Comprehensive Anime: Making Money Starting from Saki

"Since you're here, let's begin." Fujita Yasuko swallowed all her thoughts and reached out to shuffle the tiles, the mahjong tiles clattering with a crisp sound. "But I'll say this upfront: I won't be going easy on you."

As the match began, Kageyama Sora quickly realized the severity of the situation.

Fujita Yasuko's playing style was incredibly devious; her seemingly casual tile drops actually concealed hidden traps.

Although Haramura Nodoka and Miyanaga Saki were fully focused, they were still at a disadvantage, and the chips in front of them were dwindling.

And while Kageyama Sora wasn't particularly skilled at mahjong, he was excellent at memorizing tiles.

Therefore, throughout the process, he tried his best to remain transparent, neither dealing into a hand nor winning one, acting more like a background character.

However... Kageyama Sora drew a tile and caught a glimpse of Haramura Nodoka and Miyanaga Saki's furrowed brows out of the corner of his eye.

Haramura Nodoka was biting her lower lip, her hand gripping her tiles until her knuckles turned white. The mahjong genius who commanded the table in his memories now looked like a trapped kitten.

But Kageyama Sora knew even better that he couldn't help. The very reason Hisa Takei had sought out Fujita Yasuko was to motivate Haramura Nodoka and Miyanaga Saki; if he ruined it now, he would be betraying Hisa Takei's good intentions.

The match gradually reached a stalemate, and the air was thick with tension.

No matter how hard Haramura Nodoka and Miyanaga Saki tried, they couldn't turn the tide. Kageyama Sora even saw an expression on Miyanaga Saki's face that suggested she was about to cry... Fujita Yasuko had interrupted Miyanaga Saki's signature rinshan kaihou, leaving her to watch helplessly as that winning tile was drawn away.

Until the very end, no miracle occurred.

Miyanaga Saki looked dejected, and Haramura Nodoka was also very downcast.

At this moment, Kageyama Sora said appropriately, "Fujita Yasuko-senpai is a professional player, after all..."

"A professional player!?" Haramura Nodoka and Miyanaga Saki exclaimed in unison, shocked.

Mako Someya then stepped in to explain Fujita Yasuko's background, her abilities, and her track record.

In contrast to Haramura Nodoka's increasingly grave expression, Miyanaga Saki let out a sigh of relief. "A professional player... well, that's a relief. Losing to a professional player... that's understandable."

Haramura Nodoka grew angry upon hearing this. "How can you be so complacent just because the opponent is a professional!"

Before Miyanaga Saki could speak, Fujita Yasuko chimed in at the perfect moment. "Even if you're high school students, it's not entirely impossible to fight against a professional player."

Seeing everyone turn their attention to her, Fujita Yasuko looked at Kageyama Sora with a meaningful expression. "The captain of the mahjong club at this young man's school, Amae Koromo, once defeated me in a match... And Amae Koromo was last year's MVP in Nagano Prefecture, as well as a member of the team that took first place in the Nagano Prefecture team tournament."

Chapter 31: The Crushed Girls

Inside Mako Someya's maid cafe, the warm yellow light was suffused with a sweet, cloying atmosphere. The wooden tables and chairs glowed with a gentle luster in the soft light, the walls were decorated with cute dolls and posters, and the air was filled with the scent of coffee and desserts.

Miyanaga Saki, dressed in an exquisite maid outfit, had her signature short brown hair slightly disheveled, and the disappointment of defeat still lingered on her face.

When she heard Fujita Yasuko introduce herself and reveal her identity as a professional player, she grasped at it like a straw, her tone filled with self-consolation as if she were relieved. "It's only natural that a high schooler like me would lose to a professional..."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Haramura Nodoka, sitting across from her, slammed her hand on the table. Her pink hair flew like a waterfall, her blue eyes burned with raging fire, and her skirt fluttered wildly from the movement. Her flushed cheeks highlighted her current anger. "It is not natural at all!"

That crisp sound of the table being struck was exceptionally loud in the quiet cafe, attracting the gazes of the surrounding customers.

Miyanaga Saki was stunned by Haramura Nodoka's sudden intensity, her eyes full of bewilderment. She hadn't expected the usually calm Haramura Nodoka to have such a fierce reaction.

Fujita Yasuko, meanwhile, sipped her coffee unhurriedly, a faint smile on her lips as she spoke slowly. "That's right, that's right. Last year, in a pro-amateur invitational, I only took second place in the eighteen rounds of the hanchan... But the one who took first place was a 15-year-old high school student at the time. That would be Amae Koromo from Ryumonbuchi High School, the school this student, Kageyama, belongs to..."

Her voice was steady and unhurried, yet every word struck like a heavy hammer, beating against everyone's hearts.

Kageyama Sora, being singled out, smiled awkwardly. He rubbed the hem of his shirt unconsciously, feeling deeply conflicted. He didn't know whether he should reveal that Amae Koromo was his cousin, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

Fortunately, Fujita Yasuko didn't dwell on this point. She elegantly set down her coffee cup, a flash of sharpness in her eyes as she continued to intimidate the girls before her. "Moreover, Kazekoshi Girls' High School, which had won the championship for six consecutive years, was beaten soundly by Ryumonbuchi High School in the finals last year..."

Her words seemed to carry an invisible pressure, making the air feel heavy.

"Ryumonbuchi High School," Miyanaga Saki repeated, murmuring to herself. She cast a glance at Kageyama Sora, her eyes filled with doubt and unease. "Isn't that an opponent we'll encounter in the preliminaries? It's also... Kageyama-kun's school..."

Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, and she realized in her heart the formidable challenge she was about to face.

Before Kageyama Sora could respond, Fujita Yasuko looked at them meaningfully, her tone provocative. "Oh my, are you all participating in the preliminaries too? That's truly a pity. You absolutely cannot win against Amae Koromo."

Her words were like a giant boulder, crashing heavily into the hearts of everyone present, stirring up layers of ripples.

Haramura Nodoka's body trembled slightly, her lips parted, and her voice carried an unconcealable sense of unwillingness. "...Can't win..."

She clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms, as her fighting spirit and sense of defeat clashed violently.

The topic ended there. Thinking she had fulfilled the task Hisa Takei had entrusted to her, Fujita Yasuko rose elegantly, left a meaningful smile, and took her leave.

The cafe door was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind blew in, dispersing some of the oppressive atmosphere.

Kageyama Sora waited quietly for Miyanaga Saki and Haramura Nodoka to change their clothes. The three of them walked out of the cafe together. Night had already shrouded the city; neon lights flickered on the streets, and traffic flowed, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in their hearts.

Sitting in Kageyama Sora's car, Miyanaga Saki and Haramura Nodoka, having changed back into their Kiyosumi High School uniforms, remained silent, their faces filled with confusion.

They weren't just struck by Fujita Yasuko's words; they realized that their peers, the opponents they were about to meet on the field, possessed the strength to defeat someone as powerful as Fujita Yasuko.

In their minds, Fujita Yasuko had been like an insurmountable mountain during the match, and now they learned there were even stronger opponents.

"Ryumonbuchi High School, is there really someone even stronger than that person?" Miyanaga Saki broke the silence, her voice filled with disbelief. "If that's the case, we... we won't be able to go to the nationals."

Miyanaga Saki's tone was heavy with deep worry, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

Hearing this, Haramura Nodoka turned sharply to look at Miyanaga Saki, her blue eyes full of determination. "What are you saying? Weren't you the one who said we had to go to the nationals!? What's the point of crying after losing just once? We will go. To the nationals. We still have ten days until the preliminaries; isn't it enough to just get stronger in these ten days!"

Her words carried a stubborn spirit, as if she were trying to dispel all the gloom in her heart.

Even though she was terrified herself and had been deeply shaken, she had never wavered.

Seeing this, Kageyama Sora, who was sitting in the driver's seat, couldn't help but take a look through the rearview mirror.

It really is amazing... Haramura Nodoka.

"Haramura-san..." Saki Miyanaga looked at her steadfast partner, a warm current surging in her heart: "Yes. But, what can we do to become stronger?"

Haramura Nodoka furrowed her brows, her eyes filled with contemplation: "If I knew that, I wouldn't be so troubled."

Just then, Kageyama Sora pulled the car to a stop at the perfect moment.

He looked out the window, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of mystery: "Perhaps, if you go inside, you'll find the answer?"

Haramura Nodoka and Saki Miyanaga followed his gaze, only to see that the lights in the Kiyosumi High School Mahjong Club were still on in the dead of night; the warm yellow glow shining through the windows looked particularly striking in the darkness.

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock and confusion. Haramura Nodoka looked at Kageyama Sora and asked tentatively: "You mean..."

"You didn't think a master like Fujita Yasuko would go out of her way to play mahjong with you for no reason, did you?" Kageyama Sora said meaningfully, a cunning glint flashing in his eyes.

Haramura Nodoka and Saki Miyanaga looked at each other again, a flash of realization crossing their eyes. As if suddenly enlightened, they quickly got out of the car and hurried toward the Mahjong Club.

Kageyama Sora watched their retreating figures, feeling exceptionally pleased.

He turned the steering wheel, a smile lingering on his lips, his voice filled with amusement and playfulness: "How passionate... I'm very curious to see how this turns out."

However... thinking of the stories surrounding both Fujita Yasuko and Amae Koromo, a sudden sense of 'longing' for his cousin welled up in Kageyama Sora's heart. He drove off toward Ryumonbuchi Villa, his car gradually disappearing into the night.

Chapter 32: Amae Koromo Throwing Herself Into His Arms

Kageyama Sora's car sped along the winding mountain road, moonlight casting mottled shadows on the windshield through the treetops. When the silhouette of Ryumonbuchi Villa finally appeared at the end of his vision, his grip on the steering wheel tightened involuntarily—the small building where Amae Koromo lived alone glowed with a pale, cold light under the moon, like an isolated island floating in the darkness.

He remembered Ryumonbuchi Toka saying that Amae Koromo lived in a separate villa for certain reasons, and that she became quite severe and dangerous whenever the moon was full.

Kageyama Sora looked up at the sky. The full moon, like a silver plate, hung high above. The clear light spilled onto his face, yet it carried a blood-red halo, as if foreshadowing the unusual nature of this night.

The wrought-iron gate creaked under his touch; the sound of rusting metal rubbing together was like fingernails on a chalkboard, piercingly sharp in the silence.

Kageyama Sora walked toward the villa along a path covered in dead leaves. Every step was accompanied by the rustling of leaves being crushed, as if countless eyes were watching his every move from the shadows.

The curtains were half-drawn. Through the gaps, amidst the flickering light and shadow, long golden hair shimmered like flowing moonlight, yet it possessed an eerie metallic luster, as if some mysterious power were surging in the dark.

The moment he pushed the door open, the creaking sound shattered the deathly silence. Cold air, carrying a faint, chilly fragrance, rushed toward him—a sweet, cloying scent that was uniquely Amae Koromo's.

Moonlight pierced through the door gap like a sharp sword, stabbing the scene inside into his pupils—Amae Koromo was wearing a pale pink camisole dress, a giant red rabbit-ear headband tilted crookedly on her head. Her usual innocent and cute attire now carried an indescribable sense of eeriness.

On the mahjong table in front of her, three giant dolls occupied the other sides, with only Amae Koromo sitting in the seat facing the door, as if she were engaged in a duel with ghosts.

Kageyama Sora reached out to remove the doll from the seat opposite Amae Koromo and tossed his coat casually onto the back of the chair, trying to make his movements appear natural, as if he had just stepped into an ordinary game room: "Why aren't the lights on?"

His voice echoed in the empty room, carrying a hint of brotherly intimacy.

Amae Koromo slowly looked up, her beautiful eyes glowing with a scarlet hue, like burning flames: "Cousin."

Her voice seemed to come from the depths of an ancient well, hollow with echoes, yet laden with a chilling sense of oppression: "Do you want to play a few rounds?"

As she asked, her fingertips twirled a lock of hair at the edge of the tile wall, and the gold dust from her hair tips fell onto the tiles, shimmering with an eerie light under the moonlight.

Kageyama Sora felt a tremor in his heart. Good grief, his cousin had turned straight into a final boss.

"Of course."

Mahjong tiles collided at his fingertips, the crisp sound particularly abrupt in the silence.

Amae Koromo said in a sinister tone: "Cousin... Koromo is invincible on the night of a full moon." Her words were full of provocation and confidence, as if she held the life and death of this game in her hands.

Kageyama Sora sighed helplessly; he felt he had been putting up with Amae Koromo for a long time.

He reached out and pinched Amae Koromo's cheek: "There should be a limit to this chuunibyou!"

This sudden action caught Amae Koromo off guard, and the killing intent on her body instantly dissipated, as if she had been pinched from a Great Demon King back into a little rabbit.

However, the change in appearance was merely a facade.

As soon as the game began, Amae Koromo's terrifying strength was fully revealed.

She controlled the table perfectly; every tile she discarded was like a carefully designed trap, forcing Kageyama Sora into a position where he couldn't reach tenpai or call for tiles the entire time.

The situation was like a net tightening around him, trapping him inside. The suffocating feeling was like being submerged in bottomless water, leaving one feeling desperate and helpless.

For a normal person, such mockery would be enough to cause a breakdown, but Kageyama Sora, who was obsessed with data, only felt confusion. He stared intently at the game, his brain working at high speed: "How do you manage to control the table while ensuring that even if I memorize the tiles, I can't change the outcome?"

Originally, he thought that even if he couldn't win, he could change the situation by memorizing tiles and breaking up his hand.

But in front of Amae Koromo, all his efforts seemed so pale and powerless, as if his every move was within her expectations.

The game continued, and the moonlight grew increasingly scarlet, spilling onto the mahjong table like congealed blood.

A round of the game ended, and the tiles in front of Kageyama Sora remained chaotic; he hadn't even managed to assemble a decent set of called tiles.

He waved his hand helplessly: "I give up, I give up. There's no way to win."

His voice carried a sense of carefree resignation, yet there was no hint of frustration or defeat.

Amae Koromo tilted her head, ripples of confusion surging in her scarlet eyes. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the surface of the tiles.

"Cousin is always so different." Her voice was so soft it seemed about to dissipate into the moonlight: "Even though you're no match for me, and even though you've been losing the whole time, you don't seem to feel any fear or terror at all..."

Her voice trembled imperceptibly at the end, as if she were asking Kageyama Sora, or perhaps asking herself.

Hearing this, Kageyama Sora's lips curled into a gentle arc.

He reached out to brush the fallen gold dust from Amae Koromo's hair, his fingertips touching her cold earlobe: "Why would I feel fear or terror? You're my cousin, after all." His voice was low and firm, carrying the unique doting of an older brother: "You're so capable... I should be proud."

"Proud?" Amae Koromo murmured, her eyelashes casting butterfly-wing shadows beneath her eyes.

She looked up, the moonlight flowing along her lashes and reflecting the shimmering starlight in the depths of her eyes.

"Yes." Kageyama Sora's palm rested gently atop Amae Koromo's head, the warmth traveling through her hair and into her heart. "I'm very proud. To be able to defeat professional players, to be a presence that strikes fear into the hearts of others in mahjong—you are my cousin, after all."

His gaze was filled with sincerity, without a trace of false pretense.

Amae Koromo stared blankly at Kageyama Sora; in his clear eyes, she could see his unmasked pride and affection.

Her cold, icy expression crumbled inch by inch. Stunned and moved, tears welled up in her eyes without warning, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the mahjong table, blooming into dark stains.

"Cousin..." Amae Koromo sobbed, throwing herself into Kageyama Sora's arms like a wounded little animal.

Her petite frame trembled slightly, her pale pink skirt spreading out across the chair like a blooming cherry blossom.

Although she was a formidable powerhouse on the mahjong table, at this moment, she was nothing more than a little girl craving warmth and care.

Kageyama Sora gently wrapped his arms around Amae Koromo, resting his chin on the top of her soft hair, his nose filled with the faint, girlish scent lingering in her locks.

He knew Amae Koromo's past, knew that her parents had both passed away, and knew of her loneliness and solitude... This seemingly strong cousin of his had endured loneliness and pressure alone on who knows how many nights.

The moonlight filtered through the window lattice, spilling gently over the two figures in an embrace, stretching their shadows long and thin.

At this moment, nestled in Kageyama Sora's arms, Amae Koromo's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum: "Cousin, can you stay with me tonight? I... I'm scared."

Her words carried a fragility he had never heard before, as if she had shed all her defenses to reveal her truest self to Kageyama Sora.

Kageyama Sora tightened his arms, giving her a more powerful embrace. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Chapter 33: Cousin, hold me while I sleep

Because he had promised Amae Koromo he would stay with her today, Kageyama Sora truly did not leave, and even changed into loungewear pajamas.