✦ ✦ ✦
“I am victorious.”
He looks almost divine right now.
So much so that it’s easy to forget he's a pro Shogi player ……
“S―――”
Staring absentmindedly at Ayumu’s outstretched fist, observer Usui 9-dan starts the confirmation. It took him a moment to react because every match up until now has ended with “I lost” …… I don’t blame him.
“So, you are declaring you win, yes?”
“Correct.”
“Nice. I’ll confirm.”
Usui-sensei turned to ask the match recorder Miss Noboryou to confirm all conditions were met on the tablet, but the thing ran out of battery at some point during the match. So she had switched to the old-fashioned way: on paper. Not that even the latest tablets come with an autodetection feature for a victory declaration.
As for the match recorder herself, she hasn’t been able to take a bathroom break in several hours and flew out of the arena the instant Ayumu declared.
Almost as if taking her place …… Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud ……! Media and association people swam through the door.
Now that Ayumu has claimed victory, a draw isn’t going to happen. Either he has met all the criteria and won or I’ll be given the win if he’s missing something.
This judgment will decide everything.
“The offense has one, two, three, four ………… 10 small pieces and three big for a combined 25 points. Combine that with what is in the defender’s territory …………. Damn it! I should’ve blocked this pain-in-the-ass rule when I had the chance ……”
The camera got a good angle of Usui-sensei counting up the pieces on the board.
It goes without saying that Ayumu and I already know the result.
But I’m more than happy to wait for the observer’s final decision. We were both playing one-minute Shogi. If even one of the conditions isn’t met, then I get to keep my title ……
“………… Got it.”
After making painstakingly sure that everything is in order, the exhausted observer makes the announcement.
The result of the first Nyugouku Victory Declaration match in history.
“At the time of declaration, Kannabe’s King was in nyugyoku, had over ten pieces besides said King in the defender’s territory, possessed over 31 points worth of pieces on and off the board and was not in check. The total number of moves, barely, has not reached 500. Therefore―――”
Gulp …… It’s so quiet in here that everyone heard him swallow some spit.
Then the silence gets destroyed.
“With a total of 499 moves, I confirm Kannabe 8-dan’s victory declaration to be valid!”
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
The venue trembles in the dead of night.
“It’s over?!”
“By declaration! The first one ever ……!!”
“What was the last move?! WHAT?! The offense’s declaration was the last move?!”
“I-I thought the match would never end ……”
“Kannabe-Crown has been born!!”
“Kuzuryu’s first title loss …… He’s actually the youngest ever to do that, too! Just a bit younger than the Meijin when it happened to him!”
…… No tears came out the moment I lost the title.
Maybe I sweat too much during the match and my emotions are too numb to cry?
I try to stand but end up tumbling backward and my back hits the tokonoma pillar. I lean on it and just stare up at the ceiling as moments drift by.
“………… Haaaaa ……………”
My head was heavy as lead a second ago, but now it’s light as a feather. All the dark clouds I’ve been carrying with me start to lift. I feel refreshed, somehow.
There’s no pain at all.
I don’t even feel like reviewing the match in my head. Rather than analyze the good and bad moves, the whole thing glistens like a treasure just the way it is ……
But here’s what I say to Ayumu.
“…… Sorry for turning your first title match into this ……”
“It’s fine. We’ll have plenty more.”
Sounding like he did back when we first met, the divine aura Ayumu had when he made the declaration is gone. He’s got the face of a kid who played until he dropped.
―――There’s nothing waiting for us but a pitch black wasteland ……
The edge of the world I’d wanted to keep hidden.
Surprisingly …… it was kind of fun.
I got my fill of both the excitement I had the first time I picked up a Shogi piece and the thrill of an intense match. Admittedly, there were too many moves.
Why, though?
The utter nothingness I felt when playing against Awaji here is suddenly satisfying.
Ayumu came with me this time. That has to be it.
With a best friend at your side, a wasteland, hell or even outer space …… can become the best arena ever. I know that now.
“Hey, New Crown.”
Since I still can’t get up, I reach toward Ayumu and ask, “Would you …… come back here again with me?”
“We are no Mozarts. The old standards remain far from perfected. Untold new melodies are yet waiting to be uncovered.”
He takes my hand and offers a firm squeeze before saying.
“However, I would not turn down an occasional venture.”
As playing this over and over would be fatal, Sir Ayumu adds with a serious face. He hasn’t changed at all since the day we met.
He’s always been like this.
Even when he’d stay over at Master’s place while Big Sis and I were playing Title Match, he stuck with us for hours and hours without so much as a complaint.
The same was true when Big Sis and I went to all the Shogi classrooms to beat all the students around Kanto. He just made that serious face and tagged along ……
“……… I wonder if I can bring Ginko here ……”
She might not be able to endure the trip.
But, if Ayumu and I can establish a path with standards, someone else might come join us someday. Then we can enjoy Shogi to our hearts’ content.
Here I'm sure I can experiment with Shogi like I used to in the kid’s room back when I was an apprentice.