Hanabi

Chapter 5: Checkmate

INFO:

Shougi – Japanese version of chess, played with wooden pieces marked with their respective names in kanji. Each player’s pieces are identified by the direction they’re facing on the board, and one of the most notable differences from western chess is the possibility of capturing the opponent’s pieces to use them in your own army later.

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Mami looked at the canvas in front of her, trying to realize what was missing. She had been painting that one piece for a while, and it was almost finished. Almost. It was supposed to be a woman in heaven, but that didn't look like heaven exactly. It looked like the portrait of decay, it looked like hell instead. Something was missing, something that could make it look the way she originally wanted it to.

She didn't want to start over, and if she did, she was afraid the result was going to be the same. Mami had to understand what she did wrong in there first.

Maybe it was time to stop and take a break. She was sitting there in that stool ever since she woke up, and that meant hours. Mami jumped down from it and made her way to the small sink at the corner of the studio, meaning to wash her brushes and also her hands.

After doing that, she just set the brushes aside to dry and rubbed her hands on a towel, then opening the sliding door and leaving the studio, looking up at the morning sky. It was still dark when she woke up and made her way there, unable to sleep anymore, and now there was all that sunlight. Her small painting studio was located at the back of the house, separated from it. There was a stone floor around it, which followed in a path back to the house.

She put on her zori that was waiting for her outside and checked to see if there were any paint stains on her black happi or her grey pants, but found none. Good.

Mami walked back to the house and saw her cat stretching himself by the door, obviously just waking up. She smiled and crouched by his side when getting there, petting him for a few moments.

- You teamed up with Tomomi yesterday, you traitor. - she said playfully, scratching his chin - I'm trying to make her go away, and that's how you help me.

The cat purred and started to rub himself on her legs.

- Yeah, you do that now. Why did you like her so much? Did you notice she's a little weird?

The cat then let out a long "meow" that could only indicate he was hungry, so Mami sighed, took off her zori again and entered the house, being followed closely by the pet. She walked to the kitchen and found the cat food on the cabinets, filling the empty little bowl on the floor. The cat then ran there and started to eat as if there was no tomorrow.

- You have a fat soul, little guy. I was exactly like that before.

She was about to go to the living room watch some TV when she heard something. It wasn't just the noise of a car engine, there were voices as well.

Mami was already getting Haruna's and Tomomi's thoughts inside of her head. They were pulling over at the front gate.

Sighing, she moved to the living room and opened the door there, putting on another pair of zori as she walked out to the front yard. It was problematic, but she promised Tomomi she would let her in again. A promise was a promise, Mami never backed down on her words.

She still didn't understand quite right how that even happened. One moment she was living her life just like always, and then suddenly there was that loud girl making all those questions and making Mami promise her things. To her, Tomomi felt like this sudden random happening that was completely out of place.