Ayano Katachi's Summer Break
Ayano Katachi's POV
So, I'm here right now, and I want to play Mahjong but no one wants to play with me. After Araragi called me, I don't know what to do anymore. He said that he doesn't need the money anymore, but is that true?
After thinking for over a minute, I reached the conclusion that he doesn't need it anymore. Yup, he doesn't need that anymore. So... I want someone to play Mahjong with me! I don't want to leave this cooled house of mine!
Well, I don't want to go outside with this raging heat and sun piercing my skin, but... I really want to play Mahjong!
While I'm here throwing a tantrum, my younger brother passed right the hallway. I saw him and immediately ran towards him to catch him! I grabbed his hand and...
"Eh? Sister?"
"We're going to play Mahjong!"
"Huh?!"
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"Sister, I know that you're bored as hell but you do know that circumstances we're getting ourselves into if we got caught by father, right?"
"Yes, but..."
Our family has this really weird independence policy that no one should disturb each other's lives. At applies to me and my siblings but...
"Just one match!"
I really want to play Mahjong!
"I see, but you better take responsibility if our father caught us!"
"Of course!"
Now the Mahjong match begins!
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"So... It's just the two of us playing, I'm going to be the South, and Sister, please be the North!"
"Of course!".
Then, let's start! My brother is the dealer so he's the one going to give me tiles. Now... what tiles did I got?! I immediately opened my tiles and... saw it. I mean... is this real? The real deal!? I looked at it once more, and confirmed it! This is... Suu Ankou!
(Just to clarify, they're playing by the Japanese Mahjong Rules, not Chinese or American Rules. So for further clarification, Suu Ankou is a really rare hand and It's one of the strongest too. It could be compared to Poker's Royal Flush.)
I see lady luck is smiling down on me. Now that the luck resides within me, I guess I don't have any choice but to win. I'm very sorry, my little brother... but I'm going to win! But after 1 hour had passed
"Ron..."
My little brother said those words.
(In Japanese Mahjong, Ron means you got the winning hand. It means you won.)
Why the hell!? I mean... I have a Suu Ankou, so why the hell he won!? I don't get it!
"Sister, you must be asking yourself why I won, right?"
"Yeah, explain yourself, mortal!"
"And who the hell are you? God!?"
I need to know why the hell he won, because if I didn't... my first ever Suu Ankou actually died! I don't even know if I'll actually get another one of those!
"Ahh, sister. That's because you're just discarding all of the tiles you've got from draws. Suu Ankou was composed of 4 concealed triplets, right? Then, that means you can't discard even one of them, or It will turn into a crappy hand."
Well, that's true. I discarded all of the draws that I got. But did I made it obvious that what I discarded is what I got from the draw?
"Yes... you're too obvious."
"How did you know what I'm thinking?!"
All this time... I don't know... that my brother is a skilled player! I mean he even observed me and by that... he actually found out what hand I got and defeated me! But I'm not going to go down so easily!
"I want a rematch!"
"I thought It's just one match!"
"I'm begging you! Please have a rematch with me!"
I'm here right now, begging for my little brother to have a rematch with me. But we didn't realize that the two of us are already causing a ruckus. That's... why...
"What's the two of you doing here?"
Our father passed by without us realizing it.
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Our father is now standing in front of us right now. Yikes! Our father will surely scold us now!
"You're playing Mahjong, huh?"
His face is very serious as if he's ready to kill us! I can't bear to look at his face! I feel like I'm going to get beaten here! Look, my little brother is terrified too! But after he noticed that we're playing Mahjong...
"Wow! This brings back memories!"
"What?!"
Our father's very serious face suddenly became a cheery, happy face. And is it just me or he became younger? He suddenly sits down in front of us and said with a serious tone once again...
"Since you're already Mahjong, mind if I join?"
Father, playing Mahjong!?
"Well, truth to be told, I'm actually a huge fan of Mahjong and I play it a lot when I was in my younger days. Because no one wants to play with me because of the independence policy, I entered different kinds of tournaments and competitions. That's why... I was called... The Genius Fallen To Darkness."
Wow! What a surprise! I don't know that he's a professional mahjong player! But isn't that title of yours came from Akagi!
(For those who don't know, Akagi is a popular comic series in Japan made by Fukumoto Nobuyuki. It was popular in Japan and America with the sales of 10 Million Copies.)
"Well, my children, if you won against me at this Mahjong, I'm going to raise your allowance for 3 years. That means... if your allowance is 15,000 yen every month, I'll make it 50,000 yen per month and that will continue for 3 years!"
"We're on!"
My little brother and I accepted my father's challenge. If we actually won, our budget would increase! Kukuku, you're underestimating us, father!
Maybe I'm useless when I'm alone but with my great luck at Mahjong and my little brother's brilliance, we can win! No, we're going to win!
But only 30 minutes had passed, and...
"Ron!"
We lost the 50,000 yen allowance chance! Damn it!
"Hmmph, you still have too many to learn. I'm going to take my leave now. Bye."
I regretted it the whole day, even when I'm going to sleep.
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Meanwhile, the father's thoughts are...
"I see, my son and daughter like Mahjong too, huh? I guess hobbies can be inherited."
After that day, the independence policy occurred once more and they didn't talk to each other again.
END OF (SPECIAL) CHAPTER 25
Author's Note: I like Mahjong too, you know! But you don't really need to know Mahjong to understand today's chapter. Besides, I left some notes there! Don't forget to give a stone and comment if you like the story!