Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part2 (1/2)

In this chapter: The qualifiers start, Minato and Shuu have their fateful meeting, will Kazemai advance to the finals? (This is the fourth chapter of a six chapter book, which has a sequel, hint hint)

Glossary

Full list of translations

Translation Notes

1. Warawara means “swarming, shuffling” but also a way to say “pet.i.tion is a compet.i.tion where when there is a tie between finalists, both keep shooting until someone misses the target and get eliminated

It was the middle of May.

Beneath the almost-transparent blue sky, the preliminaries for the Prefectural High School Kyudo Tournament were being held.

The hakamclad high school students in front of the venue were carrying long, rod-shaped objects covered in cloth, causing the pa.s.sersby to wonder aloud if they were naginatas or the like. Since the standard length of a bow was two-hundred-and-twenty-one centimeters, naturally they were moving carefully to avoid hitting things like the top of the entrance and noticeboards.

The compet.i.tion event was a kinteki (close-range) compet.i.tion. The first day’s individual compet.i.tion was shooting four arrows in two sets while in zasha, and the ten archers with the most total hits were selected. For the second day’s team compet.i.tion, teams were composed of one coach and five to seven archers, and one boys’ team and one girls’ team were allowed to partic.i.p.ate from each school. The compet.i.tion method was a tachi of five people, four shots while in zasha, and an eight-minute time limit. The boys’ team compet.i.tion had thirty-eight schools partic.i.p.ating, and the top ten teams with the highest total of hits in two rounds will advance to the prefectural tournament.

For Kazemai High School, Hanazawa, s.h.i.+ragiku, Seo, Kaito and Nanao were doing the individual compet.i.tions, and Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao and Minato had entered the team compet.i.tion. Their white kyudogi with their school’s name embroidered on one sleeve emphasized that they were new members of a new club. There was also a suggestion that they should prepare headbands, but they postponed that idea for this time.

After they finished finding good spots to put down their baggage, cloths with numbers on them were attached to the right hips of those who were taking part in the individual compet.i.tion.

Tomi-sensei cleared his throat theatrically.

“The fact that all eight members of the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club can gather here without anyone missing, makes me truly happy. Now, let’s start the mission.”

“Yes, thank you very much!”

“Ma.s.san and I will have to leave to take care of some business, but in the time leading up to the opening ceremony, everyone will move forward with preparations.”

After seeing them off, those who were tense and those who were relaxed all made their final adjustments before the compet.i.tion finally began.

Ryouhei looked around.

“Uwaah, all these people are doing kyudo? There’s so many!”

“There’s actually more high schoolers doing kyudo than kendo.”

“Heh, I’m getting excited.”

When speaking the tall Ryouhei, Minato instinctively raised his face up to talk. Maybe because of that, he felt like even his mood was heading upwards. In the practice compet.i.tion they had before the tournament, he was able to get the high score of getting fifteen hits out of twenty shots, so if one did simple calculations, getting thirty hits out of forty shots in this compet.i.tion wasn’t a long shot.

Suddenly, there was a break in the noise. When he just happened to look in that direction, he saw a group clad in matching jerseys. People’s gazes were fixed on the words carved on the back of their jerseys.

It was the Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club.

It wasn’t only because they were a powerhouse school that Kirisaki High School attracted attention. Kazemai High School stood out today because they had a team composed of only first-years, but even the starting lineup of Kirisaki High School had more than half of its members as first-years. Looking at the program, it seemed like they had subst.i.tuted members on that very day. Before the word “Kirisaki,” Minato felt himself getting gooseb.u.mps.

On the other hand, Ryouhei and Nanao looked at each other with expressions of glee.

“See them? Is that the favorite to win, Kirisaki High? I guess the ones in kyudogi are on the team. They kinda even look strong.”

“The number of people in their cheering squad is impressive too. Ooh, that girl is cute. Should I go talk to her?”

“Huh? Are my eyes getting bad? It looks like I’m seeing two people who look exactly alike coming this way!”

“No, I’m seeing that too?”

As they talked, the two people who looked exactly alike did not stop walking, and Nanao and Ryouhei panicked about whether or not they heard their conversation.

The twin brothers, Sugawara Senichi and Manji, stopped at almost the same time. Their bangs were arranged symmetrically to each other’s, and it was the one with his bangs parted to the left who introduced the two of them.

“h.e.l.looo, are you the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club? We are the Sugawaras from the Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club. We’re also first-years like you, so please treat us well. So, you there, the girls in our club wouldn’t talk to a gaudy, airheaded guy like you. Oh, and that huge, dumb-looking guy over there too. Ah, you don’t just look it, you really are dumb, right?”

Oh c.r.a.p, they did hear us. They have pretty sharp ears, Nanao thought. Then, Kaito stepped forward.

“You guys have some nerve to come here and line up like some loser doppelgangers! Why don’t you just p.i.s.s off and make your faces even more like a horror movie!”

“Wow, what’s with this rude boy?”

“Isn’t the one who’s rude here you guys?”

“Kaito, stop it. You two should go back to your own place as well.”

As Seiya was calming Kaito down, the twins’ target moved somewhere else. Scanning over the Kazemai High School club members as though evaluating them, their gazes stopped before Minato.

“…Hey, weren’t you on the same team as Shuu in middle school. This guy over here, too. When I saw the program, I was wondering where I saw your names before, but now I finally remembered. Aah, Narumiykun and Takehaykun, right? I guess you guys must be pretty good to get teamed up with Shuu?”

When the older brother Senichi was alternately looking at Minato and Seiya, the younger brother Manji did the same. When they both did the same thing like this, it looked like they were drunk to someone else watching.

“It’s really you, the guy who was the oomae for that three-person tachi. I remembered because the girls were screaming about how cool you were. If I remember correctly, didn’t you get hayake at the prefectural tournament finals and self-destructed? Have you recovered from your hayake since then, Narumiykun? Well, our kai is also short, so should we worry about it?”

“Man, a short kai and hayake are two different things.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The twins laughed strangely, but the people around them kept their mouths shut. Not because they couldn’t refute them, but because they were overwhelmed by the person who appeared from behind.

Gorgeous, un-j.a.panese, looks and disciplined movements. Someone who could not permit others to mimic him with his overwhelming presence——.

Fujiwara Shuu smiled elegantly.

“Sen, Man, you two are too talkative today. It’s better to stop on that matter. ——It’s been a while, Seiya. And, Minato.”

“…Shuu.”

As long as one continued to do kyudo, there was no escape from seeing the figure of Fujiwara Shuu. But even as he was resigned to that fact, his feet froze from seeing the person himself right before his eyes.

Shuu stepped forward, still wearing a smile, and stopped in front of Seiya, who stood in front of Minato.

“Are you still acting as Minato’s knight like always, Seiya? I was surprised when I was told that you chose another high school as well, not just Minato.”

“Aren’t you the one who never changed, Shuu? I heard that you did a twenty shot kaichuu the other day. Even in high school, the name of the ‘Young Lord’ is still going strong.”

“I have no interest in such a common name. Hey, Minato.”

Shuu went past Seiya and stood next to Minato.

In that moment, Minato stopped breathing. n.o.body could get close to the two, who were face-to-face with their right shoulders next to each other’s.

“Minato, do you remember? How Saionji-sensei, who was a former Imperial Guard, had bad hearing in his left ear, so we always brought our faces close to his right ear like this to speak to him… We were still in elementary school, so when we wanted Sensei to listen to us, we would fight for his right side.”

“I remember.”

“And, Minato,” Shuu put his hand on Minato’s left flank. “Does this still hurt?”

“…No.”

“I see, that’s good.”

“…I know that you turned your back on me, Shuu. We lost the champions.h.i.+p of the prefecturals because I got hayake, even though you got a kaichuu… I, who ran away without being able to overcome my hayake, cannot face you.”

“I have never turned my back on you even once. I didn’t say anything because I believed that there were no words of sympathy or reprimands that would suit you. ——Four years ago, when you suddenly disappeared before me, I didn’t know it was because you had suffered that injury. When we met again in middle school, I realized just how much I’ve been eagerly waiting for you. I still believe you will definitely return before me this time. Show me your kyudo again.”

“Shuu…”

“Although he never said it, Saionji-sensei never taught anyone personally no matter how much he was asked. When he believed that it was the last duty entrusted to an old archer, he took it on. He seemed convinced that that duty was the two boys before him. That meeting was a gift from the G.o.d of the bow——. I should go soon, my senpais are looking for us.”

When he looked, he saw a boy with a calm and carefree air about him and another boy, both beckoning them over with clear file folders that appeared to be idol merch.

Shuu took a step away from Minato, called the twins and left. The others, not to mention Minato, stood stock still as though wondering if they were having a dream.

But, Kaito was different. Even after the three from Kirisaki High School left, his anger did not settle down.

“Seiya and Narumiya came from Kirisaki Middle School? Seiya, when we first met, I asked you what middle school did you come from. You said something like 'I don’t think you’d know the name even if I told you.’ Aren’t they a prestigious kyudo school… I thought you guys just lost in the first round when you said you guys lost at the finals of the middle school prefectural tournament. Why did you keep quiet? Ryouhei, didn’t you know about this too?”

“Huh? I didn’t even remember the name of the middle school Minato and Seiya went to. I just knew it was a school where kyudo was popular.”

Seiya went between the two of them.

“Don’t blame Ryouhei. I just didn’t want to be interrogated if it was known that we were from Kirisaki Middle School. If you’re that curious about it, you should have looked us up, right?”

“Haa, because of this, you guys… Are you guys happy to get looked up by me? Keeping secrets means you don’t trust us. Why did students from other schools know, but we didn’t? Don’t screw around with us. Even though I was thinking that I could acknowledge you guys a little bit…” Kaito said as if spitting it out, then turned on his heel.

“Kacchan! I’ll bring Kacchan back, so just go on ahead, guys!”

Nanao chased after Kaito.

Kaito sat at the edge of a flowerbed in a courtyard away from the kyudojo. His more-than-usual sullen aura was at full throttle, uselessly intimidating pa.s.sersby. Nanao sat next to him, and tried his best to speak with a light tone.

“Ka—cchan, won’t the opening ceremony and the yawatas.h.i.+ be starting soon? Let’s get going.”

“We don’t have to be there, so isn’t it okay? I’ll stay here for now.”

“Geez, Kacchan. You didn’t have to get so angry about that, did you? They didn’t mean anything bad by hiding stuff, and hiding what middle school they came from isn’t that big of a deal.”

“That’s exactly why! What kind of teammates wouldn’t even confide stuff that isn’t that big of a deal to us? And on top of that, what’s with those twins? Fujiwara and Sugawara, stop swarming me with all that warawara internet slang. (1) I won’t forgive anyone who talks bad about our club members. That seriously p.i.s.ses me off…”

“Even Kacchan is saying bad jokes…”

“Shut up, I wasn’t joking!”

Oh, I see, Nanao thought. Kaito was angrier with himself for not being someone to depend on, even though they were all comrades, rather than having secrets hidden from him.

Kaito boasted a high hitting rate even in middle school, but he was never once chosen as a team member for a team compet.i.tion. The reason given by the advisor was that there was no spirit of cooperation with a loner, but Nanao guessed that he was instead demanding a feeling of comrades.h.i.+p too much, and the people around Kaito disliked his company. No one was as devoted to kyudo as Kaito was, and there were many who believed that it was all fine as long as they were able to have fun. Their stances were different depending on whether one thought of kyudo as a martial art or a sport, and to say nothing of the environment of club activities in middle school, where the probability of those who possessed the same amount of zeal gathering together was low.

The power created by the feeling of “liking something” was great, for better or for worse, and the more earnest that liking was, the more confusion and misunderstandings were created. Minato, Seiya and Kaito were very similar to each other not just because they wanted to get better at kyudo, but also because they harbored a longing to win in a team battle.

They really are such irritating people.

Do they know zeal flows from high places to low?

Everyone’s zeal is even able to pour into me. If you don’t take responsibility for that, won’t it be a pain?

“Alright, stop worrying about all that and let’s get going! Don’t you want to win the prefecturals?”

“Hah? What’s got into you all of a sudden, Nanao?”

“If you don’t go to the opening ceremony, I’ll keep calling you 'Kacchan’ here! Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan!”

“Nanaooo, you bastaaard! Do you have a grudge against me?”

“Everyone—, this person is called 'Kacchan.’ If you call his name, he will cry from happiness. When I say 'One, two,’ you say 'Kachaaan.’ One, two—”

“Nno!”