Mash-Up: Anything for Money

Kousuke and Keika hurriedly tried to smooth things over, hoping to move past the situation.

However, Hakuto paid no attention to the three of them. Initially, he had considered Yaichi as Ginko's junior disciple. 

Though they weren't close, he was still somewhat of an acquaintance.

Hakuto had originally intended to treat the match as a casual game—after all, it wasn't an official tournament, nor was there any prize money involved.

But then, Yaichi had to say:

"Senpai shouldn't waste time on meaningless things."

That was it.

Completely and utterly infuriating!

If Hakuto were to still be polite after that, he'd be a fool.

Sure, Hakuto had a high tolerance—but that only applied to his clients. If it were anyone else, they'd be lucky if he didn't slap them twice.

Right now, he had absolutely no goodwill toward the person in front of him—the one trying to steal his clients.

With an intense gaze fixed on Yaichi, Hakuto pressed on.

"So, what will it be? If you accept, we'll start right now."

Yaichi remained silent for a long time, his mind completely frozen.

He hadn't expected Hakuto's conditions to be this extreme. No matter which condition he looked at, both would be utterly devastating for him.

"Quit the Reward Association… Never touch shogi again…"

"Never touch shogi again…"

"Quit the Reward Association…"

Yaichi kept mumbling to himself, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Seeing this, Hakuto smiled slightly and continued to pile on the pressure.

"If you agree, take a step forward. If you refuse, step back."

"I'll give you three seconds to decide."

"Three…"

"Two…"

Under Hakuto's relentless pressure, Yaichi's body moved on its own—his foot lifted, prepared to take a step forward.

Just as Hakuto was about to count down to one and Yaichi's foot was about to touch the ground, Kousuke suddenly grabbed his disciple and pulled him backward.

"I see. That's a refusal."

Hearing this, Yaichi said nothing. 

Maybe deep down, he lacked the courage to accept such a bet—but at the same time, he couldn't back down in front of everyone either.

Now that Kousuke had pulled him back, it gave Yaichi a reasonable excuse to withdraw.

Even though Hakuto had clearly seen Yaichi about to step forward, he decided to give Kousuke some face and pretended not to notice.

"Apologies, Kiyotaki-sensei, for causing so much trouble today."

"I'll take my leave for now. Next time, let's not bully an amateur player like me again."

Hakuto's words carried a clear message—playing shogi was fine, but if you were playing with ulterior motives, that wouldn't do.

Normally, Hakuto wouldn't have bothered being this polite. But considering Ginko's presence…

If he completely burned bridges here, it would put Ginko in a difficult position.

Sigh. No choice—he had to think about his clients.

With that, Hakuto waved his hand and left. But as he walked away, he exchanged a quick glance with Ginko.

Ginko didn't say anything. She merely nodded indifferently.

Once Hakuto was completely gone, the atmosphere in the room became unbearably heavy.

Kousuke didn't dare to speak, knowing full well that his disciple was already mentally shattered.

If he said anything wrong now, Yaichi might just jump off the building.

"If you can't even accept a single defeat, then you might as well withdraw from next week's Ryuuou title match."

But Ginko didn't care about any of that. Her relationship with Yaichi wasn't particularly good. The only reason she was still here was to witness the match firsthand.

Yaichi was utterly devastated. He knelt on the floor, staring blankly as he muttered, "Senpai… do you also think I can't beat that Hakuto guy?"

Ginko didn't answer. Instead, she turned her gaze away and slowly opened her folding fan, revealing the words written on it—"Confidence."

At this moment, Kousuke finally spoke up in an attempt to console Yaichi.

"Yaichi, like you said, if you had used Static Rook, you might not have lost."

"Rather than kneeling here, why don't you review the game and figure out why you lost?"

"Next time, I'll defeat Shiratori Hakuto fair and square with Static Rook."

Yaichi was still hesitant, anxiously asking,

"But if I lose, I'll never be able to play shogi again..."

The moment those words left his mouth, Ginko could no longer hold back. With a swift motion, she smacked Yaichi hard on the head with her folding fan.

Stars filled Yaichi's vision from the impact, and before he could recover, Ginko's voice followed, calm but sharp.

"You're already assuming you'll lose before even sitting at the board?"

"Kuzuryuu Yaichi ... You might as well quit the Reward Association right now and go back to being a normal high school student."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ginko took slow steps toward the entrance, picked up her parasol, and prepared to leave.

Keika, realizing what was happening, hurried to stop her. She hadn't been familiar with Hakuto, so she hadn't minded when he left earlier.

But Ginko was different.

"Wait, Ginko! At least stay for lunch before you go!"

"Sorry, Keika-san. I can't leave Hakuto alone outside."

With that, Ginko opened her parasol and stepped out into the street without looking back.

Keika stood there in a daze, turning toward Kousuke, only to see him shaking his head, silently signaling to let Ginko go.

"Yaichi, your senpai isn't wrong, you know."

"Maybe her words were harsh, but she was thinking about you."

If Ginko had heard that, she definitely would've coldly retorted.

Because the truth was—she really did want Yaichi to quit the Reward Association.

At this moment, Kousuke deeply regretted allowing Hakuto and Yaichi to face off.

But there was no undoing it now.

The only thing he could do was try his best to comfort his disciple, especially since an incredibly important match was coming up next week.

Yaichi, listening to his master's words, shifted his gaze toward the shogi board where the game had just concluded.

"Sensei... I will win the Ryuuou title..."

"Good! I'll help you!"

Kousuke was relieved to see that Yaichi had regained his fighting spirit—stronger than before.

Meanwhile, outside, Ginko stood on the street, holding her parasol as she scanned her surroundings, searching for Hakuto.

That glance Hakuto had given her before leaving—maybe others wouldn't have thought much of it.

But after ten years of knowing him, Ginko understood his little gestures perfectly.

"I'll be waiting outside."

That was what his eyes had said to her.

Yet now, as she looked around, there was no sign of him.

"Did I... misunderstand?"

For the first time, doubt crept into Ginko's mind. Maybe she had misread his expression.

Maybe what he had meant was "I'm heading home first" or something along those lines…

Just as she began to second-guess herself, a voice from behind put her at ease.

"Ginko, I'm boiling out here."

Hearing Hakuto's voice, Ginko didn't say a word. Instead, she stepped forward and—

—kicked him in the shin.

Σ( °Д °;)!

Hakuto jumped in surprise, momentarily thinking a snake had wrapped around his leg.

As for the pain? Well, he figured, how much force could a small girl like Ginko possibly have?

But even if she didn't have strength, couldn't Hakuto at least pretend?

"Oww, oww! Why'd you kick me all of a sudden?"

"Why did you make such a reckless bet?"

Earlier, Ginko had been sitting behind Yaichi. She had seen Yaichi lean in and whisper something to Hakuto—something that instantly wiped the smile off his face.

It had been too quiet for her to hear, but she could tell it wasn't anything good.

From that moment on, Hakuto's attitude had completely changed.

Even more concerning, by the end of the match, he had placed such a dangerous bet on the line.

"Did you really need to kick me just for that question?"

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