Shogi Family

That A class professional spoke as soon as his assistant and Women’s League 1-dan professional Sasari Oga puts the last piece in place on the board.

“Sasari.”

“Sir.”

“Would you please hang it on the wall?”

With those words.

““……!!””

Not only was Miss Oga surprised, the jaws of everyone in the room hit the floor.

Here in the Throne Room, the holiest location in the Kansai Shogi Association, hang three scrolls.

“Sky follows Taoism.”

“Humans follow land.”

“Land follows sky.”

They were written by the 14th, 15th and 16th Meijins respectively.

However the set isn’t complete.

There is a fourth scroll in the series. It has already been written and mounted on special paper reserved for important scrolls.

However it’s never hung up on the wall for regular matches.

That’s because the writer is still an active player and no one has taken his title of the 17th Eternal Meijin.

How could they not, the Meijin is the same as a god to the Shogi world.

And that god sits down in front of me with that scroll at his back. Like a lake nestled at the very top of the mountain, its surface completely still. Tranquil.

As for me, sitting on the opposite side of the board, it was more like an overwhelming avalanche of competitive prowess. Without my kimono holding me down, I probably would’ve been blown out of my seat before I knew what happened.

Just as I’ve come to fight in a full kimono, the chairman is putting his pride as the Meijin on the line for this battle ……!

“Ryuo and Meijin ……,” the Sub League member beside the board whispers with a mixture of awe and envy.

Immediately, he comes back to himself and speaks with more presence.

“The …… The appointed time for the match has arrived. Tsukimitsu-sensei has the first move. Please begin!”

“When you’re ready.”

Our breathing aligned, we exchange greetings and the chairman makes his first move without the slightest hesitation, announcing it at the same time.

“7 Six Pawn.”

I take a breath and do the same, opening the Bishop’s Path. As the defensive player, I have been entrusted with the right to choose my own strategy. And I followed the one that I settled on even before the match began.

I’m not the only one who admires the chairman. There’s no way anyone raised in Kansai …… No, anyone who has learned how to play Shogi wouldn’t admire Seiichi Tsukimitsu.

So then why is it that more people don’t play the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange?

Because it’s too specialized. That’s why no matter how many people admire the chairman, most people don’t have enough patience to perfect the craft into a viable option in battle.

However, I kept using it no matter how many times Big Sis wiped the board with me. One loss led to another, and another, and another but I never thought of abandoning it.

My Master plays with incredible power.

The chairman’s style is faster than the speed of light.

I wanted my play style to include both of theirs.

Because I wanted to be–––the best.

“Haa …… Here we go!!”

I straighten my kimono’s collar and psych myself up before reaching deep into enemy territory to take the Bishop. The Chairman then took my newly Promoted Bishop, finishing the Bishop exchange.

Now, the hallowed Move-Loss Bishop Exchange contract is complete.

In this battle between two specialists, both offense and defense now have valuable weapons at their fingertips.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the same point that the two Ais did. Move-Loss Bishop Exchange Double Reclining Silver.

Now the real battle begins.

The chairman thought for exactly five minutes and says.

“4 Five Pawn.”

He sticks out a Pawn, sacrificing it to start the battle in earnest.

Fighting back the terrifying thought of letting the Eternal Meijin go on the offensive, I move to strengthen my defense. His Rook moves in, I block it with a Pawn. He deploys his Bishop in my territory, but I hold fast. I’ll need solid armor to outlast an opponent who wins with speed.

But, I have a knife hidden beneath the armor.

Move 52–––5 Five Silver!!

“………!”

The chairman’s expression twitches ever so slightly the instant I announce my move.

Seconds later, he made a sound like he was appraising a piece of priceless artwork.

“…… Ohh.”

This was the ace in the hole that I prepared just for today.

The Bishop he deployed on my side of the board is a vital piece of his final push that goes directly through 5 Five. Therefore, he can’t take my Silver. What originally looked to be a defensive move was actually an attack in disguise.

That’s when chaos broke out.

He blocked my attack before moving in again, which I blocked and followed with my own counterattack. Back and forth again and again throughout the mid game.

Big pieces colliding, the battle spreading like sparks from a flame, I endure long enough to get the opening I want and move to attack the chairman’s King through the back door.

But I paid a hefty price.

Three big pieces are under his control, as is more than half the board with the overwhelming power he wields. I can’t read the formation at all. There’s a chance I’ve already lost.

After all, I’m going against the Eternal Meijin. I could’ve already been struck down without realizing it …… That’s a very real possibility. He’s done that to so many opponents before me.

Even so, I don’t break down, don’t give up and keep stubbornly trudging forward like the muddy outlaw I am.

I can see my apprentice’s hot tears in my heart.

But there’s something else too, another girl’s courage to keep fighting even when her King’s protection was paper thin.

Those tears and that courage have to take over this Shogi match. Ultimately, I’m–––.

“I am the Master!”

I roll up my sleeves and take a piece off my piece stand, slapping it onto the board directly in the enemy King’s path, pressing down onto the board until my knuckles go white.

Even with a Promoted Rook and Promoted Bishop in my own territory, on the 126th move–––I put him in check by deploying a 7 Six Gold!

“…… It’s been a very long time. A long time since I’ve experienced such a contested late game ……,” said the chairman, his eyes slightly wider than usual. He hadn’t said anything beyond announcing his moves during the match up to this point.

He hadn’t even flinched. But now, even maintaining his picture-perfect posture, he’s swaying back and forth to establish a reading rhythm.

He uses a great deal of waiting time as if trying to figure out what I’m after.

“This feeling …… This full-body rush in my veins during the late stages of a match. It’s nostalgic …… There was a word for this, for such an occasion …… Yes–––.”

He continues, whispering to himself when suddenly eyes that lost light long ago slowly opened and he put a word to that feeling.

“Intense.”

 RAY OF LIGHT

The chairman’s next move–––deploying a Bishop at 3 one, check.

“Now— ……!!”

It felt like he’d reached into my chest and ripped out by heart with his bare hands, like all the blood in my body stopped flowing at the same time.

–––No way, I’m in checkmate?!

It’s said that players who went against the chairman in his glory days would throw in the towel when in check, right then and there, even if they could see a way for their King to escape.

They trusted the chairman’s ability to read the board more than their own ……

“…… No way …… But, then again ……?”

I don’t see a checkmate. My King should still be alive. Should be.

Then again, the person sitting in front of me …… His records, his titles, his appearance …… His overwhelming presence is making my fingers go numb.

Shivering and frozen solid, I hear the recorder say my name.

“Kuzuryu-sensei. Your waiting time has expired. Please continue according to one-minute Shogi rules.”

“…… Understood!”

There’s no time to wonder anymore.

With my waiting time gone, I keep thinking until the absolute last moment and still didn’t see a way for him to put my King in checkmate.

So, I take the Bishop he deployed with the King itself. 3 One King!

“6 Four Promoted Bishop.”

In check for the second time. The chairman immediately moves his Promoted Bishop to attack my King. I can’t deploy anything to protect it. My only choice is to move it back where it was.

Then, his Promoted Rook slices in, tearing away my defensive Gold. Now I’m in check for the third time. If I take it, it’s all over. I waste no time escaping forward.

My destination: enemy territory. Nyuugyoku. Get my King across the board.

But the checks keep coming.

I avoid the Knight’s long reach in my way by shifting to the side as soon as it was deployed. His Promoted Rook is in hot pursuit, but I dodge its attack and take a Lance at the same time.

The chairman moves the Promoted Rook all the way across the board right away.

Am I out of options after all? Have I already lost? I shake off my doubts and continue to dodge newly deployed pieces one after another until my King finally crosses into enemy territory.

Then–––.

“…… Yes!”

–––Nyuugyoku complete.

Turn 146, at long last, my King arrived in the ninth row, the deepest part of my opponent’s side of the board.

Normally, making it this far means my King is safe.

Since most pieces in Shogi can’t move backward, it’s really hard to put a King in check once it gets through the front lines.

Unfortunately.

“2 Eight Silver.”

Almost as if he saw this coming, the chairman deploys a Silver onto the board using zero waiting time and puts me in check with the same move. That’s eleven turns in a row!

“?!”

I thought my heart was going to stop the moment that Silver came down.

At first glance, it looked like it was on its own without any support. However, the Promoted Rook was protecting it from across the board.

I can’t …… take it!

“Yes ……!!”

A celebratory whisper leaks from Miss Oga’s mouth. That’s the kind of thing she ordinarily never allows herself to do, but she probably got caught up in the heat of battle and just couldn’t help it.

That’s the kind of impact the chairman’s Silver had.

Getting my King this deep into enemy territory meant that its movement options were now extremely limited. There’s almost nowhere to run. And this Silver has now pinned my King directly between a rock and hard place, trapped in the corner.

The board looks like a nyuugyoku-style Shogi puzzle, where this poetic Silver was destined to put my King in checkmate from the start–––.

Take it in—my King is dead. Run—and my King is dead.

“…… In that case!”

I just have to charge right into it!!

I slide my King into the second column, directly behind the Silver. Thinking back to how an elephant moves, the only safe place now is in the Silver’s blind spot. I can’t even breathe, the pressure is so intense.

“3 Nine Gold.”

The chairman deploys a Gold in an effort to pin my King into the corner of the board.

My King, still in the Silver’s blind spot, needs to go in the opposite direction. So, I bring it around the Silver to the other opening. 1 Eight King.

That Silver was put in place to hold my King down, but I found a way to swing by it …… and a way out of the danger zone!

That’s right.

My King is coming home–––racing back to my territory at full speed.

Disbelief erupts from Miss Oga’s lips before she clamps them shut with both hands in a flash.

It’s practically unheard of for a King to achieve nyuugyoku only to retreat all the way back again. As a former Women’s League player, Miss Oga’s mind must be spinning, not sure what to think. As in, that could never work.

However, this is all I’ve got. Muddy, sure, but my King should come out alive!

I can see a path to victory, but my heart is beating like mad. Each heartbeat makes my hands shake and it takes everything I’ve got to keep them steady. Did I win? I’ve won!

Even so, the chairman turns up the pressure on my King, voice brimming with vigor.

“1 Nine Silver.”

1 Seven King!

“1 Eight Silver.”

1 Six King!

“1 Seven Pawn.”

1 Five King ……!!

Then, on move 156–––once my King retreated back to the fifth row, the chairman says, “It seems as though I’m out of options.”

“Th— …… ou ……!”

My throat is spazzing so much that the words thank you won’t come out. I lower my head in a deep bow out of reflex.

Only then did I realize I’m sweating up a storm. My hair is plastered to my forehead. My kimono is twice as heavy after absorbing so much sweat …… I can’t even lift my head back up.

This is the first time I’ve survived being in check for fifteen consecutive turns. Against the Eternal Meijin, no less ……

“…… Haaa …… Haaa ……”

For few moments, the only sound inside the arena was my ragged breaths. Every other match taking place in here was already over and I have no idea. I reach out to grab a cup of water to help calm my breathing …… But my hands were shaking so much that I gave up on taking a drink and put it back down.

At long last, the chairman says with the same calm tranquility as when he announced his surrender.

“Back when I put you in check by deploying a Bishop at 3 One–––.”

“Yes?”

“What would’ve happened if I had defended with the 5 Eight Gold?”

“…… Agh?!”

My head springs up on its own. I worked it out on the Shogi board in my head and immediately thought less of my victory.

–––Evading my Check Path and finding his own Check Path ……!

One single move would’ve flipped a match that I thought I had won into an agonizing defeat.

“Aghh ……”

I look to the heavens, groaning.

I was so focused on my King that I didn’t realize the chairman had moved his pieces into position to defend. I didn’t read it at all.

If he’d gone with 5 Eight Gold, the victorious shoe would be on the other foot.

Basically, I was saved because he made a mistake.

I’d be willing to bet that the chairman realized it as soon as he started the rush of checks. He had the whole situation figured out more accurately and long before I did.

I can’t help but think on it again.

––– If he was in his prime ……

–––No, above all, if he could see ……

If that were the case, I would’ve been sliced down in the blink of an eye. For sure.

While it’s true we can see the board in our heads, it’s not like we can keep track of the whole thing at the same time. Focusing on one area makes the big picture go dark.

That’s why players will work out situations in their head and then check to see what’s on the board, going back and forth to make sure we’re not overlooking something vitally important.

But the chairman can only see what’s in his head.

There’s no way to know just how debilitating that handicap is ……

So, there I am, mouth half open and staring at the ceiling, when the chairman grins for some reason and says something really strange.

“Now then, I finally paid you back for that favor years ago, yes?”

“Huh?”

This was our first match. I never played against him before turning pro either.

What favor? Before I could ask, the chairman starts packing up.

“The defeated shall bow out. Please discuss the rest amongst yourselves.”

He stands up without making a sound, leaving behind even more mysterious words before leaving the arena. Miss Oga, the rolled-up scroll back in its box and in her grasp, gave me a begrudging glance before shifting her gaze to the corner of the room.

I follow it with my eyes.

There’s a young girl dressed in black standing there. Wait, whaaat?

“…… Ai?”

“About time you noticed me, Kuzu.”

The girl who could become my apprentice stares me down with her usual intimidating glare.

 SHOGI FAMILY

“S-Since when ……?”

“I came right after school let out, so since about 5.”

So then, that would be about five hours? That’s close enough to whole time. How could I have not noticed? How could I have been that focused on the board?

“Well, um …… I was completely zoned in! It was a very important match!”

“I should say so. A person was on the line.”

“Agh ……!”

Ai glares at me through the top of her eyes and says with a hint of spite in her voice.

“Why would you do something like this? The two of you just decide to choose who becomes my Master with a game of Shogi without getting my permission? What kind of shinken is that? No Shogi parlor in New World would even think of going that far.”

…… She’s absolutely right.

But, this was the only way I could think of. Shogi is all I have, and it’s always been how I’ve settled things.

Everything I’ve ever wanted, I could only get by winning a Shogi match. That’s what it means to live in the Shogi world.

“E-Enough about that, take a look at this!!”

I turn over my second bag and take a piece of folded paper out from inside.

It’s a copy of a Shogi record that I dug up in the association archives. I found it and made a copy before coming to today’s match.

It shows what happened during a commemorative match seven years ago.

The players involved were–––.

“?! This is, father’s ……?!”

Ai takes the copy from me, devouring it with her eyes the instant she saw who was written in the player slot.

The first was Yashajin with a second name being Tsukimitsu.

“Yes! And guess what, I was there! I saw the match closer than anyone!!”

My name was written pretty far away from the players–––I point to the upper left corner where the recordkeeper signs their name.

At that time, I had just joined the Sub League. I would’ve been right about Ai’s age …… 9 years old or thereabouts. My memories of those days are pretty much gone …… But that was my first time being a recordkeeper, so there are a few traces left.

“This record reminded me of a few things. Like seeing how your father played against the chairman and what was said during the review session.”

“………!!”

Ai’s whole body suddenly froze.

As much as I hate talking to her about deceased family members, this needs to be said.

“This is what your father said to the chairman: Once my daughter grows up, and if she wants to be a Shogi player, please take her as your apprentice.”

That’s why the chairman was so invested in her, because that conversation happened.

“So what I just did was really out of line, and probably caused you a lot of trouble. Of course, if you want chairman to be your Master, then I’ll respect that. But, I–––.”

“Stop right there!”

She snaps at me, cutting me off.

“…… Here.”

“Huh? What’s this ……? Shogi Weekly?”

The one and only weekly Shogi magazine in the world that goes on sale every Wednesday. Ai pushes it in front of my face.

“This one’s pretty dated, isn’t it? …… Say what?! Th-This is from–––!!”

“My father and the chairman’s commemorative match …… The same game as that match record.”

Ai’s explanation sends a shock through my system.

But there was an even bigger shock–––in what the article said happened after the match analysis.

“Potential to Surpass the Meijin”

It looked as though the review session would end with the amateur Meijin, Mr. Yashajin, simply not being good enough to win the match.

I don’t remember any of this, by the way.

“Ever since that day, father always said to me …… : One day, you’ll be Mr. Kuzuryu’s apprentice.”

Ai strung words together little by little.

Her eyes focused on the article on the floor in front of me.

“So that’s why even before I knew left from right, I thought that becoming Mr. Kuzuryu’s apprentice was going to happen as naturally as the sun rising in the east …… But that Mr. Kuzuryu didn’t recall a single word.”

“…… I’m so sorry ……”

At long last, I understand why Ai was so picky about who she would let teach her how to play Shogi. The real reason.

“Young Mr. Kuzuryu is amazing! Father said it every chance he had.”

Ai started speaking again, a lonesome smile on her lips.

“He was elated whenever your rank increased. He’d say things like: Mr. Kuzuryu is already 3-dan! He’ll be a professional any day now! and Only in junior high school and playing against the best? Mr. Kuzuryu is truly amazing! or Let’s go ask him to take you as his apprentice as soon as he officially becomes a professional!–––But he died before that happened ……”

“………”

“I have no idea how, but he got a hold of Sub League match records and would play through them with me. It must’ve been his favorite thing in the whole world. He would take the opponent’s side, and I would play as you. Mother would read out each move …… We were always around the Shogi board, the whole family ……”

“Match records ……?”

Normally, Sub League match records get thrown away.

However, the Kansai Shogi Association will post particularly good matches from the Sub League on the homepage, so everyone has a chance to be on there if they have a good day.

Quite a few of my matches were chosen to be uploaded, so the front office sent someone to record all of my matches. That’s probably how Ai’s father got his hands on them.

As the amateur Meijin, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew a few staff members and recordkeepers personally ……

Nah.

Would it be too much of a stretch to think the chairman gave them to him himself? My gut says so, and I’m pretty sure that’s how it went—meaning that the chairman intended for me to take Ai as an apprentice from the start.

What’s more, he didn’t just order me to take her, but set things up so that I would want her while testing me to make sure I was worthy the whole time.

That’s why he put me in check so many times despite reading his own defeat.

“…… Shouldn’t expect anything less from the Eternal Meijin. Talk about perspective ……”

In the end, I was just dancing in the palm of that god’s hand. From start to finish.

“Okay, I see now. You played through my matches. No wonder ……”

“I-I didn’t do it because I wanted to?! Father and mother were just so happy that I went along with it …… I picked up some strange habits, thanks to you!”

“Sorry ……”

I know that my playing style is off the deep end. Sorry about that ……

But now it all makes sense.

Why Ai can play the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange.

Why I can relate to her playing style so well.

Why I couldn’t just write her off as some kid, there was a reason.

“So? Whose apprentice am I going to be?”

“Who …… do you want as your Master?”

“Either of you is fine with me. Master and apprentice isn’t that big of a deal in the Shogi world, right? It’s just a piece of paper. As long as there’s a name there, I don’t care who it is.”

“………”

“Well, I bet it’s easier that way. At the end of the day, everyone is an enemy.”

Shogi is a battle, plain and simple.

Once two people sit across the board from each other, one becomes the winner while the other becomes the loser.

As long as you live in this world, as long as you aim to stand at the top, leaving your mark on others is the only way to prove your existence.

“Thinking about it that way, it might be better to stick with the chairman after all. If I became your apprentice, I’d always be going against your other apprentice in the Practice League, right? I don’t really care one way or the other, but people would make such a big deal out of it and that would be a pain.”

Just as she said, all of us are destined to fight against each other and inflict many marks.

I want to teach her that.

“Ai.”

It finally came to me in that moment.

I finally figured out why I had become so attached to her.

Back when I refused to take Charlette as an apprentice, I used talent level as the reason—if you’re not good enough, you could never survive in this world.

But hypothetically, even if Ai wasn’t as talented as she is, I would probably still want to take her as an apprentice.

It has nothing to do with a promise in the past.

Or anything to do with how she plays.

Talent, not at all.

I wanted to wipe away the tears of her crying heart with my Rook.

I wanted to draw a rainbow with my Bishop to cheer up Ai’s dreary spirit.

I wanted to teach her. Teach her how to become happy using Shogi. That’s what her parents were really trying to show her.

“Ai. Would you–––.”

I fix my posture and straighten my kimono as I make a proposal to the young girl in front of me.

“Would you become a member of my Shogi family?”

“Yes.”

I can’t bring the parents she lost back to life.

Those bonds she had are gone forever.

But I can give her new ones.

Master Kiyotaki, Big Sis, Keika, Ai …… By welcoming her into my Shogi family, I can give her a new family tree.

Other people might think I’m just playing house.

It might be next to impossible to get along at first.

But, with a Shogi board between us, I’m sure we can understand each other. I saw it happen during that match at the Practice League. Shogi has that power.

Just as Ai said, the Shogi master/apprentice relationship only exists on paper.

People only write their names on the paperwork because the rules require it. There are some who never talk, let alone play a game against each other.

However.

“I want you–––Ai Yashajin, to join my family as an apprentice. Not just an apprentice in name, but a real apprentice who I can laugh with when times are good and support when the going gets tough.”

Then, one day, she’ll take off those grieving clothes and happily twirl a skirt–––I want to be with her every step of the way, I’m certain of it.

“…… you’ll be Mr. Kuzuryu’s”

Ai clenches her hands together in front of that little chest, looking lost and a little frightened.

This isn’t the arrogant little princess, nor is it the flawless Shogi prodigy.

Just a trembling little girl, remembering what she’s lost and the heartache that came with it.

I take her hand and say.