[Flower card love] turned into a thousand winds

West Japan, Kyoto Shenbei Karupai Hall.

Different from Naekawa University in East Japan, Shenbei Kaikan is a newly completed Kapai clubhouse this year. It has the most first-class facilities in the city and is an ideal venue for the Karuta Competition.In the first round of this year's high school player rights team competition, Ruize's opponent was Shenbei Yigao, who is next to the Shenbei Guild Hall.

At the same time that East Japan started the qualifiers, the West Japan game also entered the final countdown.

Unlike the cloudless Kanto, today's Kansai area is almost shrouded in a gray fog. From the morning, the wet and cold water vapor makes people feel irritated.The unpleasant weather conditions can be seen in the expressions of the contestants, and there is no shortage of frowns in the crowd gathered at the registration desk.

Lihua followed Taiyi, frowning slightly and staring at the crowd passing by her.She was carrying a small pink bag slantingly, and the ponytail scattered on her shoulders was neatly rolled into a ball head. Under the eyebrow-length bangs, a pair of big sparkling eyes still had red and swollen watermarks.

She, who had nothing to do with this game, began to feel nervous.

Suppressing her beating heart, she raised her head and looked forward. The boy with several tapes slantingly stuck to the corners of his eyes and lips was talking with the teacher of the event organizer in the entrance area.

There was a peaceful smile on his face, and Lihua didn't know why this man could smile so easily no matter what time it was.

"senior."

Behind Taiyi, someone called.

"Is it really Ruize's Mashima-senpai? Hello, I am Minazukito from Shenbei."

Looking at the boy with a bright smile in front of him, Taichi remembered the scene of his first confrontation with Shenbei Yigao in the national competition.

The dark horse god Beiyi Gao who has an unexpected similarity with Ruize, the vice-minister is the school grass-level Minazukito, and the director is Mochizuki Yuka who is known as the "impulsive beauty". The two are not only close sweethearts , is a public pair in the school, and the Shenbei Ichikotabe formed by them defeated the defending champion Wakaakigawa Gakuen in Kyoto this year and entered the national competition.

"Long time no see." Taiyi stretched out his hand and shook hands with Minazuki.

"Is Mashima-senpai the only one? Isn't Ayase-senpai from Mizuzawa here?"

Taiyi lowered his head, not knowing how to respond.Fortunately, Minazuki didn't seem to intend to go deeper into this issue, on the contrary, he quietly watched Taiyi's eyes, the close distance made Taiyi start to feel nervous.

"Senior, thank you for your guidance during the team competition."

"Huh?" Tai Yi was a little confused.

"What you said to us at that time, we will remember in our hearts." Minazuki's eyes were bright, and it seemed to come from the heart, "We can become stronger, and we believe that we can become stronger, so after that , Practicing desperately. This year, it is the first time for me to challenge the qualifiers in West Japan.”

It was only then that Taichi noticed the other party's competition attire.If I remember correctly, as the vice minister, Minazuki Toru was only a B-level player in the high school contest in July, and now being able to participate is enough to prove that he has made himself a leader in just a few months. ability has been improved again.

"Yuka will also participate in this queen's qualifier, but this time, I can stand by her side, face the same scenery as her, and advance and retreat together. Mashima-senpai, thank you very much."

Facing Minazuki's lowered head, Taichi was in a trance for a moment.

Even if they are similar, their destinies are completely different.

The person in front of him is a person who is constantly working hard to stand at the same height as his beloved woman. He is persistent, has no distracting thoughts, and only works hard for one goal.This is probably the gap between himself and him, Taiyi couldn't help thinking.

Because he was in a state of confusion, he stagnated, and because he was afraid of failure, he cursed his own fate. Although everyone around him told him that it was his bad luck, only he himself knew it. However, he, from the very beginning, He just lost to himself.

He kept telling himself that he had to work harder, but he still couldn't see the result of his hard work, so he was confused and hesitant again. It wasn't until he saw Chihaya chasing the goal ahead that he realized that all along, They are all bound by themselves.

He was different from the man in front of him, completely different.

He chose to give up Gepai and Chihaya, so he has no right to complain.

"I really hope to be able to fight against the senior again, Mashima-senpai is my goal."

His goal might disappoint others a bit...

"Senior, are you alright?"

Seeing Taiyi lost his mind for a moment, Minazuki looked at him worriedly.

"Brother..." Lihua tugged at Taiyi's sleeve.

"No, I just..."

"In any case, you, senior, taught me how to persevere in order to realize my ideals. It's great that I didn't give up at that time."

Taiyi's eyes lit up suddenly, he couldn't say a word, the boy in front of him who was a few centimeters shorter than himself, the smile on his face seemed to be mocking him.The person who is called the goal gave up before the person who took it as the goal. Is his life really nothing more than this?

Taiyi suddenly felt that he was ridiculous, but this was the first time he faced such ridicule squarely.

"Rika, Minazuki, sorry, I still have something to do."

The two people who were stunned on the spot, caught off guard, were just left behind by Tai Yi, and stared blankly at him running towards the registration office.

"Please, please let me participate in the competition."

When Xin noticed the commotion in the entrance area, he realized that the person surrounded by the crowd turned out to be Taiyi.The coral-haired boy was bowing ninety degrees to the tournament committee members, and said the words that made the others clamor.

"What's the matter, that man?"

"He said he was going to participate in the qualifiers, didn't the previous registration catch up with the time?"

"No way, what should I say, such a temporary participation is too unbelievable."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible..."

Pushing aside the crowd spreading gossip, Xin saw Tai Yi clearly in the encirclement.

He hadn't seen Tai Yi like this for a long time. He lowered his body, clenched his fists tightly, let go of his noble self-esteem, and tried hard to restrain his trembling panting.He has known him for seven years, but at this moment, time seems to go back to seven years ago, the little boy who stole his glasses knelt in front of him, begging him not to tell Chihaya about this, begging With his forgiveness.

In the past seven years, he has become mature and responsible. Although he occasionally duplicity, in the new eyes, Tai Yi's gentleness remains the same as before.He's a good guy, a nice guy who doesn't feel confident.He was his friend, the nearest and the farthest.

However, such a friend suddenly faced up to his own destiny, the destiny he had given up on.At that moment, Xin may understand what Tai Yi's eyes are looking at.

"Teacher, I beg you too, please let him compete."

Unexpectedly, the black-haired boy who squeezed into the encirclement also stood beside Taiyi, and bowed his head together with him.

It's not that Tai Yi wasn't surprised, it's just that at that moment, what was conveyed in the hearts of the two teenagers was more understanding.

"But even if Watatani-kun asks you, the qualifications of the competition cannot be changed casually. Once a system is established, it cannot be artificially changed, otherwise it cannot be called a system."

"But jurisprudence is nothing more than human feelings."

A slender female voice rang out from the crowd.People looked back one after another, and a little girl with ball hair was speaking seriously with her arms folded.

"Pear Hua..."

"What she said makes sense. Teacher, don't you often promote it to entry-level people? Geliudao is not as simple as playing cards. Shouldn't it be something more humane?"

Another voice sounded from behind, and Shi Chang's figure appeared in front of everyone in the gap between the crowd and the crowd.

"Even the queen is here!" There was a commotion in the crowd.

"But Ruomiya-kun, even if it's you, this matter is very difficult..."

The committee members of the competition began to sweat on their foreheads, and the public opinion gradually turned to Taiyi's side under the persistence of several people.

"We all gathered here because we like Kapai. It would be too pitiful to turn away such a sincere begging person."

"Actually, it doesn't matter if you participate. Anyway, there is only one representative in the end. Here, we rely on strength to speak."

"Yeah, I also want to compete against Mashima-senpai again."

The members of Shenbei Yigao, led by Minazuki, lined up neatly and bowed their heads to the members of the organizing committee.

"This, this..." The organizing committee seemed to be unable to hold on anymore.

"Teacher, teacher, it's not good. The contestants who just came from Nara to participate in the competition seem to have been sent to the hospital with acute appendicitis. I'm afraid we need to make some adjustments in the preliminaries."

"How could it be such a coincidence..." The old man of the organizing committee frowned, with an expression of disbelief, looking at the crowd with their heads bowed neatly in front of him, and finally sighed silently after struggling for a long time tone.

"Okay, A-level player Taiichi Mashima is allowed to participate as a temporary substitute."

"Great!"

"It's just that I have to report this matter to the chairman of the organizing committee of this competition. As for whether I can get a license in the end, it's not up to me." He removed his serious expression and patted Taichi's shoulder, "It's sudden, but come on, kid."

There is nothing else but moving in my heart.

Everyone is supporting him, everyone.

"From now on, we are rivals again." Shin showed a relieved smile beside Taiyi, "Come on, Taiyi."

"Each each other."

The broadcast of the official start of the game echoed in the corridor, and finally a long-lost ray of sunshine appeared in the sky.

When Nishida received the news that Taichi had participated in the celebrity qualifiers in West Japan, it was already approaching the lunch break.

He kicked a bag full of "lunch" with his left hand, stretched his round body, and lay on the bench under the shade of the tree.The phone in his pocket buzzed as he stuffed one by one the freshly baked meat buns from the paper bag into his mouth to make up for the lack of oxygen to his brain caused by the morning race.

is a new email.The sender is Shin Watani.

Every blood vessel in Xi Tian's body seemed to be stimulated by an electric current suddenly, and he sat up straight suddenly.

"Why would Watatani send me a message?" With this thought in mind, Nishida couldn't wait to swipe the unlock button, and poked his chubby finger at the letter-like icon with a faintly flashing reminder light.

"Nishida-kun, long time no contact."

Nishida frowned, as if he was not interested in such polite greetings.He scanned the contents of the email line by line, until he read the last word, he gasped violently, the meat bun that was still slightly hot in his hand rolled out of his stiff fingers, and fell decadently On the ground, stained with a layer of soil.

At that moment, Nishida's mind was blank for a few seconds. When he slowly restored his five senses to a normal state, he saw Xiaozao and Komano standing in front of him, and they were looking at him with curious eyes. Own.

"Mr. Meat Bun, are you alright?"

Hearing Xiaozao's call, Nishida came back to his senses and handed them the information in his hand.

"That Mashima guy went to participate in the celebrity qualifiers in West Japan, and even entered the round of [-] in the afternoon!"

He stood up abruptly, and Xi Tian, ​​who was twice as tall as Xiaozao, stood in front of him, casting a shadow over her face.He lowered his head, looked at Xiaozao who was also surprised, and then turned his gaze to Komano next to him.

"How about it, do you want to tell Ayase?"

Tsutomu Komano seems to be the only one who can keep calm so far. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and glanced at Xiaozao and Nishida beside him.

"What on earth is Mashima thinking? Moving to Kyoto is all about treating his father's illness. Why do you participate in competitions at this time? Obviously, you can't even take care of your own studies." No direct answer to Komano's question Nishida turned to complain angrily, "With Shin Watani in West Japan, even if you participate in the competition, the chances of winning are very slim. Since you have reached that level, you still want to do this kind of time-wasting thing desperately. At that time, why did you have to quit school again, and why did you leave without saying a word!"

Xiaozao lowered her eyes, it's not like she couldn't understand Nishida's anger.After all, Taichi, Nishida and Komano only got the news that he had left Tokyo after Taichi's application for suspension of school came into effect.

That day, many of Ruize's songs were unusually quiet, everyone had drooping faces, and Hanano even had an expression on the verge of crying.

In this small room filled with three years of precious memories, there is no longer a breath of a person named Taiichi Mashima.

Everyone was very frustrated, Nishida even kicked over the chair he was sitting on, angrily almost tore the farewell letter that Taichi left in the Karutabu inbox to pieces.

In fact, reason tells them that this way of parting may be the best.All the stigmas of "coward", "traitor", "breacher", "runner" are all borne by one person alone. Once people can convert their hard-to-release emotions into anger, it becomes no longer a matter of accepting reality. so difficult.

The letter was full of apologies, and Taichi explained all the work of Utaritabe in a trivial way with three pages of letter paper.Including club diaries, accounts, equipment storage, and of course, the key to the activity room.

Holding the letter that was about to be crumpled into a ball in his hand, Nishida finally couldn't help roaring loudly: "Are these things only in that guy's head!"

What he meant was that it would be good to say some more private words to them as a message.

It's a pity that what Tai Yi left behind is only the meaningful but chewy words "Treasure".

Xiaozao pulled her thoughts out of the memory, she retracted her gaze, took a deep breath, and shook her head at Komaye and Roubao.

"Qianhao is in very good condition today, let's tell her about this after the game is over."

"But..." Nishida seemed a little unhappy.

"The minister in Qianhao's heart is not the same as before." After seriously saying this thought-provoking sentence, Xiaozao pursed her lips and added, "Now Qianhao must grow up alone."

Koma Ye and Nishida were slightly stunned, and the three of them stood quietly in the wind for a long time before reaching an agreement silently.

Among the Utabe that Taichi disappeared for the first time that day, Chihaya was the only one who could maintain a normal mind and continue to practice.

She pushed open the door silently, pulled out the tatami mat silently, pressed the start button of the tape recorder silently, and practiced empty swing silently.All the actions seemed to be carried out continuously in a silent environment. The girl who originally thought that after learning that Taiyi had left, would react the most and even cry until her eyes swelled, finally spent the most difficult time alone.

During that time, Xiaozao deeply realized that Chihaya was changing herself, and she was working hard together with Taiyi.

So what they can do is to silently guard Chihaya's attachment, just like Taiyi before.

"Because Meatbag-san and Table-san are both going to participate in the first round of qualifiers, so there is no way to know, but I do know." Xiaozao told Nishida and Komano about the Queen's qualifiers in the morning, "The first It was probably Chihaya's mistake to face Yamamoto-senpai. Yamamoto-senpai is the strongest trump card of the Cuibei Club. I have played against her a few times in practice, and I know that she is really a difficult and powerful player. But Chihaya She was so good, constantly attacking and defending, alternating dizzyingly."

Nishida and Komano watched Kona quietly.

"Cuibei will be a defensive card, but even Senior Yamamoto, who is good at defense, is forced to attack. The card he read is right at hand, but the quick siege can't stop Chihaya, her accurate The speed is horrible and reminds me of a queen."

"Indeed, I really can't believe that Yumi lost by 10 coins." Nishida nodded and said.

Komano lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked at Xiaozao and said, "Because I also lost in the second round, so I switched to the Queen's side to watch. Today's Ayase is indeed very different, no, maybe according to From my observation, after Mashima left, her card path seems to have changed a lot compared to before."

"I also asked Tamano-san and Yura-san before. When Chihaya was practicing at the Baibo Club, I heard that they would fight three games in a row."

"Three games?" Nishida yelled in surprise, "Is this guy's goal the Queen's match? No, at least it's the final match between East and West Japan."

Xiao Zuo nodded solemnly: "Qianhaya is facing the next game with a determination that we can't imagine."

"So..." Komaye looked around at Xiaozao and Nishida, "I understand, we'd better not disturb her."

buzzing-

At this moment, Nishida's cell phone rang again.

He glanced at the side, and then handed the mobile phone to Xiaozao and Komano: "The list of the sixteenth matchup in West Japan in the afternoon is out."

As if it had been predicted, Xiaozao and Komano looked at Nishida quietly.

"It's Mashima and Wataya."