Arata Sagimori is a second-year high school student at Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara Prefecture and a protagonist of the spin-off manga "Saki: Achiga-hen episode of side-A". She is a childhood friend of Kuro and Yuu Matsumi; her family owns a bowling alley in the area. As a kindergartener, she grew up playing mahjong with adults at the Matsumi inn but stopped playing after her first year of elementary school. She is an admirer of Harue Akado and thus lost interest in the game after Harue stopped playing following Achiga's loss in the national tournament. When Kuro informs her that Harue has begun playing mahjong again, Arata agrees to join Achiga's mahjong club. She was assigned on the position of Achiga mahjong club president by Harue as most level-headed member of the team.
Saki Episode of Side A
The Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara once defeated regional mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. It advanced into the national team semifinals but lost to the eventual champion, and the mahjong club was later disbanded. Six years later, elementary school student Shizuno Takakamo befriends transfer student Nodoka Haramura. The two eventually enter Achiga Girls', but Nodoka transfers out of the school in the second year. When Shizuno sees Nodoka on television the following year as the national middle school individual mahjong champion, she decides to revive Achiga's mahjong club.
