Episode 16: “Watching from Heaven”
Summary: Ayumi’s mother has passed away. Hani-meijin drops by the funeral, stating that he knew Ayumi was a boy ever since he found out he was Kamizono’s apprentice. We find out that when their mother died, Hani-meijin left Satoru to pursue being a kishi and asked Kamizono to be his mentor, saying he left his brother and desires to be the meijin someday. Kamizono turned him down, probably because of his reason and that look in Hani’s eye. Back to present, Ayumi tells Hani-meijin that he doesn’t have a reason to play shougi anymore now that his mother is gone. “You still need one?” replied Hani-meijin, which obviously had Ayumi doubting his own words.
A blushing Shion wishes to send a text message to Ayumi but can’t seem think of anything to say. It took her the whole day before she came up with something to say. Shion decides to visit Ayumi’s mom in the hospital the next day. Shinji and Shion have an interview with the newspaper. When asked of her favorite phrase, Shion writes “Watching from Heaven.” The interviewer interprets this as the gods of shougi are watching over them, but Shinji knows to well that what Shion meant was that her dead parents are always watching over her. We get a bit more background on Satoru. It is revealed that 8 years ago, the day after Shion’s parents were murdered, Satoru’s girlfriend, Kazumi, died. Based on the autopsy, she died of heart failure but it seems he doubts that cause of death. Meanwhile, the detectives think that Satoru is fixated on Shion out of jealousy. They have similar circumstances, but Shion was loved and raised by a family as their own while he was left on his own and probably blames himself that he couldn’t save Kazumi.
Ayumi bumps into Shion on his way to the Association. Shion is crying while holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Ayumi figures she found out from the hospital that his mom passed away and rushed to Association to see him. He tells Shion that he thinks his mom is watching him from heaven right now, quoting Shion’s words in the newspaper. It’s Ayumi vs. Satoru in a match. Ayumi realizes that he is still a weak kishi and desires to be stronger. We learn that Satoru studied shougi relentlessly on his own and studied his brother’s games in hopes of facing him off in a shougi match later on. Ayumi loses to Satoru. He calls Kamizono and informs him of his loss and his mom’s death, saying he wants to learn to be a stronger kishi but that from this day on, he will no longer cross dress and the female kishi Saito Ayumi is gone.
Ayumi visits Kamizono in the hospital and is surprised to find Hani-meijin is also there. Kamizono informs him that he is no longer his master and that Hani will be taking him on as his apprentice now as a male kishi. Ayumi does not like this idea, stating that he can’t be an apprentice of the one person he most desires to win against, but Kamizono says Hani-meijin may be the only one who can help him and shield him from the Association now that he decided to let his secret out. Hani-meijin’s authority in the Association is his only choice for survival. Later at Hani-meijin’s place, he tells Ayumi that he will be staying with him as his apprentice from this day forward. He cuts Ayumi’s hair, saying that he will help him become a strong kishi and rise to the top.
~ end of episode
Impression: Right off the bat, the scene is the death of Ayumi’s mom. I guess it’s not really a surprise since it was previously hinted a couple of episodes ago when Saori found out Ayumi’s secret. But still… it’s quite sad seeing Ayumi broken like that. Shion’s little crush on Ayumi is so adorable! She wants to text him but can’t find a decent thing to say.^^
I thought Hani-meijin was cruel for leaving Satoru on his own just to pursue shougi and his desire to be the meijin, also demanding Satoru to stop playing shougi for no justifiable reason. It’s a bit selfish. Would it hurt him to take Satoru with him and learn shougi together? Bleh! I can’t imagine myself leaving my younger brother on his own like that, whatever the reason may be. I kinda understand Satoru’s feelings and agenda now of desperately wanting to face off with his big brother in a shougi match, considering how Hani-meijin just brushed him off and went his own way. Satoru just wants to get back at him and settle the score, some sort of revenge I guess. Hmm, speaking of Hani-meijin, his behavior has been bugging me for quite sometime now. He’s not exactly acting suspicious but it seems something’s up with him and I just can’t quite put my finger on it.
:: I’m basically just transferring the summaries, typing my handwritten notes to here. Episode 17 has been in drafts days ago and will be posted as soon as I’m done with the screencaps and resizing them, probably over the weekend :: ^_^
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