The Queen and Meijin tournaments ended barely a week back. Chihaya was declared Queen while Arata barely lost to the Meijin Suoh. The Meijin and Queen matches were highly viewed with every Karuta enthusiast glued to either the TV set or any other viewing device.

To all those wondering how Shinobu didn't snag the Queen title, blame it on her extreme practising, which landed the girl in the hospital right after the Qualifiers. While in bed, she watched the matches intently, admiring how Chihaya eased through them.

As the announcer uttered syllable after syllable Chihaya swept away the cards with precision, leaving her opponents flummoxed. It was obvious that they found it too difficult to deal with this tsunami of a girl. She proved her finesse and it could be seen by the margin of winning, especially in the final where Chihaya won +20.

One month back, Arata called Chihaya and Taichi for a meeting. It was to be on the present day. They were due to have arrived by that moment, but Chihaya found herself alone. She waited for half an hour at the spot. Then came a message from Taichi.

|Taichi: Won't be here due to entrance exams. Enjoy the evenin' with Arata-kun. 😄|

Chihaya was annoyed. In fact, annoyed was an understatement. She was sick of waiting and walked onto the street. A nearby department store caught her attention. It wasn't very flashy, but on stepping inside she realised what made her enter it in the first place.

Snowmaru merchandise lined an entire shelf, from floor to ceiling. What's more is that when she bought herself an ice-cream, even that had Snowmaru on the label.

Chihaya got an idea. She gave a phone call. It rang. Once, twice, thrice, four times.

A voice which didn't belong to the intended recipient was heard.

"Who's calling?"

It was the Meijin.

"Is this who I think it is? Suoh-san. Where's Shinobu?"

"In the next room. She's practising and likely won't be free for at least an hour."

"Why are you there though?"

"Oh. Arata brought me here. The two of them are playing a match right now. I'm supposed to observe their methods."

Chihaya couldn't speak. Arata skipped the meet that he himself called to play a match with Shinobu. If she was annoyed earlier, she was absolutely enraged now. Did that man not value his friendship with them? Not his own words either?

"You could come over. If I'm not mistaken, you don't have exams unlike your friend."

"Maybe I'll do that after all. Bye Suoh-san."

The line was cut. Chihaya bought a plushie from the shop. The shopkeeper felt sorry on hearing the conversation and added a mini Daddy Bear in her bag without her noticing (It happened to be free with something else). She thanked the shopkeeper and left.

After a train ride, Chihaya reached Shinobu's place. Her mother congratulated Chihaya for winning the title. She led her to the room next to the one where the two were playing the match.

Chihaya watched the match from a glass window, so as not to disturb the two. She wanted to knock Arata unconscious, but at the same time wanted to see what happened when the two are set up as rivals in a match. She looked for Suoh in the meanwhile, who was nowhere to be found. Shinobu's mom tried speaking to her for a while, but seemed to sense something off with her. She left Chihaya to continue watching the two play.

Slam!

Shinobu stood, visibly fazed by Arata's onslaught. It was a rare sight - she rarely showed her emotions in front of her competitors. She brought a water bottle from the other side of the room and drank a bit, before resuming. At that moment, Arata was leading by an entire 17 cards. The scene was quite bizzare. The two wouldn't acknowledge anybody's existence but their own. While Arata looked like he belonged in the world the game created, Shinobu seemed an outcast.

Chihaya wanted to see Shinobu's tenacity return. For a while, it did. Shinobu was exact when Arata was fast. She sent the cards and appeared to ask their permission to be used. Wait! Chihaya was beginning to overuse her imagination.

The match seems to turn over into Arata's face, but since the margin of loss was huge, even the Former Queen couldn't reclaim it. She lost by 4 points. A few moments later, she sent Arata packing after he attempted to console her. Chihaya could tell he tried and chose not to call him out on ditching her. He didn't even notice her being there as he left.

Chihaya set out the plushie on the table when Shinobu herself had left the match room.

"Do stay over for the night. I'm worried about my daughter and wish that she'd interact with someone her age more."

She turned to find Shinobu's mom holding some snacks. She wondered about the consequences of not returning home for the night, then chose to disregard it altogether. She nodded, accepting the offer.

"Let me show you the match room from the inside."

Shinobu's mom gave her a mini tour, so that Shinobu would get time to see the gift Chihaya brought. Chihaya was unaware that there was also a 'Daddy Bear' plushie along with Snowmaru.

There was a piercing gasp.

(This may be continued with a 'Part 2'.)