Is everything my fault?
Then what should I have done?
Go to hell!
Don't come!
For me, everything's on the line!
Because I don't have anything else!
Nothing but shogi!
Do you...
...like shogi?
If you're going to run away...
If you can run away...
...then why...
I said I had no reason to fight,
but the truth is,
I know that a beast lives within me.
It's a rampaging beast that would bite off everything in sight to survive.
When the battle begins, no matter what,
its hand reaches out towards the path of survival.
Even if it means misery for others.
No matter what kind of world awaits...
There's nothing.
You've gotten better.
It's unfortunate for Mr. Kouda.
And to think his own son would beat him so easily.
Although maybe he was satisfied after all.
Well, that's only if he was his real son.
Rei Kiriyama.
That's my name.
Rank C-1, 5th dan. Seventeen years old.
Profession: professional shogi player.
New Message: 1
Inbox Hinata Kawamoto
From: Hinata Title: To Kiriyama Good work today! We're having curry tonight, so come over!! We'll be waiting See you! \(^o^)/ *Hinata*
Rei is here!
I bet you're tired. Dinner's ready!
Rei, hurry up! I'm hungry!
Rei, did you get ice cream?
Hey, Momo!
This is the Kawamoto Family.
It's a house of three sisters who live in Sangatsu block.
The oldest sister is Akari, the middle sister is Hina, and the youngest is Momo.
Mikazuki-Dou
And lastly, the owner of the Mikazuki-Dou Sweet Shop, is the grandfather Someji.
We don't have any special connections or anything,
but still, these sisters invited someone like me into their house.
It was the same as that time.
A senpai shogi player forced me to go with him.
She found me passed out on the sidewalk.
Are you okay? Where are the people you were with?
Where do you live?
R-Rokugatsu block.
Oh, that's near my neighborhood. I live in Sangatsu block.
Can you walk?
Goodness, you're just skin and bones.
Sis will pick up any kind of stray.
But I was surprised when she brought a person home.
GONG GONG WHIRL WHIRL
Sis, he woke up!
He woke up!
You're awake, huh?
Want some miso soup?
It was my first time there,
but for some reason, that old house made me feel nostalgic.
This was my first time meeting the three sisters.
Akari, Hina, and Momo.
They told me to "come over anytime,"
but did they mean it?
Still, just having a place where I was told to "come over"...
The words alone made me happy, and my stomach felt full.
That alone felt enough.
I began living on my own, and started attending high school.
But I was one year behind, so I couldn't really fit in.
That's a huge rice ball.
My homeroom teacher, Mr. Hayashida, was a shogi fan, and often worried about my situation.
Even though he became a professional during middle school and considered a genius,
here, he's just a 17-year-old with issues like anyone else.
I wonder what he's thinking about.
It still hasn't come.
Is this what you're looking for...
...Rei Kiriyama?
Mr. Rei Kiriyama MATCH NOTIFICATION
CHUB
Bastard!
Don't put me off like that, Kiriyama! We're friends, aren't we?
Friends?
Starting with a guy who always calls me best friend to rival, Harunobu Nikaidou,
the professional shogi players around me all have a strong uniqueness to them.
His name is Issa Matsumoto.
His playing style is aggressive.
In fact, all he does is attack.
Hey. Knock it off, Issa.
You'll scare me.
This is Smith.
180 cm Kendo Club (almost never attends)
181 cm Volleyball Club (never attends)
It seems they get along well because they're both tall.
During a match, various emotions run towards me.
Shall we begin?
I want to win. I don't want to lose. But, how do I feel about that?
Have I changed at all? Ever since that time?
You don't play like a child.
You came to checkmate me.
Even though he was my father's friend, every time he came over,
I would get happy and restless.
Kouda, sorry I'm late.
An emergency came up.
Oh, good work.
Shogi wasn't my favorite, but it was precious time that I could spend with my busy father.
So I did my best.
In the neighborhood and at school, I got bullied a lot.
I just couldn't seem to make any friends.
And yet, the words he said while on the other side of the shogi board
always made a deep impression on me.
He was the only person outside of my family who did that.
One day, my normal life suddenly ended, as if it had been ripped away from me.
When I returned from the school trip, my precious father, mother, and little sister...
...had become cold, stiff, spotted masses.
They said it was an involvement with a drunken truck driver...
Apparently, the three of them were killed instantly.
I wonder what will happen to their son.
The younger sister, Kiwako, will probably take him in, right?
There's no way that woman would agree to it.
Poor child.
I'll find a good orphanage for Rei.
And then he arrived.
Do you...
...like shogi?
This was the moment of an agreement.
The god of shogi and I were bound to each other by an ugly lie.
Yes.
I became the child of a shogi family.
Waiting for me at that house of shogi...
...were the true children of the family, who also aspired to be professional shogi players.
Kyouko, the daughter, four years older than me,
and Ayumu, the son, a third-grader who was the same age as me.
Father loved shogi.
Good or bad, everything was centered around shogi for him.
Therefore, those who loved him had no choice but to get stronger...
And then...
...Ayumu was the first one to have a breakdown.
I'm quitting shogi.
Why?! Why do I have to quit the federation?
If you can't beat Rei, there's no point in going on.
You understand, right, Kyouko?
So in the end, only someone else's kid made the cut?
That's Kiriyama's son, right?
So he went out of his way to raise his rival's child, who then upstaged his own kids.
How ironic.
The cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of shrikes or meadow buntings.
The hatched chick then tosses the original eggs out of the nest before they're hatched.
In this way, it takes over the nest.
Ah, that's me.
You're really not going to high school?
Yes.
I want to focus on shogi.
After I become a professional, I'll do my best to improve my performance,
I have to leave as soon as possible.
so I can become independent.
Before I devour the members of that family...
...and Father as well.
Then, that dream came true and became reality.
I thought if I could support myself without any help,
that would become the "place where I belong."
Hey, what gives? You better get it together.
Remember, you're the "Future Master."
But in my second year, this year...
...I lost two matches in a row for the first time.
I understand it in my head, but why can't I move?
I say I have no reason to win, but why is it so painful when I lose?
I'm always half-hearted...
...with everything.
Rei?
Hina.
Are you going to the shopping area, too?
As I thought, Rei...
...looks glum.
Rei is always quiet and mature like an adult...
...but I know he cries sometimes, so I worry about him.
So... So...
...you should come over!
Let's eat dinner together.
Gerrg
Crunch
Hey, Kawamoto.
I thought so. You became a professional shogi player in middle school.
Nice to meet you. I'm Yuusuke Takahashi.
I play baseball and hope to become a professional in the future.
Mr. Kiriyama, after becoming a professional, you went back to high school a year later.
Why did you do that?
But you didn't come back to high school because you wanted to study.
What should I convey to him?
I don't regret deciding on the direction of my life so early.
But...
I think I wanted memories of not running away.
Probably.
I see.
Only I will know my own memories of "running away" and "slacking off".
You'd think, "But I slacked off that time after all."
I can't explain it well,
but you wanted to get rid of things like that, right?
It got through.
Yeah.
Um, if you don't mind, let's talk again.
Is that okay?
You can get in touch with me through Hina... I mean Ms. Kawamoto.
Freeze
Nervous Nervous
It's been a while since I've come here. Since second grade?
Freeze
57th NHK Cup (7)
I wanted to ask Mr. Kiriyama something.
Wait a second. If Nikaidou is commentating...
Hey, why don't we save this video for next time?
Black, 6-f-Gold General. White, 3-d-Bishop+.
R-R-Rei! Why are you on TV? You said you're in a shogi club, at school, right?
- Rei, no run away! - Momo, you're heavy...
Oh shoot.
Crap. I didn't know Mr. Kiriyama was keeping it a secret.
Don't try to act cool, Kiriyama!
You used to be more careful and single-minded back in the 3rd Dan league!
Bravery and recklessness are similar but different!
You're too close to the camera!
Take better care of your shogi, and yourself, Kiriyama!
- Wow, that's amazing. - They're BFF's after all.
Take better care of yourself!
Because you're not doing that, is the reason why you can't progress!
Dammit! Who cares?
Who the hell do you think you are?!
Explode
Rei!
The kid's angry!
This is the first time I've heard you raise your voice, Rei!
This is kind of fun.
Hey, Rei. Would you please teach me how to play shogi?
I had no idea.
If someone had interest in a world I was in,
I didn't know it would make my stomach feel fluffy, and happy.
I hope it'll be okay. I hope I can remember everything.
Don't worry! It looks difficult, but it's surprisingly simple to begin.
Bododo
Smile
All right, Hina and Momo!
Drawn and Written by Harunobu Nikaidou
Shogi for Beginners Picture Book
Okay, let's look at this picture book together.
Shiny
All right!
Ha-Meow
Oh, kitties!
There's a king, too. All different kinds of kitties!
Shogi is a game in which you use eight different types of personality and pieces
like this to capture your opponent's king.
Nikaidou... You're amazing.
What is this feeling I have?
Answer: Exclusion
It sounds like Hina and Momo both had fun.
They even put copies of the picture book on the fridge
so they can remember the moves.
When I think about it like that, shogi really is marvelous.
It's been around for hundreds of years, and even now,
as long as you have the board and pieces, you can enjoy it at home.
Moreover, once you learn how to play, it doesn't matter whether
you're an adult or a child. You can have fun playing earnestly.
And for your whole life.
That's right.
How could I have forgotten?
Right now...
...I'm standing in the world of shogi that Dad longed for.
How? How could I have forgotten that?
Something so important...
Kyouko...
Are you still with that guy?
Good.
It didn't leave a scar at least.
Gotou isn't a sane guy.
He's bad for you.
That's none of your business.
Oh, that's right.
I hear if Mr. Matsunaga is demoted from C-1, he'll finally retire.
I thought in a situation like this, maybe you're the type to throw the match.
Because you're such a nice guy.
I could only think of you as the Grim Reaper,
come to close the curtain on my life as a shogi player.
I thought I would at least fight fair and square once more before fading away.
And yet... Even so...
I don't want to die
He must really love shogi, you know?
Unlike you.
I wonder how Kyouko wanted me to handle this match.
Without care for my feelings,
she'll tell me about my next opponent and their family,
as if she thought nothing of it.
Oh, that's right.
Speaking of Mr. Yasui, it seems he's finally getting divorced.
I hate this.
But I hear the daughter had one wish.
She said, "I want to be with Papa until Christmas."
I can't stand it.
This...
Children have it rough.
After all, they can't choose their parents.
The way she speaks, her words sticking to me like glue...
But more than anything...
Oh. But come to think of it,
it was different for you.
You chose your own parents.
...her words that drip with poison...
You chose somebody else's father.
...I hate myself for wanting to hear it.
A papa who comes home after winning, or a papa who comes home after losing.
Why?
Which would be more fitting as a final Christmas memory?
Why?!
That easily?
You can't let go!
Don't give up such precious things so easily!
The match with Mr. Yasui ended all too soon that late afternoon.
I lost.
You want to say I gave up in the middle of the game, don't you?
And this was our last Christmas...
After all my matches were over for the year,
I became bedridden with a terrible fever.
I curled up in my dimly-lit room,
and December 31st, the last day of the year, arrived.
Please stop.
I can't. I can't get up.
Rei!
M-Momo. What?
Rei!
Rei-chan
Why?
Darn it, I knew you had a cold!
- Okay, charge! - Roger!
Yay! Rei's place!
- Hina, secure the pillow! - Gotcha!
Uh, Um...
Fluff
Rei, get your phone, wallet, and keys.
You can stay in your pajamas, but put a coat on.
Why? Where are we going?
Where, you ask?
Gleam
To the doctor, of course!
And if you have the flu, you'll be quarantined and taken care of here,
If it's just a cold...
...we'll bring you to our house.
Let's have some tea and then you can go lie down.
Internal Medicine
But first...
...let's call your home in Mejiro. They're probably worried.
But, I'm living on my own now. So I think it's okay.
Hmm!
On your own, huh?
Let me see your phone, please.
Charging
Call Log Kouda Dad Missed Call Kouda Dad Missed Call Kouda Dad Missed Call Kawamoto Missed Call Kouda Dad Missed Call Kouda Dad Missed Call
You don't say "I'm on my own" when you have people worried about you so much.
Right?
Yes.
Hello? Um...
Dad. It's Rei.
Rei? It's really you?
Are you all right?
You weren't picking up your phone, so I was about to go over there.
Are you sure you're okay?
The moment I heard my father's voice on the phone,
I realized how thoughtless I had been.
From his voice, I could tell that he was really worried about me.
I'm an idiot.
My thoughts kept spinning around in my head,
but in the end, I had just been thinking about myself.
Can you get up? Let's eat something and take some medicine again.
I knew this would happen.
It used to be even worse.
Zzzzz
We had three more people then, so it was pretty packed.
Snore Snore
Honestly, it's like we were running out of oxygen.
Three people...
Oh, that's right.
Their father.
There must be a reason.
Nobody in this house talks about their father.
Um...
You really are a lifesaver.
Thank you.
On an important day like New Year's Eve, even though I'm not part of your family,
you brought me here and took care of me.
You've got it wrong. I wanted you to come.
H-Hey, Kiriyama. Why are you the one crying?
Oh no. Me too!
Why do I feel so at peace when I'm here?
This old house...
had time, everyone, everything, even me,
all gently embraced together, and then dozed away.
And then, another day starts.
A battle will begin.
There was a part of me that couldn't wait for that to happen.
Next Episode Preview
Episode 12
Kotatsu's are scary, huh?
If I win two, that's 1.2 million yen!
I need to get back on track, and connect that with next year.
It's about that stalker woman, but...
Just... kidding.
Ugh! What is this feeling?