It's the sixth day of the inter-high.
Stage A's third game is currently in
East Hand 4, Bonus 1 of the first half
of the fourth players' match.
The dealer is Atago Kinue.
Pon!
The Nationals
Usuzumi from Eisui Girls' calls,
Hand 8: Fortress
bringing a nervous air to the table.
East Hand 4
Carried Bonus 1 Dealer: Atago Kinue
The North-East Gate of Evil?
Calling on the North and East while she's the north player...
Usuzumi Hatsumi does that remarkably often.
North and East?
She puts the North and East tiles in the North-East Gate of Evil,
and then she'll start getting the South and West tiles.
Southwest.
That is to say...
The South-West Gate of Evil.
They're already in her hand...
If it's like our teacher said, then if this continues on...
If she wins, it doesn't matter if it's by tsumo or not.
We'll be in last place.
I can't let her play freely!
They're coming!
They're all coming to me!
What is this?!
Is this girl for real?
You need to watch out for Miyamori's Usuzawa.
Why?
Have you ever heard of Mekaru, from Okinawa?
No.
You know, the girl from Niraikanai.
That Mekaru didn't win a hand in the first round match.
Not once in two East-South matches.
In the Iwate preliminaries,
the opponents Usuzawa had marked were unable to win their hands.
She seals the hand of those she looks at? Is that it?
I don't know, but be cautious of her, especially when you're the north player.
My tiles really did stop coming!
I can't believe I can't win while being the north player.
No, no, that can't be!
Fine, then take this!
Ron. 11,900.
No way...
She played into her hand on purpose?
Another hand as the north player?!
Is she just planning on playing into
the dealer's hand until she wins herself?
You're going to destroy yourself!
Good luck, Sae!
Will Miyamori's fourth player go as we expected?
I think...
she will.
No tenpai.
Looks like I'm not the dealer anymore.
Now for the South round.
South Hand 1
Carried Bonus 3
It looks like she managed to hold her back the first time.
South Hand 3
Tenpai!
No tenpai here.
No tenpai.
All right.
I'm the dealer again.
Which also means that
Usuzumi's the north player.
East and North?
That's right.
If she calls on either one of those,
don't discard the other until she can no longer call.
So if she calls on the East, I shouldn't discard the North,
and if she calls on the North, I shouldn't discard the East.
Is that what you mean?
This only applies if Eisui's Usuzumi happens to be the north player.
The other schools will probably also get in her way.
That's all it'll take,
and the fourth match will be yours, Kinu-chan.
First half, South Hand 4
Carried Bonus 1
Last dealer: Atago Kinue
Pon on that!
I guess the first one is fine.
As long as the East doesn't make an appearance,
I have no reason to be afraid.
Pon on that, too!
Kiyosumi... I thought it was just a mistake during the East round,
but you seriously don't know about this, do you?
Kiyosumi is hopeless.
I've got no choice. I guess I'll block it.
That's if you can do it!
Now, come to me,
South and West!
Has she completely sealed me again?
Then I'll go for a honitsu.
Ron!
6,700.
The first half of the fourth players' match is over!
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) Fourth Player - 3rd Year Usuzumi Hatsumi
Unexpectedly, the seed school Eisui Girls' Usuzumi Hatsumi
has lost a lot of points!
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) Fourth Player - 2nd Year Atago Kinue
Himematsu High School is still in first place.
The younger sister widens the lead that her sister achieved.
Kiyosumi High School (Nagano) Fourth Player - 1st Year Haramura Nodoka
The inter-middle champion, Haramura Nodoka,
gained a few points and maintained 2nd place.
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) Fourth Player - 3rd Year Usuzawa Sae
Miyamori Girls' is in 3rd.
While their position hasn't changed, they have lost a few points.
We can expect them to turn it around in the second half.
This is rough.
This is on par with what it was like going against Toyone.
If it was just one more hand, I could maybe do it.
But Kiyosumi's just totally oblivious...
This might end badly.
Sae!
What are you looking at?
Kurumi...
Here, umbrella.
Thanks.
You heard that a new teacher is coming,
supposedly an old friend of the principal's, right?
No, I hadn't heard. Now?
Yes.
I'm pretty sure that person was on the train that just passed.
You must've been imagining it!
Even if I was,
I don't think it was a bad thing to imagine.
Oh, it's rare to see you sitting at the table.
No...
After I sat down, I got so tired, I couldn't get up.
I see.
Where's Kurumi?
She's coming later.
Oh, that was quick.
So I see you do have a table.
Who are you?
Kurumi aged...
This feeling...
Could you be the new...
I will start teaching at Miyamori Girls' next week.
My name is Kumakura Toshi.
I knew it!
Why did you come to this room?
Did you get lost because the campus is so big?
No, no.
My hobby is mahjong,
so my feet naturally carry me toward where the tiles are.
That's handy for when you've lost a tile.
Do you feel like playing a little bit now?
Right now? We don't have four players.
I'm tired.
I'm back!
Who is that?!
Now we have four.
Tsumo.
8,700 all.
This lady...
Looks like that's eight in a row.
Is she really a teacher?!
Tsumo. 6,800 all.
Aww!
Looks like everybody went bust again.
But it was fun to play with four players for the first time in so long.
You only have three club members?
Unfortunately.
I see.
I took a bit of a detour on my way here,
and I found an interesting girl on the way.
I think I'd like to introduce her to you.
Sae...
Sae!
Are you okay?
Shiro...
I was sleeping.
Want me to lend you one?
What?
A hand or a shoulder.
I'm fine. I'd be done for if I had to let you nurse me.
But to think that you'd leave the waiting room to come find me.
I was on my way to go pee...
So you didn't come because you were worried?!
You know, you should pay lip service there, even if it's a lie.
Don't be shy about it.
Ti—
Ti?
Nothing.
Thanks for waiting.
Did you calm down?
Yep.
Earlier, I remembered...
when the teacher first came to our club room.
Back then, we both happened to be in the club room, remember?
Were we?
Yeah.
Back then, we only had three club members...
Yeah.
But now we have five.
Sometimes I think to myself.
Did our teacher know that this was going to happen?
Foresight?
No, not quite something like that.
But it was always just the three of us.
We don't get many new students, either.
I thought I'd end up graduating before anything changed.
That's why I don't want it to end here, no matter what.
Just a little longer...
For just a little longer...
I want us five to be together.
Good luck.
Well, it'll be a piece of cake.
The break is over and the players have returned to the stage.
The South round of the first half
didn't have any big moves in this fourth players' match.
The second half is just about to begin.
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) Fourth Player - 3rd Year Usuzawa Sae
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) Fourth Player - 3rd Year Usuzumi Hatsumi
Kiyosumi High School (Nagano) Fourth Player - 1st Year Haramura Nodoka
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) Fourth Player - 2nd Year Atago Kinue
And the second half of the fourth players' match has begun!
Since we're seated differently, Usuzumi is suddenly the north player.
If Kiyosumi was the last dealer,
I could have rested a bit.
Riichi.
Seriously?
A dealer riichi?
Chi.
Pon.
Damn it, Kiyosumi!
I have no choice but to block it again.
No calling to take the tsumo win for herself?
No siphoning of luck or anything weird like that?
She crushes her opponent's win just by looking at them?
There's no way that can be real!
I'm back.
Welcome back.
You took a long time.
How is Sae?
You went to see her, right?
She was saying it'll be a piece of cake.
And what's your verdict?
She looked exhausted.
I was the one who lent that to her
so she wouldn't waste her power needlessly,
but using it to seal her opponents
is something she's doing with her own power.
The stronger the opponent she seals,
the more stress it puts on her.
And Kiyosumi's dragging her down, too! Right?
Way down!
Haramura-san is digital,
so I think she's doing the right thing.
You're right.
Discarding honor tiles is commonplace nowadays.
But that that is making Sae suffer is also fact.
I wonder how long Sae's spirit will last...
Tenpai.
No tenpai.
I'm at the end of my rope here,
but Usuzumi is still the north player.
Nodoka.
In the second round match, you need to watch out for suushiihou.
I don't quite get what you mean.
I figured you'd say that.
But I wanted to let you know.
If there's someone calling on East and North,
and you don't know where West and South are,
then it wouldn't hurt to consider
the possibility of a yakuman, right?
Maybe a little...
Though, I think the probability that someone can always
call East and North when they're the north player
is lower than coincidence.
Second Half East Hand 1 Bonus 1
Dealer: Haramura Nodoka
I have no East or North tiles in my hand.
There are none in the discards, either.
Usuzumi probably has a pair of both North and East tiles in her hand.
Kiyosumi is bent on following her style,
so she will discard them if she has any.
I just hope Himematsu can keep hers to herself.
Kiyosumi is going to discard the second one without any thought,
so that makes it hard to discard the first East and North...
Ron.
9,900.
Chiitoitsu? That was ready?
Bonus 2.
A dealer renchan...
Then that means Usuzumi will be the north player again... yet again!
Next time:
Sortie
When someone follows my riichi with another riichi,
I feel like I often lose. I wonder if that's accurate.
You're just imagining it.
That feeling probably comes from having memories of dealing into their hands.
Nodo-chan never wavers!
You better
watch again!