Gamble Fish 14

Chapter 14

147

Driver: Oh, you were in the hospital for 2 months...
Driver: That sure is rough.

Driver: But isn't Shishidou that elite school I've heard rumors of?
Driver: Also, you look like you have a quality to you that my fool of a son doesn't have!!

Tomu: Well, thank you...
Driver: What's your best subject? English? Or maybe math?

Tomu: Nope...
Tomu: It's gambling.
Title: Fight 14 Nine-ball

148

Title: Fight 14 Nine-ball
Natsumi: Welcome back, Tomu-senpaaaai!!
Mizuhara: Congrats on getting out of the hospital!!

149

Crowd: Congratulations on being released, Shirasagi-kun!!
Crowd: Welcome back.
Crowd: Your rehabilitation must've been tough!

Crowd: Your finger's really better? Thank goodness!!
Crowd: So...is the next game gonna be soon?
Crowd: I'm betting on you next time!!

Tomu: Looks like the winds have changed...
Tomu: Everyone was betting against me that night.

Mizuhara: Everyone changed their minds after seeing that battle!!
Mizuhara: Your game of Black Jack with Tsukiyono is already a school legend.
Natsumi: That's right!! And you even stood up to the dormitory dean, Abidani-sensei.
Natsumi: You're the first person with enough courage to do that!!

150

Mika: Oh, my...It's like you're pretending to be a hero.

Mika: All you did was stand up to a reckless masochist and an idiot with no skills beyond magic...
Mika: What a ridiculous farce.

151

Tomu: Hey, Mika-san.
Tomu: I was hoping you would visit me in the hospital.

Mika: Oh.
Mika: But I left you a message to make sure you weren't bored.

Tomu: I see...So I was right, this was from you.

Mika: Come to the billiards room after school...
Mika: I'll introduce you to a good friend of mine.
Tomu: A good friend?

152-153

154

Mika: As skillful as ever...
Mika: That was a wonderful shot.

155

Asahina: ...You're Shirasagi?

Tomu: ...Nice to meet you.

Mika: I'll introduce her. She's a good friend of mine and the captain of the billiards team.
Mika: Asahina Rio.

Mika: Rio is one of the sports elite that our academy is so proud of. She's won the Japanese Girls' Open ever since last year...
Mika: And she just recently won the title of World Junior Champion.

156

Mika: Your next game is against her.
Mika: How does 4.8 million on a nine-ball challenge sound?

Crowd: Playing billiards against Asahina-san!?
Crowd: Even Shirasagi can't win against her!!

157

Tomu: ...Fine.
Tomu: I accept.

Mika: Hee hee hee...I knew you'd agree right away.
Mika: But billiards is a game of experience and skill...It's not something you can deceive your way through.

Mizuhara: Mika-san's right...A physical game like this isn't in the world of gambling; it's about real skill.
Mizuhara: And Tomu's finger still hasn't fully healed...

Tomu: What rules will we play by?

Asahina: The same as a regular game.

158

Asahina: The one who hits the balls in in order from the 1-ball to the 9-ball wins.
Asahina: Of course if you hit another ball and it causes the 9-ball to go in, you win.

Asahina: But because Mika wants me to, I'm adding other conditions.

Asahina: First, "winning 3 games or more".

Asahina: Second, "Break Nine".
Asahina: In other words, getting the 9-ball in with your break shot.

159

Asahina: And lastly, "Run Out".
Asahina: The one who clears these 3 conditions first is the winner.

Tomu: What does "run out" mean?

Asahina: Heh...
Asahina: If you don't know that, you really are an amateur.

Asahina: It's kind of like getting a strike in bowling.
Asahina: It means to go from the break shot to getting the 9-ball in without giving your opponent a shot.

Asahina: But you can't hit the 9-ball in partway through.

Asahina: You have to start with 1 and do it in order one by one...

160

Asahina: And finish with 9!!

Asahina: Even the top pros can only pull it off about 35% of the time.
Asahina: An amateur wouldn't be able to do it if he tried a millions times.

Crowd: Wow!! That's the first time I've seen it done!!
Crowd: There's no way Shirasagi can pull that off!!

Tomu: Hmm...so you're not even going to give me a 1% chance?
Mika: Hee hee...it's because we know how skillful you can be.

161

Flashback Aoto: By doubling the cards to ensure my victory I was digging my own grave...
Flashback Kaizuka: "1997"...!? Is he talking about the year on the coin!?
Mika: The other 3 created an opening by believing too much that there was no way they could lose.

Flashback Yuka: I've lost...
Mika: But I won't repeat that mistake.
Flashback Yuka: this game...!!!

Mika: I have invested in Rio as this game's sponsor!!
Mika: This won't be a gamble for me, it's sound business with an interest rate of 100%...Ha ha ha.

Mika: Well, see you in 10 days.

Tomu: So this is business to you...I guess the headmaster's granddaughter would have different tastes.
Mizuhara: This is not the time to be joking around!!

Asahina: There's...one thing I'd like to ask.

162

Asahina: Shirasagi...
Asahina: Does the name "Yumeichirou" ring any bells for you?

Tomu: Where did you learn that name?

163

Asahina: So...
Asahina: you really do know that man?

164

Mika: Rio!?
Mizuhara: Wh-what are you doing!!? That's dangerous!!
Mizuhara: What does it matter to you if Tomu knows this Yumeichirou guy!?

Asahina: Shirasagi Yumeichirou...
Asahina: is a wanted professional swindler.

Mizuhara: S-swindler!?
Mizuhara: Shirasagi...you couldn't mean!

165

Tomu: That's right...
Tomu: Shirasagi Yumeichirou is my father's name.

Natsumi: T-Tomu-senpai's papa is a wanted swindler...!?

Mika: Wait a second, Rio!! What's this about!?
Asahina: Mika...I've told you before about...

Asahina: how my parents had everything they owned taken from them by a swindler...
Asahina: That swindler was Shirasagi Yumeichirou...his father.

166

Asahina: Answer me, Shirasagi Tomu!! Where is Yumeichirou!?
Asahina: Are you, the son, planning on taking everything from this school like your father took everything from my parents?

Tomu: ...Fine.
Tomu: If I lose to you at nine-ball, I'll tell you where my father is.

Tomu: And I'll tell you the true reason I came to Shishidou Academy.