3-gatsu no Lion 95

WHEW! Ok finally finished this. And now we begin volume 10. It's hard to imagine I've made it this far. But I'm almost at my goal.

[3-Gatsu no Lion 95 Translation by Kewl0210]
Author Flap:
Top: 'Recent Photo of the Author('s cat)'
Text: YAA! It's me, Bun-chan!
I've really been into curling up recently!
When I'm in this shape, I slip around on ice!
When Mama sees me, she says 'Bun-chan has turned into a strange plant!'
and takes lots of pictures, but I leave her be.
Mama has a bit of a distant attitude towards sports.
And I think it is important for 'people to realize things on their own'!

Page 6:
Chapter.95 New Days
Chapter.96 Lunch Break
Chapter.97 Other Home
Chapter.98 Soft Wind
Chapter.99 A Town Where it Rains
Chapter.100 Swimming Man (1)
Chapter.101 Swimming Man (2)
Chapter.102 Visitor (1)
Chapter.103 Visitor (2)
Chapter.104 Promise
Bottom: This is a work of fiction. There is no connection to any actual people, groups, or events.

Page 7:
Title: Chapter.95 New Days

Page 8:
[Spacer paaaage]

Page 9:
Rei: ----The Meijin Championship ended,
the rainy season came to a close,
and now summer is almost here.
3rd year of high school, end of June.
Once I graduate high school,
I decided I would focus purely on shogi rather than go to college,
so I only have 9 months left in my life as a student.
I wanted to have a memory of 'not running away'...
I think.

Page 10:
Rei: ----This is the third year I've come back to this thing called 'school' for that reason.
I'm still alone as ever,
but the reason I can sit here absentmindedly
feeling completely different from before
is I think because
I've made a little progress----...
---One new change
I could talk about that happened over those days
with everything saying pretty much the same...

Page 11:
SFX: NIPAAAAHHH (Smile) FURI FURI (Waving)
Rei: is the fact that
I'm able to see Hina in the school now.
----After Hina overcame those angry waves of the entrance exams,
3 months have already passed since she entered
this Komahashi High School.
Sign: Science Lab
Hina: Rei-chan!
SFX: PYOO

Page 12:
Hina: Look!
We made a poster for the Shogi Club!
Handwritten: Isn't it cute?! ☆
Poster: All welcome! [Top left/black]
Shogi Club [Top right/white]
First-timer's
welcome! [Middle in gray blob]
It's fun! [Top left]
The first 4 to arrive [Bottom black]
Get a free tissue case gift! [Bottom white]
SFX: NIKOOO (GRIN)
Rei: Ooohhh! That looks good!!
----Huh? ...But these pieces....
are these... hand-knit?
Hina: Aren't they cute?
We both knitted them, actually.
They're presents
for the first 4 people to give the club a try.
Look!
They actually become tissue cases~~~! ☆
Handwritten: They're both useful and pretty, don't you think?
Rei: N-
Neat...
SFX: PAPAAAN
Th-They look great.
Um, but I'm kinda afraid that they might be so cute somebody might steal them.
Rei: It's okay!! Even if they rip the symbols off, they're drawn underneath!
Rei: Uh, so that's okay because of the illustration underneath?
SFX: BERIH

Page 13:
Hina: Okay, all done delivering the goods
from the hand-made club.
I'm gonna need a seal on here.
Paper: Voucher
Hand-Made Club
SFX: FUHAAH
Rei: Ah, ok.
Aaand stamped.
Hina: Thank you very muuuch!!
Oookay! ☆ Mission complete!!
How 'bout we go buy some beads from Asakusabashi?
Girl: Great idea!
Rei: Yeah.
Before I knew it
Hina-chan had made a great friend!
SFX: TOTATAAAHHH SUTATAAAHH
Rei: Her name is Tsugumi-chan.
Apparently she's the daughter of a small handicraft salesman in Nippori.
Handwritten (Hina): I'm done!!
I'm gonna make it a cusion cover!!
(Tsugumi): Ahahah! A caaaat!
Looks niiice!
But you'll need to knit a back, too.

Page 14:
Rei: Fair-skinned, placid, girl with pretty features.
And I guess one thing they have in common is they both have families downtown that run shops.
SFX: NYOOOOOON... UKIIIIIIHH
Rei: They seem pretty on the same wavelength. No matter how much they talk, they always seem like they have more to say.
----Suddenly I realized
that they're spending break times, lunch time, club activities,
and walks home together.
Handwritten: This is niiice! I'm stretchiiing!
NYAHAAA
HAWAWAAA
Are your feet off the ground yet?
Not yeeeeet! ☆
Rei: THey also both joined the 'Hand-Made Club' and seem to be having lots of fun.
Thanks to that, she doesn't have to rely on me at all.
SFX: RANRAA RURARAA
Rei: Even though we're in the same school now...
it actually feels like we see each other less than we used to.
----But that's okay. I don't mind.
When I think back to how she was last year, my chest feels like it's being torn apart.

Page 15:
Rei: As long as Hina-chan
is able to spend every day
with a smile on her face...
Guy: Hey, Kiriyama,
we're gonna get started soon.
It's time.
Rei: As long as she's able to do that...
I'm...
...
Okay.
Guy: Eh, Vice Principal-san?
In this Company Crew Battle,
I will lead the pack!!
And I haven't the slightest intention of handing that over to a youngster like you!!
Vice: Hohoh. Well, well, well,
Branding me as a youngster----? I haven't heard that one before.
---In that case, I hope you show me.

Page 16:
SFX: PASHIH PASHIH PACHIH PASHIH
Guys: Sensei!! Please teach me what to do next when I'm in brinkmate!!
Handwritten: The only thing you can do is checkmate the opponent, right?!
Handwritten (Big): Last-Minute Cramming
Guy: Kiriyama-sensei!! When there's an ou-headed vanguard fu, should I pull my hisha to the 1st rank?!
Vice: In accelerated Ishida-style, in order to avoid getting smothered,
is rising kin or static hisha anaguma the better choice?!
I have to make it up to the A-class league this year!!
I cannot let that Tsukikou next to me keep smirking at me!!
Master, the Company Crew Battle is this Sunday!!
Sensei!!
Rei: U-Um, first, calm down, everyone.
Guys: Sensei!!

Page 17:
Rei: ----Er, actually, excuse me...
If I'm really being honest, I thought Hina chan would say
something like
'Maybe I'll join the shogi club'...
Guys: Sensei!
Sensei!!
Sensei!!
Rei: But I'm sure this is all right---- Er, well,
There's no way I can just completely leave Hina-chan alone now!!
I mean...!! This isn't so much a 'Shogi Club'
as it is a total *outrage, isn't it?!
Asterisk: *(Where people are taught by a pro shogi player for free)
T/N: "Outrage" is the name of a 2010 Japanese crime drama movie.
Rei: ----By the way,
as for those 'Shogi Club invitation posters' the Hand-Craft Club made,
the tissue cases were snapped up in an instant
by bastards pretending to want to try the club out
just 'cause they wanted things hand made by cute girls. ☆
Bottom: Chapter.95 E N D

Page 18:
Top Right Small: An article by Senzaki Manabu
Top Right Big: Senzaki Manabu's Lion Shogi Column
Big Right: What is a Crew Battle in Shogi?!
Article: Shogi is an individual sport, but among amateurs there also exists a crew battles where players team up. I would have to say that the largest of these is the Inter-Company Crew Championships held twice a year. Commonly known as Company Crew Battle. These are tournaments in people from the same companies or organizations form five-man teams and compete against each other. It's a traditional tournament and this year (It's currently November of 2014) it has been held 106 times. A-class has always been the best, but now they have a rank called the S-class. A mere 8 teams are entered into this exclusive class and it is made up mostly of well known amateur heavy-hitters.
Besides that there are classed A, B... down to F. They each have 64 team and 128 team tournaments, so that's quite a staggering number of people in total. They take place in massive locations like the Japan Martial Arts Stadium, the Ayase Martial Arts Stadium, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The winner of each class receives a beautiful shield. By the way, and I can hardly believe this, the publishers of this manga, Hakusensha, have been champions multiple times. According to Umino-san's editor, T-Shi 'I'm the reason they won.' Though that might be a fabrication. They're apparently very proud of the shields they won. It's set at the entrance of the editorial department as if to say 'What do you think of that?'
As for other tournaments, there are the Inter-Workforce Championships, also known as the Workforce Crew Battle. Unlike the Company Crew Battle, there is no restriction on being from the same organization. No matter what sort of mish-mash of companies it is, you're allowed to form a team as long as you have seven people. Because of that rule, there may be strong players that join teams like mercenaries. It's a very unique crew battle overflowing with personality.
Of course, pro players are not in these tournaments (Though they're often asked to join wearing a mask). One would think that if they did participate, they would need to be paid some amount of contractual money.... but if they lost somehow, then they would be embarrassed and such.
Crew battles for those in college age and below are in full bloom. Tournaments are big enough that there can be an individuals section and a crews section. One thing I think is pretty cute is the crew battles of 3-man elementary school teams held separately. Also there is the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Cup, commonly known as the Culture-Science Cup. There are preliminaries split into local governments all over the country and the winners of that enter the main tournaments to determine the best elementary schools of the East and the West. I'm sure those that participate are praised by the principals at school assemblies and the trophies decorate the principal's office.
Something unique to crew battles is even if you're doing badly, you don't want to resign quickly because it lowers the morale of the other players. Often these matches come down to the last game and all members of both teams watch with bated breath as the final outcome is determined.
By the way, I've never participated in a crew battle. I've been playing shogi for nearly 40 years and I've never done it even once. As I write this I've realized something quite astounding. Not only in shogi, I've never done a crew battle in any event at all... That's odd. Extremely odd. Because of that I have a secret adoration of team battles. I'd really think it would be nice to have an experience where I lose, but the team wins.