『Ai Hinatsuru』

Yaichi's first disciple, a nine-year-old third grader. She is a cheerful girl with extreme talent for shogi, as well as the daughter of the owners of a large and popular inn which has been the site for major matches in Ishikawa. She holds great admiration for Yaichi for his determination and refusal to give up after witnessing his Ryūō match. She first met an exhausted Yaichi during his previous Ryūō title match, where after rejuvenating him with a glass of water, Yaichi promised to grant her any wish if he won. Three months after the title match, she ran away from home to become Yaichi's disciple. Initially accepted as a temporary disciple over spring break, her parents tried to bring her home claiming concerns about the stability of life as a female professional. She failed their conditions to continue her discipleship, but Yaichi was sufficiently impressed by her determination and performance under great pressure. Afterwards he personally requests to take her on, even accepting the condition that, if she fails to claim a title before graduating junior high, he would marry her and inherit the inn. She is exceptionally possessive of Yaichi and occasionally demonstrates yandere traits. In shogi, she is extremely good at tsume shogi, which is why her style places so much emphasis on the late game. Besides, her style is primarily"offensive", focused on finding ways to press the attack.