March Comes in Like a Lion (３月のライオン)

White Storm (Part Two)

I wonder why?

I suddenly remembered.

Souya?

So, let's see...

When I was a kid,

there was once a white bird with huge wings that had wandered

into our yard.

He reminds me of a bird.

Meijin Souya is wearing traditional Japanese garb!

I thought it was normal for both players to wear suits for commemorative matches.

You're a lifesaver, Meiyo Tohno 9th-Dan!

Not at all. I'm glad the match is in my town.

My kimono hobby was finally of use to someone.

I'm honored that Meijin Souya is wearing one of them.

That'll be a family heirloom now.

It's strange.

He's supposed to be like a character who's always been in a book.

But now, he's sitting before me.

He's breathing and moving.

And he's going to play against me.

Get it together.

Didn't you say it yourself last night?

I want to concentrate as I play so the match isn't over as soon as it's begun.

Right now, I have to cross paths with this person.

I'm well aware of the gap in our abilities.

But if I jump into this with anything other than the intention of winning,

my head will get blown off in an instant.

Let's have a good game.

Double Fortress, huh?

It's their first game together, after all.

Well, I suppose they both want to get to know each other.

Maybe it just happened naturally during the course of play.

Souya moved Silver to 2-8.

Silver to 2-8?

It's a question.

Souya is asking, "Hello. Who are you?"

Silver to 2-8.

I haven't seen that move before. Is he testing me?

That means...

Rook to 3-8.

Silver to 1-9, promoted.

Right Silver to 5-7.

And Lance to 8-3.

Certainly it's a threat, but it's too straightforward.

It's no problem as long as I avoid a direct attack.

In fact, I should be moving my pieces into a close formation.

That...

Head of the Bishop.

Still, Kiriyama is putting up a good fight.

As expected from the next professional from middle school after Souya.

Actually, at this stage, it looks like Kiriyama has the upper hand.

But if a newcomer 5th-Dan has the upper hand from the current Meijin,

during the middle stage of the game,

then, if it were a drama, that's the signal the newbie's going to lose.

Getting a discussion going shows how well he's doing.

That alone shows the child has something going.

That's right.

Pawn to 5-5.

Left Silver, same.

Pawn to 7-5.

And then I aim for his head Bishop...

Pawn to 7-4.

Why did I feel a faint shooting pain in my fingertips when I let go of the piece?

Pawn to 7-4.

No... What the hell am I doing?

Why didn't I realize? There was Pawn to 8-6!

If he gets me for Pawn to 8-6, it's all over!

Pawn to 8-6.

Pawn, same.

Bishop to 9-5.

Closer Gold to 7-7.

Souya, Pawn to 8-5.

Kiriyama, this is a tough one.

- What will you do? - Go with Pawn, same?

Pawn to 9-6! Not Pawn, same!

I see! If he took the 8-5 Pawn with Pawn, same, he would've been hit with the 9-3 Knight

and then he can't support his King.

It makes sense.

But this might be it.

That last Pawn to 7-4 hurt.

Yeah, but still, he dodged Souya's 8-5 Pawn.

Well, well, Silver to 6-8, promoted.

Now Souya's making interesting moves.

So Kiriyama 5th-Dan, would you take this promoted Lance with the Rook or not?

The correct answer is...

He didn't take the bait, but went with promoted Pawn to 7-3.

He's making the best moves in a matter-of-fact way.

Sheesh. That's what makes him interesting.

After that, I was absorbed in the game.

The sound of each piece on the board was accompanied by a flash of light in my head.

I realized that something in my head was connecting all of the moves.

It was like...

...silvery, dazzling water, flowing into every nook and cranny.

White Storm (Part Two)

White Storm (Part Three)

When I let go of my 7-4 Pawn,

it felt like the surface of my fingers was being ripped off.

The moment I took my hand away,

I realized it was the move that would cost me the game.

I knew it was over.

But at the same time, it crossed my mind.

If I only played the best moves from this point on,

how far could I go in that match?

The wind is strong.

I thought the typhoon was just going to pass through the Pacific.

MORIOKA -> TOKYO

I hope the trains keep running.

I want to go to my afternoon classes, so they only treat it as a half-day absence.

There's Mr. Souya.

I see. We're on the same bullet train, huh?

He's going back on the early train, too.

I figured he was the type who didn't hang around a long time, but...

I've never really seen him interacting with other people.

I haven't seen him laughing and talking with people either.

I've been watching him ever since I was a kid, but in my memories, this person...

That's right. He's always alone.

That's right. It's strange.

I fought with this person yesterday.

I fought him and lost.

What is this?

I've never felt this way before.

Even though I lost, I'm not tired at all.

I don't feel depressed at all.

I knew I had no chance of winning going into it, but I had no intention of just giving up.

But I strongly understood

that in both experience and studying, he was years ahead of me and I wasn't catching up.

I still had no idea how I could close that gap.

I can't express it well,

but I've always thought that after a loss, feeling refreshed or having enjoyed the game

is actually a major insult to your opponent.

It's like putting your opponent on a pedestal,

showing reverence and feeling refreshed, without telling the person.

It was like not thinking of your opponent as a person...

That's what I've always thought,

but how does that account for yesterday's match?

When I'm up against other professionals, no matter how big the skill gap is between us,

I can always trace their line of thinking to some extent.

He's the only one...

...where I drew a blank.

While we were playing, it felt like the two of us were alone in a pure white space.

And it was very comfortable.

I wonder what that was yesterday.

The review session with Meijin Souya and Kiriyama 5th-Dan.

I've never seen anything like it.

Neither one said a word, and just kept going.