34 [Hax]

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Yoshimura explained the rules of shogi as they played a practice match. Describing the game as "complicated" barely scratched the surface of what made shogi an exceptional battlefield for the mind.

'What the heck... It's chess with extra steps,' thought Eira, but it couldn't be farther from the truth.

In shogi, captured pieces can be redeployed as part of your army, "Generals" were a thing, a Queen piece didn't exist, different piece movements, a new promotion system, and so on.

"What, you can do that?!" exclaimed Eira after being caught off guard by one of Yoshimura's moves.

"It's within the rules." Yoshimura chuckled.

"Tsk." Despite the surprise attack on her King, it wasn't a checkmate, nor did it lead to one. Eira kept the tactic in mind as she developed counterattacks against it. "Thanks for showing me a neat trick."

The game of shogi continued. Eira's performance surprised Yoshimura. After all, this practice game was supposed to be her first. The structure of her pieces made it difficult to infiltrate and capture her King.

"Checkmate."

However, "Shogi Addict" Yoshimura wasn't called an addict for nothing. Half an hour later, Yoshimura cornered Eira's King.

"I think I get it now," Eira revealed a smile, undeterred by her loss. Shogi was far more interesting than she first thought. She had discovered a fun new game to play. "Hmm?"

Curiously, the erratic beating of her heart started to subside. It was calming down. The thumping gradually lost its potency. Soon enough, it was gone before she knew it.

"Huh. Huh... huh. Well, isn't this a first?"

"Did you say something?"

"Nope. Nevermind." Eira shook her head. "I'm ready for the next match. Jankenpon to decide who makes the first move?" (Japanese rock paper scissors)

"You can start this time," said Yoshimura.

"Okay. Thanks in advance."

Thanks in advance?

Eira's words confused Yoshimura. Since when did making the first move give players an advantage in shogi?

Eira didn't notice and pushed a pawn forward. Yoshimura responded with a pawn push as well. Multiple pieces were activated in rapid succession, brought to life by the two shogi players.

This time, Yoshimura stopped holding himself back. Every single move he made carried a deeper underlying reason behind it. He now knew what Eira was capable of. If he wasn't careful, he might very well lose. Eira wasn't oblivious to this, so she used everything she learned from their practice match, driven by a need to get ahold of what she thought may have been Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue in the pile of games Yoshimura brought out.

Those two were the first Pokemon games ever! Eira played those games when she was still a dude otaku! They hold immense sentimental value to her!

The pressure was on. Both players racked their brains and pushed them to their limits.

Well into the middlegame, an image suddenly appeared in Eira's calculating mind, halting her rapidly churning thoughts.

A shogi board with pieces arranged similar to the ongoing game. It was just that, without the distractions of the real world.

Then, the pieces moved on their own. Shogi pieces were captured and redeployed, hovered across the board, protected, and hanged, until they stopped altogether.

Eira wondered why it would suddenly end, but a glance made her understand.

It was checkmate.

'...'

A strange feeling of deja vu struck her. Hasn't she experienced something similar before?

The shogi board in her mind remained. In the real world, it was still Eira's turn. She had yet to move a piece. Yoshimura sat on a chair opposite her, waiting patiently, occasionally drinking his coffee while running multiple calculations on his head.

'...would this count as cheating?' Eira remembered the moves that would result in her victory. 'Isn't this my Hax Skill, basically my Game Mastery Skill but on crack? I thought it was gone.'

As far as Eira knew, Protogenoi-K was the only skill left behind when she became Pico. But then again, Eira does still possess the System. She could feel its presence, just that it was in an unresponsive state.

'Is that how I beat Akira's Tetris high score so easily? Table tennis too... although I haven't beaten Akira on that yet.'

If before she was wracking her brain to calculate all manners of likelihoods, then the Eira now could be considered calm and composed. While the possibilities were endless in shogi, Eira couldn't see herself losing in any of them.

'...noice.'

Indeed, Eira was calm. The beating of her heart was slow and steady.

******

"First to three wins?"

Beating old man Yoshimura was ez with the power of God and anime on her side. Eira watched the shogi addict fumble for any last-ditch attempts to sway the game in his favor. However, it only quickened his demise.

"No thank you. My grandpa must be wondering why I'm not back home yet."

After beating Yoshimura, he immediately asked for a rematch. Once more, Eira clapped his cheeks and now he's asking for another whooping. When asked how she could play so well so quickly, Eira briefly mentioned her experience playing chess.

"Never heard of it."

"It's another game like shogi."

"If you say so, then I will try it out. I bet it won't be as fun of a game as shogi, but I'll see."

The mention of the word "fun" and "game" in the same sentence reminded Eira of her original purpose.

'I wanna play Pokemon instead! Pokemoooon! Pokemon is fuuuun! Pika Pika!'

A reason to continue playing no longer existed. Eira wanted to return to Doctor Tonma's place as soon as possible.

Thankfully, old man Yoshimura wasn't too desperate for another match. The previous three shogi matches (practice match included) must have tired him out.

Eira tucked the Gameboy box under her arm and held both Pokemon Red and Blue in one hand. Her victorious smile stiffened when she realized that the way back to Doctor Tonma's house/clinic would be a pain in the ass.

"Don't be in such a hurry. You can take another game," old man Yoshimura spoke up, "Remember? You win three games if you win against me. Since you have only chosen two, I recommend playing 'The Legend of Zelda' since many people have bought it from my store in the past."

'I can't carry any more things though...'

After grabbing a plastic bag from behind the counter, Yoshimura placed a cartridge inside, presumably the Zelda game, and handed it to Eira. The plastic was big enough to carry all her stuff, much to her relief. The plastic bag was a bit heavy but comparatively much easier to hold.

'System, you have to stop moping around and start working again! I want you and your inventory back!'

[...]

A particular creator ridiculed her plea.

'Sigh. Life is so hard on me.'

"Thanks, Yoshimura-ojiisan. Playing shogi with you was fun."

"Come back whenever," he waved Eira goodbye, "for more shogi. Coming back here to buy my products is also good too. How about returning later in the afternoon for another match?"

"Nah, imma do my own thing."

Eira quickly left the store and retraced her way back to the doctor's place. Eager to play her newly acquired games, her pace quickened, skipping before she knew it. Again, since she was back outside, the stares from the normies came pouring in. White hair and red eyes were too eye-catching. Eira, however, was too happy to care.

"♬ I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause... ♩"

Nostalgia hit Eira like a truck. She started singing the English version of a popular song, prompting the stares from the people around her to intensify.

If Eira was like a fairy tale creature before because of her unique appearance, now she seemed more like an alien.

"♪ Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all! ♫"

Her singing was average. Not all of her skills stayed, it seems.

"Hi, Eira!"

Someone called out to her as she skipped through town. Perhaps Eira heard wrong, so she ignored it.

"♬ You teach me and I'll teach you... ♫"

"Hey, look over there. Isn't that Eira?"

"It is her! Yo, Eira!"

Some people began waving at her. Eira recognized them as customers of the Ocean Oasis.

"Mister Beef Teriyaki Bento and Miss Sapporo Ichiban Ramen?" said Eira. She never learned the names of the customers, although she did remember which menu food they ordered in the past.

Eira waved back. Smiles bloomed on the customers' faces.

"She's adorable."

"I'll keep coming back as long as I can see her. It's like, therapeutic, y'know?"

"Yeah. How did someone like Eira come out of Sasaki Hiroshi's family? I'd believe it more if Sasaki coincidentally found her in a bamboo stalk and took her in as her granddaughter."

'You know I can hear you guys. Grandpa Hiroshi isn't that ugly. He's just average.'

Eira didn't reprimand them. After all, she was just a child in their eyes. They would simply laugh her words off. That doesn't mean she won't spike their food with an extra dose of chili powder as a small payback for insulting her entire lineage...

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"I'm back, everyone!"

"Welcome back, Eira-chan. What took you so long? Did you get lost on the way?"

Returning to Doctor Tonma's clinic/house was an easy task. Eira only had to backtrack, and since she was skipping most of the way back, she arrived much quicker than expected.

"I was playing shogi with old man Yoshimura. Each match took a lot of time."

"You must've been bored out of your mind. Shogi might be a good game, but Yoshimura thinks too long to decide which piece to play."

"No, I had fun. Thank you for telling me the directions, Granny Miki."

Eira barely felt the passing of time. Maybe it was because she was having too much fun to notice, or maybe it was because of something else entirely. Who knows?

"Hehe... finally... my precious..."

Eira spared no time ripping apart the packaging of her newest gadget. As fancy as it was, it was in the way of her gaming.

"Oh, you're back." Akira waltzed in just as Eira pulled out her brand new Gameboy. He noticed the conspicuous item she was tearing apart. "At least you'll stop bothering me for my stuff now—"

Akira choked on his words. Something inside Eira's plastic bag caught his eye. Curiosity got the better of him; Akira approached and took the items out of the bag.

"E-Eira, are these games Pokemon Red and Blue? Did you buy P-Pokemon games? Legend of Zelda too???" Akira exclaimed.

Eira didn't look up, too focused on getting her brand new Gameboy out. "Yeah, something like that."

An audible gulp resounded.

"Ssssp... ssssp... can I... can I play them?" Akira asked, his voice trembling with anticipation. Unconsciously, drool fell from his mouth.

"...huh."

Eira didn't expect such a strong reaction.

'You can make a face like that, huh. Interesting, very interesting...'

An evil smile stretched across her face.

"I don't know..." Eira's evil grin widened as she saw the desperation in Akira's eyes. She pretended to contemplate his request for a few moments, enjoying the growing suspense. "...yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Yes!" Akira rushed to hug the generous girl before him.

"But," added Eira, "only if you eat the tuna onigiri I cooked today."

As if colliding headfirst against an invisible wall, Akira stopped in his tracks.

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Akira began to despair. It showed on his girly face, much to Eira's delight.

"...if I must, then so be it!" Akira learned a valuable lesson: Everything has a price. Nothing is ever free of a fee. "Let's get this over with! Where's your lump of poison?! "

"I admire your courage. It's over there by the way." Eira pointed at an unopened tupperware in a corner. The perfect opportunity to test her altered recipe presented itself.

As for why Hiroshi didn't straight-up tell Eira the correct ingredient ratios, it was because he set this task as her homework. It was a bit cruel, considering Eira couldn't taste or smell anything, but overcoming such a task gave Eira hope for the future.

If she can do this despite her shortcomings, she can do anything.

*Pop!*

Akira took the lid off. The smell of fresh tuna and mayo filled his nose, successfully rousing his stomach awake. Akira, however, didn't let his guard down. The scent can be deceiving. Only when he tastes the onigiri can he be absolutely sure of the onigiri's edibility.

He grabbed hold of a rice ball and brought it to his mouth. Eira calmly watched Akira from the side with a neutral expression. Although, from the way her feet shuffled back and forth, she was probably just as nervous as Akira was.

"I-Itadakimasu."

Hesitation would waste both their time. Akira warily bit into his onigiri. Chewing sounds reached Eira's ears, even if it sounded forced.

'That's a good sign, right? He hasn't thrown up or said anything bad about it.'

Akira continued to chew, his eyes darting back and forth between Eira and the tupperware full of tuna onigiris. Each second felt like an eternity as he carefully assessed the flavor and texture of the food.

Eira's heart pounded as she watched Akira's every move. She had spent hours experimenting with different ingredient ratios and seasonings to create the perfect onigiri, hoping people would like it.

Since she couldn't taste them and Hiroshi was unwilling to help her, Eira had to make some sacrifices.

'It's all for the greater good. Those customers will surely understand.'

Yeah. The Ocean Oasis customers became her guinea pigs. But it's not like she forced them to eat her food. All Eira had to do was ask if anyone wanted to be her food tasters, and many took her up on the offer.

"So? How is it? It's not bad right? Don't say it's bad. Better yet, just finish the entire thing."

"Calm down. I can't say yet," said Akira. He took another bite. It seems his first bite was too small to get any of the tuna filling in the middle of the onigiri.

Munch, munch. Chomp, chomp. Gobble, gobble. Gulp.

Akira drew a deep breath before turning to Eira. There wasn't a trace of disgust on his face.

"It's delicious," Akira said. He even seemed surprised by the words that left his mouth. "You're good at this too, huh."

And with those words, Akira took another onigiri before skedaddling with one of the Pokemon games on his person. He was on his way to lock himself in his room, his utmost focus placed upon beating his new game.

"..."

Eira was left alone. She couldn't quite believe what she just heard.

'My tasteless food... is delicious? I expected "edible" or "not bad" but he said it was delicious?'

What would be an appropriate reaction after such a compliment?

"LET'S GOOOOO!!!" Eira pumped her fists and yelled. That's a good reaction.

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A/N: I might go in a bit of a hiatus. Something came up, and I don't think I can focus on writing this fic for the next month or two. Sorry peeps. I'm afraid real life caught up with this fictional reality. I'll be back though. I can promise that much.