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• saiyuki-reload-gunlock-6 description "After the "last episode" flashback, we return to the KT and the SI-minus-9, faced off on top of the cliff. Kou raises his head: Genjyo Sanzo, he rasps, give me the Maten Scripture. Kotowaru, I refuse, snaps Sanzo. Then I'll take it, says the prince. Doku is alarmed, and tells him to stop, that his arm's broken [so, Goku was right-- Kou just ignored it] and this whole thing is insane. But Kougaiji struggles to his feet and tells him to shut up; get in my way, he adds (his voice is a flat snarl) and I'll kill you both. [Gojyo is astonished by this, but Hakkai smiles that it sounds quite familiar. =)] Let's go then, growls Sanzo, and Gojyo adds that 'this is to avenge that stupid monkey." (Hakkai does quietly point out that Goku's still alive--and we hear him snoring.) Doku is still inwardly agonizing about what to do if Kou doesn't return to normal. Gojyo summons the shakujou, warning his brother to be ready, as he's not going to hold back. Kougaiji calls up a fire attack; Hakkai blocks it with a ki shield, and the ikkou goes on the attack, Sanzo drawing first blood with a bullet graze to Kou's shoulder. But he somersaults away seemingly unhurt, and Gojyo wonders if he doesn't feel pain anymore, while Hakkai says it seems there's only one way to beat him.== When I first met him, Doku says to himself, all I could think of was how much he looked like my little brother. Those sharp eyes and red hair...the way he seemed to be be trying to look tough... little things like that. --He watches that same brother charge the prince... As Sanzo reloads, Hakkai notes that something's strange here; normally Kou uses not only his mist and fire powers, but his summoning technique as well. Sanzo gets it: summoning requires an agreement between the summoner and the demon, he says, but if the summoner becomes someone else... Then does that mean Kougaiji can't summon demons now? asks Hakkai.== Yaone likewise has a reflective moment: in all the time I've been at his side, she thinks, I've only known Kougaiji-sama to be proud and noble; persistent, and maybe naive, but always pure... and kinder than anyone else. And so lonely... ==Sanzo walks up to the two anxious youkai and snaps 'if you have doubts, get the hell out of the way'. They gasp, but he cocks his pistol and says, enough of this 'I'm doing this for whoever' crap; this is about what you want to do. He steps between them and strides decisively forward. Doku remembers the moment that they told Kou to follow whatever path he chose, saying he was their one true master and they'd stand with him regardless. ==Sanzo yells for Gojyo to move and takes his shot, but suddenly a cloud of smoke billows up spoiling his aim; and when it clears, there are Doku and Yaone standing between the ikkou and the prince, Yaone with another smoke bomb at the ready and Doku with his blade drawn. You two, mutters Gojyo, but Sanzo gazes at them calmly. [--heh, maybe he's done more thinking about unexpected loyalty than we know.]--Doku grins at the ikkou, and says sorry, but this is the side we're on; and Yaone agrees that she just doesn't feel right not standing at their lord's side, whether he wants them there or not. Doku adds frankly, to Kougaiji, that really they don't care about Lady GK's orders, or even about his mother; he's here, and that's all that matters. ==Kou is rocked back by this.== Doku and Yaone stare down the SI; Gojyo wisecracks that such a popular leader is the complete opposite of someone he knows, and that someone retorts that no one asked his opinion. =) Anyway, three on three sounds fine to me, says Gojyo, and Hakkai smiles that even that might not be the case, as Goku leaps up behind them to rejoin the battle. Everyone charges in; Goku and Doku cross weapons, then Dokugaku strikes at Gojyo's blade and chain, scoffing that they always attack in the same pattern-- and realizes too late that the shakujou was there to distract him from Goku, descending on him with nyoi-bo drawn back for a blow that will surely crush his skull. He has no time to fend it off; he closes his eyes-- and Kougaiji lunges between them, taking the full-force downstrike to save him. We see Lirin in her tank, Dr, Hwang observing her; then we hear Kou remembering, darkness, total darkness...then voices...--Doku and Yaone's voices, a moment ago, pledging unconditional loyalty to him. Whose voices? he can't remember... and then Doku says you're here and that's all that matters, and the prince's lilac eyes snap wide open with the sudden light of clarity--and he lunges to rescue Dokugaku. Everyone stares stunned as he falls [again, except Sanzo, who completely seems to have expected this]. Then Doku charges Goku, sword swinging, and the startled saru fights back, not having heard what Kou whispered as his loyal duo bent over him: 'buy me some time.' But Sanzo sees that Kou is chanting his summoning spell, and yells, move! it's a trap! ==Move where?! it's a friggin' cliff! yells back Gojyo, but too late, as Engokuki boils forth and forces all four back over the edge. And again they're in the river. ==Hakkai and Sanzo both come to the same conclusion: if he can use his summoning attack again, he must be returned to himself. Kou smiles, and tells Doku and Yaone he's once more in their debt, then calls down to the SI that next time the sutra will be his for sure. They yell back indignantly, Gojyo that he's stealing their lines and Sanzo that it's high time he died =), while Hakkai laughs and says no one shows them any respect. But Kou turns away from the cliff-edge and says let's go, we have something to do. 'Lord Kougaiji--' begins Yaone; Kou looks back and smiles, and it's his own smile, thank all gods, warm as June. What's wrong, he says; you two are following me, aren't you? Yaone's eyes fill with relieved tears and Doku gives his great, deep guffaw. Baka, he says, of course we are. Back in creepy Houtou Castle, Ni and 01 are again playing chess when a flunky reports that Lord Kougaiji has returned. Ni smirks. Okaeri, welcome home, he says. I hear you tracked down the Sanzo party; you had permission to kill them, you didn't have to show any mercy. Perhaps you require a bit more maintenance... Kou pushes over their chessboard; Hwang and 01 register shock while Ni and Kou trade narrow glares, and we hear guards yelling angrily as Doku and Yaone emerge from the tank room, Doku carrying Lirin in his arms. [--and man, look at their eyes. Only a damn fool would cross either of them.] ==well, well, grins Ni, tossing and catching his chess knight; for future reference, exactly how did you return to normal? Don't bother, because there won't be a next time, snaps Kou; I'll never be your puppet again. He levels a long, clawed finger. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not on Sanzo's side, he says; but I'll fight them with my own will, for my mother's and our sakes, not as a pawn in your stupid game!==Lirin, hearing his voice, opens her eyes. Brother, I knew you'd come for me, she says, and he smiles as he takes her hand, then shoots a last glare at Ni. You told me once not to let go of those precious to me, he says; no matter how I'm parted from them, they'll be here waiting for me. That's when I saw the light--but I'm sure you'd never understand that. --Ni is still tossing and catching the knight as the prince and his people sweep out of the room, but as the door closes he throws the thing, knocking some disks off the nearest keyboard. Hwang is startled, but Ni begins to laugh. Well, that was a complete failure, he chortles; I'm impressed, he's stronger than I thought. All of them, chasing the light like idiots... his voice darkens as the chess knight hits the floor. --Like goddamn bugs, he rasps... And we see the ikkou driving off in the light of sunset, giving Gojyo grief for sneezing--did he catch cold from being dunked in the river? But it seems Goku's been working hard, adds Hakkai, and Goku recalls Kon saying how cool he was, and how he plans to become a ferryman so he can protect everyone who crosses the river, just as Goku did. He grins in satisfaction, and gets teased by Gojyo for it...but Sanzo is lost in thought, remembering what Doku told him. There's a human in Houtou Castle, the only one there, Dokugaku said: a genius professor, an arrogant, manipulative bastard, and there's a lot we don't know about him...Ni Jienyi, thinks Sanzo... Hakkai remarks that it'll take three days to reach the next village, but Sanzo demands they press on, griping about the unnecessary delays, though it does seem the other side has just as many. ---And why was Kougaiji in such a bad mood? wonders Goku. Neither Hakkai nor Sanzo answers, but Gojyo, exhaling smoke, says thoughtfully that 'he probably just had a really bad dream.' ".
• saiyuki-reload-gunlock-7 description "As the ikkou checks into their evening's inn, the proprietor apologizes, saying that they're shorthanded and can't offer many amenities. Whatever, shrug the guys; it's still better than camping out. Track to outside view, where the moon appears an eerie shade of red and a flight of bats swooshes over the roof. Gee, could there maybe be something...strange...about this place? We get a nice look at Gojyo in the shower (rear view =), humming contentedly to himself, until the water quits running. He steps out drying his hair and griping to Hakkai. Hakkai says they can't really complain, as the room was so cheap. Room service knocks on the door and Goku charges to retrieve their food; there's no one there, and all that's on the serving cart is a tray with four pint cartons of milk and packaged sandwiches. Goku can't believe this is supposed to be dinner, but the hungry foursome eats it anyway. The shower's broken, grumbles Gojyo, and there's no TV or radio [huh? they never have TV or radio...even Hakuryu only had a radio in the OVA...], and to top it off, Sanzo's out of cigarettes. Are they really gonna stay in this dump? Hakkai diplomatically says they may as well just bear with it tonight and get an early start in the morning. Goku goes to check out the bleak lobby, hoping for a newsstand that might have cigarettes (and, with luck, snacks) but nope. Figured as much, he sighs. The innkeeper apologizes, and asks if he might be interested in this: a boxed board game. It's a lot of fun, he says, it might help with your boredom. Goku agrees the time might pass more quickly if they played, and the man gives him the game and box of playing pieces, saying there's no other game like this in the world. Goku brings the game to their room, where Hakkai asks if it's Parcheesi (as Goku did when he first saw it) and examines one of the playing pieces, which are all human figures roughly resembling Lego people. He comments that it looks odd, and it breaks into a big grin; Hakkai blinks in surprise, and the piece has returned to its original expression. Maybe I'm just tired, he says... --Well, they've got nothing else to do, so G&G decide to play and Hakkai goes along with them. Sanzo snorts that he doesn't play with kids' toys, but throws the dice at Goku's coaxing, and as soon as the throw is made (he rolls an 8) Sanzo's piece sets off all by itself. Gojyo tries to get Sanzo's attention, but he's returned to his newspaper, grumbling that they can play if they want to. At the 8th space the piece stops, the space lights up, the piece's eyes glow red, and it announces that as the game has started, they'll begin with a showy welcome. Streamers and confetti promptly come flying from nowhere. This really is fun! enthuses Goku, and encourages Hakkai to take his turn. Hakkai's dubious, but rolls the dice: his gamepiece likewise trots off on its own, and then announces 'a warm welcome for our guests', whereupon steam baskets loaded with manjuu drop from the ceiling! Hakkai warns that it might be better not to eat the stuff, but of course Goku has already dug in, and Sanzo has had enough: what's with this thing? It seems that what the pieces say becomes reality, comments Hakkai. Gojyo hopes it'll say "you discover an oil field in Arabia" or "you marry a Hollywood actress" in his turn, and starts shaking the dice; as soon as he rolls the steamed buns disappear, to Goku's dismay. (So each person's turn cancels out the previous one, Hakkai observes.) Gojyo's gamepiece (he chose a female one, of course =) invites them all to the exciting attraction Aqua World; torrents of water come pouring into the room, and not only are the windows and door somehow magically sealed, but the glass has even become bulletproof. The water level rises fast; Hakkai yells for Goku to roll the dice, but the board is already afloat. Sanzo takes a shot and capsizes it (and looks very pleased with himself!), but the flood continues until Goku dives to the floor and rolls his turn. *poof* the water drains away as inexplicably as it came. Minnasan, daijobu desu ka?--Everyone, are you all right?-- asks Hakkai as the ikkou gasp for breath; Gojyo notes that Sanzo's shot hit the board but it's not damaged at all. The as-yet unmoved fourth gamepiece sets off on its course, and announces that whoever rolled this turn must act as the Watchdog of Hell until the highest possible number is rolled. Didn't you ask the innkeeper anything about this game before bringing it here? demands Sanzo of Goku, but the saru's reply comes out "Wan!"--Japanese for "Woof!" Yup, Goku can now only bark like a dog. [Wouldn't you think being the Watchdog of Hell would be a little more dramatic than that?]==You're not a dog, you're a monkey, scoffs Gojyo, but Sanzo and Hakkai recall the game piece's sentence, and Sanzo gripes that stupid as this is, they can't stop playing now. He rolls his turn, but Goku can still only bark (and when he tries to write a note instead, all it says is "wan wan wan wan" =). They deduce that they have to roll two sixes to change Goku back; Sanzo rolls again, but the next playing piece suggests relaxing in the form of a forest spirit for awhile, and when Hakkai and Gojyo look up, Sanzo has turned into...a tree. A Sanzo-faced tree. Honest to Tenkai, that's what happens. (You've got to be kidding, mutters Gojyo. We wish.) ==Sanzo now can't talk or roll the dice, and Goku is still desperately yapping: Hakkai closes his eyes, concentrates...and rolls double sixes. Ta-da! Goku and Sanzo are both back to normal, and Goku hugs Hakkai in extravagant thanks. But...the next playing piece says "a giant dragon wants to play with everyone". Gojyo whispers that it might've been better to leave S&G that way a little longer; Sanzo takes a shot that just misses Gojyo--but what he's really shooting at is the huge purple dragon that's appeared behind the hanyou [aah, and I was hoping for a giant-sized Hakuryu...]. The ikkou attack; Sanzo drops the beastie with two shots, reloads and snaps for Gojyo to roll the dice--he wants to finish this damn game now! Gojyo grins and says 'what's next? everyone ready?' as he rolls (Hakkai dryly observes that he's enjoying this too much); we see the innkeeper downstairs, saying "I'm sure this time it will end well", and UH-oh, he has a base instead of feet--he's a giant gamepiece! Gojyo's roll causes the gamepiece to grin and announce that a shower of alcohol will fall, and they should all drink up and have fun. Finally, growls Sanzo [this episode would drive anyone to drink--in fact, excuse me a second...], and Gojyo chortles in glee. But Hakkai rolls his next turn before the prize can appear, saying they need to finish the game. (Gojyo's not pleased.) This one says 'others are there to help you, so lean on them', and we hear, but don't see, Sanzo demanding to know why Hakkai is climbing onto him. Hakkai stammers that he can't help it, his body is acting on its own. [oh man, the fanfic possibilities...] Sanzo shouts to Gojyo to roll another turn, but Gojyo is inclined to let them suffer a minute as reprisal for passing up the free booze, and it takes a bullet to motivate him. The innkeeper looks apprehensive... The next roll brings them into "the red zone", where a super-cute, grey tabby kitten (OK, Machida-san definitely has a thing about kitties) turns into a huge two-headed tiger-demon, but Sanzo's roll doesn't vanish it, and Hakkai guesses that in the "red zone" that condition no longer applies. Sanzo's penalty is to be sealed into the wall, while H, G&G are still fighting the tiger. Goku tosses the dice up to Hakkai, who rolls, but his piece walks to the final space and then leaves--and Hakkai on the tiger's back turns into a gamepiece himself! You have got to be kidding me, says Gojyo incredulously: unless you roll the exact number of spaces to end the game, you wind up like that? ==at the foot of the stairs, the innkeeper looks up and sighs, saying "it's no good this time, either..." Gojyo's roll causes the floor under him to turn into a bog, and he sinks in; Goku can't handle the tiger-demon alone (Lego-Hakkai clatters to the floor) and the wall is fast closing around Sanzo. Goku must roll a six despite having the tiger hot on his heels, or all is lost! he uses the nyoi-bo to sweep the dice into his hand, throws his roll and gets a seven--but Sanzo's shot clips one die and rolls it over from two to one. [love it; even in a silly adventure like this, the man always, always nails his shot. =) ] ==The brave warrior has broken the curse, says the final gamepiece; all will return to what should be. As the ikkou recover, the innkeeper hops into the room, yelling 'congratulations!' and the gamepieces all turn into normal people, including himself. Even the creepy red moon turns back to clear white. Game over, huh?--says Gojyo. The innkeeper explains that a strange magician left the gameboard here as payment for a night's stay at the inn, but everyone who played it was turned into a gamepiece until the SI came along. The village is saved!--whatever they want in return, they need only ask. ==Goku promptly requests a better dinner, Hakkai alcohol to go with it, Sanzo some cigarettes, and Gojyo asks, that cute girl who was my playing piece--where's she? His reply is a ringing slap. ...okay, it has a few laughs, but really now... ".
• saiyuki-reload-gunlock-8 description "At the ikkou's inn of the evening, Gojyo flirts with the waitress, inviting her to drop by their hotel after her shift; but all he gets for his trouble is a smack from Sanzo's harisen. As she hurries off to bring Goku a refill, Gojyo gripes that he can't possibly pick up girls when he's surrounded by these three, and they retort that it's hardly their fault. The guys get downright catty, even Goku, who suggests that he's not nearly as popular with the ladies as he thinks (Hakkai: "Now, now, Goku, let's not tell him the truth."). Gojyo won't hear of it; I'm hot, and that's a fact, he purrs. Sanzo snipes that it'd be interesting to get proof of that 'fact' someday. [...best watch out what you wish for, blondie...] ==Gojyo shrugs them off, drops into his seat and tries to light a smoke, but his lighter's not working...and then a hand reaches in with a match to give him a light. He tracks up the arm and his jaw drops: it's a beautiful redhead in white, a stunner by any standards. [I'd put her at just a little older than Gojyo; early 30s, maybe.] --What, she smiles, you don't like matches? ==The hanyou's literally speechless; even Goku stops eating to stare. And at second look we can all see that both her red hair and her wine-red eyes match Gojyo's. They have a drink at the bar, Gojyo looking as smug as the proverbial pussycat; she suggests they go somewhere quieter, and off they go, the beauty wrapped around his arm. ==They really left, comments Goku in surprise. 'That woman's hair...' says Hakkai, and Sanzo confirms that, yes, she too is a Taboo Child. As they walk, we see a youkai duck out of sight. Gojyo remarks that quiet is fine and all, but they're almost to the outskirts of town. She says she prefers places without many people, but Gojyo smells trouble, and scoops the babe over his shoulder. We're surrounded, he tells her, and calls up the shakujou as --you guessed it--armed demons leap in from all directions. Even one-handed, he makes short work of them, and we see the lady's stunned expression as the survivors scatter. Sorry, did that startle you? asks Gojyo, but she runs off without another word. The hanyou heaves a deep sigh and wryly says 'that's why I hate being attacked when there are chicks around.' We see the youkai gang in their burned-out building hideout, the survivors reporting to their leader that even alone the hanyou is too strong to take in a fair fight. What are they gonna do?-- The red-haired lady bursts in, calling to the scarfaced leader, Bakura. Ah, Kougyoku [it means 'ruby'; a great name for a Taboo daughter], he says, I'm glad you're safe. She's shaken up, but he reassures her, saying she should have no trouble getting close to him again-- and he holds out a sheathed knife. Wait, she protests, I never agreed to that. But he says that she's proven Sha Gojyo's weakness is women, just as they'd heard, and there'll be an amazing reward when they collect Sanzo's sutra. Kougyoku is torn. Bakura smiles persuasively, saying they'll leave this way of life behind and have a great life together; it'll be easy, if they can just take the ikkou out one by one... She reluctantly agrees; he tucks the knife under her arm and says 'now get going'. As she heads for the door he adds a sharper shot: I've looked after you all this time, he says, it's about time you did something in return. Back at the inn, Hakkai pours coffee and asks, doesn't Gojyo think it might have been a trap? He vehemently disagrees, saying she must have just panicked and run off. But when Hakkai glances out the window, there's the lady in white, standing in the street below. Gojyo goes down to see her, and she tells him she was just scared, and invites him out for another drink-- which he accepts without hesitation. Goku and Hakkai register several degrees of disbelief and dismay as the taboo pair saunter off together. Sanzo snorts and says 'let him go'; but Hakkai hopes there won't be trouble, as Gojyo's soft heart often gets the better of him. [--and no matter what Sanzo says, look at him--he's worried.] At the bar, Kougyoku is so visibly tense and drinking so much that Gojyo gently asks 'am I that scary?' She denies it, saying with determined cheer 'let's drink to our hearts' content!' What are you going to do when you get me drunk? --teases Gojyo, and she laughs and says that's the woman's line. They banter a little, and she says she always likes the wrong sort of guys-- amd the worse they are, the more they usually say they're nice guys, as he just did. But what's really bad is probably my life, ahe adds sadly. He says that isn't so; they smile at each other; the moment is just right for a kiss, and as he leans toward her you know she's thinking of what she's agreed to do. She suddenly bolts for the bathroom, and Gojyo drops sulkily back onto his seat. He tosses back his drink and orders another, while in the ladies' room, she stares at her reflection in the blade of the dagger. Back in the bar, very drunk, she urges Gojyo to go on drinking, saying he needs to be so smashed that 'he has no idea what's going on'. The hanyou tosses back another shot, but Kougyoku has hit her limit and passes out--and as he scoops her up, the sheathed knife falls to the floor. Gojyo stares in shock. We see her waking up on a bed, fully dressed. Across the room is Gojyo, seemingly sound asleep on the sofa. She sees her chance. She draws the knife and walks over to him, swallows hard, raises the blade--and his hand shoots out to grab her wrist. So it was something like this, he says, quiet and resigned. She can't believe it: You knew? Then why-- He smiles. Because you're a beautiful woman, he says. It's all she can bear: she drops the knife, falls to the floor in tears. Don't make fun of me! she sobs, you're still just a kid! But he crouches down and lifts her chin to meet his eyes, and smiles. We should be quieter, he says softly, everyone's probably asleep by now. [I know I have praised Hirata-san's vocal work as Gojyo before, but my god, wow, I can barely describe the silk-velvet tone of that line. You just want to curl up in it and stay for years.] She stares at him, touched and amazed; they draw closer, and finally kiss. Fade to black. Morning: Goku and Hakkai head to breakfast, Goku wondering if Gojyo ever came back. In their hotel room, Gojyo and Kougyoku are talking; presumably she's told him about Bakura. He wonders why she doesn't break up with a guy like that, but says she should do what she really wants to do. She sits pensively on the bed as he leaves. We see him at a table with the ikkou; no one's surprised to learn that she was an assassin, and Goku asks why he let her go. Adults have their reasons, he says. So, you promised her a ride to the next town? asks Hakkai, and Gojyo says 'if that's what she decides she wants.' And we see her thoughtful, troubled face as she recalls their night together. We see them sitting together in the bed, naked [discreetly, but definitely]; she rests against his back with her arms around his chest as they talk. He should understand, she says, how it is for ones like us, neither demon nor human. There's nowhere a taboo child can go. Even if Bakura's a rotten guy--and, gods love her, her voice is the voice of every woman who's ever settled for what she could get--he's the only one who was ever nice to me. ==You're just telling yourself that, he says. Most people don't know that those with red hair and eyes are taboo; you could do just fine, living in another town. She says she's afraid of being alone, but he gently teases her that that wouldn't last long, with all the guys who'd pay attention to a pretty girl like her. ==We see her standing, overlooking the town. Pretty girl, huh? she thinks, and walks quickly away. When Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku reach her hotel room to see if she wants that lift out of town, she's gone, and Gojyo briskly says OK then, he's meddled in her affairs enough. (His face does not match his tone.) ==At the gang's hideout, we hear a sharp slap: Bakura's standing over her, furious. Not only did you fail to kill Sha Gojyo, he rails, but now you're telling me not to pursue the Sanzo party? Because we have no chance of beating them! she protests. He yells that all she needs to do is what he tells her to do, and hauls her up by the hair in a jealous rage. I look after you for years, and this is how you repay me? Just what happened on your night alone with Sha Gojyo?! =='Bakura--' she sobs, and he snaps out his youkai claws like switchblades; since you understand, he snarls, be of some use to me. At the ikkou's hotel, a rock smashes through Gojyo's window. As the rest come running, he's unwrapping the attached note; out of it falls a long tress of ruby-red hair. That bastard, he says quietly as he reads the note; he tells them it says for him to come alone. Sanzo says they don't have time to deal with such petty matters, but Gojyo's already headed for the door, saying he's going to the bathroom and they can surely wait that long. Hakkai asks if he's all right, and he grimly says he's got a bad stomachache--it might take awhile. (Are you sure it's OK to let him go alone? worries Goku as the hanyou strides down the street. Didn't he say he was going to the bathroom?--retorts Sanzo.) The youkai gang is waiting for Gojyo on a windy hill outside of town, perched on the heads of a cluster of giant, ruined Buddhas from who knows what long-gone temple. Kougyoku angrily tells Bakura that he won't come, and he snaps that if she doesn't shut up he'll make sure she never speaks again. And sure enough, here he comes over the hill. You really are with a worthless bastard, he snarls. [More huge points for Hirata-san; Gojyo's voice now is so fierce and harsh you'd hardly recognize it.] Bakura orders him to raise his hands and come closer, if he cares what happens to this woman. She's supposed to be your woman, grates the hanyou. Then I'll do as I like with her, taunts Bakura, slashing at her clothes with his razor claws; there's enough red to show that he's drawn blood, and Gojyo charges. Kougyoku tries to shout a warning, but Bakura slaps her to the ground, and Gojyo runs straight into the trap--a covered-over stone well. The youkai gang gloats, saying he'll never get out of that, but of course he's out in an instant and kicking furious butt. As Bakura's flunkies drop like flies, Gojyo demands he stand up and fight, but he turns to run and falls right into the same pit. He clings to the edge, begging Kougyoku to save him. Gojyo asks her what she wants to do, and she sighs painfully. He's not a good person, she says, but he'll stay with me...I'm not strong enough to live on my own. Gojyo closes his eyes for a moment, then fires the shakujou blade down the well, and Bakura grabs the chain and is hauled to safety. As he gasps for breath, huddled in the grass, Gojyo heads off down the hill, and Bakura, grinning viciously, rears to his knees and fires his claws like throwing-knives (???) at the hanyou's undefended back. Kougyoku, horrified, leaps up and throws herself into the blades' path. Gojyo turns too late, crying out her name. Dammit, bitch, you got in my way! yells Bakura, but that's his last word, as the enraged Gojyo comes flying back up the hill to knock him straight to the bottom of the well for good. Gojyo lifts the dying woman in his arms. Will he do her a favor, she asks, and bury her next to him? --Of course.--My life was worthless, she says; but it's something, at least, to die in the arms of a good man like you. == Stone-faced, he holds her as she draws her last breath. We see him sitting with a cigarette on one of the Buddha heads as the ikkou drives up the hill; Hakkai honks the horn (five beeps =) to tell him his ride is here. As they ride off, he casually apologizes for taking so long. Goku hopes his stomach feels better; Hakkai advises him to rest for awhile, and of course he says he'd get well in no time if he had a cute girl to nurse him...and of course, they let him say it. ".
• saiyuki-reload-gunlock-9 description "The guys are waiting on the top of a mountain for Sanzo, but there's no sign of him. We see that as it was too steep for Hakuryu, Sanzo decreed they'd climb it on foot, and Goku promptly suggested a bet on who'd reach the top first: loser to buy barbecue for the ikkou. He'd thought that would be Gojyo, but the hanyou comes in third; so where is Sanzo?... Below, the footsore monk has stopped for a break, and has just lit a smoke when Lirin careens out of nowhere. Sanzo gets off two shots [and realizes that's all he had; he wasted too much ammo shutting up a quarrel] before the demon princess lands such a blow to the rock he's on that the whole cliff-edge avalanches into the valley below. (Hakkai hears the noise, but Gojyo says he's just imagining things. Though it did seem that they all heard the gunfire...)==UH-oh; there's the Maten Sutra caught on a tree branch, lost in Sanzo's fall! Sanzo reaches the bottom a second before Lirin and instantly aims at her; she grins wryly and says she's failed. So shoot, baldy, she dares him. Brat, he retorts, aren't your guardians around? She begins to say she's tough enough alone, but her stomach growls so loudly that she halts in embarrassment. I'm all out of meat buns, he says with his dry evil grin; just go on home. But she snaps back that she can't give up and go home this time; and we see again the Kou-tachi rescuing her from Dr. Ni's experiment in ep. 6. Afterward, her brother had warned her to stay away from "all of them" from now on, even her mother, and promised to protect her no matter what. She said she would, and Dokugaku and Yaone looked on, smiling, as prince and princess sealed the promise with a pinky-swear. [Awwww. =)] --Now Lirin grits her teeth; big brother did his best for me, she thinks, so I have to do my best for his sake!--Baldy Sanzo, she yells, give me the scripture! Kyoumon?--he glances at his shoulder, registers that the priceless sutra is gone, and reacts with admirable composure. Stop calling me that, he says, and anyway I don't have it. Don't lie to me, take it out! she demands, and they trade retorts. He's definitely hoping she'll give up and get lost before he has to prove he's out of bullets [sigh, this is so counter to the 'concentrated will' theory...]...and then Lirin spots the spreading bloodstain staining his robes. [Hurt falling down the mountainside, we assume.]-- Hey, you're bleeding, she says, but he snaps "don't move!", pistol still trained on her. His face is resolute but his hand shakes visibly, and she grins. Na, hage-Sanzo, why don't you shoot? she asks; does that thing have bullets? --He says nothing, and her grin gets crafty; she licks her lips. Blood runs down the side of his boot. Shoot me already, she taunts, and gathers herself to pounce. He raises the gun and grins coldly. Honestly, I'm not even sure it's loaded, he says; I had to waste quite a few bullets on those idiots. That's a lie! Lirin says. Sanzo replies that whether or not she believes him is up to her, but at this distance there's no way he could miss. [--ooh. Nice psyche, houshi.]==Want to try me? rasps the priest. (Lirin holds her place, glaring.) If you're gonna come at me, be prepared to die: I only need one shot. --The princess clenches her fist, but doesn't move. Sanzo chuckles, sensing she's lost her nerve, and--switching gun hands--rips his black tunic-shirt-whatsit with his teeth [a thousand fangirls swoon] to bind up his wound. And there they sit, still in their Mexican standoff, as a cabbage butterfly alights on Sanzo's gun (nice touch) and his breathing gets harsher and harsher. How much longer can you stand that? Lirin taunts; Sanzo growls "Damare." When you lose enough blood you'll be tired out, she replies, and then it's the end. She grins carnivorously; Sanzo snaps "I told you to shut up", and there they sit. On the top of the mountain, H, H, G & G are still waiting; Hakkai, Hakuryu and Goku are starting to worry, but Gojyo insists Sanzo is fine and will show up if they wait. Goku's had enough, though, and sets off to look for him. ==[Now, watch this maneuver.]== Is it OK to leave them? worries Hakkai. It's fine, says Gojyo, about to light another cig--but his lighter's out. He asks Hakkai for a light. I don't smoke, says Hakkai, but I know of another person who probably has one. How annoying, grouses the redhead... Back to Sanzo and Lirin; he's now sitting in a puddle of blood. Give up and take out the sutra already, she says. Have you not been listening to me? I don't have it, he retorts. Come and get it then--and he tries to light another smoke, but his cheap lighter is also out of fuel. [At least Gojyo can refill his when he gets a chance; Sanzo buys the cheap disposable type...]--In the windy silence of the riverbank all we hear is the repeated clicking of the empty lighter; then Sanzo cusses. Do you want me to light it for you? asks amused Lirin; Sanzo shushes her, and Lirin says 'they sure are taking a long time'. They?--asks Sanzo. Omae no nakama, your friends, she says; aren't they coming to help you? ==[Note her use of 'omae', the least respectful form of 'you'. She's a youkai princess; she sees no reason to defer to a human monk, even a monk of the highest degree.]== Sanzo snorts, and Lirin says, they're pretty cold, aren't they? not like my brother. ==Sanzo finally manages to coax a light out of his cheap lighter. Lirin says "that's what's been irritating you, isn't it?" [We mustn't underestimate this demon girl; she's quite evidently got her brother's gift of reading character at a glance.]==Sanzo snarls that they have nothing to do with this... Goku passes by overhead, calling for Sanzo, while the monk adds to his pile of cig butts. Hearing his cough, Lirin asks why he doesn't quit smoking. They trade some more barbed retorts, but she can see he's still losing blood at an alarming rate, and when the cigarette falls from his teeth she gets to her feet. He draws down, but she grins and says "if you don't hit me with one shot you're through". Sanzo is gasping for breath; his vision blurs and doubles... Hakuryu, cruising overhead, spots the sutra flapping from its branch. He kyuu's in surprise, while at the same moment Goku smells tobacco--must be Sanzo!--and charges off. Gojyo, descending the cliff with Hakkai, announces that from now on he's always going to carry two lighters; and then Hakkai hears Hakuryu's chirp from above. Goku is galloping to Sanzo's rescue, yelling his name, and Sanzo thinks he's too damn loud even as he holds off Lirin, who's saying she'll give him one more chance. Stop making me lose my concentration! shut up! inwardly snarls Sanzo, who of course, of course, hears Goku more clearly than anything else, and he fires his (apparently) last bullet at Lirin just as she leaps. She easily dodges it, but he's in the air to bring her down, and stands over her as she lies on the rivershore out cold, ejecting the empty cartridges from his gun. We can hear all three of the ikkou calling his name as he stands there, and he thinks, shut up already; are Sanzos on sale or something?--and he falls back to lie full-length by Lirin. And at the barbecue house, as Sanzo pays off his loss of the bet [he's wearing the sutra, so Hakuryu must have retrieved it, good dragon! AND his black top is intact as well; wonder how many of them he has...], there's the usual whose-food squabble between Goku and Gojyo, settled by the usual barrage of gunfire. (Bad habits are hard to break. =) ".
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• sakamoto-days-1 description "Sakamoto enjoys a quiet life in retirement with his family. But one day, an old colleague demands he return to the assassin world — or face consequences. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-10 description "Exhausted from their battle, the crew heads to a local bathhouse but finds it too dangerous to relax. Later, a mysterious man arrives in search of Lu. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-11 description "The crew faces Wutang in a high-stakes casino showdown to learn who issued Sakamoto's bounty. Meanwhile, X sends a group of vicious assassins their way. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-2 description "While out on an errand, Sakamoto and Shin encounter Lu Shaotang, the daughter of a mafia boss, who's on the run and targeted by twin assassins. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-3 description "".
• sakamoto-days-4 description "With the poison-wielding hitman taken out, the Sakamotos head to their next attraction, where they're ambushed by Dondenkai Ltd's ultimate assassin duo. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-5 description "Sakamoto goes all out in a fierce one-on-one duel with Boiled. Meanwhile, ORDER members are tasked with handling a serial case targeting assassins. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-6 description "Hoping to win the million-yen prize, Team Sakamoto enters the shopping district's survival tournament and teams up with a completely clueless sniper. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-7 description "While manning the store alone, Lu gets kidnapped by a mysterious group. Sakamoto and Shin pursue her but are halted by an invisible assassin. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-8 description "To rescue Lu, Sakamoto and Shin infiltrate a top-secret lab seized by assassins. Meanwhile, in the prison cell, Lu meets someone from Shin's childhood. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-9 description "In the depths of the Lab, Shin and Heisuke join forces to take down the invisible assailant, while Sakamoto engages in an intense battle against Kashima. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-1 description "As Sakamoto gathers intel on the assassins targeting him, ORDER begins hunting the death row inmates. Later, Shin and Lu face a deadly assault. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-10 description "Shin teams up with Mayufu, Toromaru, and Kaji to take down a berserk Shinaya. Can these ragtag new allies work together to defeat their rampaging foe? (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-11 description "With the entrance exam behind them, Sakamoto and Shin can now continue with their original objective: infiltrating the JCC and obtaining clues on X! (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-2 description "Saw attacks push Shin and Lu to awaken new abilities, turning the tables on the deadly killer. Meanwhile, Dump ambushes Osaragi at a temple. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-3 description "The battle rages on even as the crew gets treated by Granny Miya! Minimalist threatens Aoi at the store while Heisuke clashes with Apart at Tokyo Tower. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-4 description "Despite his inability to lose weight, Sakamoto faces off against Apart in a fierce showdown. Later, X reveals his dangerous plans for the assassin world. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-5 description "While X and Gaku invade the JAA, a lone ORDER assassin stands in their way. Amid the chaos, Sakamoto discovers the shocking truth about X's identity. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-6 description "Sakamoto decides to infiltrate his alma mater to get more intel on X. But first, he must conquer the sky-high requirements of the JCC entrance exam. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-7 description "It's every assassin for themselves as the exam takes to the skies. While Sakamoto impresses fellow candidate Akira, Shin takes on the germaphobe Mayufu. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-8 description "Stage Three of the JCC Exams begins as a trio of special applicants joins the fray. Toramaru, a devoted Sakamoto fan, immediately clashes with Shin. (Source: Netflix)".
• sakamoto-days-part-2-9 description "Sakamoto discovers Akira's ties to an old friend. While Shin and Toramaru vie over their favorite assassin, X's secret plans throw the exam into chaos. (Source: Netflix)".
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• saki-1 description "Saki Miyanaga is a skilled mahjong player, but she hates the game since she would be punished by her family whether she won or lost when she played with them. Upon entering high school, Saki's friend, Kyōtarō Suga, takes her to their school's mahjong club so Saki can be a fourth player. There, she meets Nodoka Haramura, a very skilled mahjong player and previous junior high champion, and Yūki Kataoka, an energetic first-year who is skilled in mahjong though has trouble staying focused. Saki only plays a few hands and leaves shortly after the club president and student council president, Hisa Takei, wakes up. Hisa notices Saki managed to keep her score at zero, a difficult feat. Hisa manages to get Saki to come back the next day to play a couple more games with Nodoka, Yūki, and Mako Someya, a second-year member of the club. Saki shows her skill in mahjong by attaining the zero score in the first game. ".
• saki-10 description "Hisa recommends Saki and Nodoka take a nap before their matches, and while Nodoka initially declines, she decides to go so that Yūki does not have to cry in front of her and Saki following her match. Mako's turn comes up, and Hisa explains that she takes off her glasses in order to remember past matches she had witnessed.".
• saki-11 description "The third round starts and Hisa puts to work her strategy of sticking to the bad waits in order to get the big scores, knocking off Kazekoshi's lead. Hajime Kunihiro helps gain a slight comeback while avoiding her slight-of-hand habit. Meanwhile, Nodoka wakes to find that her penguin is missing and leaves Saki to go look for it.".
• saki-12 description "Mihoko arrives to pass along the information to her companion, and Hisa barely recognizes her. Koromo takes the torn penguin to her butler, who fixes it, and she returns it to Nodoka. While Nodoka expresses her gratitude, she leaves quickly and is unable to hear Koromo's name.".
• saki-13 description "The fourth round begins off slow with Nodoka winning a small hand, and as play continues, the players continuously keep on getting draws. Eventually, Nodoka is able to get more into the game, and ups her skills like when she is playing online. By the time of the last hand of the first half of the round, only Nodoka has won any hands and has pulled ahead of the other three.".
• saki-14 description "Tōka makes a slight comeback, ruining Nodoka's perfect run, but then falls into a play laid by Tsuruga's Momoko Tōyoko, whose presence is so small her calls for riichi cannot be heard by her opponents. She had trouble being noticed and had abandoned all communication until she was found by her school's mahjong club leader, Yumi Kajiki.".
• saki-15 description "Momoko's abilities fall short against Nodoka, whose training matches her real life playing to her online play style, therefore not taking notice of Momoko's lack of presence. The round ends with Kiyosumi retaining the lead. The final round starts with Saki, Kana, Yumi and Koromo, though initially Saki cannot connect the fearsome aura she felt with the petite looking Koromo.".
• saki-16 description "As the round continues, Saki finally recognizes Koromo's aura. She starts putting pressure on her opponents by reducing their tenpai probabilities and playing two haitei raoyue moves in a row. However, this is broken up when Yumi allows Saki to win with a her discard. Yumi then follows this up by getting some points from Kana.".
• saki-17 description "During the break, Mihoko goes to comfort Kana, and Nodoka catches up with Saki to reaffirm their promise and rebuild her confidence. Fujita warns Koromo to play mahjong properly.".
• saki-18 description "Remembering the pact she had made with Mihoko, Kana gets a burst of confidence and regains a lot of points. Yumi also gets a good play, and Koromo, having paid all her attention to Saki, gets a little agitated. Saki takes off her shoes and socks, remembering the times she played mahjong at home and at the training camp.".
• saki-19 description "Koromo recalls that when her parents died, no matter how many times Touka brought her friends, she still always felt lonely, believing her only worth is in mahjong. Koromo's powers cause a brief blackout, but Saki remains calm throughout. Koromo gets another haitei raoyue once the game resumes, leaving one more hand. Koromo is a bit shocked when Saki says she is having fun playing against her.".
• saki-2 description "Playing under special scoring rules, Saki plays the next game while trying to keep her plus/minus zero score and winning at the same time, but cannot do both with the special rules. However, when the special rules are removed, Saki ended up winning the game, therefore disallowing her from keeping the zero score. Nodoka is dejected after losing since before Saki told her that she hated mahjong and despite that won, but Saki tells her that playing with her was fun. Saki thinks about what Nodoka said, and even tells her father that she wants to one day play again with her mother and sister like they used to before they left to be professional mahjong players. The next day, Saki joins the club, saying that she wants to play more and win against Nodoka. ".
• saki-20 description "As a reward for winning the tournament, and to train for the individuals, Hisa takes everyone to a pool, where Saki admits she cannot swim. They run into the Ryūmonbuchi group, who actually own the pool, and Koromo makes friends with Nodoka. Tōka reminds Koromo that when she went to Tokyo with her group, and went to a family restaurant, that reminded her of her parents. Meanwhile, Kazekoshi and Tsuruga make their plans for training for the individuals. Saki's sister, Teru, progresses to the nationals, though when asked about Saki, denies her existence. ".
• saki-21 description "The first day of the individuals tournament begins. Tōka faces off against Tsuruga's Kaori and is beaten by her beginner's luck. Another Tsuruga girl informs her team mates of an opponent who was strong during south winds. Despite pressure from being the team champions, Kiyosumi manage to get through, though Kyōtarō, who had been participating in the boys tournament, is knocked out. In the second half, Mihoko ends up facing against Hisa, who still does not remember her. With Hisa ahead, Mihoko decides to use her right eye to win the game. Hisa finally remembers who she is and Mihoko gets her long awaited conversation. The first day ends with all of Kiyosumi's players progressing. Yūki, who had a winning streak all day, psyches herself up for the next day. ".
• saki-22 description "It is the second day of the individuals, and Yūki is shocked to find the day will consist of east-south round games. Yūki gets off to a good start in her first match, but when the south wind approaches, Kazue Nanpo from Hirataki High School shows off her field advantage and wins the game. During the midway point, Nodoka is shocked to find Saki has gone back to her habit of scoring plus minus zero, and goes to confront her about it. Saki had been holding back since it was Hisa's only chance at the individuals, but Nodoka reminds her that their promise included not holding back. Saki ends up in a match against Hisa, as well as Momoko and Tomoki. Hisa immediately concocts a strategy to seal off Saki's rinshan kaihō strategy, which eventually convinces the others to gang up on her. Later on though, Momoko, determined to avenge Yumi's earlier lost against Saki during the team tournament, decides to implement her stealth tactic in order to win. ".
• saki-23 description "Momoko continues to put the pressure on Tomoki and Hisa keeps racking up strong plays, while Saki is still unable to use her usual strategy. Saki remembers her training using online gaming, and uses what she learned to pick out Momoko's tiles, finally allowing her to play a rinshan kaihō to win the match. In the final round, Hisa goes against Mihoko, Tōka and Yumi, Nodoka goes against Kana, Jun and Hajime, Yūki goes against Mako, Tomoki and Momoko, and Saki goes against Kazue, Kanbara and Yoshitome. As everyone battles their hardest, Yoshitome does well to block off Saki in the east wind round, but soon the south wind round comes and Kazue starts to make her move. However, Saki retains her smile and pulls out more rinshan kaihō moves to win her match, placing third and qualifying for the nationals. Nodoka wins her match and qualifies in second and although Hisa wins her match, Mihoko is overall first place. ".
• saki-24 description "Kyōtarō tells Saki about an upcoming summer festival and she invites the rest of the club to go too. Hisa sends out invitations to the other schools to join them for Kiyosumi's training camp for the nationals. Yūki ends up flunking her math midterm and has to take a makeup test, failure of which means she will not be able to attend the camp, so Saki and Nodoka decide to help her study. Hisa prohibits them from using the club room and they end up having trouble finding other places to study. Ryūmonbuchi and Tsuruga send their responses for the camp, while Mihoko delivers hers to Hisa personally. After Yūki's makeup test, the club members go to the festival, and Hisa watches from afar with Mihoko. Yūki passes her makeup test and all the schools go to the training camp. ".
• saki-25 description "All the schools gather for the training camp where Yumi gives Hisa some data on the other opponents in the nationals. Later on, nearly everyone takes an interest in ping pong (that ended with Tōka dominating over everybody who participated, prompting Saki and Nodoka to stay by the sidelines) while Mako and some others fail to get revenge on Kaori's beginner's luck. The next morning, some of the girls go in the onsen to discuss the powerhouses of the nationals, including Saki's sister, Teru. Hisa's suspicion of Saki as Teru's younger sibling was confirmed by Saki's reaction when she confronted her of this fact. Saki is a bit shocked to hear from Mohoko that Teru had denied having a sister, so Nodoka decides to take her to a shrine to cheer her up. Afterwards, they exchange souvenirs and decide to call each other by their given names. After they get back, the training starts in a room where the players from Kiyosumi, Ryūmonbuchi, Kazekoshi, and Tsuruga are already seated and ready to play, with Hisa also having invited Fujita to join them. Kiyosumi prepare themselves for the nationals. ".
• saki-3 description "It has been a week since Saki joined the mahjong club, though Nodoka is still distant to her. Nodoka plays a game by herself with all the tiles exposed and takes notes, but she is still unable to attain a plus/minus zero score like Saki who can do this flawlessly. Hisa and Mako go and sign up their club for the national qualifiers for high school students. Saki wins a game against Nodoka, Kyōtarō, and Yūki, who is depressed that she cannot possibly win when playing against both Saki and Nodoka. In the next game, Saki lets Yūki win, which makes Nodoka angry since while Saki did it so that everyone can have fun, Nodoka can only have fun when Saki is playing at her best. Saki makes a promise with Nodoka to shoot for the nationals, and the two finally become friends. ".
• saki-4 description "Hisa announces to the club that they are now signed up for the national qualifying tournament, and she hands out the rules. Yūki sees that one school, Ryūmonbuchi, are extremely skilled and even won the tournament the previous year despite being all first-year students. Hisa asks Saki and Nodoka to help out at Mako's family's cafe, telling them that learning about the real world is also important to improve their mahjong skills. When they arrive at the cafe, they see that it is actually a maid cafe, and they have to wear embarrassing maid uniforms. Patrons can also play mahjong there, and Saki and Nodoka easily win against two customers. After one leaves, a woman who Saki is intimidated by joins them. The woman completely mops the floor with them, and at the end it is revealed that she is Fujita, a professional mahjong player. Saki and Nodoka later find out that Hisa set the whole thing up so that they could also feel what real defeat is like. Hisa explains that the club is going on a training camp to improve their skills. ".
• saki-5 description "The mahjong club goes to a mountain retreat training camp to improve their skills. The first day is spent mainly having fun, and playing some normal games of mahjong. The next day, Hisa gives the first years (excluding Kyōtarō) special tasks. Saki plays mahjong online, but is dejected how easily she loses to others. Nodoka has to gain experience playing others in real life when she is more skilled playing online like she is used to when playing at home. Yūki does math drills in order to improve her ability to keep track of the score when playing mahjong. Afterwards, Yūki becomes depressed how she loses so much against Nodoka, Saki and Hisa, and the club president recounts how when she was a first-year, she was the only member of the club, but she kept with it and now she is grateful there are many new members. Yūki continues to play, and manages a win. The next day, Yūki, Nodoka and Saki go to see the nearby waterfall. ".
• saki-6 description "After arriving at the tournament area, Saki gets separated from her friends, and during this time Nodoka gets hounded by reporters due to her having won last year's national junior high school tournament. After Saki makes it back to the others, Hisa explains the order of the players, starting with Yūki, followed by Mako, herself, Nodoka, and finally Saki. While initially underestimated by her opponents, Yūki wins many hands, nearly shutting out the others. Afterwards, Mako and Hisa also make quick work of their opponents, ending with a commanding lead. When it is Nodoka's turn, more people show up to watch her match. ".
• saki-7 description "Nodoka walks into her match holding her penguin stuffed animal which causes a stir among the observers and her own opponents. Nodoka plays extremely well, and of the competitors from Ryūmonbuchi, Tōka, notices her similarities to a famous skilled online mahjong player known as Nodocchi. She tries telling this to her teammates, but they still do not think it can be true. Saki makes short work of her round by taking the remaining points from one of the players, and the team progresses on to the semi-finals round. In the semi-finals, Saki's team makes it through to the finals, along with Ryūmonbuchi, Kazekoshi, and Tsuruga Academy. One of the members from Kazekoshi, Kana Ikeda, gets harsh treatment from their coach for not playing up to her expectations, despite the fact they made it to the finals. The captain of the the team, Mihoko Fukuji protects Kana, and after the coach leaves, the captain encourages her teammates in showing everyone that their school is the best. ".
• saki-8 description "The Kazekoshi team takes the train back to town since they do not have enough money to stay in a hotel near the tournament. Hisa tells Mako how she was the reason why Hisa held on to the hope that more girls would join the mahjong club the next year so that they could go to the prefectural tournament together. Nodoka recounts to Saki how she used to play mahjong only on the Internet due to lack of players, but after entering junior-high school met Yūki and others, leading them to enter into the junior-high tournament, though only Nodoka advanced. The girls from Kazekoshi talk about how their captain, Mihoko Fukuji, does most of the work for the club, and since it is her last year, they want to play as hard as they can so they can go to the national tournament. Tōka dispatches a butler to bring Koromo Amae to the tournament, who had been sleeping all day. ".
• saki-9 description "The final's first round starts when Ryūmonbuchi representative Jun Inoue accidentally eats Yūki's only taco. The latter cries and causes a commotion, but Mihoko shares her lunch box with her. As the game progresses, Jun starts to win many hands and pressures Yūki who is gradually losing her confidence. Mihoko opens her right eye and uses her power to read the game's flow in order to help Yūki gain her points back from Jun. Jun gets irritated over the two teaming up against her while Yūki thinks Mihoko is her ally. However, Mihoko surprises everyone with her continuous winning, and both Jun and Yūki finally realizes that she is the true enemy. The first round ends with Mihoko completely dominating the game points for the Kazekoshi team. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-1 description "During elementary school, Shizuno Takakamo and Ako Atarashi make friends with the recently transferred Nodoka Haramura. Upon hearing about her interest in mahjong, they take Nodoka to Achiga Girl's Academy, where Harue Akado runs a mahjong club for children. After a few games with Kuro Matsumi, Shizuno later tells Nodoka about Harue's history, including reasons leading to Achiga's club disbanding. By the year's end, Harue accepts an offer to join a company's mahjong team, which leads to the closure of the children's club. Nodoka also reveals that she is transferring out by next spring. The years have passed, and an excited third year Shizuno sees Nodoka on television winning the individual middle school tournament. Driven to reach the inter-high national tournament, Shizuno goes to Achiga's club room where she encounters Kuro, who had been maintaining the room since disbandment. Together, they revive the mahjong club with intent to meet Nodoka again. Instead of Bansei, Ako also enrolls into Achiga for the same reason. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-10 description "Nodoka has a dream where she meets up with Shizuno and the others and ponders about its meeting. Meanwhile, the first half of the vanguard match finishes, with Teru still ahead, although the Achiga girls manage to figure something out about Teru's play style which they pass on to Kuro. Teru continues to dominate the second half, managing to get a 100,000 point lead over Senriyama, when Toki recalls when she previously attempted to look two turns ahead and ended up collapsing. Having secretly practised at home, Toki decides to put her double turn peek into practice. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-11 description "Toki uses her ability to look two turns into the future, enabling her to stop Teru's streak but leaving her extremely weak in the process. Meanwhile, Kirame recalls how her team chose her to be the sacrificial pawn owing to her purported ability to never go bust. As the game approaches its climax, Toki is left incredibly weak and is supposedly unable to use her ability. Meanwhile, as Saki, Nodoka and Yuki arrive at the arena, Saki appears to be preoccupied with something. As Toki remains under pressure as Teru decides to prolong the match, she recalls how her teammates supported her during a training camp. Determined to help her team, Toki decides to take a risk and attempt to look three turns into the future. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-12 description "As Toki pushes her body to the limit to look three turns into the future, she predicts Kuro is finally about to make her move. As Kuro is pressured into potentially discarding a dora, she recalls her friends and her late mother and decides to discard a dora, throwing off Teru's calculations and enabling her to earn some points off Teru, bringing the first match to an end. Just then, Toki collapses from her fatigue and has to be rushed to hospital. As Achiga prepares to move on to the next match, they finally run into Nodoka, both promising to do their best to reach the finals. With their resolve in place, Yū enters the fray for the second match. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-2 description "Kuro takes Shizuno and Ako to meet her older sister, Yū, who becomes the fourth mahjong club member. The next day, Kuro asks her classmate, Arata Sagimori, a fan of Harue during her prime, and she joins as the fifth member. During the winter, Harue's company manga team had become defunct, and visits Achiga for some nostalgia. To her surprise, she finds Shizuno and the others playing. Wanting to experience the inter-high nationals once more, Harue decides to become the club's advisor and coach. With the mahjong club officially formed, the girls begin training for the prefectural preliminaries. Later in the evening, Ako encounters some of her former classmates who went on to attend prefectural rival Bansei High. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-3 description "At the prefectural tournament, the Achiga team defeats Bansei in the first round and eventually qualifies for the nationals. To train for the nationals, Harue schedules the club to play against prefectural runner-ups. Immediately, Ako utters "Nagano", Kiyosumi's prefecture, as the first one to visit, and therefore, they play Ryūmonbuchi High. There, Koromo Amae overwhelmingly defeats Shizuno but doesn't discourage her or the team. Then, the excited team proceeds to defeat other schools at other prefectures. After a ten day training camp, the girls set off for the nationals. While stopping at a rest stop, Shizuno and the others meet Toki Onjōji and Ryuuka Shimizudani from Senriyama Girl's High, who are also seeded in the nationals. As the club finally reaches the nationals, they briefly walk pass Saki Miyanaga. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-4 description "As the Achiga girls receive results of the drawing lottery, they find that they are on the opposite side of Kiyosumi while on the same side as the top-ranked Shiraitodai High School. As the girls do some research on their opponents, Harue meets up with her former coach, Kumakura. On the day of the first round, Achiga is pitted against Sanomo, Urabandai and Imizusougou. After some initial difficulty, Kuro manages to show off her dora-drawing skills in her round, and Achiga soon sails to victory and advances to the second round. Later, Senriyama read up on Achiga's victory, preparing to face them in the next round, along with Koshigaya and Kentani. As Kuro enters the competition room, she encounters a waiting Toki. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-5 description "As the vanguard match begins, Toki's ability to see one turn ahead puts pressure on Kuro, whose dora-style renders her defense play weak and predictable. Adding riichi with her ability, this enables Toki to dominate the match, and Kuro is left ineffective. With Kuro in tears, Yū steps into the second match motivated to get back the points Kuro lost, while Senriyama hopes to use the information they gathered on her against her. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-6 description "As the second match begins, Yū starts off well but soon struggles when Senriyama's Izumi Nijō figures out her play style of picking warm tiles with red characters. However, Yū makes a comeback as Izumi fails to observe that the tiles Yū draws include any which feature the color red. Then the third match is played out with Ako against Senriyama's Sera Iguchi. She manages to bring Achiga up to second place. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-7 description "During the fourth match featuring Arata, some tough competition puts Achiga back into third place behind Kentani. As it comes down to the last hand of the final match, Shizuno faces tough odds. However, her determination to not give up gives her the opportunity to get back into second place, allowing Achiga to proceed to the semi-finals alongside Senriyama. As the girls celebrate their victory, Harue warns that in the semi-finals, they'll not only be facing Senriyama, but Shiraitodai as well. As the girls go out to eat, they spot Harue with Kumakura, who is talking with her about potentially joining the pro circuit again. As the girls start worrying that Harue may abandon them, they run into Tsuruga Academy's Momoko Touyoko and Satomi Kanbara. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-8 description "Satomi brings the Achiga girls to her grandmother's house where they meet Tsuruga's Yumi Kajiki. Wanting to improve their skills and become stronger, the Achiga girls ask to train with them. Since they are not participating in the individual tournament, they are also allowed to battle against Kazekoshi Girls School's Mihoko Fukuji, and they soon come up against some national level play. The next day, the girls meet up Kei Arakawa and several other talented players to continue their training, whilst Kiyosumi play out their second round match. Later that evening, Shizuno spots Kumakura and confronts her about her discussions with Harue. To her relief, she learns that Harue turned down the offer of going pro, saying that she wants to stay with Achiga til the end. As Shizuno breaks the news to the others, they become determined to win the semifinals, where they face Shiraitodai, Senriyama and Shindouji Girls' High. The first round soon kicks off, with Kuro preparing to face off against Toki, Shindouji's Kirame Hanada and Shiraitodai's strongest player, Teru Miyanaga. ".
• saki-achiga-hen-episode-of-side-a-9 description "As Toki makes the first winning move, everyone starts to feel the strange power of Teru, who soon starts a winning streak that even surpasses Toki's predictions. Toki recalls the time when she was picked to be Senriyama's ace, where she revealed to Ryuuka and Sera the prediction ability she got following a collapse. Toki soon regains her confidence and helps Kirame disrupt Teru's streak. As the third South Hand begins, Teru looks set to restart her streak whilst Kuro laments that she hasn't been able to do anything. ".

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