Part 1
HAMA House – 2F Hallway
Yeah, me too. Do you have everything with you? Hand warmers and all?
HAMA House – Dining Room
All I’m asking is for you to practice hanetsuki2 with me since the New Year’s special program’s gonna happen soon!
Stop causing a ruckus so early into the year.
By the way, Renga-san. Wouldn’t it be super hard to play with that doll thingy attached to your paddle?
…
Is everyone planning on playing Hanetsuki? That sounds like fun.
Toi, we should get goin’ before they—
Oh me, oh my!? Are my eyes deceiving me or do I spy with my little eyes, Boss~!?!
…Tch, already fucking saw us.
Oh, Ryui! Ryui, can you help me practice!?
Boss…
No. Toi and I are gonna do our New Year's shrine visit.
Ani-sama would look so cool elegantly smashing a birdie… I wish I could see it…
Oi, hand over the paddle. I’ll show you assholes how it’s done.
Oh, great! You’re a lifesaver! Then I’ll watch you play first… Do you mind playing with Nagi?
Sure. Come at me, Hachinoya. I’ll drench that dumb face of yours in ink.
Whoa… Ryui’s all fired up. Got it. Then I’ll do my best too. I’ll make a good punching bag at least. I think. Probably.
Does that mean our tournament bracket’s all done and dusted!? In that case~ I’ll take care of all the filming and… Liguang-san can be the referee!
Oi, stop trying to get me involved…
Good luck, Ani-sama~!
HAMA House
…One for Hachinoya.
Nagi won again!? Nagi, you’re so good at this!
Honestly, I’m surprised too. I never thought I’d see the day when all that dexterity from catching falling objects would come to help me, and in hanetsuki no less.
Sorry Ryui, I don’t make the rules, so.
Nagi draws on Ryui’s face
…
Boss, you’re totally eating the look~! I guess when you get on Boss’s level, you look lit as hell even with your face painted on!
Yeah, I agree with Akuta. It suits you really well, Ryui.
Don’t fuck with me, you bastards!!! We’re goin’ again!
Ahhh, Ani-sama looks so cute with doodles all over his face~!! Good luck in the next round too~!!
I’m getting all fired up just from watching…! This match might be over quicker than expected, so— Liguang, you’re going up against me next!
…
Oi, Older Shiramitsu.
All warfare is based on deception.4 A match isn’t just about taking everything that comes your way head on.
…
You watched RYDIN5 last night, right? There are different strategies when it comes to playing, just like how there are various fighting styles.
(…I see. Then in that case—)
Good luck, Ani-sama~!!
Play time’s over for you, Hachinoya—
I’ll smash you to pieces!!!
A major Japanese New Years tradition where your first visit to a buddhist temple or shinto shrine (typically within the first four days of the new year) is said to bring a fresh start to the year.
Hanetsuki is a racket game similar to badminton played around the New Year in Japan. The rules of the game are similar to badminton except when one person loses, they get their face marked/doodled with ink.
A rectangular racket board used to play hanetsuki. In recent years, the object has become a good-luck charm used for decoration.