And the second players' match has come to a grand close!
Rinkai Girls' still continues to lead!
But Usuzan High School and Yamasu High School
were putting up a great fight, too!
This is the moment you've all waited for!
The third players' match will be...
...right after lunch!
Good work.
The Nationals
What are you doing for lunch, Sukoyan?
Hand 6: Withering
I thought I'd eat one of the bentos they've got here.
Then I'll have a bento, too!
Kokaji-san...
And...
some strange woman.
Yasuko-chan...
You were doing analysis for the Rinkai Girls' match today, right?
You've been working hard.
I haven't seen you in a while.
That reminds me.
Did you see yesterday's game?
The one with Akado...
Yes...
Actually, we were doing the live commentary for another block,
so I didn't see it firsthand...
Huh?
What are you talking about?
Oh, well, a long time ago,
there was someone I competed with
in the inter-high called Akado-san.
I'm pretty sure she was playing on a pro team until recently,
but now she's leading
her old school's team to this tournament as their coach.
I see.
Well, I was just going to mention that her school's doing surprisingly well.
Amazing, isn't it?
That's it?
So are you here as an analyst today?
No, actually I'm here for—
Hey, you're all here.
What's this? What're you all talking about?
On a different topic,
isn't she another coach who has "aka" in her name?
She is a bit of a pain...
See you later.
Good work.
Thank you.
Why are they going back the way they came?
Huh?
This bento is actually pretty tasty.
So about the upcoming third players' match...
I was wondering if I should bring up the connection
between Eisui's third player and you.
I wonder who's catering this event?
Want to go to the actual restaurant next time?
The restaurant that makes the bentos.
Dinner will be a bit more expensive,
but it will obviously also be that much more delicious.
What's wrong?
Good.
A normal reply would suffice.
I am really sorry.
That opponent was beyond our expectations.
Toyone and I will take care of this.
Don't worry, A-chan.
What about me?
Aislinn-san has helped us out a lot in the past.
Just one loss or a hundred is no problem at all.
If anything, our score's still too high!
It's tiring when people cry on me.
Try not to cry so much.
There.
By the way, are you all okay with not seeing the second matches?
No, I actually really, really want to see them, but...
If we don't build up our strength,
we won't be able to battle the very opponents we want to watch.
That's true...
but there might be others here who'd like to watch the matches.
Oh, don't worry about me. I don't mind.
Well, all right then.
But there's a TV in the lobby,
so you can watch it there anytime.
Oh, that's right.
Risen-san is from Kagoshima, so you've played against Jindai Komaki.
That's right.
We may have come in second to Eisui Girls'
in the team tournament, but I personally do not
feel like I lost to her.
I aim to prove this fact in the individual tournament.
That's why I don't see this as letting you all practice on me.
When Kei-san told me about this,
I came because I thought it might be a chance to improve a bit myself.
I see.
No need to hold back, then. Let's all do our best!
Let's do our best.
Yeah!
Aww, man!
Jeez, Shizu.
Sorry.
That said, I don't want Jindai Komaki to lose to anyone but myself.
Should we just eat after the game?
I think so.
Let's do that.
Banana.
Check.
Toilet.
Check.
Banana and Milk Eyewash Toilet Cold Compress
All right.
Guess it's time.
You're leaving already?
There's still 15 minutes left of lunch.
Yeah, but...
I'm itching to play so much, I can't stay still.
I'm off.
She seemed kind of strange.
Wow, this is huge.
This is quite different from where we played the first round.
I'll be going up against two of the
top eight schools in the nation right here.
This is bad.
Huh?
How many minutes have I been standing here?
Thanks to Yuuki and Mako, we have this many points.
I've got to take good care of them.
I bet everyone from the prefectural preliminaries is watching, too.
I've got to win this.
I wonder why I feel kind of... lonely, sitting here right now.
Why?
The captain sat down!
It took her a while
from the time she left the waiting room.
Oh, the game is starting.
The third players' match has begun!
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) Third Player - 1st Year Takimi Haru
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) Third Player - 3rd Year Kakura Kurumi
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) Third Player - 3rd Year Atago Hiroe
Fourth Turn
East Hand 1
Dealer - Takimi Haru
Hey. Yo, Kiyosumi!
I can see it.
Your 3 of characters.
Oh, man... I haven't exposed a tile like that since grade school!
This is the top scoring player from Kiyosumi who defeated Ryuumonbuchi?
Is she nervous?
I can't tell if she's a novice or an idiot.
That's kind of disappointing.
Huh?
Well then, why don't I liven things up?
Have a riichi to start us off!
First come, first serve.
She's crazy!
A riichi on the fifth turn.
I'm still three tiles from tenpai.
For safe tiles, I've only got the one she just played.
It's comin'! My ippatsu is comin'!
What?! Why a 6 of circles?!
The 6 of circles...
Then I'll go with this.
That would be ron.
5,200.
Ouch?
My suji trap following the riichi is working.
Don't forget that they call me "Hiroe the After-Riichi Suji Trapper."
I'm not dealer anymore...
I'm rolling the dice.
But I mean, it's a coincidence that...
You talk too much.
I can't concentrate.
Oh, jeez...
South Hand 3
Third Players' Match, 1st Half
It's South Hand 3 and I haven't won a single time yet.
I guess this happens when you've played as often as I have.
It's not just that, though.
I don't think I can blame this on bad luck alone today.
I'm at Nationals. Maybe they are simply just that good.
Lookin' good!
I was worried about Kiyosumi, but she's not doing a thing.
Or maybe she can't do anything?
She's nothing but a dimwitted fool!
I didn't think having a dimwit at the table
would make things so much easier for me.
I gotta be grateful.
There's that, but...
Ron.
18,000.
What's that look for?
Didn't you even have an inkling that I was in tenpai?
Kinda gets boring when you're too dimwitted.
The current leader, Himematsu,
scores an 18,000 point direct hit on last place Kiyosumi.
We're in South Hand 3 of the third players' match,
and dealer Atago Hiroe just increased her lead with a haneman.
This is bad.
Opponents at the Nationals will be tough,
even for Nodoka and Saki.
That's why I wanted to pad our lead in this third players' match.
And what's happening with that?
Instead of providing them with a buffer, I put us into last place!
At this rate... we could even be eliminated!
This year's my last year at the inter-high.
Even if we reach the finals, that's only six more East-South matches.
No, only five more that I'll get to play.
If I lose here, everything will
be over after the next East-South match.
Just one more East-South match?!
You've gotta be kidding me!
That's way too boring!
Didn't someone else say "boring" just now?
Kinda gets boring when you're too dimwitted.
She's trying to have fun.
That's it.
I may have misunderstood.
The people from Nagano, the people cheering us on,
and my teammates are really important.
But it's not about them.
Right here and now,
if I, myself, am not having fun...
Nothing will ever start!
Looks like the dimwit got some life in her.
Now we can finally play some inter-high level mahjong.
Dealer, hurry up and draw.
South Hand 3 Bonus 1
This is a good draw.
Nodoka would probably laugh if I told her that
changing my mood changed my game.
Right after the dealer discarded the first East tile, this...
Huh?
Tenpai.
Come on. You know that's not the one.
Riichi!
There it is.
Kiyosumi's bad wait.
Kiyosumi
What?
I can't believe she threw away pinfu and iipeikou and the red dora!
That's crazy!
I am relieved, though.
The captain didn't seem like herself before, so I was nervous.
You're right!
I guess you're right...
Until now, I felt relieved because
she wasn't using many of those nervewracking plays of hers.
Wait, the things that make us nervous are totally opposite!
Wow, when did you learn that kind of delayed comeback?
She went sort of crazy by herself,
and then she got herself back to normal by herself.
Is she really going to be okay?
East... Huh?
Tsumo!
That's 4,100 and 8,100.
I think I'm getting into my game now.
Not bad.
A little stronger and we'd be evenly matched.
I'll crush her!
Ron.
Oh, that call...
You called and it cheapened your hand. You were in quite a rush.
I felt like the player across from me had an expensive hand...
How did you know?
Wait, can you see through my tiles?!
You don't need that ability to figure it out.
So you did it to end the hand quickly.
Hey, hey, but is playing like that fun?
Yes.
Other than the princess, you're all third years, so you're my senpai.
However, when we're all playing mahjong like this,
it's like we're all just friends.
If you're enjoying yourself, then it means your style is fun!
Princess...
Well, if you say so, Princess.
Let's play the next one.
Hatsumi came in third, so I'll switch with her.
Oh no, that win made me fall from second place!
That hand...
I felt that Kiyosumi's captain was
having the same kind of fun that we had back then.
I didn't feel anything like that at the start of the game.
Maybe this is her true ability.
I'll have to watch her carefully in this next hand.
South Hand 4
Riichi!
On the fifth turn?
She's got her game on now.
Eisui... has already called three times.
As long as she doesn't have an honor tile and two dora,
it would be 2,600 at most.
Would she really discard a red dora
to make such a cheap, obvious hand?
Oh, I get it...
I'll crush this now.
Ron.
1,000.
Here you go.
And that wraps up the first half of the third players' match!
Himematsu High School earned lots of points
and leapt from last place all the way to first place.
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) Third Player - 3rd Year Atago Hiroe
Good gamey game game game.
In second place is Kakura Kurumi of Miyamori Girls'.
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) Third Player - 3rd Year Kakura Kurumi
While she lost a few points, she maintained her position.
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) Third Player - 1st Year Takimi Haru
Also unchanged, Eisui Girls' hangs on to third place.
Kiyosumi High School (Nagano) Third Player - 3rd Year Takei Hisa
In last place, Kiyosumi High School took a hard fall,
but they recovered some points with a baiman in the second to last hand.
We're expecting them to recover in the second half of this match.
I feel bad leaving a score like this for Mako.
Black Cane Sugar
Replenishing sugar supplies to her brain?
Not that it looked like she was thinking all that hard.
You're giving me one?
Thank you.
Oh... these are easy to eat, but they're also quite flavorful.
That's what they boast.
Wow, Haruru's smiling?!
She only smiles if she's talking about black cane sugar or the demon world.
That's not like her!
I wonder what happened.
How can she be chatting away so happily?
She did finally win one hand,
but her loss in points was still huge!
Kana...
Captain! If they stay in last place,
they won't be able to advance. This is no time to be laughing!
You're right, but she's not just laughing for nothing.
All that tension and nervousness she had in the beginning
has completely disappeared.
I'm sure she'll be back
to her old self in the second half.
So whaddya think?!
You got it all back.
That's just like you, Captain.
Yeah, huh?
That's just like me, huh?
Hey.
The last wait Kiyosumi had was pretty good, right?
A well-formed 4-sided wait.
I knew it.
I figured Kiyosumi was going to go a bit wild as the last dealer.
Luckily, the other two put a stop to that.
I'll just continue like this during
the second half and build a nest egg.
I'm not really worried about you or Kina-chan.
I'm not so sure about myself, though...
Why?
This fifth players' match is full of monsters.
I have to say, though, I'm a little excited to see...
how far someone average like me can get.
Miyamori Girls'
Recharge, recharge!
Kiyosumi's player was really funny!
You mean that one move?
It was so over the top, I couldn't even say anything.
If she has actually recovered her full strength,
the second half may be even tougher than the first.
They're here.
Good luck.
Hello.
Good luck with the second half.
You too.
Shall we start?
I'm gonna get the top spot again.
I won't let you!
And now, the second half of the third players' match...
will begin!
Next time:
Attention
The North-East Gate of Evil.
Are you talking about feng shui?
Nodoka, it's this one.
A peach?
If you need something sweet, black cane sugar would...
Stuffed monkeys are okay, too!
What sort of trivia show is this?!
Watch Again!