Gamble Fish 22

Chapter 22

131

Title: Fight 22 A Demon Swooping Down

132

Natsumi: And with Asahina's break, the third set begins.
Natsumi: If she wins this set, she will have three consecutive wins and will be victorious!!

Crowd: Finish this, champion!!
Crowd: Go for it, Asahina!!

133

Natsumi: Shirasagi is watching and is at his wits end!!
Mika: Oh ho ho ho!!
Natsumi: Will this end without him being able to do anything!?

Gokijima: Heh...It's over for you, kid.
Gokijima: Without my strategies you're just an amateur. Nee heh heh...

Tomu: Just a little longer...
Tomu: A little longer...

134

Tomu: And a demon will be swooping down onto this table...

135

Natsumi: Asahina's break!!!

Asahina: The 6-ball went in, and the rest broke without issue.
Asahina: I've got this.

136

Crowd: Shirasagi's string of victories is over. He shouldn't have tried to take her on.
Crowd: He isn't gonna get a single shot. It doesn't matter if he cheats or uses any kind of trick.

Yuka: What are you doing, Shirasagi...!?
Yuka: Why aren't you doing anything!?

Yuka: You went as far as to cut off a finger to defeat me.
Yuka: And now you're just going to sit their awaiting defeat!?

Guy: Hey, isn't it getting kind of hot?
Girl: Yeah...It's getting really steamy in here.

137

Natsumi: Asahina continues to play flawlessly.
Natsumi: She just has the 7, 8, and 9-balls left!!

Natsumi: And they're all in front of a pocket. She could do this with her eyes closed.
Natsumi: Gokijima ran off and Mushroom-senpai disappeared at some point... This is hopeless!!

Asahina: I'll hit it on the upper-right.
Asahina: I'll hit the cushion with the cue ball so it'll come back so I can hit the 8-ball in from behind...

138

Asahina: Okay...It's right on target...

Asahina: Wh-what!!?

139

Crowd: What happened?
Crowd: It's a miss shot. She missed!!
Crowd: That path wouldn't have hit the 8-ball.

Upper text on diagram: The spot where the cue ball stopped.
Lower text on diagram: The spot Asahina was aiming for.

Asahina: Ridiculous. I screwed up on stopping the ball!?
Asahina: I could have sworn where I hit it and the force I used were correct...

Asahina: The felt...!! The felt the ball was rolling on so nicely before has gotten heavy...

Asahina: Why...?

140

Asahina: The air conditioning's off!!?

141

Crowd: She's right!! The air conditioning turned off at some point!!
Crowd: I was just thinking that it was really steamy and hot in here!!

Asahina: In this rain and with all these people here, stopping the air conditioning let all the moisture get in the felt.
Mika: Rio...
Asahina: And that kept the cue ball from rolling well!!

Mika: How could the air conditioning break down now!?
Mika: I'll have it fixed right away...

Mizuhara: ...I'm back, Tomu.
Tomu: Welcome back, Mizuhara.

142

Mika: N-now you've done it, Shirasagi Tomu!!!

Tomu: ...Done what?

Mika: Don't play dumb!! You had that mushroom head stop the air conditioning, didn't you!?
Mizuhara: I-I-I just went to the bathroom...
Mika: Shut up, you mushroom!!!

143

Tomu: Assuming I did have the air conditioning turned off...What's wrong with that?
Tomu: Is there anything in the billiards rule book about not messing with the air conditioning?

Tomu: Or...
Tomu: did she get to be the world champ by blaming her misses on moisture?

Asahina: Mika!! That's enough.
Asahina: Turn the air conditioning back on and we'll get back to playing.
Mika: B-but Rio!!

Asahina: Shirasagi's right...Not noticing the condition of the felt was my fault.
Asahina: If this kind of cheap trick is how a gambler plays, then so be it...

144

Asahina: I'll just play in my own way!!
Asahina: I won't let you have a single shot, Shirasagi Tomu!!!

Natsumi: Now then, the match is starting back up!!
Natsumi: How is Asahina going to get the 8-ball in here!?

145

Asahina: This is a tough shot... If I just barely hit it, it won't get in the side pocket...
Asahina: And even if I bank it, there isn't a good course and, to make matters worse, I have to reach for this shot...

Asahina: In that case...!!

146

Crowd: She hit the "corner" of the cushion!?
Crowd: She used that corner that seemed to be in the way to create it's course!!

Natsumi: Did she do it!?
Natsumi: The 8-ball is heading to the corner pocket...

147

Asahina: Kh...

Crowd: Ah, it missed!!!
Crowd: Too bad!!
Crowd: I guess that was impossible even for Asahina!!

Natsumi: Too bad!! Asahina didn't manage to get the 8-ball in the pocket!!
Natsumi: Yes!! This is his chance.
Natsumi: Shirasagi's counterattack begins!!!

148

Crowd: Shirasagi's finally gonna play!!
Crowd: How much skill does he truly have!?
Crowd: He would have to be a god to turn it around from here!!

Tomu: Didn't you just say that you weren't going to let me have a single shot?
Tomu: You broke that promise pretty quickly. Heh heh heh...

Asahina: Heh...
Asahina: But you'll only get the one.

149

Tomu: ...What?

Crowd: H-hey, look!!
Crowd: Look at the arrangement of the balls...

Crowd: That's a "safety"!!
Crowd: The 9-ball is acting like a wall to the cue ball!!
Crowd: He can't aim for the 8-ball like this!!

150

Asahina: "And Safety"!!! It's a high-level strategy where you leave things in a difficult arrangement in case you miss the shot!!
Asahina: If you can get that in, then do it!!