Huh? What's going on?
This is...
This...
Kan.
Sae?!
What's going on here?
Hand 12: Truth
How did this happen?
Second Half 5th Players' Match
South Hand 3
She called an open kan and discarded her draw?
She didn't do it to win or to further her hand?
Then maybe her reason for doing it was to increase the number of dora?
Kan dora...
No, she's not after dora.
Kiyosumi's Miyanaga Saki almost never
adds more dora to her hand through kans.
In fact, I have two of the dora she created with that kan.
So her aim is most likely to change the drawing order.
If Kiyosumi's draw goes to Eisui,
and Eisui's draw goes to Miyamori,
Eisui and Miyamori's elimination of one suit will be stopped
and their hands will be slowed down temporarily.
Nothing will change for Kiyosumi and me, so we'll have the advantage.
So you're not scared of me, huh?
You really underestimate me.
Look at that, Kiyosumi!
That's what you get for underestimating me.
Bring it on!
I'll let that go.
If I took that, it would be 7,700.
Should I have declared a riichi, hoping for the reverse dora and ippatsu?
Nah, I don't want Miyamori chasing me down again.
Got it!
Tsumo!
4,000. 8,000.
Kiyosumi didn't win?
I want to say, "if only I had declared riichi," but I'd be too embarrassed.
With a ryanpeikou, it's a baiman tsumo.
[Ryanpeikou - Two different iipeikou (double sequences) in one hand]
She overtook us.
That's why you shouldn't count me out just because I don't have superpowers.
I'll defend second place with my life now.
I was in second place until East Hand 3.
Now, I need to get a baiman or haneman tsumo, or we'll be eliminated.
Everyone's festival would end.
I knew that I can't just change out a god once it's descended into me, but...
I guess even a fast, cheap hand is too much to ask for right now.
If only Haru or I could be there with her right now...
Too bad.
It'll be all right.
Let's have faith in Kasumi-chan.
I'm not giving up yet.
I want to keep playing with everyone for as long as possible.
That's why I don't want to lose!
Huh? Ei-chan?
Just now...
Toyone...
She's prioritizing speed.
That's dangerous in the second half...
She knows it too,
but she may have bet everything already on
this first half of the hand...
to continue this festival!
We may be in second, but third place Eisui is only 100 points behind.
If Eisui wins a single hand, or if I play into anybody's hand,
we'll be eliminated.
I've got to keep an eye out for Eisui and cautiously step forward.
Now...
She had an extra bamboo tile.
Be there in time!
I need to finish this within the first half!
A one of circles?
Miyamori needs a direct hit baiman or a haneman tsumo.
Since she's also eliminated one suit,
her hand is probably all circles with some dora.
I can't discard any honor tiles.
Then,
this...
Pon.
Pon?
Not a kan?
Kiyosumi is making a move?!
As long as she doesn't deal into anyone's hand, she'd still win.
What the hell is she thinking?!
I need a draw, and here it is!
Kan.
Tsumo.
400. 800.
That concludes game three of the second round match!
Thank you very much!
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) Fifth Player - 3rd Year Anetai Toyone
Good game.
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) Fifth Player - 3rd Year Iwato Kasumi
Thank you.
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) Fifth Player - 3rd Year Suehara Kyouko
Thank you.
Kiyosumi High School (Nagano) Fifth Player - 1st Year Miyanaga Saki
The Nationals
The schools proceeding to the semifinals will be
Kiyosumi High School from Nagano
and Himematsu High School from South Osaka.
Himematsu
I'm back.
Great game!
Welcome back!
After you handed me the baton in first place,
I'm really sorry for ending up in second.
It's not a problem at all.
Although, we got pretty nervous in the middle.
But somehow, I don't feel exactly satisfied.
What do you mean?
Suehara-chan, good job!
Huh? What's the matter?
Don't tell me...
It's the records from the individual tournament, right?
Captain, you told me to do that, right?
To look at play records of the opponent's losses.
Yeah, I mean, if you want to win, you can learn the most
from seeing what made them lose.
But Miyanaga Saki has had matches where she neither won nor lost.
In the individual tournament at the regionals,
she continuously had a plus-minus 0 score.
Then, in the fifth players' match just now...
Say the first and second half were each regular 25,000 point East-South matches.
That means she had two plus-minus 0 matches in a row!
Yet she still ended in first place!
Kyouko...
Suehara-chan.
Do you want to get stronger than that girl?
Stronger?
Yes.
You want to become stronger than her, right?
W-Well, sure...
If that's the case, we need to start...
with your appearance!
Huh?
Can you please take this seriously?
But I'm being totally serious!
If you change how you look, that will change how you feel,
and it might help you show a different side of yourself.
I know you're a strong person to begin with.
That's...
I don't know what you're talking about!
I think I also underestimated Miyanaga Saki-chan a little.
That's why I called someone new!
Good morning.
Mahjong Pro Kainou Yoshiko
Pro player Kainou!
It's evening...
This is amazing! Our first meeting with a top pro in ages!
How wonderful!
Did you see Miyanaga Saki-chan back there?
Yes.
I sensed it directly in the hall, but she's a real monster.
If she had been in the first round match,
I could have given you some advice.
Pro player Kainou?
Yes?
Were you really a mercenary shaman in the Middle East?
I heard you won a yakuman summoning the powers of King Solomon!
No, no. No way, no way.
So Kainou-chan, to get right to the point...
No problem.
Great!
I invited about twenty more awesome people to come over here.
We'll be having practice matches until tomorrow evening.
We'll have Kainou-chan do something similar to what Miyanaga Saki-chan does.
Are these people different from the fifteen who were here
yesterday and the day before?
I tuned the list according to our opponents in the semifinals.
You can look forward to it!
Thanks for giving my cousin Haru a good game.
That shrine priestess is your cousin?
How about that.
I guess it's like me and Hiroko.
So, about the semifinals the day after tomorrow.
Zenno-san is coming to watch.
Really?
Is she serious?
I can't afford to lose, then!
Eisui Girls'
The cleansing is done.
Thank you. Sorry for the hassle.
Not at all. I'm used to it.
Good job.
Are you all right?
Yes.
I am so sorry about today.
I was of no help.
We could say the same.
If only I had done my job better...
It's not your fault, Princess.
Actually, the order in which the gods descend is set.
Like a god rotation?
That's right.
We arranged it so that weaker gods would come in the second round match,
and stronger gods from the semifinals onward, but that strategy backfired.
I guess underestimating is never wise.
It's hard to play against girls who use powers that are
suited for mahjong.
Concentrating our powers into such a small space is really difficult.
All of this can be seen as training, though.
But that means the Princess will only have
strong gods during the individual tournament.
I hope it'll be enough to get her to the finals.
They won't descend into her unless her opponents are very strong,
so it's hard to say.
The soba is here!
I was starving!
Well, let's eat.
The individual tournament is in five days.
So we have some free time now.
Yeah...
Well then.
Since they're in the individual tournament,
let's leave Komaki-chan and Hatsumi-chan here in Tokyo
and go swim in the ocean or visit a hot spring!
But I want to go, too!
I want to go.
Great idea!
We can ask Akise-chan from the middle school to come, too!
Am I the only one of the six female sages being left out?
But we can't leave Komaki-chan alone,
and there's some time until the individual tournament.
Let's all go together, after all.
Oh, good!
If we're talking swimming, just leave it to me!
Whee!
Four days off...
Komaki-chan!
Y-Yes?
You were asleep, weren't you?
Komaki-chan, I have a favor to ask.
A girl from Iwate asked me for your autograph.
Could you write one for her?
My autograph?
Yes.
"To Toyone-chan," please.
That's Toyone-chan, written with the characters "rich" and "sound."
Oh, her?
Miyamori Girls'
I'm back!
Toyone...
Welcome back.
I got all these autographs!
First, the other three girls from the fifth players' match...
And even though I asked so shamelessly,
they said they'd get me autographs from Haramura-san and Jindai-san, too!
I'm so happy!
Toyone?
I had the chance to come to this festival with all of you.
I got to be here with you this summer.
This will be a memento
of those precious memories.
Toyone!
What a shame.
I never thought we wouldn't even get into the top eight.
Yes, come in.
Excuse me...
We came to bring the autograph board you had asked for.
Jindai-san?!
You came yourself?!
It's nice to meet you.
Will this be all right?
It's amazing, just amazing!
I will treasure it!
I'm glad to hear it.
What is that?
You mean this?
It's an inner tube!
I gathered that.
We have a few days before the
individual tournament, so we decided to go to the ocean.
I worked hard to blow it up myself.
But there is no ocean around here!
The ocean... sounds nice.
I love the ocean!
Why don't you all go as well?
If your schedule allows it, would you like to come with us?
If we're not intruding...
Whoa! It's not a bother for you?!
Whoa!
The players playing in the individual tournament
should not play against each other.
It's already decided?
Where do you plan to visit the ocean?
We thought of going to the beach of the sacred Kirishima village.
Kirishima?!
You're going too, right, Toyone?
Yeah!
I'm back!
Saki-chan?!
Welcome back. Are you all right?
Ow...
Thank goodness, the autograph board is safe.
Autograph board?
You did it, Saki! You're amazing!
Thanks, Kyou-chan.
I got a little lost after I left the interview.
You were barely able to speak!
Oh, that reminds me.
Anetai-san asked me to get your autograph, Nodoka-chan.
What?
But I don't have an autograph.
Then just write your name normally.
I thought autographs were supposed to be all squiggly.
Well, let's see! What does Nodo-chan's autograph look like?
In any case...
Your way of winning never ceases to amaze me. Here you go.
Thanks...
I'm sorry, Captain.
Huh?
I tried to play like you told me to.
Like I only had 1,000 points left.
But playing against those three girls, that simply wasn't possible...
All I could see was the
playing style I'm most used to, from back when I was a kid.
I tried, but that was all I could do.
And worse, the toughest player remained in the top two...
Himematsu!
If I play her again, I don't think I can win.
Since you kept your socks on,
I thought you still had plenty of leeway.
I forgot all about that!
This looks like it'll be a bit of an issue.
This is the Mahjong Inter-high Summary!
After the sixth day of competition,
the top eight schools have been decided!
Among them, there are three seed schools
and two schools making their first appearance.
In the semifinals beginning tomorrow,
the four schools that will move on to the finals will be determined.
Hayarin!
I wonder if Achiga will be there?
After seeing the matches up to today,
This pro's tough.
did any particular school make an impression on you?
I don't know about a favorite...
Shiraitodai (West Tokyo) Kiyosumi (Nagano) Shindouji Girls' (Fukuoka) Himematsu (South Osaka) Achiga Girls' (Nara) Usuzan (South Hokkaido) Senriyama Girls' (North Osaka) Rinkai Girls' (East Tokyo)
But the team I want to fight the least is
Usuzan High School, who's making their first appearance this year.
Big Sister of the Tiles
We came here with the intention of winning.
Any one of those schools could've won.
It was a good game.
I've known those girls less than a year.
But now...
I wish I could have shown them what's ahead,
even for just a tiny bit.
I should go soon.
You must have a lot of preparations to make for tomorrow!
I've already prepared all that I can.
Now all that's left is to believe in those girls
and take on the semifinals!
Is that so?
You have really grown into your role as a coach.
So, as for what we talked about yesterday...
Yes.
I'm honored, but...
A dream?
Next time:
Old Friends
You're all here...
Then it's off to the semifinals!
Watch Next Time