It's a shame... Losing two of our finest researchers.
It was because of the child that his wife didn't take that offer overseas, wasn't it?
And then to get involved in such an accident because of it...
What will become of Koromo-chan, being left all alone?
[Sign: In Mourning]
Nice to meet you.
I am your cousin, Touka.
The Ryuumonbuchi daughter?
They say my father will be taking custody of you now.
Therefore, you and I will be living together in the same house from now on.
There aren't any lizards, and the frogs won't come out, either.
Huh?
Even though they're the only playmates Koromo has had since her hobby-horse days...
It's not the season for those sorts of creatures to appear, right?
I want them to appear now, because my mother and father passed away.
If they don't show up at a time like this, what use are they as friends?
From now on, you can call me Touka-oneesan!
I was born before you, though.
It seems like Koromo-sama isn't making any friends at school.
No problem!
I'll round up 100 friends for her, no, 1000 friends! Wait and see!
Now, the five of us are going to annihilate the has-beens in our school's mahjong club!
Will that be fun?
The fun part comes afterwards.
The prefectural qualifiers, and then the nationals, and finally, the world!
There has got to be someone out there somewhere that can enjoy playing against you!
I tried to keep playing mahjong just like Touka said,
But after all was said and done, my solitude persisted.
Even if I defeat the others in this way, they won't enjoy themselves, correct?
They're not like me, they aren't alone.
But, nobody needs Koromo if she's not playing mahjong...
It's my one, my everything.
I should just burn you to ashes!
A power outage?
A power outage... Kind of exciting, you think?
Is it?
Are you unharmed?
I'm just dandy!
And right when we've come to the end of the finals...
A white wallpaper.
The lights do go out sometimes during full moons back at the mansion, too, but...
This is the first time something of this magnitude has happened.
Koromo... Will your heart remain forever like the full moon, alone in the night sky?
Hand 19
Friends
Participants, don't move! Stay calm and-
The power's back on!
It's back.
Nodo-chan, the lights are back on.
A power outage!
We'd lost power for a bit in the auditorium, but it's fixed now.
The match is resuming.
It's the first bonus hand in the third south round.
With these current point totals, Kazekoshi in the last place is facing a desperate situation.
Even if she wins with a yakuman off of first place Ryuumonbuchi twice in a row,
she still cannot claim victory!
Kana-chan!
"It's all over for the perennial powerhouse, Kazekoshi! They're out of the team tournament!"
...is what the announcer is saying right about now, I bet.
You wanna bet?!
My chances are still not zero.
Kana?
She's smiling?
For example, if I win with a yakuman off of Amae this hand...
And in the final hand, if just Tsuruga and I end up tenpai on a draw three times in a row...
And then if I get one more yakuman off of Amae, it'll be a come back victory for me!
Kana-chan's a stubborn one!
So I ain't gonna give up yet!
A
12th Turn
I've come this far, but my hand just won't come together.
Pon.
Damn!
But I can't get tenpai at all...
I was thinking I should watch out for Kiyosumi after that last win,
but am I dealing with two out of control demons now?
Tsumo!
It's the fourth haitei raoyue!
Ryuumonbuchi High School's Amae Koromo
has ended Kiyosumi's chance to put the pressure on her as dealer just like that!
Senpai...
She'll be fine.
Yumi-chin is dealer for the last round. She can still make a comeback.
We'll believe in Yumi-chin until the end, no matter what.
Right!
Okay, it's the final round, and I'm dealer.
I could wrap it up with a direct-hit yakuman.
But anyway, I've got to win first!
I won't lose as long as I keep winning.
Last year's champions, Ryuumonbuchi High School heads into the final hand with an incredible point advantage.
Second place Kiyosumi High School is 63 500 points back.
Other than a direct hit with a yakuman, a comeback is impossible!
Similarly, it's possible that third place Tsuruga could keep winning as dealer and stage a comeback as well!
He's just saying whatever now.
Well, what else can he say?
What do you think, Nodo-chan?
It's true that thinking about making a comeback in this situation is unrealistic.
But Miyanaga-san has not yet lost the will to fight.
That's right.
Saki, the opponent you wished to play is right before you.
Wow, Haramura-san!
I'm so excited I'll get to play against so many great mahjong players!
It's the end of the line... What should I do?
I can't lose to someone. I can't win, either.
All I can do now is be tenpai on a draw...
And then do that about thirty times in a row!
If someone throws a riichi stick it'll go a bit faster...
And after that, with a yakuman win...
Kana-chan's miraculous comeback victory will be complete!
Oh, just great. Now I get a suuankou single wait tsumo...
I'll just have to get it again!
I can't make a comeback if I win with a yakuman now.
Come back and see me later, 'kay?
I'm not gonna give up on winning!
Kazekoshi's Ikeda has passed up a tsumo yakuman!
Obviously.
Kana, you still haven't given up, have you?
Kazekoshi choosing not to win is outside my realm of expectation.
This isn't the 5 man?!
Kiyosumi has me in her clutches!
What the hell is that?
That's way too dangerous.
Nodoka-chan's friend is just whack.
Your hand is too amazing, Saki-chan.
It can't be...
Miyanaga-san!
Woe is me!
She's at a loss?
Is Koromo at a loss?
Seems like you're finally starting to have fun playing mahjong.
About 12 000 points, maybe?
In that case there is no problem even if I play into her hand.
I've never lost before, as long as I've played according to my feelings.
However...
But during the last hand, she turned a 2000 points iishanten hand into a 24 000 points win in an instant.
This is the first person I've ever played against that I might lose to, even if I play the way my gut tells me to.
Mahjong sure is fun, isn't it?
I got to play against interesting people today again, and it's been a lot of fun.
I didn't think mahjong was fun up until recently.
But things are different now.
I realized how fun mahjong can be after I entered high school and met a bunch of people.
No, that's not it. I was able to recall how fun mahjong used to be!
Fun?
Playing mahjong against the Koromo is fun for you?
Yeah!
Let's have fun together!
She's having fun playing against me?
I'm not just a puppet for my instinct!
My instincts just try to narrow the possibilities to a single choice!
But this time, I choose this one!
If I believe in the hand I can sense from Kiyosumi,
even if she wins with it, Koromo will be the winner!
Gonna win on it?
No. If I ron on that, I lose.
But...
Kan.
Even if she doesn't win with the haneman, making an open kan of of the 1 pin doesn't...
An open kan?
"The responsible one pays"?
The responsible one pays?
What's that?
Um, you see...
When you declare a kan from a tile someone discards, it's called an open kan.
It's a rule stating that if you win with a rinshan kaihou from an open kan,
the person dealing that fourth tile has to pay the whole winning hand herself.
Rinshan kaihou.
So then, in this case..
Amae would have to pay 12 000 all herself.
That's a quite rare rule, isn't it?
It's used in a pro league that a friend of mine participates in,
but I'm no good at it.
But those 12 000 are no different from the win by ron she could have had before.
Then that means...
She won't stop here.
And once more... Kan!
Two kan in a row, again?!
You've got to be kidding me!
I've always chosen to play as myself, the same way, up until now.
But if, like this, I also end up defeated in this manner...
That's another rinshan kaihou, this time with the 4 pin!
But that's still just 12 000!
Which means...
And one more kan!
Koromo...
...might be born anew.
Tsumo.
Chinitsu.
[Since we forgot these last episode:]
Toitoi.
[Toitoi: A hand consisting of only sets, worth 2 han]
Sanankou.
[Sanankou: A hand with 3 concealed sets (declared closed kans count too), worth 2 han]
Sankantsu.
[Sankantsu: A hand with 3 kan, worth 2 han]
1 red dora.
Rinshan kaihou.
That's 32 000!
A-A kazoe yakuman!
Chinitsu, toitoi, sanankou, sankantsu, red dora, rinshan kaihou.
With the "the responsible one pays" rule, those 32 000 points give Kiyosumi a comeback victory!
A kazoe yakuman from declaring three kan in a row and winning with a rinshan?
And she makes the comeback, thanks to that rule.
If she had just done two kan in a row, she would have been in tenpai with suuankou.
It was only because of Amae Koromo's 1 pin that gave her an open kan and that resulting kazoe yakuman.
I haven't seen someone loved by the tiles this much in a long time.
Kiyosumi High School is the champion of the team tournament!
They've earned the spot in the national tournament!
That was fun.
Let's play again sometime, okay?
Next time... Next time I'm not gonna lose!
We'll battle again in the individual tournament!
It was a good match. Congratulations.
Yes. Thank you very much.
Would you...
Would you play with Koromo again, too?
Sure.
And the next time we play, I'll be the winner.
Mahjong is...
Mahjong sure is fun!
Yeah!
Miyanaga-san!
Haramura-san!
We won, didn't we?
Yeah, we did it! We won!
Saki-chan, Nodo-chan!
You did it!
Congratulations... on your victory.
Thank you.
Okay, here we go!
Right!
All right!
Did I not speak the truth?
Touka...
I said that you'd meet someone who would have fun playing mahjong with you one day, didn't I?
Yeah, you were right, Touka.
I think I might even be able to make her my friend!
So you're saying that we aren't your friends?
You guys are just "friends" that Touka rounded up for me, right?
How it started doesn't matter.
That might have been true at first, but we all think of you as our friend, and family.
Tomoki and I are your big sisters.
Touka is the mother, and Jun is the father.
Feels about right, you know?
Hey, wait a sec! I'm a woman, dammit!
But I was born before all of you!
I'm the oldest one!
So then why am I the youngest in the family?!
Don't pet me!
Loosen up a little, would you?
Let yourself go a little.
Since you said you'd gather friends for me, Touka...
I thought that you weren't my friend yourself, but...
But you're my cousin, and my friend!
But of course.
I also think that freaky pro has her eye on you.
Pro Fujita? That damn stiff-heeled...
Ikeda.
Coach, Kana gave it everything she had!
Raise your head, Ikeda.
Beat the crap out of her next time!
Right!
Good work, Senpai.
Thanks.
We lost.
I saw.
But even though I lost, I didn't think it'd be this painful.
I really intended to continue winning forever on that last round...
Yes.
Momo, I...
It's not over yet, right?
The individual tournament is next week.
[Tonpuusen: Unlike a regular hanchan with east and south round, a tonpuusen only consists of one east round.]
The first day is just tonpuusen matches, so I might not be able to disappear, but I won't lose!
So, Senpai... You and I together can...
Yeah.
Um, what exactly are we doing?
I wonder...
As the club president, I'm just supervising my members.
All right!
Okay, I'm taking it!
Do it already!
Say "cheese!"
We actually won, we did.
Yup, it's not just a dream.
But this is just the start.
The national champions... eh?
Exactly.
Together with those two!
Next Episode
Sisters
It's special training at the pool today!
What does mahjong have to do with swimming?
If we're gonna fight against national-level monsters,
you'll have to master my Shindenryuu Koshiki stroke!
But, what does that have to do with mah-
We'll take back the Inland Seto Sea with mahjong!