She’s giving Ai time to realize just how bad that move was.

“Ah! …… Oh, ohh …… ahh ………!”

Faced with the mistake that she herself committed, Ai holds her head between her hands with a look of pure despair on her face.

Everyone can see how the formations are shaping up.

Big Sis has overcome the big piece handicap and is building her way toward victory.

But Ai can still hold out and turn the tides again just as Big Sis just did. She hasn’t lost until her spirit breaks.

Unfortunately, that’s what Big Sis is trying to do.

“No way! She’s plannin’ to take every piece ……”

“Harsh ……”

Zenkoma——the act of taking every single one of your opponent’s pieces. It’s the equivalent of torturing your opponent to death. Even the Sub League members are scowling, shocked by Big Sis’s methods.

Then again, Big Sis isn’t one to take her foot off the gas due to that kind of criticism.

Even this late into the match, she has yet to go on the offensive, content to sit back and pick off the pieces that Ai sends to attack or leaves stranded.

Depriving her of the chance to surrender, it’s almost like she’s stomping on fingers desperately clinging to the edge of the cliff. Kuruno-sensei watches it unfold and whispers, “She’ll lose friends playing like that.”

“She didn’t have any to begin with,” I quip barely above a whisper.

Big Sis has almost no friends. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she doesn’t have a single one.

That’s just how determined she is.

The Shogi world is a small one. People who meet through the game are fated to do battle.

However, it’s impossible not to hold back a bit if they become friends. It’s a lot harder to play your best when your friend’s career is on the line.

Big Sis avoided interacting much with other players so that she’d never have that excuse.

So she doesn’t need close friends or someone to love.

As long as she has Shogi, that’s enough. If there are opponents, that’s enough.

I have a feeling that once she gets out of the Sub League and becomes a professional Shogi player, she’ll put some distance between me and Master as well.

Ginko Sora is that kind of Shogi player, and that’s why I have the utmost respect for her.

But right now. At this very moment——.

“…… I’ll hold a grudge. Big Sis.”

Because right now, she’s hitting Ai with everything she’s got both on and off the board.

She learned all those skills and techniques by playing against me.

The two of us met ten years ago and have been playing Shogi ever since. Nah, the two of us met because we play Shogi. It’s our only connection, and that bond is as strong as every game we played.

As for how many——at least 50,000.

Like two kids trying out pro wrestling techniques on each other, Big Sis and I experimented with all kinds of battle formations and strategies against one another. Some off-the-board techniques we tried pushed the rules to their limit, and countless others broke the rules entirely. We did whatever we had to do to win. Honestly, the Sub League felt soft by comparison when I joined.

Right now, Ai is being driven into a corner by another me.

Knowing that feels like a sharp blade of emotion right through my chest.

“If only ……”

If only I had been stricter with her.

If only I’d taught her more.

If only, if only I’d played more matches with her.

Then maybe she might have won against Big Sis. If I’d done that, she might not be in so much pain ……!

Just as the regrets were piling up——right then.

The board changed.

“Ai’s playing style …… She looks like another Sora-sensei ……”

“She’s …… catching up! She’s almost back in it!!”

Ayano and Mio gulp down the air in their throats as if they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Big Sis, cold-hearted and powerful as she is, couldn’t find a way to attack.

Her formation weaker and advantage being gone actually helped Ai focus. Since there was no room for unnecessary thoughts, she could focus solely on finding the best move. She’s reading the board again thanks to that.

Now she’s drawing all of her pieces back to protect her King, gearing up for a war of attrition.

That’s the splitting image of Big Sis’s playing style.

Ai is playing for the third late game, proving to be just as stubborn as the dan-ranking Sub League members.

“Nh?! Is she going to advance from here ……?!”

Ai’s seemingly infinite talent leaves Kuruno-sensei tongue-tied.

That talent comes down to one thing——an unbreakable spirit.

“…… Not yet …… It’s not over yet ……!”

One large tear leaks out from her right eye and falls onto the board as she hangs on by the skin of her teeth.

I instantly regretted all of those regrets as soon as I saw that.

Ai, who reads further into matches than anyone, understands better than anyone. Understands that the one in a million chance for a comeback won’t come.

Despite that, she refuses to give up, refuses to believe there’s no chance of victory. My tiny apprentice is still playing.

In that case …… if her Master doesn’t believe in her, who will?

Just as Ai believed in me during my match against Ayumu, I believe in her. I believe there’s a chance to come back until the very last move. There’s even a chance that Big Sis will make a mistake and her brain will explode.

Ai’s spirit hasn’t broken yet.

It may be close to breaking, but she’s fighting tooth and nail to keep it in one piece while never looking away from the desperate situation on the board——her spirit hasn’t broken yet!

“…… Hold strong! Hold strong ……!”

That’s when I noticed Ai’s father whispering under his breath over and over again as if praying for his daughter.

Ai’s mother isn’t saying anything, her face calm and collected. However, she’s clenching her fists so hard that I can see veins popping out of her white skin.

Ai’s spirit hasn’t broken yet.

That unbreakable spirit is inspiring everyone around her. Everyone watching this simple board game can’t help but feel for her struggle. Intense!!

——But, the match.

Big Sis tightened her stranglehold to prevent that one in a million chance from coming and moved into the late game.

Then finally, she put Ai’s King into check.

“…… Not yet!”

Ai takes a Pawn from her piece stand and snaps it on the board to hold the last line of defense.

Big Sis puts her in check again from another angle.

“Not yet!!”

Blocked again. Ai draws even more pieces from her piece stand to block the attacks and advance her King toward her last hope, promoting it on Big Sis’s side of the board, nyugyoku.

Can she make it?! Will the King escape?!

With both sides playing one-minute Shogi, a breathtaking back and forth brawl is unfolding right before our eyes.

Then, when Big Sis put Ai in check for the seventh time,

“I——.”

Ai reaches for her piece stand but——.

There weren’t any Pawns left on it.

——Checkmate.

“…… I ……”

The hand still hovering over the piece stand curls up into a tight fist. She tries desperately to steady her shaky voice.

“…… I …… lo …… lost ……”

With the last of her strength, Ai threw in the towel.

☖ End Game

“Big Sis! Why the heck did you torture her like that——?!”

Right after the final move.

Leaving Ai hunched over in a sobbing ball, Big Sis stood up to leave without doing any kind of review session, but I grab her shoulder first.

And to my surprise she was shaking.

“………… I couldn’t move in.”

“Huh?”

“…… I was trying to win. Much earlier. But ……”

She whispered so softly that only I could hear as her skin, still warm from battle, twitched ever so slightly.

Big Sis——was intimidated by Ai’s sharp skills.

She was afraid that the tide could turn against her if they started going blow for blow during the entire match. That’s why she didn’t take any opportunities to end the match quickly and chose to torture Ai into submission from a distance.

It wasn’t that she didn’t attack.

She couldn’t attack.

Ginko Sora, said to be the strongest in history, the undefeated Snow White, was afraid of a nine-year-old elementary school girl with only three months of Shogi experience.

She’d tried to frighten her opponent, but ended up getting scared ……

“…… Next time I’ll kill her quickly,” she whispered, almost to herself, before slapping my hand away and leaving the arena behind.

Next time.

With those words, Big Sis acknowledged Ai’s talent.

The next time they play——basically she’s admitting that Ai is capable of challenging her for the title of best woman in history while avoiding recognizing her as my apprentice at the same time.

Unfortunately.

That next time won’t——.

“…… Well, that’s that.”

Ai’s mother makes a quiet yet firm declaration.

“……!”

Ai shuddered.

Just as the Shogi board’s legs look like a kuchinashi berry, those who play the game cannot make excuses in front of it. Doing so is more disgraceful than losing.

That’s why Ai didn’t say anything—because she understood that doing so meant she’d lose the right to play Shogi at all.

I take another look at the girl holding back both words and tears in front of the Shogi board without saying a word.

This girl saved me.

She helped me, who couldn’t even play my own style of Shogi, play my own way once again.

That unbreakable spirit invigorated mine one more time.

Everyone who witnessed the match—including Sub League members, Practice League members, pro players, Women’s League players, association staff and family members——they all witnessed a match that would steal the heart of any Shogi lover. I’m so fired up I want to play a match right now because I saw that game.

And for that——I’ve got some gratitude to pay back.

“Ai.”

“……?”

Two eyes just barely keeping tears at bay turn toward me when I say her name.

——You want to keep playing Shogi, don’t you?

Without asking, even without saying a word, I knew the answer right away.

Just by looking at those little fingers still clinging to one of the pieces.

“Ai. Stand up and give Sensei a proper farewell. Thank him for everything he’s done during this short time——.”

“Please wait.”

I step between them, but Ai’s mother turns toward me as if she’d been expecting this and calmly states her case.

“…… We agreed that my daughter would stop playing Shogi if she lost even once, did we not?”

“Yes. I’m aware.”

“In that case——.”

“However, that’s what you want for her, yes?”

“What ……?”

“After watching that match firsthand, I’ve decided that I will do anything it takes to take Ai as my apprentice. So——this time, I would like to scout her.”

With those words, I got down on my knees.

Then, putting both my hands on the tatami mats——.

“I give you my word that she will become a Women’s League player …… I will make her good enough to claim a title! So, I beg you, please allow your daughter to continue playing Shogi!”

I put my forehead to the mat as soon as those words were out of my mouth.

Full prostration.

Even Ai’s ever-calm mother was taken aback. Ai was so surprised that she dropped the piece onto the board, the echo bouncing around the room.

“It’s true that I’m only sixteen, never went to high school, just a kid without any real-world experience or qualifications …… But! I’m the best the Shogi world has to offer!!”

Ryuo? Very strong.

That goes without saying. It’s one of the top Shogi titles! Only the one who wins against pro players, Women’s League players, amateurs and anyone who wants to play and survives that baptism of fire tournament and climbs to the top of the Shogi world’s ten million players can become the ultimate Dragon King—and that’s me.

Therefore, when it comes to Shogi, I’m infallible!

“And I’ll only get stronger from here! But it won’t be only me, I swear I’ll become the kind of player who makes everyone around me stronger as well!”

Shogi may be a simple board game.

But I don’t know anything else that can inspire people to the same degree that Shogi can.

Matches that light a fire in people’s hearts just by watching, like the one that Ai and Big Sis just played.

Knowing that I can play just like that, determined to get even better than I am now, I lower my head once again. And again, no matter how many times it takes.

“That is what I am! Please, let me take Ai as an apprentice! I beg you!!”

There are talented children whose parents prevent them from playing Shogi.

But at the same time, there are cases where pros convince the parents to let their children become an apprentice.

I used to think that all the professional players who came before me were sacrificing themselves for the future of Shogi when they took an apprentice. I was certain of it. That it was a sense of duty.

But I was wrong. I didn’t understand something very important.

They simply wanted to develop the talent, see what kind of Shogi player they would become and have a front row seat along the way.

——I want to connect with this kid with Shogi.

That’s what I understand now.

“M …… Me too!”

Ai, who had been quietly listening up to that point, sat down next to me kneeling on the floor, put her tiny hands on the mat and said as loud as she could, “I, I want to keep playing Shogi! I want to be Master’s apprentice and get lots and lots stronger! I don’t want my last game to be a loss!!”

Then she nearly head-butted the floor next to me, prostrating herself too.

“Father! Mother! This is the only time I’ll ever ask you for something in my life! Please …… Let me keep playing Shogi!!”

“Please!!”

People around us are looking at the Ryuo, head on the tatami mat and shoulder to shoulder with an elementary school, and saying, “Master and apprentice, yielding ……”

“Double prostration ……”

I heard them, and I can practically feel them backing away.

But what’s wrong with that? We Kansai Shogi players are strong and stubborn to a fault. We’ll keep hanging on by a thread until the opponent gets annoyed enough to give up. Hang on that long and you get dragged through the mud. Even so, I’ll keep prostrating myself as many times as it takes!!

“Please ……!!”

Ai and I keep our heads down and wait for a response, wait for her mother to say something.

However, she wasn’t the first to speak.

☗ Become the Master of Your Own Life

“Enough of this.”

“Takashi ……?”

Saying nothing to his surprised wife, Ai’s father comes up to us with the same heavy aura she had when we first met and says, “Enough.”

——So, he’s against it too ……?

Honestly, I thought he’d be on our side after rooting for Ai during the match like that. Did I assume too much ……?

The next words I heard, forehead plastered to the tatami mat and crushing weight of despair on my shoulders, were much warmer than I expected.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Please raise your head.”

With that——he sits on his ankles in front of me.

And continues on to say.

“Please take good care of our daughter.”

Da …… ddy ……?”

A stunned Ai looks up at her father with red eyes.

Her father, still on the floor, looks straight at me and says, “I would have no regrets leaving Ai in your capable hands, Sensei. No matter what the future holds for her …… Even if she doesn’t become a Women’s League player. What she can learn from you and the experience of fully committing herself to playing Shogi will have an important and irreplaceable impact on the rest of her life. Watching her play in today’s matches has convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

He then places both hands on the tatami mat and lowers his head in a deep bow.

“My daughter still has much to learn, but if you find her acceptable, please take her as your apprentice.”

Now he’s prostrating himself to us. Caught off guard, Ai and I dive back to the floor and return the gesture.

In that moment, a wave of unprecedented shock burst through the Kansai Shogi Association.

“Wow, the prostraters are multiplying ……”

“It’s …… ai-prostration ……!”

“Ai-prostration ……!”

Whenever two players use the same strategy in Shogi—be it yagura, anaguma or another strategy—the word ai is smacked in front of it. That’s why they described us like this at the top of their lungs. Shogi on the brain ……

“Ai.”

Once our prostration time came to an end, Ai’s father slowly sat up and looked toward his still-prostrated daughter’s small head.

“You don’t have to win every time. However, you must become someone strong enough to say, ‘I lost’ loud and clear when it happens,” he says sternly before letting his face relax a little and continues.

“It’s not necessary to become a professional. But you must become the master of your own life as a Shogi player.”

“…… I will!”

Her father’s strict yet kind words were too much for Ai to keep the tears in and she wipes them for the first time.

“Right in the soft spot ……”

“That’s gotta be one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard ……”

The middle-aged players in the room must really like this kind of coming-of-age story, because a great deal of them are wiping away tears of their own. Even the staff members who thought I might be a criminal earlier are tearing up. That’s great but I don’t really feel vindicated.

Things are looking up …… But, of course, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Ai’s father may have granted his permission, but the last boss still isn’t on board.

“…… Kuzuryu-sensei.”

“Y …… Yes!”

The last boss——I brace myself the instant her mother calls my name. No matter what she says, I won’t back down. Never, not in a million years.

Now! I don’t care what you say, bring it on!!

“Do you have any siblings?”

“…… Do I what?”

“Also, would you kindly inform me of your yearly income?”

Well, those questions took the wind right out of my sails. S-Siblings? Income?

Ai’s father took offense to his wife’s inquiries and jumped to his feet.

“Do you realize how rude those questions are?!”

“You will be quiet!!”

“Yes, dear.”

Now her father’s back on the floor, prostrating himself. I knew he’d do that.

“As a parent, I have a right to understand the family and financial situation my precious daughter will be in before giving my blessing. That’s common sense.”

Is it really like that?

Well, it probably is. I’m sure she’s just worried about her daughter’s future and wants to ask as many questions as she can.

Shogi players are self-employed. We file our own taxes, so we have a good grasp of that information. Then again, all of our match winnings are public information so there’s no real reason to hide it.

“As for siblings, I have an older and a younger brother, I’m the middle child of three. For yearly income, umm, last year …… About this much?”

“I see.”

“My winnings from the Ryuo Title Match will be filed this year so, probably …… About this much?”

“…… All right. That’s what I needed to know.”

I stick up a few fingers to show her how much I made. Ai’s mother looks down in contemplation for a few moments before raising her eyes and declares.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Should Ai fail to win a women’s title, you will marry into the Hinatsuru family.”

…………… Come again?

For a second there, I really didn’t comprehend what she said to me.

Huh? I’ll have to marry Ai if she doesn’t claim a title?

Why?

“Ma-Marrying into money!”

“That guy may be trash, but remember, he’s the Ryuo!”

“Engaged at 16? That’s gotta be a Shogi world record.”

“Fourth junior high pro in history, youngest recorded Ryuo, and the youngest into a marriage for money ever ……”

“Quite the variety. I’m kinda jealous of the guy.”

All the warmth the Kansai Shogi Association has to offer floweth over.

“Umm ……? Marry into? Me ……?”

“It’s only natural. You are taking HinaTsuru’s only heir as your apprentice. Therefore, I will see to it that you are held accountable in an acceptable manner.”

“Held accountable ……? Me marrying into your family?”

“Our inn is one of the most widely known and respected establishments in Japan. Carrying on the HinaTsuru tradition and maintaining the highest level of quality is our duty as the Hinatsuru family …… Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be a second to waste in grooming our daughter to fulfill that obligation.”

HinaTsuru’s manager said all of that in one breath before, “In the event that Ai has not claimed a title by the time she graduates junior high school, even if she has become a professional in the Women’s League, she must retire immediately. I will then see to it that she enrolls in a high school in Ishikawa and train her to become HinaTsuru’s heir. You will relocate to support her at the inn to help make up for lost time, Kuzuryu-sensei.”

“What?!”

I’m going to work at an inn?!

“D-Does that mean …… I’d have to quit playing Shogi professionally ……?”

“Of course, you may continue your career in Shogi. However, you will learn how to operate an inn at the same time. Marrying into the family, your first and foremost duty will be supporting Ai.”

“Master! Let’s work really hard, together!!”

Ai takes hold of my hand, her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky. Like mother like daughter, both push until they get their way.

“S-Sir! Please, say something!”

“I’ll work hard alongside you ……”

“Your face is saying the exact opposite, sir?!”

He’s given up. I can see it in his eyes. That’s me in the not-too-distant future.

Crap …… Ohhh, crap ……

“I-I can’t agree to this! No, I just can’t do it!”

“What exactly is it you can’t do?”

“I’d have to live on the north coast, right?! Practice League members may only have to come to the association twice a month, but pros have matches and a heck of a lot of work to do! I can’t possibly leave Osaka!! It’s not an option!!”

“…… Is that so?”

“Hn. I think it can be done.”

Kuruno-sensei?!

“Because there are professionals who live as far away as Niigata and Fukuoka. The bullet train connects to the north coast and work in that area shouldn’t be too much of a burden.”

“He’s right. A grade schooler came to Osaka all by herself, remember?”

Even Keika jumps in. I’m being married off, don’t you care?!

“There, see now?”

Ai’s mother proudly puffs out her chest knowing victory is secure.

Feeling like Osaka Castle when not only was the outer moat breached but the inner keep as well, Ai’s mother dons a serious air and asks me, “Kuzuryu-sensei. Are you willing to stake your future for Ai’s sake?”

“…… I am.”

Seriously, I am willing.

All I really have to do is make sure Ai gets good enough to win a title anyway, and even if I don’t, I would regret giving up on her right now more in the end.

Straightening my posture, I clear my mind like I would for a match.

Then, just like making the first move——just as determined as moving to engage a Pawn that I can’t retreat away from—I say words that I can never take back.

“Please, give me Ai!”