Finally, the day of the prefectural qualifier finals has arrived!
A
Kiyosumi High School
Whether tears of sorrow or tears of joy, only one of these schools will be going on to the nationals!
Kiyosumi High School First Year Kataoka Yuuki
A
Kazekoshi All-girls
A
Tsuruga Academy
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School
What kind of battle will they show us today?
The match will begin momentarily!
Hand 9
Eyes Open
[Kiyosumi High School Waiting Room]
The match is about to start.
Yuuki, get ready to lead off.
Today's match is different than yesterday's. Each person will play 2 hanchan, for a total of 10.
And the points still carry over.
Two hanchan each? But I only brought enough tacos for one...
I told you at the training camp and our meetings, remember?
Kyoutarou, go buy me tacos!
Huh? I wonder if the store's even open this early...
The first round will begin in ten minutes.
Will the lead off players from each school please assemble in the playing hall.
A-Anyway, I'm counting on you!
G-Got it!
All right, I'm off!
And here's the lead off players!
From the quickly advancing new powerhouse Kiyosumi High School, first year Kataoka Yuuki!
Captain!
Good luck!
Thanks.
Can they take back the throne again this year?
From Kazekoshi All-girls, it's their third year captain, Fukuji Mihoko!
G-Good luck!
Agreed. I'll do whatever I can.
An unknown school no one predicted would make it to the finals puts up a grand fight!
From Tsuruga Academy, the second year Tsuyama Mutsuki!
I'll play with you all a bit.
Will they show us their power again this year?
From Ryuumonbuchi High School, the second year Inoue Jun!
The players have entered the playing hall.
The first round of the finals has almost begun!
Can I take this in with me?
As long as you've finished eating it before the match starts.
Only having one taco makes me uneasy.
What's with you? One of my fans?
You brought me snacks?
Oh, what's this? Is there some sort of trouble, perhaps?
That's...
Now she's gone and done it...
The player from Kiyosumi is crying.
What's the matter? Is the big scary girl picking on you?
Beanpole there stole my tacos!
Oh my...
Sorry! I didn't mean to...
I wonder if she's hungry?
I know! Just wait here a second.
Here, take this.
What is it?
This is the lunch I made. Is that okay?
It's no use unless there's tacos in it.
Th-This is...
Yuuki-chan...
Will she be okay?
What's taking Suga-kun so long?
He just left a second ago, he ain't got the time to make it back.
And now, Kataoka has returned. Perhaps whatever trouble she had has been resolved?
Yuuki!
Thank goodness!
And now what you've all been waiting for, the start of the finals!
Anything with "tako" in its name can become my power, not just tacos!
And there it was, in that girl's lunchbox!
Indeed! The linchpin of the lunchbox, the tako-san wiener!
But the battlefield knows no kindness!
I'll kick her butt just like the rest of 'em!
Oh my, it looks like she's got her energy back.
Is she superstitious about food, perhaps?
Last year, our school was crushed by this player from Ryuumonbuchi.
I worked hard to fend off the fukushou...
But I've got to show them that this year will be different.
[Kazekoshi All-girls Waiting Room]
Why did the Captain...
She's just that kind of person; you know that.
But that sort of thing is different from the match.
The captain will win for us, for sure.
Yeah... So...
Right. We've got to win for the captain as well.
[Ryuumonbuchi High School Locker Room]
So Kazekoshi brought their ace for the lead off this year, huh?
If she had gone against me this year, I'd turn the tables and destroy her.
A
East 1st Round 10th Turn
[Iishanten: One tile away from tenpai]
Even during my unbeatable East round, it's taken me this long to get to iishanten.
Were the tako-sans too weak after all?
The little taco girl's hand is coming together.
I want to disrupt the flow...
Pon!
Why would she pon the 1 pin there?
Isn't she trying to change the flow?
It's illogical.
But if it wasn't for that pon, Yuuki-chan would have been in tenpai.
That's just a coincidence, mere chance!
Just discarding what I picked up...
Chi!
My, my, my...
No one's discarded a nan yet, but with riichi the lowest I could get is 6400...
Riichi!
Ron! 2000.
Looks like I've actually got some competition here.
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
A
Tsuruga Academy 2nd Year Tsuyama Mutsuki
A
East 2st Round Inoue East
Chi!
Ron!
5800.
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
Eh, it was just seat wind before...
Ryuumonbuchi took control of the flow after she called that 1 pin.
A
East 2nd Round Bonus 1
Tsumo! 2700 from each of you!
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
It's the East round, but I haven't won at all!
That's ron! 12 600!
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
I can't go on like this...
At this rate, all I've accomplished is getting my tacos eaten!
At this rate...
...she'll end up taking everything!
A
East 2nd Round Bonus 1
Ron! 5200.
The first half of the first final match is over!
And just like that, Ryuumonbuchi's Inoue Jun has a decisive victory in the first hanchan!
I'm not done yet.
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
A
Kazekoshi All-girls 3rd Year Fukuji Mihoko
And Fukuji from the powerhouse Kazekoshi has kept second place with some solid defensive play.
On the other hand, it's looking like the two first-comers are going to have a tough time in this lead off battle!
A
Tsuruga Academy 2nd Year Tsuyama Mutsuki
A
Kiyosumi High School 1st Year Kataoka Yuuki
I didn't even win once!
The first half of the lead off battle of the prefectural qualifier's finals is over!
First, Ryuumonbuchi's Inoue Jun is back with a commanding lead!
The two new schools to the finals have yet to show us their strength. It's going to be difficult for them.
Yuuki!
Don't worry. Her knight will be arriving shortly.
I can't believe I didn't win once during the East round.
Hey, why so down?
Huh?
Kyoutaro?
Sorry it took me so long.
Th-Those are tacos!
That's a good doggy.
Doggy?
Anyway, you're awesome, Kyoutaro!
Well, it's not like I hate tacos or anything.
So, the cursed blood of the taco-lover runs through your veins as well?
I'm not cursed. And apologize to the Mexican people.
Thank goodness.
Kyou-chan, you made it!
But he's got to head right back out again...
He needs to pick up lunches for us.
You're just evil, man...
The second half of the first round is starting.
Will the players please proceed to their assigned positions.
All right! Taco power recharge, complete!
Right on!
A
First match Second round
It's the start of the second half of the first match!
A
East 1st Round Yuuki East
[Yakitori is a chicken dish and also refers to a sometimes used special mahjong rule, where one has to pay an additional penalty if one doesn't win a single hand during a hanchan]
Don't you think yakitori fits you better than tacos?
What did you say?!
Play nice now, you two.
Spout your nonsense while you still can.
If we're playing two hanchan, then there are two East rounds!
That's right! My specialty, the East round, has come again!
I can sense the shrimp has a good hand again.
Can't call on that one...
Well, I already got her down 30 000, I guess I can just leave her alone.
There it is!
Riichi!
I'll discard the same tile...
Chi!
Nope... Can't leave her alone.
What was with that call?
I can't understand it.
But in the first half, it was that weird calling that busted up Yuuki's dealer baiman.
It's just a coincidence.
[Ippatsu: tsumo or ron after declaring riichi in one turn]
Even if I can't get an ippatsu...
Hatsu?
If it wasn't for calling that chi, she would have had an ippatsu tsumo!
Inoue Jun of Ryuumonbuchi High School often calls in places that make no sense.
She's attuned to getting the feel of whether her opponents hands are coming together or not.
Is that even possible?
It's impossible for me.
Even if I could, I don't get those calls at all.
It almost looks like she exists as a being of "flow", even able to control it.
R-Ron!
Hatsu only. 1300.
A
Kiyosumi High School 1st Year Kataoka Yuuki
Right...
But that's...
And that's it for the East round.
I can't believe that Yuuki-chan couldn't win in the East round even after eating tacos.
If she can't pick herself up, at this rate, it'll just be a repeat of what happened in the first half.
Yuuki!
A
South 1st Round
I can't sense anything for taco-girl anymore.
This hanchan is mine now.
It's the south round where I'm useless again. What is this feeling?
I know I've felt it before somewhere...
I remember!
Tsumo. Rinshan tsumo, dora 2.
2000/4000 points.
So this makes Saki and Nodoka first and second place again.
It's no use!
Maybe I'm just not cut out for mahjong?
Yeah, maybe not.
Someone who says that and then just stops might not be cut out for it.
"The circumstances aren't right," or "I have no talent..."
Even if you have times when you think that way,
if you never stop, and just keep going ahead one step at a time...
I'm sure that you'll see a new horizon soon.
It was then.
I can't think "I can't comeback" or "This is impossible."
I'll just do what I can do right now!
Just like the President said, "If you keep going ahead one step at a time, I'm sure you'll see a new horizon soon!"
This is the team tournament. My job is to do everything in my power to end it!
Excuse me!
As long as I move forward, I can start to see things that I couldn't when I felt like giving up.
What's this?
I'm back and rarin' to go!
A
Tsuruga Academy 2nd Year Tsuyama Mutsuki
The battle starts now!
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
I'm not giving up!
Come hell or high water, I'll end this!
A
Kazekoshi All-girls 3rd Year Fukuji Mihoko
A
Kiyosumi High School 1st Year Kataoka Yuuki
I'm not giving up on moving forward!
Looks like she's got her spirit back.
Yes. I'm sure that Yuuki can do it!
I can sense that the shrimp's hand is really coming together.
And I don't have any opportunity to call and break it up.
A
Sixth Turn
Chiitoitsu with 3 dora would be nice...
But this one can be worth even more!
Discarding a dora?
I'm in tenpai... Maybe I can scare her off with riichi?
Riichi!
With that discard, it's really dangerous to discard a dora!
She's in a tight spot again.
Would it have been better for her to keep the dora and go for the chiitoitsu?
Speaking personally, the choice is obvious.
Could it be she has all man tiles in her hand?
Just keep cowering in fear like that!
I'm in trouble!
If you consider the movement and her bad habit of lining up the tiles,
other than the tile at the end, they're all man tiles.
It would be a problem to discard a dora with that riichi, wouldn't it?
It'll be okay, I'll create a path for you.
A dora, there?!
That girl's trouble! Always trouble, she is!
Her eyes are open.
She's showing her true self now.
Damn her!
From what I can see, the 7 pin dora is safe to discard.
See? This will pass.
The dora will pass!
Riichi!
What? Did I screw up?
You screwed up big time!
With her like this, my luck's gone and I can't sense the flow very well...
Is she planning on supporting the taco shrimp and wiping me out?
What's with her eye? Don't let it get to me...
Wha-?
Ron!
Riichi, ippatsu, concealed chinitsu, pinfu, dora 1!
If I get a reverse dora, that'd be a sanbaiman!
Too bad. As dealer, that'll be 24 000 points.
That's plenty big, sheesh.
A
Kiyosumi High School 1st Year Kataoka Yuuki
A
South 1st Round Bonus 1
First Turn
Pon!
Second Turn
Chi!
Hey now, give me a break!
Third Turn
Ron! Ton, dora 2. 5800 plus bonus is 6100!
What the heck is this?
Could she be...
...my ally?
Dammit, Kazekoshi's captain is helping the shrimp out.
A
South 1st Round Bonus 2
I've got to break up this flow somehow!
Pon!
Ron.
2000 in the second bonus hand is 2600.
Now it's this one?
My East hand! This girl's not too bad herself.
A
South 2nd Round
Tsumo. 1300/2600.
Huh? This girl...
Why hasn't she noticed? The enemy is that Kazekoshi woman!
Control of the field...
Now that you mention it, she hasn't taken any points from Kazekoshi's Fukuji today...
Hey, look at the scoreboard.
Kazekoshi has...
She's amazing!
Ah man, she was completely taken in.
A
South 3rd Round
Ron. 1300, please.
What's with this woman? How can she have such an overwhelming presence?
That's the third win in a row for Kazekoshi!
Is she going to keep on picking up steam?
A
South 4th Round Bonus 3
No... She's not my ally at all!
She's the enemy! She's just been hiding in the flow up until now, damn her!
She set me up!
Ron. 8600.
It can't be stopped! Kazekoshi's momentum cannot be stopped!
Captain!
You're doing great!
That woman...
She infuriates me to no end!
Well, that'll just end up being a good handicap for me, then.
A
South 4th Round Bonus 4
Um, ron! 2600 with the fourth bonus is 3800.
And that's it for the lead off battle!
And what's this? Looking at it, it's an overwhelming, no... nearly one-sided...
A
Ryuumonbuchi High School 2nd Year Inoue Jun
A
Tsuruga Academy 2nd Year Tsuyama Mutsuki
The one in control of this lead off battle is from the famous Kazekoshi All-girls school, Fukuji Mihoko!
Kiyosumi High School 1st Year Kataoka Yuuki
A
Kazekoshi All-girls 3rd Year Fukuji Mihoko
A
Koromo-sama!
It's almost time.
Touka-ojousama is waiting for you.
The walls have ears!
Touka is always too impatient!
She is expecting a lot from you, Koromo-sama.
Naturally!
There's not a chance that rabble of lower lifeforms can win against the Koromo!
What's the matter?
Miyanaga-san?
No... It's nothing...
It's... nothing... right?
Novice
Next Episode
[Suuankou: A yakuman hand made of 4 concealed sets]
I did it! It's the first time I have a suuankou!
And what's more, it's a single wait!
Now, come on out!
R-Ron!
Suuan- huh?
Iipeikou for 1300 points?
Going out on a hand with only an iipeikou? What a newb!