AN: Thanks for arkzero and RandomWriterPerson for sharing their impressions of the last chapter. I just want to clarify that the genre of this story is family/friendship, meaning that the main plot centers on Saki and Teru reconciling through the help of their friends, and that together, the West Tokyo team will try to achieve their dreams in the 71st Interhigh. There is pretty much no romance at all in the main plot except for subtext that you can take whichever way you want. The side story, however, is romance, which is why this story is tagged with the Sumire/Teru pairing. The romance in the side story will not be subtle, and this will be made even clearer in the two later side story chapters. So if you are not a fan of the pairing, I strongly recommend skipping the side story chapters. But rest assured that there are only three side story chapters, and the rest of it (probably thirty chapters or so) are all mahjong and family/friendship-centric. On another note, if you came looking for an angsty Saki/Teru yuri story, while this story isn't one, I have written one in The Miyanaga Teru of Three Million Parallel Universes - please check chapter 5 onwards (it is currently at part 4, and will likely end at part 5 or 6). Well, enough of my shameless self-advertisement. Let's return to the main plot now.

Of the Champion and Flowers

Chapter 10

After the day her sister walked out of their mahjong game, the week passed by uneventfully. Going to class, attending club practice, coming home...Saki saw her sister more often, but they said nothing to each other. She wanted to think just seeing her sister around was a good sign, but at the same time, she was worried her sister was just forcing herself to act normal. She knew that nothing had been resolved, but didn't know how to resolve it either.

Step by step, she told herself, just take it step by step. Her old buchou used to say it all the time, telling her that so long as one had patience, anything could happen. Her example had always been how she waited three years to recruit enough club members for the Interhigh team competitions, but Saki realized that in the end, Takei Hisa's hell wait still yielded no fruit. Maybe she really shouldn't have shattered Buchou's dream like that. Maybe she was meant to play for Kiyosumi, and defying fate like this would only hurt everyone around her.

No, this was not time to be pessimistic. After slapping her own cheeks lightly, Saki concentrated on tying her uniform tie and tucked it into her sweater. Today was a Saturday, but it wasn't one of those days when they had extra lessons. She was heading to school for the Torahime recruitment event. She closed her eyes, tight, then snapped her eyes open again. Too much thinking wasn't getting her anywhere. She should just try her hardest at the recruitment event and let her sister decide her future.

If her sister didn't want her, she'd return to Nagano, but if her sister needed her, she would stay.

Unlike last time, she wouldn't back away.

"Saki, your friend is here again..." her mother called from the front door. This was her last weekend in Tokyo. On Monday, she would return to work overseas and wouldn't be back for a month.

To make sure she left her mother no worries, Saki fixed her uniform at the mirror one last time, nodded to herself, then rushed to the front door where her mother was waiting. She thought maybe Sumire-senpai had found somebody else to take her to school today, but was surprised when she saw a pale Asakura waiting for her.

"Asakura-san? I thought you aren't going to the Torahime recruitment event!"

"I was forced to come by our student council president. If we do face each other, please, please, please go easy on me. I swear, I have no interest in joining Torahime, you know? Miyanaga-senpai is scary...and Miyanaga-san is scary too..."

"Ahahahaha..." was all Saki could utter in response.

The short commute took them to school. The moment they stepped through the front gates, Asakura was towed away by their fiery-haired, golden-eyed student council president, Fujiwara Ayaka. "You're so late!" she shouted, only to have a bewildered Asakura check her watch again to see that there was still twenty minutes till the event begun.

"But we still have time..."

"Didn't you know about the strategy meeting!? We Hirose-sama Fan Club can't go onto the battlefield with such meagre preparations!"

Wait a second...did you just change the name of the student council, Fujiwara-san? And what's with the helmet and armour you're making poor Asakura wear? No...that can't be a machine gun...you can't bring a machine gun to school even if it were just a toy replica, goddamnit!

Saki sweatdropped while the duo slowly disappeared from her sight.

Right, disappeared.

She looked around the empty field. A crow flew overhead.

"Where...where am I!?" Saki cried after finally noticing her situation.

Maybe it's to the right...ah, stairs! Yes, stairs! Downstairs? Let's try downstairs...

Saki tried her best to follow her instincts. It might've been better for her to just look up towards the ceiling where signs actually indicated the way to the mahjong club room, but in her frantic search, she forgot about them. She somehow ended up in front of a large structure on the bottom floor of the school. Usually, she would be delighted to find those numerous books stacked neatly on beautiful hardwood shelves, but now, she was stricken with fear even while coming upon the treasure chest that was the library.

"Uuuu...I wanted to find the mahjong club room, not the library..." she mumbled to herself. When her cries ceased, she heard footsteps, then a strange feeling settled within her chest.

The first time she felt this aura, it was more subdued, but today, it was clearer.

"Ko...Kobayashi-senpai..." she called the name of the person who came upon her. Kobayashi acknowledged her with a smile and a nod, having seemingly also felt Saki's presence before they met between the bookshelves. Behind her was Kamizuki, who came to an abrupt stop, surprised to see Saki there.

"Ah, Miyanaga!"

"Kamizuki-senpai too!"

On the other hand, Saki had not felt Kamizuki. She couldn't understand it, because unlike powerful players like her sister, or even Kobayashi, Kamizuki seemed invisible on Saki's radar until their eyes actually met. And the feeling from her wasn't an overwhelming pressure like what she felt from the monsters, either. It was an ominous feeling, like something would happen, but she wasn't sure what it was, only to be dragged deeper and deeper even if she wanted to escape.

"Saki-chan? You don't mind me calling you that, right?" Kobayashi asked, breaking the silence.

"Eh?" Saki made a strange sound at the sudden question before realizing what was being asked, "Un...it's okay. Feel free to call me what you like, Senpai."

Kobayashi grinned as though she were very pleased with herself, "So, Saki-chan, what are you doing here at the library? You don't seem to be trying to find a book, are you?"

"It's obvious she's trying to get to the Torahime recruitment event and got lost on the way," Kamizuki answered before Saki could even speak.

"Ara? Is that so?"

Saki nodded meekly. Kobayashi came forward and patted her head in a comforting way.

"Don't worry then. We're heading to the mahjong club room too, so we'll show you the way."

"Heh? We are!?" Kamizuki asked with widened eyes. Kobayashi just glared at her, and finally taking the hint, Kamizuki chuckled nervously, scratching her head, "Of...of course we are. It's no trouble taking you there, Miyanaga."

"Then thank you very much for showing me the way, Senpai!" Saki said with a bow.

The three made their way upstairs towards the club room. Saki trailed after the two third-years who chatted together along the way, all the while still thinking about Kamizuki. There was something about their last game that had bothered her. Although all indications were that it was just a coincidence, she still couldn't get it out of her head...

"Saki-chan, you look troubled. Are you worried about the tough matches ahead?" Kobayashi asked as though seeing right through Saki. She blinked.

"Umm...just a little nervous..."

"Well, at least Myou-chan and I won't be participating, so you need not worry about us."

"Eh?" Saki and Kamizuki sounded at the same time. Kamizuki just pouted with crossed arms.

"Then what are we doing at the mahjong club? Gathering intelligence? Wait, are we even participating in the school tournament?"

"I just wanted to eat Hanami-chan's fluffy fluffy rice and mouth-watering pickled radishes for breakfast! You know Hanami-chan is going to cook for the recruitment event? That's so not fair...she's no longer a member of Torahime, so it's about time she belongs to everybody in the club!"

"Even if you say that, you don't even go to club meetings usually. And seriously, it's not as though Chita doesn't belong to a team. Don't let Sakano catch you saying that..." Kamizuki answered with a sweatdrop.

Saki couldn't really follow their conversation, but by the time they sat down at the long table within the club room for breakfast, she did at least understand why Kobayashi would drag Kamizuki upstairs just to eat a simple meal by Chita Hanami. It was just rice, miso soup, salted grilled fish, and pickled radishes, but each of these was cooked to such perfection it bested fine cuisine at restaurants.

"The rice is really fluffy, isn't it?" Kobayashi said to Kamizuki. Kamizuki just stole a look at Sumire before she whispered.

"Is it really okay for us to eat here without participating in the recruitment event?"

"Well, Miyanaga Teru-san and Awai-chan are too busy stuffing their faces to ask us for a game, and the rest of them don't seem all too interested in playing with me."

"That's because at least Miyanaga-san and Oohoshi would trump you head-on. You, on the other hand, play like a sneaky bastard!"

"Says the one with the nickname of Demon Slayer..."

Their friendly bickering was interrupted by the abrupt shift of a chair back, and the standing of one Fujiwara Ayaka. She cleared her throat, turned her glare down to a certain redhead, and pointed.

"Now that we have finished our meals, I challenge you to a match, Miyanaga Teru-san!"

Asakura was startled to the point of dropping the fish in her mouth. Sumire was going to say something, but Awai followed suit, standing and pointing at Fujiwara.

"Challenge accepted!"

"Wait, Awai...she's not asking you..." Sumire was about to stop this, only to have Teru put down her chopsticks after finishing her last bite. They all stared as she also stood.

"It's delicious," Teru said.

Fujiwara nearly collapsed from frustration.

"You will play against me! Asakura, go prepare a table."

"Heh!? Why me?"

Sumire sighed. Well, she supposed it was okay in the end, seeing as they were all about finished with their morning meal already. Because they weren't going to play, Kobayashi and Kamizuki volunteered to gather and wash the dishes while Sumire arranged the rest of them at tables. She abstained from playing on this first day of the event, opting instead to go around the tables and watch how the others played. That way, she could take notes on each of their abilities, and for points she thought warranted further investigation, she jotted them down so she could test them out later.

They played through the morning, had lunch, then continued playing till the sun started to set. As they were all exhausted, Sumire let them out for free time. Chita returned to the kitchen at the Home Ec classroom to make them all dinner, and most of the others returned to their dorm room to rest. Asakura was more than glad when Sumire asked her the favour of showing Saki, and a couple others who didn't usually live on campus, the large common room they would share. After having been busted more than a dozen times by the combined efforts of Teru and Awai, Asakura was really starting to think of mahjong as a nightmare.

Sumire went over to where Teru had started reading a novel by the windowside, Awai rubbing her face on Teru's lap. She took a seat on the adjacent sofa.

"What are you doing, Awai?"

"Teru's lap is so soft, and she smells good!" Awai lifted her head to answer Sumire, only to crash down on Teru's lap again and roll her face across it. Sumire sweatdropped.

"Really? You're going to ignore what she just said?" Sumire asked Teru. Only then did Teru lower her book and nudge Awai's shoulder with her hand.

"Awai, your head is heavy."

"Heh? But Sumire-senpai keeps saying that it's hollow..."

"I wasn't referring to the weight of your head, Idiot!" Sumire scolded, then turned back to Teru, "Anyway, why aren't you joining Asakura's tour of the dorms? Aren't you staying at the common room too?"

"Awai wanted me to stay at her room instead. I was going to ask for an extra futon."

"An extra futon? I thought Teru would share mine..."

"That's impossible. It's too small for the two of us."

Sumrie sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. What a stupid conversation they were having.

"I'll take a futon up to Awai's room for you, that is, if you even remember where her room is..."

Awai bounced up to her feet and waved a hand high above her, "I will show her, don't worry!"

"And you better not disturb Teru at night, got it? And when I say lights out, it means lights out. Don't do stupid things like tell scary stories under the covers all night. You will come down here on time for breakfast, understood?"

Awai put her hand down and made a dismissive gesture with it, "I won't do that. It's not like I'm a kid...that and I'm scared of ghosts...argh, why did you even remind me, Sumire-senpai!?"

That alone makes you a kid, Awai!

"Now that this is settled, I want to go over some of my findings from today," Sumire said. At the mention of this, Awai's face scrunched up.

"It's all that Fujiwara's fault! She keeps challenging me even after I've beaten her to pulp! Or was it her minion? Yeah, I beat both of them to pulp and they just keep coming back!"

Sumire ignored Awai and turned to Teru instead.

"Both Fujiwara-san and Asakura-san have interesting play styles. Fujiwara-san is as fickle as she has been in the past - it is very difficult predicting what tile she will put down next. Asakura-san still has the ability of misleading her opponents through her discards, and compared to the last time I've played with her, her ability has fleshed out even more this time. It is starting to have a very profound effect on her draws, and some degree of influence on her starting hand."

"Her ranking has gone up recently too. I think she's now eighteenth ranked."

Teru nodded, "Her ability is currently used as a camouflage for the hand she's developing, but with more training, she can probably concentrate her will into influencing her draws and starting hand in a more offensive way. She certainly has potential."

"But her hands are so slow! I sweep her away every time, and she goes bust, just like that!" Awai complained.

"I agree that she's not quite at the level to compete in the nationals yet, but I see her as a strong candidate for next year," Teru added.

"Then setting aside the possibility of putting her on the starting lineup, we can consider her as a back-up player," Sumire said. "I actually have a couple others I want your opinion on as well. Let's start with Matano Seiko. She's now ranked number five."

Teru took a moment to think before replying, "Her ability is to tsumo within five turns of having made three pon. While it is a strong ability, it has the trade-off of having to always open her hand."

"Yeah. Her hands lack firepower, but they are fast and consistent."

"Her ability does skew her starting hand towards pairs. It is useful in that sense, but she will have to work on her basic mahjong skills so she doesn't depend so heavily on her ability."

"That is a fair assessment. I think she's a strong candidate for our team. I'll make preparations for further testing of her skills tomorrow - then we can determine whether to have her on our starting roster or as a back-up."

Teru nodded in agreement, then asked, "What about her friend, Shibuya Takami-san?"

"Ah, the girl with the tea cup who isn't affected by my Absolute Safety Zone during all-last!" Awai chimed in.

"Is that so?" Sumire noted, then sifting through her notes, she continued, "Her play was nice and steady today, making good comebacks in all-last."

"Her ability is to store the first tile she discards in every hand and harvest them during all-last. Her ability is especially powerful when she is dealer in all-last, because she can continuously harvest those tiles for repeated wins."

Awai actually nodded along with what Teru said, "Takami is interesting, and her tea is delicious! I like her!"

"Nice to see that there's someone you take a liking towards, Awai. You could've fooled me, criticizing everybody we talk about," Sumire said.

"The weakness of Shibuya-san is that she has no particular power in any game aside from all-last. This isn't much of a technical problem in actuality, as Shibuya-san's luck is decent and her skill is well-developed. However, Shibuya-san lacks the confidence to take the initiative in these games, opting instead to fold her hand in most cases. While this allows her better defense, she cannot stop losing points from other players' tsumo," Teru said.

"I see. So while she is someone we should consider, we should probably test her further, correct?" Sumire asked. Teru nodded, and she jotted Shibuya's name beside Matano's.

"With Shibuya-san, I think you should test her against Itou Koyuki-san," Teru suggested.

"Nighteenth ranked Itou Koyuki, second-year? I have her on our list of candidates as well," Sumire answered.

"Her ability will make it difficult for Shibuya-san to store useful tiles for all-last. I would like to see how well she fares in those cases."

"She is a strong player in her own right too, along with seventeenth ranked Takahara Mizuki and thirteenth ranked Saionji Kiyo. I've also set my eyes on those two."

"Takahara-san would be good for testing against Matano-san. Matano-san's ability will make Takahara-san's ability stronger, so it will be interesting seeing how Matano-san will react."

"Teru, you're so devious!" Awai laughed evilly. Sumire sighed. She had a feeling Awai wasn't taking this seriously at all.

"While Matano, Shibuya, Asakura, Itou, Takahara and Saionji are all good candidates, I think there is an obvious choice we haven't listed yet," Sumire continued.

"Hata Sai-san is one you've missed. Of those you've listed, her ranking is second only to Matano-san, but while her ability is not as strong, she is a very mature player. She definitely has what it takes to enter a major competition."

"I don't think Hata-san is too interested in competitions in general, but she is a good player," Sumire answered. "However, she's not the one I was thinking about."

Teru kept silent. Seeing this, Awai finally spoke.

"Miyanaga Saki, right?"

"She is not well-suited," Teru answered.

"Her play style might still be slightly unsteady, but she is most likely the strongest player in our potential candidates. She has demonstrated amazing luck during the test I arranged for her before she entered our school, and despite her not having used her supernatural ability much this afternoon, she did play very steadily and accomplished a high top rate."

"It is not a matter of her power. It is the strength of her will. She is not playing for the right reasons."

"But she's playing for you, Teru!" Awai exclaimed, but Teru ignored her, casting her gaze onto the ground. Sumire remained calm, just staring at Teru thoughtfully.

"I don't think it is right to bring your personal reasons onto the table here, Teru. Given your strength and Awai's, our team is very likely going to represent our school, and go on to represent West Tokyo. We should not deny the chance of a talented player to become a prefectural representative and compete in the national competition for the glory of this region and their personal development. Miyanaga Saki is someone who should make this team even if it means replacing me, that is the monstrous strength I sense from her."

Teru closed her eyes, "Is that really what you think?"

"You do not sound convinced," Sumire answered, "but this is not the only time we've been in disagreement. Should we resolve this the old way then?"

Teru opened her eyes again and stared into Sumire's blues, "Until one of us convinces the other."

"I will show you what I mean tomorrow, Teru."

Saki shifted in her futon.

She had closed her eyes, but sleep had not found her. No matter how she tossed and turned, the thoughts wouldn't go away.

"Miyanaga-san?" came Asakura's whisper. Saki turned around to see that her fellow first-year was also still awake.

"Sorry, I was making so much noise," Saki answered, to which Asakura just shook her head.

"It's not a problem. I think my nerves just haven't calmed yet...you know, what with being busted ten times in a roll by Miyanaga-senpai and Oohoshi-san," Asakura said with a shudder. Saki gave a sympathetic chuckle before Asakura continued, "So why are you still up, Miyanaga-san? Aren't used to sleeping with so many people in the same room?"

Saki shook her head too, "I think it may just be for the same reason as you, Asakura-san. The nerves."

"But Miyanaga-san did so well today! Your top rate was highest amongst all the players except Miyanaga-senpai..."

Saki gave a weak smile. Sure, she did well, but she knew she could do better. Maybe it was her game with Kamizuki during the try-outs, or Sumire sniping her when she was trying to add to her kan, or even more likely it was her sister stopping her from taking the fourth tile on the wall by making a pon with west wind - but all of these events made her shaky on the table today. Even when she felt the kan material, she was hesitant in taking it. Was it a trap? Would someone switch out the rinshanpai? She just couldn't concentrate with those feelings looming over her head.

And with her sister still so avoidant of her, her motivation for playing really wavered.

"So with Asakura-san, why have you decided to join the mahjong club?" Saki decided to ask instead. Asakura blinked in surprise, but eventually came to a smile.

"There's only one reason, right? Because mahjong is fun!"

When faced with Saki's skeptical glance, Asakura pouted, "What...I know I said I'm scared of Miyanaga-senpai and Oohoshi-san, but that's just because nobody likes losing, right?"

"But I think it's admirable for Asakura-san to continue playing despite being bust so many times."

"Hey! Did you have to remind me of that?"

"Hahaha...sorry."

Asakura pulled her covers up to her mouth and cuddled in it, "But the more I keep losing, the more I want to win. That's why I keep playing."

It was difficult for Saki to understand. Whenever she lost money during family mahjong, she would feel horrible. Even when she figured out a way to not win and not lose, she still didn't think she triumphed.

"Is it really that important to win?" so she asked. Asakura opened her mouth wide.

"Ha? Of course it's important! That's why you play the game."

"I know what it feels like to need to win, but with Asakura-san, it doesn't really change anything even if you win or lose, right? It's not like we're betting anything..."

"Well, you can't just assume that I don't have my reason too," Asakura smiled gently. Whatever her reason was, though, it seemed like she would like to keep it a secret. "But even setting that aside, in whatever I do, I want to try my best. Mahjong is just one of those things."

There was that fleeting moment when Saki won the last hand against Kamizuki that she felt it, a reason other than her sister for playing this game. There was excitement. There was confidence. The wave of adrenaline that washed over her when she drew the final tile to complete her hand was something she'd always remember, but once it left her, she doubted herself again. Did she really win? Or was she just being manipulated? Did her win really mean anything? Would it have been better if she hadn't won? If she hadn't come here?

"I don't know what you're thinking about, Miyanaga-san, but I'm sure you're just worrying too much," Asakura said. "Whenever I have too much on my mind, I just imagine an earthquake..."

"An earthquake!?"

"Yeah, earthquake. Just think about how it can happen any time and something can just hit you in your head and your life would be over. If that happens tonight, wouldn't you be regretting why you spent so much time worrying when you could've spent it being happy instead?"

"That's so morbid though..."

But it was true. Saki couldn't remember more clearly. How many times had she wanted to go back to the past and just spend those hours on the mahjong table relishing in the simple fact her family was still together, rather than being tearful over her lost New Years money?

"You can only live life once, so you better live it to the fullest. That's what I think," Asakura said.

Saki closed her eyes and nodded.

"Miyanaga-san...Miyanaga-san..."

Saki awoke to the call of Asakura beside her.

So she had drifted off to sleep at some point...but just judging by how groggy she was feeling this morning, she would've thought she stayed up all night.

"You look really tired. Are you okay?" Asakura asked with concern. Saki nodded slowly.

"I think I can handle it..."

They folded up their futon, brushed their teeth, changed into their uniforms, and walked over to the mahjong club room at the school building. A waft of delicious aromas greeted them as Chita Hanami placed their morning meals on the long dining table.

"Good morning, Miyanaga-san, Asakura-san," Chita greeted.

"Senpai, good morning!"

"Good morning, Chita-senpai."

The others started filing in later. Sumire narrowed her gaze towards Teru and Awai who had showed up the latest.

"What did I say about showing up on time, Awai?"

"It's not my fault! I was using the washroom and Teru said she'd just use the common one down the hall, and then she disappeared!"

Teru didn't say anything, but Sumire just glared, "You got lost, right?"

"It can't be helped," she answered.

Sumire sighed.

After the meal, events played out almost identically to yesterday. Fujiwara challenged Teru again, Awai intercepted her challenge, and Teru stood up to comment on how Chita's curry was especially delicious. The only difference was that when Fujiwara asked Asakura to set up the table, Teru actually turned her down.

"Unfortunately, I would like to play with Shibuya Takami-san today," she said. "Awai, would you like to play with Fujiwara-san and Asakura-san in my stead?"

"Heh...!? Why do I have to play with them?"

"You were the one who challenged me, Oohoshi-san. I, Fujiwara Ayaka, am merely doing the honourable thing of accepting your challenge!"

"Why would I challenge somebody who I've beaten a hundred times already? You won't reach my supernova level even after a hundred years of training!"

"How dare you insult my abilities. I admit I've lost to Miyanaga-san before, but so have you! Don't you think you can hide behind Miyanaga-san's victory and claim it to be yours!"

"I did not hide behind Teru! I beat you fair and square!"

"Show me what you've got then, Child. I shall not take a defeat from you."

"Who are you calling a child!? Bring it on, Granny!"

Asakura slowly tip-toed away from the commotion, not wanting to be caught under crossfire again...

Meanwhile, Teru had approached Takami, who was still awed by how she had been pinpointed by their mahjong club's ace, the champion of the nation. Her brown eyes were caught in the gaze of Teru's red, and she felt an urge to look away, not wanting to hold the fire.

But seeing Seiko's figure in her periphery reminded her of the conversation she had had with Kobayashi. She couldn't back away anymore. She had to move forward. She had to catch up so she could walk by her friend's side!

And so, she forced herself to stare into the crimson depths.

"I look forward to a match with you, Miyanaga-senpai!"

Teru nodded, "It will be my pleasure."

Seiko was put at a table with Takahara Mizuki as Sumire and Teru had discussed the day prior. Saki was an odd one out and had to wait for some games to finish before she could play. Eventually, Sumire came to her, bringing along Chita, who had just finished the dishes, and a newcomer.

"Chita-san you've already met. This, right here, is second-year Hata Sai-san, ranked ninth in our club," Sumire introduced, "Hata-san, this is Miyanaga Saki, our club's new recruit."

The cheery-looking girl sporting pink pigtails and lime-green eyes smiled widely and offered a hand for Saki to shake, "Miyanaga-san, I've heard a lot about you. I've wanted to play with you for the longest time!"

Saki meekly took Hata's hand and felt a spark as they touched. She felt something. This innocent-looking girl certainly wasn't one to let your guard down in front.

"Nice to meet you, Hata-senpai."

"So now that we have four, should we start a game?" Sumire asked. Hata nodded excitedly while Chita volunteered to set up the table. They picked their wind tiles and took a seat, with Hata as starting dealer, Chita starting in south, Sumire starting in west, and Saki starting in north.

"We'll play a hanchan, start at 25000 points, this year's Interhigh rules. Any questions?" Sumire asked.

"Not from me!"

"I have no questions."

"Un...I think I understand."

"Alright, then let's begin!" Hata declared, pressing the button to roll the dice and bring up the tile walls.

East 1 - Dealer Hata Sai

In all honesty, Hata hated being starting dealer. A person of many interests, she often would get distracted by her surroundings. Subsequently, it took time before she could immerse into any activity, be it reading or a mahjong game. East 1 was always her weakest game, with her concentration still drifting, and the flow not yet gathered in her fingers. She looked at her abysmal hand. It seemed like her luck also agreed with her feelings.

Feeling frustrated already, she tossed out a red 5-wan. Sumire smiled knowingly, and Chita remained calm, thinking deeply over her draw before setting it in and discarding a 9-sou instead. Saki, though, felt her teeth chatter.

Because with Hata's illogical discard, her sense of the mountains just disappeared.

After Sumire's draw and discard, she was still staring at the red 5-wan. Sumire glanced over to her.

"Saki, it's your turn."

"Ye-yes! Hirose-senpai!"

She drew in an east wind and discarded a 1-wan. Only after discarding did she realize that she already had 1, 1, 2, 3-pin and 1, 3-sou in her hand. She clearly could've gone for a sanshoku and chanta!

Uuuu...she was off to a bad start already...

The game continued to its fifth turn. Chita was at tenpai, but with no yaku. Hata to her left usually didn't win in East 1, and Hirose-senpai to her right was unlikely to snipe her since she wasn't one of the candidates she was aiming to test in this game. This left Miyanaga, whose hand smelled dangerous. She could declare riichi and try to beat Miyanaga in speed, but that would leave her with no defense. If she held on, however, she might be able to drag the game till Hirose-senpai readied her arrows to shoot Miyanaga.

She went into stealth tenpai.

At that time, Saki's hand was east, east, north, north, 1, 1, 2, 3-pin, 1, 2, 3-sou, 2, 3-wan. If only she didn't discard the 1-wan at the start, she would've already had the tiles for a sanshoku! She stared at the 3-pin draw, finally setting it in and dumping a 3-wan instead. Forget sanshoku, she'd wait for a 2-pin to complete an iipeikou instead.

The 2-pin came to her in the next turn. East, east, north, north, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3-pin, 1, 2, 3-sou. She discarded the 2-wan to wait on east and north for an iipeikou, chanta, yakuhai hand for 4-han 40-fu or 5-han 40-fu depending on whether she won off somebody or if she tsumo. Either way, it was a 8000pts mangan. But the glimpse she had had before Hata had dispelled her senses told her that she should keep the east wind and north wind tiles for a rinshan kaihou. If she did make a kan with one wind and rinshan on the other once she got a 1-sou for her pair, it'd be an iipeikou, chanta, yakuhai east and north, menzen-tsumo, rinshan kaihou hand for a 7-han haneman instead.

When she did get the 1-sou, she pondered. Should she discard 2 or 3-sou and go back to iishanten to bet on the chances that even while blinded, she could still draw the winds that would eventually give her a rinshan kaihou? What if she was no longer in the position to receive those tiles? She looked down to her shaking knees, also remembering how Sumire had sniped her. Very soon, an arrow would be aimed at her head. She didn't want to feel it again.

She bit her lip and dumped the 1-sou. Instantly, the pressure on the table seemed to ease. A few turns later, Saki managed to tsumo on an east wind.

So she was in the position to receive it. She just doubted herself!

"Ah, got bombed in my dealership. I knew it!" Hata exclaimed while Saki was still frustrated with herself. She handed 4000pts for Saki and Sumire and Chita each handed her 2000pts.

Hata Sai 21000
Chita Hanami 23000
Hirose Sumire 23000
Miyanaga Saki 33000

East 2 - Dealer Chita Hanami

Hata was starting to get the hang of the game. After everyone had discarded their first tiles, she drew in a 4-pin and discarded a 9-sou. Consequently, Saki's view of the mountains remained clear. Within the first line of discards, she had reached tenpai with west, west, 2, 3, 4-wan, 7, 8, 9-sou, 2, 2, 2, 7, 8-pin, waiting on either 6-pin or 9-pin. She could feel a third west wind coming, and the 9-pin she was waiting for was on the dead wall. But this did not ease her fears. Across from her was Chita Hanami, who was undoubtedly already at tenpai as usual. As dealer, she'd aim for speed rather than a large hand, so it was likely she was going to forgo chances to increase the value of her hand to keep it at tenpai. In that case, it really came down to a battle of speed between her and Saki.

And at this turn, Sumire discarded a west wind.

Saki felt her finger twitch. She stared at the discard from her kamicha and gulped. If she made a pon on it and discarded 2-sou, she could remain at tenpai for 6, 9-pin. Her hand would be open, but she would have yakuhai from the seat wind triplet. That also meant she'd be able to win off others rather than having to menzen-tsumo for yaku. And most importantly, she could capitalize on the west wind she felt coming, make a kan with it, then rinshan kaihou on the 9-pin. But was Sumire baiting her? Was she shifting the draw order so a dangerous tile would land into Saki's hands?

Saki pinched her thigh to keep her hand from taking Sumire's discard. Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself to calm down before she reached for the wall for her next draw.

The pattern on the tile brushed across her thumb. Relief washed over her.

It was a 6-pin.

"Tsumo. Menzen-tsumo, closed simples triplet, seat wind pair. 1-han 30-fu, 300/500."

Hata Sai 20700
Chita Hanami 22500
Hirose Sumire 22700
Miyanaga Saki 34100

East 3 - Dealer Hirose Sumire

It was finally Sumire's dealership. Despite the two consecutive wins, Saki wasn't feeling very good about all this, cold sweat dripping down to her nape. Hata's discards had become easy to read just like the others. She could feel what was ahead. These should all be good indications, but intuitively, she knew something would happen. It made her fidget in her seat.

The first few discards on the table were mostly honours and terminals. In particular, Hata looked at the 9-sou. 7-sou was the dora, but three 9-sou were already on the table. She had 7-sou and 8-sou in her hand. She could keep them and wait for a 6-sou or the last 9-sou to complete her sequence, but one of the 6-sou was locked up as a dora indicator, and if any 6-sou ended up in her opponents' hands, they would probably keep it and use it with the 7-sou dora.

She grinned, deciding to choose the lesser-taken route.

She dumped the 8-sou, trying to see if the others would take it. Chita did not say a word. Only then, did Sumire announce.

"Pon."

So both Sumire and Hata were thinking the same thing. With most of the 8-sou and 9-sou depleted, that meant for the 7-sou dora to be used, you most likely had to have a 5, 6-sou sequence waiting within your hand.

Sumire discarded a 5-sou. It was a strange choice, which made both Chita and Saki alert. Hata, though, just smiled as though she understood the message. So Sumire didn't have 6, 7-sou in her hand was what she was trying to say.

Saki felt as though Sumire was looking right through her. She had 5, 6-sou in her hand, waiting to rinshan and obtain the 7-sou in the dead wall. When she drew in another 6-sou, she wondered if she should keep waiting...

Uuuuu...if Sumire or Hata shifted the draw order and she couldn't make a kan, she wouldn't be able to rinshan to obtain yaku. Then what would she do?

She put down the 5-sou, sideways.

"Riichi!" She cast her thousand-point stick into its slot. Instead of waiting for 4, 7-sou, she waited for 6-sou or 1-pin to complete a triplet!

But Hata wasn't too surprised. In fact, she thought the table was becoming easier and easier to read with every move made.

"Chii," she called, first breaking Saki's ippatsu with a 3, 4, 5-sou call, then discarded a 1-sou, joining the pair that was already in the tile river.

Chita drew in a tile that put her hand at tenpai. Like Saki from before, she had a triplet that she was waiting to make a kan with, and 5, 6-sou waiting for 4 or 7-sou to complete the sequence. Such was the similarity between the two flowers that were Miyanaga Saki and Chita Hanami. But unlike Saki, the flower that bloomed, Hanami could only watch flowers, often out of reach.

But now that she knew Saki gave up on rinshan with the 5-sou discard, should she go for it? Hata's 1-sou discard and 3, 4, 5-sou chii made the absence of 2-sou from the table more and more obvious. Would those on the table discard a 2-sou due to the safety it seemed to offer, with 1-sou, 3-sou both nearly depleted? Or would Hata and Sumire guess that someone must have a 2-sou triplet and was waiting to make a kan?

Then Chita understood. She looked at Hata, then at Sumire, then back to the 2-sou triplet sitting there in her own hand.

She discarded a useless tile and waited. Sumire drew in the last 1-sou and kept it there with the 3-sou in her hand. She made her discard of chun to tenpai for a 2-sou single wait.

The arrow was notched. She stared at Saki and pulled back her finger.

Saki knew something was wrong, but being at riichi, there was nothing she could do to stop it. She discarded an east wind.

"Pon," Hata called. One could easily be fooled that she made the move to get the yakuhai from the prevalent wind, but that wasn't her intention.

From the beginning, she wasn't aiming to win anyway.

Hirose-senpai, this is why you wanted me to play, right? - she mused.

After Hata's discard, Chita drew in what should've been Hata's tile, a safe south wind, and discarded as well. Sumire drew and discarded hatsu. Due to the shift in drawing order, Saki drew in Sumire's 2-sou.

She had to play it. There was no choice.

"Kan," Chita called.

Saki opened her eyes wide, only to see a smiling Sumire close her hand. Instead of sniping Saki, she gave up the win so Chita could make the call.

She drew from the dead wall.

"Tsumo, rinshan kaihou, dora 7-sou. By the daiminkan liability payment rule of the 71st Interhigh, this is a 2-han 40-fu, 2600 pts win," Chita declared.

(2016-11-13): This fic is currently on hiatus until May 2017. Monthly updates will likely resume then. Thanks for reading.